Our Process for Building a Solid and Relevant Identity

Logo Development

In this case, I had been working with LoPresti Aviation for four years within the limitations of an existing identity they had when I was contracted to do collateral for them. When leadership changed hands, the new owner contacted me to strategize a completely new look (something I had been itching to do since the first sales deck I had produced for them.I started from a slightly difference place than I usually do (see my typical logo design process here), instead choosing to skip some initial steps simply because I already knew so much about the company. I already had a good understanding of their values, competitors, position in the market and goals. The SWOT analysis had already been performed and metrics defined. The first sprint of heavy lifting was in the past. So in this case, I chose to start by confirming if my view of the company’s ideal presentation was aligned with the view the new owner had for the future of the company.

I asked him if there were any elements that needed to stay from the old brand. (Sort of, yes…more on that below). I asked how he wanted the customer to FEEL when they interacted with the company. (Safe and as if they were dealing with THE professionals of the trade). From these and several other questions, I was able to determine four solid personal characteristics that were the foundation of the company’s representation: Dependable, Innovative, Accessible and Bright

The old identity utilized bright yellow, orange, red and a ‘swoosh’. The new owners wanted to maintain some similarity to the old brand. Specifically, they loved the movement expressed by the swoosh and a secondary use of the warm color palette but wanted a more ‘high-end’ feel. I chose to represent movement by positioning the plane as if it were landing or taking off. This ambiguity would also allow the user to unconsciously assign perspective resulting in an organic connection to the mark. I liked the idea that yellow represents optimism, brightness and sunshine in color theory (one of their main product lines is super bright HID lighting systems). It is also the most easy to see color of all the rainbow. This worked right into their product line of high visibility aftermarket lighting.

I chose a warm yellow for its additional connotations of durability (think construction tools) and because when combined with black and grey (the other brand colors we chose to convey elegance, prestige, and stability), the overall presentation was one of sophisticated illumination. I also replaced the old standard italic serif typeface with a sturdier serif/slab serif hybrid. Then, I manually adjusted some of the ligatures and skew so that it nodded to the old brandmark while departing from the commonality of the previous type.

Establishing Best Practices for the Brand

Once the logo was finalized, I further defined the identity by solidifying typefaces, accent colors, patterns, additional supplementary graphical elements, margins and use guidelines. The result of this process would eventually become the style guide which was used as a reference on how to use the brand elements and to ensure that the visual representation of the company is always congruent.

Utilizing the Style Guide to Create Collateral

By carefully following the guidelines and best practices set forth by the style guide, I began to create the various sales tools and internal business collateral utilizing the approved color palette, typeface, patterns and image standards. A typical starting identity suite from a designer would include letterhead, business cards and perhaps a presentation/pitch deck template. In this case, however, I was contracted to work beyond just defining and developing the identity. I was also tasked with creating many additional pieces including presentation folders, envelopes and sales sheets for various airplane models.

The identity was further extended to the web presence, trade show booths, large format displays, stickers and user manuals.

The post What Is Corporate Identity appeared first on Breakaway Graphics.

THE THREE ELEMENTS

Many assume that a company’s brand is simply its logo and colors. Most of my clients are surprised to learn that it is a much more intricate and thoughtful process than that. I tend to start with asking a client to describe the company as if it were a human being because a brand is a company, personified and what better way to start understanding WHO the company is than to define its qualities and values?

There are, though, three major facets of a company’s brand:

The logo (the mark that makes a company recognizable), the presentation (the marketing plan and optics), and the personality (message).

BRAND

The Personality

The perceived characteristics of the company as a whole.

LOGO

The Face

A brandmark identifies a business in its simplest form.

IDENTITY

The Presentation

The visual aspects that form part of the overall brand.

IDEATION

SO WHERE DOES IT START?

The Brand Expert should start by becoming familiar with the products and solutions on a fundamental level in order to start with a blank canvas. Then, by looking at competitors in the market, the brand expert can examine strengths and weaknesses to identify where there are voids that needed to be filled.

Next? Brainstorming. This is far more than basic word association and shouting out ideas, directions or personal opinions; it’s a step-by-step, tried and tested, thorough technique used by Marketers and Brand Experts worldwide but only understood and utilized by few because it is a highly specialized sub field.

Starting with Latin root words then word combinations and finally brand-new words, the Brand Expert will carefully check definitions against multiple languages and even check slang words that could be negatively associated. Sometimes you find one that works in English, but wont work in Spanish or French. Often, through the process, you find a word that fits the core messages and has no conflict linguistically, but come to discover that another company has already scooped up the domain or has already trademarked the word. It is an arduous process.

