10 things I didn't have growing up, but couldn't function without now

As part of GenY, I'm a bit obsessive about my technology. I check my email far too frequently, never leave home without my cell phone, and DVR way too many shows. As I was driving down the highway yesterday, I started thinking about all of the things that I'm now so intertwined with I would go into withdrawal if they were taken away, and yet everything on that list is a relatively recent addition to my life. So I thought it would be fun to make a list of the things I I didn't have growing up, but couldn't function without now. These are in no particular order because I tried to rank them, but couldn't! :)

Cell Phone: I'm not half as high-tech here as I could be, but my aging pink Razr is one of my nearest and dearest friends. It goes with me wherever I go, and even sits on my nightstand when I sleep, where it also functions as my alarm clock when I actually need it (my four cats take care of waking me up these days). It also serves as my business phone, so my clients are able to reach me even when I'm out and about. I've been debating whether or not to upgrade to a Crackberry or another of the smart phones, but know that as obsessively as I check my email now, that could be a very dangerous thing indeed! Which leads me to...

Email: While I'm always glad to talk to my clients on the phone (friends and family too), I am a huge fan of email. It gives me a record of everything I need to do in an easily accessible location, and with a few clicks and searches, I can generally find any information I've ever received from a client. Ask me two years later to find some notes I scribbled during a phone conversation and it's questionable (but still likely) that I'll be able to track them down. But the email from two years ago is still safely filed in that client's folder in Entourage. I've had email for quite some time now...my family first signed up for Prodigy (an old school internet service provider) when I was in middle school. I still remember my first email address (KNFJ75B@prodigy.com...and no, I didn't pick that snazzy succession of letters and numbers) and am still friends with one of my penpals that I met on Prodigy way back in 7th grade (Hi Kristen!)...and yes, we met online, but then proceeded to actually write each other real letters...how quaint, right? We also had a 2400 BPS modem that plugged in to the phone jack and a cord stretched across to our computer...dial-up of course. Which leads me to...

High-Speed Internet: 2400 BPS dial-up was SLOW, and painfully so. Of course I didn't realize that back then, but as technology started picking up speed it became painfully obvious just how slow it was. Now with my super-speedy Fios, everything online is pretty much instantaneous, which is perfect for an admittedly impatient me. Which leads me to...

Computers: Like I said, my family got a computer pretty early on, so I'm not sure if this officially belongs on the list, but comparing my computer today to that first computer is such a drastic contrast that it pushed it over the edge. While I used PCs for a very long time, my career in design necessitated a jump to Mac, and I will never go back, as they say. I spend a lot of time with my MacBook, which I have docked to a big flatscreen monitor, speakers and my tablet/mouse, but I can still take it with me when I'm out and about, which is the perfect solution for me. Which leads me to...

WiFi: While this isn't a perfect science yet, I love that I can take my laptop just about anywhere and find a connection to check my email, look something up or kill some time. Airports, restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, check, check, check and check. And even in my home office, I'm not actually wired in. I can work at my desk (where I can usually be found since that big monitor comes in handy) or unplug and sit on the couch or on the back porch just as easily. Which means that information is almost instantaneously accessible wherever I go. Which leads me to...

Google: How did we survive without Google? Seriously. I would guess that at least 50 times a day (which may be a conservative guess), I open Google and search for something, whether it's specific vendors I'm looking for, directions I need (Google Maps), random facts, research I need, etc. etc. etc. And I'm sure you do the same. We all do, which is why Google is so huge. And in addition to the traditional search engine, there are other fun features. Which leads me to...

