Brainstorming magazine | issue 03

BIH edition - Printed in the BiH

6 EURO | 12 KM

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ISSUE 03 JANUARY 2010

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01 | ISSUE 03 | How to Write Advertising Copy

Welcome

How to

Copywriting is the use of words to promote a person, business, opinion or idea. Although the word copy may be applied to any content intended for printing (as in the body of a newspaper article or book), the term copywriter is generally limited to such promotional situations, regardless of media (as advertisements for print, television, radio or other media). The author of newspaper or magazine copy, for example, is generally called a reporter or writer or a copywriter.

(Although the word copywriting is regularly used as a noun or gerund, and copywrite is sometimes used as a verb by professionals.)

Write Advertising Copy

Thus, the purpose of marketing copy, or promotional text, is to persuade the reader, listener or viewer to act — for example, to buy a product or subscribe to a certain viewpoint.

Meet the artists Interview with Goran Lizdek

Meet the artists Eurico Sá Fernandes

Well, I'm 27, I was born in Sarajevo and I graduated advertising design at the Secondary School for Applied Arts. After that, I continued my education by studying graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts and still have that annoying "diploma pending" status.

My passion is typography and Design is a huge part of my life. I am constantly looking out for new and exciting Design influences, whether found in one of the many Design books I buy all the time, or in Design blogs that I visit every single day.

Meet the artists Stuart Gardiner

Meet the artists BossLogic

My name is Stuart Gardiner and I run a creative studio in East London specialising in design for print. My work covers the traditional divisons of graphic design, illustration and printmaking.

I’m a graphic designer from Melbourne, Australia. I first started drawing when I was 6 years old, I still haven’t taken the pen out of my hand. After transferring my skills to a digital platform i’m still here where I have been working for the past 4 years.

Meet the artists Magomed Dovjenko

Meet the artists Kai Isselhorst

My name is magomed dovjenko.

I'm a young-yet expirienced freelance illustrator, residing in germany/cologne, originally from russia, chechnya.

I am an Illustrator and Designer living and working in Dinslaken, Germany.

Im a state approved Design Assistant and studied Communication Design during the last 4 Semesters at Niederrhein University for applied sciences in Krefeld, Germany.

How to Write Advertising Copy | ISSUE 03 | 02

CONTENTS JANUARY

How to Sell Advertising Ideas

How to Write Advertising Copy A successful marketing plan relies heavily on the pulling-power of advertising copy. Writing resultoriented ad copy is difficult, as it must appeal to, entice, and convince consumers to take action.

There is no definitive formula to write perfect ad copy; it is based on a number of factors, including ad placement, demographic, even the consumer’s mood when they see your ad.

So how is any writer supposed to pen a stunning piece of advertising copy -- copy that sizzles and sells? The following tips will jumpstart your creative thinking and help you write a better ad.

KNOW THE BASICS According to Publicity Times, the average American is exposed to more than 3,000 advertisements every day. Given this intense competition, selling an effective advertising message can be a difficult job. In order to sell advertising ideas, it is crucial to create messages that will cut through the clutter. With research, thorough brainstorming and concept development, you can design and sell creative, effective advertising ideas.

All good advertising copy is comprised of the same basic elements. Good advertising copy always: Grabs Attention: Consumers are inundated with ads, so it’s vital that your ad catches the eye and immediately grabs interest. You could do this with a headline or slogan (such as VW’s “Drivers Wanted” campaign), color or layout (Target’s new colorful, simple ads are a testimony to this) or illustration (such as the Red Bull characters or Zoloft’s depressed ball and his ladybug friend).

Step 1 Meet with a client to discuss his advertising needs. Ask questions that will help determine the best use of his advertising dollars. Some crucial issues to discuss include: target audience, current audience, brand awareness and perception, market area, and key age demographics. Take detailed notes.

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The Art of Branding Yourself and Your Freelancing Business

Year

Hap

Just as it is for big corporations, successful branding is essential to the success of a freelancing business and to just one self-employed web worker. It is often times overlooked, most likely because many don’t realize the large benefits that can come from it.

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od o m e h t n i . o s s a e e w id r ` We for ne Mer

- Printed BIH edition

2009 DECEMBER ISSUE 03

in the BiH

6 EURO

| 12 KM

The first thing we think of when we think “brand identity” is a good logo. A good logo can do wonders for a self-employed freelancer, but branding identity goes far beyond that, into entire website development, content, business cards, and even into offline scenarios.

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Mauro Ramalho I was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1980.

Graduated in Industrial Design at Belas Artes College.

Last year, I was invited to work at Organic in Toronto, Canada, where I'm responsible to take part in leading design project as a Senior Art Director and direct senior assistants in defining goals.

I had my first contact with adverstising working in a Design Studio located in São Paulo. There, I could create print material such as folders, logos and all sort of advertising papers. In 1998, I could work in an agency called Panorama Brasil.

Page 105

Artist, Illustrators, Photographers, News Interview with Alen Ajanović

Meet the artists Nelson Balaban

My name is Alen Ajanovic. I was born in Sarajevo 1.6.1973. Bosnia and Herzegovina, where, during my secondar y school I finished Goldsmith handicraft.

My name is Nelson Balaban, I was born in June 12th 1989, in Curitiba, Souther Brazil. I love graphic design, arts, illustration and typography.

Meet the artists Andy Julia

Illustration Competition

Andy started photography for many years. After learning drawing, painting and history of Arts at beaux Arts school and following technical audiovisual/pgotography formation in France, he began working as an assistant at Daylight Studios in Paris, often working with Willy Vanderpeere.

Enter the most prestigious competition for creativity in illustration, the Communication Arts Illustration Competition. Any Illustration first printed or produced within the last twelve months prior to the deadline is eligible.

Meet the artists Courtney Mason

Interview with Jasmin Fazlagić

Courtney Mason is a graphic designer/ illustrator from Detroit Michigan. She has studied classes ranging anywhere from graphic design to photography and painting.

Nevertheless, Courtney’s true love lay with the creation of digital art and design.

I dislike having no work to do. In those times I feel as if my gas pedal is pushed to the limit, while the gear is still shifted in neutral position.

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INFO: http://www.hieurico.com

My name is Eurico Sá Fernandes, I’m 18 years old and I live in Porto.

I have finished the Graphic Design Course in the well known Vocational School, Escola Artística e Profissional Árvore in Porto and now I am actively looking for new opportunities in the world of Design and I also intend to go to the university to study Graphic Design.

Eurico Sá Fernandes

Meet the Artist:

How to Write Advertising Copy | ISSUE 03 | 06

Meet the Artist:

INFO: http://www.stuartgardiner.co.uk/

Stuart Gardiner My name is Stuart Gardiner and I run a creative studio in East London specialising in design for print. My work covers the traditional divisons of graphic design, illustration and printmaking. I have clients in fashion and entertainment industries, and also produce my own products now selling in over 30 shops across the UK. Take a look at the projects listed left to get some idea of what I do. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss potential work of a design, illustration or art direction nature.

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How to Write Advertising Copy | ISSUE 03 | 10

How to Write Advertising Copy

Copywriting Copywriting is the use of words to promote a person, business, opinion or idea. Although the word copy may be applied to any content intended for printing (as in the body of a newspaper article or book), the term copywriter is generally limited to such promotional situations, regardless of media (as advertisements for print, television, radio or other media). The author of newspaper or magazine copy, for example, is generally called a reporter or writer or a copywriter.

(Although the word copywriting is regularly used as a noun or gerund, and copywrite is sometimes used as a verb by professionals.)

Thus, the purpose of marketing copy, or promotional text, is to persuade the reader, listener or viewer to act — for example, to buy a product or subscribe to a certain viewpoint. Alternatively, copy might also be intended to dissuade a reader. Copywriting can appear in direct mail pieces, taglines, jingle lyrics, web page content (although if the purpose is not ultimately promotional, its author might prefer to be called a content writer), online ads, e-mail and other Internet content, television or radio commercial scripts, press releases, white papers, catalogs, billboards, brochures, postcards, sales letters, and other marketing communications media.

Content writing on websites is also referred to as copywriting, and may include among its objectives the achievement of higher rankings in search engines.

Known as "organic" search engine optimization (SEO), this practice involves the strategic placement and repetition of keywords and keyword phrases on web pages, writing in a manner that human readers would consider normal.

Copywriters Most copywriters are employees within organizations such as advertising agencies, public relations firms, web developers, company advertising departments, large stores, marketing firms, broadcasters and cable providers, newspapers, book publishers and

magazines. Copywriters can also be independent contractors freelancing for a variety of clients, at the clients' offices or working from their own, or partners or employees in specialized copywriting agencies. A copywriter usually works as part of a creative team.

Agencies and advertising departments partner copywriters with art directors. The copywriter has ultimate responsibility for the advertisement's verbal or textual content, which often includes receiving the copy information from the client. (Where this formally extends into the role of account executive, the job may be described as "copy/contact.") The art director has ultimate responsibility for visual communication and, particularly in the case of print work, may oversee production. Either person may come up with the overall idea for the advertisement or commercial (typically referred to as the concept or "big idea"), and the process of collaboration often improves the work.

Copywriters are similar to technical writers and the careers may overlap. Broadly speaking, however, technical writing is dedicated to informing readers rather than persuading them. For example, a copywriter writes an ad to sell a car, while a technical writer writes the operator's manual explaining how to use it. Because the words sound alike, copywriters are sometimes confused with people who work in copyright law. These careers are unrelated.

Famous copywriters include David Ogilvy, William Bernbach and Leo Burnett. Many creative artists spent some of their career as copywriters before becoming famous for other things, including Dorothy L. Sayers, Viktor Pelevin, Eric Ambler, Joseph Heller, Terry Gilliam, William S. Burroughs, Salman Rushdie, Don DeLillo, Lawrence Kasdan, Fay Weldon, Philip Kerr and Shigesato Itoi. (Herschell Gordon Lewis, on the other hand, became famous for directing violent exploitation films, then became a very successful copywriter.)

The Internet has expanded the range of copywriting opportunities to include web content, ads, commercial emails and other online media. It has also brought new opportunities for copywriters to learn their craft, conduct research and view others' work. And the Internet has made it easier for employers, copywriters and art directors to find each other.

As a result of these factors, along with increased use of independent contractors and virtual commuting generally, freelancing has become a more viable job option, particularly in certain copywriting specialties and markets. A generation ago, professional freelance copywriters (except those between full-time jobs) were rare. While schooling may be a good start or supplement in a budding copywriter's professional education, working as part of an advertising team arguably remains the best way for novices to gain the experience and business sense required by many employers, and expands the range of career opportunities.

How to write better advertising copy A successful marketing plan relies heavily on the pulling-power of advertising copy. Writing resultoriented ad copy is difficult, as it must appeal to, entice, and convince consumers to take action.

