Archive for the ‘Graphic Design’ Category
By Amanda Simpson | June 20, 2011
Your marketing materials may target various demographics, but they should also present a consistent message about your brand; including the features, benefits and quality of your products. When potential customers encounter your business card, brochure, catalog, billboard, television ad, website or other marketing materials, it should be apparent they have a connection with the same brand.
Here are 5 ways to keep your brand consistent:
1. Use similar graphics on each piece
Keeping the imagery similar and repeating some elements across different materials and media creates a clear connection between them all, making sure those who encounter multiple pieces ‘get’ the repetition. Without doing this, your pieces may seem to be disconnected as if they each advertise a different brand.
2. Place key graphics in similar locations
If there is a focal image for the campaign, or even just your logo, keeping it placed in the same or similar place on each piece helps create that cohesive feel that speaks to people of a solid, consistent brand. …Read more »
By Justin Mather | June 20, 2011
RSA’s print department is like a well-oiled machine, a machine that runs on variety and creativity. Our passion is providing clients with top-notch designs and superb customer service. We thrive on the day-to-day challenge of conjuring fresh ideas for effective graphic design. No two projects are ever the same – and we love that! Here are some of our latest endeavors:
- Dakotah Steakhouse menus, billboards, print ads and table toppers
- South Dakota Lottery game POS and banners
- Jolly Lane billboards and newsprint
- Sturgis Rally magazine ads
- Sioux Empire Fair event guide and newsprint
- Black Hills BBQ Festival billboards and posters
- American Sprayed Fibers Inc. logo
- Casa Real mailer, restaurant and bar menus
- Reptile Gardens posters, brochures, billboards and van wrap
- MyTown.kotatv.com logo
- Security First Bank annual report and brochure
- South Dakota Community Foundation annual dinner collateral materials
- Wyoming State Fair event guide, billboards, newsprint and magazine ads
- Western Dakota Tech car wrap
- Ramada Inn & Suites rack cards and billboards
- Wheel Jam posters and print ads
- Rapid Transit outdoor signage
- McDonald’s signage and billboards
- Coupongous logo
- 24/7 Intoximeter brochure
Our expert team truly enjoys helping clients keep their print projects and brands consistent, yet fresh. Far too many times we see brands using a variety of fonts, colors and logos from one design to the next, making for an inconsistent design and confusing brand. We know it’s tempting to try designing everything on the cheap, but realize when you hire us you are hiring a team of professionals who eat, sleep and breathe design every day.
Ask our clients, then become one. We’ll make sure your product or service is highlighted in a uniquely creative way.
- Justin Mather, Print Production Director
By Justin Mather | March 3, 2011
[When asked to write a post for the RSA blog I thought, hey I'm not a writer - and what was I even going to write about? Think Justin....think! Then it happened, my WDT intern Pierre (his name has been changed to protect his innocence) walked in and said "what's goin’ on?" And just like that I had a topic. I tried to get Pierre to write this, but he's lazy and doesn't prioritize very well. You know, he puts school and his job before his internship. Silly intern. Anyway, here's my masterpiece…]
Don't forget my coffee
We love us some interns!
Each year many brave souls apply for various internship positions here at Robert Sharp & Associates, and each year we select a few candidates who show us they want to learn and are excited about what they can do. When they show up for work, we show them what an ad agency is all about: sex, drugs and Facebook!
An internship at RSA starts with you getting me coffee and a Taco John’s breakfast burrito (relax, I’ll pay every third time) and ends with …Read more »
By Kyle McCabe | October 6, 2010
Sometimes your color preference doesn't matter...
As Amanda mentioned in her recent post on designing professional logos, designers tend to approach their work in a different way than many people think. Our decisions aren’t arbitrary – it’s not like ordering food, where you just pick whatever you happen to like at the time. There needs to be purpose.
Many of the decisions designers make are based on some external criteria. In this business, that’s usually the audience being catered to. A common experience, however, is for the client on a project to override some such decision based on their own personal preference.
