Designs By Sarah - Graphic Design and Print

A new website for tv watchin'

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:05:00 +0000

A website to keep an eye on is Hulu, which just opened today to the public. It's a website devoted to showing popular tv shows and movies for free - you will be able to watch them with no pesky commercials or interruptions. Unfortunately, the videos are not yet available in this geographic area, but hopefully they will be soon. Check out Ad Age's article to learn more...Still, I prefer good ol' TV: the commercials make good laundry/cooking/bathroom breaks. Plus, if I were to get hooked watching shows that are at my beck and call, I might just sit here watching the Simpsons for 103 hours straight.

I didn't think writing would be this hard!

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:51:00 +0000

I admit I have been putting off writing articles and posts for my blog lately. It's difficult to come up with new things to be opinionated about. Without ranting like a maniac, that is...

I was thinking to myself, "Why do we even need graphic design? Why not just have everything plain with a white background and boring black text and no pictures, kind of like Apple or Volkswagon?" Of course, these two companies stand out with their elegant, simple look. A hundred million of them would be harder to tell apart.

I went further to check out Adbusters.org to see what they had to say about it. After all, isn't Adbusters against ads? And therefore graphic design, logos, marketing, and other identity branding?

I was a little shocked to read their plan to "bring down the rich" (The Rich Stand Accused From Adbusters #75, JAN-FEB 2008).

Yes, graphic design can be used for non-profit purposes, as it is a form of communication. But that won't pay the bills. From my point of view, I am not one of the rich who are using up the planet. I struggle to pay bills like many young people. And yet, we live like kings compared to those in the rest of the world...Perhaps there is a way to live in the balance of consuming less, while still seeking profits...

Some bitter Valentine's wishes...

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:33:00 +0000

Go to Shoebox's blog for a cute video about rejected Valentine's Day cards

Happy Imbolc and St Brigid's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:24:00 +0000

Just a quick note to say it's a beautiful sunny day and if it is like this tomorrow, the groundhog will probably see his shadow. Six more months of winter?

I have been hard at work writing out my business plan and it is almost time to turn it in to the SEB people. I still need to interview a few prospective clients so off I go!

PS It is Morgan's Birthday today! He is 28.

Viking Kittens...gotta love 'em

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 23:28:00 +0000

Click here for a cute flash video of viking kittens...

New dimensions

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:58:00 +0000

Even though this is my Designs by Sarah blog, I have decided to add some things that I find fascinating even if they are a bit of a tangent. For a wonderful fictional account of England in the 9th century, please visit this site for the Circle of Ceridwen. You'll find the trilogy along with a wealth of facts and historical tidbits for the medievally minded.

Movies and RPG: together at last

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:09:00 +0000

Jerry Bruckheimer's announcement this week that he will co-produce original video games with MTV Games prompts an intriguing question: Are role-playing games the new action movies? I guess it was only a matter of time...

Sales - the dreaded cold call

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:20:00 +0000

So. You've advertised, you've sent out flyers, put an ad in the paper. You're dying to get clients, increase your profits. The waiting begins...while waiting, you might as well get out there and talk to some prospects. But how? Who do you talk to? Where do you find them? And when you do find them, what do you say?

As you wonder about your options, the terror starts to mount as you consider whipping open the phone book and calling the first person your eyes land on. Heart pounding, eyes wild with fear, you wonder, Is there any other way?

Tune in tomorrow when we find the answer to the dreaded cold call dilemma...

The Struggle of Pricing

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:52:00 +0000

Lorenzo has a good point about how small ad agencies must do their pricing, with a great little story about Picasso. It is extremely tempting to give your work away for virtually nothing, especially when you are new and desperate. Do we have the strength to stick to industry standards?

"Like most artists, I am a work in progress," he said.

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:24:00 +0000

I like this this guy! He's been doing graphic design for a long, long time.

whee

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 20:05:00 +0000

internet marketing

This is just sad.

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 14:28:00 +0000

McDonald's advertises on report cards now. Makes my stomach turn. Wow.

What the?

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 20:11:00 +0000

Check out this Jimmy Dean Pancakes & Sausage package design entry from the recent AIGA contest and tell me how he would store this in the freezer

If you were Jimmy Dean, what would you think? Interesting, bold, but not at all practical.

