Meet the Artist - that's me!

Saturday, July 25, 2009 - noon-5pm

Northwest Cellars Wine Tasting Room
11909 124th Avenue NE
Kirkland, WA 98034

Directions

Please join me at the Northwest Cellars Wine Tasting Room, home of award-winning Northwest wines, custom wine labels, and the house labels I designed. Sample the currently available wines and buy a bottle or two to take home. If you’d like, I’ll sign the label for you!

I will also have full-size (11"x14") prints of select illustrations available for purchase.

The Humanization of Computers and The Code They Speak With

I'm an artist. A graphic artist. I only build websites because that's where my industry is focused. I'm thus forced into the world of programming. (So I'm a programmer? Eeeww!) This is the main source of my career frustration - being an artist at heart but creating through the writing of code. Just a little counter-intuitive.

Here's an amusing anecdote from something that happened to me yesterday:

The challenge was to create a "BUY" link button by having a red rectangle with white type inside. Rather than delve into detail, let's just say that I found the place in the style sheet where I could write in "rectangle=red, type=white". (It was black with white type originally, so all I had to do was write in "red" where the word "black" was. EASY switch!)

Then I went back to my word "BUY" and framed it with the code that would tell it how to act. Essentially, [red button] BUY [/red button].

No go. No red button no matter what I did. It stayed the original black. VERY frustrating! Just another WTF Moment in the life of an artist-turned-programmer. I tried every kind of troubleshooting I could think of, and then went to Google to search for the problem. That takes a while when you don't know exactly where the problem is. But I'll get to the point.

THE FIX:
I had to insert the snippet "!important" into the line of the style sheet - and BINGO, it worked.

!important ??? What are some of the alternatives? !whenever-you-have-time ?? Or !if-its-not-too-much-trouble ?? Or !you-better-or-I'll-kick-your-ass ??

This PROVES that Computers have Evolved! You can't just make a simple change and have it accept it without question. You have to let it know that the change is !important for it to take effect.

Those of you who think that computer programming is some cut and dry, boring, unimaginative, pocket-protecting head space, let me tell you - you are mistaken. It requires a certain level of tact and understanding. Like any relationship.

Perhaps next time I should try " !please " ...

Building an Online Community - white paper

Have you been thinking about starting an online community for your business? Wondering what the benefits are?

Online Communities, a white paper by Lithium Technologies, outlines best practices and deployment tips for increasing brand loyalty, sales and customer satisfaction while decreasing customer care costs. Lithium shares its answers to four important questions:

1. What is an online community?
   
2. What does it take to create a successful community?
   
3. What are companies doing with online communities today?
   
4. What is the business case for online communities?
   

Does your website have a FAQ page? A community forum? Do you answer questions in a blog? There are many ways to field real and potential customer questions before they arise. Being proactive costs less than fixing a problem after the fact, and builds customer loyalty and satisfaction. Studies also show that online community users buy more, and buy more often than non-community users.

Reach out to your customers. They'll love you for it!

Process trumps Content

In the last few weeks, I've been focusing my attention on networking and content, while in the back of my mind, I've been wanting to add some real meat to this infrastructure I've been assembling. When you surf the internet, do you just see a bunch of websites and content and information? I don't. I don't just have a website and a blog and some social media pages — I have a dream. I have an idea for how to realize it. All of this stuff is just part of the Process.

Today Seth Godin asks What are you good at? "Process... refers to the emotional intelligence skills you have about managing projects, visualizing success, persuading other people of your point of view, dealing with multiple priorities, etc. This stuff is insanely valuable and hard to learn. Unfortunately, it's usually overlooked by headhunters and HR folks, partly because it's hard to accredit or check off in a database.

"As the world changes ever faster, as industries shrink and others grow, process ability is priceless. Figure out which sort of process you're world-class at and get even better at it. Then, learn the domain... that's what the internet is for.

"One of the reasons that super-talented people become entrepreneurs is that they can put their process expertise to work in a world that often undervalues it."

Dang, Seth – you nailed it!

How about you? What are your unique talents? How can they help you in your Process?