Sony

Sonus is the Latin word for sound, but the name also comes from the founders considering themselves ‘sonny boys’, a Japanese word that suggest smart young men.

Fage

The word φάγε (translated from Greek to English as FAGE) both the singular imperative verb meaning ‘Eat!’ And is spelled using the first initial of the founders.

Google

A play on the word “googol,” a mathematical term for the number represented by 1 followed by 100 zeros – reflects the mission to organize a seemingly infinite amount of information on the web.

MESSAGE

DEFINING A PERSONALITY

This part of the process involves carefully defining the mission, vision, essence, and purpose of the company as well as establishing the Brand’s characteristics and promise.

Misson

What the company wants to do and how they want to do it.

Vision

What the company wants to become.

Essence

A three to five word summary of the brand’s space and how it fits in.

Purpose

The driving force behind the Brand.

Character

If the brand were a person, this is how you would describe them.

Promise

What the company ideally provides to the customer.

INDENTITY

A Company’s Identity might be defined, more or less, as the combination of all of the elements that make up the company’s aesthetic – a visual presentation of the company as a whole. Identity design is based on the visual elements created by a Brand Expert to build cohesive and appealing sales tools, marketing collateral and tradedress. A specific set of guidelines are developed, inspected and examined to ensure that a Company’s Brand Identity remains intact throughout all avenues and each element adds value to the overall visual feel. To learn more about copperplate identity, read my blog about it here.

Marrying these elements, the Brand Expert will create a Brand Manual and Style Guide which should be studied and followed closely as it illustrates how the Identity is applied throughout all mediums by using exact color palettes, specific fonts, pre-approved layouts, etc. By establishing and following these guidelines early on, the company can begin the process of building brand recognition, customer loyalty and achieve success by offering a cohesive message and visual aesthetic no matter where the customer encounters them.

Logo

The symbol of the brand.

Collateral

Marketing collateral includes flyers, brochures, books, websites, etc.

Signage

Both Interior & exterior design.

Letterhead

Letterhead, business cards, envelopes, etc.

Packaging

Includes the actual products sold and their tradedress.

Other

Any additional visuals that represents the business.

The post How Iconic Brands Are Developed appeared first on Breakaway Graphics.

1. If it’s on the internet, it’s not copyrighted. Wrong. Every picture, article, song, video, and design is protected by copyright law. As a rule of thumb, if you would like to use an image you found on the internet, contact the author and get permission. If permission is not received, don’t use it.

2. If I can’t find the author of an article, I can use it. Nope. Anything that is created has an original author. In the digital age where people think anything on the net is fair game, it can be exceedingly difficult to track down where the article originated if it has been re-posted multiple times but, again, that doesn’t mean that the original author has given up his rights. Don’t publish anything that you don’t have permission to use.

3. If it doesn’t have a copyright notice, it’s not copyrighted. You guessed it….wrong. As I stated above if it was created, it has an author and it is by default copyrighted. While it is good practice to watermark your photos and designs or include the standard ‘Copyright [dates] by [author/owner]’ on written pieces, leaving it off does not relinquish your rights as copyright holder.

4. If it’s an old photograph, the copyright has expired. Maybe, but probably not. The shortest Copyright Term is the lifespan of the author plus 70 years. Photographers, for example, might transfer the copyright to another member of the family prior to his/her death thereby ‘renewing’ the copyright. Once again, ask for permission from the copyright holder.

5. If I change it 10%, it’s a new work and I am the copyright holder. This is just ridiculous and completely wrong. I’d like to ask: what exactly constitutes 10%? Changing the font? Reversing the photo? Applying special effects? Replacing one name throughout an entire story? This is hands-down the biggest, most widely held, completely incorrect copyright myth out there. The notion that a photograph can be scanned and reversed and is now no longer the original work of the photographer is simply stupid. If you cannot use the photograph without the permission of the author, why would be be allowed to use it for manipulation to create your own work? The same principle holds for design. Derivative works can actually be considered property of the owner of the original work with the major exception of parody which is a super gray area for which I am not properly educated to elaborate on.

