Category: Written Technically and Creatively

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!”

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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5 Influential Marketing Personalities

Hi everyone! Without further ado…

We crowdsource (ideas). It’s our membership and contribution to the digital landscape. Wikipedia says –

Crowdsourcing is a sourcing model in which individuals or organizations obtain goods and services, including ideas and finances, from a large, relatively open and often rapidly-evolving group of internet users; it divides work between participants to achieve a cumulative result. The word crowdsourcing itself is a portmanteau of crowd and outsourcing, and was coined in 2005.[1][2][3][4] As a mode of sourcing, crowdsourcing existed prior to the digital age (i.e. “offline“).[5]

Crowdsourcing is a great way to develop content and topics for your target audience. I put together a listicle based on a few influential marketing personalities I admire. In my opinion, they provide some answers (to my design life) and a unique perspective. I hope  they can help you in any way, shape or form.

Also, here they are in a creative digital collage. Does it make you crave mangoes or money?

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1

 

Chris Do, Matthew Encina & the team at Blind

It started with advice from my brother. He goes, check out the vlog by The Futur. This happened right when I started at VanWhistle Media. I was looking for a way to feel inspired. These guys helped me identify high-end pricing techniques and I designed my website portfolio around a couple of videos they put out with creative director of Vrontikis Design Office, Petrula Vrontikis. I’m drawn to these guys for simple reasons – energy and passion.

2

Seth Godin

It started with an interview. Chris Do and Seth Godin, together, hashing out topics like, What is school for? Watch it on YouTube – Seth Godin—Make Something Everyday (Best Hour You’ll Spend Today). This was the first time I felt inspired to write continuously and I tried out (half of) his challenge by posting 50 blog posts, once a day. I didn’t quite make it to 50, but the point of the matter is, I identified with Godin’s creative process. He also coined the phrase Make Change Happen, a slogan I adopted for my artistic identity BLOX.

3

Barney the Business Guy

Just a straight-up, no fluff business guy, I follow Barney Cohen on Instagram. I can’t remember how our paths crossed, but he offers a refreshing, business-minded approach to life’s common obstacles. Coming from a corporate background, I identify with his mentality, clear reasoning and straightforward delivery. He has 50 years of experience in business, so his acumen is spot-on. You can check him out on Twitter as well.

4

Neil Patel

Shoot, I almost forgot! Neil is probably the most humourous, dramatic, yet to-the-point marketing entrepreneur I have come across to date. He helps me understand the importance of brand development and every time I come across his feed, I’m pretty sure we’re thinking the same thing. Quid pro quo at it’s finest, Neil can help you develop metrics that work and he will provide all the necessary reasonings behind it. On top of everything, he’s an excellent copywriter.

5

The Rock

To think mainstream is to truly understand the relationship between popularity and accessibility. The Rock shows us that fame can be your next door neighbour, unpretentious and welcoming. In the pursuit of greatness, his face and voice puts a sticker on my blank page. Everyone loves stickers. Not everything has to be complicated. Sometimes you are just a do-gooder with a gigantic heart. The Rock shares these emotions with me and his 154M followers.

What do you admire? Who inspires you to do better? Whether it be music or satirical retorts, we have something in common!

 

Meaningfulness

Editing could quite possibly be the treachery of writing! Overly edited content may tell readers, “This is not false.” On the other side, the raw construction of content is meaningful, but we should argue that the deliberate deconstruction of content to reveal a greater point of view (proper editing) more readily achieves the goals of an SEO/l or a communications strategy – to uphold popularity, relevance, authority and credibility and to distribute a message that is transparent, accurate and responsible.

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This piece is inspired by a very popular surrealist painting, Ceci n’est pas une pipe by René Magritte. Ironically, my image overloads the viewer with elaborate messages (a commentary on keywords perhaps), whereas Magritte’s painting is a basic review of signified and signifier. Here’s some additional information taken from Wikipedia –

The Treachery of Images (French: La Trahison des images) is a 1929 painting by surrealist painter René Magritte.

