No Pun Intended nopun.com

This blog has moved to www.nopun.com

2009-11-24T06:04:00.000-08:00

I am proud to say I have launched my custom wordpress theme.

My blog now resides on my company site. http://www.nopun.com/

I have enjoyed using blogspot. But wanted to have a blog that integrates within the look and feel of my company site.

This blogspot tool has been great, because when I started the blogging concept I wasn't sure that I would stick to it. And or if it would have been worth while. Not only has it proven to be worth while, I enjoy doing it and look forward to many more years of this form of communication.

So please follow the conversation over at nopun.com

Thanks and Regards

Noel for Nopun.com

a graphic design studio

static websites suck

2009-11-10T05:42:00.000-08:00

Websites can be many different things, from ecommerce, to brochure site and to entertainment. And so much more, I believe that we really haven't even really figured out the internet as a medium on its own.

Is it a book thats translated online, or is it a tv that we interact with or is it "fill in the blank".

this fill in the blank part is the part I don't think we (as people) haven't really harnessed the power of this new medium.

But if I could break it down to two types of categories we have a static website and a dynamic one.

A static website is a website you spend some time on and launch it then come back from time to time to make updates to.

Whereas a dynamic site is one that you can update content on the fly and or is integrated with a blog to help you deliver fresh content. When I read topics that surround the idea of a dynamic site its usually focused on the technology that creates the dynamic site, but the reality is that the technology is the easy part. The challenging part is add all that new fresh content.

We all know that content is king with ranking well in search engines, but content is also king with your customers. I want my website to be "real" conversation with my visitors. I want to try and connect with each visitor on a personal level.

The new site that I will launch for nopun.com will be death of this blog, because I want this blog to be integrated visually with in the look and feel of my site, which blogger is limited in doing.

The new no pun site is dedicated to interacting with the visitors more, with not only samples of past work but I would like to keep the conversation going through the blog, and links to a regularly monitored twitter account. In fact you can even connect with a designer directly from the website via skype, and can share screens of professional designers directly online, where you can design your project together in real time.

With the launch of the new site I am wanting to introduce a "youtube" video blog to the creative process where client can review and see first hand what a designer has to go through to get their final look and feel. Demystifying the creative process and letting clients see first hand what their money is being used for.

I feel that this interaction and dynamicness of the new site will help in my business relationship with each new client.

attend trade shows

2009-11-08T07:52:00.000-08:00

Here's an article to help kick off a marketing strategy with a shoestring budget.

I particularly like the idea of attending trade shows.

I once was involved with having a booth for a marketing company I worked for.

And me and the owner prepared our pitch and got as many assets together as we could to prepare for the event.

Participating in a trade-show is awesome, as you lead up to the event you make sure your 30 second pitch is nailed down, you promotional items are designed and printed, and your website and such is the best it can be.

In fact many businesses use the trade-shows as an excuse to motivate them to update all their marketing material.

Manning the booth is great too because you really do get to harness your pitch and begin to put your own "personality" to it.

But the cost was crazy with the printing of the promotional pieces, the trade-show backdrop, and the actual fees for having the booth the expense was well over $10,000.

Which wouldn't have been that bad aside from the fact that not one lead came from the show.

Most people at the show where actually pitching us on their services. So when this article suggested that you should simply attend the trade-shows. Brought me right back to that experience and yes I agree that much good can come from attending a show, if anything you can save a ton of dough and probably make just as many "connections" as being a spectator instead of a vendor.

http://entrepreneur.venturebeat.com/2009/11/02/shoestring-marketing-for-start-ups/

I have some more ideas on how to do this trade-show marketing idea.

The trade show I was talking about above was ad-tech. which wouldn't you know it just finished up last week.

It must have been an omen!

anywhoot.

What I think would be effective for my concept for trade-show marketing as an attendee, would be to go to trade shows and attend marketing ideas for industries that aren't directly related to my industry. For example my biggest case study is for a moving and storage company, so my time would be best spent in moving and storage trade-shows.

But what is exciting about my business is that any industry would be an ideal candidate.

So I asked myself the question where does one find which trade-shows to go to?...

And it hit me why not go to the venues that host the tradeshows.

ie: jacob javits center in new york.

each venue has a calendar of events with links to the events website, where I can find if they have marketing seminars and such, it will also show the fees needed for attending.

I would really like to give this approach a try.

So I am going to be tunnel vision on getting my new website done, my promotional material ready and then gear up for getting down...

80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers

2009-11-08T06:20:00.000-08:00

So which 20% will it be.

It's no surprise, that marketing to your existing customers, is easier than attracting new ones.

I came across a blog today that will help give some ideas on how you can stay in touch with your client base, and help try and uncover which 20% of your customers your new business will come from.

I was proud to when I read the first two suggestions, having a blog (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) and an email campaign which I try and send out bi weekly.

Next would love to print out a newsletter mailer. And T-shirts

Give it s read and let me know which ones stand out to you...

http://www.reencoded.com/2009/11/07/freelance-guide-to-building-customer-loyalty/

Do your customers like it when you redesign your site.

2009-11-08T05:55:00.000-08:00

As a graphic designer needing more work whenever a potential customer says that they are thinking of redesigning their website, I am one of the first to jump on board saying of course we can enhance the site. I have to admit that I am pretty honest though if I see a sight that seems to be working I will make it known, and on the same token if its bad I will also let that be known.

I have recently experienced a website that I use on a daily basis that has recently gone through s design change. You may have herd of it its linkedin.

Whenever I write a new blog that I want people to know about I like to submit a link to that blog on my "updates" section of my profile. And a couple of days ago I noticed it was gone! The update was still visable but where to change the status was moved somewhere elese. after a few curse words I found it and was back on track.

later I came across a linkedin's blog that discussed how proud they where of the new look and feel. And yes I agree that the design has improved. But this functionality change was frustrating.

The designer in me will always say a redesign is good, but the "user" in me says that a redesign means change and I don't like change.

it was a great insight into what a redesign means, and in most if not all cases regular visitors to your site will get frustrated once the new site goes live.

offline marketing ideas

2009-11-07T07:04:00.000-08:00

I want to spend more time recapping these ideas and expanding on how they can work.

But I am adding this link here as a place holder because I think there is some great stuff here.

In my business its clear that traditional forms of marketing may be better than online marketing being the online audiences that are looking for professional graphic designers are more tech savy and can find the cheap low balling solutions. Where as the non tech savy customers that will learn of my business through traditional mediums are more likely to spend more dough and will be more impressed by the work.

http://www.know-how.angolaxyami.com/45-creative-offline-business-advertising-ideas-1913

Don't build it yourself leave it to the pros!

2009-11-06T05:52:00.001-08:00

I came across a blog today that was a really cool read.

In a nutshell, the author stated that she didn't know how to program a website nor had any desire to! She was very adamant on saying that she doesn't care about anything computer related especially html and programs to help design her websites.

She is a professional writer for main stream novels and writes a series of erotic novels as well, but her statements about wanting to hire professionals to do her website was the sexiest thing she could have written.

I believe that this is the perfect type of website design client there could be. She sees the value in hiring professional designers to do her work, while knowing she doesn't have to give up "creative" control, which is the fun part. We professional designers will bring our expertise to your project but by no means are we a standoffish bunch of people that think they know best and you shouldn't even dare question what we designed. We are simply folks, who've gone through the hard knocks training and practice to harness technical skills of creating professional websites, email campaigns, print ads, brochures, and even youtube videos, and commercials.

Why spend all your time wondering why you can scale an image properly in powerpoint, when your time would be better spent on practicing your presentation!

I hope this inspires more professionals out there to realize that by trying to do this work on your own isn't saving money. Time is money, and if your time is wasted on learning technology then you are wasting your own money....

Please weigh in on the subject. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts.

Also please visit the original author's post on the subject.

http://firstoffenders.typepad.com/offenders/2009/11/what-a-tangled-web-site-we-weave.html

Starting a business doesn't have to be risky

2009-11-03T06:32:00.000-08:00

I came across an article that tried to demystify the idea of starting your own business, they try and point out that starting your own business doesn't have to be "risky" or so doomed to fail as people would like to think.

The biggest takeaway I have is that the "big idea" has to be simple.

Nothing new there, everyone knows less is more, and Keep It Simple Stupid and (insert your favorite saying here).

But I believe it's worth considering, I so desperately want to create the next greatest thing that I might be over thinking, over working, or simply trying too hard, whereas, if I relax try a little less and try and see if the simple idea comes out then maybe I will discover the next big thing that can help pick my business up.

I believe the ideas and topics are worth considering so please check it out.

http://mywifequitherjob.com/starting-your-own-business-does-not-have-to-be-risky/

why open source can harm your SEO Ranking

2009-10-30T05:35:00.000-07:00

I came across a video tutorial and blog post outlining the negative effects a "template," specifically a wordpress template, could have on your search engine ranking.

Something I am very interested in because I have achieved a great page ranking for a specific keyphrase and I am about to launch a new version of my site using wordpress as my back end technology.

Here are my issues.

I need to be able to custom design a website from scratch;

meaning I can design a site to look the way I want it to look,

ahem, or the way the client wants it to look.

Usually, a website from scratch is something very difficult to do with an open source template.

These templates are usually made for people who don't know how to code or don't want to pay a designer to code. So for designers it's difficult to use the "convenient" back end functionality and then "skin" the templates to look the way we want.

I am getting a handle on this challenge and will post the process in a series of you tube videos once I am completed with the project.

But my next issue is this concern with my SEO ranking.

A lot of hard work, time, and energy has gone into my page ranking. Although I would love to have my new sight up and running with wordpress driving the technology, I don't want my page ranking to suffer from the upgrade.

This article that explains what could go wrong, is coming from a company that claims they have the "solution" if you pay the $90 bucks for their template. Which technically I think is a great value, but...

It seems to have the same issues as normal templates, the inability to customize the site the way I need to.

What I learned from the "explanation" is that google loves clean code, so as long as my sight "validates" I should be good.

In addition, I have not yet put the new site's design through my SEO optimizer tool to see if all the SEO techniques are fully functional.

I hope that my original approach works; but, if not, I will probably have to look into this for a solution.

I think now is a perfect time to point out one of the "drawbacks" to using a templated open source solution. Some nopun potential clients lose because they think they can save some dough by using these free readily available solutions. Actually these free templates could be doing more harm and cost more to correct than hiring a professional graphic designer from the start.

check out the demo and great explanation here;

http://www.copyblogger.com/thesis-theme-for-wordpress/

Doing your own SEO work to save money

2009-10-29T05:58:00.000-07:00

There is no doubt that having your website show up in the first position on the first page of the website directory is a great way to drive new customers to your business.

Even if your business doesn't do business online you can benefit from an online presence.

I mean, as early as last weekend, I needed to find the address to a pumpkin patch located in River Head Long Island. A pumpkin Patch! And wouldn't you know it, I found it by googling.

Any and all businesses need to be online!

And having a professionally designed website is not enough, you need to have a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy in place that will help you achieve the first page ranking for your company.

Researching SEO techniques isn't that hard to do and there are plenty of reputable software solutions that can help you achieve a great presence in search engines.

To save money, many businesses would prefer to research how to do this work internally without having to hire a professional company. But I'd like to point out that unless your business is website design or website marketing, you should not waste your time trying to learn how to do it on your own. Instead, focus on what you do best, the money you would spend with a professional will be less than the money you save by trying it on your own. You will save on the cost of the software, save on the time spent researching topics, and save on the time it would take to even see if your techniques actually work or not.

What content management system to use

2009-10-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

When choosing a content management system a web developer is faced with a ton of choices.

Lately I have been diving into "wordpress." I think it's a pretty cool platform and seems to be widely used. Also it seems like there is a lot of opportunities for a wordpress developer on twitter. I recently jumped into wordpress with both feet, and I am about to launch a new version of nopun.com using my new-found knowledge.

The challenge I face as a developer and or designer is that it takes quite a bit of energy to learn a new content management system's ins and outs. And I don't want to waste a lot of time learning something that will either; not do what I aim to do, or will be outdated by the time I catch up with the learning curve.

Because of this doubt on which platform to use, I forced myself to learn php which is the programming language a lot of these open source content management systems use. But I cringe at the thought of having to develop every new project from scratch. So using a system like word-press is attractive to me.

However, today, while browsing my articles on website design, I came across probably one of the biggest "recommendations" or "testimonials" I've ever seen for any website technology company.

The White House is now using drupal for its website, The White House!

http://www.leveltendesign.com/blog/colin/whitehousegov-goes-drupal-drupal-news

I'm not sure you'll get a better recommendation than this. And, my attention is now looking more into my drupal knowledge. I've played around with it in the past, but can't say I completely understand the ins and outs of it. But, I think it is worth putting on deck as the next piece of technology to look into.

why search engines want your page to be relevant

2009-10-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

I have never thought of why a website needs to be relevant from the perspective of a search engine.

But I believe the latest "bing" campaign that showcases the goals of search engines from their perspective. The commercials showcase conversations and possible un-relevant results that could come up.

ie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5ZiNkGfUJ0

If a search engine constantly sends people to pages that do not make sense, then these people will stop using that search engine.

Therefore, when you design a site you should be sure to have all of the necessary code added to the sight. This code will make sure search engines can help identify what your website is about, and can help show your site in conversations that make sense to your company.

Can the entrepreneurial spirit live in a temperamental graphic designer.

2009-10-25T04:55:00.000-07:00

When I come across fellow business owners, I hear the conflict that many of them feel, I often hear them "complain" that having their own business is a lot of "sales" work. And that's not what they signed up for, they signed up for sharing their passion about their product or service. And in my case I feel I have a similar challenge.

I am a graphic designer "a commercial artist," in my industry even though we deal with ads and marketing through our work, we rarely see ourselves as "sales" people. In fact, many designers take a pompous attitude with their careers and feel that they are the 'say all' and 'end all' to anything to do with design. This temperament leads to bad customer service

But something snapped in me since the recession that makes me believe I am an "entrepreneur" more than a designer, being a designer is the "service" I hope to be sought out for. But my effort and energy is to try and train and nurture my entrepreneurial spirit.

