Archive for the ‘graphic design’ Category
Filed Under Photography, Web site, graphic design
As most of you all know I am a graphic designer. I have been doing graphic design work since I was in high school. Well, I now have my portfolio Online. I am still in the middle of uploading my design pieces, but feel free to take some time and go visit it for me. Check out Steve Patterson’s Online Portfolio at http://portfolio.cardeologist.com.
I am either planning on adding my photography work on my portfolio page or make me another page that is just my photography.
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Filed Under Facebook, Media & News, Misc. Links, Shopping, Tips, Twitter, garage sale, graphic design, yard sale
It is that time of year again, garage sales and yard sales, etc. So why not share some tips and tricks to have a successful one?
Garage sales (yard sales) will soon appear in neighborhoods throughout the U.S. and Canada. These sales are a great way to clean out clutter while making some additional money. “Garage sales are just another form of retailing. Why not use the thinking retailers use to get the most of your garage sale?” asks John Schulz, the academic director for the advertising, fashion and retail management, and design management programs at The Art Institutes International Minnesota.
Approaching the garage sale with a little innovation and creativity will help maximize sales. advertising department chair of Miami International University of Art and Design, Judith Anderson offers some ideas that can generate buzz: “The same theory Mr. Schulz uses applies – it is imperative to use the same thinking advertisers and event planners use to maximize the opportunities in a garage sale.”
These opportunities include a mix of tried-and-true tactics blended with newer retail innovations. “Retail establishments use customer loyalty programs to increase return business,” says Tammy Tavassoli, fashion department faculty member at The Illinois Institute of Art – Schaumburg. “Applying some of these tactics can increase not only your current garage sales, but future sales as well.”
Schulz, Anderson and Tavassoli offer these suggestions to make the most of your garage sale:
Scheduling/location/traffic: When scheduling your sale, think about high traffic times like community events or neighborhood garage sales.
Customer convenience/loyalty: Many shoppers will arrive with children, so offer a designated play area to help keep them occupied while parents shop. Also, offer refreshments like lemonade and cookies. Place a welcome book at the refreshments table. After the sale, send visitors a thank-you note and notify them of your future sales.
Pricing/merchandise: Since garage sales rarely have a “cost” associated with merchandise, any income is pure profit. You want to price your wares fairly, and consider combining large tables or areas to group like-priced goods – and post the retail on a large sign. This saves time and eases set up. For those who include their contact information in the previously mentioned notebook, you may want to offer a small discount.
I personally have set a lot of my items at very low prices and they went very fast. (Steve Patterson, owner of this blog quotes)
advertising/marketing: A garage sale should be thought of as an event that requires planning and promotion using advertising strategies to ensure its success. For example, choosing a theme related to the merchandise and carrying it throughout the chosen advertising including the day of the event can be very effective.
I also place advertisements in some area newspapers. That seems to help. Another great place to place your yard sale is Craigs List. I have also designed a flier that can be used to place on bulletin boards. (Steve Patterson, owner of this blog adds)
Some other ideas include:
- Creating an advertising campaign employing traditional media-standbys such as neighborhood signs and fliers (placed in city hall, local business bulletin boards, laundry mats, PTA and school/church bulletin boards) and local directory and newspaper listings.
- Continuing the advertising campaign with new media by creating a social networking fan page and creating an event for the garage sale inviting friends and family.
- Using your Facebook and Twitter updates to inform your networks of the event at least four times (2 weeks prior, 1 week prior, 2 days prior, and the day of the event).
- Other social networks MySpace, Linked-In, Etc. (The list could go on and on).
- The day of the sale use Facebook and Twitter to offer discounts to customers or promote additional incentives for referring fans or customers.
Successful garage sales require creative planning. Borrowing effective strategies from the merchandising and advertising industries can ensure success. It is important to remember all the tools and resources available, and to minimize wasted time and resources while maximizing your profit margin. To learn more about The Art Institutes schools, visit www.artinstitutes.edu/nz.
Steve Patterson wants you to please feel free to share with me as a comment your yard sale tips you have.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
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Filed Under Photography, blog, graphic design
I have two ideas for blogs that I plan to come up with here in the near future.
Photography Blog: I love to shoot pictures with my camera. I even own a digital SLR camera. I plan to have some of my photos and such up on it. Plus, mention I am available to take your pictures for birthday events, sporting events and more!
Graphic Design Portfolio: This blog is self-explanatory, it will show off my graphic design works I have created. It will have all my experiences as a graphic designer, even list where I designed the ad and what programs were used to design that ad. Plus, It would also have an Online type of resume with my work experience on it.
Both of these image blogs will take some time to incorporate and put up live on the Web. I plan to have them both as a sub domain off cardeologist.com. I will make a new post and have sidebar links on my main blog to both of these blogs.