There is no definitive formula to write perfect ad copy; it is based on a number of factors, including ad placement, demographic, even the consumer’s mood when they see your ad. So how is any writer supposed to pen a stunning piece of advertising copy - copy that sizzles and sells? The following tips will jumpstart your creative thinking and help you write a better ad.

KNOW THE BASICS All good advertising copy is comprised of the same basic elements. Good advertising copy always:

you’ll be surprised how frequently they come to you in the future.

KNOW THE MEDIUM How you write your advertising copy will be heavily based on where you will place your ad. If it’s a billboard ad, you’ll need a super catchy headline and simple design due to the speed at which people will pass.

Online ads are similar; consumers are so inundated with Internet advertising that yours must be quick and catchy. Magazine advertising is the most versatile, but this is solely dependent on the size of your ad and how many other ads compete with yours. If you’ve got a full page, feel free to experiment; more page space gives you more creative space. If the ad is tiny, you’ll need to keep things as simple as possible.

KNOW THE STYLE

Grabs Attention: Consumers are inundated with ads, so it’s vital that your ad catches the eye and immediately grabs interest. You could do this with a headline or slogan (such as VW’s “Drivers Wanted” campaign), color or layout (Target’s new colorful, simple ads are a testimony to this) or illustration (such as the Red Bull characters or Zoloft’s depressed ball and his ladybug friend). Promises Credible Benefit: To feel compelled by an ad, the consumer must stand to gain something; the product is often not enough.

What would the consumer gain by using your product or service? This could be tangible, like a free gift; prestige, power or fame.

But remember: you must be able to make good on that promise, so don’t offer anything unreasonable. Keeps Interest: Grabbing the consumer’s attention isn’t enough; you’ve got to be able to keep that attention for at least a few seconds. This is where your benefits come into play or a product description that sets your offer apart from the others Generates Action: This is the ultimate point of advertising copy -- it must make the reader react in some way. This doesn’t necessarily translate to buying the product immediately or using the service.

Your ad could be a positioning tool to enable the reader to think about you in a certain light. Speak to your audience, or the audience you’d like to reach, and 13 | ISSUE 03 | How to Write Advertising Copy

Advertising copy is a unique type of writing. As the ad copywriter, your aim is to balance creativity and readability into something persuasive and entertaining.

Keep the following points in mind when you write your copy: Be Succinct: Messy wordiness will completely destroy an ad campaign. Use short sentences with as many familiar words as possible; save the thesaurus for a thesis or dissertation. Always make sure to use precise phrasing (why use five adjectives when one good action verb would do?); and eliminate any redundancies, such as “little tiny” or “annual payments of $XXX per year.”

Talk To Your Audience, Not At Them: Though you are announcing the availability of a product or service, avoid being clinical or overly formal. Write as if you’re talking to your ideal customer; use a style they’d use, words they’d be familiar with, slang they’d probably know.

But be absolutely certain that you’re using these terms and phrases correctly. A recent McDonald’s campaign attempted to reach a certain audience by using the phrase “I’d hit it” in reference to a cheeseburger, unaware that the phrase is almost always used as a sexual reference.

Avoid Clichés: It’s easy for writers new to advertising

copy to fall into this trap, but it’s a trap that can severely damage the writing. Clichés fail to ignite the imagination; and consumers so numb to the phrases will often skip right past them, effectively ruining the succinct element of your ad. If you find yourself tempted to use a cliché, think about the message you want to convey with that cliché and try to rephrase it in a more imaginative, personal way.

Always Proofread: It’s an obvious point, but you’d be surprised how many ads run in a magazine or on a billboard with an error of some sort. Go through your advertising copy carefully to make sure that every word is spelled correctly, the grammar is impeccable and the punctuation is dead on. Even the best ads can be ruined by a misplaced comma or dangling modifier.

HOW TO CREATE SUCCESSFUL ADVERTISING COPY Writing effective copy for ads, web pages, sales letters and other marketing communications isn't difficult when you know what works. After many years of trial and error I developed a checklist of 7 "rules" I follow to create successful advertising copy. These rules apply to writing copy for any type of marketing communication.

1. Define the goal of your message Define what you want your message to accomplish before you begin writing. Do you want to generate inquiries (leads)? Do you want to get orders? What action do you want readers to take? How do you want them to respond? Put your goal in writing and refer to it often as you develop your message.

Everything you write should directly support this goal.

Get rid of anything that doesn't.

2. Know your audience and what they want Maybe everybody CAN use what you sell. But one targeted group WILL be most likely to buy it. You can discover that group by defining the characteristics of your best customers. Once you know your audience and what they want you can personalize your writing to appeal to their specific interests.

TIP: Advertising copy produces the biggest response when each reader can believe the message was written specifically for them. As you write, visualize you're writing to one person instead of to a large group of people. This will help you write in a less formal and more personal style.

3. Appeal to their self-interest, not yours Customers don't care about you, your product, your company, or your professional qualifications. They only care about the benefit they get from buying your product or service. The only thing a customer wants to know about your 1/2 inch drill is that it's guaranteed to give them a 1/2 inch hole. Keep your ad copy focused on the benefits you provide.

4. Make an emotional appeal, not a logical one Your ad copy should dramatize the feeling your customers get while enjoying the benefits provided by your product or service. Get them emotionally involved so they want to start enjoying those benefits immediately. Use word pictures and real life stories to draw readers into your message.

5. Don't give them any choices You may spend a lot of time writing your sales message and getting it "just right". Unfortunately, your prospects will rush through it and make a fast decision. Don't slow them down with any choices. They'll be afraid of making the wrong choice and will protect themselves by making none. You'll lose sales.

EXCEPTION: Offer many different ways to respond to your ad or sales message. Customers already know whether phone, fax, online, etc. is more convenient for them. They're more likely to act immediately when their favorite way to respond is available.

6. Make your best offer The offer is the "deal" you're promoting (free information, special price, free bonus with order, etc.).

It's the only reason people respond to your advertising copy. The stronger your offer the greater the response you'll get. Always include the best offer you can afford and a reason to act fast.

7. Simplify Everything Simple, clear copy is easy to read and understand. It propels your customer to the decision point with no hesitation.

After you've written your copy, edit it for simplicity and clarity. Use lots of 1 and 2 syllable words.

Shorten sentences and paragraphs. This is especially important for your web site where relief is just a click away.

Follow these 7 rules the next time you write new advertising copy. Use them as a checklist to evaluate your existing ads, web pages and sales letters. They're a proven formula you can use to maximize the response you get from all your marketing communications.

How to Write Advertising Copy | ISSUE 03 | 14

How to write efffective ad copy your clients will love!

You started your own freelance writing business, you found clients and landed a job, now how do you go about writing effective ad copy they'll love? This article tells you how.

You got a job as a freelance writer. You know you can write well, but how can you ensure that your clients will love. You can’t…but you can better your chances of success by taking a few simple words of advice.

The first step in writing great copy is to do your research.

Collect all the published background on your market, your industry, and your product that you can find. This will be the basis for your copy. In order to find this necessary information, you have to know where to look and what to look for. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

From your client you can probably get reprints of previously published ads, product brochures, catalog pages, copies of speeches, press kits and releases, user manuals, package copy, testimonials, complaint letters, marketing plans, product specifications, market research studies, back issues of the company newsletter, and samples of the product. On your own you should be able to get examples of competitors’ ads, reprints of articles on the product, product reviews, and press clippings.

You will need to study the material you collect from your client, as well as what you collected on your own.

Highlight the most relevant information, then type that into your computer. Print this out and you have the basis for your copy. After reviewing the source material, you should write down any questions you still need answered. Have your client answer these questions. You cannot be afraid to ask or you will not have everything you need to write the most effective copy. Here are a few questions you might want to ask: 1. What are the product’s features and benefits?

2. Which is the most important benefit?

3. How is your client’s product different from the competitor’s product?

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4. What are the applications of the product?

5. Who will buy the product?

You will likely come up with several more after looking through all of your source material. Once you have the answers to your questions, you should have all the necessary information at your fingertips to write copy your clients will love.

Sometimes, when writing copy, you have to break the rules. The standard rules of the copywriting industry are “Be concise,” and “Use short sentences.” These rules are great 90% of the time, but sometimes the most effective copy is written by breaking these rules.

Short sentences aren’t always best. If you want to express complex ideas and putting them into one sentence makes the connection clearer than if you break them up into short, choppy sentences that make the meaning cloudy. You might think short sentences sound conversational, but sometimes they sound unnatural.

Being concise is usually a good rule to follow, but not if you have to explain something that some readers might not understand. Being too concise won’t ensure that you get your meaning across, so use however many words you need to make sure your audience will follow your meaning.

Just remember, make yourself as knowledgeable about the product you are writing about as possible to ensure great copy. Make sure you do your research and ask any questions you need answered. And know when to break the rules of copywriting. Your clients will love it.

ART & COPY is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time -- people who've profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising's "creative revolution" of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in ART & COPY were responsible for "Just Do It," "I Love NY," "Where's the Beef?," "Got Milk," "Think Different," and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion.

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The Art of Branding Yourself and Your Freelancing Business Just as it is for big corporations, successful branding is essential to the success of a freelancing business and to just one self-employed web worker. It is often times overlooked, most likely because many don’t realize the large benefits that can come from it.

The first thing we think of when we think “brand identity” is a good logo.

A good logo can do wonders for a self-employed freelancer, but branding identity goes far beyond that, into entire website development, content, business cards, and even into offline scenarios. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at ways to define a brand for something as unique as a freelancing business, and what one needs to do to get started on the right track to a successful brand.Before we get into the specifics, let’s take a look at how a brand can help any sort of business. A good brand will lead to success now and in the future, and that is essential for a self-employed person that doesn’t ever want to be forced back into a 9-5 job. If created correctly, a good brand will: * Create a memorable business This will make the clients want to come back to, creating user loyalty. * Create a basis for the business to expand in new ways When launching a new project, a brand can be used to jump-start it successfully. * A good brand confirms credibility This is top concern among many potential clients. * A properly implemented brand will target the right clients This will help finding the right clients looking for exactly your style.

1. Define Your Business Goals Before one even gets started in the design process of branding, one must define what they want the brand to communicate. In order to do that, we must define a few specific things in general, the first being the freelancing business’s goals. Beyond helping to develop a brand, defining business goals will help in a number of other ways. For one, it will help visualize the ultimate goals of the business, helping smaller goals become more proactive in reaching the long-term accomplishments. It will also keep you, as the leader of the business, on track, from personal selfmanagement, to anyone you may be managing in the future. Getting off track is why many businesses fail, and why many freelancers eventually go back to a day job they hate. Goals and a business plan will help you to stay on track.

Take some time aside to set goals properly. Write them down, detail them, and think about them critically.

Goals can help plan the future of a freelancing career for years to come. Below are ten items to keep in mind when setting goals: * Be specific Losing sight of where you’re going is an issue that comes from having no goals, but having unspecific goals will also create this problem.

