c2m's Marketing Matters

The Year of Video Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 21:32:00 +0000

This past year we have been helping clients and start ups with video production and video editing. Here is one video introducing a great sports training device, Vector, a training baseball that lights up when you strike the ball, training your eyes to stay focused on the ball and improving your game.

A Few Marketing Quotes We Like

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 09 May 2015 07:35:00 +0000

When it comes to your business, marketing isn't optional. Marketing is an investment, not an expense. It's "a must-have strategic tool to INCREASE SALES, not a nice-to-have frill when you can afford it." -- Sergio Zyman, The End of Marketing As We Know It.

Focus on RESULTS, not Activities. "When marketers understand that the goal is selling and not just running promotions, they sell a lot more stuff." -- Sergio Zyman, The End of Marketing As We Know It

"Most clients look for sales, not awards." -- George Lois, What's the Big Idea?

WANTED: A Creative Copywriter to Join the c2m Team

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 22:21:00 +0000

We're growing our team of collaborators and currently seeking a creative copywriter to work in partnership with c2m's Creative Director, Carmen Cardoza, to collaborate on marketing and advertising campaigns for a diverse portfolio of clients from fashion and health, to construction and residential painting, to workplace training and mechanical engineering.

A c2m copywriting collaborator must possess and demonstrate

the following fabulous qualities:

Creativity and imagination.
Ability to produce innovative and original ideas.
Proofreading skills and an eye for detail.
An interest in commerce, popular culture and new advertising trends and techniques.
Excellent self motivation, adaptability and the ability to meet deadlines.
Great team-working, internal communications and organizational skills.
Of course, accuracy is a must, in grammar and content, as all adverts must not be misleading.
IT proficiency, as we will be conducting a lot of business via Internet and devices, and we will be helping many clients with their Internet marketing needs.
SEO, SMM, and Content Marketing proficiency.

c2m Creatives is a boutique marketing communications design + strategizing studio in Florida, serving clients from Orlando to New York to San Francisco and beyond.

We're a collaboration of creatives including graphic designers, copywriters, web developers, and marketing strategists. A collaboration with a holistic approach; we aim to provide clients with high quality, high impact, and results driven services at an accessible, flexible and personalized scale.

Send your resume along with a few links to your work to hello@c2mcreatives.com

Portfolio Peek: A Royal Logo for an International Realty Group

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 May 2014 23:40:00 +0000

Logo designs are so interesting. It's incredible how much thought, consideration and creativity such a small piece of artwork demands. It's a challenge I quite enjoy, and I still get goosebumps when a client falls in love with their new logo.

Here is a logo design we created recently that is loved, approved and ready to work for a locally based international realty group.

Company Name: C J St. Louis International Realty

Company Description: C J St. Louis International Realty is a customer-centric full service real estate company, aiming to provide memorable service in all areas of real estate services.

Location: Based in Winter Park, Florida

Colors: Neutrals with a pop of color. Off white, grey, pewter, taupe black, orange, some shades of yellow, navy/royal blue.

Styles: Modern / Minimalist and Cursive / Elegant

Keywords: royal, Caribbean, tropical, unique, classy, easy going

Applications: Yard signs, cards, all print work, social media

A Glimpse at the Work in Progress

The C J St. Louis International Realty Monogram

Don't Spoil Your Content Marketing Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 12:00:00 +0000

In our last post we shared a recipe for content marketing success. Whether your business is emerging, small, growing or established, developing a solid content marketing campaign should be on the top of your agenda in 2014. If you didn’t get our recipe and aren’t so sure what content marketing is, exactly, or how to do it—start here.

Today we are following up with a few tips on how to avoid catastrophic results in your content marketing campaign. Don’t spoil your content marketing recipe by engaging in bad practices, keep these guidelines in mind with all of your content marketing efforts:

Be Authentic:

There’s nothing more desperate or shameful than copying someone else’s great idea. In all of your content marketing, be original and authentic. Keep in mind that search engines don’t index copied content, and you’re not doing yourself any favors by cutting corners through spinning some other company’s article or blog for use on your own website.

Keep it Interesting and Informative:

Your content should be either helpful or attention-grabbing (preferably both) and not a drag to read, watch or look at. With a powerhouse of information and choices available on the Internet, only compelling or helpful content will win out in the end. If you’re at a loss for an informative, helpful angle, don’t be afraid to be funny, random, quirky, or different in order to attract an audience; this helps keep things interesting.

Measure Your Results

A content marketing agenda has no place in your business plan if there’s no way of measuring your efforts. Institute a way to track site visits, analytics and customer engagement—either through open source software (on avenues like Facebook and Google Analytics) or through developing your own method of gauging customer interaction and retention by keeping a regular content marketing schedule and corresponding record book of results.

Hire a Professional

You’ve got a business to run, and chances are your strengths lie in your products and/or services—not in writing content, implementing SEO, producing videos, or creating graphics. Hiring a professional to delegate this work to will ensure that your content marketing always looks great and reads well. And without high-quality, well-written, professional content, you run the risk of hurting your marketing efforts more than helping them.

In Conclusion

Small businesses today are challenged with marketing to a customer base that has the world at their fingertips. Social media, coupled with the ever-expanding scope of search engines and online content, creates a very aware and engaged consumer market: one that doesn’t take kindly to marketing “fluff” or manipulative tactics. On top of that, search engines like Google are starting to penalize sites that are outdated, over-optimized or poorly written.

You may have heard the marketing phrase “content is king,” and it is. Stick to an authentic, homegrown recipe for your content marketing in 2014, and you’re bound to see delicious results!

Post written by Courtney Senecal, Text Enterprises
Graphics by Carmen Cardoza, c2m CREATIVES

Content Marketing in 2014: A Recipe for Success

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 19:34:00 +0000

If you’re a small business owner, developing a solid content marketing campaign should be on the top of your agenda in 2014. And if you aren’t so sure what content marketing is, exactly, or how to do it—your education starts now:

Put very simply, content marketing is spawned by publishing content (mostly on an online platform), and it’s done best when it incorporates a variety of mediums for the consumer to absorb.

