Tag: art direction

The Power of Infographics

Capturing imagery + text in an intertwined relationship is fascinating work. There’s something about mingling elements, contrasting colours, and purely expressing a message that excites me.

Infographics are a great example of this type of communication. Well done work leaves me breathless (in a good way). So, to jump right into it, here are some things to consider when creating powerful infographics.

First, a basic definition:

in·fo·graph·ic

/ˌinfōˈɡrafik/

noun

An infographic (information graphic) is a representation of information in a graphic format designed to make the data easily understandable at a glance.

Why do we use them?

Infographics are a great way to communicate ideas quickly and effectively. They help to simplify the process of presenting a message or data and help to establish connections, patterns, and relationships that allow us, as the viewer, to gather specific information.

Why are they important?

Poor content incites boredom. What’s poor content?

Anything that’s too wordy, difficult to understand, or mind-numbingly full of roundabout detail. And it’s not about getting a quick fix. Some of us—me on occasion—enjoy digesting a mouthful of words. Still, no one can deny that pictures make everything easier to take in! 

In 2019, 74% of marketing content contained a visual element. That’s not surprising, considering a whopping 90% of all information transmitted to the brain is visual.

Leaving us to believe that when you come across visually appealing content, you are much more likely to retain it. You might even share it with someone else after you’ve frolicked in its delight. 

Shareability is huge.

Taking inspiration from that which is shareable is also a thing.

I often create based on how much I liked LOVED something. I am graphically illuminated so much easier these days with all the impressive infographics to learn from!

They’re important, guys, for so many different reasons. But to summarize—infographics are important because they help us tell a story in a way that’s accessible to our audience.

Just the words below will let you know why.

Words that your infographics should be –

What’s the blox. way to create infographics?

Follow these steps:

1 – Find an appropriate ‘chunk’ of content you would like to translate pictorially, or that is so dang interesting, it’s already sparking imagery in your head.

2 – Follow your brand guidelines—typeface, colour, spacing, tone etc.

3 – Create to your heart’s content but make sure each element flows into the next. Continuity is critical, or you risk altering the message or even worse, spreading an inconsistent idea.

4 – Aim to make your infographics attention-grabbing and playful. People are much more likely to engage if they’re looking at something that incites positive emotion.

5 – Incorporate text carefully and precisely The text you add should uplift and reinforce your main message. Make sure it supports the imagery you are using!

Now, the fun part.

Here are some infographics I created for Clearbridge Business Solutions.

I am so excited to share these because designing them was such an enjoyable experience. I feel like I achieved what I was going after—visually describing our work and what we want to be known for (our #bestwork). I hope you like them! If you have any suggestions for modifications, let me know, I am always happy to make things #better!

Yearning for more design content? Check out these blog posts:

A Design Thinking Process

Blogging Graphic Design Process

Logo Design

DFS Valentine’s Day Campaign

How to Impress My Valentine

A great campaign is built on a solid concept. It can stir our emotions and set our souls free to dream. Recently, I had the opportunity to put together a Valentine’s Day video campaign for DirectFood.store. It was a fantastic experience, and I am proud of the output. Here is a little bit more about it.

DirectFood.store is a DTC online grocery store delivery platform that sells fresh, local and organic food from local farmers and vendors to the community. As a brand, DirectFood.store aims to inspire and empower consumers to eat healthily, buy local, and learn more about the farm-to-table concept. Priority is placed on ensuring high-quality products, affordable pricing, and easy ordering, plus free delivery direct to the doorstep. 

For this particular campaign, our objectives are:

  • Increase brand awareness 
  • Connect with our target audience (young, millennial couples and families with kids; age 25-34 / baby boomers drawn to compelling video and who will purchase something based on its value; age 45-64)
  • Promote interest in our platform and products
  • Provide entertainment
  • Create a need for buying local, fresh & organic food from local farmers and vendors with free delivery direct to the doorstep

The campaign features BC blogger and influencer Chelsea Helm. We find her wondering how to impress her Valentine. While pondering an answer, she suddenly thinks of DirectFood.store. She decides to put together a thoughtful and delicious dinner for her partner. The campaign follows Chelsea through her decision-making process. She orders the ingredients, and they arrive at her doorstep. We then capture her preparing a steak and salad, setting the table and signing a Valentine’s day card. Will her Valentine make it in time? Will they be surprised? Ultimately, she shares with the audience that through DirectFood.store, you can make something special for that special someone in your life.