The painting shows a pipe. Below it, Magritte painted, “Ceci n’est pas une pipe“, French for “This is not a pipe”.

The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it’s just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture “This is a pipe”, I’d have been lying! (Magritte)

Do you enjoy the process of editing? How do you know when to stop and is this action directly related to the meaningfulness of a  message, because content becomes inherently closer to ‘an answer’ or ‘a reality’? Which one for you?

Transparency

 

Abstract – that / this / things / work / jeans / hat

Hi everyone! Ready for some conceptual development? Let’s go!

Transparency is our ability to see through the madness. If you walk alongside an ad, a banner or a billboard, you are shuffling ahead, trying to get by the crowds surrounding your body and your spirit. This leaves you with little to no time to stop, to take a breath and to analyze what you see. But if you do have a moment, take it. Stop, breathe, then look. Let’s analyze this image as you would see it, if for example, you were walking through Burrard skytrain station (Vancouver, BC) trying to catch your ride home.

It’s so bold, you have to stop. Even if for 1 second. You’re wondering about the colours, the use of red + blue & light purple. Why would they do this? But look – a rabbit. It’s in the centre of the circle. I suppose we are trying to catch it, but it is getting away. That’s interesting! Softly positioned underneath, we see some text – A Technical Creative Company. Hmm. I guess this business is in the business of creating technical and creative things. And that is enough to think. A slight nod of his head, then he walks away.

From Wikipedia –

Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is a statistical Markov model in which the system being modeled is assumed to be a Markov process with unobservable (i.e. hidden) states.

In simpler Markov models (like a Markov chain), the state is directly visible to the observer, and therefore the state transition probabilities are the only parameters, while in the hidden Markov model, the state is not directly visible, but the output (in the form of data or “token” in the following), dependent on the state, is visible. Each state has a probability distribution over the possible output tokens. Therefore, the sequence of tokens generated by an HMM gives some information about the sequence of states; this is also known as pattern theory, a topic of grammar induction.

The adjective hidden refers to the state sequence through which the model passes, not to the parameters of the model; the model is still referred to as a hidden Markov model even if these parameters are known exactly.

Hidden Markov models are especially known for their application in reinforcement learning and temporal pattern recognition such as speech, handwriting, gesture recognition,[7] part-of-speech tagging, musical score following,[8] partial discharges[9] and bioinformatics.[10]

Transparency. It is hard to see the writing, but I suppose this is a play on words. Let’s take a step aside to identify another idea that could possibly contribute to our exploration of transparency.

Shakespeare wrote –

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.

As an exercise for my readers, let’s remove ‘seven ages’ and replace it with ‘seven goals’, which we can create to incorporate more visuality into our practice. If you are a business owner, define these seven goals around the fields of branding, marketing and sales. And in case you were wondering about the word visuality, https://www.merriam-webster.com describes it as –

Definition of visuality

1: the quality or state of being visual or visible : VISIBILITY
2: a mental image or picture : VIEW, GLIMPSE

So, seven goals to incorporate more visuality into my business (acting as a business owner for Blox. Communications) –

(Goals should relate to the quality or state of being visible, as in advertising/PR and should relate to a mental image or picture, as in HOW our customers perceive our business and our products/services.)

  1. Define 1 main logo and 1 main tag;
  2. Consistently promote ChonaBLOX. blog (with URL) across all social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter);
  3. Come up with a consistent slogan for each identity (BLOX, ChonaBLOX. and Blox. Communications);
  4. Ensure each project/document aligns with established goal attributes – transparency, accuracy and responsibility;
  5. Speak and write using vivid and bold description;
  6. Speak and write following a linear and logical pattern;
  7. Establish brand identity using colour + text as a visual tool across all platforms.