Hopefully through a different way of thinking, I will curve my design approach to be more "helpful" to my clients instead of taking offense that they want to change a design I presented to them.

Hopefully this change will head me in the right direction for success. Or at least try and help me get through these troubled waters, and be better prepared for the "next economy."

Free Keyword Research tool from Google

2009-10-24T05:25:00.001-07:00

I came across this solution provided for free from Google.

I have used solutions like word tracker, and currently Internet Business Promoter, but I think this is a valuable tool that should either be a part of or replace some of these forms of keyword search term research.

Check it out here and test drive it for your self...

http://www.google.com/insights

5 year business plan

2009-10-17T05:41:00.000-07:00

I have read many articles from business experts saying you need to have a long-term and short- term business plan.

With me wanting to make sure I try anything and everything I can to ensure my business will be successful, I set out to try and put a plan in place.

And boy, do I feel like I am missing something? The ultimate goal is to be comfortable, I'd love to get my safety net back, and a nice flow of projects coming through the studio that is fueled by "new" blood. But how does one put that into a plan? Then be able to break that plan down to yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily?

So, I put the plan to the side and focussed on how to get new blood. I realized today that I may have a plan in place that makes me feel confident to say I have a plan! Wo hoo, a plan is better than standing in the dark saying where do I go next?

I have made a marketing-tier strategy for my business. The tier starts with some free (free to me at least because I don't have to pay for my creatives) free in money but not "time." If I charge $80 an hour and I spend an hour on one of my projects that's $80 lost. If no projects are in the studio it's not really a loss, but my challenge is keeping up with my plan while active projects are in the studio. (OK, so maybe it's not so "Free.")

Back to my topic, I start with "low hanging fruit."

1) Website design keeping my portfolio up to date with recent work, monitoring my web analytics every Tuesday, and making tweaks and adjustments to the site trying to address any falling statistic. (Probably 20% of my work week.)

2) Google Alerts, Blogging and blog commenting (2 hours a day)

3) Twittering (I have a schedule to check in with my twitter activity three times a day.

If I am in production mode on a project I let this slide, but if I am in a hunting mode, I can be on this all day!)

4) Press Releases (I'd love to do one a day "5 days a week" but it takes me three drafts to come up with an idea, which is about 2 hours plus take two to three rounds with copy writers helping me put spins on the article and editing my bad grammar, so this is limited to once a week.)

5) Eblasts (They say 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers. Sending a bi-weekly eblast to my customers helps me know who the 20% is.)

6) Splash Page (I try and convert the eblast into a targeted landing page that can help convert the casual traffic to a more focussed conversion.)

7) Digg (I am looking for a name to call this concept. All I can think of is "Digg," it's basically a collection of sites like http://digg.com/ and http://www.stumbleupon.com/.)

I submit these landing pages to these social networks, hoping to get some traffic and link popularity from google.

8) Podcasting and Vlogging (I love documenting my work and creative process.) In an effort to help prospects understand where their money goes when they hire me, I have developed a strategy where I document a project as I work on it. Then, I convert this process into a padcast that will launch in itunes, and vlog, and a video version of the process that I publish on my you-tube channel. (This strategy has three distinct benefits to them: a) Increases exposure, new prospects can come from these channels; b) Helps provide some insight to a prospect who is considering hiring me and my company, but does not understand why it costs so much; c) Helps me stay on track. I do so many types of creative projects, by documenting my process as I do it, I can refer to it in the future to save time relearning something that worked and/or to give me an opportunity to figure out a better way to do the project this time.)

This last item is probably the most time consuming part and along with everything else, I am hoping to get a handle on it soon and add it to my weekly task list.

Boy, with all this stuff, when do we have time to do the work? That is my biggest dilemma, but it's important that I keep up with it. This strategy is the source for new blood, and new blood is the only defense, if existing customers decide they have enough design work to last them a while.

Hopefully this strategy will yield enough rewards with new business that I will be able to fund next tiers which would include, banner ad campaigns, google ad words, direct mailers, trade publication ads, Vehicle wraps, SIgnage, and trade shows.

Basically, everything I offer clients but can't afford the production.

The point to this is this: having your own business doesn't mean you get to slack off and call it a half day just because you 'wanna' kick back. To me having your own business means you don't mind making yourself work 60 to 80 hours a week. I am hoping to balance my family and social life a bit more, because I don't want to miss my kids growing up. But, I need to be able to protect them and provide for them, so I am "nose to the grindstone," and determined to make this business work.

At last with this plan I am starting to see "new blood" and I am beginning to see rewards from these efforts. I believe I am heading in the right direction, and can't wait to see where I will be 5 years from now. Like the Adam Sandler movie click has taught me, "I ain't in no rush and hope I can enjoy every minute of it."

Let me know what you think on the subject, I'd love to hear your experiences.

Getting Your business ready for the Holidays

2009-10-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

I came across this article giving some tips on getting your business ready for the holidays.

I love it when at the beginning of October, we start thinking of Christmas! And how frustrating that is as a consumer, but, as a business we are actually behind the eight ball...

Here is a document I put together to try and get you prepared for seasons well enough in advance so you have time to think of seasonal promotions and have time to develop the creatives.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY3GMbrgrJQgZGQ5OXM4cWNfMTIyY3hzZ3BtZ3I&hl=en

http://www.promotionworld.com/se/articles/article/091015-How-To-Get-Your-Website-Ready-For-Christmas

Writing Content

2009-10-14T06:59:00.000-07:00

It is no surprise that I don't like writing content.

Next to cold calling, writing is one of my most dreaded things.

This reaction is due to a lifetime dedicated to communicating "visually."

I would rather illustrate the cover of a book than to actually read the book. (Of course you can't illustrate the book without reading it.)

But like cold calling, copy writing is a necessary business evil.

If I plan to succeed with my "professional graphic design studio"

I must advertise it and promote my business any way I can.

In the last few months, I have seen how effective blogging and press release writing has dramatically increased traffic to my site, resulting in leads that turn into customers.

So I see that writing content for these mediums is a must. And, I am determined to get over the hump and be able to write quality content that helps folks become aware of my design studio.

I came across an article today that has inspired me on the subject of content writing.

Its notes how "Screenwriters" go about writing a screen play. The author of the article points out the similarities of the screenwriting process to the goals of effective marketing campaigns for businesses.

I have to say I am inspired by the topics and will put into play some of the ideas.

Check out the article here and let me know your thoughts on the topic...

http://www.submityourarticle.com/articles/Dr%20Mark-Yates-6101/film-writing-70229.php

Serial Entrepreneur !

2009-10-12T07:02:00.000-07:00

I just came across an industry term "Serial Entrepreneur" and I gotta say I got such a kick out of it.

I am a big fan of Dexter these days and I get a kick out of Dexter's "need to kill", he lives by a code that he must obey to keep him "on track".

And when I herd this term I could envision myself as being a "Serial Entrepreneur" and the code is basically my marketing strategy and design approach. No matter if I am promoting a pet project of my own or I dive into one of my clients businesses, I get the biggest thrill out of getting the next kill, ahem, business deal.

How many other Dexter type Serial Entrepreneurs are out there I'd love to hear from you...

Recap taking your site from 1 to 1 million users

2009-10-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

I came across this really awesome video snippet from some geeky web app conference.

I was intrigued by the title taking your site from 1 to 1 million users

Now I don't build web apps nor do I plan to. But what I find valuable here.

is to look into the techniques to build users, and think of it in terms of how you could build traffic or prospects to your business's website.

While taking the notes from the video and placing it here I could immediately see how I could utilize some of these ideas to help my design studio website.

Check out the video and place your business into the concept and see what you come up with.

Share your ideas here, I'd love to hear your spin on them

1) Ego

ask yourself does your feature stroke the ego in any way

what emotional rewards do they walk away with, gaining reputation (badges) showcase

a) followers

like twitters (number of followers)

more followers the better contest who can have most followers

gives the appearance of an audience.

b) leader boards

every one wants to see their name in light!

2) Simplicity

Don't overbuild features.

focus on 2 to 3 and try and do them well

is there anything we can take out of this?

cleaner design and faster page load

3) build and release

stop thinking you understand your users.

learn from what they are doing on your site

decide what your going to do and do it, don't get into analysis paralysis

get it out there see how users use it then tweak it

4) Hack the press

invite only system?

limited number of available slots available

talk to junior bloggers (find the greenest blogger and tell them about your story)

attend parties for events you can't afford make a list of people you want to be partnered with, follow them on twitter (bring an iphone with you with the DEMO) and have a 30 second pitch ready with how your pitch could work for them.

5) Connect w/your community

start a podcast through itunes

throw a launch party then yearly or quarterly parties.

tell everyone you'd like to be there and then try and find their friends and tell them.

reserve a spot at a bar, tell them its a bday party of about 20 people and don't worry if 75 plus show up

try and schedule the party when conferences are near

6) advisors

collect a resource of advisors

people that are smarter than you, that won't charge you

give them stock compensations

7) leverage the user-base to spread the word

a) thank you page tweet to complete, instead of a simple thank you page have a tweet to complete call to action that has a generic message of Just visited (http://www.yourcompany.com) Can't wait to see how they can help me out...

then give them something for promoting you by adding keywords that pertain to that user "keywords" that they are passionate about (note you may have to add keywords to your contect form to find this out)

then add a send and add yourself to your twitter account

b) add a welcome window to your website make sure this is a first time visitor

welcome to your website.com

then a nice "green-light" button to have the user do your most desired call to action

then give the option of no thanks I am just browsing

9) analyze your site

google analytics

10) step back and look at the big picture

http://vimeo.com/6905398

Website Usability

2009-10-11T06:28:00.000-07:00

I came across this article talking about the importance of website usability particularly with 50 and up age group. Which I would typically think they'd be using out of date technology and slow internet connections. According to this Author this isn't so. This demographic has the most time to browse the internet, and they prove to be useful in focus groups.

http://searchengineland.com/want-better-web-design-watch-real-users-26958

The stuff often overlooked in web design

2009-10-11T05:55:00.001-07:00

I came across a recent blog my a back end developer "venting" about the clients he has, usually over look some critical aspects of website design. They seem like little things but I can see his frustration, a developer shouldn't be forced to make these design decisions at the site build out phase.

I want to point out that it doesn't matter if its the designer or the developer that comes up with the "marketing" spin on these minor website elements, But someone should whether its a copywriter, pr person, vp of marketing or whomever. All aspects of your website design should be geared towards giving a unique experience to your visitors.

I agree that there are a ton of little things that rarely get considered. That in my opinion would make a difference. For example a custom 404 page that is kinda funny like http://www.problogdesign.com/inspiration/35-most-creative-404-pages-around/ or a thank you page that isn't a generic message of a rep will contact you shortly. Like mailchimp inviting the visitor to share a banana with them by linking to the original Chiquita banana commercial And details like a favicon, and even page titles, & seo descriptions and keywords. There are a lot of things that go into developing a website, that goes beyond the design of a few pages, and everyone should be aware of the impact they have on the impression of your website...

Check out his rant here and share your opinion...

http://allinthehead.com/retro/344/own-every-aspect-of-the-design

Using Analytics to influence your content

2009-10-09T06:01:00.000-07:00

Here is an excellent example of why its such a great time to be in business.

Using the technology available, businesses can cater their marketing , messaging and branding to level never before seen. Instead of launching on a gut feeling, with Google Analytics you can pay attention to what your visitors are doing and give them what they want as it happens.

Awesome!

http://www.foliomag.com/2009/how-web-analytics-influence-content-production

Awesome ideas on offline promotion

2009-10-09T05:58:00.001-07:00

http://www.youthedesigner.com/2009/10/08/10-way-to-promote-your-tee-designs-in-print/

The Power of Blogging

2009-10-09T05:45:00.001-07:00

I recently experienced first hand how a well written blog converted me into a customer.

I am a die-hard fan of overnightprints.com an online business that prints designs I upload to their website. But recently I came across a blog that was a how to guide on how to promote your T-shirt business. At first I was interested because I love print and the designs they showed were awesome. Next I noticed it was teaching how to market your t-shirt business, which I just launched a t-shirt business this week. http://www.unique-t.com/

But the thing is this, they gave great ideas, and mentioned that you can do these ideas on your own, or you could hire UPrinting.com Because the article was informative, and has inspired me to do these things, my two options are one go and try and do it myself, "attempting to save money" or hire the pro's. Money is tight so I might try certain things by myself but I could also see myself doing this with Uprinting. Which has now made me less of a die-hard fan for overnightprints.

There are two things I would like to point out here that I think makes this concept a successful one. One they aren't afraid to tell "Trade Secrets" if you hold your ideas to yourself, then your prospects won't come up with them on their own. So don't be afraid to tell somebody how or what you are doing, they will hopefully find what you share useful, and some may try and do it on their own or find some place cheaper, or may want to save time and come to you directly.

The next point is that they were focussed, they geared the article to someone promoting a t-shirt design company, when in fact this could apply to any company. So staying focussed on a niche will inspire the other applications, instead of trying to cater to everyone speak to just one...

Check out their blog here.

Get inspired and weigh in on the subject I'd love to hear from you...

http://www.youthedesigner.com/2009/10/08/10-way-to-promote-your-tee-designs-in-print/

Laid off ? Start your own business!

2009-10-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

Ah ha!

I have found an article that backs up a belief that I have had since the recession hit. Why throw yourself at the mercy of an employer? Someone you give your 110% for to only be told after many years of dedication that your position is no longer available. I feel that the only real security anyone has is the security in themselves. By having your own business you have complete control over your success.

http://genystartup.com/startup/why-unemployed-college-grads-should-channel-their-inner-entrepreneur/

Tips for building your online business

2009-10-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

Although I feel that you should have a passion for your product or industry then consider marketing that business online. This article talks about you selling a product online and developing a business around that.

