Effective web-browsing experiences are absolutely necessary in this climate of competitive business and advancing technology. Finding a niche, making a good first impression and staying fresh are among the website owner’s goals. Maybe you’ve got a great concept, selected the perfect designer, brainstormed about design ideas, made decisions and worked hard to get great images and content onto a website.
Untold hours of productivity are lost every month due to simple misunderstandings and communication breakdowns. For some reason, many people seem to have a tough time organizing their thoughts and communicating their desires to their co-workers and employees.
I’m constantly amazed at the number of people who seem to have forgotten the basics of composing a written thought. Even some college grads have no grasp on how to speak/write in a way that moves a project forward.
If you are looking for a way to increase productivity and decrease stress, learning to communicate effectively can be the first step towards smoother workflows, faster turnaround times, and fatter bottom lines. Here are a handful of tips that will get you started.
“Ability may take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.”
~John Wooden
Friday, February 11, 2011 – Free Event
BILL ROSEN, Chicago Portfolio School
Bill oversees the entire Arc organization and is responsible for leading the evolution of the company’s strategy. As chief creative officer, Rosen is responsible for the creative product across all Arc disciplines-digital, direct, promotion and retail marketing. He oversees creative development, planning and execution for clients including McDonald’s, P&G, Coca-Cola, United Airlines, Nestle Purina, Whirlpool and MillerCoors. Join us for a presentation of Arc’s stellar work across all digital platforms.
Thursday, February 10, 2011 – Stop by and make connections with other Eastside designers (of all kinds) at our casual get-togethers. We’ll swap ideas, vent about impossible deadlines, share inspiration, and have a laugh. This time we’ll meet at Lot N° 3 in Bellevue Towers. Enjoy their great menu, espresso, or something stronger to drink — with people who get what design is about.
Great article on the reality of background checks, it’s worth checking out!
I have heard rumors that employers somehow snag your IP address from emails and can use that to track online activities. I have also heard that Goggle, for a small fee, will disclose any information they have on your online presence, however the sources of my information are vague. I don’t know what is true nor how I should protect my identity. I do blog anonymously–no name, different email address. It is a blog that would likely cause an employer some concern since it discusses health issues. My Facebook is innocuous and under my maiden name, which is not used for job applications.What capabilities do employers really have to investigate online activities of potential employees?
Read the response here! (via www.bnet.com)
“Interpretation is the revenge of the intellect upon art.”
~Susan Sontag
(hollaforthatdolla.com) – Today’s question comes from an active job seeker who was recently asked a difficult but very clever question while on the hunt: I was recently asked in an interview to desribe an instance where I had misjudged a colleague. Can you provide any advice on how to answer this question without falling into an “interview trap?”
I think this is a great interview question and kudos to the interviewer who posed it. Some might feel that this is a question that will fail to elicit any useful information but the exact opposite is true in my opinion – a question like this provides insight into how an individual sees flaws in their own charatcer and how they look to rectify that.
“Inspiration grows into full-scale creation through persistence and imagination.”
~ Carol Lloyd
Traditionally business cards were simple black text on white stock. Today that has drastically changed. It is clear that the more creative, unique and interesting your business card is, the more it will set you apart from the competition and give you the edge you need to succeed. Whether you like letterpress, see thru, illustrated or just plain wacky business cards, there is something for everyone in this list.
Today, lets take a look at 45 More Creative and Interesting Business Cards For Your Inspiration
See the list here! (via www.designtutorials4u.com)
There’s a never-ending debate about whether web designers should be able to code. Web designers who can’t code their own designs still exist. When the web first took off, the designation “web designer” was limited in scope. Technological developments led to an ever-growing demand for web designers, and now the field is open to unlimited possibilities for specialization.
If you are talented with graphics yet clueless when it comes to coding and the back end, then you will most likely be the first who a firm that is tight on budget lets go. Does splitting your share with another coder make sense as a freelancer? It’s simple: the more skilled you are, the more valuable you will be.
Read the full article here! (via instantshift.com)
“Creativity is an advertising agency’s most valuable asset, because it is the rarest.”
~Jef I. Richards
There is a lot of advice out there about how long a resume should be (depends on the job), whether you should mention short term jobs (depends on the job) and if you should proofread and use spell check (yes). But before you can sort out what to include and begin to write your resume, you have to assemble a complete picture of everything you’ve done, all your accomplishments, skills and experiences.
Read the full article here! (via Suzanne Lucas on bnet.com)
Check out this great article, written by one of our talented candidates in Seattle!
(Susan Straub-Martin on biznik.com) – We give away our knowledge, and we just assume that everyone knows everything we know. STOP! You have worked hard, gone to school, learned from every job you ever had, and you assume that EVERYONE knows what you know. WRONG!
Read the full article here!
“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.”
~ Albert Einstein
Times are good for Web- and mobile-application developers.
The number of online listings containing the keywords “HTML5,” “Mobile app,” and “Android,” have skyrocketed over the past year, making them the fastest growing keywords in jobs posted online, according to data tracked by jobs search engine Indeed.com.
The number of job listings requesting HTML5, the latest version of the language used to display Web pages, increased 13-fold between the first and fourth quarters of last year, according to Indeed. “Twitter” and “jQuery,” which is used in JavaScript programming, rounded out the top five fastest growing keywords.
Read the full article here! (via yahoo.com)
Jason Fried, Chicago Portfolio School
Jason Fried is the co-founder and president of 37signals, a Chicago-based company that builds web-based productivity tools that, in their words, “do less than the competition — intentionally.” 37signals’ simple but powerful collaboration tools include Basecamp, Highrise, Backpack, Campfire, Ta-da List, and Writeboard. 37signals also developed and open-sourced the Ruby on Rails programming framework. Jason will share how these tools and the success of his company have come from solving problems through design or “designing solutions.”
Get the full details for this free event on aigachicago.org!
Seattle creative director Lou Maxon provided editorial art direction and design for independent photographer Chase Jarvis’s Seattle 100: Portrait of a City project which included a hard-cover coffee table book and wine and chocolate packaging showcased at a series of gallery openings and events throughout Seattle and on the Web. The project catalogs one hundred of Seattle’s next generation of mavericks (artists, musicians, politicians, chefs, poets, writers) and shares their stories across multiple platforms (print, exhibition, interactive and online). Biographies of each subject coupled with more than 300 stunning black-and-white portraits tell a fascinating, interwoven story about a unique and vibrant city.
Lou Maxon, art director/designer/creative director; Chase Jarvis, photographer.
“Design, in its broadest sense, is the enabler of the digital era – it’s a process that creates order out of chaos, that renders technology usable to business. Design means being good, not just looking good.”
~Clement Mok
Social Media started out as a bit of a novelty — a playground for the “geekerati.” But it has taken hold as a game changing force that will reshape advertising at its very core.
It’s time to move past debates about traditional media co-existing with social media. Madison Avenue should see social media as a wonderful, if not disruptive, gift. It should run hard to catch up with the consumer, let go of legacy business models and build something better.
My career in advertising started in February, 1965, right in the middle of the Mad Men era, and I am fortunate to still be doing what I love. Just when I thought I’d seen everything over the past five decades, along came social media. Here I am at age 67, cheering for change and eager to be a part of it.
To put things into perspective, it’s helpful to look back at the impact that TV had on the ad business in the mid 60s and draw some parallels with where we are today.
Read the full article here! (via mashable.com)
