MEENKO DESIGN

We are a creative entity for all your design needs.

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Our design services include all aspects of Graphic Design, for both Virtual and Physical projects. If it comes out of a printer, we can design it (and print it) for you! We are fully certified, qualified and professional designers with years of experience whom provide printing as an additional service to all of our clients. And, as it turns out, our printing prices are unbeatable! Ask for a quote and see for yourself. Don’t discount your design for cheaper printing costs at local print shops. We also ship right to your door! Visit www.meenko.com for more details or contact us through this account!

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"Does that say SOCHI ZOIY? Does ZOIY mean something in Russian?" With the Olympic ceremonies officially starting the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, we took a close look at the logo and overall design of the Sochi Olympic brand. When we think Russian typography and design, we almost always think back to El Lissitzky and his influential career in the early 1900s. But those are big shoes to fill, so we don't expect the Olympic committee to select something that would be anywhere near that level of influence. But, we expected better than this. Initially, the logo looks quite welcoming and satisfying. Further investigation brings up many questions regarding the design choices that were made. Firstly, the "S" of Sochi and the "2" of 2014 are mirrored to one another. The mirroring isn't too concerning, but not when you mix letters and numbers. The 2014 reads "ZOIY" upon first glance, with our common sense kicking in immediately and reminding us that it's clearly the year 2014. The "O" of Sochi also has the same characteristic flaw, where it mirrors the "0" of 2014. The great thing about typography is that its design gives us hints and clues as to what are numbers and what are letters, therefore allowing us to differentiate between 1's and I's or L's, and 0's and O's. However, this font selection removes those hints and clues entirely and leaves us unsettled. The confusion continues when the x-height of the "4" in 2014 extends below the baseline. This reinforces the "ZOIY" concept, rather than pull us away from it. We understand that the "HI" of Sochi is being reflected both horizontally and vertically to create this awkward illusion, but it just doesn't make sense to do so. It seems as if it's hinting towards an ambigram of some sort, but then lets you down when you realize it is not. Contrast is a key element of Design, and there actually has been an attempt at it within this logo. Unfortunately, the contrast is between the "SOCHI 2014" vs. the ".RU" and olympic rings. The reason why we disagree with this is due to its functionality. Is there really any question about where we can find the Olympic website? Is there some other type of global event occurring in Sochi that would perhaps confuse a search engine as to what the hoards of "Sochi" searchers are looking for this week? Besides, going to http://www.sochi2014.ru gets redirected. So what's the point of bringing so much importance to it? The contrast would make much more sense be between the City name and the Year... numbers and letters... than website distinction. If you remove the Olympic rings from this logo, does it still say "Olympics" to you? Does it even indicate sporting events, or a global celebration that has been happening since the Ancient times? For all we know, this could be a label for Baking Soda once the rings are removed. But, as always, when it comes to design and working with several levels of politics and clients to please, we don't often get to choose what we think works best. We sometimes are subjected to implementing things that the client deems to be "visually stronger," and in this circumstance, that could very well be the case! If we had a vote, we would much prefer this logo, which was one of the 3 concepts that the committee had to choose from:

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Why Mobile and Tablet Optimization Is Crucial

