Author – Gabriel Catalano®

How to create a design style guide – thnxz to @CreativeBloQ

(Abstract… full article +INFO Creative Bloq )

A style guide shouldn’t read like the work of a control freak, but nor should it be vague and ambiguous. Paul Wyatt explains how to strike the right balance.

Here are (some of the best) tips for ensuring your style guide does the job right in ensuring others do it right.

It doesn’t have to be perfect

Obviously we’d all love to spend time and energy crafting the perfect design style guide for each project. But in the real world, that’s not always possible. If you’re up against a tight deadline and not able to create a style guide with lots of bells and whistles (and examples), be sure to include the most pertinent and helpful information about the brand or piece of work you’re created in the time you do have.

Full article +INFO 🙂

Essential elements

Start off with:

a written overview of the company it’s for
a rationale for the work carried out
information about logos; font usage; colour palette; tone of voice
photographic guides
collateral information

If you have enough time, it’s worth adding some examples of logo and typographic usage as well as links to master artwork/ brand collateral templates and helpful contacts within your agency or company.

Concentrate on the visible

Look around your workplace and you’ll (hopefully) see colleagues who look presentable and are nicely dressed. Quite possibly a large percentage of these people do not have matching pants and socks or bras and knickers. But who cares? You (hopefully) don’t get to see them. Similarly, in your style guide concentrate on the visible and the relevant. Try not to deep dive into creating colour palettes which then have sub colour palettes and then further sub, sub colour palettes which might never be used or seen.

Full article +INFO 🙂

Work with a copywriter

Big, bold words help energise and communicate brand values in an effective visual way

Work with a copywriter to energise and communicate the brand. This style guide potentially will be used client-side by the in-house creative team or sent out to other agencies to be applied in future work.

For your guide to be applied successfully it’s essential to communicate effectively in written form the brand spirit; the reason behind the work; what the guide is there for; and what the brand goals are that the creative using the guide should be mindful of.

Full article +INFO 🙂

Anticipate questions

At the end of the guide include relevant contacts and create a group email address should the reader have any queries about the guide and need to get in touch should there be something the guide does not explain. Although if you’ve included all the relevant details in your guide this should very rarely happen.

Also consider creating an FAQ as part of the guide and think about the top 20 questions a creative might ask about a brand when they first approach it. “I hate your logo. Do I have to use it?” is a question which isn’t allowed.

Create art-worked examples

Art worked header examples from the BBC visual language guide

Art-working up examples of creative templates can be a great way to showcase how the guide can be interpreted. Also consider supplying these files for download with the style guide.

The Google +1 Button Has No “Direct Effect” On Rankings

See on Scoop.it – Gabriel Catalano

Google’s +1s do not have a direct effect on a site’s ranking in search results. Google’s Matt Cutts said as much in a “Power Searching With Google” hangout on Google+ (via Alex Graves)

Here’s more of what Cutts had to say in the hangout: “In the short term, we’re still going to have to study and see how good the signal is, so right now, there’s not really a direct effect where if you have a lot of +1s, you’ll rank higher.

But there are things like, we have an authorship proposal, where you can use nice standards to markup your webpage, and you’ll actually see a picture of the author right there, and it turns out that if you see a picture of the author, sometimes you’ll have higher click through, and people will say, ‘oh, that looks like a trusted resource.’

So there are ways that you can participate and sort of get ready for the longer term trend of getting to know not just that something was said, but who said it and how reputable they were.”

“I think if you look further out in the future and look at something that we call social signals or authorship or whatever you want to call it, in ten years, I think knowing that a really reputable guy – if Dan has written an article, whether it’s a comment on a forum or on a blog – I would still want to see that. So that’s the long-term trend.”

… Continuar leyendo «The Google +1 Button Has No “Direct Effect” On Rankings»

4+ Recommendations To Enhance B2B SEO Initiatives

The start of the new year is the ideal time for B2B search engine marketers to reassess website strategy and determine where enhancements could be made to benefit SEO visibility.

With budgets still in review and benchmarks being set, focusing on site enhancements first could help maximize the benefits of all ongoing SEO initiatives, that are realized over the course of the year.

Marketingsherpa just released its 2012 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report and two points helped shape this column. First, B2B marketers experienced severe declines in the tactical effectiveness of two top initiatives, website strategy and SEO.

by Derek Edmond

The start of the new year is the ideal time for B2B search engine marketers to reassess website strategy and determine where enhancements could be made to benefit SEO visibility.