Would you pay money for this?

The artist who made this is an "up and coming designer" according to AIGA. But would it actually sell?
At Designs by Sarah we don't do abstract art for the sake of abstract art. We do commercially viable products designed to make money!

December is Marketing Month!

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:57:00 +0000

Super Basic Marketing 101

I like lists. Here is a list of what marketing is, in a nutshell:

The 5 Ps of marketing:*

Product - understand your product from your customers' point of view

Positioning - why is your product perfect for your client niche? Know what makes it unique.

Place - where you sell your product, whether online, by phone or in a store. The first ones are often easier to do than the last.

Price - there are five general pricing strategies quoted here directly from Determan.net:

· Product Line: Setting price steps between product line items

· Optional Product: Pricing optional or accessory products

· Captive Product: Pricing products that must be used with the main product

· By-Product: Pricing low value by product to get rid of them

· Product Bundle: Pricing bundles of products sold together

Promotion – promotion is the strategy of advertising, individual selling, sales promotion, and public relations a business uses to attain its marketing objectives.

Now to put it all in practice. As the Knight Who Said Nee says, “So…….GO!” And start marketing that business!

*according to Determan.net

Three Ways to Promote Your Business

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:40:00 +0000

One of the most important things a business needs to succeed is effective publicity.
Here are three great ways to promote your business quickly:

1) Hold a large, well-publicized event. Advertise it on television, radio, in the newspaper, and anywhere else you can think of. An event for charity is ideal, as you both will prosper. Think of all the concerts and marathons that have brought in millions in fundraising dollars while promoting the companies who support them!

2) Dare to be different. Spend an hour brainstorming on creative ways how you can meet your particular customers’ needs. Think of five new ways to reach them, with five new ways you can help them solve a problem. Pick the best one and use it.

3) Offer rewards and incentives to those who help promote you, whether business partners, co-workers, or even family.

Keep working on promoting those businesses and feel free to share any ideas!

Canadian Pride

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:14:00 +0000

The Group of Seven

Among Canada’s Most Famous Artists

Who: The Group of Seven consisted of Lawren Harris, J.E.H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley, Frank Johnston, Franklin Carmichael and A.Y. Jackson. All but Harris began as commercial artists, several of them working at the same company in Toronto. Tom Thomson was never officially part of the Group, as he died tragically – and mysteriously – in the wilderness three years before the Group came together.

What: A group of artists who painted and exhibited together, the Group of Seven was influenced by nineteenth century Impressionism but rebelled against “the imitative quality of Canadian art.” (thecanadianencylopedia.com). The Group became known as a landscape school and the members caused controversy by boasting themselves to be Canada’s School of Painters.

When: The first exhibition was held in May, 1920, and the final showing was in 1931. The group disbanded and a new association, the Canadian Group of Painters, was formed in 1933.

Where: The Group’s first exhibition was at the National Gallery of Toronto. The members focused a great deal on painting in Northern Ontario, but also painted landscapes in Quebec and on the East and West Coasts. The members of the Group of Seven were also the first artists of European descent to paint the Arctic landscape.

Why: The Group of Seven, guided by spirituality, was obsessed with portraying the Canadian landscape as rugged, dramatic and transcendent. During this nationalistic era, the artists were intent on creating a purely and distinctively Canadian style. They succeeded, and have influenced Canadian artists for almost a century.

CBC Arts Update

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 20:38:00 +0000

"Vancouver artist Ken Lum and Montreal gallery director and curator Louise Déry won the Hnatyshyn Foundation Visual Arts Awards on Monday" - CBC.ca Arts - Vancouver. See the whole story at http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2007/11/26/visualarts-awards.html

What's New in Canadian Art

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 20:25:00 +0000

Canada Council of the Arts is turning 50! Here's a link to their site: http://www.50.canadacouncil.ca
Speaking of Canadian Art, it's about time I reviewed the Group of Seven and their works. Stay tuned for the upcoming article on the history and significance of the Group of Seven!

Welcome to eternal spiral

noreply@blogger.com (Don K Hodgins) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 20:12:00 +0000

Eternal spiral is written by the owner of Designs by Sarah, a graphic design and print company in Dieppe, New Brunswick. With several years of fine arts and crafts behind her, Sarah is now looking to put her skills to good use in the community.