Therefore we have created a Twitter cheat sheet. Think of it as tool box for all your Twitter needs…

*You are free to download and redistribute this to your hearts content. Just leave the Elliott Design logo on there…cheers!

This brings up the main objective of social media; how do I use it to my advantage? For starters, you need to have a goal in mind. Do you want to spread news about your company? Reach more customers by creating an online presence? Figuring out what you want and how you would like to be portrayed are the first steps in creating an online presence. 

Myth #1 - Social Media is Only for Young People. 

I’m always telling my technologically challenged mother these exact words, “Just play around with it, don’t be so afraid to press buttons!” The more you try, the more you’ll learn. When Facebook was first launched, there was no paper user manual, and obviously it still caught on. The beauty of these social networks is that they are geared to be user friendly. Just like websites now, if the user can’t figure them out on the first try, then who is going to waste their time? The ease of use makes these programs a perfect fit for all users.

Myth #2 – Social Media Won’t Do Any Good      

Social Media actually improves your image by helping to reach a wider audience. It gives your company a personality and a face-to-go-with-the-name. It helps with search engine ranking, bringing more traffic to your company site, and makes it easier for potential clients and customers to find you.  And I have to mention the added bonus of showcasing your customer service skills. If a client or customer chooses to voice a complaint publicly, you have the chance to demonstrate your ability to handle and rectify the situation, all in front of your whole audience. People will see your efforts and admire how well you handled the situation, and see how much you care about your customers experience.

Myth #3 – Social Media is Hard Work

I wish I could say this was a myth, but social media is hard work. However, the rewards are worth it. To successfully grow and interact with the community requires dedication and commitment. Like our own Jeremy Ross always says about websites, “You can’t just set it and forget it.” This rings true for social media as well. In order to form online relationships, you have to be a person, not just a robot behind the computer. This involves giving real time responses to questions and engaging with others. Humor is always appreciated and proves a good way to give your company a personality. Luckily, there are programs like TweetDeck or Hootsuite to help with updates, just be sure YOU are there to keep your audience engaged.

“We are the voice of the river, and our web site is the face to the public. Thanks to Elliott Design, our web site is now a user friendly, navigable, interactive destination for our members and the public to learn more about our important work for the Columbia,” Kelly Nokes, Program Administrator for Columbia Riverkeeper said.

“Elliott Design’s generous donation of time and talents has allowed us to spend our funding where it’s needed most – protecting the Great River of the West.”

The Columbia River is one of the most important rivers in the world. At over 1,200 miles in length, it is the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest. The Columbia River supported and sustained rich Native American cultures and traditions, as well as one of the greatest salmon and steelhead runs on earth. Unfortunately, damns, poor water quality and habitat destruction have led to multiple species living in the Columbia River to be filed under the Endangered Species Act.

“Elliott Design is giving back to our community and helping Columbia Riverkeeper on our mission to keep our river clean,” Brett VandenHeuvel, Executive Director for Columbia Riverkeeper said. “They donated their skill and energy to build us a great new web site. We’re impressed that Elliott Design took the time to learn about our organization, really understand our needs and deliver a professional product.” 

For more information about the organization, please visit www.columbiariverkeeper.org

Ever had an ‘experience’ on the Columbia River? Tell us your thoughts! 

Ryan Mowery:

Josef Müller-Brockmann

When I was a student, I was introduced to a wide variety of art and design. I spent 4 solid years being inspired and challenged. While it would be impossible to narrow in on which artist and designer has inspired me the most, I can confidently say Josef Müller-Brockmann is high on the list. I was first introduced to Müller-Brockmann’s work in a typography course. My professor was discussing Helvetica, and it’s predecessor Akzidenz-Grotesk and showing the class examples. As an example, we looked at several posters from a swiss graphic designer. 

“[Design] is an art that requires practice.”