A great content marketing campaign almost always includes the following ingredients: engaging web content, blog posts and articles, videos, infographics, how-to guides, Q&A pieces, interviews, photos, social media, and various other mediums and tactics for sharing information and starting a dialogue with consumers.

So, what’s it all for?

Most aspects of your content marketing recipe should have the end goal of getting your business quality customer traffic, all through ranking well on search engines and enhancing your social media contributions (a content marketing must).

But that’s not all there is to it.

The funny thing about content marketing is that it’s not a practice focused on selling (like past marketing and advertising trends). Instead, the main purpose is to communicate and establish a relationship with both existing and potential customers through consistently contributing valuable information that will help you stand out—gaining you respect within your industry and inspiring consumer confidence in your brand, products or services.

Your Content Marketing Recipe for Success

To create a dynamic content marketing campaign in 2014, start by including these 5 ingredients in your “recipe for success.”
• Engaging Written Content
• Interesting Images & Infographics
• Compelling Video Content Marketing
• Enticing Social Media Engagement
• Natural Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Engaging Written Content:

Ramping up the quality of the text on your website is a great start, but once you’ve got a great platform for communication going on there (with original content and some light SEO worked in), you’ll need to step up your game.

Stagnant sites lose their appeal in search engines when they’re left untouched for a while, so maintaining a blog gives you a platform for constantly getting re-indexed in search engines. It’s also a way to engage with customers on a regular basis. Just remember to keep your content appealing and informative. Don’t just post for the sake of posting: Have something to say in your posts, and reward your readers with tips, information or how-to guides. For instance, if you own a home repair business, there’s nothing wrong with sharing a few DIY tips with customers!

Interesting Images and Infographics:

Both readers and search engines appreciate a break from text. Incorporating feature-rich content into your content marketing game plan is a major “Do!”

Infographic showing the specs of this post

Statistics and quotes lend themselves well to this strategy. Find a quote you like, one that speaks to your business’s values and superimpose the text on an original photo. Find stats that compliment your products or services and develop an infographic displaying the information in a fun way. Compare two similar products you offer side-by-side in a graphic format, and share the pros and cons “at a glance” with your customers.

When it comes to this ingredient, just make sure you share original material that you’re not stealing from another source, or at least give your source credit for any infographics or images you decide to use to promote your business that aren’t your own.

Compelling Video Content:

Videos get indexed in search engine results just like websites and blogs, and they’re often shared on social media at a higher rate than other content.

Think about implementing a short YouTube clip or promotional video in your content marketing campaign, and post the video throughout your many mediums for customer engagement. Videos make a great SEO-friendly edition to your site or blog, and if you get creative—your video may even reach viral status!

Enticing Social Media Engagement:

Think of social media outlets as your content marketing megaphones. Without the proper social media tools, all of your hard work writing blogs and creating quality images, infographics and videos is for nothing.

Make sure you choose platforms that you’re going to keep up with, and don’t overload yourself by grasping every social media account within reach. Keep to around three outlets that work well for your business and target customer base so that you can maintain them properly and keep everything updated without getting overwhelmed.

Natural Search Engine Optimization:

SEO cannot be ignored in a successful content marketing recipe, but it shouldn’t take center stage either.

When you develop content (whether it be a blog, image, infographic, or video) have a highly searched keyword or service in mind to base your titles and taglines around. Just be careful and don’t stuff keywords in anywhere and everywhere—not only will users and potential customers get annoyed with overly-intense SEO tactics, search engines will penalize your rankings if you overdo the SEO or engage in manipulative strategies.

In Conclusion

Small businesses today are challenged with marketing to a customer base that has the world at their fingertips. Social media, coupled with the ever-expanding scope of search engines and online content, creates a very aware and engaged consumer market: one that doesn’t take kindly to marketing “fluff” or manipulative tactics. On top of that, search engines like Google are starting to penalize sites that are outdated, over-optimized or poorly written.

You may have heard the marketing phrase “content is king,” and it is. Stick to an authentic, homegrown recipe for your content marketing in 2014, and you’re bound to see delicious results!

Stay Tuned

In our next post we will talk about content marketing cornerstones and how to avoid spoiling your content marketing recipe.

Post written by Courtney Senecal, Text Enterprises
Design & Infographics by Carmen Cardoza, c2m CREATIVES

Special Events: TRACY ARRINGTON STUDIOS Holiday Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 13:00:00 +0000

My 2013 business wish list included acquiring more local clients, and they came — soon after. I wished for more local clients because, of course, I want to make a local impression, I want the ability to have more face to face interactions with those I work with, and to see more of my work in action. However, when I received a holiday invite from Tracy of Tracy Arrington Studios, it occurred to me that I also miss having the social interactions I used to have in my past life as a 9 to 5 professional.

This week I attended my first holiday business event as c2m CREATIVES aka Carmen Cardoza. It was very special to share an evening with Tracy, her team, family and friends. There were good eats, bubbly, laughs and even a tour of her studio. Towards the end of the party, Tracy recited a warm and very thoughtful thank you letter that she wrote last week on the way to Santa Fe, New Mexico for a trunk show. It was a very moving letter. She told a lovely story of her journey and the people that have been helping her along the way.

Working with Tracy is a blast, to say the very least. One of the many things I love about my work is that I get to meet and work with ambitious, intelligent, and passionate female entrepreneurs. It is inspiring and encouraging, especially when we empathize with and share the joys and pains of having a business and trying to do it all.

I look forward to updating my portfolio and sharing some of the work we've done for Tracy Arrington Studios. Pictures coming soon. Have a look at the collections and the stores that carry her beautiful jewelry designs.

