I realized this is due to the way social media allows for a small headshot that is square in shape. When you see people trying to fit their entire logo in that square, inevitably it looks awful, cut off and most times unreadable. Now some would say, you shouldn’t separate the icon from the word mark, but I don’t subscribe to that theory. I say use it as a graphic element, a watermark, or even a small mark on proposal interior pages. With applications like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and all the rest, the full name of the company resides high on a page and is the same font for every company. This creates a democratizing effect across the board. Meaning, no company is elevated over another in this way. Yet, by using just the icon to separate yourself from the pack, a unique identifier creates impact. It says, I can make this dull and dreary social media page stand out from the rest. Below are a couple of examples of logos I’ve done that seem to work really well in this context.

The Scheiderer Partners logo utilizes curvy and interlinked S&P characters against a very straightforward treatment of the name. The “partners” are both very lively people with a great sense of humor who are also writers. Since Scheiderer is indeed a tough name to spell, we opted for simplicity through upper and lowercase letters. This allowed us to bring the “personality” of the logo out through the icon itself. It’s playful, it links two letters together signifying fluid teamwork, and the orange color creates a vibrant punch. Below the icon commands attention in Facebook and Twitter.

Here the icon stands out and even works very small almost live a fav icon

Another example is NBIS or the Network for Business innovation and Sustainability. Obviously the name of the organization is way too long to get into some tiny, square configuration. Instead we use the icon portion with the acronym in all our social media. The examples below show the icon on a branded YouTube channel page and Twitter. No matter how tiny it gets, it’s still readable.

There’s a lot of talk these days about having a sustainable brand in the marketplace. Experts will talk about branding, and marketing, and customer experiences, and these are all genuinely important aspects in maintaining a successful brand. But there’s always one thing that is rarely mentioned…could it be because it can be unsightly, hidden, and sometimes go undetected? Yes, it’s true. Your logo could have an STD or what I like to call a Shamefully Transmitted Deterioration.

Finding cures for logos with Shamefully Transmitted Deterioration. Photo: RhizomeImages.com

A brand is more than a logo, but a logo represents that brand at-a-glance. So as a designer, when I see logos that look pixelated or fuzzy, it’s like nails on a chalkboard for me. I feel the need to save it or cure it even if I did not create it.

So where do these diseased logos come from? There are two sources for this strain of the virus. One is directly from within a company. It might be from clueless sales or marketing people who don’t understand how to use their logos or what to hand off, or worse yet, from a CEO who could care less. Logo usage guides may or may not exist, be rarely used, or in some cases they may be too complex to use. I’ve found creating a basic logo usage guide for clients that explains various formats and speaks simply with visuals and callouts, is a much more effective way to keep a brand intact.

The second strain comes from inexperienced designers who hand off only JPGs or rasterized versions to their clients. These are the designers I want to take out in a back alley and…well, never mind. I can understand the client may not be big enough to warrant a logo usage guide, but they still just hand off logos into the ether. In some cases designers go to all the trouble of creating the logo in Illustrator but don’t outline the font. (A major rookie move). This means when it’s opened by another person it’s looking for a font that may not be available. Unusable.

For example, a client of mine does several events every year with major sponsors, and after nine years of working together, I have beaten it into him (in a really nice way) to ask his sponsors for the correct types of logos for my purposes, which are print, web, and signage. I ask for Adobe Illustrator^® .EPS files or PDFs I can open Illustrator. This is because vector files are the best files to use when multiple media applications are required. Sometimes for smaller print projects a really high-resolution .JPG or .TIF file will work just fine. But in my case I need those vector images to scale up and not look deteriorated.

Sometimes I get the perfect logos sent to me. It’s a beautiful thing really. Other times, I get the dregs of logo hell sent to me, and worse yet, people send me images from the web. (Yeah this will look good blown up to 2 feet long on a 15 ft. banner. Insert eye roll here). He’ll sheepishly send them over to me and ask, “Can you work your magic?” My magic is the penicillin of many a promiscuous logo—a logo that’s been passed around from multiple sources. It may not cure it completely, but the illusion of a healthy brand will be there when I’m done.

So what’s a respectable logo girl to do? Well the first thing I try is going back to the company and asking again for the right logo or putting me in touch with the art department. This entails tracking down the designer, who speaks my language.