Second, while the B2B marketing role has not really changed, leading “cutting edge” initiatives and creating buzz continue to grow in priority, along with lead generation initiatives as a whole. Continuar leyendo «4+ Recommendations To Enhance B2B SEO Initiatives»

Setting Goals to Succeed: Lessons from a Freelance Classical Musician

Marion Harrington | Getting Started | http://freelanceswitch.com/

I never cease to be amazed by the number of players I meet who still believe in playing the classical music equivalent of corporate cubicle nation – clinging onto the notion that an orchestral job is fundamental to reputation and survival.

Those of us who have already escaped from the traditional straitjacket can assure you that life is infinitely more pleasurable and less stressful when you’re fully in control of your own destiny.

For classical music jobs, successful freelance musicians center their work around the concept of a “portfolio” career. In order to survive and thrive with such a lifestyle, just like learning to play an instrument, it is essential that you start with the basics in order to build solid foundations.

Following the method outlined below, I re-launched my classical music career after two decades out of the industry and have never looked back. It works! Continuar leyendo «Setting Goals to Succeed: Lessons from a Freelance Classical Musician»

The New Relationship: Do You Have a King or a Knight?

The new rules for choosing a life partner.

Recently, I’ve read a number of articles about the alpha woman/beta man relationship. As more women become breadwinners in their households, there seems to be a new stereotype forming around the label, the beta male.

Apparently, if a woman makes more money, has more ambition, and is possibly more educated than her husband, then he must be non-aggressive, domestic, and a bit dependent. If one sex rises in power, the other loses his clout.

Although this type of relationship exists, there are many healthy relationships with female breadwinners where the men have their own ambitions and drive. I wouldn’t call these men alpha or beta.

I believe there is a new type of male/female relationship forming in our culture not defined by who is more dominant and successful.

I first noticed this shift in the balance of power in relationships when doing my doctoral research. I found that as the earning muscle of a woman strengthens, her need for a man to take care of her financially subsides. Now, many smart, strong, goal-driven women are looking for emotional support instead.

Wander Woman | by Marcia Reynolds, Psy.D.
Guidance for the Goal-Driven Woman

The new rules for choosing a life partner.

Although this type of relationship exists, there are many healthy relationships with female breadwinners where the men have their own ambitions and drive. I wouldn’t call these men alpha or beta.

I believe there is a new type of male/female relationship forming in our culture not defined by who is more dominant and successful.

I first noticed this shift in the balance of power in relationships when doing my doctoral research. I found that as the earning muscle of a woman strengthens, her need for a man to take care of her financially subsides. Now, many smart, strong, goal-driven women are looking for emotional support instead.

Continuar leyendo «The New Relationship: Do You Have a King or a Knight?»

Look to Nature for a Creative Breakthrough

This is the first in a series of creative thinking techniques — simple ways you can spark new insights, ideas, and ahas. The techniques are excerpted from my award-winning book, Awake at the Wheel.

Leonardo DaVinci got his idea for the airplane by watching birds in flight.

The creators of Kung Fu developed many of their techniques by watching animals fight.

The pharmaceutical industry develops many of its “miracle cures” by studying the natural healing properties of herbs and plants.

Bottom line, nature is a great source of breakthrough ideas.

The secret for meeting your biggest challenge, in fact, may have already been worked out thousands of years ago by a cockroach.

by Mitch Ditkoff

This is the first in a series of creative thinking techniques — simple ways you can spark new insights, ideas, and ahas. The techniques are excerpted from my award-winning book, Awake at the Wheel.

Leonardo DaVinci got his idea for the airplane by watching birds in flight.

The creators of Kung Fu developed many of their techniques by watching animals fight.

The pharmaceutical industry develops many of its “miracle cures” by studying the natural healing properties of herbs and plants.

Bottom line, nature is a great source of breakthrough ideas.

The secret for meeting your biggest challenge, in fact, may have already been worked out thousands of years ago by a cockroach. Continuar leyendo «Look to Nature for a Creative Breakthrough»

Ten Things Your Employees Wish You Knew About Them

If you think it’s tough being a manager these days, try being an employee. Most are in the position of having to go with the flow because of the current economic conditions. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they do so with a smile on their face. Here are ten things your employees wish you knew about them:

1. They are happy to have a job. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they are happy in their job. Big difference. People who are happy in their jobs act a lot different than those grateful to have a job. They are highly engaged and will do whatever it takes to delight the customer. The other group simply floats along praying for the day they can tell you really what they are thinking. Most likely they will do this as they hand in their notice. That is if they even give notice.

2. You’re not the boss of me. My five year old used to say this to me all the time. That is until I corrected her by telling her that actually I was the boss of her and that what I said goes. You may be the boss, but you don’t own your people. The minute you start playing the, «Because I said so» card, you’ve lost the game.