I wanted the advertising tone to be fun, happy, thoughtful, romantic, youthful, and vibrant. Our primary message is that consumers identify with our brand, and our products fit their lifestyle and choices. I think we hit the mark, and best of all, the campaign was completed on brand, on time and on budget. Now to see how it performs as a Facebook ad!

I hope you enjoyed the video. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out!

Startup Development

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to break down the steps that were involved in developing a digital marketing startup agency. Now, I don’t have a formal background in business or marketing, so it’s taken me awhile to put all this information together. One thing I know about being a mostly abstract thinker is that, following a logical progression based on reasoning and detail is a lot easier than gathering data that is specific to a certain cause and effect. So, this is my attempt at quantifying and qualifying the work I did at VanWhistle Media. Note: I am no longer affiliated with the company. The reason why I left was that my creative vision did not align with the founder’s business style. The owner is always in charge – #winknudge! Jeremiads aside, I am now identifying with the title Creative Director because my work crosses over the walls of artistry into a very consummate dedication toward design and strategy.

If you have any feedback, I am all ears. Please reach out!

Duration: 6-month contract

Goal: To establish company through brand development and product awareness.

Outcome: Sizing market, understanding market potential and organizational design.

Milestones: 

  1. Startup Development (stages / discovery, strategy, implementation, mid-measurement *wider release required)
    • Concept & Research
    • Commitment & Traction
    • Software application – Pipedrive, Qwilr, Pomodoro, Canva, Basecamp, Ahrefs
  2. Sales & Marketing (stages / discovery, *heavy strategy, implementation, mid-measurement)
    • Working directly with company CEO
    • Development & Launch
    • Sales strategies and marketing approach – solution selling (action), insight selling (aim), prospecting methods and scripts, Letter of Engagement, Value-Based Price Sheets, Mom & Pop Store Spring Promo, Door to Door Mapping)
  3. Creative & Technical Writing (stages / discovery, strategy, implementation, early measurement *wider release and further market research required)
    • Strategic Development (responsible, transparent & accurate)
    • All creative and copy across multiple platforms
    • Campaign Creation – #ourlocalcrew (awareness/brand image), #targetaudience (definition), #thursdaytheory (attraction)
  4. Brand Development (stages / discovery, strategy, implementation *establishing workflow, process & guidelines)
    • Promote brand
    • Promote products/solutions
    • Buyer Persona and Market Research – Brand Concept Kit, VWM Complete Branding Package)
  5. Solution Development (stages / discovery, *heavy strategy, implementation, early measurement)
    • Website Revamp/Rebuild/Build (The Hub Concept)
    • 1st Meeting Form, Digital Marketing Plan, Value-Based Price Sheets
    • Media Kit, Digital Presence Business Model, Step by Step SEO Guide
  6. Content Creation (stages / discovery, strategy, early implementation)
    • Simpler & Larger, Passion & Efficiency, Seller & Buyer
    • The Hub Concept, Digital Collaboration
    • Digital Presence, Make Change Happen
  7. Art Direction (stages / discovery, strategy, implementation)
    • Communication style – branding, project documents
    • Design style – marketing & sales collateral, Media Kit, logos
    • Contract and proposal templates (100% original design and content)
  8. Project Management (stages / discovery, implementation, early measurement)
    • Coordination & Scope
    • Bottom-Up & Kanban
    • To promote and encourage incremental, logical change without triggering fear of change itself

Updating Brand Strategy

Hi everyone!

Brand strategy is my passion. What are you passionate about?

I compiled these images, which are re-designs (content has also been revised) of the original images in my post Brand Strategy and from the Recent Works – Direct Mail Proposal project I did in October. What do you think of the new design? It was inspired by mid-century modern graphic design. I did a whole series of work based on some images from a book titled, Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design by Theo Inglis. I will put together a #bloxbooks post about it soon. In the meantime, enjoy the work below. I am open to a discussion anytime, reach out!

Brand Strategy 1

Brand Strategy 2

Brand Strategy 3

Brand Strategy 4

Brand Strategy 5

Brand Strategy 6

Brand Strategy 7

Brand Strategy 8

Brand Strategy 9

Brand Strategy

Hi gang!