Who has time for social media?

I spent the last couple weeks testing what happens when I link my site to social networks like Facebook and Twitter (I was already linked to my LinkedIn profile). There has been a marked increase in visitors to my site and blog. 

In this new media world, there are obvious benefits to using social media and networking to encourage new visitors to come to your site. More visitors means more potential clients. After less than two days on Twitter I racked up two dozen Followers without even trying. What's not to like? Some people on there even have tens-of-thousands of people following their "tweets".

But hang on. For one thing, wow - that's a lot of information coming at me all at once. I had information overload after only modest effort. Plus, I bill clients by the hour. Time spent tweeting is time away from building a website for an existing client. And if my clients are all out tweeting, they aren't doing that thing they do, either. 

I had been studying the activity of professional social mediacs. How does a small business owner of a product or service manage the time it takes to go make all of these social contacts? You can't spend ALL day at the water cooler.

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing outlined his routine for social media yesterday. For those of you just starting out in social media it will seem very time-consuming (and perhaps a little OCD). You will probably say that you don't have the time to devote to such a strategy. But keep things in perspective: Rome wasn't built in a day, John Jantsch markets for a living, and even modest effort really does create measurable results.

Here are the goals I've set for myself for 2009:

• Update my Olsen Creative website once a month (I also added news links so there's new content on there every day)
  
• Post to my Short-term Strategies blog once a week (set to distribute posts to my website and Facebook notes)
  
• Create and maintain a del.icio.us list of bookmarks (I've started a personal list, but want to create one for business)
• Twitter about olsencreative at the beginning and end of my day (I had a deadline today and didn't tweet about it - just got to work)
  
• Start a Facebook Page for Olsen Creative
  

Are you using social media? What services? What are your goals?

Accidental Graphic Design - 3: 4 things to know before you start a design project

At the core of every graphic design project is the marketing message. It’s the story. The subject. The essence. Beginning a design without clear direction is a recipe for confusion – that’s evidently how we got the platypus.

The message determines the design. Before you pick a single color or font, know your purpose.

Find the answers to these questions, then let the rest fall into place:

1) Who is your target audience? Learn all you can about the demographics. Who are you speaking to? Male or Female? Young or Mature? Empathize. How would you talk to them if they were sitting in front of you?

2) What does your audience expect? Do they already know your product? Do you need to educate them? How does your product compare to the competition? How can you enlighten your audience?

3) What is the personality of your business, or the Brand? (For the sake of creating a design, the more adjectives you can come up with, the better) How your business presents itself is a key element to making a decision on graphic elements. Be consistent with the Brand personality. Imagine that you are the Brand, and you meet a friend on the street. How do you act? How does this situation differ from when you meet a client in the boardroom? Your business should have a consistent brand standard. Know it and live it. Don’t be visually schizophrenic, like our friend Mr. Platypus.

4) What mood or image do you want this project to convey? Do yourself a service and reflect your brand personality. There’s nothing worse than having an established brand and then creating a very different piece based on your creative whim. There’s no better way to lose your audience than to turn away from your buddy, The Brand. Instead, imagine that this piece is speaking on behalf of the Brand. It’s like writing a script for an established character. If you were going to write a play about, say, Robin Hood, he would have a distinct, recognizeable personality (the Brand), but he could find himself in a myriad of situations (the Project), and would handle himself differently depending on to whom he was speaking (the Audience). "Robin Hood the Dude" has many possibilities, but "Robin Hood the Brand" must stay consistent or he risks being mistaken for another character.

When you’re clear in your direction, you're ready to start designing.



Use what you already know.

Learn what your audience already knows.

Know your purpose.

Be relevant in communicating.

Accidental Graphic Design - 2: Think like a designer

At the moment we first entered the world and opened our eyes, we were consumed by visual stimulus. We began to sort and interpret these images, learning their meanings and significance. Every shape has a property. Every color has a meaning. We perceive shapes as organic or architectural based on their function in nature. We perceive colors as warm or cool based on their presence in nature. We organize many separate elements into a collective whole. We perceive, recognize, categorize and cross-reference until we have a comprehensive knowledge of how the visual world works. And as if we’re not already busy enough interpreting visuals, we are simultaneously processing the other four senses of sound, smell, taste and touch in the same manner.

