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The @dblmedia team would like to wish you all happy holidays and a happy new year! May you find success, peace and happiness this upcoming year! Best wishes to our friends, followers, customers and suppliers! Thank you for being part of our extended family. (at DBL Media Studio)
10 Creative Rituals You Should Steal - By SEAN BLANDA
Cheers designed by Ryan Beck from the Noun Project
Benjamin Franklin made sure to end every day by asking “What good have I done today?” Maya Angelou only wrote in tiny hotel rooms. Jack Kerouac made sure to touch the ground nine times before writing.
Sustained creativity doesn’t come from a flash of brilliance or a single afternoon of inspiration. It comes from a consistent routine that serves as the bedrock for getting things done. At 99U we’ve spoken with dozens of entrepreneurs, researchers, and creatives about their unique routines. Below are some of our favorites.
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1. Take a Quarterly Vacation
Venture capitalist Brad Feld takes a week off every three months:
The most impactful thing I’ve done is to take a week off the grid every quarter. [My wife] Amy and I head to the airport on Saturday to go somewhere. I leave my computer at home and give her my smart phone at the airport. She gives it back to me the following Saturday when we return home. We always go somewhere – usually a relaxing place, but it’s always a trip rather than a staycation. I then spend 100 percent of my time relaxing and being with Amy. I usually read a book a day on these trips, we talk a lot, have plenty of adult entertainment, and sleep late every day. Whenever I return, I’m always refreshed.
Read the entire interview here.
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2. Hold a “Retrospective” After Projects
Former Obama campaign CTO Harper Reed the importance of the daily “retrospective”:
[The presidential campaign] had a really good team dynamic that relied quite a bit on the “retrospective” meeting at the end of a project that allowed us to stop and say: “What was it like to launch? What did we do right? What did we do wrong?”
Since we were practicing kind of a startup ethos of iterative development, we could usually see immediately what went wrong and what was right, and it was incredibly valuable. Just being aware of how things are going, and talking about it quickly, I think is incredibly important.
…
People forget to acknowledge, that especially in technology, work kind of hurts. People have feelings and it is important to talk about those feelings and address them. If you’re in a room and you say, “Okay, we launched today. How do you feel about that?” Then your team says, “I did not like it when this happened. I struggled with it and I was little bit unhappy that we put down this task, but I was super excited about this.” We just had a conversation, a real conversation, about real feelings.
Read the entire interview here.
—
3. Write Every Day
Best-selling author Cheryl Strayed on the importance of writing daily:
I often recommend writing as a tool for self-discovery because it’s helped me so much. I use writing in different ways: I write as an artist but I also write when I’m just trying to work through something or make a tough decision. And I think, a lot of times, even people who aren’t writers will write in crisis. They’ll write in their journals after breaking up with someone, even though they haven’t written for two years. That’s because it’s a way to essentially practice your thoughts and see what’s there. Writing forces you to locate your clarity.
Read the entire interview here.
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4. Create an “Interesting People Fund”
Writer and entrepreneur Ben Casnocha makes sure to invest in his “interesting people fund,”:
The interesting people fund is a pre-commitment strategy: by pre-committing time and money to meeting interesting people, you increase the likelihood that you actually do it. Because many people know they ought to do it, and think about doing it, but when push comes to shove and it’s time to take an hour out of your day or spend $40 buying someone lunch — they punt on it.
In terms of the long view of networks, if you’re not taking the long view, you’re doing it wrong. Relationships — be it romantic, friendship, or professional – take time to develop. A lot of time. Rushing a relationship into a short term transaction can jeopardize the long-term relationship potential.
Read the entire interview here.
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5. Keep “Tear Sheets” to Get Inspired
When she’s stuck, Designer Sarah Foelske visits her tear sheets:
There’s usually a time in any project when a stuck moment happens, and I find that getting away from the computer and the busyness of the day is the most important part in successfully battling that. Even if it’s only for 10 minutes. When you rest your mind, the ideas will come easier. I find any exercise and meditation really helpful, as creativity is all about being focused and present to me.