I disagree with this approach I think you need to tap into what you're passionate about then try and build a business around that.

However, the article boasts that it is a perfect time to be in business, especially using the internet as a marketing tool. That I couldn't agree with more. Also there are some encouraging words helping you to stay focussed on your business goal and to never give up. And during this recession that is a hard thing to do but it's key that we never give up...

Read the article get inspired and weigh in on the subject.

http://www.ausbusiness.net/review/four-tips-for-the-online-business-entrepreneur/

Flash is SEO friendly!

2009-10-06T05:52:00.000-07:00

I had to pinch myself this morning, because I really felt like I was "dreaming" when I read that google now has an algorithm to index flash files! http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/06/improved-flash-indexing.html

This adds to my thought of there has never been a greater time to have your own business, and be marketing that business with today's technologies. I can't begin to count how many arguments I have had in conference rooms when I wanted to add flash to a website for the "wow" factor to only be told by the consulting SEO firms "flash kills SEO rankings."

Well not anymore. So now we can "flash" away. I am not convinced that a full flash site like http://www.nopun.com/Flash_Website/Mana_Fine_Arts/ would be the best way to go, because the article talks about how "text" in a flash file will be indexed, but there really isn't anything else you can do to increase the rankings. So things like alt tags and bold text and h1 tags and a few other SEO techniques that you can use with simple html sites still may be the best way to go.

But this does mean you can have a flash element within your html site and even grow your optimization positioning because of it. Instead of it hindering your chances of ranking well.

A site like this would work well

http://www.moishesmobile.com/

To me this is exciting news because I can go back to designing sites that aim to entertain the visitors, without hindering the SEO chances.

I'd love to hear you weigh in on the subject, post your comments today.

How to launch a business on twitter

2009-10-05T06:51:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what the buzz is about on twitter.

Why is it that everyone is talking about it?

Well here is an article about a guy who launched his business on twitter and has documented his process from start to current on his blog. He showcases the ups and downs of this medium.

If anything it gives you a clear perspective on how you can launch a business 144 characters at a time.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203550604574359362541707146.html

20 questions to ask yourself before you start a business

2009-10-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

I came across this article that has some tremendous suggestions or "questions" to ask yourself before diving into an idea you have for a business.

20 questions to ask before you invest;

#1 what problem does your product or service solve?

#2 how big of a market is there for this problem? This pain and or need?

#3 how are those who have this problem solving it now?

#4 clearly articulates your secret sauce, other words what is your unique selling proposition?

#5 is there replacement products in existence that could solve the problem?

#6 who is the market leader in the space you plan to enter?

#7 how many other competitors are there in this space?

#8 what is your level of understanding of this market?

#9 is your idea a product or IP that can be patented?

#10 what stage is this market in terms of its lifecycle? Infancy, growth, mature..?

#11 what level of support will be required to serve this market? Do you personally have expertise in running a business?

#12 what are the distribution channels of this market?

#13 what is the buying cycle?

#14 what is the common payment terms for this market?

#15 Do the potential buyers of your new product have the ability to pay for it?

#16 is there any legal and or compliance issues this product must pass prior to launch?

#17 what do you estimate is the total costs per unit of sale, transaction

#18 what is the anticipated number of units sold in year one? What % of the market opportunity does this represent?

#19 what is the number of units needed to break even with your upfront investment?

#20 How much cash will you need, based on the buying cycle, the costs, payment terms and distribution channels to launch this product or service?

get inspired by the article here. and see if you can answer them all, the more you know the better off you'll be. Or will save a bunch of dough by not wasting your money in an idea that never looked good on paper...

http://nosmokeandmirrors.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/entrepreneur-best-practices-12-an-idea-is-not-a-productand-its-definitely-not-a-business/

How many pages you should write for your SEO Campaign

2009-10-05T05:50:00.000-07:00

Today we have a helpful tip on how many pages you should write for your desired key phrase for your SEO campaign.

I have always know that if you use googles site search you can see how well a competitor is doing with google. However, I have never thought of adding the desired key phrase to that search string. Which results in the exact number of about how many pages you will need to conceptualize, optimize and add to your website to try and get close.

We are talking about the "tricky" subject of SEO here, I love to hate this part of marketing because it feels like voodoo magic. With all the work you do, as potentially doing better with no real guarantee that it will work at all. But it is a necessary evil and we keep trying until we get the results we need.

check out the article here and post your comments thoughts and reactions!

http://www.seodesignsolutions.com/blog/seo-tips/seo-tips-to-step-over-competitors/

Design from the heart | Pro-Bono Work

2009-10-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have a topic that I feel is important to share.

While reading it I couldn't help but agree with a lot of the comments they made in terms of feeling like great causes deserve to have professional branding and graphic design even if their budget can't afford it. I couldn't help but to remember an award winning agency that I worked at after college, they did a bunch of pro-bono work, it felt good working on it, we usually did the "best" work because the client was grateful and really didn't fight us on the creativity. I remember thinking this was a great way to do "award winning work."

And now as I struggle to try and get my business back off the ground from the results of this damn economy, I can't help but to question well if I did more pro-bono work could I generate more business? By having the exposure from these causes and elevating the quality of work in my case studies.

My only fear is that this work takes a tremendous amount of time to do, and without any "real" money coming in how am I supposed to survive?

I'd love to hear everyones take on the subject.

Pro-Bono or Not to Pro-Bono that is the question?

This topic is inspired by a design firm's blog about them doing pro-bono work for non profit organizations.

http://www.feltandwire.com/?p=4275

Now here is an article talking about a volunteer or pro-bono concept that I could see being beneficial. It's a grant to help the homeless to become business owners. Which to me is an awesome idea, if I donate or discount my fees to the point where we can help these start ups become successful, once they become successful they could become customers...

http://www.journal-news.com/news/hamilton-news/grant-to-help-homeless-become-business-owners-326979.html?cxtype=rss_local-news

Thanks to thesoulawakener for weighing in on the subject here is the link to the blog they referenced

http://www.heartofbusiness.com/

What is Facebook and Why Should I Care?

2009-10-03T06:22:00.001-07:00

Here is an article that discuss the benefits that facebook can bring but I just feel like I am missing something.

http://webdesign.com/what-is-facebook-and-why-should-i-care/

Please way in on the subject...

I agree with the statement that facebook is where the people are. But unlike twitter I still can't see the connection between how facebook can connect my business with customers. I feel as though I am missing something. Just like twitter I kept saying what is the big deal about this, but what I have learned is that through searching topics that interest me and my business I can find conversations to drop my two cents into, But on face book I can't see the ability to do that. I have a fan page and am trying to connect with people to help build a "network" but without a strategy to try and find related people I am at a loss. I also tried an advertising campaign which was appealing people because of the "targeting" feature but not one bit of activity came from it. Heres to hoping I can find what the hubbub is about...

Client Feedback and Criticism

2009-10-02T05:59:00.000-07:00

I have often struggled with how to handle client feedback in a way that doesn't make me look "difficult" or "pompous". The stereo type of a designer, "if its not my idea then it's not a good one". On the contrary I believe that often a clients feedback could actually elevate a design to a better level.

But with that said I can't help but to get my panties in a bunch when I here "did you think about doing this" or "I love it but..."

I pour my heart and soul into every design I do. Trying to hit the mark for the client and their target audience. But before we can launch a project we have to get the sign off from the client "who doesn't have a design background". It seems as though a lot of times a client will see a design that is leaps and bounds better than what they are used to, and then they begin to nit pick or remove all that is creative in the design. "It is no wonder why there is so much bad design in the world".

I wish that all clients would just trust the designer instead of trying to put their two scents in.

But with that said graphic design is a business, if I wanted to be a pompous ass who could have complete creative control I would be a fine artist who would try and sell painting through galleries. A luxury only few in the world get to live on.

So for me to be successful in this business I need to continue to try and be more helpful, and not so defensive with client criticism. And try and be "easy" to work with so they keep coming back, and recommend me to their friends and colleagues. Who intern will only bring even more un educated, creative stomping criticism. So the key as a professional graphic designer is to do the best work I can but not be so attached to it, and focus on how to "work with the clients better" and help them through the process.

I came across this article that has some great insights on what is going through my mind when hearing criticisms and how I should react.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/10/01/how-to-respond-effectively-to-design-criticism/

Check it out and please feel free to way in on the subject I'd love to hear from you.

The importance of putting news releases on your website

2009-09-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

No Pun does a weekly analytic report every tuesday. Where I check and document all kinds of great information. Such as page visits unique visitors, which keywords are beginning to show up in search engines, where traffic is coming from and where do the visitors go.

Each week I take note of new things I have tweaked so I can try and zero in on what makes my website "sticky".

For the most part I think I have found a pretty good strategy. But just as quickly as "yesterday" I started my very first press release campaign. You can read more about this campaign here but what I have found to be interesting is that today tuesday the very next day. One of the most popular pages to my website was this first press release. I didn't even think it was all that great, besides, having this release on my site was an afterthought the main reason for the press release campaign was to submit them to online publications to help with SEO and drive traffic.

But what I have found is by adding the link "In The News" and adding even just "one" release, it became one of the most looked at pages on my site. 54 unique people looked at this release, with only 4 people exited out of the site on this page. While my most desired page "Get Started" page was viewed 19 times. My ultimate page I want to see is my thank you page, because that meant they took the time to tell me about their project they wanted to get started. At least 19 people saw my "pitch".

What I find exciting is all of the activity that simply adding this release does to the traffic on the site. There are many benefits to writing press releases, it gives your visitors something to read and experience about your company, it can ad SEO relevance and exposure through online distributions, and can even generate interest in your company by this distribution. I guess what I was waiting for a reason to say that writting a press release was a waste of time, but the out come is that there is no reason saying that, even the most minute benefit is worth the effort.

So if you do not have a press release strategy in place start one, I would like to say hire no pun and we can help you but unfortunately we do not want to offer this as a service to our clients but I feel its important that you start it for your self. If you do have any design needs or help with promoting your business with graphic design please look us up, and fill out that get started form so we can increase that top page contact on our analytics...

PLease feel free to comment and share your thoughts and experiences

No Pun In The News

2009-09-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day.

I just completed a major hurdle I have been struggling with for a while. I have always been convinced that one of the most major aspects to marketing your own business is through press releases. But ever since the first time I was told I should try it I have been intimidated.

I am an artist a designer a graphic designer extraordinaire, not a journalist nor a copy writer. I am so bad at writing I often misspelled graphite as a kid. I chuck it up to my attention is solely devoted to the aesthetics of what I am doing instead of what it is I am doing.

Since the recession hit the studio and my workload was diminished to nothing I realized that I needed to do for my business what all my past clients did for theirs. Ie:

Website "check"

Google Ads "check"

Eblast Campaign "check"

Blogging and Social Media "check"

Press Release Now I am proud to say "check"

Once I get momentum back again I will then move into

Banner Ads

Print Ads

TV spots

Tradeshows

But I have to admit this press release concept was the most difficult to struggle with.

I can't say I have it in the bag, but I have at least an idea of how I can try and start it and keep up with it.

I created a "In The News" section to the website where all the articles will be published first.

Then I submit the articles to five online pr publication

Free

http://www.articlemaniac.com

http://www.theopenpress.com

http://www.pr-inside.com

Was free for the first time but don't know about future ones

http://www.newswiretoday.com

http://www.onlineprnews.com/

The good once I will use prnewswire.com

What I found interesting is that as I was building this section and trying to finalize my first press release I kept thinking oh I need to design this better or I need to incorporate that to make this better, so much that I was beginning to get overwhelmed and was seeing that I was stopping myself from pushing through.

I don't even think that the first release I did was all that "hot" I have tons of more ideas of more that I think could be better, in fact I think this one could be done even better, But I realized I was suffering from analysis paralysis. SO I just put my blinders on and pushed through.

I realized now after doing it that once you submit a release you have to wait until it gets "approved" and I am not sure if my release will get approved, But I hope I will learn what it will take to get them approved in the process.

The key lesson learned through this process, is to be diligent with writing the releases then submitting them. It needs to be apart of my everyday operations and I hope now that I have journeyed through the process from concept to completion the hard part is over and it will all be down hill from here...

If you would like to see my in the news section and or the first article please visit

http://www.nopun.com/news/

Viola just like that pr-inside has included my release

1 hours, 24 minutes and 20 seconds.. form the moment it was submitted

http://www.pr-inside.com/no-pun-intended-a-website-design-studio-helps-small-organizations-achieve-a-large-scale-look-r1500053.htm

and just 20 minutes later it was added to Online PR Newswire which was the $6 one

http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/7292-1254072936-no-pun-intended-a-website-design-studio-helps-small-organizations-achieve-a-large-scale-look.html

I did a search for "website design" which is my most desired key phrase for my company, and at this moment of about 2 hours after submitting my posting is 4th from the top on the google "news" results page complete with my companies logo and link to the article wo hoo!

I took the plunge!

I rewrote my press release to a much better level, a level I believe was good enough to put some money into.

So I submitted my article through PR newswire for Around $500.

Pr Newswire service was able to distribute my release to every "physical" newsroom and magazine in the NY metro area, and about 40 something specific people I was able to target based on demographic information and types of publications they where. with in minutes I am beginning to see the article show up in google alerts from online publications that appear to get their news feeds directly from PR newswire, So I am beginning to see this coverage immediately without the need of approval. Now I am keeping my fingers crossed to be contacted by a major publication or to be published by a major publication. My fingers are crossed but I am not holding my breathe.

In addition, I am told that PR newswire will give me some cool visibility reports which I can't wait to see.

Also I just got a "pitch list" of the contact information and publications for all the people that where in my "custom" list so I can follow up in a day or two to see if they would be interested in having me as an expert they could quote for a future article.

cool

I hope that the benefits of this service prove to be worth the money to do again...

