Author: Chona Fe Canlas - Writer. Artist. Designer.
Chona creates powerful content poised on the edge of innovation and the mainstream. She seeks out new concepts and strategies aimed to help businesses advance in branding, marketing & sales. She specializes in creative/technical writing, brand strategy and art direction.
Redux – A Work in Progress
(Title inspiration: Reduxwood West)
Hi everyone!
You can find the original blog post under the name A Work in Progress (you can also find it under Technical Work on my homepage).
Since determining that my actual most fit vocation is art/creative direction (yay!), I had to update the original post for transparency and accuracy. I guess the act of doing that is responsible!
Another thing to clarify – saying ‘customized content solutions’ is just a more ambiguous way of saying art/creative direction. And, saying ‘define or refine your brand’ is my way of slowly dissecting the meaning of Digital Presence and how it can impact a business’ success. Is it not crazy to think only half a year ago I didn’t respect my artistry (and 20+ years of it)?! INSANE!
Imagine this graphic in a movie’s title credit (inspired by Star Wars).
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Tweedle Seller & Buyer Lookin’ Right
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Passion & Efficiency
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Past Experience
Fruit Salad
Hi everyone!
These are the kinds of stories I love telling my daughter, Bishop. I want her to understand linearity and its purpose. So in the most basic of elements, the beginning and an end. Also, inserting subject matter that she is currently familiar with, like numbers, colours and fruits. Her stories lately start with, “One day!” as if she is saying ‘today’ with so much resolve, confidence and sobriety. She is not referring to daydreams in or of the future. It is a great mentality that I sometimes wonder (with my preposterous knack for discounting – this is why I value BELIEF), did she get that from me?
The answer is: Yes, she did. Of course!
If all else fails: trust your daughter!
Enjoy!
Abstract – the / an / referring / which village are you from
She bombed down the hill, biting her teeth into a teal blue apple. The shiny surface reflected confidence and her sobriety. She was going to win this game! But then suddenly, the mysterious sasquatch was coming. She could hear his roar and he zoomed through the trees landing victoriously onto a pile of soft snow. His green tuque made him look like a kiwi fruit. Bishop was suddenly starving, but there was no time to stop.
A team of yellow capricorns danced around the finish line, laughing and hiccuping at the sight before them. The orange judge was serious and studious. He seemed to bear more focus on his clipboard than on the race. Flipping her hair and toying with the pens behind her ears, another judge was vivacious and fixated. Her red dress was imprinted with marigold polka dots and it swayed in the warm breeze felt by all at Sunshine Village.
Village A is competitive. Always looking for the advantage. Has an alarming penchant for recognition, which bears a sense of positivity in their pursuits. Village A is not at first welcoming, but becomes comfortable if their surroundings seem to agree.
Suddenly, Chona came flying down the narrow corridor wearing a vintage, pink one-piece snowsuit she found at Value Village precisely 10 years ago. There was no one behind her at this point, so she raised her arms proclaiming, “Funny. These bags seem heavier than they were yesterday. My stuff must have grown!” The clock was ticking down to the last few seconds, then a huge bell signalled the end of the race.
Village B is innovative. Always looking for the answer. Has an alarming penchant for reassurance, which bears a sense of positivity in their pursuits. Village B is not at first welcoming, but becomes comfortable if their surroundings seem to agree.
The champions switched outfits (because that’s what champs do when they win) and all stood boldly on the podium, waving arms, pleasing the crowds who came to watch them.
“Purple purple. The medals are purple! That is so cool!”
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SEO
Hi everyone!
Just a short burst of info here. What are you drawn to? Do the colours play a significant role in your interpretation? What connections can you make with the chosen imagery attached to each hashtag?
A perfect brainstorming exercise for design newbies – make a list under each hashtag including transferable elements (actual aspects and items like a brand name or object) and attributes (descriptions and words) for each. Aim for 50 answers, then narrow down to your top 10 answers, then again to your top 3, then top 1. What conclusion can you draw from this experiment?
Always remember the acronym PRAC – Popularity, Relevance, Authority & Credibility. This will help you target your audience and ensure that your content is set up to improve your overall search engine rankings.
Yes, yes…SEO is a lot more complex than a simple acronym, but sometimes starting off with something more general helps to develop your digital marketing strategy or plan more succinctly down the road.
I will get into this topic (SEO) further in the future!
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Visual Transparency
Hi everyone!
Today’s topic is SMART Goals.
A brief definition of each objective and an example of how each objective can be applied to achieve an effective creative technical writing style.
