Leanne
Since you created my brochure, I want to tell you that I have had so many good comments about them. It is very well designed to attract the eye and easy to read.

I worked with you to design a brochure with my brand in mind and you easily helped me bring out the details I wanted to show. You helped me create something that I can be proud to distribute.

When I thought we were done and ready to print you stopped and analyzed it a few more times before finalizing it. I’m really grateful for the work you put into have a nice finished product.

Thank you Leanne for helping me create exactly what I had in mind!

Cynthia
Vancouver, BC

Nice finish to the week!

Snapshot of Said Brochure (click to enlarge).

Pacific Peace Healing Arts Brochure

One thing I find clients do all too often in advertising is they try to say too much. They fear that because they are leaving something behind,  inserting an ad in a paper or putting something on the web, they need to explain EVERYTHING at that time.  When in fact… they do not.

The fear is that the reader will not understand what they offer or what they provide.  One client will offer a premium on a service but will want to list every other service they also offer because you know, in case they want it or they weren’t aware they could mow your lawn AND remove your junk.

That’s great except, how many times when you see McDonald’s advertising their big mac’s do they also throw in that they also sell kid meals?  I know, you will say that everyone knows what is on McDonald’s menu and so it is a given. However, what McDonalds is doing is advertising with purpose. They advertise when there is a new menu item. They advertise when they have a new promotion. They have a purpose to what they’re saying & they’re being direct. They do not have an ad where Ronald comes out, waves at the tv & says: we have millions of restaurants and scene. Because what would be the point of that? That isn’t brand recognition. That’s a waste of money. So why should your business be any different.

BE DIRECT. Have a point and use your mediums wisely. Most often then not, your call to action is either to look at your website or to call you. (preferably run out and use you right now but we are in a world where we are constantly on the internet. I, myself have a window open constantly. When I lose contact, I feel like I’ve lost my right arm).

On your site, you can take your time & spell out your services, provide insight into yourself & to fill in any holes the customer may have. Please keep in mind there should be calls to action on your website as well but this is the one place where you can elaborate.  Brochures allow you to use pictures & list products/ services. Newsletters are to offer tidbits & showcase your knowledge and keep you top of mind. Phone books are a directory and should be used as such.

Do not be afraid. This will not be the only piece you ever put out there in the universe and if it is, re-visit your marketing budget. If the one ad you are placing will take all the money for the year & it is February, then this isn’t the best avenue. You need to touch the public several times before you see a rate of return. Do not put anything out there that doesn’t tell the reader why you are talking to them. Promotions are the best reason to give people a chance to hear you. It is a ‘what’s in it for them’ kind of attitude. Next month, you have another reason & so forth.

The only mistake is trying to do it all in one go and even worse.. doing nothing. Only in the movies do you build it & they will come.

I’ve already showcased Voth Photography out of Kelowna BC. This week I would like to turn our attention to the wonderfully talented Suze McCart of Suze Interiors.

She is a very talented, very driven Home Stager & Decorator in Vancouver who’s work continues to impress me. She has the ability to do as her tag line says “Bring your space to LIFE”.

No two spaces are the same because no two spaces are the same. Be it an over cluttered scary mess or a completely blank room. She has the ability to see a space & envision and esthetically pleasing arrangement.

which do exactly as her tag lines says “Brings Spaces to Life!”

She often speaks about how often people do not create a space to which they would love to live in until they move. More often then not, they pour money into an environment in order to make it sell better and upon completion, wonder why they never allowed themselves to live in something so comforting.

So don’t wait until you’re leaving to create your space, get some inspiration & begin slowly. Pick some paint, add some pictures or declutter your shelves. Style takes time and ask a professional to consult on a transformation.

Some of my more favourite examples include: (click on photos to enlarge)

That saying has always made me giggle.. mainly because I am a 5  year old trapped in a 36 year old woman’s body. However, it is a fun playful saying for a day of the week that I’ve always loathed.

Wednesdays to me, have always been the worst day of the week. Mondays represent a fresh start, Tuesdays was cheap movie night. Thursdays was ALMOST the weekend, Friday was. Saturday is a pure play day and sunday is fun relaxing day.

But Wednesday…. Wednesday means work. It means middle. It means last weekend was a distant memory while the next one is still a couple of sleeps away. (and I grew up catholic and was stuck going to catechism every wednesday where I would obsessively watch my instructors heavy earrings hang from her lobes counting the moment they would finally rip through).

So true to form like any other Wednesday…. I’m not inspired.  I have a list of things to do but lack the focus or will to get it done.  Normally when this occurs, I need to clean my space, move spaces, look at other portfolios or rather, generally get the creative juices flowing.

Today, I’m choosing to look to a creative blog that I like to read on a regular basis: Rena Tom

I find that this blog provides lots of tips & insights into not just the design aspect of graphics but also the business and practical side to things.

If you get a chance, take a look

The speaker lost me from the beginning as he insulted a well known brand, Boston Pizza (one that is very near & dear to my heart) in addition to lambasting a few other things. Negativity doesn’t play well.I didn’t agree a with a few of his methods & so he lost me from the get go.