Google Reader/Blogs: I read a lot of blogs. I think at last count I was over 75, which includes a mix of marketing information, entertainment news, updates from friends, and random info including cat blogs and my new favorite, Cake Wrecks, which has hilarious commentary on poorly decorated cakes. (Totally random, but great for a good laugh when I need a quick break!) I used to have all of these blogs bookmarked and have to go check them to see if anything new was posted (I read fewer blogs at this point!), and then I discovered the magic of RSS. I now subscribe to all of these blogs in my Google Reader, and it magically tells me every time there's a new post. I don't even have to go to the blogs to read them (unless I want to read the comments, but hey, maybe they'll fix that soon), I just click through them right from the Reader interface. (If you don't have an RSS reader set up and you read more than this blog, go do it right now!) When I write in my blogs, the posts automatically show up in my Google Reader and on Facebook, which leads me to....

Social Networking: Before the internet, if you had long-lost friends, they generally stayed long-lost. But since the advent of social networking, I've been able to find nearly all of the friends I'd lost touch with, including my elementary school friends from South Carolina, middle school friends from before I was rezoned, high school friends before the reunion and college friends to network with now that we're all out in the real world. It started with MySpace, but now I'm an avid Facebooker, and it's made it so much easier to keep in touch with my friends and even my family. I'm reminded of their birthdays, get to see pictures of their kids and lives in general, know what they're currently doing, and can easily check in to say hi or comment on any of the previously mentioned items. Facebook stays open on my computer all day, which leads me to...

Digital Music: Just like the ubiquitous Facebook, my iTunes is always playing in the background on my computer, on shuffle of course. I love music and have a large, eclectic library of music stored on my computer and on my MP3 player. Do I have CDs? Yes, but the last one I actually purchased was from a long time ago, and most of the ones I occasionally listen to are burned compilations of various artists. At home, it's a mix of everything on iTunes, and at the gym, my MP3 player has upbeat songs to motivate me. In the car, it's usually still the plain old radio, but hey, we can't be high-tech all the time, can we? Which leads me to...

DVR: Live television. I realize that as a member of the advertising community I should watch it, but since we got our first DVR a few years back, I very rarely do. We record an ungodly number of shows between the two DVRs in our house, and we watch them all on our own time. "What did she say?" I just rewind it to find out. Phone ringing? Pause. While there are still a few shows I watch live (LOST!), I couldn't even tell you when most of the shows I watch are actually on, because I watch them all after the fact. When I was little, I called our very basic cable box the "Fraggle Box" because I knew that when I pushed a button, it would put my favorite show, the Fraggles, on the TV for me. My DVR is one smart Fraggle Box.

So there we are. A ridiculously long post about my technological must-haves, and probably too much insight into my technologically obsessive life. So tell me...what did I miss? What are your favorite old-school technology memories? How many blogs do you read? Leave a comment and let me know!

Top 10 Holiday Eco-Tips

How scary is this? An estimated 2.6 billion holiday cards are sold each year in the United States, enough to fill a football field 10 stories high. It is estimated that between Thanksgiving and the New Year an extra million tons of waste are generated nationwide each week. In fact, 38,000 miles of ribbon alone is thrown out each year--enough to tie a bow around the earth!

Needless to say our society tends to get more than a bit wasteful when December rolls around. Since being environmentally friendly is very important at Perceptivity Studio, I did some research to find out how I could be more "green" during the holidays. I decided to share this information in our holiday card this year to encourage our clients, associates, friends and family to join my efforts, and thought that those of you whose addresses I didn't have might still enjoy reading them!

Here are our top 10 holiday eco-tips for a greener Christmas:

10. Consider purchasing a live tree from a local Christmas tree farm and then planting it in your yard. It’s beautiful during the holidays, and then you get to watch it grow!

9. Give gifts that can be experienced, like tickets to a baseball game or a homemade dinner, to minimize waste from wrapping gifts.

8. Find out what services your family and friends are already using and pre-pay for them as a gift, like a month at their gym or their Netflix subscription.

7. If it’s time to replace your holiday lights, consider replacing them with LED lights—they’re 90 percent more efficient than traditional incandescent lights.