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* Create a business plan This should be a separate article in itself, but it is a great way to outline goals as well as include finances and tools into accomplishing those goals. * Set short-term goals along with your long-term goals It’s easy to turn ultimate dreams into business goals, as we should, but shorter, more technical goals can track success better. * Keep committed This is an obvious point, but think of lifestyle changes that will help you commit to the goals that are made. For example, if you would like to expand your skill set, set aside a time each day in your schedule to study. * It may help to make goals public Make your freelancing business and goals associated with it as public as possible. If this means sharing with only friends and family, then so be it. It will help to motivate you to complete goals — keeping your business on track. * Be realistic It’s ok to dream high, but don’t set unachievable goals for a time given.

* Have relevant goals If a goal ends up providing little or nothing to the growth of the business, then it is pointless. For example, don’t set a goal to take on another client each week that you can’t handle — this will likely only limit the time you have to grow and market the business in other ways. A relevant goal would be, for example, to expand to more than a 1-man (or 1-woman) operation. * Create an action plan for each goal “I’d like to someday own my own design firm”, is just not good enough. Have a goal-by-goal plan to complete broader goals like this. In other words, make the goal actionable. * Keep everything in line when working on a new goal.

Reaching goals means business and lifestyle changes, so make sure your finances and other forms of security are still tightly in place throughout the process. * Take a step back to analyze the progress Take what you’ve learned onto the next goal. As an example, if you’re trying to market your portfolio better, what marketing strategies worked? Which strategies didn’t work?

2. Define Your Target Audience After defining business and career goals, you need to define who you’ll need to attract to keep the business alive. These people are, of course, the clients. Who is your ideal client? Beyond clients, are you willing to work with others on group projects (i.e. developer and designer)? Who would that ideal partner be?

Target audiences are often more related to one that sells products, or to a blog or other form of website that relies heavily on its visitor count. However, selling services is no different. One must recognize this and take the necessary steps to define their target audience. Both how a brand is designed visually and how it is presented professionally will lean towards a certain type of person. This person should be someone you’d like to work with, as well as the type of person that will help your brand grow.

When seemingly ready to open up Illustrator and start on a logo design, wait one more second and get prepared for the visual aspect of the brand-to-be.

Below are some questions to ask about the target audience before jumping into the design phase of your brand.

What is your design style?

If it is more creative, you may want to appeal to groups that would need a creative website. If it is more Web 2.0 and sleek, you’re going to want to appeal to business owners or vendors of “high-technology fields.”

Consulting agencies, app websites, and other sites of the like would be great targets.

To What Level Are you Willing to Help and Communicate?

It’s true; all clients have varying levels of understanding web technologies, and well, technology in general.

Do you want to attract a client that knows nothing of the web world, in which you will be responsible for providing an easy to maintain website? Or, would you rather communicate with a group of web professionals, sending out the final project to one client? This can dig deeper into clients as well. Attracting a client, for example that is maintaining a site dedicated to some sort of technology may be easier to communicate with about technology if you prefer that. Any other type of website that coincides with the “offline world” though may hold a client that would need a simpler website.

What work would you like to be responsible for?

Many of us don’t like all the work that comes from freelancing. Especially in the world of website creation, many clients want us to do it all — design, develop, market, and more. If you specialize in one area though, it may be beneficial to have part of your target audience be those looking for partnership projects.

For example, if you are a designer, you may want to include web developers in your target audience so that they could contact you to partner up on a bigger project. This way, whether you know how to or not, you wouldn’t be stuck with the coding and you can stick with what you love.

Define it on Paper After asking these questions and researching a bit more, write out your target audience in a list. Each item should not be a single-line type of person, like “Clients with a lot of web experience”, but rather a small very descriptive paragraph. The more detailed the description, the more success you’ll have once it’s time to start the design process of the brand.

3. The Business Name Is it your own name, or a more formal and creative name? This is often times a step overlooked, but it is incredibly relevant to the final goals of the website. If you plan to be the owner of a firm someday, or develop a team of web professionals in any other way, your given name as a brand may not be appropriate.

However, many freelancers chose to grow their business by always freelancing solo, while still outsourcing some of their work. There is a difference in each situation, and a personal name would thrive on this type of business.

Also, bigger names may attract bigger projects, while a personal name would attract many smaller clients.

Depending on what you’d like to do in terms of work greatly depends on the brand’s name. So, in the plainest sense: an alternative name would be more How to Write Advertising Copy | ISSUE 03 | 20

versatile, but your own name as a brand would be more personable and each would lead to a different type of client.

4. The Logo The logo is the first step into the design process of the brand. It is the one graphic that your business will survive upon. Your website, content, and all other design elements must compliment a brand’s logo, as well as work with it towards the ultimate goal of making the sale to the client. Whether designing it yourself or hiring someone else to do it for you — you’ll need to be the one that decides how it will look.

Many times I get clients that let me have too much creative control when it comes to their brand design.

While creative control is always appreciated, when it comes to a brand — that’s a bad choice. Be sure to research and create a plan for the brand of your freelancing business so you can take control.

Everything mentioned so far in this article will come into play for the initial design phase of the brand. The name is an obvious factor, but the target audience and business’s goals will also come into play. Keep a few questions in mind concerning all of this when beginning the logo design phase: * What does the overall style of the logo need to be to attract the right audience? * What type of colors should be used? As different types of colors provoke different emotions, this ties in greatly to the target audience. * How versatile does it need to be? How will it grow with your freelancing as a business? * Does it need to be formatted well with print material as well as web material? * What shape does it need to be, generally (more rounded/square, or rectangular)? This has a lot to do with what materials you’ll be using it on and the format it will need to take when combined with content.

5. Your Website Design, Business Card Design, and Everything Else Now that you have a logo, you’ve gone through much of the design process for nearly everything else that will require design. It only takes a bit more planning to complete the design process. If your brand is very personal, a hand-drawn website design may work well to compliment the logo and brand as a whole. If the brand is Web 2.0, you’ll want a sleek web design, sleek business card design, and sleek, high-end stationary and other printed material.

Because the rest of your design needs can be based primarily off of the logo design, most of the target audience and business goals implementation will come into place naturally. Still, keep them in mind as you develop the brand further. Don’t lose sight of the goals, and always pertain to the original message you’ve planned for.

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6. Write an Elevator Pitch An elevator pitch is traditionally used offline when trying to sell your services in about 30 seconds or less. Preplanning a small speech to sell your stuff can help to include everything you need to, while still having a crafted pitch that is likely to sell. However, as the technologies of web work expand each year, elevator pitches are becoming increasingly important for online freelancers as well. An elevator pitch is very much a part of a brand. What is said in the pitch shares what you do, what your business does, and what you and your business can do for the person reading or hearing your pitch.

When a prospect asks what you do, you should not respond with, “I’m a freelance web designer” or “I’m a freelance writer”. Instead, this is a chance to say, in about 15-30 seconds, what you do in detail. Nobody is interested in a “freelance web designer”, “freelance web developer” or a “freelance writer”. What potential clients are interested in is “a web designer that focuses primarily on user-centric web designs that are both creative and professional” or “a web developer that creates website apps focused around users needs — apps that are designed to sell”.

Realistically, elevator pitches should be even better than the above. Furthermore, they can be used as an introduction to a portfolio, or used on the about page to help make sales there, too. To find out more about elevator pitches and how to write the perfect pitch, check out the resources below.

7. Write an About Page Your about page is where clients and others who may want to work with you can get to know you, before having to make any sort of contact. It should reflect yourself, and the way you do business. Is your brand fun, professional or to-the-point? Most likely, your brand so far has reflected your personality in its own sense already. It’s now up to you to write an about page that can “make the sale“.

If a person has become interested enough to check out the about page, you have somehow convinced them to become at least half-way interested in your services. Hopefully, you’ve attracted the right person based from your declared target audience. If so, how would you talk to this person? Content-wise, you’re going to want to keep to your original style. For example, if you want a more company-like approach, write more formally. For a more creative approach, be personable and fun. Your career choice as a freelancer and the work you do probably already reflects your personality a great deal, so just being yourself is the best option when trying to find a writing style for the about page.

It is of utmost importance to not try to sound like anyone else — your own voice is what makes you different from every other freelancer on the planet.

After figuring in the writing style and how to approach the page, one must outline what to include. Below is a minimum: * Your history in the field and what you do. * Your professional experience, and possibly school experience if present. (A written résumé) * Perhaps a link to a more formal resume. * Contact information, or a link to the contact page.* A relevant note to their problem, and how you can help them. (They need a website, you can make one for them.)

One may want to include other sections that further define their personality and business.

The more a potential client feels they know you, the more likely they’ll be to make contact because you and your business will seem more approachable.

(Keep in mind though that it need not be a 10 page autobiography!)

8. Get Clients to Reach You Now that you have a brand, it’s all about marketing and having clients find you. You’ve created a target audience, identified business goals (both present and future goals), built the brand in a design sense around those two definition, and created content that helps sell your material. This is all great, but at this point your brand is unknown and inactive. Don’t worry though — your brand is supposed to do the work for you, and given the time, it will. Let people know about your brand by getting listed on job websites, doing guest posts, or leaving messages in forums. Generally, marketing is the same — but now you must market your brand as opposed to yourself.

Keeping Consistent In my own experiences with branding, I’ve found myself re-branding and trying out new things. It all came down to the fact that I had never taken the time to correctly brand my business, and specifically, that I had never taken the time to find my true target audience. That forced me to revamp my brand to meet my needs as time went on. I could have avoided the whole mess if I would have taken the time in the beginning.

In the end, that has hurt my business because clients, readers, and other people that keep my business alive didn’t recognize me and my business after each revamp, and it also hurt my credibility. It is essential to keep a brand consistent, for the reasons mentioned above, and for a number of other reasons. Once you lose the brand, you lose all of the benefits that come along with it. If you change a brand, even if it is being changes to better match goals today, it will have to start marketing from base zero once again.

no doubt that we will want to change our brand too. We may grow into a design firm rather than a freelance web designer, or a web developer more so than a designer.

Much of the time a person will be focusing on one area of web work, only to find over time that their skill set and interests have expanded into something completely different. * That’s fine; that’s life — we live, we grow, we change.* The trick now is to not change your brand, but to upgrade it, and develop it further.

This is where our initial goals step into place. With the correct planning of our goals in the first place, we were able to plan ahead for moving forward. Perhaps you were a single, lonely freelancer back in the day you created your brand, but now you’ve finally got a team together as a firm, just as one of your goals stated. If you planned the brand around that goal successfully, you may only need to make a few tweaks, while still making your brand recognizable and overall, the same. * To upgrade a brand, keep a few things consistent: the name, the style, and the main color combination. The name is the most recognizable part of a brand, so that is something you will never want to change. The overall style is very tightly knit into your target audience, and in order to keep your current client base, you’ll want to keep that. Lastly, color is one of the most memorable aspects visually, and most likely is the driving force visual for your brand. Keep this, and you keep the tone and memorable factor of your brand.