If I can’t do that, the first place I look is www.brandsoftheworld.com. Thank God, that site exists. You just need to make sure you have permissions to use them. In my client’s case he has signed contracts with those sponsors and logo usage is part of the contract.

If a particular brand is not on Brands of the World, then it comes time to use the magic penicillin. I take a logo that’s been poorly JPG’d or some web logo and recreate it in Illustrator. This means finding fonts that are similar or the same, using techniques to pick up colors and shape, redraw what I can with tracing tools, and recreating icons. It feels so completely wrong to touch these logos inappropriately. It makes me feel dirty, I’ve lost time and money on the project, and the logo is now a bastardization of what it once was. But do I feel bad? No. Because I am not the keeper of that company’s brand, and I’m trying my best to work with the sins of others.

It’s a sad thing really. All the time and money that was used to create a once beautiful logo only to be passed around like a cheap commodity. So remember people, take good care of your logo if you want it to be STD free, or prevent unwanted future generations of genetically altered versions milling about.

Email marketing is a great way for you to connect with potential and existing and clients. *Researchers estimate that United States firms alone spent US $400 million on email marketing in 2006. With so many email marketing solutions available to businesses it can be difficult for the uninitiated to pick a solution that meets their needs.

At Rhizome we help many clients create and implement effective email marketing strategies. While doing this we have used several of the most popular email marketing solutions available today. Presented below are brief summaries on some of the major players in the market today. Hopefully it will help you to create an effective email marketing strategy that suits you and your company.

The cost of these services can vary depending on the size of your email list and on how many emails you intend to send on a monthly basis. Most of the services offer a 30 day free trial which allows you to shop around and find the one that best fits your needs.

Constant Contact

Pros

• Offers helpful and thorough customer support
• Has an easy-to-use system for adding and managing contacts
• Offers comprehensive reports analyzing subscriber actions
• Templates offered are incredibly flexible
• Allows you to import contacts from Outlook
• Allows unsubscribers to fill out feedback form
• Allows you to create an A/B test campaign

Cons

• Offers 1.7 MB of picture hosting (Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)

Constant Contact has a great Contact Management system and incredibly knowledgeable Customer Support. However, they only allow you to host five images. Which means you will either have to host your images elsewhere or pay for extra image storage. The Constant Contact admin is easy to use, offers a multitude of templates and is a favorite with both beginners and advanced users.

Constant Contact has been very popular with our clients and the feedback we have received in regards to their service has been positive.

MailChimp

Pros

• Has an easy-to-use system for adding and managing contacts
• Offers comprehensive reports analyzing subscriber actions
• Allows unsubscribers to fill out feedback form
• Allows you to create an A/B test campaign
• Pricing by number of emails and by number of contacts is available
• Offers Google Analytics integration

Cons

• Does not have telephone customer support
• Difficult to style items, be ready to compromise your design

MailChimp does well with Contact Management and Analyzing. They could use more flexibility in the Email Creation process. MailChimp’s Customer Support was found to be direct and courteous through email and live chat services, but they do not offer phone support.

Currently MailChimp’s service is free if you have less than 2,000 subscribers. This makes it a very cost effective choice for businesses with a smaller client base.

Vertical Response

Pros

• Offers flexible and easy-to-use templates and email editor
• Offers helpful and thorough customer support
• Offers comprehensive reports analyzing subscriber actions
• Offers 25MB of picture hosting (Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
• Someone checks and approves your email before it is sent out to subscribers.
• Allows you to create an A/B test campaign
• Offers Google Analytics integration

Cons

• Does not have an auto responder
• Does not have a spam checking tool
• Reports offered do not accurately reflect users’ actions

Vertical Response has excellent Customer Support and Email Creation tools. They also offer a large amount of picture hosting space for your emails. Vertical Response does a good job on Email Deliverability because they have a real person checking your email before it is sent out, but they do not have an automatic tool that scans it for spam.

iContact

Pros

• Offers helpful and thorough customer support
• Allows you to import contacts from Outlook

Cons

• Doesn’t offer free removal of logo from emails
• Reports offered do not accurately reflect users’ actions

iContact does a good job on Contact Management because they allow you to import contacts from Outlook. While they are lacking a few features, including integration with Google Analytics and the free removal of their logo from emails, we found their Customer Support to be quick and helpful. They do well with Email Deliverability due to the high percentage of emails that went through and their spam checking tool.

We found that their WYSIWYG editor to be somewhat limited but easy to use. A HTML editor is available for advanced users.