6. For holiday dinners and parties, use non-disposable utensils and dishes to reduce waste.

5. Save your gift boxes, ribbon and even wrapping paper each year and reuse them. If it can’t be reused, separate the leftovers and recycle what you can.

4. Instead of using traditional gift bags to wrap presents, buy reusable tote bags. They’re only 99 cents at most major stores, and the recipient can use them again and again.

3. Designate a certain hour every night to turn the holiday lights on. That way you can gather and enjoy them together and save some energy—and money—in the process.

2. Send holiday cards printed on recycled paper. The Perceptivity Studio holiday card is printed on paper made from 100% post consumer fibers, meaning it contains no new trees. Please recycle it (and your other cards) after the holidays.

1. Make a New Year’s Resolution to “go green” in 2009, and start making your home and/or office more environmentally friendly.

Need help making your marketing efforts more eco-friendly or green? Eco-friendly marketing is one of our specialties, and we would love to help you accomplish that #1 tip in 2009. Read more about our eco-friendly, "green" marketing services, and contact us to learn more about what we can do to help your company!

I wish you all a very safe, happy and "green" holiday season, and a wonderful 2009! Thank you all for helping make 2008 such a great first year for Perceptivity Studio!

Anatomy of a custom holiday card

I just finished a fun custom holiday card project for one of my clients, and thought it would be fun to share the process we went through to create it.

Elizabeth, one of my clients from Tanglewood, was looking for a custom holiday card to send out to friends and family this year, and saw my $99 Custom Holiday Card design special in my fall newsletter.

We tossed around a few ideas, but she mentioned that a friend had done a really beautiful line drawing of their home, and maybe I could "Christmas it up" a bit to use on their custom holiday card.

Here is the original drawing, done by Rosemary Williams:




























I also requested a photo of Elizabeth's gorgeous house:





























I took the drawing into Photoshop, sampled colors from the photo, and "painted" the line drawing to mimic her home. I also added Christmas lights to the roofline and the sailboat in her window, some snowflakes falling through the air, and the little topiary trees on her porch.

After I was done "Christmasing up" the artwork, I created the custom holiday card layout in InDesign, adding the background, design elements and typography that matches the Tanglewood logo I created for them earlier this year.

Here is the final custom holiday card:

























































Thanks for letting me work on this project, Elizabeth, and I hope you and your family have a very happy holidays!

If anyone else is interested in taking advantage of my $99 Custom Holiday Card design special, contact me soon! The holidays will be here before you know it! Running short on time? A New Year's card can also work well. And we can also help you be eco-friendly with either a custom holiday card printed on 100% recycled paper (like Perceptivity Studio will be sending out this year) or even a custom e-card like I'm currently designing for Bacon Group Architecture.

Perceptivity Studio & Bacon Group Architecture win two Awards of Excellence at the IABC Bronze Quill Awards

Bacon Group Architecture entered two categories in the IABC Tampa Bay Bronze Quill Awards, and we attended their banquet in downtown Tampa last night to find out the results. We are excited to announce that we won two of their four highest awards, Awards of Excellence, for our entries! Our customizable trade show displays were recognized in the design category and the campaign as a whole was also recognized. It was such an honor, and I am so proud of what we accomplished!

It's been a long process re-branding Bacon Group Architecture from start to finish, but we finally finished their whole campaign, and I couldn't be more pleased with the results! While I've posted bits and pieces of the Bacon Group Architecture work in this blog, I've never posted it all in once place, so here it is, including the logo, corporate identity (letterhead, envelopes, business cards, labels, notepads), niche market brochure, corporate brochure/pocket folder, website, signage, proposal template, trade show display and trade show advertisement.









































































































































































Again, we are so honored to have our hard work recognized by the IABC, and it makes me so happy to see how consistently Bacon Group's brand is presented across all of their different marketing materials now. (When you're a marketing nerd like I am, these things are exciting!) It has truly been a pleasure working with Mindy Bacon, the Director of Marketing at Bacon Group, to create and implement a new, professional image for their company.