The world is looking at websites and online content from so many different places, in so many different ways, and using a number of devices to do so. The days of choosing desktop screen resolution and designing to fit a handful of sizes seemed like a huge deal at the time, but not anymore. Now we are facing dozens of screen sizes, resolutions and optimizations. Today's website designers have been required to step up their performance. With mobile devices and tablets selling like hotcakes, our job descriptions have evolved. We have many more responsibilities and added expectations, but even primal survival is based on adaptation and change, so we welcome these challenges. As creators of these new types of audiences and viewing formats, we all can collectively agree on the importance and see the relevance behind it. But what about our clients and consumers? Do they share the same opinion? Is having a mobile website and cross-platform optimization really that important? We have encountered a fair share of resistance in our experience here at Meenko Design. Clients are sometimes confusing "mobile website" with "app," or just plain and simply being content with having to pinch desktop designed websites in order to read content. As a designer, this will boil your blood. Here's some of the mind-boggling stats: -Over 1.2 billion people access the web from their mobile devices. -Global mobile traffic now accounts for 15% of all Internet traffic. -90% of people move between devices to accomplish a goal, whether that’s on smartphones, PCs, tablets or TV. -50% of mobile phone users use mobile as their primary Internet source. There was a time when 100% of your customers would come to your storefront location to purchase your product. Once people starting selling products online, the dynamic of selling goods and services was forever changed. E-Commerce continues to grow, making purchasing easier for consumers and ultimately better for business owners. But these change needs to be adopted and implemented. This includes the realization that smartphones and mobile users are slowly becoming the majority user and viewer of online information. -61% of people have a better opinion of brands when they offer a good mobile experience. -60% of mobile shoppers use their smartphones while in a store, and another 50% while on their way to a store. -Mobile-based searches make up one quarter of all searches. -41% of people have used a mobile device to browser for a product after seeing it in a show or advertisement. Not having a mobile optimized website is like closing a storefront location one day per week. You are blatantly ignoring your customers needs by doing so. As a business, would you ONLY accept cash as a payment method? Would you ONLY sell to specific races or genders? It would be counter-productive to narrow your clientele. So why ignore the substantial chunk of mobile traffic you are receiving? Client: "Well, they can just go to a computer and look at the site there. Or, just pinch their screens and zoom in to see the information! It's easy enough!" We live in a society of convenience. People are required to be spoon fed and pampered to make their lives as easy as possible and take the inconvenience out of purchasing your goods or services. Attention spans are dwindling. The younger generation finds boredom at a lightning fast rate. All of these factors must be kept in mind, and then ask yourself, "why are you making it harder on your visitor to navigate this website?" Client: "Can't you make the desktop version closer to a mobile version, so it looks normal on a computer but still reads well on a mobile device or tablet?" No one screen size has more than 20% of the market share. When you design for a computer, you are working with a landscape (wider than taller) screen where font sizes of 12-14 point can be easily read. Once you move to a mobile phone, you are suddenly working with a portrait shape (taller than wider) and none of your content will be legible without a microscope or the user pinching their screen to zoom into it. As for the images, every 100ms increase in load time decreases sales by 1%. That's a fact, not a sales pitch. So to answer your question... No, there is no one-size-fits-all solution here. We are glad to report that Social Media seems to have been widely accepted and used across a large percentage of businesses. That's great, really. It shows that the people on top of the chain are willing to make adjustments and add new positions and staff to their roster. So think about it. Where are people using Social Media from? How many Instagram users are on PCs uploading pictures? -48% of Facebook users access it from their mobile device. -60% of Twitter users access it from their mobile device. -30% of LinkedIn users access it from their mobile device. If you are pushing your Social Media on your clientele, chances are about 50/50 that if they respond to you, it will be via their mobile device. And then there's tablets! You know, the things that people "just use to play games on" and probably don't use very often...... -Almost half a billion tablets will ship in 2013 and 2014 alone. -Tablet users spend 50% more than PC users. -72% of tablet owners purchase online from their tablets each week. -Tablet users are more than 3x more likely to purchase than smartphone visitors. Cha-ching. If you get a visitor from a tablet, they are probably ready to spend some money. When a customer walks into your store with a pocket full of cash, and is dying to hand over that cash to you, how do you greet them? Is it something along the lines of: "Well, this is what we've got. I know it's not very organized, but look around at the impossible to read signs and text, and if you have any trouble, good luck finding out where I'm hiding!" That's exactly what you're saying to your tablet-using customer when they pull up your one-size-fits-all website. Website optimization and cross-plaform compatibility is not an up-sell. The issue with pricing is due to the fact that your designer must now spend 2-3 times the amount of time that they would normally spend on your desktop website to ensure that all aspects of your business are covered. Your customers can walk into any door, and optimization ensures that they will be greeted with the absolute best display, appearance, design and showcase of your business as possible. Optimization is not a "feature" to add; it's a necessity.

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The brand new Royal Paan store in Brampton (Brisdale) featuring Meenko menus and labels.

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The Death of the Photographer

As a creative entity in a creative realm, a photographer and their talents couldn't be held at a higher respect. We see their value. We respect them. We look forward to working with them. Reality, however, isn't so welcoming. As technology continues to erupt, more devices are coming fully stacked and including a powerful lens. The iPhone's 8+ megapixel camera and its software has users publishing stunning pictures in minutes. The world of Instagram is full of these gorgeous snapshots. And then we have the more powerful SLR and DSLR cameras that are showing up in teenagers Christmas stockings. The power of these devices is huge. Their software and usability couldn't be simpler. Photo-blogging has exponentially grew from year to year. As time keeps ticking, people are taking photos at a faster rate and with better results. Translate this now to the business world. A client comes to Meenko Design with a menu redesign project, for example. They want a new design, including new pictures of their food and dishes. Without having a photographer on our roster, we out-source the photography to a professional in our rolodex. And that's when the trouble occurs. "So you're telling me its an extra fee for photos?" Without having the skilled professional on our roster, we have no option but to outsource the work and in turn add to the overall cost of the project. Immediately the client asks for alternatives. "Can't we just find pictures off Google?" Well, actually, that's illegal. It could lead to bigger problems, such as lawsuits, so you're better off paying for your images. We reinforce the idea that custom photos of their actual product rather than stolen lookalikes from Google would be their best bet. Unfortunately, the budget is low, and the additional cost is immediately rejected. As a last resort and final attempt to secure legal, full-usage images for the project, we would offer them the possibility of using Stock Photography. At $5-$50 an image (depending on package selection and rights,) it would be slightly less expensive and we wouldn't be breaking any laws or stealing anyones work. At this point, there's a 50/50 chance that the client takes our advice and buys stock photos. And when they don't buy the photos, we almost always magically receive an email within the week containing images that the client "purchased from a friend or something." They may as well call that friend Larry Page, because generally they are taken from a Google images search. Why is Photography so disrespected? Not images and photos themselves, but the actual job... the profession... the individual that captures your product, service, brand and moment so masterfully. Would you buy your wedding photos off a stock photo website? How about a Google images search? Why not photoshop your wife or husbands face on top of those Google images and send them out in your "Thank You" cards? Many people we have this discussion with blame the technology. We respectfully disagree. Not every technology that is available to the general public results in top quality work. We don't have an excess of authors in the world because Microsoft Word is so vastly available. There may be millions of aspiring ones, but they're not actual ones... not successful ones. Common perception and argument is that "it's just a photo." But, when it sticks out like a sore thumb, even the greatest designer in the world can't make a horrendous free photo fit into a well executed design.