Wrapping Up Brand creation is definitely an art in itself, and takes a lot of time to plan.

Don’t rush through this essential step of a freelancing career — having a brand can not only benefit you as a web professional, but also avoid fallbacks and can aid as a form of security.

No matter how big your business is — how big your client base, your team, or your popularity is — develop a plan, a brand around it if you haven’t already.

Then, stick to it, be consistent. It may also be helpful to take a step back if you already have a brand to analyze it. Can it be upgraded or further developed? Are you missing anything essential to your brand thus far?

There are, of course, many more tips and suggestion that could be mentioned, and much of it is a matter of personal experiences.

Updating a Brand As we change as professionals and as people, there is How to Write Advertising Copy | ISSUE 03 | 22

Logo Design A to Z - A Today we begin a new series of posts, going through the many great logotypes we may found these day, and other classic logos. It's always a good thing to remember the ones that were a success, and get to know the fresh new ones. Also, many of these were found at Logopond.com, and we'd love to know if you guys know any more logo galleries out there, so that the next post of the series will be really stuffed with great logos.

Art Generation

ABC Promo

Aipo

Action Now

AD Passion

Analog X

Art Bomb

Arka Photo

Allay

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Allumina

Art films

Andy Fiord

Avifauna

ACI research

Attebury Grain

Amosa

Air Power Turbines

Aslan

Appetite Consulting

Atack

Ajeva

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How to Sell Advertising Ideas

Things You'll Need:

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* Paper Colored pencils and pens Presentation boards Prepared presentation Client or prospect

According to Publicity Times, the average American is exposed to more than 3,000 advertisements every day.

Given this intense competition, selling an effective advertising message can be a difficult job. In order to sell advertising ideas, it is crucial to create messages that will cut through the clutter. With research, thorough brainstorming and concept development, you can design and sell creative, effective advertising ideas.

Step 1 Meet with a client to discuss his advertising needs. Ask questions that will help determine the best use of his advertising dollars. Some crucial issues to discuss include: target audience, current audience, brand awareness and perception, market area, and key age demographics. Take detailed notes.

Step 2 Determine the client's marketing style, which could be conservative, humorous or contemporary. To some degree, the style will be dictated by the target audience. Ask if they have any marketing vehicles in mind, or if they are looking to you for suggestions. Set parameters for budget and campaign timing.

Determine how best to communicate with the client (phone or email) and who responsible parties are.

Step 3 After the client meeting, begin brainstorming ideas.

Choose the top two or three ideas and begin designing concepts based on the advertising medium you have chosen.

Step 4 If the chosen medium is print, begin by creating a sketch of concepts for newspapers, magazines and billboards. The design should contain a headline that 26 | ISSUE 03 | How to Write Advertising Copy

encapsulates the concept. More than one layout version should be created for presentation. The general theme of the body copy should be fleshed out at this point so you can sell the general concept at the presentation.

Step 5 If the chosen medium is television, develop concepts by a drawing storyboard. The storyboard should show a scene-by-scene sketch of what will become the video, with the audio ideas typed below each frame. For radio spots, provide a script of what the announcer will say, as well as suggested music and sound effects.

Step 6 Paste all ideas on presentations boards.

Step 7 Meet with the client to present the ideas. Start the presentation by introducing the approach of the advertising campaign. Explain why it is a good method to reach the target audience. Then show the client the presentation boards depicting the advertising vehicles that will deliver the message.

Step 8 Take accurate notes on the client's likes and dislikes of your presentation. Be willing and ready to adapt your ideas to mesh with their thoughts. Remember: Ultimately, it is the client who needs to be happy. You are selling their product.

Interview with:

Goran Lizdek

art director from the Bosnian advertising agency Communis

1. Hello and thanks for taking the time to do this interview.

3. What first got you into art and design?

Hey, you're welcome. Don't worry about my time, I'm a graphic designer, so we always have plenty of free time in our daily schedule... I also use that time to crack ironic jokes, apparently.

That would probably be the very first drawing that I made, during an art class, in first year of elementary school. My teacher seemed to be quite impressed, which, at the time, was instant fuel for self confidence and for the desire to keep delivering better results.

Although I always knew, for as long as I can remember, that I'm going to end up in Art school, by the time I got there I started realizing that drawing (or any kind of fine art) isn't going to put bread on the table, so the only place where I could commercialize my art, was with graphic design.

2. Can you tell us a little about yourself to help people who aren't familiar with you, get to know you a little better?

Well, I'm 27, I was born in Sarajevo and I graduated advertising design at the Secondary School for Applied Arts. After that, I continued my education by studying graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts and still have that annoying "diploma pending" status.

Currently I work in Communis advertising agency. I can also say that I'm a passionate photographer, so photography itself, plays an important role in my work.

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4. What does your "toolset" consist of?

Let me see... There's this software that everybody seems to be using now, I think it's called Photoshop or something. Besides that, I can't really imagine doing anything visually striking without the help of a good photo, so my Canon gear is my second best friend...

5. What do you enjoy most about your work?

The art of visual communication - the ability to say so much only with images. That gives you work that is so simple and yet so complex at the same time. I just love the feeling you get when you see a great idea, where no other form of communication but the visual exists in that moment, yet everything is crystal clear, and you have an impression as if you've just read a 500 page literal masterpiece. But that's also why I have a major problem with what is known as contemporary art today, especially the meaning of "conceptual" art, because of the lack of

And an iMac with a really big display will make things run real smooth.

communication; there's no more open dialog between the artist and the observer. I think it's rather selfish and egocentric asking others to get fully involved and informed in everything you do just so they could comprehend your message... if there is any.

6. What do you like least about your job?

Soulless commercialization, and the sole fact that our work is mainly still based on built-to-order system. It's like making your babies to some other parents' specifications. And yet, they expect us to put all of our love into the process.

How to Write Advertising Copy | ISSUE 03 | 28

off of course, but as long as it's healthy anger, and as long as you don't go to bed in the evening with a ten ton burden on your chest, you're going to be fine.

9. Many, if not all artists admit music has a major influence on them when creating a new piece of artwork.

What kind of music do you consider to be the best "fuel"?

Actually you might get surprised that I avoid listening to music during work at all costs. I only listen to music if I'm doing something that doesn't require concentration, but when I'm into the mental part of the work, I just can't handle it. I just feel distracted by the fact that only one half of my brain is working on the realization of the idea, while the other half is occupied with listening to the lyrics and beats.

10. Is there someone in particular that's been a major influence to your style/technique?

7. What is your worst enemy of creativity?

Deadlines

8. Designers are always going through ups and downs - creative blocks, can't find enough work and then become overloaded with work, dealing with the stresses, how do you handle it?

I don't really think that there are downs in what we do, everything you do and however you do it, just eventually leads you forward. Now, creative block can be tricky indeed. You just can't train nor educate any graphic designer to come up with a mind blowing idea in the right moment that suits you. It just doesn't work that way, and It's the same problem as with any creative related business. I personally hate those situations, and sometimes I think I would rather do a thousand page text layout, than try to come up with one great idea. As for the stress, well, I had my share of serious stress outside of work, so actually my piece of mind is immune to stress and anxiety caused by work. And I'm really grateful for that. There are simply things to be done, and things that require a bit of your sweat. Sure you're sometimes going to wish that your client is struck by lightning, or a meteorite hits your agency, while you're having a day 29 | ISSUE 03 | How to Write Advertising Copy

In that artistic approach, I think Dave McKean has the most credit. He just thinks in so many different ways, finds symbolism in most unusual places and creates really amazing works full of thought provoking elements. Then of course, there are ex Designer's Republic - those guys just turned the design world upside down with their chaotic visual language and yet they retained everything we always liked about design esthetics. I don't actually know any graphic designer that is not even partially influenced by their work, even if, somehow, they don't know about them at all.

11. With a wide range in style, where do you look for inspiration?

Well, trust me, if I knew where to look for it, I would probably make the answer to the eighth question a lot shorter. I don't know, it's never the same, I just go with my own pace and see where it takes me.

12. Are you currently working in a graphic related field? And if so, what advice would you give to aspiring designers trying to break into the field?

Yes, I work as an art director in Communis. As for the advice, well, as long as you have the ambition, the will, the persistence and love for what you do, everything will fit into place eventually and you will find yourself right where you wanted to be.

13. What do you like/dislike about the digital art community?

Likes: Easy connectivity with the rest of the community and the instant ability to expose and share your work with a very wide audience.

Dislikes: None that I can think of.

14. What does the future hold for you and your work?

Don't know. Haven't talked to an Oracle lately...

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Meet the Artist:

David Waters

INFO: http://www.ishbu.com/

I'm a freelance illustrator based out of Moscow, Idaho and currently in my senior year with the University of Idaho studying Graphic Design. I love swimming and I love finding new movies and music to occupy my time. If you have a project you feel I might be interested in, don't hesitate to contact me!

Meet the Artist:

Baptiste Masse

Meet the Artist:

BossLogic I’m a graphic designer from Melbourne, Australia. I first started drawing when I was 6 years old, I still haven’t taken the pen out of my hand. After transferring my skills to a digital platform i’m still here where I have been working for the past 4 years. I’m still learning new skills along the way and being taught many different styles. I have been trying to create my own and my thirst for knowledge is something that never goes away.

INFO: http://www.dabosslogic.com/

Meet the Artist:

INFO: http://yeahyeahstudio.com

Yeah Yeah Studio Yeah Yeah Studio is a little freelance studio located in Moscow, Russia. Yeah Yeah Studio this is Alexander Tyapochkin's works. I try to make my works maximum colorful, emotional and dynamic with positive energy. I create bright stories using modern graphic. I like to combine modern digital art with traditional drawing, using ink, paints and textures. Such a way gives me maximum possibility to realize my ideas.

Impressions A Look Into Stanky Breath by: Altoids

Excuse me but WTF is that hanging from that guys waist? LOL, Altoids… you’ve out done yourself on this one. Talk about funny, I love the look on the guys face it’s like he knows he did something wrong.

I wonder what the heck he’s hiding behind his back?

So is that supposed to be Groucho Marks or what? I really like all the ads above, Altoids has always found a way to put out good advertising campaigns. From online video pin-ball games to fascinating illustrations Altoids is no stranger to producing quality marketing materials that I’m sure translates into smiling faces and an ever growing customer base.

Advertising School: Miami Ad School Europe, Hamburg, Germany Art Director: Sebastian Burghardt, Gordian Frank Copywriter: Gordian Frank, Sebastian Burghardt Teacher: Michael Schachtner, Y&R New York

De Bijenkorf High Fashion and Tornados

Cool photoshop, great photography‌ I had to post this campaign!