To learn more about Bacon Group Architecture, visit www.bgarchitects.com or call 727-725-0111.

Notes on Efest and the Eco-Friendly Marketing Booth

As I mentioned last week, Perceptivity Studio exhibited at the Efest Green Living Festival this past weekend at a booth with our green signage partner, Precision Digital Greenworks. I am exhausted from a long two days, but energized by the positive energy from the festival.

Not only did Efest meet my expectations, it far exceeded them! There were over 10,000 people there over the course of the two-day festival, and we met so many wonderful people looking to make a difference, many of whom I hope to work with in the future to make their marketing materials more "green" and environmentally friendly.

Here are some pictures from our butterfly-themed booth:



















We had a raffle to win a trip to the Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville to go along with the theme of our booth.



Sarah from Precision Digital Greenworks (left) and I had a great time at our booth on Sunday.

















I definitely plan on going back again next year!

If you're a new reader from Efest, welcome to our blog! Feel free to subscribe via the RSS feed if you use a reader or via email if you don't. (The links are in the top right corner.)

Eco-Friendly Marketing: Less is More

I read about this billboard in Denver here and wanted to share its brilliance with you:
















What a clever idea! While this message is specifically referring to the conservation of water, it applies to so many other things, and I think it's great of Denver Water to also use less billboard vinyl--and thus be kinder to the environment in the process--to get their message across. It's a great example of eco-friendly marketing, and how you can be more environmentally responsible while still using that consciousness as a marketing advantage. Instead of noticing the message less, I'm guessing most people will actually notice it more.

I'm off to exhibit at the Efest Green Living Festival tomorrow in Sarasota, so eco-friendly marketing is heavy on my mind. I just got the Perceptivity Studio "Eco-Friendly Marketing Services" brochures (printed on 100% post-consumer fiber recycled paper, of course!) back from the printer, and am co-exhibiting with my clients at Precision Digital Greenworks, an eco-friendly display company (read about their new marketing materials here), so our whole backdrop and banner stands are made from eco-friendly materials...including biodegradable PVC in lieu of nasty vinyl, and renweable bamboo for the banner stand hardware. Our booth has a "butterfly" theme to symbolize the transformation of our products and services to be more eco-friendly. I'm excited to see our whole booth set up in the morning!

If you'd like a copy of our new brochure, which features descriptions of our eco-friendly, "green" marketing services, as well as examples of some of the "green" projects we've completed thus far, leave a comment here, or send me an email and I'll get one out in the mail to you.

Guerrilla Marketing for Obama: Vending Machine "Change"

It's been a long election season, so needless to say I'm excited to go cast my vote on Tuesday! Which leads me to a very important reminder: GO VOTE ON TUESDAY! We've seen in the past few elections that every vote really, truly counts, so please, regardless of who you're planning to vote for, just get out to the polls on November 4th. It's important, and we are so lucky to have the opportunity to choose our next leader during this difficult time in our nation's existence.

OK, off my soapbox and on to the fun stuff. While I won't get into the politics of either candidate, I will say that from a marketing perspective, Obama's campaign has been a breath of fresh air. Whether you love him or hate him, you must admit that Obama's marketing campaign has been brilliant.

Obama's logo and campaign materials, unlike so many political campaigns before them (and after them, I'm sure) are well designed, not only from a visual standpoint, but also from a branding standpoint. They're patriotic, but also clean and simple, touting "Change" and "Hope" more than the candidate's name, and making these words almost synonymous with "Obama."

