Make Your Marketing Grow Green

By Harlan West, Design and Marketing Professional with more than 25 years of experience designing materials for major healthcare organizations, municipalities and large corporations.

The Power of Green: Green Can Grow Your Marketing Campaign

It’s time to look at color as an important factor in corporate communications. Since it’s still spring, let’s use the color green to spice up our marketing campaigns.

Designing with green

Some words that come to mind when using a bright green color include: freshness, spring, life, St. Patrick’s Day, gardens, plants, thrive, growth, rebirth, health, lime, vegetables, recycling, sustainability, “go”, moving ahead, and environmentally friendly.

Here’s some ideas:

23 Tips for Developing an Effective Park District/Recreational Catalog

By Harlan West, Design and Marketing Professional with more than 25 years of experience designing materials for major healthcare organizations, municipalities and large corporations.

 

I often receive park district catalogs and recreational catalogs in the mail. Having designed several of these magazines, I would like to relay some suggestions to my readers:

 

 

In order to develop an effective park district/recreational catalog you should have:

The Benefits of Press-Checking a Printed Publication

By Harlan West, Design and Marketing Professional with more than 25 years of experience designing materials for major healthcare organizations, municipalities and large corporations.

Today, press checks are often overlooked due to the better software and printing equipment which pretty much make the process “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG). There are fewer surprises on press than 20 years ago and proofs are much better. Yet, any surprise, unless it has an uncharacteristically positive impact, is usually something to avoid. I especially recommend press checking those jobs that are not the “run-of-the-mill” type of print project. Annual reports, press kits, automobile brochures, magazines, corporate reports and sales kits should be press-checked.  Generally the more expensive and the more complicated the job, the more important it is to do a press check.

Why it is important to attend a press check:
1) A press check provides for quality assurance. It’s the designer and the project manager’s last chance to check for color density, trapping and registration issues, as well as color consistency. During the press check, it is also a good opportunity to check crossovers, the application of tinted varnishes and the legibility of type against colored backgrounds.  Sometimes just a small shift on press can make a world of difference in terms of legibility of the type or how “plugged-up” a photo may appear.

2) A press check allows one to verify proper PMS color matching, bleeds, smooth gradients, and to check for paper “see-through.”  PMS matching is critical especially where a specific corporate color is required.  This is essential for corporate branding. Don’t be afraid to have the pressman make several “moves” on press to ensure that the color is “spot-on.” It is also the time to check the bleeds. While standing at the press, ask the printer to trim down a sample of a press sheet.  Make sure that the inks are fully saturated to the end of the sheet.  Make sure that gradients are not banding.  Finally, you will want to check for see through of image from one side of the sheet to the other.  Obviously it is too late to change the paper stock once the job is on press.  But you could have the pressman hold back or run lighter on the ink to help minimize this issue.

Look No Further for Inspiration

By Harlan West, Design and Marketing Professional with 25 years of experience designing materials for major healthcare organizations, municipalities and large corporations.

The Inspiration Store—Places to Tantalize Your Imagination

The inspiration for your successful corporate communications can be found in the least likely places. Indeed, most creative people probably do not produce their content while sitting at the corner Starbucks and typing away on their tablets or laptops.

As a result, I have compiled a list of some unlikely retail stores which can spark your imagination:

Fabric stores are great places to find interesting continuous patterns and textures. Buy a yard or two of fabric, scan it, and digitize it and then manipulate it using a photo-imaging program. Thrift stores also have quirky clothing with printed patterns that could also be used for the backdrop behind mastheads or pull quotes. Paisley patterns can make interesting graphical elements for elegant invitations. Just make sure that the fabric or garment you select does not have a copyright.

Tile stores have some of the best patterns around. Pieces of tile can be very organic and can provide unusual twists of color. Tiles arranged in rows can also create a unique checkerboard square pattern that can be used behind mastheads, on covers of reports or for border treatments.

Bookstores are a wonderful resource for new graphical ideas. Look at book covers.  Indeed, the art needs to sell the book.  Generally the cover art is really effective in grabbing one’s attention in just a few seconds. Take notes and makes sketches.  These will come in handy later.

Flower shops can provide unique color combinations along with interesting organic shapes. Buy a few exotic flowers and take some close up photos of the petals or inner center shapes. These can provide interesting graphical shapes for logos, illustrated patterned textures or photo backgrounds.  (See SuccessfulCorporateCommunications.com blog post, Color Me Pink.)

Grocery stores are a great place to takephotos of foods and nuts and other bulk items. Indeed, the produce aisle offers an array of delicious fruits and vegetables.  These can also be used as great backgrounds for mastheads or pull quotes or simply as stand along graphical images. (See Successful CorporateCommunications.com blog, Open Your Refrigerator and Head to the Salad Bar.)

Bakeries are a great place to photograph sweets. Think of how captivating a backdrop of fresh bread or tart pastries might be in your food or cooking newsletter.  Where’s the milk?

Nurseries offer great opportunities to snap some quick shots of plants. Leaves and greenery makes for great graphical elements in any page layout.  (See SuccessfulCorporateCommunications.com blog, Leaf It Alone.)

Music stores are great places to get reference material for music newsletters, elegant invitations or concert program brochures. Sheet music can also be blurred and screened back in the layout, but be careful of copyrights.

Hardware stores and lumber yards offer a wide variety of nuts, bolts, brass plumbing connectors as well as tubes and pipes. Take close-up shots of brass connectors and the ends of sprinkler (PCV) pipe stacked in a box. Stacked lumber also makes for an interesting visual. These retail establishments provide a great opportunity to discover exciting new patterns and shapes.