I also have tons of things that I’ve saved, dimensional items, whether its tear sheets from magazines or invitations to events that I liked, or beautiful packaging, or just anything that inspires me. And, I have these books that are not categorized by anything but are just full of visual works, so I’ll flip through those for ideas.
Read the entire interview here.
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6. Nap Every Day
News anchor Pat Kiernan makes sure to take a nap. Every day.
I’m super protective of my nap, and my schedule generally. You have to learn how to say no. I usually keep a pretty hard line about that. You have to be rested and healthy for your job in the morning, so you have to cut some things off, and resist the temptation to go to everything you’re invited to.
Read the entire interview here.
—
7. Envision What You Will Be Remembered For
Rapha founder Simon Mottram often writes fake business articles to help him plan:
One thing I used to do is write faux business pieces, “Financial Times” or “Wall Street Journal” articles, about a company in the future. So you can sort of say, “That’s what we’re trying to achieve.”I wrote one for Rapha in early 2005, when we’d been going for about seven or eight months. I wrote a piece that I pitched as being December 2010 in Fortune magazine. (Obviously the world’s a bit different now, and Fortune magazine isn’t quite what it used to be.)
But it talks about Rapha revolutionizing the cycling market and leading more people to discover road racing as a lifestyle and a fundamental part of their lives. It talks about 25,000 Rapha customers meeting at Rapha cycling cafes, going for rides together, consuming Rapha coffee, being all part of a club. It talks about some of the products, reading magazines that Rapha publishes… Five years on, the way it described the business was actually very accurate to where we were last year in December 2010.
Read the entire interview here.
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8. Brainstorm at the Bar
Designer James Victore does his “think-work” at the bar and his “work-work” in the studio:
[I do all my sketching on] paper, and not in the studio. I’ll go to a bar or a restaurant. When I did my book, I left the studio every morning and I went to the park and sat for an hour, hour and half. I brought an idea, and I wrote longhand in one of these big sketchbooks. Then I would come into the studio and work during the day. Afterwards, at 4 or 5 o’clock, I’d go to my bar, sit with a beer or two, and refine it. Or write on a new idea. So it became this really nice process of every day. And it became a habit.
I can’t do the think-work in the studio. The studio’s for putting stuff together – for work-work. And if we’re not doing work-work, then we leave. How many great architecture ideas have been drawn on napkins? Because they’re free, they’re not thinking about work.
Read the entire interview here.
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9. Get Out of the Building
Radio host Garrison Keillor makes sure to get into the “observable world”:
I don’t think that one should sit and look at a blank page. The way around it is to walk around with scrap paper and to take notes, and simply to take notes on the observable world around you. If you walk into this room and see these great columns and think this was once a savings bank, you could put those two things together, and make some notes here – that would be the start of something.
I think everything – everything – starts with the observable world, and even though you may cut that out of your final go, nonetheless I think this is where it always starts, and with overheard conversations. There are a lot of conversations here that could be overheard, and you’re probably more likely to get them in the back of the room.
Read the rest of the interview here.
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10. Engage in “Morphological Synthesis”
Artist and filmmaker Ze Frank has a method to his madness when brainstorming:
Morphological synthesis is a way of trying to segment your thinking process into parts. I definitely use it quite a bit. (Though not in the strictest sense of the word.) You take 4-5 adjectives or characteristics and then brainstorm in that direction.
Generally, when I have an idea I start with a sense of scale. Let’s say Procter & Gamble has a new toilet paper. If I’m trying to generate ideas around it, the first thing I’d do is take a general imagination run into scale. What happens if you have no toilet paper? What happens if you have way, way too much toilet paper? What’s the smallest type of toilet paper that you would ever use? What would an incredibly large toilet paper look like? Who is someone that never uses toilet paper? Who is someone that uses it constantly? What can you do with 10,000 rolls of toilet paper? What would a world with no toilet paper look like?