To quote a great blog post from earlier this year,

...we are living through the first Presidential campaign that is being marketed like a high-end consumer brand...The typical Presidential campaign logo usually features some variant of the stars and stripes. Beyond patriotism, they have no message. They are pretty much interchangeable between Republicans and Democrats. Obama’s logo rearranges these patriotic elements into an emblem that distills his message to the core: the hope of the sun rising [or, Republicans, is it setting?] over amber waves of grain, with the novelty of the candidate’s unusual last name reinforced in an “O”...And like good corporate logos, this logomark can be disaggregated from the candidate’s name, in the same way that the swoosh instantly screams “Nike” or the circular logos of BMW and Mercedes spark instant associations with affluence and prestige.

There was the viral Yes We Can video:
Yes We Can Obama Song by Will.I.Am


Then there was that 30 minute "infomercial" this week across most major networks with absolutely no mention of his opponent. Not to mention a brilliant Internet campaign including Twitter, Facebook, and an email announcement to subscribers the moment Obama chose his vice presidential candidate. I could go on...

But the item that inspired me enough to actually blog about his campaign was the brilliant guerrilla marketing campaign I read about on Trend Hunter this morning, called "Press for Change." The Press for Change campaign encourages Obama supporters to transform the change buttons on vending machines into a political message for Obama, adding his "O" logo to the button with a "press for change" sticker above it. Genius! Here are some pictures:

































Now I'm not condoning vandalism here, nor am I suggesting that seeing the Obama message on a vending machine is going to sway a vote one way or the other, but again, regardless of politics, you must admit that this one is clever, and totally in-line with Obama's brand promise.

I hope that future politicians are taking (marketing) notes from Obama's campaign, and I look forward to seeing how future elections take Obama's strategies one step further as our marketing landscape continues to evolve.

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday. Promise?

Eco-Friendly Identity for Precision Digital

As a marketing company striving to be more eco-friendly, it's important to have a strong network of vendors with the same mindset to support the efforts I'm making with my clients. So I was thrilled to team up with SKL Marketing to help Precision Digital, a local display company, develop an identity and marketing materials for their new "green," eco-friendly line of product offerings, and to be able to offer their products to my clients as well.

Precision Digital Greenworks, as we named this new division, offers "green," eco-friendly banners, trade show materials and signage using new products designed to have less of an impact on the environment. Their industry traditionally uses some pretty toxic materials, including vinyl, which takes 500 to 700 years to biodegrade in landfills. Now they offer biodegradable PVC, which only takes 3 to 5 years to biodegrade. This and other similar materials, paired with eco-friendly inks, mark quite a transformation for a display company.

The logo for this new division uses the globe and "Precision Digital" type treatment from their existing logo, while changing to a color palette of lime green and brown and adding a handwritten script for the word "greenworks" to give it an eco-friendly flair.






























The tagline I developed for the company, "Transforming the way you display," touts their main brand promise. To quote the brochure we developed, "Just as a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly, Precision Digital is changing something ugly into something beautiful." Likewise, all of their materials feature a monarch butterfly against a vibrant orange background.

Here is the tri-fold brochure, which includes a caterpillar, cocoon and flying butterfly to symbolize the transformation the company is making. It also includes samples of a banner design, banner stand design and sign design.
















The business cards also features the Monarch butterfly.
















And their temporary website also plays on this concept.
























We wish Precision Digital luck as they launch this new product line to the public!

If you're interested in learning more, please contact me and I will coordinate your new eco-friendly banner, trade show materials or signage with Precision Digital.

Polished Identity for Control Logics

Homan Lajevardi has been a client of mine for over a year now, and I was so excited to hear that he was starting his own company a few months back. His new venture, Control Logics, specializes in risk management strategies, including internal controls and audit and Sarbanes-Oxley assistance. And while I certainly don't claim to be an expert on all of the technical details of what he does for his clients, Homan certainly is.

Homan wanted his company's new identity to be very polished and professional. The symbol I developed as part of the logo is made of "C's" and "L's" while still creating a graphic image that stands on its own, both in the circular icon in the logo and as a ghosted graphic element on identity pieces. We added shading and highlights to give the symbol some dimension, and paired it with a clean, sans-serif typeface.