…..

If you are interested in creating your own email marketing strategy and would like more information on how Rhizome can help you please do not hesitate to contact us.

* – WikiPedia/DMA: “The Power of Direct Marketing: ROI, Sales, Expenditures and Employment in the U.S., 2006-2007 Edition”, Direct Marketing Association, October 2006

A few years ago, we set Rhizome Design’s mission to work for eco-friendly and socially responsible companies. This past year we did deliver on that mission with over 90% of our projects for clients that: provide health-related services; create responsible manufacturing environments; have green-oriented goals; work in the renewable energy sector, or simply save our environment.

We’ve been very lucky that way, and it’s a pleasure being creative for our clients in this capacity. To this end our path in the past year has lead us to:

1. Design a new website and shoot new photography for the Elliott Bay Brewing Co., our favorite handcrafted, organic beer and eco-friendly pubs.
2. Revamping the website, media kit and communications for the Valley Cultural Center in the San Fernando Valley. 2010 marked the implementation of their first “Green Initiative.”
3. Design a 32-page Corporate Responsibility Report for PMI (Pacific Market International). A great project that showcases this company’s amazing success in tracking their social and environmental footprint. See the report.
4. Work with the City of Puyallup and stakeholders from The Department of Ecology, Washington State University and the University of Washington to name and brand a new online Stormwater Resource.
5. Shoot new photography and design a new website for Whidbey General Hospital, a non-profit rural hospital. We worked with WGH to create images that not only they could use, but we could use for our own Rhizome Images collection. (So look for new healthcare images in our Rhizome Images® collection as well as a new web revamp for WGH this spring.)
6. 

   Whidbey Camano Land Trust's Annual Report

   Design an annual report and separately, a logo for the Whidbey Camano Land Trust‘s campaign for Save The Forest Now! $4.2 million was raised to save a 664-acres of land on Whidbey Island, now officially named, “Trillium Community Forest.”

7. Design the Salmon-Safe Celebration Invitation for NBIS–the Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability. The event recognizes the Salmon-Safe Puget Sound Urban Certifications for The University of Washington Seattle campus, REI, SAM’s Olympic Sculpture Park, PCC Natural Market (Edmonds) to name a few.
8. Become a resource of editorial imagery for Sustainable Industries magazine.

Finally in 2010, our Rhizome Images® Picturesque Forest Project provided over 220 trees to a Global ReLeaf fund, with 100 trees going to various other ReLeaf funds through AmericanForests.org. This brings our total to 867 over the past 3 years and this year we’ll easily pass the 1000 mark! In 2010 we also opted to donate to the Save the Forest Now fund, since saving a forest in your own backyard is just as important–and in this case, it comes with instant gratification benefits.

Printing

Rhizome Images brochure

Graphics Plus
Seattle, WA (White Center neighborhood)
www.graphicsplusseattle.com

David Hell, the owner of Graphics Plus has been an integral part of Rhizome’s success over the years. They print for almost all of our clients for one simple reason. We trust them. David and his team are great, responsible printers, fair-minded, committed to the quality of a project and conscientious about the impact printing has on the environment. They have even upped the ante on their processes to include chemistry-free plating, which is a huge step forward for the print industry.  They are agile and print both traditionally and digitally. Most recently they have branched out into large format Epson printing with stunning results. Together, our projects have won a number of awards and we are proud to have such a long lasting relationship with them.

Signage

Elliott Bay Brewhouse & Pub Marquis Lettering

Foley Sign Co.
Seattle, WA (Lower Queen Anne neighborhood)
www.foleysign.com

Foley Sign Company has served the Pacific Northwest sign industry for over 85 years.  A family-owned business, Mark Metcalf is who I call for large signage projects. We met during my first year in Seattle when we worked on Caffé Appassionato projects and later on various lobby signage projects. A few years ago Foley helped us by creating a beautiful series of branded signs for the Elliott Bay Brewhouse and Pub in Burien. We even had them brand the roving “Beer Van.” When I work with them, I never have to worry about how the installation will turn out and their attention to detail is critical to creating a larger than life, seamless, brand experience.

Silkscreen/Embroidery/Apparel Printing

Whidbey Camano Land Trust, long sleeve, organic cotton T's Celebrating 25 years of All Natural Preserves.