I was excited about creating these designs. The work was produced using Canva and took about 30 hours (including printing and assembling) to complete. I left out the personal part of my proposal, but I hope you can derive a positive sentiment from the style + tone I chose to go after!

This portion of the proposal defines a brand strategy in three parts – the social media aspect (WHAT), art direction aspect (HOW) and digital specialty aspect (WHY). At best, these aspects are shared and applied to a project equanimously in order create a sweet spot, ‘the magic’ or WHERE and WHEN true potential can emerge.

This whole concept is derived from Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle Theory which purports that great organizations create their foundation by addressing WHY they exist, HOW they go about their mission, and then finally, WHAT they do.

In my model, social media is used as a product or service we sell, however this can be changed to web development, SEO, email marketing etc.

The HOW is the people who are involved in the project. It is what sets us apart from the competition. It is what makes us unique and indispensable.

Lastly, WHY is the ultimate outcome. Very few organizations know WHY they do what they do. Why is not about making money. That’s a result. Why is a purpose, cause or belief. It’s the very reason your organization exists.

In synergy, any set of core values can be realized. In my model, I value belief, faith, trust and love. As a brand strategist, my ultimate outcome paints a beautiful picture for both the seller and buyer. The PICTURE is the agency differentiating itself from competitors. WHERE and WHEN this occurs impacts results – profitability, scalability and customer experience.

Have a look at this brief slideshow and let me know what you think –

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Remember, there is always room for further or greater interpretation. This is the sweetness of advertising. Branding is the #1 method we can use to portray our message, whether that message be creative, technical or both, a brand is responsible for defining who we are and what we do!

Talk soon!

Relentless Beauty – Directing Art in Life

Hi everyone!

This post is being published a couple of weeks late. It sides like a dialogue or script between my negative and positive conscience. It also questions the personality of reality and the role of work impacting everyday life. Have a read and let me know what you think!

1

I am you.

We are masterpieces at work.

A masterpiece is considered to be a work of outstanding artistry, skill, or workmanship. I am building something great in my brain, that might take 5-10 years to materialize, but for today…it is a matter of steps.

  1. TED Talk
  2. Meet some important CEOs (Microsoft, Facebook etc.)
  3. Have an annual income>$100,000.00

Step 1 – The Wait

This past year has been a period of unparalleled accomplishment and perseverance.

  1. Being able to write well – technically (analyses) and creatively (rationale)
  2. Upping my graphic design capabilities (still supporting MART)
  3. Identifying the BLOX brand (logos for example)

Step 2 – Past Reconciliation

Bell Bird / I walked away from my desk knowing it was over. And every time I returned, I resumed my role, but thought to myself quietly and strategically: 1 – you don’t allow me to be artistic or creative in a way that would generate an income; 2 – despite all my hard work and dedication, you haven’t allowed me to move forward or upward; and 3 – down to the date I left, you gave me the belief that I could achieve something bigger, better and huge.

Step 3 – Hiding

When I say there’s a solution, here’s why. My partner is the most realistic human being that has ever existed! He tells me; I should listen. Now, I’m trying to understand, again (in this moment of gratitude), WHY I have the NEED to reveal a few big secrets, but I won’t. I think it’s going to take a long while, you guys might as well grab some food.

Step 4 – Revelation

Chona: I am not realistic.

Daisy: I am the least realistic human being that has ever existed!

Chona Fe: I am so utterly unrealistic that I presume the world in a digital fashion and to me, it all makes sense.

Seventeen: And my unrealisticness bears unbreakable confidence and this leads me to believe that people already understand it, that other people exist in a digital fashion as well and that it is all working.

Steps, I said. Steps.

Step 5 – Fighting Back

Blox Bunny / Back at my desk, I am thinking again: when I left my former job, there was something inside of me that longed to escape. I was previously trapped in the mind of a realistic person! This does not satisfy me! I want it back! I belong in there. So, I started writing this blog and finally, I have a platform to voice my concerns, however all I want to do is write and that leads to my battle with time.

2

Young at heart.

Old in thought.

Step 6 – In the Past

It feels like more things have been given to me and I have spent a whole lot of time trying to decipher those things regularly. The pursuit seems futile. Is it? I experience true happiness when I am free to create, to express myself as I will. Just being is so strong.

Step 7 – Entrance

Chona begins to write feverishly on a notepad: the questions become – how does the audience receive these creations? But that is not a real question. The real question is, does it matter how they receive it? Wrong again. Once I release a creation into someone’s hands, or brain for that matter, is that it? Is that all that matters?