The business cards are very clean and simple...

















...and we created electronic letterhead, with templates created in Microsoft Word and Excel.





























We wish Homan the best of luck as he creates yet another successful, worldwide company. To learn more about Control Logics, contact Homan at 813-454-2383 or homan@control-logics.com.

Sweet Girly Identity for Elle Diere Sophisticated Baby

I've known Lauren Castine for 8 years now, and she's one of the most creative people I know. Dubbed "Martha Stewart" by all of her friends, Lauren has a knack for making things look beautiful, from homes to parties to weddings to, now, baby accessories. When Lauren became a mom 7 months ago to the lovely Kendall James, it came as no surprise that Kendall would quickly become just as well-dressed as her mom. And since Lauren wanted accessories to match each of her adorable outfits, she started making them herself.

Lauren and I have worked together on many a project since we met, including the identity for her wedding business, Elle Diere Signature Weddings (she and her mom have planned some AMAZING weddings...mine included...and they make beautiful handmade items like ringbearer's pillows and aisle runners)...













and most recently, the birth announcement for her daughter Kendall.





























The identity for her new line of accessories, Elle Diere Sophisticated Baby, combines elements from each of these projects. Here are the business cards:












And the product packing for the headbands and hair clips:

























Lauren is currently selling the Elle Diere Sophisticated Baby line at Serrano's Maternity in Brandon. View more of her designs here, then contact Lauren at ElleDiere@gmail.com if you'd like to learn more. We can't wait to see what's next!

Visual Website for Exterior Concepts

I've been writing freelance stories for Brandon Magazine (a new upscale magazine for the Brandon area of Florida) for the past few months, and that's where I met David Hetrick, the owner of Exterior Concepts. The latest issue of the magazine features his company as its cover story, so while I was interviewing him for the story, I got to know a lot about what he does. I also found out that he was looking to update the Exterior Concepts website, so I've been working with him on a website redesign.

Exterior Concepts is a full-service hardscape company that creates outdoor living spaces with an artistic twist, resulting in spectacular mixed-medium outdoor living spaces for their customers. Their work is really beautiful (check out the Featured Projects and Gallery on the site), and Dave is a true artist.


The new website really makes their work the star, showcasing all of the beautiful projects Exterior Concepts has done for its customers over the years. There's a slideshow of some of the highlights on their home page...
















...and the Gallery showcases a portfolio of each of the different "artistic mediums" that Dave uses in his outdoor living spaces, including custom decks, gazebos, fire pits and water features.















I've really enjoyed working with Dave on both the website and the magazine article, and I hope that his business continues to grow and flourish as more people discover Exterior Concepts. If you want to learn more, visit the website, www.exteriorconceptsonline.com, give Dave a call at 813-877-2792 or email ext.concepts@yahoo.com.

Logo Design for The Marlo Laney Group

Marlo Laney is an enthusiastic, energetic Realtor who just relocated back to Florida after living in Virginia for 11 years.

Since she last lived in Florida she's gotten married and has a new last name, but since the name "Marlo" isn't all that common, we decided to use it to achieve a bit of brand recognition from people who remember her as Marlo Davis. Thus her business in Virginia, The Laney Group, became The Marlo Laney Group in Florida.

As a Realtor, we wanted a symbol for Marlo that would represent what she does (find people homes) without being completely obvious about it. So instead of using a house, we used a skeleton key. Marlo wanted a fluid, feminine script to display her name, and chose a deep red to match the Keller Williams logo she displays on her marketing materials, along with a blueish gray and black.

If you're in the market for a new home, give Marlo a call at 813-846-6328 or email her at marlo_laney@hotmail.com. 78% of her business is referral based, and her customers have said that Marlo has helped them put the fun back into the homebuying process...that they've enjoyed looking at houses, and she made the process less stressful. She really focuses on developing trust with her clients, and always offers them honesty and education.

Welcome back to Florida, Marlo!