Happy Holidays!
Carmen

Special Events: COCOTIQUE's Fall Brunch

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 23:58:00 +0000

This past weekend we flew to New York to attend a very special event, COCOTIQUE's Fall Brunch. It was such a delight for so many reasons. I truly appreciate all of my clients, and I feel blessed when a great business relationship turns into a great friendship. I love being able to be there for my clients meeting deadlines, fulfilling last minute emergency requests, and uncovering solutions. However, I especially love to be there for a client/friend to show my support and celebrate milestones and success.

The Fall Brunch was everything that is COCOTIQUE — elegant, beautiful, warm, intimate, and special. It was great to see people I have worked with over the phone/email for the past several years in person, finally. It was great to share hugs and little anecdotes. It was divine to be in the presence of such positive and inspiring energy. To see our work in action was uplifting. I can't believe that not too long ago we were working on a logo design, package design, business cards, signage, etc. It feels like ages ago.

I wish I would have taken pictures of the lovely eats and COCOTini to share — delicious.

On a personal note, this weekend was also wonderful because I reveled in the joy of having a supportive, creative and fun-loving partner. It makes all the difference in the world to have someone that is truly the "wind beneath my wings."

Carmen

Portfolio Peek: Package Design for the COCOTIQUE Beauty Box

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 17:24:00 +0000

Package design is a lot fun. It is very three-dimensional and you get to consider and play with a seemingly limitless number of textures, colors, papers and even fabrics. This summer I worked on the package design for COCOTIQUE.

Company Name: COCOTIQUE

Company Tagline: Discover Your Ultimate Beauty Arsenal

Company Info: COCOTIQUE is a deluxe beauty box subscription service for women of color and diverse ethnicities. Each month COCOTIQUE ships a specially curated box filled with 5-6 sample/travel-sized beauty and lifestyle products from high-end, niche and mass brands for just $20/month. After trying out your samples, you can then purchase the full size products at the COCOTIQUE Shop.

Colors: dark chocolate, gold, pink

Styles: Modern / Minimalist, Cursive / Elegant

Keywords: elegant, chic, luxurious, chocolate, gold, feminine, indulgent, modern

Glimpse at one of the sketches for the COCOTIQUE package design

We look forward to sharing more detailed portfolio pictures soon, but thought it would be fun to share the experience of receiving my first COCOTIQUE delivery. It was a great way to end a challenging work week (pat on the back) and an even better way to kick off a weekend of pampering and relaxation.

Have a great weekend!

CSS Tip: The Difference Between visibility: hidden, visibility: collapse and display: none

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 24 May 2013 15:30:00 +0000

Let's say you do NOT wish to display your Twitter username in the Twitter feed in your website, but you cannot access the element in the HTML to remove it. CSS comes to the rescue, but what is the best method for the desired output?

visibility:hidden will make the element invisible, but the space that the element takes up in the page remains.

visibility:collapse will make the element invisible but the space that the element takes up in the page remains. visibility: collapse is meant to remove table elements from a table, so in non-table elements visibility:collapse will work like visibility:hidden.

Finally, display: none will remove the element from the page altogether; shifting the remaining elements accordingly. BINGO!

Happy Coding,

Carmen

c2mCREATIVES

Designing a Logo for Gentry — Jewelry for Men by Jyotsna Singh

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 12 May 2013 17:36:00 +0000

The Client
Manjusha by Jyotsna Singh is a treasure chest of unique fusion jewelry combining the majesty of the old with the intensity of the new. Inspired by the beauty of the royal Jadau designs (ancient art of embedding stones) the jewelry reminisces of a bygone era of royal palaces and princely extravagance.

Manjusha has now launched a new jewelry collection for men and asked c2mCREATIVES to design a logo for Gentry — Jewelry for Men by Jyotsna Singh.

Client's Words
When describing the logo, Manjusha asked for an elegant, gentlemanly, upscale, simple, and understated design. When describing the jewelry: "The collection will portray, elegance, quality, color, opulence and unique designs."

Preferred Logo Type
Organization name in a stylized type/font

Color Preferences
black, silver, navy, white

Logo Application
The logo will be used on:
Print (business cards, letterheads, brochures, jewelry boxes)
Online (website, online advertising, banner ads)
Signs (including shops, billboards)

Research
Based on my exchange with Joey (Jyotsna Singh) and the work I've already done with her, I already had some ideas in mind, but I always do some research as part of my practice. It's good inspiration fuel for the brainstorm/sketch phase. I researched upscale jewelry lines for men including LANVIN, Cartier, DAVID YURMAN, and LOUIS VUITTON to name a few.

By the way, I came across this great page of fashion sketches on the LANVIN site. Check it out.

Brainstorm/Sketch

Even if I have ideas that could go straight to the desktop, it is always good practice to sketch on paper first before heading to the computer. I'm always surprised by how many more ideas I come up with when I sketch. You may be tempted to skip this stage in the design process, but I think you will cheat yourself of the opportunity to open your mind and dig deeper. During the brainstorm/sketch phase do not allow too much external input to limit your possibilities. You will come across some real gems in your sketches. I try not to erase anything I come up with either to avoide creating limits in my mind. I just go with it. The intention is not to present each and every idea to the client, it is to come up with every possible solution for the design.

Draft & Select

I chose a number of sketches to develop into draft concepts which I presented to the client. They made their selection (it was my favorite one too).

Refine Concept
Since Manjusha selected one draft, we were able to focus on refining one concept. I presented a few color variations, cleaned up the lines and spacing of the custom type for the logo, and added the tagline which we also refined. We started with A Men's Collection by Jyotsna Singh, then considered (1) A Men's Jewelry Collection by Jyotsna Singh, (2) Jewelry for Men by Jyotsna Singh, (3) Men's Jewelry Collection by Jyotsna Singh. We chose number two (2).

Deliver Logo
Once the client approved the final concept, I converted the logo to various formats for print and online use.