Bike stores are nice places to photograph bike tires, wheels and bike gear. Take shots of the gears, pedals, spokes and tire treads. You’ll love the graphical shapes that can add a new dynamic to your client’s newsletter.

Just a suggestion…

Look around you.  Open your eyes.  See what you see.  You’ll be surprised at how much rich content is right in front of your nose.

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If your company needs an innovative newsletter, annual report, elegant event invitation or just plain creative consulting, please contact HWDS at hwdesign@west.net.  We make beautiful things happen. To find out more please visit westdesign.com.

Harlan West is the author of successfulcorporatecommunications.com and has been working as a creative director and design professional for more than 25 years and has designed and art directed hundreds of publications for both print and online purposes.

50 Reasons to Follow the Successful Corporate Communications Blog

By Harlan West, Design and Marketing Professional with 25 years of experience designing materials for major healthcare organizations, municipalities and large corporations.

I am proud to commemorate the publication of 50 blog posts! Celebrate with us by continuing to read our blog and encouraging your friends and colleagues to subscribe as well.

Since we just completed our 50th blog post, here’s 50 fabulous reasons to keep reading and rereading:

1. Take advantage of valuable design tips for your newsletter.
2. Use color to make a more effective publication.
3. Learn how to create effective mastheads.
4. Escape the pitfalls of staff meetings.
5. Learn ways to deal more effectively with your clients.
6. Discover how to create more effective bilingual publications.
7. Find valuable tips on advertising.
8. Learn about effective branding.
9. Gain valuable information about e-publications.
10. Increase your knowledge of printing techniques.
11. Increase your appreciation of elegant paper stocks.
12. Learn how to create effective event promotions.
13. Discover ways to include effective infographics, charts and diagrams in your publications.
14. Learn about ways to find employment as a skilled graphic designer.
15. Unearth new ways to promote healthcare events.
16. Invent new ways to illustrate your newsletter with the use of graphical icons.
17. Find ways to develop an effective logo for your company.
18. Learn about ways to add a mascot or cartoon character to your newsletter or publication.
19. Differentiate your company’s product and service from the competition.
20. Produce beautiful maps that provide more than just directions.
21. Explore new ways to be more responsive to your clients.
22. Recognize how to find a quality print vendor.
23. Realize the beauty that nature can add to a publication.
24. Originate the use of iMags for your company’s publications.
25. Learn how to save $1,000’s on publication costs.
26. Conceive of new ways to use patterns in your publications.
27. Innovate the use of online publications in your company’s publication requirements.
28. Discover ways to add navigational elements to a newsletter.
29. Lean how to use photos for maximum impact.
30. Make the best use of typestyles to increase the legibility of a publication.
31. Find new ways to maintain quality control.
32. Learn how outsourcing the design of your publications can save the company money and can increase the return on investment (ROI).
33. Find out why it is important to use a marketing firm that specializes in your industry sector.
34. Learn what makes your client “tick.”
35. Discover the importance of having a corporate newsletter.
36. Explore new reasons why corporations should outsource their marketing efforts.
37. Unearth the ultimate checklist for developing successful marketing materials.
38. Invent new ways to harness the power of the word of mouth.
39. Explore how color defines your brand and shapes your newsletter.
40. Find out how silhouetted graphics can shape your newsletter.
41. Invent beautiful patterns and graphics through the use of shadows.
42. Learn how metallic pins can make great promotional items or giveaways to honor anniversaries, celebrations, or facility openings.
43. Discover how to use fruits and vegetable shapes to craft an unusual masthead or headline.
44. Learn how to create healthy designs for healthcare marketing.
45. Pioneer new ways to include graphical portraiture in your publication.
46. Benefit from testimonials and how they can create great “buzz.”
47. Discover how to make your newsletter soar to new heights by adding architectural elements.
48. Find out how to add edgy border treatments that will make your articles jump off the page.
49. Recognize the importance of type and how it impacts the look, feel and legibility of the publication.
50. Discover ways to “tune-up” your marketing without ever getting your hands dirty.

These topics and more can be found on our blog.

Happy reading!  But remember to ask yourself the following question: “Why just be a reader when you could also be a leader?”

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If your company needs an innovative newsletter, e-publication, meeting presentation or  advice on communicating, please contact HWDS at hwdesign@west.net.  We make beautiful things happen. To find out more please visit westdesign.com.

Harlan West is the author of successfulcorporatecommunications.com and has been working as a creative director and design professional for more than 25 years and has designed and art directed hundreds of publications for both print and online purposes.

Color Defines Your Brand and Shapes Your Newsletter

 By Harlan West, Design and Marketing Professional with 25 years of experience designing materials for major healthcare organizations, municipalities and large corporations.

COLOR CAN DEFINE YOUR CORPORATE BRAND

Color says a lot about mood and often conveys emotion, power and strength. That is why it is so important to be decisive in your color selection and how it is used.

Failure to maintain a consistent corporate color actually acts to weaken your brand.

COLOR USED IN BRANDING

Indeed brand marketing requires the selection of a distinctive color scheme to help differentiate your company. A firm that seeks brand identification should be adamant in enforcing its brand standards and paying special attention to color.  There should be a distinct PMS color(s) associated with the brand. PMS refers to the Pantone® Matching System. These are ink color color call-outs which relate to a specific color swatch.