Border Thompson
Seattle, WA
www.borderthompson.com

I was glad to make the acquaintance of Scott Carlsen when Elliott Bay Brewing co. introduced me to him. Scott knows his stuff and is one of the nicest guys.  I had been looking for a new company that could help me with t-shirts, hats, polo shirts, totes, accessories and the occasional embroidered dress shirts. I also like that they offer organic cotton, and well known brand clothing from Port Authority, Nike, Hanes, and Columbia to name a few. I have no hesitation offering up Border Thompson as the go to company for all your branded apparel wear!

Large Format Printing

Large kiosk prints at an International optics show

Stella Color
Seattle, WA (near Costco downtown)
www.stellacolor.com

Lynn Krinsky is a fireball of energy with a huge passion for big images which is good because her business can print anything huge! Speaking of huge, Rhizome congratulates Lynn and Stella Color on becoming the 1st SGP (Sustainable Green Printing) Certified Printer in Washington State. There’s no job too big, or item too crazy to print on. They are experts in substrates, and fabric printing, and provide a large range of eco media options. Stella Color has printed a number of large tradeshow booths for us in the past, including our own and we’ve even printed awards on tiles. Small Dog. Big Color.

Roll up Banners for SK Food Group

Portland, OR
www.infinityimages.com

If you’re in P-town, try looking up Infinity Images. Their customer service is outstanding and I like the way they show me proofs on projects. They also provide me with a small kit that helps me pick my substrates and each sample has a label that helps me understand the sustainability content of that item. From small tabletop displays to larger banner stands, to items mounted on ultra-thick cardboard cutouts, Infinity is a great resource. They are also deeply committed to sustainability. Ask for Don Brown, he’s a wonderful customer service representative who works hard for his customers.

by Jen Pennington

2010 marked a new beginning for long-time Rhizome client, the Valley Cultural Center. A non-profit, founded in 1975 to assist the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation & Parks in bringing arts and culture to the San Fernando Valley. The Valley Cultural Center has been at the forefront of culture, arts, and arts education in the community for more than thirty-five years.

Every year the Valley Cultural Center presents free concerts in Warner Park. Featuring rock, classical, jazz, R&B, Latino pop, country, cowboy, Dixieland, folk, and more, their concerts entertain more than 140,000 Valley residents and visitors each year and are the cornerstone of Sunday afternoons in the San Fernando Valley. More recently this has expanded to Saturday evening movie nights.

Though we have worked together for eight years, this was the first year VCC would bring the production of their concert and movie programs in-house. This meant Rhizome had control over how the content in the program was presented in its entirety, not just a few random pages. We brought in Graphics Plus our print partner to help with all the pre-press and ad placements before the job was electronically delivered and printed in California. It also meant revamping the old www.valleycultural.org website. As President, Jim also wanted to green the events as much as possible and figure out a way to reach out to the community more. Even the concert and movie titles changed from Concerts and Movies in the Park, to Concerts and Movies on the Green. Before we knew it, this ambitious project produced some of the best results we had seen.

I had the chance to correspond with Jim in email and asked him a few questions about our recent project together.

Jim Kinsey, President/CEO Valley Cultural Center

This year, you brought the production of your concert program in-house. Were you apprehensive about that or did you see it as an opportunity to do something different?
JK: “Not having a publishing background, we looked to Rhizome for direction on how to plan, manage, and implement the project so everything would be completed in a timely manner. We didn’t want to recreate the entire piece, but we did want to make changes that would make the magazine clean, crisp and easier to read. Additionally, we added a Marketplace section in the program and online that reached out to local businesses and our community.  This created a couple of different types of revenue stream for us. In past years, while we always had “control” of the project, we never looked outside the box for more creative solutions.  Frankly, the status quo was just easier.  Rhizome created a process environment where we could easily make changes but stay true to our mission.  Through adjustments in methods and electronic tools that ensured the project was managed properly, we had the freedom to explore new avenues. Although internal tracking of invoicing, page count and sponsorship placement was new ground for us, this was the ONLY thing we were internally concerned with.”

Q. How did you find the two days you spent up here in Seattle brainstorming new ideas with James and I?
JK: “My time in Seattle was amazing! It was great to meet with the creative team away from phones, faxes, and the daily grind. I haven’t had the opportunity to make such a connection since hiring Rhizome eight years ago. It was an invigorating session and the lively exchange of ideas brought out incredible solutions.   I would like to repeat this at least once a year. The drinks were good, too!”