I look forward to seeing the logo on the jewelry boxes.

Thanks for visiting,

Carmen
c2mCREATIVES

Why It's Okay to Pare Down Your Marketing Efforts

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Sometimes the best decision you can make about marketing your business is what you will not do, or what you will let go of. Instead of killing yourself and trying to do some of everything, you can make the decision to focus your time and treasure into one (or maximum two things) effort — one that you will do well; to perfection.

With the emergence of social media, you may feel pressured to try it all, because it's all there and you can start them all for free — so why not? However, you may quickly become overwhelmed and disappointed with mediocre results. Just because you CAN, doesn't always mean you SHOULD.

First, have your marketing goal (try just one) in place. Don't think about all the many ways you can market your business, but the one thing you want to say; the one thing you want to share. Is your ultimate goal to increase sales? To land more clients? Or bigger projects? To share your portfolio? Give professional advice? Secure an interview in an industry publication?

Whatever your goal, focus on that, and determine the best way to go after that goal. One or two online method(s), and one or two(s) offline methods. Furthermore, should you choose more than one method, try your best to make them work together.

There are many benefits to doing this. Freeing up more of your time. Reducing your frustrations due to disappointing results. Becoming really proficient at what you decide to focus on. Having more insightful metrics.

Discipline and Determination for Great Business Success from c2mCREATIVES

For example, this year I've decided to focus the majority of my online marketing efforts into Facebook. I did away with two Facebook accounts (a profile and a page) and created a brand new Facebook page for my new consultancy. I will share my portfolio and industry interests here. I will maintain my other social media platforms, but our Facebook page will be the main platform.

How to Pitch Your Startup Venture by Slides That Rock

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 04:21:00 +0000

How to Pitch a VC Redesigned from Slides That Rock

I enjoy great slide presentations. This slide deck was was put together by Slides That Rock, a slide design studio. The slides are about creating and presenting your pitch for a startup business. However, I think the outline is great for many business communication scenarios.

Happy Freelancing!
Carmen Cardoza

Currently Reading:: Color Harmony Compendium

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 13:30:00 +0000

My art & graphic design library is growing and I am flying through the books. This week's Sunday afternoon and bedtime reading will be Color Harmony Compendium: A Complete Color Reference for Designers of All Types.

The book includes two-color and three-color combinations swatches, a course in color theory, information on how to be a color trend spotter, and advice on choosing the right color combination for your projects.

What's in

CC

Watch: Objectified

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 14:22:00 +0000

ABOUT
"Objectified is a feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about the designers who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability."

Happy designing,
Carmen Cardoza

Building a Library of Must-Have Graphic Design Books

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 01:36:00 +0000

In 2013 I'm building a professional library of must-have reference and inspiration sources for graphic design. This past week I've been researching the bookstore and the internet for must-have books and this is the list I've compiled for myself.

TYPOGRAPHY

Designing with Type: The Essential Guide to Typography
by by James Craig, William Bevington and Irene Korol Scala

Type: A Visual History of Typefaces and Graphic Styles, Vol. 1
by Jan Tholenaar and Cees De Jong

THE BASICS

The Essential Principles of Graphic Design
by Debbie Millman

The Elements of Graphic Design
by Alex W. White

COLOR

The Art of Color
by Johannes Itten

Complete Color Index
by Jim Krause

GRAPHIC DESIGN STYLE

Graphic Style: From Victorian to New Century

by Steven Heller and Seymour Chwast

Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual

by Timothy Samara

THE BUSINESS OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

How to be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul

by Adrian Shaughnessy

FOR THE LOVE OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer

by Debbie Millman

Look Both Ways

by Debbie Millman

What's in your library?

Typography Basics Cheat Sheet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 14:17:00 +0000

Happy Freelancing,

Carmen

Typography 101: The Basics

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:27:00 +0000

Typography plays a HUGE role in graphic design, so I want to go over the basics of typography that are important in design work. Developing skills in typography can take quite some time, and believe it or not, it can be one of the hardest things to get right.

There is more to good typography than just choosing fonts and making copy look good. Good typography is also about making things legible and readable; making layouts aesthetically pleasing; and evoking well-considered reactions in your targeted audience.

So, on to the basics.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TYPEFACE AND FONT
A typeface is a family of fonts (such as Helvetica Regular, Helvetica Italic, Helvetica Bold, Helvetica Black, etc.). A font on the other hand is one weight or style within a typeface family (such as Helvetica Regular).

TYPEFACE CLASSIFICATIONS

There are thousands of different typefaces and fonts available to designers, writers and printers. Due to the overwhelming number of type available, it makes specific classification of every one nearly impossible. However, it is important to have an understanding of the basic styles of typefaces to help narrow down the research and selection of the correct typeface for your specific project.

Two of the most common typeface classifications are serif and sans-serif. In typography, serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols in a typeface. A sans-serif typeface is one that does not have small projecting features at the end of strokes.

Serif fonts are widely used in traditional printed material such as books and newspapers. Many magazines employ sans-serif typefaces because they they are "cleaner", regardless of any impact on readability from the lack of serifs.

TYPEFACE ANATOMY

In the world of typography, type designers have a specialized vocabulary to talk about the different parts of letters. Becoming familiar with this terminology will make it easier to communicate about typefaces and their characteristics. It will also help train your eye to notice the details that set what seem to be similar typefaces apart from one another.

THE LINES

A line of text has at least five lines that it can be aligned to. These horizontal lines act as guides for capital letters, ascenders, lowercase letters and descenders.

Baseline: is where the feet of your capital letters sit.
Cap Line (or Cap Height): indicates the height of capital letters from the baseline to the top of caps.
Topline (or Ascender Height): is the part of a lower case letter that extends beyond the x-height such as the letters h, k,and i.
Midline (or x-height): indicates the height of the lowercase x in any given typeface, thereby all lowercase letters, excluding ascenders and descenders.
Beardline (or Descender Height): is the part of the letterform that falls below the baseline such as the letters p and y.