Here, I am writing about visual transparency as it relates to an image I designed for Blocks, my first and ongoing social media management strategy. Blocks aims to explore left and right-brained thinking and our ability to control destiny (or in simpler terms, improve issues of self-image or esteem.) Note: Initially, I was going to include the image in this post, but the relevance of my imagery is too swift. I will always include my most recent works to keep you up-to-date with my current visual style and tone.
As an extra creative exercise, try to imagine a fruit to attach to each objective. How does it relate to the SMART goal and our definition of visual transparency? Could you affix these tasty symbols to a billboard? What would be the significance? How effective would say, a giant teal apple be at communicating a specific message?
I will post the fruits on my next post tomorrow!
BEGIN
HEADING: The heading is the text indicating the nature of the article below it. The large type front page headline did not come into use until the late 19th century when increased competition between newspapers led to the use of attention-getting headlines. (Wikipedia)
WILL IT ENTICE YOU IN A GLANCE?
SUBHEADING: For documents longer than 3 or 4 paragraphs, subheadings are an important usability and accessibility strategy to help readers both determine the overall outline of the document and to navigate to specific information on the page.
VISUAL TRANSPARENCY AS A COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
SPECIFIC: Goals that are specific have a significantly greater chance of being accomplished. It should be well-defined, clear, and unambiguous. Essentially a definition of your idea that allows your audience to understand your topic more accurately. (CFI)
Visual transparency, from an artist’s standpoint, is a form of contextual openness that allows viewers to become engaged on a more subconscious or subliminal level.
MEASURABLE: Goals that are measurable have criteria for measuring progress. Criteria can be in line with your vision, mission, values etc. The point is to measure your progress somehow, for example, how would you measure engagement or participation? Is the action itself significant enough? In writing, a statement of intent is a great way to achieve a sense of measurability. (CFI)
As a writer and digital specialist, the goal is to be transparent, accurate and responsible. As an artist, I simply want to be engaged with my work and for my viewers to participate. Note: professional transparency has more to do with how others perceive you and what your actions say about your brand.
ATTAINABLE: Goals that are attainable help you figure out ways you can realize an objective and work towards it. The achievability of the goal should be stretched to make you feel challenged, but defined well enough that you can actually achieve it. It would be a good time to insert your call to action here. (CFI)
With all of the outlets available, viewers can participate using whichever preferred medium they desire. And they don’t need to be 100% engaged for it to matter. For example, your interaction with a billboard might only last 5 seconds, so the argument could be that visual transparency is actually quite critical.
RELEVANT: Goals that are relevant must be realistic given the available resources and your timeline. What would be the innovative or mainstream approach? What are pertinent examples you can showcase? What will be the outcome? Ideal or realistic? Your exploration should be relevant to your life’s or work’s purpose. (CFI)
This is who we are today. We embrace a fast and furious approach to everything and criticize the results. From placing mobile food orders to providing subscribers with a mere minute to execute a successful Instagram (video) campaign – the faster we engage our viewers while applying visual transparency, the more likely we can succeed in delivering our message.
TIME-BOUND: Goals that are time-bound must have a sense of a start and finish date. What is it like today, what will it be like in the future? If the goal is not time constrained, there will be no sense of urgency or motivation to achieve the goal. What is causing the urgency for action? Are we in a position to answer or question? (CFI)
Perhaps one day it will be different, but for now artists and marketers must adapt to these swift modes of communication. Visual transparency will become the norm, then who knows what will be next…
END
Does using the SMART goal technique help you? I believe that it is a great stepping stone towards achieving a more clear and linear style of communication. Test it out!
Meanwhile, dear Alice is still falling…
down?
below?
towards?
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Cherry
She lost him. She stopped as soon as she could to catch her breath. The platform was empty, save for one man, standing by himself wearing a low, soft felt hat with a curled brim and the crown creased lengthwise. He looked at her. Cheater. Quickly, she darted her eyes toward the staircase. She half expected him to come up, but he didn’t.
Instead he played chess and she was alone at last. Cherry slid down onto the cold, non-foliated metamorphic rock commonly used for sculpture and as a building material. Her hand searched for a mushy, ham and cheese sandwich. Eat? The odd man turned and walked toward her using a device consisting of a circular canopy of cloth on a folding metal frame supported by a metal rod. It was his first. She didn’t understand the significance of the red and white peppermint patty stripes though. A big chunk of sandwich wedged in her throat.