In this down turn economy did you feel you got your money’s worth from the redesign of the new site, the program and all the related materials?
JK: “Getting our monies worth is the understatement of the year! The new site is not only beautiful, it “sings”! The numbers speak for themselves with a 300% increase in site traffic, along with all of the other amazing stats! Having Facebook and Twitter linked has helped our viral campaign as well.”

How has attendance been at this season’s concerts?
JK: “The new marketing pieces definitely increased our visibility. Overall, we have seen a 20% increase in attendance at our Concerts, Movies and July 4^th celebration. Our average concert attendance is now around 6,000; July 4th is up to 60,000 from 50,000 last year and Movies are up by about 500 each week.”

Do you think your ‘Green Initiative’ surrounding the Concerts and Movies on the Green has helped the Valley Cultural Brand?
JK: “Adding a ‘green’ initiative to our events has been very beneficial to our brand and helps keep us in the public eye.  It was easy to implement and while I don’t think it immediately impacted our attendance, I think it generally makes people feel better about the work that we do.”

Do you think this year’s efforts will yield more sponsors coming on board for next year’s season?
JK: “It’s possible. We did not see an overwhelming reaction to the “green” themed booth sales as anticipated. We still believe our green initiative is the right thing to be doing and that consistency is the key to future success with branding and sponsorship.”

What has been the board’s reaction to all the new materials we’ve created?
JK: “The board is thrilled with our new site! They are mostly happy with the ease of ongoing maintenance and the accessibility of the navigation. We introduced the site with a nice presentation that used James’ traffic stats and gave a full report at the board meeting. It’s one of the few times that each board member asked for a copy.”

Do you think you were able to do more with less funding than you have seen in the past?
JK: “Because of the economy, we are down $50,000 in fundraising.  This was reflected in poor booth sales and reduced sponsorship levels.  We know this is not unique to our organization.  We have reduced our operating expenses as much as possible, including eliminating a key staff position, which is now filled by a volunteer. Our special events will be more important than ever and we hope to exceed budget expectations on both, now that we can sell tickets online. Ad revenue also missed its target revenue goal, but because of the relationship with Rhizome, we were able to reduce print costs even while printing an eco-friendly program book.”

Q. Do you feel people in the Valley have a better understanding of what programs the Valley Cultural Center provides, or how important you are to the community?
JK: “Definitely.  Even with the downturns, we are reaching a broader audience this year. We believe that our new website and viral campaign are the main contributing factor in this increase. Our concert customer is aware of what we do outside of park programs, even if they don’t get involved in our other events or programs.”

Q. Are you happy with the results of this year’s dramatic transformation?
JK: “YES!!! Our relationship with Rhizome is a blessing! We understand the value of creative thinking and the value of what we receive from Rhizome for the pittance we pay you. We thank our lucky stars we have you as a partner!”

Last week WordPress released ‘Thelonius’ or WordPress 3.0, the latest version of their popular CMS.

There are a number of new features and upgrades in this version of WordPress that make this blogging platform even more powerful and usable that previous versions.

Here are the highlights:

• WordPress and WordPress MU have merged, allowing the management of multiple sites (called Multisite) from one WordPress installation.
• New default theme “Twenty Ten” takes full advantage of the current features of WordPress.
• New custom menu management feature, allows creation of custom menus combining posts, pages, categories, tags, and links for use in theme menus or widgets.
• Custom header and background APIs.
• Contextual help text accessed under the Help tab of every screen in the WordPress administration.
• Ability to set the admin username and password during installation.
• Bulk updating of themes with an automatic maintenance mode during the process.
• Support for shortlinks.
• Improved Custom post types and custom taxonomies including hierarchical (category-style) support. (Try the Custom Post Type UI or GD Custom Posts And Taxonomies Tools plugins to see the possibilities.)
• A lighter admin color scheme to increase accessibility and put the focus more squarely on your content.

Here’s a short video discussing some of these highlights and an intro to the latest version.

If you have logged into your WordPress admin recently you will notice that at the top of the dashboard the following message “WordPress 3.0 is available! Please update now.”

Remember to completely backup your database and website files before performing an upgrade.

We’ve been quietly experimenting on some really amazing new sites including our own. Our work over the last six months is more focused on creating great custom designs using WordPress blog technology to allow our customers access to their content. It’s not just for blogs. That’s right, we’re teaching our clients how to make updates and we proudly admit it.