We recognize what we know.

Does that sound too obvious? Through exposure, we put information into context, and thus retain the information. Read on to learn how this key principle applies to reaching your customers.

Effective communication comes down to one simple principle: with each of the five senses, we recognize what we know. Visual communicators learn what is familiar to their audience and select relevant imagery to communicate clearly, effectively and most importantly, quickly. When a visual message is familiar, right and appropriate, it is clear, comfortable and obvious. When it’s unfamiliar, wrong or inappropriate, it can be confusing, unsettling and misrepresenting. 

Unfortunately, even seasoned professional designers sometimes stray from objective decision-making in their quest to create something new and different. Artists by nature, they sometimes forget that graphic design projects are not gallery pieces where museum-goers will stop to ponder the greater significance of the message. To the average consumer, a graphic designer's labor of love is only a snapshot seen in a fleeting moment, if perceived at all. Marketing studies indicate that as consumers zip down grocery store aisles, their eyes rest on a package for approximately .03 seconds. (Pantone Guide to Communicating with Color by Leatrice Eiseman). In this split-second opportunity, the outer packaging must grab attention, communicate the inner contents and create desire. That’s a lot to expect from a busy audience of consumers who are already bombarded with similar images from thousands of other visuals also competing for their attention. Really, there’s no time for lofty, Picasso-centric agendas.

Be relevant.

This the key to communicating quickly to your audience. If the imagery you incorporate into your piece is vague, obscure or otherwise off target, you’ll miss what is likely your only opportunity to get your point across. Sure, you’ve seen those multi-million-dollar ad campaigns that attract attention through surreal product connections, but is that really the project that’s burning a hole in your in-box? “How to Create a 30-Second Ad Spot for The Big Ballgame That Everyone Will Be Discussing The Significance Of The Next Day” is the subject for another blog post. This is about where the rubber meets the road – your project that's going on right now.

You may not know it yet, but you already have everything you need to make your project a success. Don’t underestimate your perceptions or reactions to the effects of graphic elements. You’ve seen as much of the world as a graphic designer has. Even if you’re uninitiated to the process of graphic design, you can still learn how to make objective visual decisions. This blog will give you a context for understanding, to put a label on what you probably already know, and familiarize you with what you already see.

If you can label it, you can communicate it. 

Accidental Graphic Design - 1: Communicate Meaning

One of the things I hope to accomplish with this blog is to demystify the creative process to help small businesses get the most out of the resources available. Today's economy is squeezing small businesses more than ever, forcing owners to think outside the box for cost-effective solutions on all fronts.

If you own a small business, you probably don't have a huge marketing budget. You probably didn't intend to do a lot of the marketing, advertising, promotions and even page layouts yourself, but to keep operating costs down such tasks are frequently necessary for the survival and growth of your business.

You became an Accidental Graphic Designer.

For all of the small business owners looking for do-it-yourself solutions, I'm here to coach you on what you really need to know to creatively survive the marketing and design process.

1: Communicate Meaning

Space is a premium in the world, on the internet and on paper. In a matter of milli-seconds, you have to capture the attention of a prospective customer with a message that's strong enough to compel them to come to you for your product.

A strong message does not necessarily mean big, bold and red – although sometimes it doesn't hurt. Strength is communicated in relevance. How well understood is the message? Are you speaking your target customer's language? What are they looking for at this time, and are you offering it?

Communicate meaning in each and every element you create. Your logo must be appealing and understandable to your audience. It makes little difference if you personally like it, if it doesn't communicate meaning to potential customers. Your website must be logically organized to guide potential customers down the path that leads to the most important place - buying from you. Your print advertising must contain a call to action. Get people onto your website and/or into your store so you can make them your new customers.

Communicate meaning in everything you do.

If you need help getting the ball rolling, please visit our website. We can guide you through the process of creating a meaningful message.