Can you come up with something like this for your own business? For myself, transparency is creating an abstract concept, breaking it down for my reader, so that they can begin to understand the ways we see and interpret visual and/or written data, using innovative + mainstream techniques. This is a skill and it must be honed. If you are trying to establish or refine your brand, your marketing strategy or your sales approach, comprehension of innovative + mainstream ideas is imperative, especially in a visual state. Do you agree with this?

Back to our analysis…

(Ask yourself, can we jump from paragraph to paragraph? Does it distort the message?)

And it relates to the two images, because the first one is bold and the second one is more transparent. However, messaging does not exist along the same plane. Which image has more popularity? More relevance? More authority? More credibility? (These are SEO metrics to keep in mind.) The man, who I forgot to mention, wears a khaki-coloured trench coat and matching hat. He takes 5 steps back to re-read the word ‘transparency’. He quickly glances further back at the bolder image, then walks forward 8 steps to be faced directly with the more transparent image.

We have engaged our viewer. Transparency is a particular context that comments on HOW things work. Transparency, which lexico.com defines as – an image, text, or positive transparent photograph printed on transparent plastic or glass – is able to be viewed using a projector. Just as a frosted window engages its audience to peer in closer, these images encourage the same experience. Perhaps if the man looks closer, deeper, further into, he will begin to question HOW the messaging is working, while still taking in a normative meaning that most average ads, banners or billboards intend.

And visually speaking, the projector has imprinted the image in our minds, in our short and long term memory. In our digital collaborative state, the aim is to be able to study another’s work and run a real-time comparison to understand how someone else’s chosen elements could apply to and improve our chosen modes of communication. Again and again, we see that the stage is experiential and we must involve ourselves with interest and intention to reap any benefits for our business and our customers.

Members of the advertising discipline are playing many intentional ‘games’ that are designed to engage, enrapture and captivate a specific, targeted audience. Would you want your audience to be enthralled? Are there any downsides to this type of engagement? Is the experience itself enough?

Welcome

Hi everyone!

What type of woman would you hire to help brand your business? What marketing skills should she hold? What type of sales personality will she have? Is she strong, independent and willing to change in order to meet and exceed current industry objectives?

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6 – The Train Naps

Daisy was out, then she arose. She could feel the left side of her neck, bent out of shape and sore from sleeping on it bent. And the train was still moving across moist carpeted land or moss coloured greenery, however you wanted to see it. The trees, they looked like LEGO pieces. She didn’t quite understand when she transitioned back, but she was glad to be here, smelling the faint stink of a ham and cheese biscuit.

You don’t actually want to see the workings of Elevententeen. What’s behind it is extremely frightening. The framework is made up of spider-like grids, when you see it, they move and pulse like a living thing. Daisy shuddered at the mere thought of it. She quickly patted her yellow eyelet dress to ensure it was still in existence. Another way to halt the screams (screams occur when your brain computes the framework) was to enter Elevententeen with a very specific wardrobe, preferably containing bold colours, pattern and texture.

Sighing, Daisy remembered what it was like in social media school learning about plain stuff. Graphic art and design attributes were existential now, they served no purpose. People only wanted multi-dimensional graphics, that breathed and pulsed and held meaning. I guess altering genetics in 2019 completely erased the human need for new things and surprisingly, technology. It no longer occurred. It was too fickle and rambunctious; nobody cared. It was now about Artha, Manipura and finding pure bling that could get you back through the framework unnoticed.

There were no humans on the train today, only empty seats and a refined beaver quietly sipping Earl Grey. “Well, he looks…dry…and  relaxed…so he must have come from the land.” The beaver heard and adjusted his frames while cocking his head North East. He wanted to see if he could grab the newspaper from thin air instead of having to hold it in his hands. Paper was so archaic, he thought. Daisy wasn’t sure if he noticed her. Her heart skipped a beat and she stopped for a moment memory, as he again adjusted himself out of what looked like discomfort. Inhaling a deep breath, they both fell deeply asleep. The reflection on the mirror was blank. Someone had switched time and space, again. What was going to happen?