Immediately I was drawn in. What struck me first, was how interesting these designs were with the limited use of color and without relyiong photography. Josef Müller-Brockmann had a very controlled aesthetic that I immediately fell in love with. It doesn’t rely on images to create an interesting composition. Instead, the design uses typography and shapes to generate dynamic play in static mediums. 

Diving into his technique I learned of the grid system that Müller-Brockmann uses. I still use it to this day in my work, and I advocate for all designers to use some sort of grid. Its a great way to organize alot of information and create interesting forms out of plain text. 

Josef Müller-Brockmann’s simplicity is something I strive for in my design. I think he creates very interesting compositions without using any crutches.

More info on Müller-Brockmann | More Müller-Brockmann work

Kyle Hinze:

Chip Kidd

When I am inspired by a design or a work of art online I will often follow a trail of links to find out what else that person has worked on, but the name of the artist or designer doesn’t usually stick in my mind.  Typically the object of inspiration is what I remember most, which is definitely the case when I encountered Chip Kidd.

I first came across Chip Kidd’s work with a book titled Batmanga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan.  Immediately the book stood out on the self at Borders because of it’s gigantic size and multi-textured design.  What I really liked about the book was that the graphic design aesthetic carried over from the cover design to the inside of the book.  The layout of each page draws attention to the images while also keeping it very balanced to not overlook the text.  He helped me realize that everything inside and out of a book was designed and that I can draw inspiration from the novels and comic books I read.  Even as I design the layout of a page for the web I think about some of the layout choices I have seen in books and magazines.  Designing for the computer screen and designing for the printed page take two completely different sets of choices but when one can influence the other I think the design benefits.

 Now that I know who Chip Kidd is (how could you forget a name like that) I find myself looking to the credit section of a book only to find that he, in fact, designed it as well.  It seems like I’m seeing his name more and more on the popular culture books that I’m interested in reading.  His most famous design was the cover art for the Jurassic Park novel which was so effective that it was used for the movie poster, the logo in the movie, and other collateral material for the Jurassic Park series.  

 ”I’m very much against the idea that the cover will sell the book. Marketing departments of publishing houses tend to latch onto this concept and they can’t let go. But it’s about whether the book itself really connects with the public, and the cover is only a small part of that.”

 This quote really caught my attention because it refers to designs that are usable and not ones that are simply pretty to look at.  This is something I strive for as I design.  I believe that a good design is more of a catalyst than an end point, which is something that Chip Kidd has helped me to realize.

Don Elliott

Jonathan Ive

This blog was hard to write, there are so many amazing designers that have influenced me how could I narrow it down to just one? So I decided to focus on who has directly influenced me the most – and I almost begrudgingly had to settle on Jonathan Ive, the senior industrial designer at Apple. I say ‘begrudgingly’ because I don’t want the stigma of the Apple-lovers category to taint the importance and relevance of Jonathan Ive’s work. While Apple products have plenty of ‘cool’ features and cutting edge technologies, it’s actually the physical design of the devises that make me ‘drink the Koolaid’.

Ive’s philosophy on design is simply, simplicity. Design the best you can, then review it, and remove everything that’s not necessary. I love design that has reason and purpose, and Ive’s design embodies that to the core. I constantly find myself returning to Apple’s industrial design. The iPhone, iPad, Laptops, Computers, iPods, anything you hold from Apple feels, looks, and responds like art. I find myself routinely striving to create design that has that same emotional, and visceral response. If returning to a website actually makes you feel something, like a sense of relief due to the beauty and order of it, then I’ve accomplished great design.

Jeremy Ross

Paul Rand

If you’re not a designer, you may not know Paul Rand by name, but you’ve seen his work.  He’s developed logos for IBM (1956), Westinghouse(1960), UPS (1961),  the American Broadcasting Company (1962) that are either the same today, or close evolutions of his original creations.  What I love about Rand’s work is the thought behind the design.  They say so much, with so little. The only way this can be accomplished is by defining and understanding the problem that the client or company faces, and presenting a solution to that problem.  His approach was that of a problem solver, and the art came as the end result.