6. Ideas cannot be copyrighted. True. An idea cannot be copyrighted but the work based on that idea can be. This is where copyright law starts to get confusing. I understand it to mean, in a story for example, a woman’s husband is having an affair, she finds out, the story unfolds. This is an idea. VS. Jane, a high powered attorney, finds her husband Curt, a car salesman, cheating on her. Jane and Curt’s characters are copyrighted as are the actual words used to tell the story and what actually happens in the story.

7. If I don’t make money off of it, it’s not infringement. Wrong. It’s like saying, if I don’t get caught, I never committed a crime. I believe this idea stems from misinterpretation of ‘Fair Use’. Each case determining fair use is different and takes into consideration many aspects of the alleged infringement so don’t assume that you can use whatever you like just because you don’t make a profit by using it. I write this blog without profit, that doesn’t mean that I can simply hunt around the internet for articles I find interesting and paste them here as if I came up with them myself. In fact, even if I gave the original author full credit without gaining his or her permission to reproduce the work, I’d be in violation of copyright laws.

This is, of course, not a comprehensive explanation of copyright laws and I am by no means a lawyer (so don’t take the above as legal advise). The myths listed above are simply the one’s I encounter most frequently in my day-to-day life as a designer. There are many more out there so when in doubt if you didn’t create the work, you shouldn’t use it. If you’d like more information regarding copyright and intellectual property laws, visit http://www.copyright.gov/. For more information on copyright infringement, visit http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html.

The post Copyright Myths appeared first on Breakaway Graphics.

Let’s look at it from a numbers standpoint.

Have you ever heard the saying you get what you pay for? Its true in design too. These so-called ‘designers’ who participate in Spec Work (offering services in hopes of receiving compensation but without any guarantees) aren’t professionals. They are often students, foreigners, or regular people with a copy of Photoshop (which isn’t even the right software for creating logos, btw). Would you let a student or guy-off-the-street balance your books, do your taxes, or perform a dental check? I think not. And yet, this is exactly what businesses do when they choose to participate in these ‘contests’ in the hopes of saving some money. So, these part-time, untrained ‘designers’ really want that extra $200 but know that what they submit will have to compete with dozens of other designs so they work extra hard to make sure their design is the best and gets chosen by the client, right? Not likely. They may spend fifteen minutes, an hour, maybe even two…heck, you might get lucky and get yourself a newbie who doesn’t know the software yet or its their first time taking a shot at design contest so maybe they really give it a good try (then you’re really getting a bang for your buck!). But all-in-all, these ‘designers’ aren’t going to spend the necessary time it takes to create a good logo. (see my logo design process here). No, they are more likely to invest as little time as possible since they know they’ve only got a 1-in-X chance of getting paid. Of course, if they don’t win, they could always try to sell that design to another sucker in another contest. Plus, the less time they spend per contest, the more contests they can enter so they might try to churn out as many designs as they can in a day without much thought as to who they are designing for, the nature of the business, or the effectiveness and reproducibility of the design. It’s about the numbers, man.

Now let’s look at it from a design standpoint.

Choosing to use one of these contests to set the visual tone for your company is really just a terrible idea. You’ve worked hard to create a business plan, choose inventory, secure the right retail space, hire all the friendliest and most qualified employees, and now you’re going to risk all that by using a Spec Contest to create your brandmark? Why don’t you just get one of those employees to whip you up a logo in Word and use that? “Oh, no, no, no, that would be a bad idea”. Of course it is, but that’s exactly what the kind of work you are likely to get when using crowdsourcing or contest sites. Again, professional designers do not engage in crowdsourcing contests so you are not likely to get professional designs in return. Many times, these are novice designers who are pumping out designs that require the least amount of time, effort, creativity, skill, and thought because they know that there is a good chance they wont get paid for it. These sites are chock full of bad design, many of them ripped off from actual designers and yet, you want that to be the face of your company? Professional Designers spend time creating the right brandmark for you, utilizing years of experience. You know they’re good because you’ve seen their portfolio before you hired them, you’ve read testimonials from actual clients, you’ve met them face-to-face. Professional Designers work closely with you creating a design brief and brand guide, they ask questions and research. They take the time to really understand you, your company and your goals and they do this with a firm understanding of design. Do the ‘designers’ on these crowdsourcing sites do that? Maybe. But is maybe good enough for you?

What you get for the money.