Digital Presence

Hi everyone! Let’s get right to it!

Digital  presence. As marketers, we want to talk about it. We want our clients to be aware, so they can be responsible for their own success. We want to give them a model to follow so that they can apply their ideas, optimize process and make streamlined business decisions more effectively. One way to understand how this can work, is to follow a simple model that outlines four core digital marketing services + concepts, working alongside a digital marketing strategy (Digital Presence Business Model).

Here’s a brief synopsis –

The Digital Presence Business Model simplifies the functionality of four core digital marketing services. When I developed this model for VanWhistle Media, the four core services used were – web development, social media management, SEO and branding. Following another model called Simpler & Larger, we connect the services to a few simple ideas as a way to keep a primary focus. Simpler & Larger is a basic notion that work should be easily understood and done, so that the business can consider a greater capacity. The harmony between concept and functionality makes it easier to apply the services each step of the way. And used together, the services become intact, stable and strong. Your brand’s core attributes will become more refined and you will begin to see fluidity and consistency throughout your total business approach.

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The 4 core services and their core concepts are:

  1. Web Development – IDENTITY (analytical, logical, objective); left-brained; efficiency
  2. Social Media Management – IMAGE (intuitive, thoughtful, subjective); right-brained; passion
  3. Branding – CORE (central, definite, overall); heart; innovation
  4. Search Engine Optimization – FOOTPRINT (forward thinking, capacity, evolution); brain; mainstream

I am currently using a variation of this model to explore social media as a tool to establish/solidify brand strategy/identity. Using the brain, we can equalize the impressions we create based on our personalities and emotional predispositions. This is in development, but if you would like to hear more about it let me know! Also, check it out on my Instagram account – @chona_canlas.

Wishful Thinking

Hi everyone!

This is a play about 3 personalities. It is set in a prison in space. They are trapped there in the future, trying to return home, which is Calgary, AB, Canada.

ABOUT CHONA FE

I thought long and hard about the reasons why I left. Did it have to do with change? I changed her, she wasn’t me. I was in reverse there, trying to prove myself when there was no need. Show them that I can be left-brained, I thought over and over again.

ABOUT BLOX

I gave up something very important – the ability to procreate. I think they were listening, but no one would make the sun shine. I became used to a large company running this way. It was amazing, the work I did.

ABOUT DAISY

She’s dressing for tomorrow, frantically preparing for what could be the start of something amazing. As soon as I’m free, I will quickly realize what reality is, she thinks.

CHONA FE & BLOX – Ask us what we’re doing.

DAISY – Ask me what I do for work.

(silence in the prison; they sit on their cold beds, dressed in yellow and grey stripes, holding their heads down in agony)

(Daisy exits)

(ChonaBLOX enters; she is their savior, a creative entity with powers to change reality)

*

(back in town, ChonaBLOX is working; it is present day)

How would we portray the above? Have you attempted to write about your life story before? What was your experience? Positive outcomes? Negative? And on a side note, can we just say how scary writing can actually be? 

She Saw Him First

Hi everyone! Try to decipher the duality I refer to throughout this story. It will make complete sense…both ways!

In university, I was fervently attached to impermanence and how it spoke to love and the meaning of life. My creative process started with a blank canvas, although it did not have to be canvas, it could have been anything.

Definition: Complete; sheer.

Purpose: To feel everything; to be whole. 

And with that, I commenced. Commenced a process of removing completeness; commenced a process of covering up visibility – to reveal something different. I utilized a very special skill set that I have discovered and use fervently today.

What is this very special skill set you ask?

I’m not sure, you tell me.

Identity?

I am simple. I am me. I am beauty in everything. I am everywhere you need to be.

Pushing down non-artistic capabilities; denying intellectual understandings. It was easier to pretend that I didn’t have drive, than to begin the self-exploration required to achieve bigger and better things. I hated that I lacked moral support. I loathed that I was just an ‘artist’. If only I had been shown empathy and was equipped with real world survival skills, everything could have been so different.