So many designers have tried to mimic his style, but to truly capture the essence of Paul Rand you have to mimic his process, not his end product.  The true genius of Paul Rand’s design proves itself in its longevity. To design something that can span culture, prejudice, status, and half-a-century is truly an inspiration.

Design is the method of putting form and content together. Design, just as art, has multiple definitions; there is no single definition. Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.
- Paul Rand

Taylor Vincelli:

 Larry Page and Sergey Brin

 These two guys are none other than the founders of Google. Larry and Sergey met at Stanford University in the summer of 1995 and within a year begin collaborating on a search engine called BackRub. The following year, 1997, BackRub is given a new name: Google. For over a year and a half, Google runs on Stanford’s server with the domain name google.stanford.edu

 Google revolutionized the way search engines work. At a time when search engines bombarded their users with clutter and pop-ups, Google had a clean and sleek look. Google also had more accurate results. Search engines like Alta Vista, Excite and Lycos rendered results based solely on textual keywords. This means they didn’t account for the subject matter of the page, but rather how many times those keywords appeared. This method makes it more difficult for official websites to score higher on the results page and also difficult to differentiate words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. For example, “hard rock” and “hard drive” both have the word ”hard” but are very different subjects. Google uses this technique mixed with other techniques to ensure the relevance of your search results.

 Another method being what types of other pages link to a website, or link analysis algorithms, to order websites. Google also gives you personalized results based on your web history and location, which is why if you type in “Pizza Hut” Google gives you a map of the location nearest to you. These algorithms are updated on a weekly basis.

< image What google did for my birthday this year:

http://www.google.com/logos/2011/earthday.html >

 Another reason why Google is my favorite, wouldn’t you love it if your office looked like this:

Or if you had a pool table and a hand chair:

Or if you had a slide:

More images of Google’s headquarters here

From my developer side, Google inspires me because of the changes they have made the the way the internet works. I love Google so much that I think we should officially change the spelling of the number “Googol” to Google. In case you don’t know a Googol is a 1 followed by 100 zeros, but I guess you could have just Googled it. They also fund projects is to develop a viable plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that can attain 100 mpg. Who wouldn’t love that?

Climate Ride is a non-profit organization that organizes fully supported, charitable bike rides to support sustainable solutions, bike advocacy and environmental causes. Our job was to create a platform to present Clif’s largest fundraising effort, The Wine Country Fundraiser Ride. We created an eye catching flier for the event, which wasn’t really a job at all because we are such avid supporters of what the Climate Ride hoped to accomplish. 

 The Climate Ride California took place the first week in October. 120 riders from across the country tackled the challenging California coast and endured the wind and rain, all with smiles on their faces. Riders took part in a biking adventure in order to raise money and awareness for a greener future. 

 ”It would suffice to say that the weather, scenery and company served to inspire us all as to how simple life is on a bike, and how simple life can be off of a bike as well.  Making mindful choices, specifically regarding consumption and the way we move about the world on a day to day basis, can make a BIG impact!” 

Lentine Zahler, an organizer for the Clif Bar team

The Clif Bar team was charged with raising $8,100 to participate in the ride. The funds not only allowed the Clif team to participate, but also benefited local and national organizations who are working to advocate for environmental issues, renewable energy sources and bicycles. Support poured in, completely overwhelming the team. In the end, they raised well over their goal and hit $10,101. Between the California and the NY-DC Climate rides, the organization was able to donate over $300,000 to beneficiaries nationwide this year.

 ”Both the ride and our fundraising were such an unexpected success. We are all so grateful for the generosity shown to us as we dedicated our time, energy and cycling legs to this cause that surely would ‘revolutionize’ our nation. Elliott Design was a huge part of that! You enabled us to voice our cause to more people, create a professional presence, and keep our supporters interests streamlined.”

Lentine Zahler

 Here at  Elliott Design, we try our best to be as environmentally conscious as possible, from our recycling bins to being practically a paper free company. Even our hosting server is 130 percent wind powered. We always welcome the opportunity to work with other eco friendly companies and some we are currently working with include, Deep Green, Columbia River Keepers, and Modoc Capital. 

