A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO PRESS CHECKS Going to your first press check and don’t know what to expect? A press check is the final step before the project goes to print so you can make sure the files are going to print exactly as you (or your company) envisioned. It’s important to know how to conduct yourself heading in, since a press check is your last chance to alter aspects of the piece before dozens, hundreds, or maybe even [...]
START MAKING SNAPCHAT ADS Snapchat filters are a great tool for businesses to promote themselves, but now Snapchat has recently developed Snapchat Ad Manager, where businesses can create full advertisements that pop up while Snapchat users are viewing stories and subscriptions. Because this feature is relatively new, it is a great opportunity for your business to tap into early on and be one of the first to utilize Snapchat Ads. The Snapchat Ad Manager guides users through [...]
THE DO'S AND DON'TS OF EMAIL MARKETING Email is a tricky marketing tool, in the sense that every day, inboxes are flooded with emails – especially from large companies. However, many people are also overwhelmed on the daily by many other types of advertising (web, print, social media). With all of this in mind, how can you stand out from the crowd and get increased engagement from your subscribers? There is a lot of strategizing that goes into email marketing, [...]
STEER YOUR BUSINESS TO SUCCESS WITH VEHICLE WRAPS In need of a unique way to advertise your business? You may want to consider getting a vehicle wrap. Vehicle wraps are often created from large vinyl stickers that are applied to the vehicle. What a Designer Needs: A blueprint of the vehicle. Getting an official vehicle blueprint is crucial in beginning the design process for this type of project. It gives the designer(s) a better idea of the [...]
STAYING ORGANIZED IN A CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT Having a lot of projects at hand is not a bad problem to have. Having a lot of projects and being disorganized IS a bad problem to have, but is an easy problem to solve. At ocreations, we deal with many clients at once, and at times we have multiple people working on the same project. How do we stay organized? Here are some of our tips: Have a Place to Save [...]
GIFS – Where and How to Use Them Effectively in Marketing and Advertising The beloved GIF – whether you pronounce it like “gift” without the “t”, or like “jiff”, these little graphics are making a big impression in the world of marketing and advertising. GIFs are often created from movie clips or shows and used for casual texts or tweets. However, GIFs can be used for many other purposes in the professional realm. Here are some ideas to add [...]
ARE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS BEACH-BOD READY? Just like working out at the gym and getting your beach body ready, it’s important to make sure your business social media accounts are ready for the summer! Here are a few ideas for your social media accounts have a little bit of fun this season: SHOW THE BRAND/COMPANY HAVING FUN Does your company host summer company picnics? Do your employees do any team-building exercises? Anything that shows your company can [...]
Trademarks and Copyrights and Registered Trademarks, Oh My! If there’s a group of legal terms we often say as if they’re interchangeable, those words are trademark, copyright, and registered trademark. All are similar, but have very distinct meanings. It’s important to know the difference, especially since these are different legal terms that provide different legal coverages. Here are the basics of what you need to know: COPYRIGHT © Copyrights are denoted by the icon ©. Copyrights date back to the [...]
COMING SOON: THE IMPORTANCE OF LANDING PAGES There’s an irony to the name landing pages, because they’re usually used when a brand is taking off! Landing pages can be used for multiple purposes, but one of the more prominent uses of a landing page is for a coming soon page for a website. Here’s why it’s important to create and publish a landing page to act as a “coming soon” page while you’re building a full website. It Buys [...]
UX IN GRAPHIC DESIGN UX design, or user experience design, is a rapidly growing career path in the creative industry. Although UX design jobs are very different from graphic design jobs, it is important that each understands and utilizes the other’s methods during every project. It is highly important that graphic designers not only design something that is visually appealing, but something that is also functionally appealing. Here are some things that UX designers do that graphic designers should [...]