Advertising Agency: Selmore, Amsterdam, Holland Creative Directors: Jakko Achterberg, Niels Westra Art Director: Esin Cittone Copywriter: Dominic Nash Photographer: Fritz Kok Post production: Souverein

Illustration Competition Deadline: January 8, 2010 Entries submitted after that date require a $10 per entry late fee. No entries will be accepted after January 22, 2010.

Enter the most prestigious competition for creativity in illustration, the Communication Arts Illustration Competition.

Any Illustration first printed or produced within the last twelve months prior to the deadline is eligible. Selected by a nationally representative jury of distinguished designers, art directors and illustrators, the winning entries will be distributed worldwide in the Communication Arts Illustration Annual and on commarts.com, assuring important exposure to the creators of this outstanding work. As a service to art directors, designers and art buyers, a comprehensive index will carry contact information of the illustrators represented.

What to Enter: Information on eligibility, categories and fees.

How to Enter: Information on preparation of entries and forms.

Illustration Competition FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions about applications and file formats.

INFO: http://submit2.commarts.com/

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10 Mistakes Logo Designers Can Make When Designing Logos There are many mistakes we can make when designing logos for our clients or even ourselves. I have compiled a list of 10 common mistakes I’ve seen in mine and others work.

1. Beginning the design process without an explicit objective Take the time upfront to meet with your client. Ask them questions about their business, who are the major competitors, what are the goals of this company, who is their audience, etc. Filling out a creative brief with your client is a good habit to get into for starting new projects.

6. Not choosing the right typography Choosing a typeface is an important part of the logo design process. Helvetica and Times are not the only options and in most cases are not the appropriate option either. Take the time to find the right one and then refine and tweak it as necessary.

7. Not considering the applications the logo will need to be used in.

2. Designing in a vacuum Not knowing what your clients competition is doing can be detrimental. Take the time to talk with your client about the competition, then do some further research on your own. It will help you to arrive a stronger solution in the end.

3. Not being able to answer the question “Why?”

It’s easy to create a detailed logo that doesn’t reproduce well in all applications. Understand your clients needs and limitations when design the logo.

8. Using computer/application tricks The computer is a great tool, but it will not make your bad logo good. Adding effects, like bevels or shadows, etc., to dress up a bad logo will not make it better.

Not having a solid strategy or rationale behind your design that ties in with the clients business objectives can make it hard to defend and sell the logo to your client. Personal tastes are easily introduced when all the designer has to say is, “This logo is cool.” If you can’t answer why, it’s also highly likely, you as the designer haven’t adequately considered your clients needs and business strategy.

Narrow down your concepts for the first client review to about 3-5 concepts, which is adequate in most cases.

Use your skills as a designer to pick the most appropriate designs. By doing this you eliminate the crap and will also streamline the whole process.

4. Going to the computer too early in the design process

10. Presenting a design you don’t want the client to choose

Start your concepts with paper and pencil. Going to the computer to early can limit your creativity. It is much easier to work loose and quickly on paper.

If you have a design you don’t want the client to choose, JUST DON’T SHOW IT. All too many times the client chooses the one we don’t want them to. Why give them the option?

5. Not listening to feedback from someone because of who they are All feedback is valuable. Swallow your ego, and listen, you never know what insight you might find.

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9. Showing too many options to the client

Secrets from the world's top 20 web designers What makes a world-class designer? It's a simple question and yet once we started compiling this list we realised it's not at all simple to answer. Is it about pushing boundaries or holding fast to traditional principles? Should the body of work be judged on aesthetics or usability? Is fame or notoriety important, or just a distraction?

Ultimately, we've tried to balance all these considerations and more, and picked 20 figures who we all feel act as a beacon of inspiration to web builders everywhere. We hope you agree …

Jonathan Snook Snook.ca "Design influence comes from multiple places," Snook says. "Sometimes that's from other designers. I do find myself more readily influenced by design in other mediums such as books, magazines and architecture.

I'm particularly drawn to multi-storey buildings and how they embrace repetition while providing visual separation at various levels. I've always felt a connection to web design and its long, vertical nature."

Snook is quick to praise the work of his peers and singles out Jesse Bennett-Chamberlain (31three.com). "Not only does he have a nice design aesthetic, I think he also solves technical problems with design very well."

Snook's advice to up-and-coming designers? "It's healthy to start the process by mimicking what other designers do. As you expand your horizons, you'll begin to develop a style of your own."

Jason Santa Maria Jasonsantamaria.com You'll know Jason Santa Maria's work even if you haven't gone looking for it. WordPress? That's one of his. A List Apart? Ma.gnolia's logo? Dictionary.com? Yep, yep and yep. "For me, inspiration is easy, but motivation is tougher," he explains. "I get fiercely inspired by print design, specifically editorial and book design. Just walking through a library makes me want to draw for days on end.

Larissa Meek larissameek.com It's the same old story: you're on a reality TV programme, you start a blog, you fall in love with WordPress and before long you're creative director with AgencyNet, picking up awards for your antismoking site OwnYourC.com (which, thanks to a recent and dramatic revamp, should mean more gongs).

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Larissa Meek's story isn't quite that simple, however: she was a 3D animator long before anyone pointed a TV camera at her, and moving to Flash and CSS was a natural progression. So what inspires her? "I love playing with new visuals, but the most important aspect of inspiration is having an organising thought," she says.

Andy Rutledge andyrutledge.com The chief design strategist of Unit Interactive points out that the secret of successful design has more to do with perspiration than inspiration; that said, he's "inspired by anything and everything – just not every time. A game, a conversation, a book, packaging on a product at the grocery store, the layout of a restaurant; I never know what might inspire me or why inspiration strikes. But I tend not to rely on inspiration as a necessary component to good work."

Rutledge is particularly proud of redesigning Woot.com, which meant "launching a complete surprise redesign of a site with more than two million opinionated users, on whom Woot relies to make daily purchases – no pressure!". It could have been a $165m mistake; it wasn't. "It's become an ongoing project with many moving parts and additional components added regularly," Rutledge says.

"Every one of my staff have and are working with Woot designers and developers every week … It's an allround team success in my book." What other designers does Rutledge rate? "How much room do you have here?" he says.

"This is a hard one, as my jaw drops quite frequently due to the design efforts of all sorts of people. Doug Bowman has been pretty darned consistent in producing jaw-dropping work that spans quite the breadth of context and application. That's nearly impossible to do impossibly well, and yet he's been doing it for quite a while."

Dan Cederholm Simplebits.com The founder of SimpleBits and co-founder of Cork'd is famed for his expertise in standards-based design, attracting clients including Google, MTV and ESPN. He also "plays a mean ukelele and occasionally wears a baseball cap".

From turning MTV's Flash extravaganza into clean XHTML/CSS to the stunning redesign of Mac audio firm Rogue Amoeba, Cederholm practises what he preaches in his books Handcrafted CSS, Bulletproof Web Design and Web Standards Solutions.

Eric Jordan www.2advanced.com The founder of 2Advanced designs cutting-edge Flash for clients such as Adobe and Ford, but one of his favourite projects is version 3 of 2Advanced.com. "It was one of those projects that just didn't need a lot of revisions, over-thinking or storyboarding," he recalls.

goes, I have to mention Paul Rand, Carlos Segura and David Carson for their importance in design history," he says. "As for the web, I really admire Vitor Lourenço, one of the designers behind Twitter. I love the simplicity of his work and how efficient it is. There are more guys, such as Collis Ta'eed from Envato, Jason Santa Maria and Jeffrey Zeldman, and there are the graphic designers, guys like James White, Joshua Davis, Eduardo Recife, Scott Hansen and many others."

Mike Precious Mikeprecious.com Asked to pick a favourite project, Mike Precious plumps for Candy Bouquet. "It represented an open and flexible collaboration environment between the client and myself," he explains. "The end result, with a few compromises, represents one of the web dev projects I produced with exceptional results." It's a typically gorgeous Precious production.

"It was created at a time when Flash was relatively new and so you could feel this electricity in the air. It all just came together like magic. The site ended up winning the Adobe & FWA's most influential site of the decade award in 2006."

Where does this stuff come from? "I find my greatest source of inspiration comes from being away from anything to do with computers, the web and the daily grind of design disciplines," he explains. "For example, I recently designed and built a flagstone patio out the back of my home. I had the opportunity to get outdoors and experience a whole new palette of colours, textures, sizes and materials."

Jordan rates the "fascinating" Peter Jaworowski of Ars Thanea: "His design is so vibrant and intricate; it's full of detail and love". But he worries that the work of too many young designers is becoming "excruciatingly minimalised due to the emergence of the Appledesign mentality that has been sweeping the industry".

Such projects often feed into his work, as does online inspiration including "CSS galleries, Twitter and the occasional trip to YouTube for an informative or comedic video". His peers are another key influence.

"Hats off to my colleague, Jesse Bennett-Chamberlain," he says.

His advice for new designers? "If you don't set yourself apart and you simply jump into the Web 2.0 glossybutton bandwagon you'll get lost in all the noise. Do what you do best, and don't be apologetic. When all is said and done you'll be recognised for how unique your work is."

ÂŤI've known Jesse for a number of years now, and while entering the web development community after working in print, he was a mentor and major influence both on the creative side of design and, even more so, in the technicalities of design. Other influences include Derek Nelson and Jason Santa Maria."

Fabio Sasso Abduzeedo.com

Mark Boulton www.markboulton.co.uk

Abduzeedo is one of the most inspiring design sites on the internet, with stacks of hands-on tutorials from Sasso himself. If we were feeling trite, we'd say it's proof that every cloud has a silver lining, as Sasso started the site "after I had lost all my stuff when my office was robbed".

But we aren't, so we won't.

Mark Boulton used to work for Agency.com in London as an art director before working as senior designer for the BBC in Cardiff. "This was before I took leave of my senses and formed my own design consultancy, Mark Boulton Design," he explains.

His recent book Five Simple Steps has been described as a "triumph" (Jon Hicks), "The best web design book you can buy" (Malarkey) and "better than sex" by A List Apart (with the addendum: "Of course, being a magazine, I've never had sex").

"I believe the most important thing is understanding the context of the work you have to get the inspiration for," Sasso says. "The first thing for me is to understand what I have to do and for who I'll be designing for, the target audience. Then I'll limit my possibilities and that will make the process of finding inspiration more efficient in books, sites and pretty much everywhere."

Veerle Pieters veerle.duoh.com

So which designers inspire him? "As far as influence

The standards evangelist and CEO of Duoh! has a How to Write Advertising Copy | ISSUE 03 | 48

dream: "My dream is that I have a small contribution in making the interweb a better place," she says. Pieters is particularly proud of the four years she spent working with the US Library of Congress on its Learning Page project: "They were always very challenging, most creative and a lot of fun." And if we were to describe Pieters' work in a single word, fun would do nicely. There's a real sense of warmth and joy to her design work, whether it's a logo or a corporate CMS. "I usually get inspired the most if I'm in a happy mood, not pressured, a bit disconnected with the real world even," Pieters says.