 Besides receiving an abundance of Clif Bars, which sustained the appetites of the Elliott Design team for many weeks, we also received nice swag bags. Check out our new office uniforms. And in case you’re wondering, yes, this is how we dress everyday. 

My interest in HTML and CSS began about four years ago when I started customizing my MySpace profile. I studied the code that http://www.pimp-my-profile.com told me paste into my “about me” section. I wanted to know what was going on in there and how it worked. Soon I was able to write my own styles for MySpace bypassing the code generators that I had used before. With much research I learned how to apply that same code to building websites from scratch. For the last couple years I have made websites for friends and family, and a few paying clients.

I gained experience both building websites with raw HTML and CSS as well as using Content Management Systems like WordPress and Drupal. When I found out about WordPress, I automatically took to it for its intuitive structure and usability. Even someone as computer illiterate as my mother could edit a website built in WordPress! And apparently, the experts here at Elliott Design feel the same way, because every website that I have seen come through this company was built in WordPress.

I think I’ve hit the ground running here at Elliott Design. These last few weeks have been busy and a lot of fun! I’m excited to be a part of the team here, learn new things, and work with an amazing group of people.

The entire Elliott Design team was sad to hear about the passing of Steve Jobs. In an office focused around technology, where iPhones, iPads and Macs are a frequent sight, the legacy of Steve Jobs will surely continue. We thought it would be fitting for each one of us to take a few minutes to write our reflections and thoughts about the loss of such an important influence in all of our lives.

Don Elliott:

 “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

[Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

When I heard Steve Jobs passed away, it effected me more strongly than I would have expected. I found myself actually feeling a sense of loss, like a friend had left, even though I have never met him, and previously never really identified with him on a personal level.

When I found the above quote from his Stanford commencement speech, I realized why I felt this way. I’ve admired Jobs because his life truly seemed inseparable from Apple, yet instead of viewing him as a workaholic I always saw him as an artist, and Apple was his canvas. In my own life, I see that I spend inordinate amounts of time at and around Elliott Design, to the point where it’s arguably become a part of my own identity. In conversations with others I’ve struggled with this as I’ve often felt a need to justify my seeming ‘over commitment.’ Steve Jobs made no excuse or justification for what others often referred to as his obsession. He stood out as an example of someone who truly loves what they do.

He made his work his art, and thereby his opus was in fact his own life. For me, there is no greater aspiration than that.

In 1993, before his return to Apple, he summarized this philosophy quite nicely:

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.”

[The Wall Street Journal, May 25, 1993]

Jeremy Ross:

In February of 2007 the first iPhone was announced. I started saving until that June 29 release date. I paid the premium, $499 for the 4gig version and it’s the phone in my pocket right now (until October 14th anyway). Many improvements have been made, but the core functionality that started the touch screen, smart phone revolution is just as good as it was 4 years ago. The visual voicemail introduced is by far the best way to access voicemail, and no one has come up with a better on-screen keyboard. Call me an Apple Fan-boy, and I’ll stand proudly.

Steve Jobs’ passing marks the end of an era. That sounds like an overstatement, but it’s not. There was something “insanely cool” about the way he captured a crowd in his keynotes, and the way he communicated about his products. His attention to detail and obsession with perfection was a gift to our generation. At his passing we should all be reminded to live out our passion unashamedly and let the world experience the benefit of a generation that share those ideals.

Ryan Mowery:

Throughout my education and career, Steve Jobs has given me a great deal of inspiration, both as a designer and as a marketer. One of the major impacts on my life is the simplicity that Steve Jobs worked towards. Creating simplicity is one of the greatest challenges designers face each day. I think Steve Jobs was unrivaled in this task. I hope his dreams and ideas live on.

