Archimedia Studios

Have we forgotten how to “Just Do It?”

The advertising industry continues to be  in the midst of a major crunch, threatened on all sides by competitive and economic forces. Creativity, along with the willingness to step further outside the box in the pursuit of something great, is one of the casualties of this battle. A fresh creative concept is crucial for effective advertising and a smart marketing strategy. Some Brands, however,  have and continue to produce commercials that transcend  the typical advertisement, going beyond a sales push and instead convey an awareness and strive to inspire the inner greatness in you. Sometimes these commercials are funny, some are touching, some are inspiring, some are saddening, and some are mind-triggering. Underneath is an important message to take away and apply.

Here are (3) examples of a  brand who hasn’t forgotten “How to DO It!”

http://youtu.be/woOu_4l3lio

How to find the “Sweet-Spot”

This may hit some beginners like a ton of bricks so brace yourself for a mild disappointment here: your lens isn’t wonderful at all f/stops. What?  A Canon 50mm which opens to f/1.8 isn’t at its best when it’s wide open. And by ‘best’, meaning when a lens it at its sharpest. There’s something known as a lens’ ‘sweet spot’ .

Lens Sweet Spot – The aperture at which it’s at the sharpest and sometimes will even offer other things like better clarity.

It’s hard to give a blanket statement about the exact sweet spot for each lens because when you look up the chatter on the internet, there are such varying statements about, say, the sweet spot for the aforementioned Canon 50mm f/1.8. Some say it’s f/2.2 while others claim that the sweet spot is f/4.

A Good rule of thumb –  a lens starts moving more towards perfection about two stops above its maximum aperture.

So where an f/1.8 can open all the way to f/1.8, you don’t actually want to shoot at f/1.8 if you want optimal sharpness and clarity. Try moving up a couple stops to f/2.2 or f/2.8 and compare the results you achieve.

Give em the taste Hold the calories

Snackable. Bite-sized. Simple. Small portions. Nuggets. Easy to make. Easy to digest. Satisfying. Variety. Moderation. Less is more.

It’s not a diet, it’s a marketing strategy!

With modern communication technology, consumers expect consumption to be easy and painless, from engagement to service to transaction.

Consumers are now trained to sample…Their filters are strong, and their ‘easy meter’ is on highest alert; if you’re going to make them really work for something, it had better be incredibly worth it…because “they” have no patience.

Consumers want five-star restaurant quality with fast-food restaurant convenience. They want all of the taste, but none of the calories. They want gourmet product, but pre-packaged, ready-to-eat, and at a generic product price. Give them only the best parts; cut the fat!

Customer service should be easily accessible and transactions should be uncomplicated and fast. Content should be valuable and easy to access, and engagement should be worthwhile. A variety of easily digestible, engaging content “nuggets,” such as short videos, infographics, brief articles, and shared link should be on your marketing menu.

Consider Twitter as a model, with its brief, 140-characters, single-serving content posts. Twitter is a success because it  delivers content that suits consumers’ interests, attention spans, and schedules.

Consider your consumers’ diets, and give them something good to snack on.

You’ve Got to be Kidding Me!

If you work in the design business long enough you are going to have many crazy encounters with prospective clients. Here are just a few that beg the question to be asked;

“You’ve Got to be Kidding Me!”

We need to point out that these quotes came from “prospective clients” and needless to say they were never accepted as clients! There is an old saying. ” some business just ain’t worth it!”

  • We need our website to work regular business hours; from 9 am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
  • If we hire your firm,  I’m going to have my daughter give final approval. She’s got a good eye for this stuff and she just did the cover for her high school’s yearbook…
  • Prospective Client (CEO): Our product is going to revolutionize this industry, and we want your firm to work with us.

Us: Great! Can you tell me what differentiates your product from the competition?

Prospective Client (CEO): Certainly, I will have my people get back to you with an answer.

  • Our CEO will be in town tomorrow so if you could get the design done by then that would be great.
  • Prospective Client: “I want it to be like Facebook”

Us: “Did you have a budget in mind for this project?”

Prospective Client: “I need to get it done for under $500

  • I need you to make black and white packaging prototype but include as much color as possible.
  • We’re looking for a high-exposure design firm for our product. We want a minimum of 5 prototype designs to choose from. I can only afford a one-time $250 payment upon completion,  however,  it’s a great way to add a fun, popular business to your firm’s clientele.
  • We have no budget for this ad, but the good news is that we are definitely sure that we want to work with your firm.
  • Your hourly rate is okay, as long as you don’t need more than an hour. And you can show me how you did it so I can do it on my own next time.
  • Make sure it’s not too edgy, not too flashy, not too much detail, not classical/traditional, not too complex, exciting, but not  all over the place, efficient but fun, clean, fresh, modern, up beat, contemporary, high readability, smooth, shapeless, timeless, not outdated, but simple.




What is design?..maybe not what you think

Have you been to one of the large bookstore chains recently and gone to the section  labeled “Graphic Design?”

If you have, or when you do go,  you may be surprised to find the section almost entirely composed of books on Photoshop and  web development (coding, Dreamweaver, etc.).

Does learning the requisite software make you a designer? Just because you know CSS and HTML, can you really call yourself a web designer?

We are definitely not making the argument that these topics aren’t extremely important, they are, but they’re sections of a larger area of discipline, the entire core of which is seemingly ignored these days.

Photoshop  is a tool by which the larger discipline is accomplished. Knowing how to use it doesn’t make you a designer any more than knowing how to paint a house makes you an artist.

You know the keyboard shortcut for kerning type, but do you knowhow to kern type? You know how to create guides, but do you understand the fundamentals of grid-based layout? You know how to apply a background fill color, but do you understand which colors will complement each other well and why?

What is design? Design is math, do you understand the golden ratio? Design is psychology, will a red or green button earn more clicks? Design is art, which color scheme is has greater visual appeal? Design is marketing, how do I sell this idea, service or product?

There are No Shortcuts if you are serious about being a  a quality , in-demand designer. Before you can  “break the rules” of design and “think outside of the box”, you must first understand the fundamentals of design.  As a designer, the more diverse you are in your skill set the more marketable you will be!  Enter this field to “be the best”, not “one of the many”. Absorb , “like a sponge” the wisdom and knowledge of experienced designer’s and strive to master the tools of design, Photoshop, Illustrator, CSS, HTML, Photography,etc.  However, it is important to understand that these tools are simply that, tools, they are a just a means to the end.

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