"For me, inspiration has a lot to do with how I feel. In general if I'm happy I'm very perceptive for ideas. I often get ideas right before I fall asleep." Which designers make her jaw drop? "There are many," she says. "At the top of my list are Scott Hansen of ISO50, Robert Lindström of North Kingdom, James White and the very talented illustrator from Spain Mónica Calvo."

Douglas Bowman Stopdesign.com Twitter's creative director is "helping change the world, 140 characters at a time". Before joining Twitter, Bowman was visual design lead for an obscure dotcom called Google, and prior to that his Stopdesign firm built acclaimed sites and online applications for the likes of Blogger, Adaptive Path and Cathay Pacific Airways.

"In a world where data bits flow abundantly, our minds have developed filters to sift through the overflow of useless and badly designed information," he writes. "The presence of design should simplify and facilitate our everyday life, enable us to accomplish our tasks more effectively, and help us enjoy them along the way."

Jason Hickner www.varywell.com Hickner's favourite project isn't a website: it's Ektos, an energy management system he and his brother Ryan created. "We developed some pretty intense predictive algorithms," he says. "So far we've saved customers over $20million in electricity, and offset about 100,000 tons of Co2." Hickner is particularly excited by the possibilities of multi-touch overlays and augmented reality. "What if there were no physical signage?" he asks. "No billboards, no street signs, but whatever signage you wanted to see was drawn directly onto your retina. Imagine glowing arrows leading you to your destination, or pointing out your friends nearby. See something interesting?

Make a gesture with your eye (up, then right?) to Google it. Write a column of numbers on paper and make an eye gesture to total them. I think we're on the edge of the most interesting and transformative technology we've seen yet, and I can't wait to build applications for it."

«Good problems are all around us, but they're hard to see because we've grown accustomed to most of the 49 | ISSUE 03 | How to Write Advertising Copy

small inefficiencies and inconveniences that are built into the things we use," Hickner says.

"Try to get in the habit of seeing everything new. Instead of just using everyday objects and interfaces, pretend you're designing them. Really see their flaws, and think about what you would do differently. You probably have three or four good design problems within a few feet of you right now."

Brendan Dawes www.brendandawes.com magneticNorth's creative director is an author, soughtafter speaker, Flash guru, a designer whose work has been showcased in the New York Museum of Modern Art, a blogger, a masked vigilante, and a man who admits to being inspired by Waitrose. Only one of those things isn't true, and it isn't the Waitrose bit. "I try to notice things that quite often go unnoticed and try to fill my head with lots of disparate crap – usually nothing to do with computers, the web or any such stuff," he explains.

"For instance, wandering around Waitrose is like a master class in typography. It may not be cool, but I've never cared about such things."

Anatoly Zenkov www.anatolyzenkov.com "I can do anything," says the strapline on Zenkov's website. From conceiving, modelling and programming a multi-user musical game to developing websites for MTV, his Flash work is characterised by its vivid visual style. For Zenkov, inspiration can come from anywhere. "When I was a child I got an A2 size sketchbook, which was half of my height. And I had a dream of drawing the whole world on it, everything I that I knew and had seen. That old dream became the basis of Termit's site conception."

At other times, Zenkov deliberately tries things he isn't good at. "I'm a bad photographer, so I began to play photographer, sometimes a real one," he says. "An example of such mimicry is the actual front page of my own website."

Roxik Roxik.com The word "genius" is bandied about all too frequently in design circles, but we think Roxik, aka Masayuki Kido, deserves the title. His Eco Zoo was the deserved winner of the .net Awards Interactive Site of the Year, and his 3D engine demos appear to have been beamed in from another planet.

Cameron Moll www.cameronmoll.com With plaudits from the likes of Jeffrey Zeldman, books such as CSS Mastery (the second edition of which will be out later this year), a must-read blog and a portfolio of beautiful websites under his belt, you'd expect Cameron Moll to have a giant, rampaging ego. Nope.

«I'm not at a point in my career, and perhaps I'll never be, where I'm satisfied with the body of work I've produced," he says modestly. "I'm certain that I have much better work to produce." For Moll, inspiration can come from "just about anywhere. I grew up playing drums. I love astronomy. I did a lot of woodworking when I was younger. I'm enamoured by letterpress. I have four wonderful sons and a beautiful wife. All of these people and activities are partly or wholly some form of creativity, and ultimately a source of inspiration.

It isn't difficult to draw ideas from these sources that in turn influence my work."

Moll is also "constantly inspired by the potential of upcoming designers. I love meeting other designers, especially those just beginning their careers, when I travel to speak at conferences. They'll often ask how I got where I am today with conference speaking, book writing and the like, and usually at some point in my reply I'll tell them that I expect to see them doing the same sometime later in their career. Plus, I'm competitive by nature, so it pushes me to be better, knowing some of the best talent we've yet to see is just around the corner." What advice would he offer?

"Master the instrument of design by studying and emulating work from those designers you admire most.

Spend less time trying to define who you'll become and more time studying the greats that have come before you, past and present. Your artistic personality and individuality will emerge more readily and sustainably if you first become a great designer, second one who is known for a particular style or niche – not usually the other way around."

Shaun Inman www.shauninman.com You create the intriguing www.designologue.com, sort out web typography by creating the sIFR (Shaun Inman Flash Replacement), and build the highly rated Mint analytics system.

Carlos Ulloa www.carlosulloa.com As if creating Papervision3D wasn't enough, Carlos Ulloa also produces beautiful work for firms such as Sony and Absolut. "I find inspiration in all things people enjoy," he says, "from nature itself, animals and plants to the latest interactive work being created on the PS3 and the iPhone. I'm also very interested in toys and games of all kinds."

"I love the work of Media Molecule in LittleBigPlanet, but also Q-Games for their PixelJunk games," he says. "On the iPhone, Simon Oliver never ceases to amaze me with the Rolando series. On the web my heart belongs to Hi-ReS! Having worked for them, I admire their work even more. I also like the attention to detail of unit9 and Grupo W from Mexico. And looking at the younger generations, I'm a big fan of the work of my friends Barcinski & Jeanjean."

The rally car on Ulloa's website is coming to the iPhone in a game called Helloracer, and there's also the small matter of Ulloa's studio website, HelloEnjoy.com, which will be unwrapped in September. "It's the most technically advanced piece I've worked on, but it's the interaction that makes it very special. After too many months fine-tuning it, I'm very happy with the result."

Martin Hughes www.martin-h.com As famous for their irreverent attitude as their skills, it's perhaps unsurprising that WEFAIL have become the goto guys for the more interesting bits of the music business, with a client roster including Eminem and the Dixie Chicks. Co-founder Hughes' own site is a bloody, disturbing mess, and we mean that as a compliment.

"In the early days I found inspiration from print designers and dragged all that into Flash, where I'd then ruin it all with my own take on it," Hughes says. "But nowadays I've become blinkered by my own stuff and haven't looked beyond it to see what everyone else is doing.

"That makes me a bad designer, shameful. But the last time I did actually lift my head up and had a look at what was going on in design land, it all looked a bit rubbish." In addition to his own site – "I feel I really poured my soul out, you know, about losing my hair. It was the most difficult chapter of the site to work on, so many memories and tears came flooding out, and I think it shows" – Hughes is particularly proud of Julian Velard's site. "It was the last job that we pretty much had free reign over, so we could make it in any way we saw fit."

Who does Hughes rate? "Early Hi-ReS!, the movie sites they made … Donnie Darko and Requiem for a Dream, wonderful sites," he says. "I'll always love Neasden Control Centre and Michael C. Place, too."

Thierry Loa, aka Dr Hello www.hellohello.bz Hello Hello is rapidly running out of room for its various awards, and no wonder: Thierry Loa's been doing some jaw-dropping things with Flash, ranging from "surrealist presentations" for an architecture website to powerful corporate CMSes. Of his myriad projects, Loa is particularly proud of the &Co Architects and MIKO Corporation websites, which enabled him "to explore and undertake interesting approaches to online communication and design". The good doctor is a writer, screenwriter, director, producer and proud user of a Pilot V7 rollerball pen with a 0.7mm tip.

«I always like to say that design is just a subset of what I do," he says. "Other creative disciplines inspire me a lot too, because to me design is just one form of creative communication and problem solving." Loa cites Dan Friedman's book, Radical Modernism, as a key influence. "That book and his words made me realise a very important thing," Loa explains. "Designers should be, above all, thinkers!"

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Meet the Artist:

Jerico Santander Illustration, Art Direction, Digital Art INFO: http://www.behance.net/Jerico

Meet the Artist:

Dariusz Palarczyk INFO: http://dariuszpalarczyk.pl/ Design, Advertising, Web Design

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Meet the Artist: Magomed Dovjenko INFO: http://dovjenko.net

My name is Magomed Dovjenko. I'm a young-yet expirienced freelance illustrator, residing in germany/cologne, Originally from russia, chechnya.

I love graphic design,illustration, typogrpahy .

I'm also part of the select multi-disciplinary collective the kdu - the keystone design union.

Meet the Artist:

Girish Gopal Girish Gopal, born in 1981, Gods Own Country [Kerala], South zone , India. He has more than 5 years of experience in brand designing. Currently he is working in Bangalore as freelance designer. He believes desire to excellence and clean observation makes one professional.

His expertise varies in digital sketching, branding to web design.

INFO: http://www.feb2481.com

Meet the Artist:

Courtney Mason INFO: http://punkychicken.com

Courtney Mason is a graphic designer/ illustrator from Detroit Michigan. She has studied classes ranging anywhere from graphic design to photography and painting. Nevertheless, Courtney’s true love lay with the creation of digital art and design. “This media has given me the opportunity to accurately express my own personality and depict the elements that make this world beautiful.�

Meet the Artist:

INFO: http://www.sonmisonmi.com

Julia Sonmi Heglund Julia is a designer and illustrator based in Madison, WI. She enjoys imagery that brings intrigue; whether it be through the mystical, the bizarre, or the grotesque. Graduating with a bachelor's degree in art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006, Julia utilizes her roots in fine art with her interest in child-like styles, creating whimsical worlds with sublime elements to allure the viewer's mind.

Meet the Artist:

Catalina Estrada

INFO: http://www.katika.net/

My name is Catalina Estrada and was born and raised in MedellĂ­n, Colombia, where I graduated with a degree in Graphic Design. In 1999 I moved to Barcelona and earned a degree in Plastic Arts. I work as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer in Barcelona.