3 days after the release was published with PR newswire.

I got the report on how many places the release was published, which was a lot, over 200 online publications published it.

The only thing I noticed which was weird was the locations of these articles I paid for the NY metro area and not one of them where from the NY Metro Area, they where nationally and mostly small towns.

I did get traffic from these releases. about 40 a day. which is about average for my site, so no real improvement there, I didn't receive any leads or calls based in the release. Which in this economy I guess there is no real surprise there...

One thing I did notice that was a great improvement was my "Alexa" rating I went from a rating of 1,370,415 to 1,364,339 which has been the most dramatic increase and change I have ever seen.

I have a google alert email sent for the search term website design and never one saw this release come up through this alert, which was personally frustrating, because I really wanted to see that happen.

But the search term for website design in Googles News section, the article stayed at the top for 2 days and now on the 3rd day is starting to fall in rankings.

So unless I get a lead that brings in enough to cover this cost I don't think I will be doing the PR newswire approach again. But at least now I know. The other concept of writing the releases and submitting to the cheap 5 will be the better route. That route is easier on the budget and packs almost as much SEO and traffic building as this $500 solution has.

4 or 5 days after pr newswire launch

I keep checking the positioning on a google search in the news section and I feel to the 6 position but I have now gone back up to the 4th position.

Which is interesting I was suspecting I would have fallen off the first page by now.

Still no leads or increase in web traffic though...

Like always I encourage you to share your experiences and comments to this post...

Thanks for reading.

Do you have a Blogging, Brochure Website and Social Media Campaign for your business?

2009-09-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

Maintaining a Blogging website and a social media campaign is the new buzz for marketing big companies these day.

Major companies are beginning to pull away from traditional forms of marketing and putting more importance on developing a social media campaign

This phenomenon is global, a recent UK design firm reported how an American “e-tailor” has increased its web traffic by using a social media strategy, proving that the effects are global.

http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=26866&catid=409

The success to a Social Media Campaign is consistency, this type of campaign isn’t like an ad campaign you strategize about, come up with some concepts then launch and wait to see the results. It’s a proactive campaign that gets “nourished” on a daily bases several times a day to try and keep the campaign working. The downsize to this is the time and resources it takes to keep the campaign effective, so hiring an outside firm to handle this work may be the best answer, but at the same time, this can be a great way for you to get your hands dirty and feel like you are actively doing something with your marketing.

A social media campaign is proactive not reactive, here you are actively reaching out to customers who are discussing your product or service as the conversation is happening, instead of reactive, where you throw a bunch stuff out into the world and hope people scoop it up.

A blog website is very different that that of your corporate or brochure site. Your brochure site is one that tailors its branding and message to convert your traffic into visitors, where a blog is tailored towards giving out useful information hoping to attract visitors to your brochure site.

What I personally love about this approach is that a blog is the place where I can engage in conversations about what I am most passionate about, which is my companies graphic design services we offer customers, this is the place I can go into great details about topics that are hot, and to hear what my customers think about these topics. Where my brochure site, I would like to keep clean elegant and free of clutter I am able to do so, because of all my content gets pushed through my blog. This fresh content is gobbled up by search engines who just love fresh content, and I publish links to these topics through all my social media outlets. The goal is to drive traffic to my blog that then drives traffic to my brochure site, and then the brochure site drives business to our production schedule.

Blogging is a no-brainer, it’s a great tool to promote through your social networking while giving search engines fresh content helping your ranking.

So why not use my blog to voice your opinion on the topic, and let me know what you think, then ask yourself are you using a blogging social media strategy for your business? If not you should get one started why let all these other companies have all the fun. Contact nopun.com today we can help show you a new way to market your business.

Understanding Technical Jargon

2009-09-26T07:21:00.000-07:00

David Risley is a pro blogger from www.davidrisley.com http://www.davidrisley.com/2009/09/24/blogging-technology/

Wrote a post about the importance of other bloggers understanding the importance of understanding technical jargon.

Most Bloggers are faced with the dilemma of technology, they need to get a blog up and running and the only way to do that is to either try and figure out how to do it on their own or to hire a designer to build it for them.

No matter how many technical resources there are out there on the subject it is difficult for a technical novice to follow along or know how to react when a technical problem occurs. Ending up with them giving up and not actually getting to the fun stuff.

Reading this article gave me the opportunity to see the end product, I am a developer so this jargon and the technical challenge is what I thrive on. While reading I was able to put my shoes into my actual customers and prospects and see how frustrating it could be to need something done but not fully understand what they need and how to go about doing it, then a designer comes along and say yeah I can get that accomplished for you then ba ba blah, which may sound good at the moment but really have no clue what is being said.

I would say this probably happens with every type of graphic design project, not just the development of a blog. I see when someone says they want a 6 page brochure… When reality is a brochure can’t have siz pages, it has to be divided by 4 being that one page folded in half is four side. But then realize they wanted a “trifold” a page that is folded into 3 side 3x2=6. AS a designer I don’t mean to sound arrogant or make the customer think they are ignorant to the jargon, they just don’t know, just like I would have no clue about the jargon of their industry.

I see that if I could slow down and try to help my clients and prospects fully understand the jargon, and help guide them through the process, I may be more successful as a designer and business owner. I have a hunch that if I can guide the client thought the project that that interaction and customer service will be more valuable than the actual finished project. No matter how great it looks.

I can’t wait to put my new practice into play, so bring your next project to me, and allow me to help guide you through the technical jargon. Feel free to read the original article and let me know what you think...

Design your home page and forget about it

2009-09-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

I just came across this article from Dzine it out of manhattan.

They point out that companies no matter their size makes the common mistake of launching their website then forgetting about it. And its so true. What is fascinating to me is that the internet is such a modular advertising medium. Something that can be updated and maintained with little cost.

And especially with the Google optimizer service offering, a company should really take advantage of this service and try and design test and tweak a site until it converts the best or forever, making sure that the goals of the company are being improved on.

In addition if you want google to rank you higher then you need to constantly need to be updating your content, the spider really love fresh content.

Check out the article here

Get inspired then hire a professional graphic design firm to redesign and keep redesigning your site to prepare for the "next economy"...

http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/7058-1253796396-how-to-recognize-mistakes-in-a-websites-homepage-design.html

Free Portfolio site

2009-09-24T06:08:00.000-07:00

I have seen lately all over the tweetosphere a lot of request for free portfolio sites.

Personally I think this is hilarious because if a designer is a designer then they should be able to design their own portfolio site. But with that said I do know what a bear it can be to update your portfolio and keep it current while you are trying to do active projects. Having a portfolio site that is easy to update is a great idea.

Here is a link to 5 sample free solutions, http://www.swisslegacy.com/index.php/2009/09/23/5-cms-tools-to-publish-your-portfolio/ also I would like to mention that apple's aperture does a sleek design easily managed within the software, along with adobe bridge is cs4 does some as well.

But I can help but to say that a portfolio should site should excite inspire and try and be cutting edge. wink wink nudge nudge

nopun examples

http://www.nopun.com/Flash_Website/eugene_lemay_photographer/

http://www.nopun.com/Flash_Website/Mana_Fine_Arts/

http://www.nopun.com/Flash_Website/Portfolio_Website_Pitch/

Google Optimize Guide

2009-09-23T05:32:00.000-07:00

Google has made a guide to help you convert better from your google landing pages.

I think it has some valuable information that can help websites & splash pages alike...

http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/landing/conversion/ebook.html

Usability study

2009-09-23T05:19:00.000-07:00

In a day and age when companies are spending way to much for their creatives, and designers are agreeing because they need to pay their electric bill.

I think it will be a while before we can introduce this added step to the process.

But when companies begin to see the benefits of usability studies and see the need to pay for the studies to be performed and the changes done to the site to address the findings.

This is a wonderful step by step tutorial on how to perform a productive study

http://www.htmlcenter.com/blog/usability-testing-for-your-web-site/

Top 10 Myths About Website Design

2009-09-22T06:09:00.000-07:00

I came across this article pointing out myths about website design.

I think it's a great start and is very inspiring for me to add my personal take to each...

Myth #10 Designing a website is Complicated and Difficult.

I love when a new client begins to describe to me what they are looking to do with their website. Either they act like the simplest things are the most innovative or complicated things in the world; but on the same token, something they believe is simple would require a lot more development time than the budget allows.

By hiring a professional graphic design firm you are hiring a personal tour guide who can lead you through the easiest path to your goal.

Myth #9 Websites take a Long Time.

For the most part designing a website is pretty easy and not dragged down by a tremendous workload that usually results in a long turnaround time. I think on average a website should take about 6 weeks to build, with the simple quick and dirty ones being completed within 2 weeks

Myth #8 The web designing professional will be creating the content.

Expecting the designer to develop your content is like asking your general contractor to pick out curtains to go along with your couch. Although they may have an idea, developing your content isn't the designer's specialty. At nopun we want to try and service our clients the best way we can, we try and help with content, concepts, headlines and intriguing promotions; but we tend to stay away from developing the actual "meat" to the content. We partner with content developers if a client is at a complete loss, but it's vital that the client comes to us with fresh content for their companies

Myth #7 My Website will be the most beautiful thing ever created.

Design is so subjective, what one person likes will be completely different from the next.

Nopun has developed a collection of inspiration sources and techniques that enables us to look at the demographics of your audience, and try and find a common "theme" that speaks to this audience. Usually, we find that the clients want to dictate what the design should look like, so many times the outcome is different from what we would suggest. So, if you trust the professional you hire, then follow their gut instead of adding your own.

Myth #6 Templates.

One of the biggest drawbacks to simple, out of the box website design solutions, is that templates usually don't come with many options. They follow the same layout and structure throughout the site's design. Unfortunately a website's purpose will change as the pages in your site will grow, so having a site that is custom designed to speak to the content of each page will far outweigh the limitations set by a typical website template.

Myth #5 I won't need to invest my own time into the development of my website.

When we develop a project timeline for an upcoming website design project, the tasks and responsibilities are almost equal on both sides. Although the client will not need to do any real design work and such, they will need to be involved with the design process from start to finish, making sure they understand and sign off on each critical milestone along the way.

Myth #4 My website will show up on the first page of each of my desired keywords.

Designing your site is very different from "optimizing" your site. There is a slew of techniques and changes that will need to be done to your site to help you score high. Most of the time these techniques are actually more involved, more time consuming and cost more than the actual development of your website. With no guarantees it will actually work, why even do it? Well the answer is, these techniques do work. And, the results can't happen unless this "optimization" is added to your website.

Myth #3 My website is all about my Company.

Of course your company will be the driving force behind your website, but for a website to be of real value to your potential clients, you must be able to supply some value added content. Give them a reason to go to your site, or give them something valuable that they can take away from your site. You don't have to become a wikipedia of your field but try to enlighten your visitor. If they are moved by the information they received from visiting your site, the hope is that they will remember you and will visit you again.

Myth #2 I don't need to improve my website.

"If you build it they will come," does not apply to website design. This is no field of dreams, once you launch your website you must be vigilant on tracking the traffic to your site. Analyze how many leads come from the site and how many sales come from those leads. If you don't, you leave your website design up to chance, and this is the one marketing tool that provides you with the most power. Launch your site then start focussing on the elements to help increase the pipeline. First with the number of visitors, then how long they stay, then reducing the bounce rate, then how many calls to action, then how many leads, then how many sales, then how many repeat business...

If you break each piece up in this fashion you will have control over your efforts and changes, and aren't leaving the results up to chance.

Myth #1 Websites are expensive.

One of the most frustrating things as a professional website designer is answering the question of how much? There are so many variables to consider. We aren't talking about a product I pull off the shelf and put into a bag for you. We need to really try and understand your business objectives, then develop a strategy to fit those goals. Lately, I have been working a strategy of let's develop a wish list of all that is needed. Then you let me know the budget you are prepared to spend and we will try and fit within this budget. It's kind of a 'name your own price game' giving you complete control over how much you will spend.

So. the question isn't can you afford to get a website? The question becomes you can't afford to not have a website.

Let me know what you think.

These Myths were inspired by this article.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Myths-About-Website-Design&id=2876926

Do's And Don't with Your Website Design

2009-09-22T05:42:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting read about the do's and don't with your website design.

I particularly like, the focus on content, we all know that you should have a tremendous amount of content on your website that is keyword rich to attract your site to search engines. But The article points out that by having large chucks of text for the user to read will cause them to leave.

The solution is to have small chunks of copy and call to actions to help guide the user through a clean professional design. Personally I think you can have both, have the design focussed on increasing your conversion, then try and add your extensive copy to this design that search engines will see but wont get in the way of the users experience. ie: "below the fold"

Next the article talks about not using stock photography, it takes great amount of time and money to get people to your site, once you have them don't drive them away by having imagery that everyone else uses.

I have a de-lima with this suggestion, being not every client can afford a photo-shoot, or the more expensive stock photography, nor do they have the budget for us to create unique illustrations to explain the page's points, but I do agree that if you use the same cheap photography everyone else is using then it will be difficult to separate yourself from the crowd.

Check out the article, and let me know what you think...

Comment

http://www.watoday.com.au/technology/biz-tech/building-your-reputation-online-20090922-fyzm.html

USA today announces that they will offer design services

2009-09-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

Oh boy hold on to your hats.

USA today announces that it will be offering design solutions for companies.

Instead of going to USA today for ad placements they want you to come to them for your eblast campaigns website design and print ads, that wouldn't necessarily be placed in their publication.

I guess I should respond by putting out my own newspaper, for companies to put ads in, and write news worthy articles.

I dunno about you guys but I see this, as the last place I would go to get my marketing from.

I believe that companies "smart" companies hire a design studio to help them not look like everyone else in the publication. Its no surprise that publication have design departments in them, and will include doing your ad with in the cost of the placement, they make their money on placement so its no problem for them to throw in the ad development.