Now, I’ve never personally used one of these sites but several of my clients had before they found me. I have seen (and had the unfortunate and frustrating experience of trying to work with) the amateur designs that come from these sites. First, they are almost never the right file type (believe me when I tell you that having the right file type is essential), they are only sometimes created in the right software, and they are rarely the proper resolution and colorspace. These are the basics of the profession, people….if the ‘designers’ who participate in this practice don’t know the difference between 72dpi and 300dpi, they have absolutely no business collecting any amount of money for their ‘designs’. In all the cases that I have been given one of these crowsourced files to attempt to work with, it has been a nightmare.

What you DON’T get for the money.

You’ve chosen to use a contest allowing all but one lucky designer to work for free, trying to create the face of your business without so much as knowing who was actually creating it. Perhaps you’ve ended up with a design that you are happy with. Here’s the most terrifying part, after you’ve spent a fair amount of money getting that logo printed on business cards, banners, letterhead, signage, and product packaging, you’ve been served with a Cease and Desist letter from the rightful owner of the Copyright your ‘new’ logo infringes upon. These crowdsorcing and contest sites have long lists of Cease and Desist complaints against them for violating copyright as some of the ‘designers’ who participate don’t follow the rules and ethics of Design and simply do a google search to find a nice design to copy . The crowsourcing site owners clearly state in their terms and conditions that they make no claims as to the originality of the work submitted (check it out for yourself). So who are you going to blame? The Website who legally hides behind an ‘it’s not our fault, you agreed to the terms and conditions’ standpoint? The Designer you’ve never met or even spoken to? It will be up to you to hire an attorney to fight or settle. It will be up to you to now hire a professional to design a new brandmark. It will be up to you to re-print everything with your new logo and pay the web designer to update the website. Does crowdsourcing sound as good now?

The Moral of the Story

The above are only a few reasons why participating in these ‘contests’ is a very bad idea, both for the participants and the business owner who solicits free design. I didn’t even scratch the surface of how it devalues Design, promotes Design as a commodity and as inessential to your business, or how it stifles any real creativity or logical thought when creating visual solutions. While I can understand the cost of doing business is high (I know, I own and run a business too) and the temptation to save money and cut corners can almost be considered a necessity for some, I beg of you, contact some local Designers first. Most of us will collect the vital information and create a personalized quote for free, without obligation. At the very least, you can get a good idea of what Professional Design actually cost (it’s likely a LOT less than you think) and establish a real relationship with a professional right there in your town. The differences between using a Professional Designer and a’contest’ designer are vast to say the least but I think Red Adair said it best when he said: “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire and amateur”. It’s true for most professions, and it is true for Graphic Design, too.

The post Spec Work & Contests, They Fail, Oh My! appeared first on Breakaway Graphics.

The post Photoshop User Magazine Feature appeared first on Breakaway Graphics.

First Things First

Before I do anything at all, I will send my client a questionnaire with comprehensive and detailed questions aimed at getting all the information required for me to start the process. When possible, I prefer to ask these questions and perform an interview in person but that’s unfortunately not always an option. The logo questionnaire/interview is extremely important in the logo design process and even if the client feels that they’ve already settled on a design they’ve created, it is vital that I, as the designer, have all the information so I can familiarize myself with the company, the company’s mission, the target demographic, their competitors and the client’s personal preferences. All these things will aid me in producing a design that they will really love as well as a design that will embody the company’s message, product or service in a way that will be successful for that company. It is only after this that the work really starts.

First, after studying the completed logo questionnaire and the logo samples that the client supplies (if they already have some ideas, many do), I will do some research on the client’s profession (looking for strengths and weakness in their or their competitor’s brand) and perform a preliminary visual scan for trademarked logos that we may want to avoid being too similar to. Of course, once the logo has been completed, a Lawyer would have to do a proper trademark search if they intend to TM/SM (state level) or ® (national level) the logo.

Now The Fun Starts

Next, I sketch out thumbnails….ideas on paper that I draft very quickly. This is faster than doing all the preliminary work in a design software and allows me to make changes and follow my thoughts as fast as they come. Also, it’s an easy and time effective way for me to get as many ideas out in a short amount of time as possible (esp. since I charge by the hour). I am able at this point to build off of the sketches and ideas until I get something that is worthy of conceptualizing digitally.

Proofing Begins

Once I present the initial designs to the client, they might be immediately attracted to one of the proposed designs and we can move forward with tweaking, adding color and finalizing the logo. OR they might want to combine two of the proposed designs until we have one design to work from. It is important to ask the right questions during this step to gain as much insight  as possible why a particular design wasn’t liked by the client. By listening closely to the client’s explanations and suggestions, you can make the necessary modifications to the designs (being sure that any modifications will move the design in the right direction).