33 Sexy Portfolio Designs To Inspire You Today designing a unique, compelling portfolio has become a crucial task for designers, studios, companies and everyone whose business is on the Web. Not only does it help one stand out among the numerous competitors, but it is also a great tool for self-expression and demonstration of skills. Now designers face new challenges in attracting the capricious web audience – a plain web page with a project list on it is out of date and boring, while fancy Flash websites with intricate navigation are annoying. Fortunately, despite all difficulties beautiful and artistic designs are appearing in an endless stream. Designers skillfully use all the benefits of the digital age and create websites that are rich in effects and eye-popping yet simple and accessible.

25AH

Alt Design

Arteye

INFO: http://25ah.se/

INFO: http://www.alt-design.net/

INFO: http://www.arteye.com/

Attack of the Web

Dubai

Blue Pixel

INFO: http://www.attackoftheweb.co.uk/

INFO: http://www.bluebeetle.me/

INFO: http://bluepixel.net/

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Camellie

Filipe Carvalho

DaZa

INFO: http://www.camellie.com/

INFO: http://www.randomthoughtpattern.com/

INFO: http://daza.altervista.org/index.htm

Designchapel

Esteban Mu単oz

Flourish Web Design

INFO: http://designchapel.com/

INFO: http://www.estebanmunoz.com/

INFO: http://www.floridaflourish.com/

Fran Boot

Glasshouse

Gomedia

INFO: http://www.narfstuff.co.uk

INFO: http://www.glasshouse.co.za/

INFO: http://www.gomedia.us/

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HALO Creative Agency

IAAH

Joby

INFO: http://www.haloagency.net/

INFO: http://www.iamalwayshungry.com/

INFO: http://www.joby.in/

Johnny does

Kashmir Creative

Kidd81

INFO: http://johnnydoes.nl/

INFO: http://www.kashmircreative.com/

INFO: http://www.kidd81.com/

Koray Kibar

Moxie Sozo

Mutant Labs

INFO: http://www.koraykibar.com/

INFO: http://www.moxiesozo.com/

INFO: http://mutantlabs.co.uk/

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NEPOMUK

Nora Rose Travis

Perceptor

INFO: http://www.nepomukworld.com/

INFO: http://www.norarosetravis.com/

INFO: http://perceptor.nl/

Project 365

PSD to XHTML Conversion

Puppetbrain

INFO: http://www.project365.co.uk/

INFO: http://www.xhtmlcssexpert.com/

INFO: http://www.puppetbrain.com/

Safarista Design

Sahar Design

ThousandMinds

INFO: http://www.safarista.com/

INFO: http://www.sahardesign.com/

INFO: http://thousandminds.com/

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CORNFIELD

Cornfield d.o.o.

Pofalićka 3/1 | 71000 - Sarajevo| Bosna i Hercegovina telefon telefax

+ 387 33 658 177 + 387 33 658 117

web e-mail

www.cornfield.ba info@cornfield.ba

Meet the Artist:

Zutto

INFO: http://zuttoworld.com/

Hello! My name is Zutto. I am russian-based illustrator. I am always availible for freelance work and collaboration.

The Summit International Awards (SIA) organization is dedicated to furthering excellence in the communications industry. It administers rigorous awards competitions throughout the year with the goal of recognizing companies that excel.

Throughout its sixteen-year history, the SIA has established itself as one of the premier arbiters of creative and communication excellence. Companies and individuals, from more than 50 countries and five continents, participate in the awards programs.

Using rigorous evaluative criteria and blind judging processes, its competitions reward only those firms and individuals truly deserving of special recognition.

The SIA organization conducts three competitions annually:

Summit Creative Awards The Summit Creative Award (SCA) - Recognizes creative excellence in companies and individuals with billing under $30 million. Includes all media and industries.

Marketing Effectiveness Award The Summit Marketing Effectiveness Award (MEA) - A unique competitive arena where the judging criteria is based on the true purpose of marketing communications; to influence the consumer’s knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs.

Creative samples and a short brief are included in the evaluation The Summit Emerging Media Award (EMA) - Created to identify the world's communication pioneers. Those pushing the bounds of the communication badlands. All forms of emerging media are explored, examined and awarded.

INFO: http://www.summitawards.com/ 73 | ISSUE 03 | How to Write Advertising Copy

Meet the Artist:

Kai Isselhorst

I am an Illustrator and Designer living and working in Dinslaken, Germany

Im a state approved Design Assistant and studied Communication Design during the last 4 Semesters at Niederrhein University for applied sciences in Krefeld, Germany.

Im currently looking for employment in the field of Design and of course, freelance work.

INFO: http://www.dopaminart.com

Meet the Artist:

Kjegwan Leihitu INFO: http://www.imaginarysenses.com

ith: w w e i Interv

n e l A

c i v o n a Aj

01. Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Alen Ajanovic. I was born in Sarajevo 1.6.1973. Bosnia and Herzegovina, where, during my secondary school I finished Goldsmith handicraft. I was mostly interested in drawings and illustration geting more and more occupied with studying and copying the masterpieces of other traditional artists, taking more serious steps in collecting practical experience.

Willing to continue, finally I am starting my next step at Academy Of Fine Arts in Sarajevo in 1995 and intensively start to work with various techniques on canvas and other kinds of medium, having few 79 | ISSUE 03 | How to Write Advertising Copy

individual and group exhibitions in and out of home country. As interesting medium, in middle 1990’s, digital graphics comes to stage, creating 2d, 3d graphics, TV animations, presentations, and web design. Today, I still live in Sarajevo and work as an illustrator and animator for TV productions, graphics and post production tasks, web design and although rarelly game level developing.

02. What inspired you to become an artist?

To say what inspired me is hard cos it just happened in my early childhood when the pencil became my everyday companion drawing things from my mind that comes from music I listened, books I red, movies I watched‌ 03. You are undoubtedly at the top half of many people’s inspiration list, but who are your inspirations

08. Lastly thanks for doing the interview, anything you would like to add?

Thank you very much taking me in condiraion. I would have one advice for everybody who wants to make arts: dont search inspiration in other artists but in yourself.

Looking at others work mess up you mind and you will appritiate less your own work. Be yourself, and you will develop faster and be more happy :) Wish you good inspiration :) Alen thank you very much for answering our questions So if you want to visit Alen and his works you should do that now Visit http://www.ajanovic.co.ba

as an artist?

As an artist that I liked are few classic traditional painters like Caravaggio, Rembrandt and other who worked on light and drama. Who ever paints good dramatic scene with good composition and message, that kind of artist catches my eye on. There are many modern artists I like so it would be unfair to say who is the best among them. Lets say that Frank Frazetta is one of them.

04. What are you opinions on art as an expression and art made to just look pretty?

For this kind of questions there are critics. But my personal appinion is that everybody has right to like what he wants and needs so, the quality of work can be hidden only in explaination of an artist and his work. By the way what is the difference between traditional artist and modern product designer? For me both of them are artists for its purpose with their crafts.

05. What things do you do to try and push yourself further as an artist?

Watch around me, read, think, learn, comunicate‌ 06. What tools do you use to create your art?

It depends on situation, idea and purpose.

Unfortunately, deadlines can be crucial very often and it affects quality. Sometimes its traditional tools sometimes digital. There is no rule I suppose.

07. What does the future hold for your website and artwork?

I dont know. I will keep on working if others likes my work or not :) How to Write Advertising Copy | ISSUE 03 | 80

Meet the Artist:

iLK™

INFO: http://www.ilkilkilk.com/

iLK™ is a little freelance studio located in Paris, France. I make art direction, graphic design, illustration and a few things like identity, web, print, photography. Sometimes i can work with two ugly but very cool guys, a flash and web developer Sebousan, or an other graphic designer Tyrsa.

Meet the Artist: INFO: http://iunewind.com/

iunewind

I livening in city Samara, this is in Russia. No, I not have any “matreshka” and I see live bear only in zoo :). And I not drink vodka each day:) I have many other interests – I like CG, 3D, games, movies, books, music, sport (bike and ju-do), girls, and nature.

My first site I make 10 years ago, professional web designer - 7 years ago As you can see, my English is not good. Sorry about this.

Meet the Artist:

Andy Julia Andy started photography for many years. After learning drawing, painting and history of Arts at beaux Arts school and following technical audiovisual/pgotography formation in France, he began working as an assistant at Daylight Studios in Paris, often working with Willy Vanderpeere.

INFO: http://www.andy-julia-photography.com

Meet the Artist:

Okapi Studio

INFO: http://www.okapistudio.com/

OkapiStudio is a multidisciplinary creative shop, encompassing talents that excel in full advertising services, brand strategy, graphic, web and motion design. We help companies in the research and development process and we fine tune their brand and positioning by carefully planing each move.

We do print campaigns or new media, application design, website interfaces, industrial projects where we are shaping things from common objects like furniture and home equipment to full scale real habitable places. We love to experiment new ideas and break barriers when it comes to our imagination and skills. We might go to sleep at 5 in the morning and sometimes we might not sleep at all. Environment is not something that we adapt to but the thing that bends around our ways of life.

Meet the Artist:

Loic Sattler Loic Sattler is a French Art Director experienced in web, multimedia, print collateral, clothes styling, and corporate identity. He studied Media Communication and Multimedia for 2 years at the university Louis Pasteur (France), as well as 2 years in multimedia creation / theory at the European Institute of Design (France).

INFO: http://www.lysergid.com

Meet the Artist:

INFO: http://www.xtrabold.net/

Nelson Balaban My name is Nelson Balaban, I was born in June 12th 1989, in Curitiba, Souther Brazil. I love graphic design, arts, illustration and typography.

Interview with:

Jasmin

Fazlagic v

INFO: http://jasminfazlagic.com/

I dislike having no work to do. In those times I feel as if my gas pedal is pushed to the limit, while the gear is still shifted in neutral position.

5. Who`s your worst enemy in terms of creativity?

Your worst enemy in terms of creativity can be a uncreative client.

6. What are you doing when starting a new project and having no ideas at all?

Usually I donʼt start any projects unless I have an idea.

And ideas usually come to mind during meetings and

1. Who are you and what are you doing?

Jasmin Fazlagić, I work as a photographer.

2. Describe your typical day at work.

Because of the nature of my job, which is non-typical, I don`t have any typical days.

3. What do you enjoy the most about your job?

I enjoy fashion photography the most, and also taking pictures of landscapes in my spare time.

4. What do you dislike the most about your job?

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conversations with clients. If it didnʼt work that way, my job would end up in a failure.

7. What inspires you the most?

I`m very inspired when Iʼm surrounded with people who know how to do their job right.

8. Do you listen to music when you work? If so, what type of music?

I listen to music on a regular basis. When I work with other people in studio, itʼs usually some trendy music, because I need to set some mood during the shooting, and when I`m working on postprocessing, it`s usually Buddha bar or some ambiental classics.

9. How do you cope with criticism?

I have no problems with criticism, as long as it`s based on arguments and critic`s professionality. I lose nerves when I listen to criticism coming from people outside the visual industry, who don`t even know how to do their own job in a propriate way.

