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Everyone likes new stuff. And this applies to marketing materials as well. I’ve worked in the marketing department of companies here in Michigan where we get the box of new brochures, or even pens with our logo on them and get all giddy at the newness of them. And I see this continue in my own business.
When I first started my Brighton basead graphic design business, I immediately got to work making a logo, and then got a couple clients and stalled on putting out new marketing materials. Then I finished the work for those clients and saw myself losing some of my enthusiasm as no new clients came in. Which could have been a death spiral. The less enthusiastic I was, the less chance of getting new clients and the less enthusiasm I would have.
The thing that eventually broke this cycle was when I got that push from my husband and actually put together my website, a new leave behind and other marketing materials. Seeing my information in a new light made me feel better about my company. It gave me new confidence to go out and get more clients and thankfully that has kept going.
I’ve seen this enthusiasm work for my small business clients as well. I can see the glint in their eyes when they get those new business cards or leave behinds – that new found pride in their company. And even if they aren’t in the horrible cycle I was, that new boost to their enthusiasm can be seen when they talk about their company. And when prospective clients see that excitement, it can be contagious.
What do you think? What could updated marketing materials do for your company? For your enthusiasm?
I get a lot of people at networking events here in Brighton, Michigan who ask me why I named my company Green Otter Graphics. I keep thinking I need to come up with a great story… Something about how green is a color signifying growth, rebirth, freshness, newness and prosperity. And an otter is not only a very cute mammal, but also a very industrious little bugger. In fact, otters are one of very few mammals to use tools (rocks to break open clam shells).
The reality though, is that I wanted a name that was catchy, and gave me the opportunity to create a cute logo. For some reason, I was stuck on animal color combinations and Green Otter was the one that stuck and wasn’t taken. Now a year and a half later, I can’t imagine it being named anything else!
The moral of the story… if you’re trying really hard to come up with something serious and instead end up stuck on animal and color combinations, go with it. You never know what you might come up with!
Do you have an interesting story of how you named your company?
I often come across clients who have been asked for a vector file of their logo, and aren’t sure what that is. Vector files are the ones a lot of printers and companies that do things like putting your logo on pens, shirts, etc will want. And here’s the reason why… Resolution or file size doesn’t matter with a vector.
Here’s a very very basic explanation. You can think of a vector like a connect the dots picture. The vector file contains the data telling your computer where the dots should be in relation to each other and no matter how big you want the printed logo to be, they will retain this relation and then your computer puts the lines between those dots. So no matter how much you stretch it out, it will always be crisp. Also, because the only data stored in the file is the “dots”, the file can generally be relatively small.
Jpegs or tifs, on the other hand, are more like mosaics. Your logo or image is made up of individual “tiles” or pixels. Those pixels cannot get any bigger and you cannot add any new ones. So when you try to make it bigger, the individual ”tiles” simply get further apart, which leads to a pixellated image.
So when you are having a designer create a logo for you, make sure they are going to be delivering a vector version in addition to any high or low resolution jpegs or tifs. It’s a lot easier for them to give it to you at the beginning than it is to reverse engineer a vector image from that low res jpeg you might have in your files.
I recently got a phone call from someone in the Philippines wanting to know if I would be interested in outsourcing work overseas. The idea is that I could do the marketing, and then have designers in other countries do the actual work for a fraction of what I charge, and pocket a handy profit.
Tempting? Not really. There are a couple of reasons I won’t be taking them, or any other company, up on this lucrative offer.
The reason I started my graphic design company here in Brighton, Michigan wasn’t to make large amounts of money (although that would be nice). The reason I started Green Otter Graphics is that I love doing graphic design. I can work on a project for hours without realizing how much time has passed, tweaking here or there. The marketing and administrative parts of the business are things I’ve come to somewhat enjoy, but without the actual work, I wouldn’t want to do it.
Also, to have someone else (who I’ve probably never met) doing the work for my clients seems disingenuous at best. When I meet a client, either online or in person, I’m representing myself and my work. If in the future I grow to a larger firm with employees, I will be representing our collective work and will be able to hand-pick who is the best fit for each client. It’s all about personal attention. And I strongly feel it should be with a service business like graphic design. It’s not a commodity.
And the other reason (warning, soap box up ahead) is that it just doesn’t seem right. Living in Michigan, I’ve seen firsthand the effect of manufacturing jobs going overseas. We can argue from here to eternity whether the loss of these jobs is the fault of corporations, labor or some mix thereof, but whoever is at fault, the effect on the economy is hard to ignore. We hear how it’s now supposed to be a service economy, which should be great for us service providers. But guess what… we too it turns out can be replaced by someone less expensive overseas.
So no, I will not be outsourcing the work I love, and the work that people locally need to a firm overseas. And I encourage everyone else who is offered the option to do the same.
I recently read an interesting blog post on how sales people should plan out all of the “touches” they’re going to have with their clients for the next year… You can read the whole thing here http://tinyurl.com/y96r3th. The gist is that you figure out how many times you’re going to contact the client and via what medium, and when. And then create those messages now rather than waiting until they’re scheduled.
This is a great strategy for making sure you stay on top of those contacts. At the same time, it’s a great time to decide if you need to design any materials to go along with those “touches” (postcards, flyers, even email graphics). Then any of these materials should be designed either to coordinate with your existing marketing collateral, or if you’re starting from scratch, they should all follow a consistent brand image.
Whether you are actually making these decisions now (which might be tough for many of us given the stress of the holidays) or you’re doing it at some point early in the new year, this type of planning can definitely give your marketing a leg up, and reduce some of the stress later on down the year.
How do you plan your marketing and sales campaigns?
I regularly get calls from local Brighton businesses who are looking for graphic design and just really don’t know where to start. Whenever you are hiring any sort of service provider, that first phone call can be intimidating. Here are a few pointers on what to ask to help the conversation along for a small business or entrepreneur looking for a graphic designer.
Explain your project. Then listen to questions the graphic designer asks of you. They should ask about any ideas you already have, a style you would like or any existing marketing materials you want the piece to coordinate with.
If you are going to be using a professional printer, ask if they have experience dealing with printers. If you are going to want them to send the work to the printer, make sure to mention that if they don’t ask.
Ask about price. Nobody likes to talk money, but be sure to ask. Ideally, the designer should want to know about your project before just giving you a number.
Ask about payment terms. Do you pay it all upfront, or is it split into multiple payments?
If you haven’t already seen a portfolio, ask for one. If you want references, feel free to ask.
Ultimately, you should also pay attention to the questions the graphic designer asks of you. Do you get the feeling that they are interested in your project? Does it feel like they got a firm understanding of what you want?
If they don’t have questions for you, it might be a red flag.
What type of questions do you ask of a graphic designer?