3. Your girls don’t like being called girls. I remember how shocked I was when my first client started speaking to me about the girls in the office, as he pointed to a sea of silver haired women. That should have been a sign that the problem was right in front of me. It is disrespectful to call females over the age of 18 girls. They are women. Keep this in mind when referring to female employees or you’ll soon find yourself managing a team consisting of yourself. Then you’ll be free to reference yourself in the manner that best suits you.

BY FC Expert Blogger Roberta Matuson

(…)

1. They are happy to have a job. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they are happy in their job. Big difference. People who are happy in their jobs act a lot different than those grateful to have a job. They are highly engaged and will do whatever it takes to delight the customer. The other group simply floats along praying for the day they can tell you really what they are thinking. Most likely they will do this as they hand in their notice. That is if they even give notice.

2. You’re not the boss of me. My five year old used to say this to me all the time. That is until I corrected her by telling her that actually I was the boss of her and that what I said goes. You may be the boss, but you don’t own your people. The minute you start playing the, «Because I said so» card, you’ve lost the game.

3. Your girls don’t like being called girls. I remember how shocked I was when my first client started speaking to me about the girls in the office, as he pointed to a sea of silver haired women. That should have been a sign that the problem was right in front of me. It is disrespectful to call females over the age of 18 girls. They are women. Keep this in mind when referring to female employees or you’ll soon find yourself managing a team consisting of yourself. Then you’ll be free to reference yourself in the manner that best suits you. Continuar leyendo «Ten Things Your Employees Wish You Knew About Them»

Seth Godin dejará de publicar libros tradicionales

Uno de los gurús más importantes del marketing y el panorama tecnológico a nivel mundial, Seth Godin, ha anunciado que dejará de publicar libros en papel. Después de haber escrito 12 libros, no cree que el esfuerzo que implica el proceso tradicional de publicación merezca la pena. Godin es autor de libros tan populares como “La vaca de color púrpura”.

Durante una entrevista con Mediabistro, Godin explicó que no le gusta “el largo periodo de espera, los filtros, el gran esfuerzo que se hace para el lanzamiento, obligar a la gente a que vaya a una tienda que generalmente no visita para comprar algo que habitualmente no compra, y hacerles pagar por una idea en un formato en el que es difícil de divulgarse”.

El experto asegura que todo ese esfuerzo no merece la pena, porque puede llegar a “10 o 50 veces más gente de manera electrónica”.

http://www.marketingdirecto.com

Amazing Examples of Paper Art

Henry Jones

When most people think of art involving paper, they think of drawing, sketching, or maybe painting. However, there are very talented people out there that create art from paper in more unusual ways. I’m talking about paper art that involves creative forms of cutting, folding, and carving. Materials for this type of art can vary, ranging from ordinary paper to whole books. To inspire you and let you see what other things artists are doing with paper, we’ve collected some pretty amazing works for you to enjoy.

To learn more about each work and the artist, just click on the image.

Henry Jones

To learn more about each work and the artist, just click on the image.

Continuar leyendo «Amazing Examples of Paper Art»

The Definition of Designer

For anyone who has ever dreamed of a career in the design field, I ask you this: What is design?

I have been asked this question in many ways over the years. Mostly the question has been aimed at my philosophy of design or my POV on it. But the definition is something that many of us may have simply overlooked. The formal definition can be found below.

Design is a specification of an object, manifested by an agent, intended to accomplish goals, in a particular environment, using a set of primitive components, satisfying a set of requirements, subject to constraints.

[Source]

I have paraphrased it for a 140 character-friendly world.

Design is the creation of an object to accomplish goals with specific requirements in a particular environment subject to constraints.

Author Garett

For anyone who has ever dreamed of a career in the design field, I ask you this: What is design?

[Source]

I have paraphrased it for a 140 character-friendly world.

Design is the creation of an object to accomplish goals with specific requirements in a particular environment subject to constraints. Continuar leyendo «The Definition of Designer»

80+ Useful PSD Templates For Web Designers

Reinventing the wheel is rarely a good idea, and this is especially true when it comes to creative activities such as design. The less time you spend on tedious tasks, the more time you have for expressing your ideas and being original. Fortunatel,y the design community is very generous in this regard, huge amounts of resources are freely available online, from simple design templates to complex illustrations. This collection brings you 80+ amazing customizable PSD files to help you out with your future projects, either by directly applying them in your designs or just for learning purposes.