I flip back and forth between the extremes until something interesting comes out of it. And then you repeat the process based on that new idea. It’s a super-cool exercise only in that it forces you to explore the outside boundaries of things.
Read the rest of the interview here.
Source: http://99u.com/articles/21137/10-creative-rituals-you-should-steal?utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=ALL&utm_campaign=MIH%20-%20Feb%20%2714
QR Code Sushi has arrived!
According to Harney Sushi’s chef, Robert Ruiz, it’s a typical fact that when your clients are knowledgeable about the meal they're consuming they're eager to pay more and come back again and again. After giving much thought to the idea, he came up with edible QR Codes to place in sushi that provides ingredient information about the dish. Crazy good right? The technique used to print them is by using water based ink on rice wafers, the same type of ink used for edible assortments such as cookies, cake, etc... This innovative idea makes a meal interactive and enhances the experience. Don't you agree?
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Via designtaxi.com
Business Cards: 16pt Silk Lamination and Embossed cards for WHT
Our friends at Western Hemisphere Trading asked us for a Classic yet contemporary look for their new set of cards. We maintained a minimal feel to the design and embossed their logo on 16pt Silk Laminated business cards for them. They were pretty stoked with the outcome. We're glad to help :)
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Branding: Logo and stationery for Eli's Cakes
Once our friends at Eli's Cakes in Venezuela contacted us to amp their brand, we knew this would be an interesting project. They asked to maintain an angelical touch to it and colors that co-relate with the soothing and tasty treats they offer. Business cards were printed on a 16pt Silk Laminated stock with Spot-UV accents and 1/4" rounded corners. You be the judge and let us know what you think!
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#hashtags are a current event now at Facebook
Hashtags are not just a static and plain text on Facebook anymore. The social media giant is giving users the capability to create, search, and click on hashtags now. After many years, Twitter promoted live convos and updates on live events by the use of hashtags as many of you know by now.
On the other hand, the hashtag streams will be limited by clicking on the Privacy Settings. Only content and posts made by "friends" will be made visible.
#Enjoy!
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Rome wasn't built in one day, your logo shouldn't be either.
Logos come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Some explain what the company does while others are abstract. Some are beautiful while others are just plain ugly. But at the end of the day, there is no set template for the art of designing a logo. Things would be kind of boring if there was, don't you think? So now you ask, if none of these factors are what make a great logo, then what is it?
Well it's simple, the logo has to be original and different from the thousands of other companies out there. If you notice, giants like Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Disney, and Apple all have very distinct logos that make them stand out from the rest. This is the key to a successful logo.
But I lied, it's not as simple as it seems... Here is what happens behind the scenes to design logos for our clients.
1. Client Research
The first step in creating a logo is having a real conversation with the clients. Everyone has different tastes, so when creating a logo, we have to be very mindful of what the clients want. We sit with each one of them to get an overall feel of his/her personality, values, and company culture. This helps us narrow down ideas and see what the clients like and dislike. It saves us plenty of headaches down the road and it's a a nice way to build great business relationships.
2. Industry Research
After getting to know the clients, we have to look into the industry that they're in. That way we can see who the target audience is and who they have to compete against. Knowing the target audience gives us a great vantage point that we can use to create something that both the clients and customers will love. Looking into the competition gives us a way to know what to avoid because the last thing you want to do is create a logo that reminds the target customer of the clients' competition.
3. Logo Application
This is one of the most critical parts of creating a logo. We have to keep in mind when and how the logo will be displayed. Factors such as orientation, readability, and color play a huge role in how a logo will look whether it's on a website or on a huge banner in downtown. For this reason, we have to think carefully and weed out ideas that simply won't apply for these situations. You don't want to be stuck with a vertical logo on a website or tiny font that no one can read on a business card.
4. Rough Drafts & Digitalization
Now THIS is where the magic happens! After all the research is done, we finally begin drawing up dozens of original ideas that we feel will work for both the client and the customers. Once we are done brainstorming, we narrow down the options and show the clients the best designs that will stand out from the crowd. Once the clients have chosen the logo(s) that they like, we begin the digital process of vectorizing the design. Designing the logo as a vector is a must because you will be able to resize it without losing any quality.