The money you save by learning how to update your site yourself or through an employee means you can use those funds for help with direct email marketing, print ads, social media areas, or adding new useful features to your site. It’s about looking at the big picture, not just your website.  We’ve put together a few questions put forth to us by some of our customers. We hope you find it useful.

1. 

   Screenshot of the admin used to create this article.

   What is WordPress?
   While initially created as blogging software, WordPress makes a great light version of a CMS (Content Management System). The software is free, and is supported by most good web hosting companies. It is also fairly straightforward in terms of installation and administration. WordPress has a large, active user community that provides forums for tips and support. When the code running your site is up to date it helps prevent security risks. Because the software that runs WordPress is open source, any amount of customization is possible and in fact, encouraged. If you really get into it, you can even blog by downloading an app for your iPhone.

2. Can I still have some bells & whistles?
   Absolutely.  Plugins can be installed directly in the WordPress admin and there are thousands to choose from. Some examples are site stats, e-commerce, image galleries and site security. By making use of plugins, users can customize the performance of a blog or site according to need. Some famous plugins are All in one SEO, Akismet, Robots meta, and the SEO friendly images plugin.
3. How does search engine optimization work in WordPress?
   Out of the box, WordPress is a pretty well optimized system, and does a far better job at allowing every single page to be indexed than some other CMS systems out there. It also allows you to put in keywords for pictures or blog entries so people can find you. At Rhizome we have seen a dramatic increase in site traffic for clients who move from a traditional website to a customized WordPress site.
4. Can I interact with my customers? What about social media?
   WordPress allows you to directly interact with your clients. By allowing comments, visitors have a voice on your site. By making an RSS feed available clients can easily see when the site has been updated. Social media applications like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn also tend to dovetail nicely with WordPress sites, for example, your blog postings can be set to automatically update your Twitter account.
5. How do I update my site to a WordPress site?
   Just ask us how. It doesn’t take us very long to take an existing site we may have done for you in the past and upgrade it. Chances are we can get it done within a week or two depending on the complexity of the site, as long as there are no other major design modifications. We set everything up and then arrange a time to tutor our customers on how to use it.
6. But what if I mess up my site?
   Trust us, you won’t mess up your site. We’ve already put this through the “Emily-Corey-fear-of-html” test. Emily is a writer who wanted to be able to put in articles and posts for clients.  After we talked her through how to do it, she is zipping right along, fear-free. What we call the “shell” of the site is hard-coded and will not be affected by any of the content text you wish to publish.

Below are some examples of our latest sites employing great custom design with WordPress technology. Feel free to peruse them and get some ideas for yourself.

Bill Nye the Science Guy
A site worth experimenting on, I challenge you to take the POP Quiz. It’s really tough! Find your favorite episode guides and see what’s brewing inside Nye Labs. This customized WordPress theme allows for video, a database, custom PHP scripts, and flash elements. In the first month this site received over 15,000 visitors. The stats have steadily climbed to over 72,000 a month.

Valley Cultural Center
VCC provides one of the largest outdoor Summer concerts and movies in the park in Southern California with over 50,000 visitors in a season. Being a non-profit does not always mean no profit, and better online functionality proved to be a prudent decision. New event features, and an online marketplace directory for those businesses in the San Fernando Valley that support the arts through VCC were included. This provided an alternative revenue flow for VCC, making it possible to bring their site to the next level and fundraise with firepower.

NBIS
James recently updated the entire Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability website in two weeks. We had originally created the site in standard HTML, but because NBIS needed multiple admins for different events, and pages, we needed to make it easy. In the course of upgrading the site, we now have featured company profiles automatically available on home page, as well as feeds for Ecozome Journal articles. We kept our news feed powered by Google AJAX and databases for the Resources and Members pages.

The Gear Works
One of the largest industrial gear manufacturers in North America, we helped TGW reinvent their brand through a new logo and matching communication materials. As part of the scope of this project, we were asked to work closely with an employee there who would be managing updates and content for the site. Their new site brought back to life old newsletters through an online WordPress blog area. A Flash showcase allows the users to take a tour of their facility complete with captions and thumbnails.

Robert Loe and Associates
As Robert Loe, our CPA likes to say, “accounting is boring, but important.” But there’s nothing boring about this website. In fact, the look is quite fun. We used nostalgic ledger-style art with new-fangled technology to create a contrast between old-fashioned common sense and a modern way to communicate to clients. BTW, there’s lots of love in this site, because Robert has been my accountant since I moved to Seattle 16 years ago.