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Blog vs Newsletter: What's best for you?

Both blogging and newsletters come with their stigmas and benefits. Before deciding on which to choose (or use both,) we need to take a step back and analyze the needs of your business and ultimately what makes most sense. Newsletters Are you constantly reaching out to your pool of accumulated emails and leads? Are return customers your number one objective? For businesses with these needs (i.e. Restaurants,) a Newsletter or scheduled publication would serve you well. First, lets look at the stats: -25% is the average open-email rate (75% won't even open your email.) -A click-rate of 5%-10% is considered a great achievement (opening your email AND clicking a link within it.) -60% of new subscribers are not engaged, neither opening nor clicking on emails. -44% of email recipients made at least one purchase last year based on a promotional email. Our inboxes are saturated with so much junk mail and spam that our expectancy when we receive an email is already low. Your newsletter needs to capture their attention, be unique, provide some type of valuable information, or bring something to the user that they would otherwise be unable to receive. We're not looking for ground-breaking stuff here, but you need to pleasantly surprise your customer if they actually opened your email. Key things to keep in mind are content and frequency. Don't flood them with weekly emails that could be condensed into something monthly, or bi-monthly that would be much more interesting and valuable. Otherwise, we're in danger of losing their interest and future emails being discarded immediately. Staying with the restaurant theme, instead of emailing out every time you add a new special or dish, accumulate 3-5 new offers and then send out the email. Instead of taking a 50/50 chance at a customer liking the one thing you are offering, sending several things increases your chances that the receiver will actually value one of the offers that you've sent. -61% of people state that "not being interested in an email" was the most common reason for not opening an email, followed by "getting too many emails" (45%). -91% of email users have at some point unsubscribed from a company email they previously opted-in to. After all the hard work to accumulate emails, you could lose a subscription very easily with one little mistake. Statistics show that an astounding number of people decide to open or delete the email solely based on the subject line itself! Stay away from the template, static, repetitive subject lines (Company Newsletter 4.3 - January 2014 Edition) and substitute it with your offer or lure instead (Show this email and get 20% off your Entree! Plus 5 new mouthwatering dishes!) Blogs While it may seem tedious or unnecessary to blog about your company, the amount of benefits you will receive from it will surely alter your perception. -57% of businesses have acquired a customer through their company blog. -92% of companies who blog multiple times per day have acquired a customer from their blog. -Companies that blog get 55% more web traffic. There are also many unwritten rules and notions about blogs that you may not know. Many users and customers won't take a company seriously unless they see an active blog. Not having a blog is like not having a cell phone. You are missing a massive communication tool for your business that is almost inexcusable. It would be very difficult to picture a scenario where a blog cannot be used to benefit your business in some way. -37% of marketers say blogs are the most valuable type of content marketing. -81% of companies consider their blogs “useful,” “important,” or “critical”. Business owners often think that a blog must be a huge commitment and is very time consuming. In reality, a productive and effective blog post can be one or two paragraphs. You can simply post a photo about a product, event, or service with a caption and tags and voila–you're blogging. Not only are you maintaining your business presence online and bolstering your image, but you are actually helping your SEO and linking without even knowing it. -On average, companies that blog receive 434% more indexed pages. -Companies that blog have 97% more inbound links. The key is to post useful information. Your blog immediately turns into searchable, text-rich pages that help your SEO. While describing your event, product or service, you are essentially posting an advertisement online that will return in search results. These leads and links will always return to your company's website and could ultimately turn into new clients and sales. You can easily track this information with Google Analytics or any other website traffic reporting service or program. Both blogs and newsletters can be used as effective tools to retaining, maintaining and growing your target audience. They each come with their pro's and con's, but determining what's right for you is totally dependant on your intended use and type of business.