Kyle Hinze:

Steve Jobs was one of the few men that can say he changed the world. When he knew that something was a great idea he defended it until everybody else knew as well. He has inspired me as a designer to stake a claim in what I create and stand behind it when I am proud or make changes when it isn’t my best work.

“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”

Liz Quintana:

I heard of Steve Jobs passing while I was browsing my iPhone, then went to my MacBook to further read up on the subject. In doing this, I realized, I’m just one person, yet look how much this man has affected my life. As his life and legacy were being honored, I came across a a quote that caught my attention.

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. “

He was a man who loved what he did and accomplished these tasks with incredible determination. He inspires me to become the best I can, all the while keeping my happiness just as high of a priority.With the vast amount of knowledge and ideas Steve Jobs possessed, I think the most basic principle stands out: love what you do and the rest will come naturally.

Through school I learned A LOT of theory and practice but one thing missing was great critiques.  I don’t want to bash the school system or the program I went through, I just want to truthfully evaluate my experiences that have made me into the designer I am.

When I started, the peer evaluation process was difficult for me as I received it and as I dished it out.  I didn’t have very much experience with receiving such thorough critiques of my work.  The design process in school was based on creating something that looked elegant and appealing but may not ever be used.  At Elliott Design everything we create is to be used.  Our reputation is largely based on word of mouth and our end products.  If we aren’t performing at the peak of our abilities then it will show in the end product.  I have learned it is incredibly important to let somebody tear my designs to shreds because it makes me a better designer every single time.  

The incredibly high value on teamwork at Elliott Design makes it an encouraging place to work and grow as a designer.  Early in my internship I remember a conversation with Ryan where he said, “When we design something here it isn’t something by Kyle, Jeremy, or whoever actually worked on the project.  It’s a creation of Elliott Design.  We create everything as a team, not as individuals.”  This was really poignant for me because it helped me realize that the critique is actually an integral part of the design process.  Like a good literary editor somebody that critiques a work is helping to shape what the end product will look like.  I am still working on my abilities to give thoughtful and thorough critiques but I have definitely been getting better.   

On the final day of my internship (which was also three days before my wedding) I was offered a position here at Elliott Design.  It was definitely a whirlwind of events in my life as my wedding was finally coming within hours, the honeymoon was about to start for two weeks, and I received my first paid graphic design job.  I am back in the office again after two weeks off with eleven of those days spent in Maui.  It was an amazing couple weeks in my life and now it’s nice to be back home getting into the groove of life again.  I am ecstatic that I get to be a permanent part of Elliott Design to hone my skills and create top notch designs with the rest of the team.

Just a normal day at the office for Elliott Design employees

We aim to discover new ways to bolster creativity on a daily basis. Our Brain Lab meetings are just one of the ways we try to accomplish this goal.

How many people can say they build a Lego 8 bit Mario character at work?

Ryan Mowery is a graphic designer, the print manager, and sometimes a blogger at Elliott Design, Inc.

It was a revolutionary cooking device like nothing the world had ever seen.  All you did was drop in a frozen chicken, come back 30 minutes later, and it was done… and somehow little slices of carrots and potatoes were on the plate and ready to go. It was amazing, but I never bought one.  Call me a skeptic, but I live under this mantra that says, “If it sounds too good to be true…” you know the rest right?

We have clients that will hire us to build them a website with all the bells and whistles. It’ll have a blog, an events calendar, and a newsletter engine, a photo gallery, and a shopping cart.  So we would build it, train them and set them loose and a few weeks or months later we’ll get a phone call.  “My website isn’t doing anything.” “What do you mean by that?” I ask.  As I go to the site I notice that they haven’t added a blog in 4 months, the events calendar is just as out-dated, and the photo gallery has the same stock photography that they started with on the site’s launch. This website that “isn’t doing anything” comes from a great misunderstanding of what a website is.

