Saying Thank You – By Hand
How do you thank your customers? In this season of thanksgiving, we’re reminded of all the ways we can be thankful. Your customers are crucial to the success of your business. Do you take the time to thank them for…
Clarissa Kane
The Power of a Good Photo
Can you think of a time you were emotionally moved by a photo or when you saw something that caused you to pause? Photography is hugely influential in graphic design and can be the very basis of every other design…
Print Jobs: What Do I Need to Know?
There are many questions to consider when working with a printer for a custom print job. If you are unfamiliar with the world of print and its many terms, it can feel intimidating to approach a business about the job…
Lessons from the Tourism Industry
I love the tourism industry. In Iowa and around the world, the heart of tourism is welcoming people into an experience. Each person’s experience is customizable to their interests and creates a memory – an association with a place. Travel…
Proofreading Tips
No matter your writing experience level, all professionals benefit from the practice of proofreading. Even those who are experts in sentence structure and grammar make mistakes now and again. The key is to have a process in place that allows…
Design is About People
“Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design – it’s decoration.” I find this quote by web designer Jeffrey Zeldman quite striking. I believe that the most successful design and that which is most satisfying to…
Email Marketing Considerations
Good email marketing can be surprisingly difficult to produce. There are several considerations that will increase the effectiveness of your emails and their value to your reader. Here is my shortlist: 1. What does my reader want to know? Deliver…
Typography in Design
Typography is an essential element of layout design, one that can stand alone – without images or graphics or icons – if suited for the design purpose and executed well. Because I am intrigued by the meaning of words, I…
AP Style Guide
All professionals should have tools of the trade – one of a writer’s tools is a stylebook. The Associated Press published the 55th edition of its stylebook at the beginning of this year. For more than 30 years, this reference…
White Space is Not Your Enemy
When I was in college, I remember my sister taking a communications class that required a textbook titled White Space is Not Your Enemy by Kim Golombisky and Rebecca Hagen. It turns out that she kept it, so I borrowed…