Design studios "good" design studios, are concerned with a lot more than simply doing an ad for you to place in a publication. They are concerned with the overall effects this one piece has on the company as a whole. They look at the big picture and can usually come up with designs, and branding that these publications could never do.

Lets face it the volume and deadlines, and the price the publications have for doing your ad, makes their design process a simple cookie cutter simply swap out your logos, content and photos, then move on approach.

Where a design studio makes its living off of how great your work looks and how your customers react. There isn't a ton of volume so great care is given to each project.

But hey if you wanna check it out be my guest, but after you have wasted your money devloping campaigns and websites that look as bad as everyone else in that publication we do hope you consider hiring a professional graphic design firm, and leave the newpapers doing what they do best...

buzzbureau.usatoday.com/

100 free websites worth $100,000

2009-09-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

I just came across a promotion for a web development company in New Zealand,

I have to admit it is a very aggressive offer, in a nutshell they are offering to give away 100 websites for free, each at a value of about $10,000 a piece (125 hours).

I am intrigued with this a promotion, and would consider offering the same, it seems like a great way to keep businesses growing. The benefits would be great for both me and the client, the client would get a free website or collection of projects that would equal 125 hours of design services, then I would get a client who would come to me for any future projects and updates as their business grows.

My only de-lima with this promotions is 125 hours times 100 would be a major strain on the studio especially if no money was coming in.

So I think nopun.com will be holding off on offering such an aggressive promotion at this time, But I couldn't help to share this companies offering with you guys...

http://www.pr.com/press-release/178810

Please feel free to Comment

What is twitter and why should I care

2009-09-21T06:39:00.001-07:00

What a great breakdown of what twitter is. I think its hilarious how so many people have herd of it but have no clue what it is, I have recently given in a shot after reading the getting started guide for business, and it increased my web traffic 300% and generated a handful of leads, that weren't coming in at all.

http://webdesign.com/what’s-twitter-and-why-should-i-care/

flash inspirada

2009-09-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

This will be a dumping ground for fresh new flash design inspirada for getting into the zone on your next flash project.

the first one is...

http://www.webdesigndev.com/inspiration/50-amazing-flash-website-designs

Something that trumps Content !

2009-09-15T04:57:00.001-07:00

I have learned that as a designer I can try and attract attention to a page, ad, eblast, brochure or website, but attracting that attention can’t stand on its own. It needs content to help bridge the viewer from a passer by, to someone who will become truly interested in what the project is promoting.

Content is King and long live the king? Right, well there is something that trumps content, and that’s usability studies, and or focus groups.

Instead of trying to get inside the head of your customers get your customer on the line and ask them. This method is often mostly overlooked, and I feel that a tremendous amount of valuable information comes from this process.

Instead of going with a designers gut instinct or the company’s owner’s personal preference this approach is based on the feedback from your actual customer.

The trick is, that you should be willing to trust the findings and suggestions that come from these findings. Put your personal likes and dislikes to the side and ask yourself, do you want a website that you like or a site that your customers and prospects will like? Hopefully the latter will deliver the desired results of improved business.

Your website navigation

2009-09-14T05:41:00.001-07:00

I came across this article talking about what's important in your website's navigation,

I love the concept of the article as well, they invite you to open your current website in a browser next to the article so you can judge for yourself whether you are frustrating your users or not.

They address some basic thoughts a user thinks when they click on a link.

1) Where am I?

Does your site tell the visitor where they are?

I have to say that this part is a bit difficult to do in the "programming of the site"

Here's a quick tip on how it can be accomplished in an efficient way.

When developiing your navigation create the nav, using a list style and in that list style add an item labeled current, within current put all the css, that makes the button look the way you'd l;ike, then in the list style on the current page add this class to that item; i. e.,

  <div id="navigation">   <ul>    <li><a href="index.asp">Home</a></li>    <li class="current"><a href="moving.asp">Moving</a></li>    <li ><a href="storage.asp">Storage</a></li>    <li ><a href="locations.asp">Locations</a></li>    <li ><a href="buyBoxes.asp">Buy Boxes</a></li>    <li ><a href="aboutUs.asp">About Us</a></li>    <li ><a href="moving101.asp">Moving 101</a></li>    <li ><a href="customerCare.asp">Customer Care</a></li>   </ul>  </div>

The next important thing to consider is:

Where have I been?

Adding a "breadcrumb" to your site's navigation will help your visitor orientation.

An example php code that helps this work is:


<?php $baseurl="http://www.nopun.com/";  $path_parts = pathinfo($_SERVER['PHP_SELF']);  $parts = $path_parts["dirname"];  $pieces = explode("/", $parts);  echo "<a class='three' href=\"$baseurl\">NPI</a>";  for ($i = 1; $i < count($pieces); $i++)         {         $fixedpieces = ereg_replace("_"," ",$pieces[$i]);         $label = ucwords($fixedpieces);   if ($label == "Searchengine") { $label = "Search Engine"; }         $baseurl = "$baseurl/$pieces[$i]";         echo "<a class='three' href=\"$baseurl\">$label</a>";         } ?>
 
Next is a tool tip or descriptive text to let a visitor know where they would go if they click on a particular link.
 
The article suggests adding a short descriptive sentence or text underneath the main links title, I personally feel this would clutter the design a bit, but their other sugesstion of a tool tip is a great one, you keep the integrity of your site design, while adding a cool feature that is fun to play with.


A perfect example of this type of tool tip can be found at (hover over the servers)
http://www.mediatemple.net/


I have found that I need to add a better nav to the nopun website and will take these features into consideration in a future upgrade, But I can't help but think a "mega menu" could be a cool navigation as well.
 
http://noel4nopun.blogspot.com/2009/08/mega-menus.html
 
Here's the original article. So you can be inspired too, let me know what you think.
 
http://buildinternet.com/2009/09/principles-of-effective-web-navigation
 
Comment

W3 compliant for SEO and user experience

2009-09-14T05:31:00.001-07:00

I am currently documenting a web design project from start and finish, the goal of the site is to ensure it is w3 compliant using css design.

I will be broadcasting the process on a video blog at the upcoming No Pun Youtube channel.

I thought to myself, I know why being w3 compliant is important, but I am not too sure others know.

I found this article that does a good job explaining.

http://www.isnare.com/?aid=412162&ca=Advice

SEO Write Content and forget about it

2009-09-14T05:11:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest challenges a client faces when building a website is content.

We usually get the entire site designed programmed and ready to launch before the content is fully developed. I have realized this dilemma first hand, and I agree that creating content is like pulling teeth. But the problem is, that once we "clients/and myself" finally get the content together we add it to the site launch it and forget about it. Whew I am glad that's over, now where are my customers, and or why can't I show up on the first page of my key search terms?

There are two issues with this;

1) Google loves fresh content, content content content.

The more google crawls your site and sees that content is constantly being updated it will rank you higher. But as soon as you stop adding this content you will begin to fall.

I personally have an issue with this, because I am a graphic designer who doesn't want a tremendous amount of content on my website cluttering up my clean design. In addition to the look and feel of a lot of content I am a designer not a writer. I have plenty of opinions and plenty of things to say about topics, but usually don't know how to craft the sentences the way I'd like. But I can't let that stop me from adding new content.

My solution has been maintaining this blog. By having this blog I can add as much content as possible, and although this is not my corporate site, it's not hard to find my corporate site if you're in the market for professional graphic design services. This way I can have the best of both worlds a ton of content while my corp site is clean with a minimalist design.

I have seen this theory work, I am beginning to show up on some great key phrases that I would never have dreamed of.

2) the desired key phrase is an issue.

I would love to show up on the first page in position one for the single key phrase "design" but that is probably never going to happen. But I am beginning to show up for "professional graphic design studio" "professional graphic designer" and "professional graphic design"

Which is really cool for me, and although I don't have the phone ringing off the hook, I am getting traffic from this key phrase.

The greatest tool to help determine what phrases are working is through google's, webmaster tools, it shows your most prominent hey-phrases associated with your content, and the position reports are pretty close.

In addition I love google analytics and goingup.com,

I have actually developed a google doc that has a unique set of parameters and tools I use to track data that is important for my website. I would love to share this document with anyone who is interested just ask.

So the take away to this post, is write content and don't stop, don't let your fear of bad grammar stop you, and if it competes too much with the look and feel of your site create a blog, and instead of checking your desired key-phrase see which phrases are showing up.

As a follow up to this discussion please read this press release from dzine.

They point out that while sprinkling your content with keywords can help with your search engine ranking it could back fire from your actual visitors.

http://www.pr-inside.com/good-content-is-key-to-a-r1478218.htm

Crowd-sourcing

2009-09-13T07:08:00.000-07:00

I am at odds about the idea of crowd-sourcing, I can actually see the "benefits" of this approach as a designer. As an owner of my own design studio I feel a lot of the creative process is weighed down by client meetings, educating, proposal writing, then after the contracts are signed an almost lawyer approach to monitor scope creep. When most of the time I just want to design. This approach allows a designer to see the information presented, they are given complete creative control over their solution, (they're not plagued with worrying if the "client" will like it) you have the freedom to design what you will like, win or lose, you have this piece in your portfolio, and if you win the job you get the cash without the rigmarole. My only dilemma is how many of these things do you have to do before you are awarded the prize! I feel the client loses the one-on-one with a personal professional designer that can help them achieve their vision, but in this economy a designer is willing to try anything to keep their dream alive...

I invite you to join in on the conversation

http://www.thelogofactory.com/logo_blog/index.php/defending-spec-work-design-contests/

Free website tools Scam!

2009-09-12T08:57:00.001-07:00

I was taken aback by a discovery I just made.

I am trying to help a friend do some basic SEO stuff to her website. She told me that the site was built using a free website builder tool, which I thought--ok, cool.

You got to start somewhere, and having a site online is better than not.

But I started with adding a keyword right title tag to her site, the most obvious first place to add some SEO stuff. When I previewed the site it said something completely different promoting something totally un-related to what her website was promoting.

I double checked the code and nowhere could I find where this mysterious meta-tag stuff was being added. Even on a fresh clean html page that had nothing on it, it had this mysterious meta code.

My only thought is that her "cheap" web hosting and awesome "free" web builder tool was dynamically putting this stuff in.

Which in my opinion is a perfect example of 'you get what you pay for' lesson. If it's too good to be true then it probably is...

I recommended that she host with us, and completely redesign the site since we were abandoning this one. So, we can start with a clean slate that will have fresh/clean/targeted content, branded in a way that will try and make her website aggressive instead of passive...

I thought I would share this info so the next time you are considering a cheap free tool, over hiring a professional graphic designer, it may not be the cheaper solution. Because not only will you waste time and money with the cheaper solutions but you will have to basically redo it all anyway...

Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Experiences? I'd love to hear them.

Break out of the norm in your website design

2009-09-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

When designing a new site I am constantly trying to push myself to try and tap into that "next" great thing... However, if I push myself to create a conceptual design I may lose my target audience, or even the client which it will never get to the client. I believe a lot of the "crap" that's out in the world isn't due to the lack of creativity, but the lack of trust a client has in their designer... I guess as long as we try and challenge ourselves and try and push good design through the approval process we may be able to break the "norm."

Get inspired, comment.

http://boagworld.com/design/standout

Content is King

2009-09-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't started a post on copywriting.

It's one of the biggest struggles I face as a designer.

I can make anything look good, I believe "anything."

But design can't stand alone, it needs content that helps motivate or inspire the reader, and is the backbone to the "there there."

Good design can stop someone in their tracks saying "Hey check me out!"

But if I stop and check out your stuff and you don't repay me by giving me some relevant copy that I will find useful, you'll lose me as quickly as your got me.

Hence my desire and focus on how to write better copy and content, which for a designer that uses a completely different element of his brain, this quest is one of the biggest challenges I have ever faced.

Here's an article that goes into great detail as to why content is king as much now as it ever was.

http://www.blogtrepreneur.com/2009/09/11/why-content-is-king-is-even-truer-today/

Harness Creativity

2009-09-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a fantastic article that discusses the challenges of being creative.

I have often fantasized about having a water jug of creativity in the studio so when its time to be creative I can walk over and pour some out.

The problem is that it's not that easy, it takes a while to get the creative juices flowing, and once you get it flowing it's hard to stop it, and undoubtably a few weeks or months later the best idea ever hits you and its too late... The project has already been done.

My biggest challenge as a professional graphic design studio owner is to try and find the right set of parameters that nurtures creative solutions that speak directly to the client's target audience.

This process becomes more psychological than anything else.

The article then talks about coming up with great ideas is easy, but making that idea a reality is the challenge. I couldn't agree more. I often think of some cool approach to only find that it doesn't translate in the medium I am working in; or, I am heading in a particular direction and along the way I see an alternative solution that I didn't think of that may be better idea than the original one...

What do you guys think?

Here's the article so you can be inspired too.

http://www.yankodesign.com/2009/09/11/truths-about-creativity/

Is your website passive or aggressive

2009-09-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

I came across this article about the importance of a law firm being aggressive about their website instead of simply having a website you should use your website.

It got me thinking about how nopun.com shifted our focus when the effects of the recession hit us.

I realized that I was too busy doing client work that I never focussed on nopun's site, we barely had anything at the URL much less than any real content.

My motto at the time was why advertise all my business comes from word of mouth, So when the bigs guys left, the only thing in my mouth was my foot.

I vowed to make a fully dedicated attempt to try and do everything that I had been doing for my clients for us. And now we can say we are being aggressive with our website, trying all techniques until I zero in on what is going to work to keep the dream alive.

So please tell us,

Is your website passive (simple online presence) ?

or aggressive (Actively trying to generate new business) ?

Also here is the article so you to can be inspired

http://news.topwirenews.com/2009/09/10/Websites-for-Law-Firms-Is-Your-Legal-Website-Passive-or-Aggressive_200909103224.html

Things your competitors can do to harm your Google Position

2009-09-10T05:08:00.000-07:00

I can't help but to see this article as informative on how to protect your own business, but the "devil" inside can't help but to think what you could do to your competitors!

