All Posts, Blog, Branding, Business Strategy, Facebook, How to, PRESS RELEASE, Social Media
This post is part of our Reluctant Social Media Manager series, support for those of us who want measurable social media results with the least amount of effort.
This year has been full of excitement for Design Theory, and this summer is no exception. Earlier this year we launched new services including Managed Hosting, Social Media Management, and the profitable sales tool Automated Virtual Chat.
We’re pleased to announce that starting this summer we will be providing Facebook Training Classes for the Orlando area. We’ve developed a curriculum that will take any Facebook Business Page manager from novice to expert. Our classes cover all of the basics – setting up and managing a Facebook Page, Facebook Best Practices, and Advertising. We’ll go into some advanced topics such as: Managing Ads, Campaign Optimization, Targeting and Insights.
In February I provided a talk on Facebook advertising at WordCamp Miami (you can watch it here) and the response was overwhelming. I was flooded with so many questions after the session, that I realized there is a need for classroom style Facebook training. There are tons of resources online to help you learn how to leverage Facebook for your business, but if you’re like me – there’s nothing like having someone sit with you and work on your own website.
Our classes are designed to be hands on, lab-style. Our students will bring their own machines and log into their own Facebook Pages with me right there in the room guiding them each step of the way. Our first classes will be held later this summer. Click here to join our waitlist and receive a discount on your first class.
Share this email with any entrepreneur you know who could use a little Facebook Management assistance.
All Posts, Blog, Branding, Marketing
This post is part of our Reluctant Social Media Manager series, support for those of us who want measurable social media results with the least amount of effort.
We all know engagement on Facebook is almost a requirement for any online businesses. There are millions of daily active users on Facebook, and the ability to engage and connect with your audience on Facebook is so simple it’s scary. Have you ever seen a Facebook Business page or group that posts constantly but the engagement is non existent? Posts that get less than 10 likes, or no shares, or no comments? That business is putting in the work but they aren’t getting the results. Today we’re going to outline the 4 main types of blog posts that provide engagement that matters. Here at Design Theory, we thrive on results, and we can get those results by working smarter instead of harder – that’s even better. Let’s go….
- Share Articles – Let’s started with the easiest form of Facebook posts, sharing content from other sources. Even though this sounds simple, the key here is sharing content that appeals to your audience. Choose a few content leaders and articles within your industry that will resonate with your audience. Did you know, and articles with shock value work well in this space. Here’s an example, we have a client that sells natural hair and skin care. We recommended that they share articles like “10 reasons why your Lotion isn’t safe”. An easy way to do this is to utilize tools like Buffer or DrumUp. Buffer allows you to schedule almost any article or image to be posted to your Facebook page, and it’s free! DrumUp is another free tool that automatically gather content for you based on the keyword you specify. The free version allows you to read and schedule your posts.
- Engagement Posts – These posts take a little more time, and rely on meme’s and images to capture attention. Here are some examples of engagement posts:
- Tag a friend who….
- Polls or Surveys
- This or That using images
- What’s your favorite brand/thing about this/thing to do when…
- Note: Captivating images work best here, try and find attention grabbing images. They don’t have to directly relate to your post, it can be a tangential relation (i.e. an image of a melted ice cream cone, with a post reading “What do you do when…”). There are plenty of free image websites that can give you the content for your posts. Try sites like PicJumbo, and Pixabay to get some awesome images for your posts.
- Sales Posts – These posts highlight a specific product and sales price with a clear call to action. Utilize a link directly to your MailChimp or Infusionsoft account, or directly to your shopping cart. Pictures or videos should ALWAYS accompany these types of posts. These are also great candidates for Facebook boosted posts or ads. We’ll talk in a future post about frequency, but for now sale posts should be the LEAST used type of post on your Facebook page or group.
- Original Content – And finally we get to the most time intensive type of post, but arguably the most effective. Original content allows your audience to know you, know your brand, and make a lifetime connection. Behind the scenes images and videos (using Facebook Live) are awesome ways to create original content without having to spend a lot of time or money on ads. Provide your fans with value by giving them information, statistics on things important to them, insight on how you have positively impacted your community or client base with your product or services. Lastly, provide lots selfies or images that represent your business, product, or service.
Remember that balance between these 4 strategies is key to success. Don’t forget to respond, reply, and engage – and most importantly BE CONSISTENT. After reading this blueprint – what actions are you going to take now to promote your Facebook Page Business? Let us know on our Facebook page, we’ll like your business page AND follow up with you as an accountability partner.