Your Website Is a Tool

In the right hands they can accomplish a great many things toward your marketing goals, but left on their own, they’ll collect dust as well as any other tool in the corner of your garage, and yes… do nothing.  So what can we do about this problem? Here are some tips:

1. Blog if you got it – On the web content is king.  People are searching for it, Google is cataloging it, and you need to be creating it.  A blog is a great way to build trust and credibility, it connects you with your audience in an interactive way where they can leave comments, and feel like a part of the conversation, and it let’s people know that you’re passionate about what you do.  Regular blogging communicates a lot and if you think you don’t have time for it, I’d challenge you that you don’t have time NOT to do it.  The dividends will be worth it.  If you’re stubborn and you know you won’t blog, make sure that you don’t have a blog on your site.  It’s better to have no blog, then an outdated one.

2. Social Media – Twitter, Facebook and Linked in are all great ways to stay connected with people, and get them connected to you.  Be active in those circles in a personal way. Remember, social media is meant to be social, not a chance for you to be salesy.  Asking questions is always a good thing to do if you don’t know what else to say (online and offline for that matter)

3. Keep it Fresh – Fresh relevant content is critical.  The internet is a very dynamic environment, the moment you stop moving with it is the moment it moves on without you.  Keep your prices current, your company bios, your education, your inventory, and people will continue to come back.

If this sounds like a lot of work to you, it’s because it is! If you thought that running a company, or a marketing department was going to be easy… well, let’s just say it’s not one of those, “Set it and Forget It” deals.  But if you put the work into it, and master the art of great web content you’ll reap the rewards of it.  And if that’s just not your cup-o-tea, hire someone to do it for you!  That might be the one case where it really is, Set it, and Forget it!

Small business owners in particular have an acute awareness of how quickly things can change. Unfortunately, perhaps more often than not, executives in this position decide to, “Hunker down and weather the storm.” They feel this turtle-shell maneuver is the wisest choice – on the surface it appears to be the safest, most conservative decision. However, if we carry this metaphor through, you will see this is entirely the wrong choice.

A turtle pulls into it’s shell to avoid injury from an assault (consider past PR nightmares for company’s like Nike or Pepsi), it does not pull into it’s shell to find food! No matter how long it stays there, nor how tough the shell is, the turtle still has to forage to survive. 

It’s the proactive business that survives. 

Instead of ‘weathering the storm’ we should be more concerned with adapting to the new environment. After all, even when the economy turns around and business is booming, nothing will as it was before. Now is the time for business owners to learn a new form of survival, and evolve to the point where they can prosper despite these turbulent times. This is where strategy comes in. Strategy has of course always been around, but never before has the average small business owner had such quick and easy access to so much information with which to develop a strategy.

In the past there were standard ‘formula’ marketing stratagems which companies would use to guarantee a certain level of success: direct mailers, cold calls, brochures, TV campaign, trade shows, etc. Marketing firms would be hired to develop a message and plan the execution and the company would throw whatever finances were required into their coffers. For small businesses $10,000 could be gone in the blink of an eye just on brochures alone. Then they would be forced to sit back and hope the campaign was effective. Only large firms could invest the capital to hiring people and systems to track metrics and judge a campaigns success. The whole system made it exceptionally difficult for any small business without major financial backing to compete.

Today, the tables have turned.

Small businesses now have enterprise level solutions at their finger tips from Google Analytics, newsletter services, and call tracking software to cloud based subscription-model project and client management tools and everything in between. Many of these tools are free or available for a nominal fee! Additionally, the cost of printing, graphic design, photography and other professional services has dropped by dramatic margins due to advances in technology, among other factors. The result is the playing field has been leveled. Whenever everyone has the same weapons it’s less about overpowering the opposition and more about out thinking and out maneuvering. This is why strategy is now a bigger player than ever before. Product development companies began to understand this nearly a decade ago, hence smart phones, smart cars, interactive cars, heck even interactive ‘intelligent’ glass windows! Everything in our world is becoming ‘smarter’ – small businesses must do the same.

The core of strategy lies in honestly and candidly assessing your current situation and position, then leveraging what you have to get to where you want to be. This is precisely why we have embraced, “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu as our core philosophy in developing strategies. And no, the irony of a 3,000+ year old book becoming the guide for how to navigate an era that is unlike any other in our history, is not lost on us. In fact, it’s a little poetic.