Mu ha ha haaaa

Just kidding, this stuff is bad, and I would rather dive full force into white hat SEO practices that will increase business in an ethical way...

http://www.redalkemi.com/blog/google-empowers-your-competitors-to-destroy-your-search-engine-rankings/

PPC Success Are the results fake or Real?

2009-09-10T04:45:00.000-07:00

A welcoming problem.

This case study published on Google's Site boast how one team of advertisers has the problem of their clients thinking that the business results are fake!

How could such a dramatic increase of business be true?

Especially at such low cost. With other very expensive alternatives don't even come close with these results.

I am a big fan of Google landing pages, and PPC ads, its a sure fire way to get traffic to your site immediately.

But recently I have stopped all campaigns because my campaigns where generating no customers...

I am holding on to the dream that some day I may experience "unbelievable" business results from my Google Campaigns, and I believe this will be accomplished by doing a fresh campaign utilizing Google Optimize with MultiVariate Techniques http://www.google.com/support/websiteoptimizer/bin/answer.py?hlrm=en&answer=61138

I believe my approach was not done in this way and I was basically wasting my money, so I put it all on hold until I can create a clear focussed campaign that test so many different elements that I am sure to find that right combination that will work...

http://conversionroom.blogspot.com/2009/09/companies-conversions-how-emc-conchango.html

heres a new feature announced to help document experiment notes.

Seems cool!

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/09/10/note-your-google-website-optimizer-experiments

what a fantastic basis for a google optimizer experiment. to see if it would work for your business...

http://www.getelastic.com/cta-size/

Here are some tremendous resources on the workflow and process of design in general, but there is a link to high conversion style buttons

http://inspectelement.com/tutorials/how-to-design-buttons-to-help-improve-usability/

http://www.uxbydesign.org/2009/09/12/best-of-the-web-weekly-roundup-sept-5-11/

Reasons why you should comment on other peoples blogs

2009-09-10T04:38:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite marketing strategies.

I have been doing this for the past two months and have enjoyed doing it personally.

Because I can "join in" on conversations about topics I am really passionate about.

Plus it does build traffic to my site.

Ever get caught with a creative problem you can't solve?

2009-09-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

Brainstorming ideas

http://www.designtaxi.com/article.php?article_id=100657

Small Businesses keep up with technology during a tough economy

2009-09-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

Heres an article written by a design firm out in Arizona That boasts about being able to help small businesses stay afloat during these tough times by lowering its rates down to $50 an hour.

Which seems like a good deal being that nopun.com charges $80 an hour.

I tend to question well how many hours would be needed to get the job done!

I wish we could offer some type of relief to small businesses to help them stay on top of their technology and marketing while in a down time, but I don't think it should be done by lowering the hourly rate. Instead I think sharing as much information on what we do to market your company, educating you on things that you can do internally to help increase traffic/sales to your site is a better option.

So we are dedicated to putting together a series of tutorials that will posting online in our you tube channel, and will vow to keep the videos coming, until we have covered every capability we do. I believe that this approach will help those that are technically inclined and have some free time on their hands.

To help those that aren't inclined and don't have the time we woul like to take on a series of marketing challenges a client may have and try and leverage as many of those projects with in the time constrate of one project.

For example I had a client who wanted to create a micro-site for a niche service, she specializes in hand therapy, and wanted to do sports therapy, so for $640 buck we designed a site, created post cards and developed an eblast so she could get her concept out of her head and into reality.

This is the type of approach I believe nopun.com can do to help small businesses stay afloat.

If your interested please, contact us today so we can see how we can help you continue to stay up to date with your marketing and online efforts while times are tough, face it it won't be like this forever, and if we can help you through these times we are sure we can help you through the good times when they come around again...

thanks for reading, please tell me what you think of my concept or their article...

http://www.prweb.com/releases/my_pc_techs/affordable_it_support/prweb2830064.htm

7 deadly sins of website redesign

2009-09-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

Here's an article about the sins of changing your website.

It seems as though every few years technology grows so fast that your website will look old and outdated.

Or you just may get tired of seeing it, Or there are new featured that you would like to ad to the site to help you business workflow be more productive.

I agree with the points made in the article that companies need to be aware that by redesigning the site you stand a chance to loose some regular visitors, and or your placement in search engines.

I welcome change, and love taking an old site and redesigning it with new goals in mind, but I think that the new goals should be just for the site layout an functionality, instead it should be an overhual of the marketing online concept as a whole.

Putting anew SEO strategy in place, adding a social media network campaign, using the new design as a vehicle for announcing to your customers that we are improving our company and with that comes better service.

I think the biggest lesson to learn here is that redesigning your site will not increase traffic, but instead should be looked at a fresh start to re building the traffic and business...

check out the article and tell me what you think

http://www.sbwire.com/news/view/31254

things to consider when redesigning

http://www.examiner.com/x-20633-Charlotte-Marketing-Examiner~y2009m9d10-Upgrading-Your-Website-Here-Are-Some-Guides-To-What-Costs-What

Logo

2009-09-09T06:50:00.001-07:00

questions to ask client before beginning a logo project

http://bhoff.wufoo.com/forms/logo-worksheet/

Inspirada

http://creativebits.org/inspiration/top_logo_inspiration_sites

Logo development inspiration

http://www.logodesignlove.com/best-logo-design-resources

http://webdesignledger.com/inspiration/30-examples-of-brilliant-logo-design

Effective logo design

http://veryweblog.com/?p=6252

Process of logo design from the persecutive of a designer

http://justcreativedesign.com/2009/09/09/blog-logo-design/

http://abduzeedo.com/logo-design-z-d

Logo design process

http://www.thedesigncubicle.com/2009/05/11-steps-of-a-successful-logo-design-process/

Software Ideas, I was thinking of trying Coda by Panic instead of dreamweaver

http://www.myinkblog.com/interviews/designers/an-interview-with-graphic-designer-brian-hoff/

Blogging tips tricks and tutorials

2009-09-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a site dedicated to helping bloggers get the most out of the blogging process..

http://www.alistbloggingbootcamps.com/

Project management software

2009-09-09T06:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a new alternative to basecamp

This will help keep a design project on track, making it easy to change scope add features and let the project evolve.

http://lowdownapp.com/

Patent your website design

2009-09-08T06:08:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, this may mean all designers (including me)

Will have to be forced to do more original work.

The internet is flooded with websites that look similar and they each seem to borrow elements from one another.

Why not?

If it works for them then it should work for me right?

Or if the feeling of a layout feels right for the project I am working on why not emulate it.

Well this article talks about how google was able to get a patent on the design of its home page.

Which could open the door for other big companies to start to protect their designs.

Of course my thought is, if I design something and somebody like "Google" would be threatened by it, and ask me to put it down, I would feel honored.

I should be so lucky, that Google would know of me?

http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/09/03/google-granted-design-patent-on-search-webpage/id=5512/

Print ads that sell

2009-09-07T18:27:00.001-07:00

http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=138810

email marketing

2009-09-07T11:42:00.001-07:00

Two projects from now I will be doing a fresh new email marketing campaign for a new company.

I am excited to put this campaign together.

I also want to document the process, making notes of all that goes into an effective email campaign.

I believe mail-chimp has a great foundation to refer to.

And I just came across this outline which at first glance looks like its got some good ideas

http://www.pathinteractive.com/blog/?p=101

Stuck on words?

http://www.newzapp.co.uk/resource-hub/article-WritingEnewsletters.html

Social Media your Eblast

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2009/09/08/how-social-is-your-email/

Make your mail tweetable – add a tweetmeme button to your email newsletter archive and make your stories easy to share via twitter,

How to add an email newsletter sign up form to your facebook fan page

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2009/03/16/facebook-pages-get-more-business-friendly/

Email signature – this one is silly basic, but why not use the space – add your social network profiles to your every day email signature – some people may prefer connecting with you there.

A nice twitter trick

2009-09-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

I have recently come across a technique that can help.

Answer the question of how do you make money using twitter.

Seems like everyone is talking about how it works but I haven't really seen the benefits as of yet...

So far my strategy has been, to launch and maintain this blog for interesting content and helpful tips to help my "potential" customers learn more about what goes into properly branding their company.

Next is to then try and post links to the post through my twitter updates so my followers can check that out.

but I haven't really seen this generate much activity at all.

How does one find the people that are looking for answer at that moment.

I hope everyone knows about "http://addictomatic.com"

this is a tremendous little tool that can show you the conversations around your search term in multiple areas, specifically in twitter.

But simply typing in "website design"

brings up so many conversations its difficult to find the folks that are struggling with find a solution I possess...

So simply do this trick which can help zero in on some relevant search results.

Type in the search string

best "" ?

by adding best in-front of search term then ending with a question mark your will find people looking for a solution.

Helping you zero in one who needs so help

I am going to be trying this technique for a while and hope that it will increase some genuine qualified traffic to this blog, my corporate site nopun.com with more desired call to actions of people filling out our get started form which should lead to more new active projects in the studio

How to write a Press release for when you get a new client project

2009-09-07T06:10:00.001-07:00

I am gearing up for launching a press release campaign, and one of my biggest struggles is once I start I want to keep a consistent flow of articles going out into the world about nopun.com.

With that goal comes the challenge of what do you write about.

The previous blog describes how to write them, how to distribute them and gives some basic ideas on what to write about http://noel4nopun.blogspot.com/2009/08/writing-your-press-release-for-seo.html

But I recently read a press release about a design firm who was hired by a moving company to do their website.

Which I found exciting being that nopun.com designs for any industry but we seem to have some momentum in designing professional websites for moving and storage companies.

As I was reading I was getting a bit jealous that we weren't hired for such a project, but as soon as I got over my jealousy I realized this was a great example of a press release for the design company and (the client) the moving and storage company.

you can read the article here

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-20-2009/0005080934&EDATE=

But now lets try and analyize the structure so we might be able to apply this press release structure to how next client we sign on that can be beneficial to both us and the new client.

First off they announce that the design firm is a new member of the team, which I have often thought about, your graphic design firm you hire is not a typical vendor similar to your copy guy, printer or web hosting company.

We are more like the PR professional, copy writer and your executive advertising directors.

As graphic designers learn about your business and start developing assets, we learn so much about what makes your business work we often feel like we could sell your products and service. So seeing us as a new member of the team is a "must have" ingredient in writing this announcing new client type of press release.

Next we have the part that is beneficial to the design firm, announce who they are and what their primary purpose is making sure you spell out the keyword that would help in your search engine ranking.

Next have a positive quote from the "new client" describing how pumped they are to be working with the firm and hopefully the reason why they chose this firm.

I recall a new moving company that hired us who simply said, I went with you guys because you have experience in the industry and I don't have to bring you up to snuff!

Up to snuff!?

What a great quote I have wanted to use that in ads and direct mail pieces since it was said.

Now its back to the deisgn firm who can expand either on their concept of how they approach doing this type of project or other projects that they do as well.

Then the benefits of the new client, by doing this project the "new client" will be able to do this then that and even this which they haven't been able to do before.

Then go into detail about the new client

This press release is about the design firm but why not use this platform to cross promote the new client, they hired you, so why not give them a little something back in return.

For example when nopun was hired to do a motion graphics project for a new product offering from pr newswire.

http://noel4nopun.blogspot.com/2009/08/social-media-metrics.html

I plastered this all over the place, or every place I could.

This blog, Twitter, facebook, linked in, and basically talked about it to everyone I came in contact with.

So expand on the client and what they offer.

But what I like best about this press release is the cross promoting they do for the client, they don't simply link to their corporate site, they created a separate link for their charities page, a wikipedia page, careers, how to book (the clients most desired call to action), reviews, and supplies.

So where as I am still jealous that nopun.com wasn't hired for this gig, I admire who they have hired and see that they will be in good hands.

And gives me a great example of how I can write a genuinely well written press release for any new client we may get that will benefit both us and the new client.

integrated capabilties

2009-09-07T05:51:00.000-07:00

It is no surprise that there thousands of not millions of web developers out there, from novice wanna be's to over seas developers, to the small one person firms that claim that they can do it all.

No pun is a two person professional graphic design firm that doesn't believe we can do it all, but tries to be accommodating, if we can't do something we aim to either find the solution or a group that help with the solution. But the main thing we do well is brand a company.

Although the primary tool used for this branding is websites, its not the only thing we do, from customized powerpoint presentations, to motion graphics that can be used as a sales tool or even a commercial, we are pumped about design and love doing it.

Its amazing to us how one project can relate to another. How Once the website, is done then the brochure should follow suit, then the ads, direct mailers and even the business card, should all look like the same company. And each medium has its own set of challenges, print is more permanent than a website, and video is more linear than a flash interactive piece, but when we are working on any of these projects we are aimed at doing the best we can in that medium.

Benefits of an E-commerce site

2009-09-04T05:16:00.000-07:00

During this difficult economic climate reports show that ecommerce sites are increasing in popularity.

Which makes since being that the cost involved with running an ecommerce site is far less than an actual brick and mortar store.

With an extra benefit of;

• Unlimited amounts of stock

• Open all day, every day of the year

• Operate in a near-automated fashion.

The biggest challenge will be to to make sure there is a market for your product then finding the most effective way to adversities to that market.

Making sure your site design is above the rest, that the site is easily navigated, that the copy is on the mark with telling your products story while be keyword rich for search engines.

Then employing a cross marketing strategy that can lead traffic to the site through blogs and social media, and PPC advertising along with genuine SEO work.

It will take a lot to get this store off the ground but once you have zeroed in on the right marketing metrics for your ecommerce site the rewards will make the hard work worth the effort.

If you have an idea for an ecommerce site and your not sure if it will be successful, contact nopun.com free of charge today and we can put your idea through our research tank to try and give you an honest (3rd party) opinion on whether we think launching that site would be worth the effort.