While most of these files can be used for most of your projects, as with any freebie, make sure you read the description about the usage or contact the author if it’s not clear. With that said, we hope you’ll find this collection useful for both your personal and professional work!

noupe.com

Reinventing the wheel is rarely a good idea, and this is especially true when it comes to creative activities such as design. The less time you spend on tedious tasks, the more time you have for expressing your ideas and being original. Fortunatel,y the design community is very generous in this regard, huge amounts of resources are freely available online, from simple design templates to complex illustrations. This collection brings you 80+ amazing customizable PSD files to help you out with your future projects, either by directly applying them in your designs or just for learning purposes.

Icons, buttons & badges

Glass Video Playback Buttons
via Birofunk

Windows buttons PSD
via Vicing

PSDFox
via Vathanx

Continuar leyendo «80+ Useful PSD Templates For Web Designers»

Tips for Effective Storyboarding

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, how much could I get for a strip of eight?

Whether you’re working on an interactive project, commercial TV spot, animation, or indie film – storyboards are an effective way to quickly tell a story, show an animation sequence, or describe a user experience. Storyboards are particularly effective at visually communicating action, timing of dialogue and voice-over, and camera movement in a scene. Early on in the production process, they are necessary to tell the story and communicate the concept. Later on, they serve as a guide to produce the final work – and they often include technical notes and markup. Detailed storyboards make sure everyone is on the same page and can often prevent major pitfalls that affect production and cost.

In this article you will learn how to create storyboards and present them. At the bottom of the post you’ll find free storyboard templates available for download.

: Image via Wikipedia

Author Joshua P.

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, how much could I get for a strip of eight?

In this article you will learn how to create storyboards and present them. At the bottom of the post you’ll find free storyboard templates available for download. Continuar leyendo «Tips for Effective Storyboarding»

Weekly Web Design and Development Inspiration

This is our selection of our favorite web designs from the past week or so, some sites we discovered, but the most of them have been recommended by our readers.
Thanks for all your recommendations, and we hope you like this selection of sites as much as we do, feel free to comment and let us know what you think.

This is our selection of our favorite web designs from the past week or so, some sites we discovered, but the most of them have been recommended by our readers.

Thanks for all your recommendations, and we hope you like this selection of sites as much as we do, feel free to comment and let us know what you think.

Paul Bennett

Continuar leyendo «Weekly Web Design and Development Inspiration»

50 Useful Articles and Resources You May Have Missed

When it comes to online tutorials and articles, you have to be very careful in choosing the right one from tens of thousands of articles you find as you are seeking help in the Web. So today we present nice articles and tutorials which are easy to understand and will surely add to your knowledge.

Web Development

The Principle of Contrast in Web Design
A web design is made of many different elements, each having varying levels of importance and some demanding prominence over others. Some elements share a relationship, while others are not related at all. Author will share these principles.

Personal Branding for Web Designers
In this article, author will tell web designers that their self- branding strategies should be equally creative as their designs are.

Redesign vs. Realign
Many designers are still approaching website changes as redesigns, with little thought to whether they should be redesigning or realigning the site for their clients. This article states their comparision and differences.

The Current State of Web Design: Trends 2010
In this article, we present some observations on the current state of Web design. We describe existing and upcoming trends and explain how Web design might evolve in the coming months and years. We’ll also touch on what we as Web designers should be ready for to keep abreast of new challenges and opportunities.

Applications of AIDA In Website Designing
Marketing is a very broad term and holds a lot of importance in this cut-throat competition of online business. It deals with the familiar, therefore, it generates the need to come up with a systemic way and a lot of creativity.

New WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts
WordPress Keyboard shortcuts are a good option to save your time by allowing you to perform your actions quickly. These shortcuts make job of administration a lot easier and more user friendly. Continuar leyendo «50 Useful Articles and Resources You May Have Missed»

A Closer Look at Hierarchy in Web Design

By: Kayla Knight

// //

Many times designers will depend on other great designs for inspiration, trends, or ‘tricks of the trade’ to get by. However, learning the basic design principles and getting a feel for how they are applied to web design is essential for the career of any designer. In this post, we’re going to take a close look at one of those basic design principles, and how it applies specifically to web design.

Hierarchy Web Design

Hierarchy is the element that makes users look where they do and when they do it. The top hierarchical element on a web page will be the first thing the user sees, and the lowest will be the last. It’s easy to see why hierarchy has such a profound effect on web design — it’s all about the user experience, and any website‘s presentation to the user. In this post, we’ll cover some of the basics of working with correct hierarchy, and how it specifically applies to web design. Continuar leyendo «A Closer Look at Hierarchy in Web Design»