No, no, no!

Step 8 – The Return

We need to feel a reason to proceed with creating.

Step 9 – The End

I will get there, promise. And when all else fails, I did it for love and the beauty surrounding it.

3

A very dear friend of mine, Yenukwa Kombian, is the co-owner and facilitator of King of Hearts (a collective of men helping men). He shared a few quotes with me when I was feeling down and they really helped –

About struggling as an artist/entrepreneur

…being an artist/entrepreneur, grinding it out and never being recognized for your hard work. It talks a lot about giving up, letting go and even going into a dark hole that you feel stuck in. The line ‘Lose My Air’ is directly correlated with anxiety, and depression. Feeling overwhelmed and stuck in life. I think it’s so easy nowadays to compare ourselves to everyone around us, and that can be crippling. The one thing I have learned through all of this, is that everyone is on their own path, their own chapter of life and it’s extremely unfair to compare yourself to everyone around you. – Brandon Linkewich

About hustling aligning

Destroy the idea that you have to be constantly working or grinding in order to be successful. Embrace the concept that rest, recovery, and reflection are essential parts of the progress toward a successful and ultimately happy life.

About feeling behind in life

You’re not behind in life. There’s no schedule or timetable that we all must follow. It’s all made up. Wherever you are right now is exactly where you need to be. Seven billion people can’t do everything in exactly the same scheduled order. We are all different with a variety of needs and goals. Some get married early, some get married late, while others don’t get married at all. What is early? What is late? Compared with whom? Compared with what? Some want children, others don’t. Some want a career; others enjoy taking care of a house and children. Your life is not on anyone else’s schedule. Don’t beat yourself up for where you are right now. It’s YOUR timeline, not anyone else’s, and nothing is off schedule. – Emily Maroutian

And so, it should be said…

Has anything changed since last year? Are you more ahead of the game? Do I understand being HERE and NOW? Is there something standing in my way? Is it constructed or real? What is real anyway?

Revealing my true identity…

Instead of defining it as creating, writing, being artistic, it must be redefined as working. This mantra says it best – At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best, every day. That’s it. That’s all that matters!

I think somewhere on this blog I talk about losing my identity, then regaining it. It just isn’t as easy as that. As an artist, you can create a wonderful masterpiece and use it to build yourself up. But when you are done, you have to start all over again and this is a problem. It’s a similar thing building a social media presence. You can really use what’s out there to help support your vision or you can get lost in the confusion of trying to fit in (or out) with a trillion other ‘things’, plus being an open book for everyone one to read. The role of work is to harness these conditions. To take the experience and quantify or qualify it. To have a goal and to accomplish it, then to move on to the next task. Bell provided me with this motion, it just lacked the artistic/creative portion. This past year I have learned how to objectify my work and I am ready to apply these skills.

4

Please bring your trays to a tray return station. We’ll take care of the sorting, recycling and trash. To lower our environmental impact, nearly 90% of waste in the IKEA stores is sent for recycling or used for energy production. And we’re working hard to get to 100%.

IKEA’s founder Ingvar Kamprad thought along these lines, “To do business with a clear conscience is an attitude that pays. We have to find more time for ourselves and to regain respect for the environment in which we live.”

I agree and what if the sign instead read –

Please bring your brains to a brain return station. We’ll take care of the sorting, recycling and trash. To lower our environmental impact, nearly 90% of waste in the BLOX stores is sent for recycling or used for energy production. And we’re working hard to get to 100%.

The idea that the brain requires an actual vacation – with pay – connotes the modern (we’ve been modern for much too long) notion of a retreat. The IKEA restaurant works just great.

Conclusion – Digital Detox Works

Leave your devices at the door and have a seat with us in our cafe, er…restaurant. You really have to plow deep to comprehend your body visiting versus your mind walking in. That is how I think. Typically the thoughts are in motion, in my head and do not leave it. Case in point, there’s power in environment, yet I am denied, time and time again.

Hyper Conclusion – The Drive of Your Mind

It is incessant. Must be more positive. Must be HERE and NOW. Must trust, believe, have faith and most importantly, love.

It causes turbulence. Must convert to renewable energy. Big breakfasts. Netflix. Naps. Running.

1 day left until Halloween!

Yay!