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Understanding culture

Part of my goings-on about the user experience include knowing your audience and understanding what makes them tick. A huge part of the behavioral information that you can glean about a particular audience segment is culture. I came across an article on Business Insider that represents visually how cultures around the world negotiate.

Why should you care? Because how people handle conflict is direct representation of their values. You cannot reach an audience unless you understand, appreciate and share their values. There’s a shameless plug for the book in the article. I got it, and it is fascinating. A quick review to follow.

Shock and aww

So I was engaged in a conversation earlier today about User Experience, UX for short. This, along with User Interface (UI) design, are the hot button topics of web design now. Suddenly, companies care about their users now that the web has evolved and flattened so that users have a say in how they interact… More

Another gem of an article. http://lnkd.in/dgHftfK

a little something interesting I found: http://lnkd.in/dgHftfK from LinkedIn via IFTTT

Book Review: About Face: The Secrets of Emotionally Effective Advertising by Dan Hill

I am an avid reader of design and advertising books. As geeky as it sounds, I read those types of books as my pleasure reading. I always want to know more about how to excel at my craft. Every so often there comes along a book that completely changes the way that I think about… More

This is a must read for everyone in the design field and those that work with designers. It’s not a power struggle unless you make it one. http://lnkd.in/dhABgnu

a little something interesting I found: http://lnkd.in/dhABgnu from LinkedIn via IFTTT

Comcast Direct Response Television is here

Check out this article: It’s about Comcast Direct Response TV. Direct Response TV allows the viewer to use their remote control to interact with or take an action suggested by the content and I just saw a DRTV ad for the Ford Focus this evening. DRTV is in the Philly/Wilmington media market! I am familiar… More

I’m givin’ it all she’s got, Cap’n!

You remember when Scotty, the engineer on the Enterprise always came up with a solution to catastrophic damage to the ship in a third the time he told Kirk it would take? Or that he was “givin’ it all she’s got” when Kirk asked for more power and found just enough to save the day?… More

Let’s Dance

New client meeting tonight in Bear, and it is a dance of peacocks, preening, spitting and strutting their accomplishments. Each person trying to one-up the other and demonstrate their knowledge of the best way to promote the business in question. Enter the owner, who has spent months or years in the trenches. Enter the marketer,… More

Location marketing on location (Me gusta “lo-sos”)

One of my favorite neighborhood restaurants is taking advantage of location marketing. For those of you that don’t know, location marketing takes advantage of smart phones equipped with GPS. On location-based social sites, also known as “lo-so”s, like Facebook, Yelp! and Loopt, a user can “check in” to establishments near him/her and the savvy business… More

(free) information is power 2

Responded to an email that came through the site last week (I know, that was a little too long to wait) and a request for marketing assistance  for $1000 per year. That’s a very low number, and I told them so. But instead of telling them to get lost, here’s what I did. I gave… More

The mee goreng principle

A lot has been said about User Experience and how critical it is to the success of any web site. I couldn’t agree more. Here is an example of what I mean: I’m in an Asian restaurant for the first time today. I’ve been past it, looked at the menu in the window but never… More

Deal-breaker

So how many times has this happened to you: You want some information from a company’s website. They tell you that it is free, but then WHAM. You get hit with a form that asks for way more information than you are prepared to give for a 5-page PDF on whatever. And. you. bail. This… More

Help me help you

I had a fascinating kick-off conversation with a new client today, Jim Israel formerly of Culinary Concepts in Philadelphia, PA. He is starting a new consulting company aimed at the hospitality industry. Usually, my clients struggle with their identities, their mission and their unique selling points. Jim had all of that in spades. I was… More

Brand Culture: Creating a community around your small business brand…a primer

Years ago, when the web was relatively young, I remember business owners asking me to build them a website with the rationale that “they just needed one.” There was no more discussion than that. Me, being young and hungry, built them a site that, for the time and my skill level, looked great. But then… More

How close is too close?

So here is a client relations issue that many of us small business-facing creatives have: Getting too close to your client. Generally, my small business clients are usually run by a single person. That person usually has the chops to run a business and sell him/herself to the general public. One of the reasons that… More

It’s a knockout

An often overlooked logo design element is the knockout version. The knockout is the version of the logo that would appear on a dark background. There are many times when a logo cannot be reproduced in full color due to the environment where the logo will be placed or the costs associated with printing in… More

I couldn’t have done it without you

I am addicted to Facebook. Twitter, not so much, in that the opportunities for feedback are limited and a tweet is just that-a short little burst that gets lost in the cacophony of other tweets. I like having followers, no doubt about that, but I think that in the social sphere, my money is on… More

new logo

Heya guys! Here’s a logo that was just approved for a massage therapist client. In my research, I found lots of massage logos to be a little on the heavy side. This logo is meant to convey health, cleanliness and serenity. Tell us what you think.