As mentioned above, I continue proofing in only all black or all white (on black background) as this aids in being able to focus on the design itself and not be influenced by color. What’s important at this stage is the mark’s shape, form and the idea it represents. This is the part in the process that often takes the most time.

After the colors are decided upon and the design is approved, I will get to work finalizing the logo for both print and web, making sure that the logo is easy for the client to use as well as ensuring that it can be used across many platforms and applications.

I know the logo design process can be a little intimidating for the client as well as the designer. But if you know what’s coming in the process and what steps to take (and in what order), the whole affair will go much smoother for both parties. This will make for a pleasurable experience for the customer and help the designer maintain control throughout the creative process. If you are a company or individual looking for the right designer to create your logo, be sure to do your homework to be certain that  you and your designer are going to work well together towards achieving the same goal. If you’d like to see some of the logos that Breakaway Graphics has designed, we’ve included a few below. To see more, please visit the Portfolio section of the Home Page.

The post Logo Design Process appeared first on Breakaway Graphics.

Page Layout And Setup

Live Area: The live area is the area within an ad space where all important text, pictures and information must be contained.

Trim/Page Size: the trim size is the dimension at which the printer will cut the page. No text should be within 0.375″ of this size.

Margins: Margins are the space from the trim size to the live area. Usually, margins are0.375 – 0.5 inches all the way around a page. Bad margins will separate the amateurs from the professionals.

Bleed: The bleed is the part of the page that will get trimmed off in the printing process. If an ad is a full-page bleed, the graphics and art must extend 0.125 inches from the trim size on all sides.

Gutter: The gutter is the space created by the binding of a book or magazine. Depending on how large (how many pages) the book or magazine will have, the gutter will be larger or smaller to account for the parts of the page that will descend into the bind. Gutters are particularly important when working with spreads that cross the bind.

Slug: The slug is an optional space that a designer can add to a document that can be displayed but is not intended to be printed. Slugs can be a very good tool for a designer in the print business as it can be used for notes, suggestions, copyright information, and/or an infinite number of other things while proofing clients or supplying additional information to printers.

Color & DPI

Resolution: In simple terms, resolution is how clearly a picture, graphic or text will appear. Standard print resolution is 300dpi (some publications and printers will even demand 350dpi for the sharpest results). Screen resolution is usually 96dpi or 144dpi.

CMYK/RGB: These are the 2 basic types of color space used in design. CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) is the standard for most traditional printing processes resulting in a tangible piece. RGB (red,green,blue) is how your computer and TV display color.

Resample: This is a function accessible in image editing programs which allows the user to change the resolution of the image while keeping its pixel count in tact. It is especially important when up-sizing a 72dpi image to a printable 300dpi image to NOT resample the image. By not resampling, you are permitting the program to adjust the final size of an image in accordance to the radio you are increasing the resolution. This ensures that the re-sized image will not print pixilated.

Typesetting

Kerning: Kerning is a typography process by which the space between the characters of text are squeezed or stretched. To kern something -10 would shrink the space between each letter. Conversely, kerning something +10 would create more space between each letter.

Leading: Leading is similar to kerning but in the opposite direction. Leading doesn’t effect the space between letters but instead controls the spacing between lines of text. So to lead something -10 would bring each line of text closer to the lines above and below it. Leading +10 would space the lines further apart.

Alignment: Alignment is the positioning/arrangement of lines of text or an image. Alignment can be left, right, centered or justified.

Printing

Offset Printing: Also called Lithography, this is the most common printing process. It involves the transfer of ink from a plate to a blanket to paper instead of directly from plate to paper.

Digital Printing: This is often a cheaper alternative to offset printing and is essentially printing directly from a digital file to the page by skipping the plate making step.

Screen Printing: A design is burned onto a screen through an emulsion and exposure process. Ink is then pressed through the resulting ‘negative’ image left on the mesh, transferring it to the material of your choice.

The post Basic Design Terms appeared first on Breakaway Graphics.