Steps on getting good client feedback

2009-09-04T05:12:00.000-07:00

I recently began documenting the process our firm goes through when designing a project for a client. I was excited with the idea of sharing what I have learned in terms of the css coding and design techniques to make a website fully w3 compliant and search engine friendly. What I have found that is that the actual, developing the site is the easiest part of a new website process. Even with blasted internet explorer in the mix. The most time consuming and difficult part of the project is getting sign off on the actual design. I am inspired by your article to try and take some this steps and considerations, and apply them o my next web project to see if we can't streamline the design process to be as easy to do as developing the site. http://designm.ag/design/better-feedback/

optimize your site as you build it!

2009-09-04T04:57:00.000-07:00

If clients can look at the whole picture from the beginning of the web project. Before the design begins, before programming begins and even copywriting. Their new website project will go as smooth as ever...

I have to admit I was one of those that would build the site launch it then add the SEO, then I stumbled onto a project where the SEO was done first, and I was amazed at how smooth it went, as I was designing the site with css and html I was able to add appropriate key words in the alt tags and links and naming conventions really saving time on double work.

Of course that only works if one firm is doing both SEO and the design,

Currently I am working on a project that I am working hand and hand with the outside SEO firm and I am just now about to review our designs with them for their input, I hope it will be as smooth as the other project...

http://econsultancy.com/blog/4547-how-to-optimise-your-website-from-the-ground-up

Don't reinvent the wheel with your navigation

2009-09-03T06:07:00.000-07:00

This blog discusses the fundamental of a great site navigation.

I love the point about other interfaces that users use other than your website. And to try and keep your navigation similar to help them through navigating your site... I think as designers we tend to try and create something cool and new, when I believe that we should keep the creativity in the design of the website instead of the website is navigated

http://carsonified.com/blog/design/10-user-interface-design-fundamentals/

How to effectively write a blog

2009-09-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

Great steps and things to think about to improve or start writing your blog campaign

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/08/how-to-blog-effectively/

Blogs, PR Campaigns, Eblast Social Media Networking, oh yeah and the work. Got a minute?

2009-09-01T06:36:00.001-07:00

I first started this blogging campaign with a little concept and a determination to maintain a writing schedule that is consistent.

I didn't want to start blogging articles then forget about it for a few months then come back.

It was and still is important to me to keep the blog schedule going.

I feel that I am on the right path, and have really enjoyed doing them.

Its a way for me to stay on top of the industry and stay abreast of any developments or news as a web developer I should be aware of.

Now that I have a system in place to handle this blog campaign I am looking forward to fixing up my email campaigns, which aren't as consistent as the blog campaign. Then I hope to start a PR campaign, along with podcast and video cast and social media updates...

It sounds like a lot of work, and seems like there is a full time job for more than one person to handle these campaigns. But I am hoping to mechanize the whole process into one steady flow that addresses each campaign.

I feel that this work is vital to the future success of nopun.com

My catch phrase since the recession has been do for ourselves what we do for our clients.

And this campaign is definitely an example of what is needed.

I often acknowledge that this is a difficult thing to manage and maintain while doing actual client work, and its true but its no different than any of the challenges my clients face. Along with their day to day operations (the work) they have to think about and sign off and supply content and feedback on all of these marketing campaigns.

Lets face it having your own business is no easy task. But hopefully the more we do it the easier it will be and hope that the success from these efforts pave the way for a brighter more fruitful future.

Privacy Policy Tool

2009-09-01T05:58:00.001-07:00

No Pun recently was eligible for a BBB listing, which is kinda exciting being that, that listing is a step that makes the business feel more "grown up".

Hope we can continue to keep the dream alive!

One of the requirements BBB online has is that your site must have a privacy policy visible on your site. I don't know about you but one of my biggest challenges in business is generating "content" how to make that content look good isn't a problem, but creating that content is a constant uphill challenge that I hope someday will get easier...

I came across this tool that helps you write a privacy policy by answering a few questions about your business...

check it out...

http://www.dmaresponsibility.org/PPG/#form

Now is the best time to start a business

2009-08-31T05:37:00.001-07:00

This press release originally written by dzineit.net. Puts into words what I have been thinking since the recession hit.

I think people are beginning to rethink ways to make money. I think we realize that no job is really "stable" and the only real guarantee or security we can really count on is one we create for ourselves.

I am hoping that we can all get are businesses in order while the economy is down, so that we have a firm foundation in place when the economy picks up.

I know for my business nopun.com I was too busy doing client work that I never really had a marketing plan or strategy. I have since changed my focus in a dramatic way, and have looked at all that I have done for clients in the past making sure I am doing the same for my business, along with a few new things I am trying.

This in itself is an almost full-time job and I am realizing that the biggest challenge is maintaining this marketing campaign while business starts to pick back up...

http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/4514-1250481206-new-york-web-development-firm-says-that-now-is-the-time-to-cashin-on-the-economic-downturn.html

targeted portfolio websites

2009-08-31T05:35:00.000-07:00

What I love about this collection is that it's not your typical collection of cool looking sites. Actual direction is provided that I think is spot on. It's one thing to have a website that looks cool and showcases your ability, but it has to function on a business level. this showcase does a great job at demonstrating different approaches you can take with your portfolio site

http://www.onextrapixel.com/2009/08/17/the-remedies-for-a-great-designers-online-portfolio-with-25-impressive-showcases/

Content Site vs a Brochure Site

2009-08-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

Practically every prospect that comes to no pun undoubtably will ask at some point in the planning process, "will I be able to edit the content?".

I am quick to answer yes we can enable a feature to the site that will help you do this.

I begin to question the question, why do clients ask about this, and as I try and put myself in their shoes, I believe the reason why I would ask that is because I wouldn't want to have to go to a design firm anytime I want to make a change to the website, due to every change will entail a new bill.

In reality most clients after they get their site launched, rarely see the need to change the content, most changes that come up get dealt with in the revisions phase of the project.

So I would like to throw this out there.

What type of site will you want to create, a content site or a brochure site.

A content site is for the companies out there that will be updating changing and adding content on a daily basis. This type of website definitely needs a content management system, that will enable the client to maintain the site internally.

However, if you want an online presence to act as a sales tool, then a brochure site is all that is needed, and the reality is that after the site is completed their will be minor tweaks that wouldn't warrant the need of a content management system...

The amount of money spent on making these minor adjustments, is actually cheaper than the development of a major content management system.

Website for your home business

2009-08-27T16:30:00.001-07:00

The recession has forced many people to financial refuge by launching that pet project or "muze" project. The type of business that won't make you quit your job, but will bring in some revenue if it takes off.

The first place launch your home based business is through launching a website.

Websites come in many shapes and sizes. you could first start by launching a blog similar to this one use the templates that are available and go for it. You can then step it up a bit with customizing a word press theme/blog to appear more custom.

Even with custom websites you can get a fully branded concept for a low price if you trust the designer you hire and let them do their work, the cost go up with the multiple rounds of revisions and tweaks. But if you let the designer have creative freedom you will usually get work you or the designer never expected...

Aside from the first option you will need to consider maintenance. At no pun we try and tie web maintenance in with a weekly session with google analytics we look at the traffic and other key data and make suggestions to try and increase this data. This type of weekly maintenance helps keep your site fresh. By hiring an outside firm to do this maintenance enables you to focus on the logistical side of your business, instead of wasting your time trying to learn HTMl and CSS

Leave it to the pro's!

Next you need to get a hosting account, this is different from registering your domain name, once you register your domain name you need to point that name to a space on the internet. For most if not all sites don't spend more than $10 bucks a month.

Be sure that even if you hire a designer to do the work for you, you personally should set the domain name and the ftp yourself so you have ownership of this vital information, Its ok to entrust your information with your designer so they can hook up the connections for you.

Graphics, This is the most fun part designing a website for your home business, this is where you will put a face to your concept. Do not this is the most important aspect of the project being this is the first impressions your customers will have on your company, so make sure you do it right. But try not to get to "personal" with what the designer shows you, trust their instinct and launch the site, if something isn't working it will show in your analytic. I personally believe, I want a site that performs well, more than personal preference of how I want something to look.

The last element "aside from promoting your website" is content, content is king, and is usually the needed asset that prevents many great website design projects from launching. This content has to come from you, its your business its your passion, designers like nopun.com offer copy writing services as a way to earn more money on a website design project, but even when we get the opportunity to do the writing, we usually need something to start with. So bite the bullet and pull it together, don't simply push it off or say just grab content from your competitors (that' not even legal).

Once you have all of your elements and assets in order you will be in a better position to hire a designer or even attempt to setting your site up yourself.

Google luck and we hope to see you on the other side of this recession!

For more reading on the pros and cons on using templates check this article out

innovative web design development

2009-08-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

What makes a website design innovative?

How about a site that not only ranks well in google but speaks to your customers as well.

A stunning website that is chock-full O desired keywords, without seeming to be hitting the website reader over the head, making it obvious that the content they are ready was written more for search engines instead of the reader.

Also a website design that not only looks outstanding but is w3.org compliant and looks the same no matter which browser or operating system the visitor is using.

Adding the "wow" factor to your site is apart of making your website innovative but so is the download time, making sure that the content loads first and parts of the "wow" factor is loaded before the visitor leaves, remember the average time anyone will ever spend on your site is about 2 minutes!

And lastly don't look like everyone else, be innovative and try and break away from the norm, at the same time keeping familiarity, if users are used to seeing elements in a certain way don't innovate there, innovate with your design not on the usability...

SEO Competitive keyword search

2009-08-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a great little "vlog" on some competitive keyword research.

The presenter presents a few websites that can really open your eyes, on what keywords are working and for who.

You can see what is working for others then figure out what they are doing to get that traffic...

http://www.seodesignsolutions.com/blog/seo-videos/market-analysis-how-to-discover-your-competitors-keywords/

This site lets you compare your site with specific competitors

http://www.compete.com/

And finally Alexa

You will be amazed at how much information Alexa can give you on your site and your competitors

http://www.alexa.com

This site shows you what keywords the company is using and how much they are spending

http://www.semrush.com

Wanna know how much a person spends on their PPC campaigns?

Which keywords, and ad variations?

http://www.keywordspy.com

Your Vision or Ours

2009-08-26T16:18:00.001-07:00

Which kind of client are you?

Someone who hires a design firm to act as the technical know how, who can get your project done the way you have it visioned in your head.

Or are you someone who hires a professional design firm because of their expertise, experience and knowledge of what makes a design successful?

In all my years of designing I have finally realized that clients fall into these two types of clients.

I believe both types would like to say we want to see what you can do, but most are saying to themselves boy I hope it looks like what I am thinking.

I think a client knows how subjective design is and they realize that you as the designer are doing the design and they don't want to offend you, by saying I don't like what you did so they try and make nips and tucks along the way to try and get their vision done.

I hope to educate all clients out there that they can't say anything to us either what we don't already say to ourselves while designing the site, or the kind of criticism we give each other when showcasing our work with other designers.

So please feel free to say this didn't "hit" or you missed with that, we understand and can roll with it, but please refrain from saying "did you think of doing such and such with that element?" because chances are we either did and realized it didn't look right, or there is no way I would have done that because it that would never look right or if I did and thought it would look right we would have done that.

Don't get me wrong we want to hear your feedback, I subscribe to the thought to not jump down a clients throat when they add a comment to a project I just bled, sweat and cried over, because they might actually have an idea that could push the design even better. Which happens more times than a designer would like to admit.

But this post wants to set the type of client straight from the beginning. Designers want to do good design, but we also want to get a project completed, so if you are looking for someone who knows the software and is capable of illustrating your vision, please be explicit in saying this from the beginning of the project, minimizing multiple rounds of revisions, to a designers design, because your afraid to hurt their feelings.

But if you truly want to go with whatever creative vision a designer has then go with it. Trust their instinct, you will get much better work that way...

Hope this helps

iphone apps process

2009-08-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

Here is a great process to follow when developing an iphone app

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/11/how-to-create-your-first-iphone-application/#comment-378760

it was written by

http://www.pinchmedia.com/blog/app-developers-corner-jen-gordon-owner-of-clever-twist/

icon best practices

http://pixelresort.com/blog/iphone-app-icon-design-best-practises/

Company website vs personal website

2009-08-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some great tips, steps and thing to consider when starting your business website.

http://webdesign.about.com/b/2009/08/14/what-is-most-important-for-a-business-website.htm

Motion Graphics Process

2009-08-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

I have been excited about the completion of my first of what I hope to be many Motion Graphics Video Loops for PR Newswire...

This project came out really well, and was a blast to do.

But this type of project is not yet my "Bread and Butter"

So I wanted to outline the process and steps that went into making this project a successful one, while the project is still fresh in my mind.

hoping we can pick up where we have left off when the next series becomes active and or a similar project is engaged by another client.

First Step is to develop the script.

This step should be left to the professionals.

A professional copy writer should be able to interview your key staff and develop a powerful script that will cover all aspects the piece needs.

I do know that PR newswire uses a script when doing their product demos, and this was a jumping off point for this script, they also gathers a list of frequently asked questions from past presentations to be sure to include all hot topics.

The next step after the script was approved is to get a voice over completed.

There are many ways to approach this, one you can do it in house. just be sure to take many takes and edit the voice over to not have any unnecessary pauses or hick ups in the delivery.

An approach I would prefer to use is to hire a third party vendor

ie:

http://www.voicetalentonline.com/

They have a wide variety of talent and I like the ease of use.

Once the voice over script is completed and approved then it is time for us (nopun.com) to do our magic!

The magic starts with the music and pace of the project...

An Idea to putting original music with musicians you know is an awesome idea to try

or a quicker easier way could be to use getty.

https://secure.gettyimages.com/Music/PumpAudio

Once we have a piece of music we would like to use we add it to an after effects timeline where we tweak the sound levels to make sure the music sets the tone without over crowding the voice over.

Then its time to start adding the visual tone.

One of the most challenging aspects of designing a motion graphics piece is to get the "timing right" all the effects in the world and cool transitions don't mean a thing if the timing is off...