5. Refinement
During this process, we add details and receive feedback from the clients. We also provide a few variations of the design and color palette to give the clients a few final options to choose from. We then go through a series of revisions until the clients are happy with their final logo. Once the logo is ready to go, we can move on to the rest of the client's branding.
6. Brand Identity
So the hard part is over, but we're not done yet. A good logo is nothing if it is not applied properly. During this stage, we begin working on business cards, websites, signage, vehicle wraps, and even promotional items to show off your new logo. Even though this step is optional, most clients prefer to keep all of their design themes similar to each other and create a custom package to fit their needs.
So in other words, it is not a simple to create a logo as some think. It takes time, patience, and creativity to make a timeless logo that will get the attention of the target audience. We follow these steps almost religiously to provide our clients with the best possible work. So if you're in need of a logo, don't hesitate to give us a call. We mind your business :)
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Search Engine Optimizers beware, theres a new google update in town.
Late last week, Google launched its most recent algorithm update in the form of Penguin 2.0. There was a lot of speculative discussion leading up to the release about just what changes this new Penguin would reveal. For now, less than a week since Penguin 2.0 rolled out, the actual effects of this update are obviously still pretty obscure and unclear, but already some trends have begun to emerge that hint at what exactly is changing for search engine optimization professionals and content marketers.
So, what exactly will it mean to work on the Web and practice search engine optimization for your website or blog in a post-Penguin 2.0 world? Keep reading to find out.
Authority Matters (More)
Google is going to be paying much closer attention to your credentials, so if your site is considered an authority in your specific niche, expect to see that pay off in the form of higher rankings on the search engine.
Changing the Way We Guest Blog
One of the biggest things that Google seems to be interested in targeting are sites that have a lot of outbound links pointing at just one website, as opposed to various links to many different authoritative websites. This will (or should) have a major effect on the way that content marketers and bloggers choose the websites that they write guest blog posts for. With this in mind, writers should make sure they select sites that don’t link to low-quality sites and are unquestionably relevant to the site that they intend to link back to in their posts. Of course, this should be a common best practice for all guest bloggers already, but with the genesis of Penguin 2.0, those that do publish non-relevant links and content together on a regular basis will feel the sting with regards to devaluation of their own blogs.
The Advertorial Question
Advertorials tread murky water when it comes to the black hat/white hat ethics debate, but most people don’t consider this type of content to be “bad,” per se. That being said, it is sort of frowned upon, and Google likely won’t be recognizing those who publish advertorials as true “authorities,” and they should not be expecting link credibility from the search engine if they publish them.
The Death of Content Spam
Google has finally tied a direct penalty to the much-maligned art of content spam. This obviously means that any sites that “feature” user-generated content spam will be hurt on the SERPs as a result. Webmasters should take note and check their sites, and particularly their blogs and comments sections, to seek out things like multiple https or terms like “free shipping” to uncover (and then remove) content spam. They can do this by using a database crawler tool or Google’s site:domain.com “words go here” feature. (It should be noted that especially capable spammers might make it so that their efforts can’t be discovered without performing a Google search.)
Enough with the Over-Optimization
Sites that use their navigation, header and/or footer areas to include more keywords as a way to rank higher for those terms, or sites that add a superfluous amount of header and footer links for those keywords, will be working in vain now. In fact, they may even end up penalized by Google for their slightly spammy over-optimization efforts, and nobody wants that.
Keeping Ads in Check
In order to keep websites and domains from being landing pages for a bunch of ads, Google has started handing out penalties to sites that put too many advertisements above the fold. Of course, the famously vague company doesn’t exactly tell us what “too many” really means, but it’s at least enough to go off of for now. Just make sure you keep it down (down below the fold, that is).