THE MEASURE

In typography, the measure is the length of a line of text. There is an optimum width for a measure and that is defined by the amount of characters in the line of text. For a single-column design, the measure should ideally lie between 40-80 characters. Many typographers consider the perfect measure to be 65 characters.

HERE'S A TIP
When reversing color out, e.g. white text on black, increase the leading, tracking and decrease your font-weight. This applies to all widths of Measure. White text on a black background is a higher contrast to the opposite, so the letterforms need to be wider apart, lighter in weight and have more space between the lines for better readability.

TRACKING

Tracking is adjustment of the space between groups of characters (words). This is called the letter-spacing property in CSS.

General Rule of Thumb:
The shorter the measure, the tighter the tracking; the opposite holds true. The longer your measure the more loose your tracking needs to be.

Other variables must be considered, of course. Your choice of typeface, the background color, the number of columns and the surrounding design elements will influence the readability of a block of text.

KERNING

Kerning is the adjustment of space between individual characters.

Kerning affects the space between two specific letters. Some character combinations might require more kerning than others to avoid collisions.

In the example above, I increased the spacing between the letters "W" and "i" as well as "P" and "o".

LIGATURES

When parts of the anatomy of characters either look too close together, they can be combined in what are called Ligatures. These can be for functional or decorative reasons depending on how obvious the clash is. Mostly this is only an issue with serif fonts although sometimes sans-serifs will need ligatures to be set too

Ligatures should be used with extreme care or avoided altogether, especially if you intend to adjust the overall letterspacing of the text containing these combinations. Since a ligature is a single character, its internal spacing won’t change when you tighten or open up the letterspacing.

LEADING
Leading is the space between lines of text. It is generally measured from baseline to baseline and expressed in points. In word processing programs leading is known as line spacing; line-height in CSS. It can affect how readable long blocks of text are.

Leading’s role in typography is to generate sufficient space between the lines to make it readable. As with all matters of typography, it is a balance between reading comfort and aesthetic style.

When you decrease leading, lines get closer to each other, making a block of text appear more compacted. Low amounts of leading can increase the pace of the reader. Whereas increasing leading can reduce the pace of a piece of text as it introduces more white space between the lines.

General Rule of Thumb:
Your leading should be wider than your word spacing. When the balance is correct, your eye will move along the line instead of down the lines. If your measure is wider than the guidelines then increase the leading. This will have the effect of increasing legibility. Your leading should increase proportionally to your Measure.

HERE'S A TIP
The more words you have in a line, the more leading you will need to maintain a pleasurable reading experience. If you increase word-spacing (the space between each word), you’ll have to increase leading to improve the readability of the text block.

ALIGNMENT
Generally text should be left aligned, simply because we read that way. Only consider centering or right aligning text if it is a small amount, such as a heading or caption.
Justifying text (straight edge on both sides) should also be used in moderation. It may look neat in some situations, but too much of it will make a layout look rigid. Additionally, justifying in a small column size can cause irregular spacing as between words as the software attempts to adjust your text to fit.

HYPHENS, EN DASHES and EM DASHES
Who knew those little horizontal line characters could cause so much confusion. So, which one to use when?

Hyphens are used to bring together frequently used word combinations, in phone numbers 555-1234, and when merging two last names.

Examples:
first-class
(800) 555-1234
Brown-Black

The en dash is the width of an n. The en dash is used for periods of time when you might otherwise use to. The en dash is also used in place of a hyphen when combining open compounds.

Examples:
1990–1994
August–May

North Carolina–Virginia border; a high school–college conference.

The em dash is the width of an m. Em dashes may replace commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought.

Examples:
You are the friend—the only friend—who offered to help me.
Never have I met such a lovely person—before you.

RAG
This is the uneven vertical edge of a block of type, most commonly the right-hand edge, as in the case of left-aligned text. It is important to pay attention to the rag, as it can affect readability in a big way. If the rag is not very good, it can be very distracting on the eye, as you read down a column. It can be fixed by reworking the line breaks, or by editing the copy.

WIDOWS AND ORPHANS

When a word or significantly short line is left at the end of a column, it is called a Widow. If the same is left at the top of the following column, it is called an Orphan. Widows and orphans are considered bad typography as they cause distracting shapes in a block of type. They can usually be fixed by reworking the line breaks in the column or by editing the copy.

Happy Freelancing!

Strategy - Quality - Perseverance

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:27:00 +0000

I am thrilled to share that my first social media marketing seminar was a great success. The planning and coordination was impeccable thanks to the professional staff at the African American Chamber of Commerce. The attendance was impressive; including a variety of industries from banking, audio/visual/technology, leadership/talent development consultants, education, auctioneers, real estate/mortgage professionals, insurance, and a book author - to name a few. The response was so motivating and I am truly pleased to have followed through on this presentation. It was great to hear that the information was helpful, and that it was great to feel that the information and stories I shared may help an inspiring group of entrepreneurs and passionate professionals.

After practicing my presentation many times, my key messages finally jumped out at me - YESTERDAY - the day before my presentation. The three things that I wanted my audience to remember are to dive into the social media world with a strategy in place, to focus more on the quality of their social media marketing efforts and messaging, and less on the quantity they are reaching (or not reaching), and to persevere with patience. Why?

STRATEGIZE
When clients express frustration about how overwhelming social media is, or how they are not getting results, or how time consuming it is - I find that this is usually because they haven't worked at developing a detailed and workable plan of action, or setting workable goals. Many times they haven't identified a specific target profile, nor have they researched how information flows in their respective industry. Yes, this is work, but it is the necessary work to ensure that your efforts are progressive. So I equipped them with 7 STEPS TO BUILD A SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY.