All Posts, Branding, Color, Entertainment, Events, FIFA World Cup 2014, Graphic Design, Marketing
Have you been living, with every moment of this World Cup? I’ve been, I got my heartbroken a couple times, had my shares of glory and my deep, intense conversation after each game.
There’s another side of the World Cup that also fascinates me, the designs; the talent behind the sport, the magic that lives behind this world class event. If you read my last post, Designing for the World Cup I shared a bit of the basic logo design for the event; but today I will share what amazing designers had been doing around the world to showcase the FIFA World Cup 2014.
1. I love this one!
32 | 64 | 90 is an international creative showcase, featuring a curated group of 32 creatives from the 32 competing countries in this year’s World Cup. Representing their national teams, the creatives will produce original 90 minute artworks that document their nation’s journey through the tournament. After each match, the artworks by creatives from the two competing nations are presented side by side documenting their team’s performance and fortunes. Match by match, in victory and defeat, triumph and disaster, the collected images from the 64 matches in the tournament will provide a unique creative expression of the ‘World Cup muse’ as it has visited each team, each country and each creative. See the amazing images here.
2. Is your favorite here?
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is an homage, a tribute to those football heroes. Digitally Inspired Media have created a series of exclusive posters for the star contenders of the World Cup, inspired the titles of blockbuster films that justify the dedicated traits of each player better than the respective movies itself. To create these posters, they incorporated a cutting-edge crystal design, symbolizing the presence of a singular, strong inner core with an outer surface that is capable of transcending boundaries and achieve the impossible, much like our heroes who give everything they have for the spirit of the most beautiful game ever played. See the designs here.
3. An image for each team
ESPN commissioned Brazilian artist and graphic designer Cristiano Siqueira to create a series of uniquely designed images in celebration of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Each piece tells a unique story of the heroes who will lead their countries on the pitch this summer along with an artistic representation of each of the 32 team nicknames. The artwork is a celebration of the unbridled passion that only the World Cup can evoke around the globe. See the posters here.
Have you seen any interesting design during this World Cup? What do you think about the ones showcased here?
All Posts, Blog, Branding, Entertainment, Events, FIFA World Cup 2014, Graphic Design, Marketing, Product Reviews, Typography
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international men’s association football tournament that is scheduled to take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014. It will be the second time that Brazil has hosted the competition, the previous being in 1950. Brazil was elected unchallenged as host nation in 2007 after the international football federation, FIFA, decreed that the tournament would be staged in South America for the first time since 1978 in Argentina, and the fifth time overall.
With this amazing event on the scope, we are definitely researching all the designs created to bring the FIFA World Cup to life. Logo, video game, ball, trophy, shirts and much more; lets discover them. The Official Logo forms the cornerstone of the event’s brand identity. From the fans to the commercial affiliates and every single piece of event merchandise, this logo represents the association with football’s flagship event and lives on long after it is over, logged in the memories of everyone involved. The winning nation’s especially.
Past World Cup Logos
Role of the logo
- provide a strong, visual representation of both the event and the host country
Selection Process
FIFA World Cup, when FIFA and the Brazil Local Organizing Committee (LOC) had to consider how to characterize a nation as colorful and vibrant as Brazil – a country with a rich traditional cultural heritage, yet rapidly emerging as one of the world’s most modern and influential economies.
- 25 Brazilian-based agencies submit designs for the Official Emblem of the 2014
- over 125 submissions were received by the time of the competition’s closing date
- reviewed by FIFA and the LOC and eventually reduced to a shortlist of designs.
Who picked the official Logo?
The task of picking the winner was awarded to a high-profile seven-strong judging panel, largely selected from the host country.
- Architect Oscar Niemeyer
- Designer Hans Donner
- Supermodel Gisele Bundchen
- Author Paulo Coelho
- Singer/Actress Ivete Sangalo
- Football figure Ricardo Teixeira
- FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke
The winner logo
- Title: Inspiration
- Inspiration: from an iconic photograph of three victorious hands together raising the world’s most famous trophy
- Simbols: the portrayal of the hands is symbolic of the yellow and green hands of Brazil warmly welcoming the world to Brazil
- Elements: victory and union
- Colors: yellow and green
- Typography: contemporary
- Message: the unique bond between FIFA, the FIFA World Cup and Brazil
The message that is clear from this emblem is the idea of the unique bond between FIFA, the FIFA World Cup™ and Brazil.
What do you think about the logo? Do you like it?