Kenyon Homecare Consulting
We just launched this very elegant site about two weeks ago. This Homecare Consulting agency needs to add content frequently to its news section, and WordPress allows them the flexibility of having staff add content directly into the site.

Interested in finding out more? Call Jen at 206.937-9911

This little guide goes out to all photographers, designers, and clients. It is your chance to stand up and fight against the evil beige background that is often found behind so many uninviting corporate portraits. In the Rhizome world, beige walls are evil. They are subtle purveyors of sadness and a subliminal identification with the DMV (not a good experience normally). Mug shots at the police station at least have context and props! And for Pete’s sake, even the big department stores spice up their backgrounds (ok, the mottled texture is not so great either, but let’s not go there). So I invite all my fellow business people to stand with me and say, “Death to the beige wall!”

For the clients:
If you are a consultant or company muckity-muck, you are the face of your company and your brand. If you are still using a digital shot of yourself or your employees against a beige (or even gray wall) well, we’re here with an intervention.  Of all the marketing you can do, your mug is the most important thing to get right! So put down that digital camera, send Jimmy the nephew home, (unless of course he is a professional) and call for professional help. It costs way less than you imagine and the benefits you reap are long-term.

For the photographers:
Help your clients and the designers who work for them understand what to expect from a photoshoot and what rights license usage means. Send the model releases ahead of time to review, alleviate any fuss there might be, and you’ll have relaxed, willing subjects, which translates into smiles and no sour expressions.

For the designers:
You are the keeper of your client’s brand look and feel. You are in charge of making your clients look good, not just their products and services. If you have to explain how a photoshoot works, make sure you clearly communicate the details, and how rights-usage works. Explain that a good photo is worth it’s weight in gold, and you’ll eliminate having to Photoshop out the bar sticking out of the top of their head, or worse, using a cutout and plopping it on—dare I say it—a beige background.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Corporate portrait examples by Robert J. Pennington

The Corporate Portrait top 10 arguments.

1. The “I’m not a model, who wants to see a picture of me?” argument
I am the absolute worst at getting my picture taken, just ask my husband, but even I know I need to let people know who I am. Look, the Heidi Klum’s or George Clooney’s of the world are not the average person. You just need to convey a presence that says, “I’m a good person, I’m approachable, and most importantly, I’m a professional.”  You need to let people know that you care deeply about your own company image because it will reflect how your customers perceive your products or services.

2. The “why should I hire a professional? I have my own digital camera,” argument
Yeah, and I own a set of wrenches, but that doesn’t mean I’m a plumber. Do you come complete with a set of lights? Do you know how to stand or sit for a photo? Do you know how to get people to smile so it looks natural and not like you are gritting your teeth together, painfully? Do you know how to compose a photo so you don’t have a cabinet corner, picture frame or my favorite, another company’s brand like a Starbucks mug sitting in front of you? Trust me Starbucks doesn’t need any more advertising. A good professional photographer can capture you in your work environment and make it look absolutely natural. Good photogs have an eye for composition, look for the details, know how to work with people and bring out your best qualities.

3. The “hiring a photographer is expensive,” argument
So is losing a business opportunity to impress someone. You hand out business cards right? Well if a potential prospect meets you for the first time, there’s a good chance they are going to check out your bio on your website, so you better show off your best side. This is especially true in this day and age when so many long-distance business relationships are formed. You need to think of your photo as an investment and asset to the company. In the big scheme of things, it’s less expensive than having your designer try to retouch a badly done portrait, and charging you for that work.

4. The, “I don’t want my photo to look like everyone else’s,” argument
Now you’ve got the right idea. What is your brand about? Is it playful, industrial, serious? Do words like warm, clinical, or bright come to mind? Talk to the photographer you hire to brainstorm ideas. Stay away from cheesy, unless of course cheesy is part of your brand. Lately many of the portraits we do are environmental. This means placing someone in the context of a busy office, industrial setting or outside to convey a sense of vitality, energy, and location.

5. The, “I look terrible in pictures” argument
Self deprecation is not attractive. If you arrive with a defeatist attitude on picture day, guess what, chances are you won’t like your shot no matter what. Relax! Trust in the fact that you’re in the hands of a pro, and a good pro knows how to bring out your good side. If there’s something you really do not like about yourself, talk it over with the photographer and let them know you are sensitive about showing your teeth, a mole, or whatever else. Many will be sensitive to how you feel about something. But do be open to suggestion, have fun and who knows you may want to order some prints for your family.