Many couldn't wait until I host a follow-up seminar where I go through building a social media campaign - or the HOW. And I can't wait to present the HOW. However, I want to emphasize that you must go forth with a strategy to avoid burn out, disappointing results, and missing out on a great opportunity to really market your business - before you get to the HOW.

Rough beginnings of my blog editorial calendar

QUALITY
Another tool that I pushed during the presentation is to build an EDITORIAL CALENDAR. This is a life saver, motivator, and pain reliever all in one. Your editorial calendar allows you to map out an entire year's worth of messaging; everything from themes to topics, to content providers, and frequency of postings. Whether it's for a blog, a group you've created on LinkedIn, or discussions on Facebook - having an editorial calendar allows you to paint a chronological picture of what you are going to say, share, announce, and inform your audience about. It will allow you to determine if it's too ambitious, if you need to outsource your campaign, if it's underwhelming, etc.

An editorial calendar will help you provide quality content. Having goals also helps you implement a quality strategic marketing campaign because you will be more focused. It's not about saying 2,000 different things to 250 million users. It may be more about sharing and evolving a few key messages 2,000 times to 100 users (your dream clients).

PERSEVERANCE
Why perseverance? When you implement any marketing campaign you must factor in that you will not get immediate results. The same holds true for social media marketing. Yes, people are online all day, every day. However, it doesn't mean that you will get immediate feedback when you put something out into the world wide web.

With social media, you have to be proactively patient. Meaning, that as you are review your metrics, and they are not ideal numbers, you have to put on your analytical/imaginative hat and identify what you can do get more desirable results. This does not mean throwing the plan in the trash. This means taking your metrics, studying what's working, what's not working, and what is showing potential; going back to your editorial calendar and tweaking the messaging. You may have to do this over and over again, but it's easier now because you've already done all the hard work of setting it all up.

BUILD YOUR STRATEGY - THIS IS THE FIRST STEP
Social media is powerful. Social media has made marketing accessible to many more entrepreneurs. Social media is now an essential tool that should be a part of your marketing plan. Build your strategy. This is quite an endeavor but it is well worth the effort, and is actually a great opportunity to address gaps in your business, to be frank with yourself about what you have to invest to get it done, and to commit and follow through on something that is beneficial for you, your team and your business.

I will be sharing the slides of the presentation soon, so stay tuned!

Happy Freelancing,
Carmen

In Search of an Outfit for My Upcoming Presentation

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:50:00 +0000

Countdown - 10 days left to my upcoming Social Media Marketing presentation. I am going over my notes, tweaking my introduction to death, and making sure I'm cutting down on my "ummm's". But what will I wear??? I haven't bought a suit in YEARS! So I am planning to run to the stores in search of the perfect presentation outfit. My first thought was a suit, but I'm having a change of heart. I think a dress will suit me best. I want to look like a mature professional, yes. But I also want to wear some energy, creativity and fun. After all, marketing and design are about energy, creativity and fun. So here are some dresses I am considering.

This Michael Kors Tweed Belted Dress, complete with a brown leather belt, might be just the dress for my upcoming presentation.

I this this Trina Turk Mariposa Ponte Dress has a lovely silhouette with the draped side pleats on one side, giving it a touch of modernity and flare, but still professional.

Red? Yes, red. This Nanette Lepore dress is bold! I like V neck, spread collar, and cap sleeves. This would make for an interesting look for a presentation. I love the bold red and the contrasting black "belt"; the bows giving a hint of femininity.

A standout - this Moschino Sleeveless Color Block Dress Black and white block dress with gold accents - could work. I'm guessing the model is way taller than I am, so the dress may not look so short on me.

Back to a more professional look.

Gorgeous! Still hoping this wouldn't be as short on me.

I am a black-and-white print aficionado. and I love the smart stripes in this Ralph Lauren Cowl Neck Striped Dress. Fresh and modern, just what I'm looking for.

Okay, so decision has been made. I'm going for a dress. Now, what about the shoes???

Happy freelancing,
Carmen

Save the Date: Social Media Marketing Seminar

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:28:00 +0000

I am thrilled to announce I'll be hosting a seminar on leveraging social media to boost business development efforts and results. This seminar is made possible by one of my clients/partners, IQuest Concepts, LLC, and will be held at the National Entrepreneur Center: African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida - located at 3201 E Colonial Drive, Suite A-20 | Orlando Fashion Square (covered parking by JC Penney & Sears).

In this seminar, I'm not only going to acquaint you with the world of social media, but we will also go over how to build a social media marketing strategy. My goal is to make social media marketing less intimidating for small business owners, and to show the power of building a strategy and managing a campaign.

We will lunch, learn, and share successes and challenges when it comes to implementing and managing social media as a sales and marketing tool. This seminar will be held on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 from 11:30am to 1pm.

If you live in the Central Florida area and would like to participate, please RSVP to Reservations@BlackCommerce.org. If you have any questions regarding the seminar, shoot me an email.

Happy Freelancing!

Carmen

Creating a Logo with a Touch of Modern Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:31:00 +0000

I am so excited about my new client, and if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know that this is also my new favorite boutique and source for dresses - Modern Grace Boutique. What a dream to bring fashion, a boutique, and my work, all together.

Grace Mendoza, the owner of Modern Grace Boutique, and I made an instant connection when we met weeks ago. I fell in love with her boutique and with her story (more on that later). This post is about how we gave the Modern Grace Boutique logo a facelift.

1. Grace has kept a Nanette Lepore body lotion box for years, because she loves the colors and the flowers in the packaging. She was happy to finally bring out "the box" and share it with someone that could help her make her branding dreams come true.

2. The last batch of business cards and hang tags MGB printed include a graphic provided by an online printer. Grace loved the colors and the elements in the graphic - mannequin, storefront window, awning, etc., but admitted that it has a kind of elementary feel to it. There is nothing wrong with that, if that is what you are going for. We are going for a more adult whimsy.