10. How does your working environment look like?

Very neat and tidy.

bigger budgets.

15. Please name three persons we should do this same interview with (and why them?)

Maybe those three misfallen members of our Presidency.

Jasmin thank you very much for answering our questions

11. Do you remember the first project you were working at?

No project, but I remember my first shooting I did 13 years ago, when I was still working for newspapers. There was a monkey who bit a man. I took a picture of it for the local column in Dnevni Avaz.

12. Are there any tips you would like to share with our readers?

I don`t share any tips. I leave that to the people who do it as a part of their profession.

Read the answer number nine.

13. Which of your previous projects was most fun?

I had the most fun shooting photos of traditional folklore clothing of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I traveled a lot and I learned a lot about traditional values of our people.

14. Think about your life in 15 years… what will you be doing?

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Meet the Artist:

INFO: http://www.mosk.pl

Maciej Mizer Maciej is a graphic designer based in Lodz/Poland specializing in illustrations, 3D graphics, web design and photography.

Senior Self Defense Academy Old People Kick Ass!

So this is what happens if you mess with old folks who have been through the senior self defense academy! Good god man… what are they teaching these people? From the looks of it they’re rouge ninja assassins!

Gotta love the fake tattoos on these guys. Can you believe it was somebody’s job to think of what these guys should be wearing, etc. Somebody actually took the time to pick out that tattoo and put it right there… purposefully. I notice these things.

Advertising Agency: 10 advertising, Antwerp, Belgium Creative Director: Denis Ghys Copywriter: Robin Dhondt Art Director: Steven de Vreese Photographer: Kris De Smet Account Manager: Barbele Walraet

Red Tape Shoes Sex, Sex, Sex… Sells Shoes?

“Red Tape is a footwear and apparels brand that symbolizes the ultimate male psyche, naughty, playful and obsessed about women. ‘Live your fantasy’ presents the male psyche in its simplest form, pure desire.” I don’t know what guy has a fantasy of having a fishing tank full of women but err that’s pretty twisted… I don’t get it. I’d rather do something were we’d at least be able to talk. Different strokes for different folks! LOL. I still don’t know what any of these ads have to do with shoes but errr okay.

Oh good god… I’ve seen enough!

Advertising Agency: Makani Creatives, India Creative Directors: Ashish Makani, Sameer Makani Art Directors: Sachin Padave, Bhushan B. Dalvi Copywriters: Sachin Padave, Varun Dahisaria Photographer: Vibhash Tiwari

Questions to ask clients before designing their website As with any project you start, gathering essential information upfront is not only beneficial to a successful deliverable but will also save you and your client plenty of headaches throughout the process and pave the way to a lasting and trusting relationship. The more information you have equals the smoother the project goes — which in turn sets the tone for a good designer/client relationship. Some of the questions below can be applied to more then just website design so I broke them down into sections for better functionality for your clients.

Company-related questions 1- Do you currently have a website? What is the URL? 2- Describe the products/services you sell.

3- Who are your main competitors? How do you differ?

4- What are your top 3 frustrations with your current website?

5- What do you like most about your current website?

6- What do your current competitors website have that you aspire to?

7- Age range of your target client base

Project-related questions 8- Technical skill level of your client base. Have a scale ranging from zero to ten with zero being the least technologically skilled and ten being the best.

9- Will your visitors require any special needs? Mobile version of site, multiple language support, larger type for easier reading, etc.)

10- Imagine your website in 5 years from now.

Complete the sentence: I know my website works because‌ 11- Name 3 things that are most important about the design of your new website.

12- Name 3 things that is least important in the design of your new website.

13- Do you have any color preferences, existing brand colors, and/or colors you do/not wish to include?

14- What are some existing websites that appeal to you? Provide links if possible.

15- Deadline, timing or exact date of completion for your website 99 | ISSUE 03 | How to Write Advertising Copy

16- Do you have a budget you are trying to meet?

Additional questions 17- Do you need to be able to update the website on your own? (ie: CMS) 18- Will this be an e-commerce website? Will you be selling any products or taking payments on your website?

19- Do you need a copywriter? If you are using existing copy on your current website, will it need to be modified in any way?

20- Is your logo and other imagery web ready?

21- Do you have all images that you would like to be included in your website or would you like the designer to use imagery where appropriate?

22- How will you be updating the site in the future (if they are not using a CMS)?

23- Will you be needing an additional SEO help (registering with search engines, adding businesses to Google Business Center, Analytic setup, etc.)

24- Do you already have a domain and host setup for your new website? If so, do you have the FTP and host log in information accessible?

25- Any specific features you would like included? Log in ability, calendars, forums, blog, subscription services (RSS, email or newsletters)?

As with logo questionnaire, I also like to leave my clients with a field or extra room at the end where they can provide additional details and comments.

Also next to each question that may not be so obvious what you are asking them I like to provided additional explanation, examples or notes. For example, when asking them if the need their site to be built on a CMS, I ask if they will be frequently updating (daily or weekly) or only updating once every 6 months or so. Speaking in terms that clients understand will also help to build trust

— nothing is worse then spending your money on something you have no idea what you are getting. In short, save the nerd talk.

It’s always important to remember that being a graphic designer means you are a problem solver. You cannot solve a problem without knowing what the problem is – ask questions.

20 Questions To Ask Clients Prior To Designing A Logo Before starting any project it’s essential to get the right preliminary information from your clients. This will help pave the way to a successful project, assist in bringing client’s vision into perspective and build a lasting relationship.

Many of the questions below will also help in putting together an accurate quote for your client. Things such as deadlines, usage, etc. should take into account pricing.

Since my primary focus in is logo design, below are 20 questions to ask your clients prior to beginning their new logo design. Also, many of these questions can be applied to other forms of design, so feel free to integrate them into your questions for various forms of print and web design. *COMPANY-RELATED QUESTIONS* 1- How would you describe your services and/or products?

2- What are the long term goals of your company?

3- Why do you want a new logo? (if they already have one) What do you want your new logo to accomplish?

This question helps to understand the problem.

4- Who are your main competitors?

Having clients provide links allows you to get a better feel for their market and competition.

5- How are you different from your competitors?

6- What’s the age range of your target customer base?

Helps in creating an overall feeling and impression of the logo. *PROJECT-RELATED QUESTIONS* 7- Do you have a tag line? If so, would you like it stated along side your logo?

8- Do you have any specific imagery in mind for your logo?

9- Do you have any color preferences, or existing brand colors?

10- Do you have any colors that you do not wish to use?

11- What adjectives should best describe your logo?

12- What feeling or message do you want your logo to convey to those who view it?

13- How do you prefer your logo to be worded or written out?

Example: thedesigncubicle or the design cubicle 14- How would you like the typography to appear?

Example: script, bold, light, hand drawn, custom lettering 15- Where will you logo be used?

Example: print, web…

16- Where will your logo primarily be used?

If the primary usage is for the web, typically horizontal logos work best.

17- What’s your preferred deadline, time frame or exact date of completion?

18- Budget?

This is where I provide various pricing and concept numbers.

19- Would you like any addition design services to be packaged with your new logo?

Example: business cards, envelops, letterheads, etc.

20- What logos appeal to you and why?

Another question they can also with links and visual examples.

I also like to leave my clients with a field or extra room at the end where they can provide additional details and comments. Remember, being a graphic designer means you are a problem solver. You cannot solve a problem without knowing what the problem is – asking questions is a great start.

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What a logo does not have to be or do Often when designing a logo, designers and clients often focus on what their logo should be. In this article, I focus on the exact opposite: What a logo does not have to be or do. A logo does NOT have to…

…be overly complicated Often times when designing a logo we tend to think too hard and incorporate as much as possible into a logo, thus over complicating it. Instead, try simplifying the logo — yes, sometimes less is more! Here’s what a nonoverly complicated logo can provide your business: » Flexibility: your logo will be easier to read and interpreted at various sizes, especially when scaled down to smaller sizes. » Recognizable: the more elements your logo has the more the brain has to remember various elements that make it the face of your business, in turn making it less… » Memorable: overly complicated logos tend to be less memorable. Think about some of the most successful logos: Nike, Apple, McDonalds… I bet I could give you a pencil and paper and regardless if you are a great artist you could reproduce them.

…be accompanied by a mark or symbol.

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Often when many of us think of a logo, we often think of a symbol or mark, but this isn’t necessary for every logo.

Try using a quality typeface or designing your own custom type from scratch.

Examples of successful companies with text only logos: » Netflix » Sony » Johnson & Johnson » Philips » UrbanOutfitters …have a tagline.

Sure it’s great to have a company tagline or slogan, but it’s typically best to leave it off the logo. Lengthy taglines typically require really small type to fit within reason of the logo size, making it illegible, while other times can make your logo appear cluttered and stuffed.

…be HUGE! When designing any material that includes your logo, your logo does not have to be huge. When’s the last time you read an advertisement and decided to go with that companies product because they had a big

ol’ logo that stood out more than anything else on the page?

If your brand message is intriguing enough a prospect will look for and acknowledge the logo that represents your brand. Here’s a funny (and very true) video for your viewing pleasure: Make My Logo Bigger Cream

…be neon colored.

Sure we all want our logos to be memorable and recognizable, but neon colors are not the answer!

Effective and memorable logos are well executed and appropriate to your company’s message and brand.

Use color to provoke feeling, not just to attract attention.

…the same.

As a logo designer, you’d be surprised by how many clients approach me with their competitors logo and ask me for “something similar.” I usually follow up with the question, “Why? Why would you want to look like something/someone you are trying to compete against? Why would you want a potential customer to

mistaken you for another company?”

The goal of a logo should be to differentiate, stand out, and represent your business.

…follow trends.

When you think of trends typically the first thing that comes to mind is clothing and the fashion industry. Ask yourself this: What do you do with clothes that go out of style? You either throw them away or toss them far into your closet to never been seen or worn again.

A good logo isn’t cheap, so why would you want to reinvest your money into it next year? Good logos are timeless and should grow with your company.

…tell the entire story.

A logo is only the beginning for setting the tone for your brand. Your logo does not need to say exactly what your company does. Does Apple use computers in their logo? Does McDonald’s display cheeseburgers?

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Meet the Artist:

Mauro Ramalho INFO: http://www.mramalho.com.br/ I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1980.

Graduated in Industrial Design at Belas Artes College.

Last year, I was invited to work at Organic in Toronto, Canada, where I'm responsible to take part in leading design project as a Senior Art Director and direct senior assistants in defining goals.

Brainstorming is the successful monthly spin-off of DDS “Idea is all”. Each issue gives you an in-depth guide to a different creative subject, and future issues will covere themes such as print design, web design, Photoshop, typography, packaging, creative advertising, and how to start your own design business. Inside every edition, you’ll find great step-by-step tutorials and tips from the best digital artists in the business, showcases and profiles of upand-coming talent and established creatives, as well as explorative features on the subject in hand.

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