All Posts, Branding, Content & Copywriting, Events, Graphic Design, News & Politics, Product Reviews
If you had been reading this blog for quite a bit, you already know my love for Olympic Games, specially my love for designs related to Olympic Games. This time is not an exception to the rule, the Sochi Olympic Winter Games give me another opportunity to enjoy Olympic Designs.
Every Olympic Game begins with a logo, and Sochi really have a memorable one.
- unveiled in December 2009
- this logo consists of typefaces and have no drawings
- features futuristic lettering with letters and numbers that partially mirror each other
- the first olympic logo to bundle a web address right in the logo
- the sochi logo came from a design team at the Interbrand Agency
This is the first time in Olympic history, a public vote was held to decide the mascots for the 2014 Winter Olympics
- the mascots were officially unveiled on February 26, 2011
- The winners of the public vote were a polar bear, a European hare, and an Amur leopard
- A Ray of Light and a Snowflake were selected to be the mascots of the Paralympic Games
Sochi Olympic Tickets, were designed to reflect diversity of Russia
- the ticket design use the Games’ symbols and its “patchwork quilt” imagery
- all tickets will be color-coded according to one of the five venue color concepts
- on the souvenir tickets for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Winter Games, a stylized image of the Fisht Olympic Stadium replaces the pictogram (Sochi 2014)
At last we will see the great design for the Winter Olympic Medals, to be honest, I really love this design
- 1,300 medals had been made for the 2014 Winter Games. More than past years because of 12 new events debuting in Sochi
- a combination of glass and metal had been used to reflect the landscape of Sochi, with its snowy peaks and sandy beaches
- their “patchwork quilt” design aims to capture the various cultures and ethnicities of the Russian Federation
- the Olympic gold medals are not made of pure gold, they contain 525 grams of silver with a 960 hallmark and 6 grams of gold with a 999 hallmark, which is a purity standard for precious metals
- This is so cool – some of the medals will have pieces of the Chelyabinsk meteorite embedded in them, according to the BBC. This meteor fell from the sky last year and crashed into a lake
Personally, my favorites are the medals. What about you, what designs you had been eyen during this Sochi Winter Olympic Games?
All Posts, Branding, Color, Graphic Design, How to, Vocabulary terms
Color is very important especially to designers. A design would certainly look empty without the element of colors. It has a great impact on a business, on marketing and even in one’s emotions. As a designer we should pay attention to the little things, especially the one which can make the design work to be perfect. Color is one of the most important part in a design. The use and selection of the right colors can give a good impression, it can even make your design emerged as a remarkable work.
Color is a sensation that is transmitted to the brain; this creates an effect on our body and especially on our own psychological attitude.
Function
Color plays a vitally important role in the world in which we live. Color can sway thinking, change actions, and cause reactions. It can irritate or soothe your eyes, raise your blood pressure or suppress your appetite. When used in the right ways, color can even save on energy consumption.
When used well, color communicates clearly and powerfully. When not used well, it can mislead or weaken the graphic design’s message. Deliberate use of color includes determining its meaning from the beginning of the design process and carefully applying it. As a powerful form of communication, color is irreplaceable.
Meaning
Red means “stop” and green means “go.” Traffic lights send this universal message. Likewise, the colors used for a product, web site, business card, or logo cause powerful reactions. Color Matters!
In graphic design, the meaning of color depends on its audience, not only based on personal preferences, but in cultural terms. For example, white signifies purity and innocence in Western culture, while in China, it represents death and mourning. Still, designers count on certain meanings of color being shared universally, like pastels equaling sweet and feminine, or primaries conveying boldness or appealing to children.
Some colors deliver different meanings to different professions. Green, for example, indicates profit in the financial industry, environmental-consciousness or safety to engineers, and infection to medical professionals.
Meaning
Apply The right color choice will give a proper impression of the designs, and make sure that the colors used are true representations of your design ( logo / brand, etc.). If you are using two or three colors together in a design, just make sure the colors look harmonious.
Be practical. Use common sense and accumulated experience. Search ways in which you see color used to communicate effectively to you. Look at material, web sites, programs that you like; look at posters, maps, signs and ads that attract you, that guide you, that inform you. Learn from these, as well as those that you almost miss, those that confuse you, those that drive you away.
Study whatever you can get your hands on. The more you know, the better you will be at making better color choices or avoiding bad color choices. You will realize when you make bad color choices, because people can’t always agree on what they like, but most of the time, they agree in what they don’t like.
How much attention do you pay to the colors in your designs?