3. Lastly, Grace actually drew the original Modern Grace Boutique logo (above) when she opened her shop over seven years ago as a way to save money. Her logo is a sofa; giving the sense of a welcoming, non-intimidating boutique. We wanted to keep the sofa, but take it to the next level.

First, I searched for a sofa with curvy lines. I chose to make the sofa black and white and put it against a soft pink backdrop.

Then I used the current MGB font, Parisian. It's an elegant font and juxtaposes nicely against the curviness of the sofa. The mannequin was necessary to ensure that consumers know that Modern Grace Boutique is a fashion shop, not a furniture shop.

Then, there is the window and awning. I used similar colors to those on the latest business card. Then I thought, "Why not put the Modern Grace Boutique logo on the storefront window?" Grace loved this because she actually does have a cream vintage sofa in her store, behind her storefront window.

Remember the flowers from the Nanette Lapore packaging? I drew similar flowers to put in the flower box of the storefront window. Since the mannequin looked awkward on the window, I placed the mannequin in front of the window instead, and changed its color from black to the darker pink hue.

To add more balance and texture, we added polka dots to the awning and a bar with scrolls to the top. This is the complete logo. However, we will use the simpler version below interchangeably.

We are quite pleased with the results. In fact, Grace's words were, "I love it. It's perfect. I want to marry it!"

Stop by Modern Grace Boutique's site, like MGB on Facebook, and follow MGB on Twitter. If you live in the Orlando, Florida area, you won't want to miss MGB's specials, events, and great selection. If you don't live close enough to stop by, show a little support to a small business anyway.

Happy Freelancing!

P.S. After writing this post, Grace and I agreed that although we love the big comfy new sofa, the old sofa was more abstract and had a real artsy feel - which we wanted. So I recreated the original hand-drawn logo digitally, cleaned it up a bit here and there, a nip and a tuck over here, a little shorter there, kept the white color, and voila -

We LOVE the results! It was actually a great idea to bring back the old sofa - new and improved!

Happy Freelancing!

Carmen

Training Makes Money: Challenge & Equip Your Team to Run Like a Finely Tuned Machine

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:22:00 +0000

You cannot set higher standards or expect your team to go to the next level of sales and service, if you are not equipping your team for business success. Ongoing and continuing training will help you build a finely tuned machine for a thriving business.

Some managers view training as an INTERFERENCE with “work” to be done.

But, consider the tale of the two woodcutters.

Woodcutter A diligently cuts wood all day.

While Woodcutter B keeps stopping and sitting down throughout the day.

At the end of the day...

Woodcutter B has three times more wood than Woodcutter A.

Woodcutter A is perplexed. "How could this happen? You were resting all day!"

Woodcutter B explains, "I wasn't resting. I was sharpening my saw."

The moral of the story - take the time to sharpen your skills, your tools, and your resources, and you will be more productive.

Whether you're a one-person army or a Fortune 500 firm, you need to be working on your skills.

TRAINING SETS STANDARDS

If you don't train your team, you cannot realistically expect your team to get to the next level or, to meet your standards and expectations.

TRAINING MAKES MONEY

Clients who experience consistent top-notch service, no matter who they are dealing with in your organization, will keep coming back.

TRAINING SAVES MONEY

Regular training reduces employee turnover. What's more, when employees know exactly what to do in any situation, they have the tools to thrive in your organization.

So, the most important thing you can do for your business and your team, is to insist upon mandatory and regular skills training.

Repetition is the key to preprogramming your company or department to run like a machine.

Consider a typical training program.

You are supplied with loads of information from very knowledgeable trainers.

Then they leave.

You are charged up and excited. You feel empowered and energized.

The perception is that you have received a lot of VALUE because you have gained a lot of INFORMATION.

In fact, the reality is that all that information remains as such, because without continuous follow-up, very little sticks from a one-shot training.

A better way is in sight.

Simple. By rotating core material regularly, the same concepts are constantly reinforced and reiterated.

Again, constantly teach new information, again and again, until the skill becomes PERMANENT.

After one training session, your skills improve and in time dwindle down and only some permanent skill remains.

Repeated training sessions continue to build on the newly acquired skills you have retained until you have mastered the skill.

So, here is how to run a training program.

Tell your team what to expect.

This includes: What will be covered. How long it will take. How the information will be covered. The objective of the particular session. The obtained skill or knowledge that you hope they will gain.

Create a training environment that is conducive to learning.

Make the training session fun and open to comments, jokes, and suggestions. A training session should be visual and interactive. Above all, make training sessions mandatory.

Let's take a look at some training methods to consider.

The Lecture Format is where you talk and they listen.

If you’re looking for substantial input or group processing from your training session, the Lecture Format is not ideal.

The Group Questions Format is where you present broad questions to the group and ask for a show of hands.

This is an interactive method of training. It makes for a good introduction tool. The Group Questions Format helps guide your group to conclude what is at stake in a given training session, if it is not addressed.

The Group Discussions Format is where you facilitate discussion around a given topic or issue for specific feedback from the group.

This format keeps participants engaged. The Group Discussions Format extracts common themes that need addressing in the training session.

The Demonstration Format is where the supervisor demonstrates how employees should perform a given task. This is a powerful training tool because it shows the team that as the leader, you are involved, and can relate to their challenges.

Furthermore, it allows you as the supervisor to test your processes and procedures and have greater insight.

Use the Demonstrations Format to solicit questions and probe, to determine the level of understanding from your team.

The Role Playing Format is where employees demonstrate back to the supervisor. Another powerful tool, this helps to take some of the anxiety from the salesperson, as s/he is confronting his/her discomfort zone, with the support of the team. It seems torturous but it is a great empowering tool.

Role Playing helps each team member automatically do what she is supposed to do even when she’s rushed, challenged, or surrounded by distractions.

The Going Deeper Format drills down on the minute details of a process until participants get everything practically perfect. This is particularly painful if you are the one on the hot seat, but it's a great tool for getting to the nitty gritty of obstacles and challenges with a new skill.

