Oct 11, 2011
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written by Amy Flashenberg
According to a recent study, iPads are driving more web traffic than iPhones—a trend that organizations should keep in mind when thinking of interesting ways to reach out to more constituents using the devices they seem to be using.
Optimizing websites for mobile consumption is a good first step. Because of the iPad’s larger screen size, it’s more conducive to reading text, viewing images on larger scale, and watching videos than the iPhone, so including this type of content on the mobile site (while keeping it simple, as is customary with mobile sites) is a good idea.
Also, if a large portion of web traffic is coming through the iPad, apps are another feature organizations can consider. Apps that may not work on the iPhone because of its small screen size may be better suited for the iPad, so you can get creative when it comes to thinking about presenting your information in a more visual way.
Here is the Mashable article that has more details about the study: http://mashable.com/2011/10/11/ipad-web-traffic-2/
Be sure to consider not only the content that you put out in the Internet ether, but also how your viewers and readers are accessing that information.
Sep 29, 2011
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written by Amy Flashenberg
Facebook announced the release of its Timeline feature last week, and the social network is buzzing about how beautiful it actually is. The new profiles take photos, videos and other content that you’ve posted and lay it out in two-column format (divided down the middle by a timeline). The new look of these profiles is a far cry from the profiles of yesterday, making them more pleasing by focusing on visual content that’s been published.
So what does this mean for brand pages? Although they haven’t done it yet, this article from Mashable includes some examples of what brand pages could look like with the new profiles, and I have to say it’s looking good.
As some of these examples suggest, the profiles could emphasize images, video and other visual elements, so it might be in an organization’s best interest to start posting more of this kind of content—that way, when the timelines take effect, you will be taking full advantage of the new design.
Think photos of your events, videos that tell a story, and compelling content that complements these visual elements.
You can view the Mashable article here for inspiration.
May 24, 2011
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written by Amy Flashenberg
Technology is advancing at a fast pace, and with increasing competition for creative jobs, everyone in the industry has to work constantly to advance their skills and to keep pace with the evolving marketplace.
While designers might be comfortable designing for print, they will need to upgrade their skills to include HTML, CSS and PHP programming and perhaps more advanced courses in content management systems, such as WordPress, to fit the needs of most agencies. A good foundation in the theories of online design and user experience are also a necessity in many work environments.
Writers are now called on to not only produce copy for the Web, but also to create content for social media sites. If you have been a writer for other media for many years, a quick refresher course on how to write for online venues may be all you need.
To keep up with job requirements in your creative field, it’s not necessary to pursue another academic degree. Many of the courses offered locally and online will give you the flexibility to work while you learn. Some are one-off classes and others are more extensive certificate programs. All will help you become more employable!
Here are just a few schools and training companies that we’ve heard offer very good programs:
>Local Classes
-Thomas Piwowar & Associates (Washington, D.C.) – Offers courses in HTML, CSS, Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, ePubs, Acrobat and digital audio and video from a digital media perspective. TJPA also offers a full Digital Publishing Series for those interested in more comprehensive ePub training.
>Academic Certificate Programs
-Georgetown University’s Certificate in Digital Media Management – Provides best practices for distribution and promotion of content through social media channels, including mobile devices, Web 2.0, banner/display ads and SMS.
-Georgetown University’s Certificate in Interactive Marketing – Focuses on the characteristics and benefits of marketing for the Web, as well as integration of interactive marketing with broader marketing efforts.
-Georgetown University’s Certificate in Professional Writing for the Digital Age – Examines current research on how social and new media affect the way people read and how writers should write for online media.
>Online Classes
- Lynda.com – Offers software training via videos that are accessible 24/7. A monthly subscription is required for access to most full-length videos.
-MediaBistro.com – A good source of online courses covering new/social media and writing for these media.
Apr 5, 2011
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written by Eileen Kessler
From the 1st day of the Business Publishing Conference in NYC—where the mood feels both anxious and excited about the future— a few stand outs:
1. Magazines: The big guns like Esquire will be setting the creative bar for design and interactivity for online magazines. Esquire’s editor-in-chief, David Granger, wowed the opening session with a presentation of their new mag app, featuring video of their cover stars. Large budget publishers will be constantly pushing the boundaries in this expensive medium. Like the flat top ketchup bottle he brought as an example, magazines must retain their appeal, but also change for the medium. Designers: get an IPAD and subscribe to the leading magazines for ideas and inspiration.
2. Advertisements will become more entertaining and interactive. Wonder Factory’s creative director, Joe McCambley previewed new ads in development that will be mini worlds of interactivity. For example, within an online ad, a user might change a camera lens and see instant results, or a woman could apply makeup to a model with her complexion—again immediate interaction within the advertisement itself. And, guess what? Readers want Ads like this in magazines, unlike the commodity banner ads they skip on websites.
3. Print Design Revival. Joe McCambley also said he thought that new mag apps especially spotlight the work of print designers, who he felt brought more aesthetics to this medium than web designers. The IPAD is a natural medium for creative print people.
4. De-aggregation: publications that target a niche subject and audience can concentrate their creative energy on being the best in their field, drawing readers back again. But the President of Merriam-Webster, John Morse, said many businesses find themselves “competing with Google.” For example, a user now searches for a word and its definition appears in the search results, vs. going to his company’s site or dictionary.com. BTW, the top word search of the week is “insidious.”
5. Publishing Apps: There will be dramatic changes for E-Reader creation tools over the next year. New platforms are springing up like Mag+ from Sweeden, and others, like Texterity, are adding new features. It seems that the publishing model for apps varies widely and there’s still a steep entry fee no matter which app creation method you adopt.
Feels like 1990. Everything happening now reminds me of the early days of desktop publishing, when Aldus turned things upside down with PageMaker and Apple introduced the first Mac. Now they’ve done it again with the IPAD. For readers and information hounds, it gets better and better, for us creative studio leaders and publishers, it’s another exciting but costly and challenging time. Day 2 of the conference is about to begin!
Mar 28, 2011
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written by Amy Flashenberg
For most organizations these days, having a presence on various social networks is a necessity, but a common issue is the limitations of how an organization can display its logo on these sites.
Most social networks constrain the proportions of an avatar/profile picture to small, often square-shaped spaces. This can present a problem if your logo is set up in a more horizontal presentation (a fairly common setup when designing for print materials and website headers). This forces you to either severely reduce the size of your logo to fit into the small space, rendering it microscopic and illegible, or select a portion of the logo that fits into the limited space, which often means cutting out parts of the logo.
How do you get around this issue? Here are a few suggestions:
- Make sure that any imagery used in your logo can be used on its own, without any accompanying typography in the logo. This allows you to pull out the image from the logo (assuming it’s more square-shape friendly) and use it for your avatars and profile pictures without having to include text that will inevitably have to be shrunk down to unreadable size.
- Request the logo design be suitable for a square shape from the outset. This will allow the designer to develop a concept that works for all materials, including social media sites.
You want people to recognize that your Facebook, YouTube and Flickr pages belong to you, so make sure your logo represents your organization the way you want it to be seen, rather than a miniaturized/cropped shell of the logo that once was.