6. The, “I have nothing to wear” argument
That’s right, you go to the office everyday in your birthday suit. Just be yourself. Keep clothing and jewelry simple. Try to stay away from stripes, bright patterns, or plaid. Unless you coach rugby or look like Charlie Brown, big striped polo shirts might not be the right look. Understand how you will be shot. In your office? Outside? A hint of color might be nice, or a well-tailored shirt with a sweater, or jacket. Business casual works great, but just be sure you don’t look too casual if you are a professional consultant or overdressed if that is not appropriate either. Unless of course you do environmental work and you’re out in the field in mudboots and a fly-fishing hat. Then the look totally applies. Ladies, keep the make-up clean and simple, and watch the cleavage, or you might have different types of prospects contacting you for reasons other than your fabulous mind. Tammy Faye makeup is out, and you’re not posing for the red carpet. Gents, a little grooming goes a long way. Do I really have to tell you to shave that morning?

7. The “I own the copyright to my photo” argument
Okay, now we’re into the nitty gritty. No, you do not own the copyright to your photo, unless you want to pay an exorbitant amount or you’re dealing with an amateur photographer who doesn’t know better. Owning the copyright to your photos whether it be your portrait or a product is not worth it unless you’re a really, and I mean really big company with plenty of big bucks. Buying out a copyright can be multiple times the creative fee. Talk to your photographer and understand how a license for image use works. Photography is an artful service not a product you buy off the shelf. It is like music, books, or film, all artists have copyrights. You read, listen, or view them but the artist owns the copyright.

8. The “I don’t need a model release, I’m not a model,” argument
What? Of course you do, don’t be silly. Believe it or not, this protects you, your company and the photographer. Generally, it will say you will not be paid as a model, (for valuable consideration) and allows the photographer permission to alter your image or retouch a photo of you to remove blemishes, fix stray hairs, or whiten teeth, for example. Basically to give you a natural, cosmetic makeover so your portrait looks great. Below is a typical model release example:

For valuable consideration received, I grant to Name of Photographer (“Photographer”) the absolute and irrevocable right and unrestricted permission concerning any photographs that he has taken or may take of me or in which I may be included with others, to use, reuse, publish, and republish the photographs in whole or in part, individually or in connection with other material, in any and all media now or hereafter known, including the internet, and for any purpose whatsoever, specifically including illustration, promotion, art, editorial, advertising, and trade, without restriction as to alteration; and to use my name in connection with any use if he so chooses. I release and discharge Photographer from any and all claims and demands that may arise out of or in connection with the use of the photographs, including without limitation any and all claims for libel or violation of any right of publicity or privacy. This authorization and release shall also inure to the benefit of the heirs, legal representatives, licensees, and assigns of Photographer, as well as the person(s) for whom he/she took the photographs. I am a legally competent adult and have the right to contract in my own name. I have read this document and fully understand its contents. This release shall be binding upon me and my heirs, legal representatives, and assigns.

Most photographers have some version of this in their records. Trust me Bob Pennington had 20 lawyers he was shooting sign this at one sitting and with no hesitation. This is standard procedure.

9. The “I’m going to wind up in Getty, Flicker or Corbis,” argument
In rare cases, a smarmy photographer might do that, but the professionals would never do that without first obtaining permission from their clients. It’s just ethical, good business. This is also why you hire a real pro. It’s in their best interest to have a good ongoing relationship with their clients. So why would they do that? And let’s be honest here. We love our clients, and no offense, but many of you are not professional models. Those business people you see in pictures. Well, um, most of them are staged and the professional actors or models are compensated for that purpose.

10. The “I don’t have time to find a photographer,” argument
Ask your designer or an outside agency (someone who is used to buying art) to help you with this. Have them email you websites of the photographers they think would be a good match. Look at their online portfolios. Do you like the lighting? Do the photos compliment the person? These are the things to look for.

I hope this little guide has helped, and if I see any one of you against a plain beige wall, I’m coming after ya.

Okay, so as much as the above is  a good overview, I’m not lawyer, I’m an artist and none of this is legal advice. Always discuss this with the photographer you hire and if you still have questions, run it past your own lawyer.

All photos are copyright Robert J. Pennington, even this one of me.