One of the best ways I like to set the timing and tone of a motion graphics piece is to take snippets of inspiration... and edit these snippets to the voice over to see if the tone and timing is right...

A great collection of where you can see some great Motion Graphics Inspiration can be found at

http://noel4nopun.blogspot.com/2009/07/motion-graphics-inspiration.html

Once you have the audio and inspiration in place

Its time to get to work.

Here are the elements I used for the PR piece that I believe could work for basically any piece

1) 3d in After effects

After effects has added a new property to its timeline, and that is 3d,

Although you are changing the properties of a 2d image, these effects can be used to really ad a great dimension to the project.

2) Reveal the Design

This is taking a well designed "frame" and letting the elements of the frame appear at different times. This is not the same as animating each piece into focus, but rather breaking up a static image and revealing these elements at different times.

3) Next is the animating each element.

Now this is one of the most time consuming parts of the project but well worth the effort.

You take a well designed frame, and you think of how these elements can be animated into focus through non traditional ways, through 3 spinning in, through a completely different shape, through breaking up an element into multiple layers then animating each layer, the ideas are limitless, and can be the fun-nest part of the project, just know you are going to be working on these elements a very long time, probably a good 12 hours or so per segment, so watch the budget!

4) Reveal Elements,

If you have simple screen shots, product shots or imagery to hep get a point across, think of interesting ways these elements can be presented.

Ie: a hole in the canvas that the piece come flowing out of, again the ideas can be limitless, but the point here is to go beyond a simple fade in trasition

5) Focus attention to,

This is where you have a screen shot or a layout and you want to put the viewers attention to a specific area, its a simple formula that seems to do the job. Simple screen capture that frame blur it out then scale the section to blow up and add a drop shadow, by doing this effect in after effect you can actually animate how each of these effects come in, which looks really cool, my only suggestion is that when you scale the piece you should only scale about 50-60%, anything bigger than that looks really obnoxious. But by doing this it may be hard for the viewer to zoom in so adding a text call out can help drive the point home.

6) Maya Scale, spin effects.

This is the fun part and yet again a very time consuming part.

Maya is great but it has a steep learning curve, and has a ton of variables that make you project look bad. It also needs the right timing which you should be able to track by viewing after effects timeline by frames instead of seconds. Then you have the actual material, and texture, then you have the lighting and the rendering, not that a lot of times rendering out animations can be very time consuming, you could spend hours doing and animation to then only wait hours before seeing, and this process continues throughout while tweaking...

I highly recommend Lynda.com for their tutorial on maya, the guy gives a great foundation on how to use maya...

Basically this step or element of style, is to take a scene and do simple Maya animations to create a wow, effect.

Things like rotating the abject or scaling the elements. Keeping it simple with no or little camera animations.

Not you will have to use the image plain to match up the 2d graphics from maya to the 3d environment, Take your time on matching this up.

7) Maya Write in,

This is the more complex aspect of maya, and the most time consuming, But probably the highest form of "wow" factor.

Maya has the ability to animate a shape in. through using a "partial" Nurb Extrude, loft, or planar effect added to a curve. (unfortunately this has taken me years to figure out and I can only wish you luck on learning how to do this, or at least until I get the chance to put together a tutorial video!)

The biggest challenge to this process, is the camera movement, I have discoverd that the best way is to start with the aim, up camera, this allows you to control where the carea is aiming and can control the tilt of the top of the camera.

You can try and attach the camera or the aim object to a path and control that path t create a smooth animation.

You could also animate the camera's movement manually by looking through it as you move around, I believe this was the approach I decided to go with for the PR newswire piece, its kinda hard to remember because this was definitely one the 14 hour work days.

Then when it comes time for the extruded shape, draw the curves with the cv tool (its the smoothest and you can control it with the vortex's)

Draw the shape as you animate through the camera view, adding points, deleting points, and inserting knots where compositionally you see fit. Tweak the curves until you are happey before extruding the shape, its easier to manage this way.

No matter how you look at it this will be a very time consuming part and will take the most effort in tweaking.

But the final result will make you proud...

Once the animation is worked out and you are ready for the clients to either love it or hate it

render out the entire moving then take each section piece by piece, if something doesn't "feel" right work on that one section until it does then move in the next.

once you have the final piece use sorensor squeeze to render out a f8_768K flv file.

Then go directly to dreamweaver to import the flv media, there you will be able to choose the type of playback skin you'd like and save the files out.

To present the movie you can simple have it load as soon as the url loads.

Or you can take the extra step and design an awesome splash page that invites the user to "launch video"

This is a cool script I use to open a window to show the piece.

http://flowplayer.org/tools/demos/overlay/index.html

Thats all for now.

Hope it helps not only you but my future me as well

Writing your press release for SEO

2009-08-21T05:39:00.000-07:00

It is no surprise that I have a Company Crush on Creare Group from the UK

Specifically because of their PR campaign and their focus on promoting their studio.

One of their secret weapons is the fact that they consistently launch a press release through http://www.officialwire.com practically every other day, that gets indexed by Google every time.

I have been trying to add a press release project to my marketing campaign for No Pun for a while now, but wasn't too sure where to start or on how to do it.

But Wouldn't you know it, the Creare Group has adding a two part series to their YouTube Channel further proving how cool these guys are...

You can check it out here

Now its time for action and try and get this project going.

First step in writing Press Release is to develop Topics

http://www.newzapp.co.uk/resource-hub/article-WritingEnewsletters.html

be an expert

feature guest writers

summarise or re-visit old content

feature case studies

discuss hot topics

want to know more?

Which can be Company Related or Industry Related

Secondly is "Newsworthy"

Current Events Related to Your company's

ie:Promotions, Products and Services

Current Affairs,

Industry Relevant News

And explain how you could provide solutions to these situations

following these points you can write or research

including what you want to achieve

First thing to develop is the title and your headline

1) attention grabbing and concise (Short and snappy)

2) Keep it relevant (If you promise something in your title, deliver it in the body)

3) Then keep it key word rich (Especially in the title, and the main body)

Structure the press release with the 5w's

1w) Who 2w) What 3w) Where 4w) When & 5w) Why

Then give an overview of your product and services and how it can be beneficial to your customers

Make sure it is punchy and avoid technical jargon that people outside your industry wouldn't understand with out sounding patronizing

Quotes and Statistics (Be sure that the statistics are from relevant sources not opinions from blogs)

Create a human element to the release that people can relate to

Quotes taken from specialist in the industry

Incorporating SEO

Take your two most desired Keywords

title = 1x

headline = if fits

lead in paragraph = 1x preferably at the beginning of the sentence

body = 5x for about 3 paragraphs with about 2 to 5 sentences per paragraph

second key phrase at least 2x in the

Be sure to add tags to the key words (make sure the places you submit your releases to allow tags)

Distributing your press releases

How to distribute your press releases online to help your SEO listings

Now that you have written your press releases with SEO in mind

Be sure that the sites you submit your site to have these 3 elements.

1) A high page rank

2) Relevant Categories

3) The ability to include links

first you should distribute to Google News

Then submit to Digg

Here is a list I (nopun.com) have been gathering to help get a start with online sites to submit to.

This first one is a paid service but is kinda the authority in press release submissions.

What I like about this is that they cover print in addition to online. It cost but if it pays off then why not?

Next are a few that I want to look into but don't have any details as of yet...

http://www.articlemaniac.com

http://www.prnewswire.com/

http://www.marketwire.com/

prurgent.com

http://www.pr-inside.com/

http://www.onlineprnews.com/

http://www.newswiretoday.com/

http://bx.businessweek.com/

http://www.officialwire.com/

http://www.prminds.com/

http://www.theopenpress.com/

http://www.live-pr.com/en/

http://taragana.com/

http://www.marketwire.com

www.prnine.com

here is a list of over 70 sites !

http://naldzgraphics.net/resources/70-recommended-sites-to-promote-your-design-related-articles/

Then update your facebook, linked in and twitter status with links to these articles

Thanks Creare Group this should give me some time to start writing my releases

You tube shows off their Google Optimizer Experiment

2009-08-21T04:57:00.000-07:00

You Tube demonstrates a before and after and the actual element they recently tested on their homepage.

Proving that little tweaks to the home page can make a big difference in conversion.

There are three things we can take away from this article.

1) That testing is important

2) There is no detail to small to test

3) The actual results they found to be true.

If you don't have the time and resources to test your own page out then why not use what they have found which is...

a) sign up button text, simple and to the point "Join YouTube Now!"

white text inside of a red speak bubble

b) next have a call to action description box, white with a simple message graphic Spelling out the benefit, "Don't Just Watch. Participate" Sign in or Sign Up now, note they Claim this works best inside a white box no colors

I could see this for no pun as "Don't Build it Yourself, Hire the Pro's" Tell us about your project

or "Don't Struggle, Hire No Pun" Get Started now

or a combination of the both, (uh oh) I see a google optimizer experiment emerging for no pun!

The biggest idea here is using Google Optimizer to guide your design decisions opposed to your instinct is a great way to go.

My only concern with this approach for client work is that this will increase the budget of a website production 3 to 5 times the amount and would make the client feedback less important, because we would be launching optimizer test(s) then tracking the results until we zero in on the final design.

Which both money and the clients desire to add their input into the design will be a hard sell.

I think I will do it for No Pun First before offering to clients

http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2009/08/look-inside-1024-recipe-multivariate.html

Press Releases for SEO

2009-08-20T05:23:00.000-07:00

Once again the Creare Group Strikes again!

I so want to be like these guys when I grow up.

I am convinced that they have the winning formula on how to make a design studio successful.

This press release talks about the need for press releases.

Especially for SEO purposes.

It seems as though they write a press release a day! or At least it gets indexed by google every day. In many cases they are saying the same thing with a little spin on it. But the key is that they are consistent with pushing content out-there.

They go even further with their you tube video blog. (Vlogging)

It makes me wonder how they have to time to do client work but I am sure they will eventually publish a press release on how they do that...

http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=16658&catid=544

Photoshop tutorial for "Ice"

2009-08-20T04:59:00.000-07:00

There are a million and one "more" photoshop tutorials out there.

This one came to my attention at a perfect time.

I have a local ice distributor wanting to do a website, and what he has now is horrible, but what I envision will be fantastic.

Although the example in the tutorial could be done better the actual steps outlined is a good starting point.

Stay tuned if I end up getting the project I will post my version of this tutorial at this post...

Advertising on your website

2009-08-19T05:49:00.000-07:00

There is a new trend emerging with big billboard banner ads on popular websites.

I gotta say it looks really refreshing.

And I would love to see the bigger named websites follow the lead of Dictionary.com

I don't think advertising is bad, if I did I don't think I would be doing what I do.

But I do realize that there is a lot of bad advertising out there (Espn.com)

But I have to say Dictionary.com's approach is refreshing, enlightening, and classy.

This approach could be beneficial to advertisers for the exposure, while websites like dictionary.com that where typically not designed at all can benefit from a professional look and feel.

I hope to see more of this in the future.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/13/dictionarycom-now-a-giant-web-billboard-your-ad-here

SEO

2009-08-19T05:41:00.000-07:00

There are a million and one suggestions on how to prepare your website for good search engine placement...

There are a lot of crossovers, and there are a few basic strategies that become common place...

I want to start this post to be collection of thoughts ideas and strategies.

Here's the first

http://www.promotionworld.com/se/articles/article/090812-SEO-Tips-From-Google-Bing

effective ways to write SEO titles

http://www.dailyseoblog.com/2009/09/8-tips-for-optimizing-page-titles-for-seo-design-the-best-page-titles/

tool by nopun that helps you write keyword rich and feature driven online copy

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dGZuY0xPV2FNVlgzSUxnVDVZSkRhNEE6MA..

Enough talk and more work

2009-08-19T05:24:00.001-07:00

We would love to have every project that comes into the studio be

There is nothing brief about a creative brief, you need to look at the project from many different angles and try and have enough foresight to make sure you accommodate every aspect of the job before the designer begins.

We have many forms, tools and questioners to try and help clients get the bottom of a creative brief and allows them to consider everything needed for the project before we begin.

What we have found is that although these briefs make it easier for the designer or a design studio to do great work, it really isn't necessary, with a bunch of work for the client.

Hiring a studio that can do great work but needs to be led by a creative brief vs. a studio like no pun who you can call up tell us you challenge and we will deliver you a solution. Usually before the other studio would even begin.

do great work vs. doing work they think is great

2009-08-19T05:04:00.000-07:00

In my design career I am mostly concerned with getting clients and doing work they think is great so I get sign offs. This chap seems to have been able to great work and got clients because of it... --

http://abduzeedo.com/stylish-illustration-and-designs-johannes-aagaard

Google is changing their search engine algorithm

2009-08-19T04:41:00.000-07:00

"Google has unveiled Caffeine, a "next-generation architecture" for its Web search platform. The retooled search engine is said to be faster, more accurate, and more comprehensive than the current Google search setup."

http://www.pcworld.com/article/170042/google_caffeine_faq_your_questions_answered.html

Google's test site for their new system can be found at

http://www2.sandbox.google.com/.

Any time Google changes this system it shift all the placements around. If your site was on the first page of a key phrase before this change you may not be after the change.

So all that hard SEO work you did has gone to waste!

For example I recently discovered nopun.com was placing Fourth from the top on the second page for the search term professional graphic design (which is awesome)

However it is nowhere to be found on their test site!...

But on the other hand if after the change I show up closer for the word "design" which is my most optimal key-phrase from my PPC campaigns then the change will be great.

I won't hold my breath on that one thought...

One thing is for sure with this change will come a change to your keyword positioning...

the downfall of hiring web design services from over seas

2009-08-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/4313-1250004809-when-it-comes-to-outsourcing-new-york-web-development-leader-says-youll-get-what-you-pay-for.html

Give up on big business and start your own

2009-08-13T05:58:00.001-07:00

http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=14969&catid=418