This is a highly eﬀective method to improve skills. The Going Deeper Format reveals gaps in the process or neglected steps in the process. It helps everyone in the team come up with solutions.

The Case Studies Format includes concrete examples and case studies in which the concept you are teaching made a big diﬀerence.

This helps make the training more entertaining. It helps create a more relaxed environment, and people remember stories, especially when they are dramatic or humorous.

The Test Before & After Format is where you develop a test for every concept or skill you teach.

These tests show participants how much they are going to learn and makes the answers stick when they learn them.

In the Spot Quiz Format, the trainer quizzes participants on material that has been covered to help program the basics.

Little by little, whatever you cover again and again, eventually sticks.

These are all great, individually. But the most powerful training you can conduct integrates all these formats.

The most powerful training you can conduct is the Workshop Training Format.

Workshops are a powerful way to facilitate training, improve skills, and implement new procedures.

Stay tuned for a slide deck on Workshop Training

One more thing...

You must have some kind of ongoing and continuing technology training so that all employees know how to take advantage of the technology in front of them.

A business that invests in regular training of its employees, builds a team of well-equipped, confident, and loyal professionals that attract more clients and consistently provide top-notch service. In turn, you gain happy loyal clients who help your business thrive; allowing you to further invest in empowering your team to succeed.

Are you ready to set higher standards and equip your team to run like a finely tuned machine?

Great Time Management Secrets in 6 Steps and 5 Minutes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:33:00 +0000

Following, are six steps to great time management as outlined in one of my favorite books, The Ultimate Sales Machine. The key message being that we must condition our concentration muscles in order to get what matters done. This is about equipping yourself and your team to make the most of the work day, and make profound transformations in your business.

In your business or department, do you function primarily in a reactive mode or a proactive mode?

In order to build the ultimate productivity machine and avoid burn out you and/or your team must function in a primarily proactive mode.

Here are some good indicators to help you assess whether you are functioning reactively or proactively.

You must equip yourself AND your team to be time management gurus (and on the same page), if you wish for your business to thrive.

So here are the 6 fundamental steps to implementing great time management.

Step 1
Can I deal with this now?

In other words, to transition into proactive mode you have to stay focused on your must-do's. If it's not on your Must Do list and can wait - file the item in an appropriate folder, add it to your To Do list, and get back to your Must Do list.

Step 2:
A daily Must Do list will double your productivity.

Keep a master To Do list for all pending items, ideas, etc. However, keep a daily Must Do list of the 6 most important things you must get done today.

Step 3:
How much time will it take to complete each task?

This is important. Next to each item on your Must Do list, write down how much time you will realistically spend on each item.

Step 4:
Plan your day

Assign time slots for everything. Your plan should include your 6 must-do's, emails and phone calls, and miscellaneous tasks. Even carve out time for interruptions, as they will come.

Step 5:
Prioritize

You may want to go straight to the easier tasks first. Instead, tackle the more difficult projects on your must do list first. As the day goes by, you will lose some energy and focus. You don't want to confront the difficult projects at that time.

Tip:
Group all your reactive work together for better efficiency.

Step 6:
Will it hurt me to throw this away?

In other words, de-clutter your space and your mind. Stop holding on to busy work. You will waste precious time filing info that you may never refer to again or that you can find elsewhere, if necessary.

Conclusion
When something (someone) interferes with your schedule, deal with it/her/him and get back to your schedule.

Nothing new, right? We know all of this. So what's the point?

Implementation, is the point. Do you have the pig-headed discipline and determination to implement these simple steps?

I know I'm working on it.

Challenge yourself.

Are you a time management guru? How do you organize your day? Does your team follow the same time management principles that you follow?

Happy freelancing! Carmen

Slide Deck On Discipline & Determination for Business Success

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:05:00 +0000

You must apply pig-headed discipline and determination when it comes to marketing, managing, and selling your products and/services, for greater business development results.

Everyone loves a good quote.

PIG-HEADED DISCIPLINE & DETERMINATION aka PhDD

The powerful force you must apply for creating success.

The difference between mediocrity and greatness.

MARKETING, MANAGEMENT and SALES

The three crucial areas you need to focus on to master your business and run it like a finely tuned sales-making machine.

IMPLEMENTATION, NOT IDEAS

The key to real success. "Throughout my career and via benchmarking projects I have conducted for clients, time and time again I come across the same challenge for many companies, large and small – implementation."

No matter if you have the budget, the personnel, and all the resources and tools you could ever need - if you do not follow through on a project or idea, you cannot succeed - or fail for that matter.

FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS MOST

Building a sales machine is not about trying to do 4,000 new things each day.

It is about focusing on a reasonable number of key strategies and practicing each of those 4,000 times.

Absolutely commit one hour a week to see profound improvements in your business or department.

In that hour, do absolutely nothing else but work on making your business more effective.

Another good quote.

Postscript:

When I was in college one of my study tools was writing things down. Writing what I was hearing, reading, seeing, feeling, and learning helped me digest and retain information better. Years later, I am visualizing my note-taking. As I continue to evolve as a graphic designer, I am finding that those words that I am writing down to remember lessons, key messages, and research data, I now need to visualize. I want to give those words colors and shapes. I want to lay them out in a simple, clean manner. I guess it's my way of de-cluttering and organizing the information overload; putting all the data pieces together and connecting them.

One of my favorite books is The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes. Asisde from the title of the book, I really do think the information in this book is fantastic. I think the title is limiting and gimmicky. This book is not just about sales. It is about running a business/department. It is about productivity and results in business management. The subtitle: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies sits better with me than the actual title. I ran across a review of the book that pretty much mirrors my opinion on the title, but I digress.

I will be visualizing my notes on those 12 key strategies and sharing them on this blog. Hence, the slide decks. I hope you find them helpful.

Happy freelancing!