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Filed Under Business Card Tips, Business Cards, Facebook, Tips, Twitter, Web site, graphic design
Creativity is the key to keeping a small business flourishing in tight economic times. And while creativity will make your business grow stronger, there are also other free tools and opportunities small businesses should use to their advantage.
Many resources are available for small business owners to develop a plan for success, says “Mr. AllBiz” Steve Strauss, author of “The Small Business Bible.” He shares some of his tips here:
Make your small business appear big.
You might not have a huge warehouse or more than a dozen employees, but you can still give your business the professional appearance of one 10 times your size. First impressions are important. Print some professional-looking business cards and pass them out, design a great logo for your company and put that logo on a sign where everyone can see it.
Smart business planning
Develop a
Web site, and see if you can get it linked to your community’s Chamber of Commerce or city
Web site. Join social networking sites like
Facebook,
Twitter and LinkedIn to broaden your network of people who know who you are and what you do.
Get free help.
Organizations like the Small Business Administration and SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business” exist to provide assistance. They can give you help specifically tailored to your business. Also, retail organizations are creating tools for small business owners to find additional resources. For example, Office Depot has created “The Survival of the Smartest” Web site as part of its Small Business Self-Bailout Plan.
Included on the site at www.TheSurvivalOfTheSmartest.com, are weekly videos with smart tips, special product and service offers, small business resource tools, up-to-date news provided through feeds from small business Web sites and blogs, promotions specifically for businesses and expert advice on topics like how to connect your wireless network, how to save money while greening your office, information security and more.
Focus on your X Factor.
Recognize what you do and why you do it, and then research your competition. When you discover the factor that makes your business better and different from the competition, learn how to focus and multiply that “X Factor” to achieve success.
If you have a smart survival strategy that has helped your small business get through these tough times, you can enter the Office Depot Adopt a Small Business Contest. The company will recognize 500 small businesses nationwide for their smart survival strategies and award them each with more than $2,000 in Office Depot gift cards, tech support for a year and copy, print and shipping services. That’s $1 million in bailout money available. To enter, upload an original 2-minute video starting June 1 that explains the smart things your business is doing to survive these challenging times to TheSurvivalOfTheSmartest.com.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
If you need business cards, graphic design or even a Web site designed up, feel free to contact Stevez Designz. Stevez Designz is my freelance graphic design, photography and Web design business.
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Filed Under Business Card Tips, Business Cards, Tips, graphic design
Could color be the secret ingredient to helping your business survive in a down economy? Yes, according to a study on color and its impact on small businesses conducted by Xerox and International Communications. It found that color has a strong ability to attract new customers, make companies appear larger, increase customers’ memory retention and make marketing collateral and presentations more effective.
Leslie Harrington, Ph.D., director of the Color Association of the United States, has teamed up with color experts from Staples, Inc. to offer these tips to help companies make smart color decisions:
1. Know Your Audience: Research which colors are associated with specific emotional responses or meanings. For example, purple is often used to convey prestige, while green is seen more as a neutral color. Red is symbolic of leadership and strength; yellow is seen as intellectual and innovative. The color orange is vibrant, which is why it’s often used to represent cleaning products.
2. Present in Color: Color is the fastest and strongest touch point with people. According to the study, 90 percent of small businesses surveyed believe customers remember presentations and documents better when color is used. Other research shows that 60 percent of customers base their purchasing decision on color.
Research also reveals that readers decide whether to read or reject pamphlets and direct-mail pieces in just 2.5 seconds, and that 55 percent of people are more likely to pick up a full-color piece of direct mail first. Color can help keep your materials out of the junk mail pile.
Color also increases readers’ attention spans and recall by 82 percent and makes an impression that is 39 percent more memorable than black and white.
3. Get Creative: Some companies select nontraditional colors for their products to get customers’ attention. Think about how you can differentiate a specific product or service with bold, out-of-the-ordinary uses of color to make them memorable.
4. Less Is Often More: Color is a powerful way to communicate, so be careful not to overdo it. Use one key color and a few accents. Simple, strong color messages can keep your brand memorable. Work with no more than three colors to keep things clean and concise.
To give businesses innovative ways to bring projects to life through color, Staples offers a wide range of color printing services for everything from business cards to proposals as well as Xerox-trained color experts and Xerox equipment at 1,500 Copy & Print Centers in stores nationwide.
For more information, visit www.office.xerox.com and www.staples.com/copyandprint.
Compliments of NAPS
If you need business cards, graphic design or even a Web site designed up, feel free to contact Stevez Designz. Stevez Designz is my freelance graphic design, photography and Web design business.
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