An Increase in Clusters
Despite the fact that Google likes to have as much variety as possible on the first page of the SERPs, it looks like the search engine will be displaying more clusters of multiple pages from the same domain. The catch, of course, is that the domain and its pages are of a high quality in the first place.
Crawlability is Key
Crawl errors that diminish the spiders’ ability to scan your website to determine its authority, and thus ranking position, will now have a greater impact on your overall SEO efforts. Crawl errors affect a site’s strength and authority, and that will become a bigger problem on the post-Penguin 2.0 Web. Fortunately, you can go into Google Webmaster Tools, check your crawl rate and uncover any issues the spiders may be having, so that you can get on top of correcting them ASAP.
-Source
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5 Tips for Acquiring Responsive Subscribers
When it comes to launching a successful email marketing campaign, obtaining a large email list is only half the battle.
Ensuring your subscribers are high quality is just as important - if not more important - as maintaining a large number of subscribers. After all, a massive list of unresponsive consumers is less effective than a small list full of responsive consumers. Check out the tips below to guarantee the subscribers on your list will engage with your messages:
1. Identify your objective
Consumers aren’t going to sign up to receive your email promotions or newsletters if they don’t know what they are going to get, which is why it is up to you to tell them. For example, if you’re a retailer primarily sending out promotions and exclusive product information, make sure to say that on the sign-up form, just as Smashbox cosmetics does.
2. Stay on a schedule
Don’t depend on subscribers to be responsive if they can’t depend on you to deliver content, however, it is just as important to not over-deliver messages. For instance, if you promise to deliver a weekly newsletter during the initial subscription sign-up, make sure to fulfill that promise. By being consistent, your subscribers will know what to expect and be more likely to open your emails. They might even end up searching for your messages within their inbox on a regular basis.
3. Segment lists
It is important to know what your customers want so that you can send them relevant information, as this will result in higher open and engagement rates. The best way to make sure that your audience is receiving pertinent content is by allowing them to choose what they are most interested in when they subscribe. For example, Time allows subscribers to select the type of newsletters they’d like to receive during the initial sign-up process.
4. Use double opt-in
It can be simple to foster a large email list through strategies like offering a promotion or giveaway in exchange for subscriber information, but doing this can also lead to subscribers who simply joined your list for a freebie. In order to ensure that your subscribers are responsive, marketers can use a double opt-in strategy. This technique sends a verification email to every subscriber, in which they must click on the link within the message to be added to the marketer’s list. This technique not only makes sure subscribers are responsive, but can also help businesses get rid of low-quality (of not bogus) data in their lists.
5. Get personal
While you may have already taken steps to segment your email lists, it is also important to track each subscriber's activity, so you can reach out to them based on the actions they take. Something as simple as sending a welcome message to a new subscriber is one way to stay personal. Additionally, sending a follow-up message to a consumer who abandoned their cart on your site is not only personal, but can also help you save the sale, build a relationship with the customer and create a more responsive subscriber.
-Source
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Pros and Cons of Responsive Web Design
With the huge growth of users accessing the web through tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices; websites with a fixed layout just don't cut it anymore. The problem with fixed layout websites is that not all devices are created equal. The changes in width make it nearly impossible to view fixed websites in certain devices with small screens. The demand for mobile-friendly websites has definitely increased over the last few years.
This is where responsive layouts come in... They allow your website to read your device's screen resolution and resize itself to fit. Your website will be perfectly viewable whether you see it from a smartphone, tablet, or pc. But since nothing is perfect, there are pro and cons to this layout. Check them out below and decide what's best for you!
Pros of responsive web design:
Consistent experiences across all devices
Single code base
Improved SEO
Single URL for all devices
Cons of responsive web design:
Pages are more time consuming to create
They require new content management workflows
They require new image optimization processes
Minimal support for responsive web design in e-commerce for merchandizing or visualization
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Check out the Webby Awards winners you Webby people!