Was he knowledgeable? yes. Did he have a lot to say .. sure to the point of going ON and ON and ON and ON and ON…. Almost an hour over in fact which I found ironic as the topic at hand was about email overload & how to be more productive. It appeared the speaker liked the platform to drop different ancedotes on blogging, twitter & networking. Great points but it begs the question: was this the time to drop them?

I think where his epic #fail (he’d appreciate the hash tag), was not only when he had not 1 but 2 presentations prepared & planned to serve them up but not sticking to the topic at hand. He didn’t know his audience.

Knowing your audience is so key. The event itself is ironic as he speaks about how we take in a lot of information, how we process things faster and how we want to access information on the go. Essentially… hone in on the message and keep it simple. So why did he carry on?

He didn’t think about who his audience was. Chamber of Commerce events pull in a wide variety of people ranging from financial planners to mlm sales people to event planners. They themselves are there to network. They are there to make a few contacts. Having a speaker at these events is a draw for them to attend, maybe pick up of a few knowledge nuggets but ultimately sell themselves. This speaker used it as a platform to sell himself. Bravo to him as he was able to drop names & invade our psyche with all that he has done in the last 3 months but what purpose did it serve? Was he really trying to educate us or sell us? What did he want us to do? Email him, attend another seminar? Follow him on twitter?

Like anything, pick a point & stick to it. Keep it simple. He actually prepared 2 presentations.  Any meeting that begins at 7am, has people with a limited attention span. Most have to run to work after breakfast & appreciate an early get away.

If I were to critique this, I’d recommend to him & to anyone presenting:

Pick your Theme: What will be the topic of discussion

Key Points: Pick 3-5 points that support your topic at hand.

Examples: Back up any point you make with an example but more then one can run you long. After each point, use the example to help illustrate what you were describing. The longer the presention: the more wiggle room on the examples. Some industries may benefit from more examples then others (ie: hairdresser show casing before & afters).

Call to action: Why did we just sit through that? What do you want us to do now? Be direct.

Visual Aids:  Use visual aids to help illustrate your point. Point is great tool for this medium. However, don’t write out your presentation verbatim on the slides. The audience is there to listen to you, not read.  Visual aids are there to illustrate what can’t be said.

Be interactive: Asking questions to the audience & interacting with them in your discussion helps keep people engaged. Having them walk through an example with you helps brings what you’re discussing home to them.

Leave time for questions.  People have questions & they themselves like to be heard. Feel free to have questions planted in the audience to help cover any outstanding items you may not be able to cover in your presentation.  Questions help wake up the audience & bring them back round to associating you in their lives.

I will showcase a presentation I assisted Suze Interiors recently & will showcase her presentation in the coming weeks as to what worked with her condensed five minute presentation.

Namely my logos & I deleted 2 & posted 2 thumbnails that go, well… nowhere

So in lieu of that. I will post the 2 updates here!  The first is a logo for a Fitness Coach, Lisa Rushton: (case study to come)

The second logo is for a Vancouver Headquartered (is that a word?) mining company Sirocco Mining.

This logo was working off a legacy company & they wanted to keep some of the flair of the last design.

In light of this & what I do for a job. I know a lot of photographers… many of which I would love to showcase & highlight.

One of my favourites, is Melissa Voth of Voth Photography. She is the photographer I used for my head shot seen on this site. Below is a collection of some of her work (Weddings, Portraits, Commercial and Artistic.)

At the beginning of January, she posted a blog entry highlighting some of her favourite wedding moments.

Voth Photography-Artistic

Leanne's Portrait Head shot

I was laughing at something we were talking about & she managed to capture the moment. Anyone who knows me, knows my mouths is usually about 5x larger when I let out a giant cackle.

Leanne Portrait Session

Commercial Voth Photography

Voth Photography-Wedding

One of the many examples of her Wedding Photography..

So far this week has consisted working on a logo concept for a workshop series, client meetings, assisting on a presentation for Suze Interiors and putting together a proposal for a store opening in July…. (FINGERS CROSSED!!!) Other then that, I’ve been focusing some energy on working ON my business rather then always for it. Hence the pick up of the blogging.

In the very least, I want to get something out rather then nothing be it, what I’m up to, around Vancouver, inspiration, new work or education.

This year,  I’ve amped up my netw0rking aside from my Thursday morning meetings & am always up for & open to any new events.

Tomorrow, I’m meeting with Claudine Lam of Sales Partners & hopefully we can put our heads together to offer more specials, workshops & education for Vancouverites.

Til next week…

His former partner had relocated to Australia leaving a hole to be filled. Dave Collette has been known in Vancouver as an actor but not as well known as Dave Collette, the realtor. So a brand needed to be created.

The first task was approaching the logo. Most realtors want to brand themselves rather then a faceless business entity. So it is important portray who they are & what they stand for.  I’ve worked with several realtors. Some want to be portrayed as very corporate. Some want to come across as ‘sexy’. Dave wanted to be approachable & loves the new york east side look. Wants to appear masculine but not overly aggressive. The look was to be slick, professional and clean.

The main concern for the brand was that Dave needed a logo, website & listing presentation first.

Listing presentations are a main component for most realtors as it is what they use to woo clients.

Below are some of the samples>>>> (click on items to enlarge)

Dave Collette Logo

DC Listing Presentation

DC Listing Presentation 2

Feature Sheet Template

DC Home Page: www.DaveCollette.ca