There is no resting place in Paradise, Chona. Just the constant chase of Dreams and Toys. Whatever then. I don’t need the job anyway. They need themselves and that will never change. I reached into the fridge, the bright neon light glaring in my face. What’s it going to be tonight? 3% milk bought one week ago, or taro cream buns from yesterday? Her black, acid wash cut-offs were riding up her legs, a product of skipping two workouts over the weekend he supposed. Cherry didn’t want any of it. She slammed the fridge door for Each Other and climbed onto the kitchen island marble.
Boom, boom, boom.
Silence filled the entire apartment.
Dang it, he’s here.
She didn’t even have time to prepare.
Some empty containers of Nanö fell onto the floor. Cherry didn’t wait. Nothing. Then, suddenly again –
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
She didn’t have time to leave.
Outside the window, the landscape was lavender purple.
The air inside her apartment was as cold as stone.
Cherry remembered the Toys in her closet. There was probably enough in there to pay him off. Jared didn’t take cheap toys as a barter. He was looking for some form of permanent reimbursement. She wanted to try to run away. Running to her room, she pulled her closet doors open and found him. A retro blue Ty bear stuffie, sewn together with black thread. His beady eyes were made of wind-blown agate, a mystical find these days in Chon.
Wasn’t it ridiculous to think gems held power these days? Jared was specifically looking to enhance his perception and analytical abilities. The agate eyes on Cherry’s Toy could heal the anger inside and create a sense of security and blankets, much needed bling required at Life Space.
“Cherry!!!” Jared started, “Open the frigging door! NOW!” She grabbed Blueberry, stuffing it into her shirt, which had a hidden metric built-in. The bear quickly disappeared and she yanked the entranceway agape.
“Where is it?!?” Jared stumbled inside, her apartment was already in shreds. Cherry had old jars of Dream everywhere. But they were empty too. Users. “How fast can you put together a cheat sheet?” Jared stopped and looked at Cherry. They both began to laugh hysterically. She blinked her eyes. One by one, the jars started to break up into small parts, a result of impact and decay. She checked out the window. The purple haze was gone and replaced with a mauve checkerboard.
In the next moment memory, everything sat still and Jared was suddenly a statue, his eyes staring blankly at Cherry’s gaze. It was only going to last another 30 minutes, she thought. She moved taking a short time – the journey was going to be fast and furious. She ran back to her window and stuck her head outside. It was wet and sticky and humid. Further out she could see the retro blue Ty melding into life. Tiny pink flecks, stars, were also starting to become actual fact.
That was on her right brain. Her left was angry, used and taken for granted. She didn’t know how to fix him. It was probably going to be impossible. So why not just skip living and buy some cigarettes?
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9 – Coming Down
I’m so tired, Daisy thought. You’re always tired, retorted Cherry. She was just sitting there, twiddling her thumbs, looking at her green shoes. She turned her head right, was there something there? She suddenly felt uncomfortable. Someone was watching them. They didn’t know who.
It’s time to pack, dear. The routine was the same every June. Alice from Wonderland would arrive to take Daisy home. Daisy couldn’t do it without help. It was a sad time for her. She was remembering the death of her mom, those last few cigarettes she had outside with her dad, in the snow. She was really angry Being because of Ben. He ruined her life, led her astray. She was an addict when she was with him.
Forget thinking about it, darling. Alice stroked Cherry’s hair, handing her a cheese and ham biscuit. This is ridiculous. I’m practically choking on this bread, it’s getting lodged in my throat! I can’t take it anymore! By then, their tears were flowing, ruining everything including a pink dress and a gigantic muumuu.
All of the pupils present today were busy writing down their answers. Not me. I’m just going to sit it. Read his brain. Oh shit, he’s looking. The girls looked away, frantically grabbing their miniature Navajo backpacks, matching, gifts from the Philippines and their Auntie Stella.
Daisy? Can you contribute something to this discussion we’re having? Her teacher was frustrated, but tried his best to be kind and patient. Daisy twitched her mouth. No, I don’t think I can. They could feel every single eye in the room blink. Then, 999,999 heads turned to look at her. What were they expecting? She wasn’t going to put on a show. And especially not in this muumuu. Do you have anything to say, young miss? Neither had enough bitcoins to argue. Clearing her throat, Miss Daisy stood up. Cherry budged in front, knocking her sister to the floor. I bought these with my own cash! Dreams, actually. It was Toys clearly. Can any one of you in the room debate that? We highly think naught. And with haste, they flipped their skirts and left the room.
Flying through the wind, Cherry grabbed her big sister’s hand. They were going to be just fine.
Blox. is a Creative & Technical Marketer 