Often, however, the client isn’t even part of the desired audience. So while their preference might be relevant because they own the project, it doesn’t necessarily help the project be more effective. …Read more »
By Amanda Simpson | September 28, 2010
Professional logos
I don’t know how many times I’ve started a project for a new client when I hear those soul-crushing words, “The client will be sending the logo later today, it was designed by [the vice-president's wife/the boss' daughter for a high school art project/So-and-so's neighbor's son Johnny - don't worry, he's into computers...].” Yeah, you get the picture.
Why does this frustrate me so? It’s simple. Your logo is one of the most important parts of your brand, and it can make or break your company. An easily recognizable brand allows your company to stand out from the competition, and builds trust and loyalty in your customers. A well-designed logo will help build a strong brand, and it’s not something to skimp on.
This takes me back to why Johnny, the neighbors boy, should not be designing your logo. Johnny might have some artistic ability, and that’s great. But he’s not …Read more »
By Aubrey Watts | May 25, 2010
Integrated media; balanced marketing
Lost within the maze of our office, sitting in front of his Mac – probably playing video games – is Justin Mather, one of our graphic design veterans. Last week we bribed him to sit down and spit out a few notes about traditional advertising. Here’s the dirt:
Traditional advertising has been around a long time, much longer than anyone reading this. Today, it still plays a vital role in the success of any business. The technological aspects of marketing are changing fast, but traditional media is still a great way to consistently reach large numbers of potential customers, particularly for local advertisers. …Read more »
By Kyle McCabe | March 2, 2010
Who cares what the glass looks like...is the beer any good?
Who cares how a website looks if it doesn’t work?
Well, the owner of the site, usually. Many of the websites I’ve built over the years have been for clients who care very much how their websites look, and often make decisions to enhance that aesthetic quality at the expense of usability (the ease with which a person uses the website).
Of course the “look” of a site is important. A website needs to draw and engage the eye quickly, or at the very least, not make the visitor puke on their keyboard (here, this might help you with that).
But drawing the eye is only part of the equation. Readers familiar with this subject might here expect me to talk about “function”, and how it needs to take precedence over “form.” In other words, don’t sacrifice usability for flashy eye-candy. But we all understand that, don’t we? …Read more »
By Kyle McCabe | January 14, 2010
Whenever I sit down to go through ideas for blog posts, I inevitably think of a few that sound great, only to realize hey, we already wrote that one. A lot of the things we wrote about last year are still relevant even now – maybe more so.
Looking back through our logs, it’s no surprise to find some content was more popular than others. After all, we’re still experimenting to find the sort of thing you, our readers, find most useful.
To make sure you didn’t miss any of the good ones from last year, here’s a short list of our most viewed posts from 2009.
Why Good Customer Service Is So Important
5 Reasons Not to Cut Your Marketing Budget in a Recession
Elements of Internet Marketing
Going Nuts? Don’t Cut your Marketing
Should You Put Video On Your Website?
Understanding Web Design
14 Practical Uses For Social Media
–
Photo courtesy of kevinzim
By Kyle McCabe | September 29, 2009
She's right...
What is “good” web design? Many people don’t understand what makes websites good or bad, and some are even surprised to learn that effective web design takes time, and isn’t cheap. Let me explain…
When you look at a website, you’re looking at an end product. Like a car, there’s really no indication of what went into the creation of the product. We can break it down into its individual parts – wheels, pistons, frame, gears – but we don’t know *why* they, specifically, were used in its construction, or how to acquire and assemble the right types of parts for another car.
Who decides what’s good?
Most of us probably don’t understand how cars are designed, and have only a basic understanding of how they work. But we do know how to use them. We call them “sweet” or “clunker,” seeing distinctions in quality based on various attributes, such as age, safety, power, or utility.
Let’s dwell on that for a second. The designers and engineers who build these complex machines understand them a gazillion times better than you or I, and yet *we* are the arbiters of automotive quality? How does that work? …Read more »
By Allan Emerson | January 6, 2009
As a business, you have many options for delivering your message to your target market. Be it a billboard, newspaper ad, television spot or some dude in a chicken suit standing on the corner handing out flyers – each has specific techniques for maximizing its effectiveness. When incorporating your website as part of that message delivery system, it’s important to remember the web is its own medium and must be treated as such. All media types are unique and beautiful snowflakes… or something to that effect.
…Read more »