I am sure you’ve noticed, as I have, that every person, business and place has a website, email and Social Media page. While I am by no means discounting the need for such marketing tools as Facebook (Breakaway Graphics has one), I have noticed that many people are committing some very serious social no-no’s in an effort to get their business on the top of everyone’s think-list. Let me start by revealing a very important tip about marketing:telling everybody everything about your company or product is NOT an effective form of advertising, knowing and targeting your market is. Although there is much validity to the concept of Brand Awareness, being a constant annoyance to your Facebook fans or every person who’s email address is in your address book achieves Brand Awareness…but not in a good way. Which leads me to our recommendations for proper Email and Social Media Etiquette:

1. Do not hold hostage people’s email addresses. In my line of work, I send hundreds of emails including proofs, proposals and questionnaires every day. Many times, I am sending proofs to advertisers on behalf of the magazines I work for, other times I am sending out a design questionnaire for a prospective client. In either case I am not soliciting the services or products of the email recipient, I am simply doing my job. Yet by virtue of my having sent an email (even just one email), I am now on that recipient’s Email Marketing list. This is the World Wide Web equivalent of the junk mail that arrives in the mailbox outside your house. What to you do with that junk mail? You toss it out without even a glance. For me, the same is true with unsolicited and unwanted ‘junk email’. Email provides us with a certain amount of anonymity, let’s keep it that way. Don’t add anyone and everyone to your e-marketing list, it’s unprofessional.

2. Resist the urge to ‘spray and pray’. Maybe I’m ‘old school’ but Facebook is for reconnecting with friends and family first and brand awareness second. Facebook has quickly become a welcome addition to small businesses  whose marketing budget is small and has made it to the top of marketing plans, but it should not be used to bombard your ‘friends’ and ‘fans’ with useless information. A Facebook page for your business is now as important as having a website, however people who are in search of your product or service, actively seek out  your website or go to your store front. On Facebook, it’s the other way around and posting ‘updates’ ten times a day can have  an opposite effect than the one you are intending. When I log onto Facebook and see twenty-one posts in a row featuring every house a Real Estate Agent has for sale (this actually happened!), I either ‘dislike’, ‘de-friend’, or ‘hide’ that person. It’s just annoying. Keep your business updates to a maximum of two or three a day, no more or you risk alienating potential customers.

3. Keep it relevant. If you have successfully implemented the above guidelines to your email and Social marketing, it’s time to think about what you’re putting out there and when. Once a customer has realized that you are not sending out updates and emails everyday (and have stopped associating your name with ‘spam’ or ‘junk’), they are more likely to pay attention to the emails and updates you do send. Make sure that the update you’re posting or the email you’re sending is current and relevant. Are you having a 50% off sale this weekend? Great, but don’t send it out on the Monday before. People are busy and will forget about your sale by the end of the day. Email an announcement on Friday morning, then post that announcement throughout the day for your Facebook friends (remember, no more than three times! Maybe in the morning, around lunchtime, and in the evening…TOPS!). Then post it again the day-of but change it up with adding something new like ‘What a turn out! Stop by now before all the good stuff is gone!’. Any more than that and you’re that friend that calls your phone four times in a row without leaving a message, you know the one.

4. Have a purpose and solicit a response. If we break it down to basics, what is the reason for placing an ad, sending out a marketing email or posting on Facebook: what is the response you want? If you find yourself sending out those mass email updates, make sure you have a clear reason for doing so. Is it to get people into your store? To generate more business with a discount? Perhaps it’s to give your customers some relevant news or tips. Whatever the reason, make sure it’s clear and simple. This goes back to guideline #2: no one wants to know every item you carry in inventory or every little service you do. Just pick one or two things to feature and run with it. Remember, less is more.

5. Utilize the science of advertising. All of the above suggestions bring me to what you should do with email marketing and social media. Facebook has a wonderful way to advertise your business on a budget. Their advertising options make it easy to really target your market and get your product right in front of the people who are interested in it. Think of it like this: if you were a pediatric dentist, would you advertise in a photography magazine? Or would it be a better use of advertising dollars to place an ad with a parenting magazine? The same is true for Facebook. Rather than committing social crimes #1 and #2, why not spend a little bit of money and have them place your ad in front of all the right people? As for your mass marketing emails, instead of assuming everyone who sends you an email must want to get your updates, ask them if they are interested or have a sign up sheet in your store front. Please don’t put that person in a position where they will have to spend their time trying to get removed from a list for something they were not interested in in the first place.

I know that we’re just a little design firm in Austin, TX and are not likely to change the bad habits of an entire generation. I do believe that I can, at the very least, reach the people reading this blog. With any luck, some people will agree with this post and feel the need to join the movement by re-posting (yes, on Facebook) or linking to this site. Who knows, maybe just one person really can correct the crimes of many…

The post Email & Social Media Etiquette appeared first on Breakaway Graphics.