Thus, laziness could be defined as such –

Everything should be unique. The space-time continuum moves forward and does not evaluate past failures, previous motivations or work.

My struggle with identity began as a young woman. I felt completely transparent and to make matters worse, my mom would try to help me by uncovering my supposed weaknesses – piano, French, public speaking, pretty much everything. I just wasn’t at the receiving end. I did not know how to define it or how to get there with her help or by myself. So, where did this laziness come from? Was it genetic? By the time it would have mattered (from high school to university) my mom did not have the energy or input abilities to output my success on top of everything she was dealing with (likely mental health issues and more severe complexities). She struggled with many things, and so I struggled with the same. So is that it? I was lazy to take care of my mom? Growing up was about resisting and playing, if safe.

We both lived in fear.

Fear of being; fear of leaving.

Fear is weakness. Be passionate. Be real. Be able to tackle everyday things with insight, knowledge and strength. Who I am today.

The past can come back to haunt us, but we choose to live in the present. We must.

Who remembers the wallpaper in their baby bedroom? Who recalls the vibrant tones of shag rugs in every ‘box’ throughout the house – intense violet, indiscernible mustard, Oscar the Grouch green, rusty red and so on and so forth. Do these memories matter? Yes and yes!

Definition: He has a green body, no visible nose, and lived in a trash can.

Purpose: To love my body, my style and the way I write. 

Outcome: Writing is code, it is a system we are creating for ourselves and more importantly, for others.

Who recalls bubblegum pink mohair, fresh brand T-shirts from The Body Shop or Le Chateau. Things have changed so much in fashion; things have changed so much in our world.

We are united, we are technological. We are happy and we are digital. 

Really?

Yup, listen to me. I still need to figure out how to convert everything! How do I realistically explain our digital way of being? Not there yet. It will come.

Rewind.

In university, I obsessed over process to the point where I think it became my source of envy. I didn’t understand how he (Bradley Harms, artist, Calgary, AB) could make prints nothingly-ly.

How did he do that?!

I do not know; I am so worried.

Are you sure?

Listen, at the time, my inner artist screamed. It didn’t matter that I was making things with my own hands or that I was taking things that were already whole, erasing them and reconstructing a sort of murder scene using Exs and Ohs. It didn’t matter that I was mapping. Or napping even. What mattered is that I could have turned out. What mattered is that my mom loved my art. But it wasn’t enough. It will never be enough until I succeed!

I was meditating, frowning worries and heartaches away from medicated pens and BIC Wite-Out. In my mind, I was substantiating Gilles Deleuze…and I quote:

“Writing has nothing to do with meaning. It has to do with land surveying and cartography, including the mapping of countries yet to come.” ― Gilles Deleuze

Definition: The technique, profession, and science of determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them.

Purpose: There is already a movie about language saving the world. It’s called Arrival. Can we really still cure cancer with letters? Bubble letters at that (Blocks speaking of Bubble + Blocks, Calgary, AB, 2005)? This was my original thesis, you see.

Outcome: Today, I do not know the answer or I am tired. That is the thing with Global Comprehension. It involves too many things. The only sure thing I’m certain of is, I will be the one to figure it out and communicate it to the masses. Just wait and see! 

Mapping the continuum can spark regret; so better focus on real world debacles.

This is already occurring.

I am something out there.

As per Greenpeace.

My trek is long and arduous.

Bold and filled with assumption.

What matters however, is living continually knowing that I am loved and spectacular.

And must I reiterate. No thanks.

All of this work transmutes the power of love and the power of regression through ignorance.  Still, we get tired of things. Always.

They all say: she is trying to objectify life; she is avoiding subjectivity.

The beauty is in interpretation!

Thanks to you, Chonie (my mom with depths greater than the sea).

❤