I highly recommend finding a copy of, “The Art of War” today. It’s a surprisingly short and easy read. You can find free e-versions here: http://suntzusaid.com/

Also stay tuned, we are picking up our Art of War in Marketing blog series this fall!

As a designer there is no way to separate marketing from design.  The designs are always created with a purpose and an audience in mind.  If I create something that ultimately doesn’t accomplish it’s purpose then it is a bad design.  Form follows function is a phrase thrown around in architecture design but it works for graphic design as well.  Only after you consider the function of your design can you really focus on the form it will take.  Both a roadside billboard and a business card need to have effective layouts and creative design, but the approach to each function is completely different.

I have been thinking a lot about the audience with my designs.  Each person or company I have been designing for has a target audience and I want to make sure that whatever I create is appealing to them.  Sometimes it can be difficult to move between projects because I have to be in the mindset of the audience as I critique and design.  There are even times where I need to throw out my personal aesthetic preferences in order to make something that is more appealing to the client and their audience.  It is difficult, but ultimately I am making something for the client and not myself so it is necessary sometimes.  I realize that I am constantly looking back at my notes to make sure that the design is headed where the client wants it to go.  Working at Elliott Design has helped me understand this give and take a lot better than I did before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t99BfDnBZcI&feature=player_embedded

How has Google’s new search option effected my work flow? At first, Search by Image completely stopped my work altogether, because I was too hypnotized by it to do anything except search with pictures. Now after playing with it for a while and calming down, I have had some time to analyze it, I have realized it has limitless potential.

I predict this will become an incredibly valuable tool in the graphic designer’s belt. As a designer, I am constantly trying to create something new. My goal with each client is to create something unique and that will stand out amongst its competitors. Branding is all about differentiating and telling a story. Very often a simple Google image search can tell a person everything  they need to know about competing brands, bad logo designs and colors to stay away from. This new Search by Image function takes that search a step further. By loading my designs into that image search, I can easily check if my logo concept or my illustration is too similar to something else or is not communicating correctly to the right demographic. I know that Google is not aware of my target demographic when I load an image into the search, but it is a visually objective set of eyes that can give me feed back.

Another problem designers run into often is the cost of stock imagery. Creative Commons images are a blessing for both designers and clients with tight budgets.  A typical problem; the design is great the client loves it, but they cannot afford the stock image being used, or the owner decides not to grant permissions.  Solution:  Do a Google Search by Image search using the stock image to find a less expensive or fre creative commons image to use instead. This saves time for the designer and money for the client.

I suspect I’ll discover more possibilities with this new addition to Google.  Google has impressed me yet again, and has left me asking is there anything Google can’t do?

One concept that I have been using over and over in my logo design is simplicity.  A lot of times logos are just glanced at.  Most people probably see more logos driving down commercial areas of town than any other time during the day.  If you think about the ones that stick with you in your mind they are probably pretty simple ones because the details of complicated ones get lost in your memory banks.  Within the design of the logo I want to relay as much information as possible with the least amount of detail.  The best way to do that is to get creative with the icon and make something that people will think is clever.

Before this internship I had relatively little experience with designing logos.  When I was a senior at WSUV I created the current logo for the Alexa Dyer Foundation and before that I did some mock ups of logos for Open House Ministries.  Most of my logo design work has occurred here at Elliott design and I feel like I have improved a lot since I started.  Designing logos has given me a lot of time experimenting with abstract shapes.  It is incredibly fun to open up a new document in Illustrator and start playing with shapes to see what happens, then work them into something usable in a logo.

Designing logos at Elliott Design has taught me a lot about good design in just the past two weeks.  I have learned some new techniques from my coworkers and I have hastened up my workflow.  I am always excited to see what I get to work on next and hopefully one of my designs will be approved and used soon.

Later,

Kyle Hinze