Below you may find a link to the present and past list of winners for the Webby Awards. For those of you that don't know what the Webby Awards are, picture the Oscars for Web and Online design. We thought you creative and curious people might enjoy it and hopefully get inspiration from what you see. Click away and enjoy!
http://winners.webbyawards.com/2013
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Facebook rolls out with a new logo ladies and gents.
The social media giant presented a new "f" on Friday in the company's news site. For the first time in many years, they have polished their look and injected botox to rejuvenate some of its icons.
As you can see on the picture above, they completed some tweeks to its brand identity. Bringing the "f" closer to the bottom edge, slanting some of the features and eliminating the faded white line.
Also, the mobile icon, politics, security and others have been redesigned and have included their signature blue to create a uniform look. What do you think about their new logo and icons?
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Happy Earth Day!
This is part of a Vinyl Window Decal that we made for our friends at "Thriving in the Black" located at Sunset Place Mall in Miami. If you need anything similar, contact [email protected] or 305-320-6223
Have your creative juices dried up? Check this site for designers, by designers...
This cool search engine helps you find inspiration by looking up relevant searches on Behance, Dribbble, and Designspiration at the same time. Colleagues, you won't regret it.
niice.co
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Need Blog Post Ideas? 3 Easy Templates to Get You Writing -- Now
If you own or manage a business blog, you know how difficult it can be to keep up with the type of regular publishing calendar that's needed to form a connection with your audience. Dare to slack off even a few times and miss a few weeks of posting, and you'll likely find that the readership you so carefully cultivated has all but disappeared in favor of greener, more regularly updated pastures.
So if you're struggling to come up with new content ideas to fill these potential gaps, consider the following blog post templates. These basic structures can be reworked over and over again -- giving you the steady stream of content needed to sustain your blog's reader base.
1. Lists The list post is a popular type of blog post, given that it's often easy to write and tends to be more widely shared among social connections than other types of articles. You've probably seen these posts all over your favorite blogs. This very article is an example of a list post, in that it discusses a list of three possible blog post types to consider when you're out of content ideas.
Writing a list post involves coming up with a collection of different items that suit an overall theme that's related to the subject of your site, an industry issue or any other topic of interest to your readers.
Your list posts don't need to feature only a few items. Including 25, 50 or even 100 or more items can help to create great reference posts for your readers, without requiring the mental effort needed to draft lengthy content-driven posts instead.
2. Link round-ups Another popular type of blog post is the "link round-up." Instead of writing an entire post of your own fresh content, gather links to interesting articles throughout your industry and compile them into a new post on your own site. When pulling content for your link round-ups, be sure to pull from reputable websites in your own industry and related fields.
Not only do readers often appreciate discovering new websites through link round-up posts, sharing another author's content on your own site can help build rapport with him or her. These relationships could eventually lead to reciprocal link round-up mentions, guest post opportunities and more.
3. Quick interviews Finally, if you can't come up with anything interesting to say on your own, why not try an interview post? These are fairly self-explanatory, as they consist of asking another person a series of questions via email, phone call or video chat.
Ideally, the person you're interviewing should be someone whose experiences and interests enable him or her to provide valuable answers to your readers.
This type of blog post offers a hidden advantage: Interviewing the right people -- that is, people with significant influence in your industry -- can send a flood of traffic back to your blog if your interview subject happens to mention the post to his or her followers. Though you may not have the clout to secure these types of posts initially, building up a solid reputation as a good interviewer can help you to eventually land the interview subjects who can dramatically expand your blog's recognition.
However, keep in mind that interviews take time to produce. Not only will you need to initiate contact with potential subjects in advance, your final posts may be delayed based on these subjects' schedules.
For this reason, interview posts should be looked at as a way to fill your future post slots with interesting content that doesn't require much effort on your part. If you're in need of an immediate article, both list posts and link round-up posts can help you to develop content quickly in order to prevent your blog from drying up and your readership from disappearing.
Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225665#ixzz2Q68uzxjD
Mod Men, Photo Series Exploring How the World of ‘Mad Men’ Would Look in the 21st Century
