The Myth of the Mousetrap
Forget this: “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door”…THIS IS DEAD WRONG. There is an infinite number of products and services that you would buy in a second, but you will never buy.
I Love Working at a Standing Desk
I converted my desk to a standing desk back in January and I love it! I thought I would just try it out for awhile, but I’m still loving it and would suggest everybody try it. Sitting in a chair
How to Start a Business
Are you ready to start a business. We can help. Legal Process One of the essential steps in starting any business is ensuring that you have all the required legal papers with you as even if one paper gets lost,
I Guarentee this will Drive Traffic to your Website!
What if I told you that without that much effort, you could send an email that will get traffic to your site? I know a simple system that can be scheduled, automated, and tracked. This method is not just designed
The Psychology of Color
When you design logos, clients ask the same questions: Why did you chose that color? Designers use colors for a variety of reasons, but we all understand color…we just might know know that we understand color. Infographic by WebpageFX
Successful Companies with Bad Logos
As designers, let’s not overstate our points. When we exaggerate our importance, we look like we don’t know what we’re talking about. A logo represents your brand, your company, your products and services, and your overall message. It’s important. A
Happy April Fool's Day 2013
If you’ve been to my other site today, no…breadmillerdesign is not real. I’m more likely to be up late working than I am to be up early baking. Perhaps I’ve been feeling like clients expect projects delivered through a drive-up
The Color of the Year
In case you’re not aware, PMS 2013 is the color of the year. That was decided by PANTONE, the company that provides the standard for color consistency in the printing color management and design industry. It’s pretty funny to me that
Are You Telling Everyone How Old Your Website is?
Something I always look at on a website is the copyright date at the bottom. If I see an old year, I know that company has not been updating their site for years. Are you listing the age of your
How Much Does a Website Cost?
The question I get most often from potential clients is, “What is the price for designing a website?” As with any project, I bill by the hour and tailor the budget to meet the client’s needs. Still, in general, I
How Much Does a Logo Cost?
We get calls every day asking the question,”How much does a logo cost?” I hate to answer this way, but it depends. How much does a house cost? How much does food cost? I can tell you what we charge
Chutes and Ladders Sucks!
We have all played this classic board game and we have the same problem. We move our game pieces in the wrong direction. I do it every time. My kids do it every time. It’s just not clear which direction
Please don't tell me that I'm talented.
I’m an oil painter as well as a graphic designer, and there’s a compliment that gets under my skin. It usually goes something like this: “You are so talented. I love your work. I wish I was good at drawing.”
Does My Company Logo Need to Include 'Inc.' or 'L.L.C.'?
No. If your lawyer told you that, they’re wrong. Sorry. Some lawyers think it is safer to list your legal name in your logo and there’s no downside, but they are wrong. Let’s consult one of the largest law firms
You Should Love Getting Targeted
I hear people complain all the time that they might get targeted by a marketer. People don’t want to give out information and be hit with all of this crap in their email, on their screens, and in the mail.
Just Make it Look Pretty
I had a client tell me that they just needed me to make their website look pretty. I told them that I can do more for their site, and they need me to do more than just make their site
Lessons from a Nigerian Prince
We get these spam emails every day. I get a ton of them and filter out most of them. They basically promise to make you rich for a small amount of money. I heard an interesting take on this the
Tomorrow is Election Day…Maybe You Shouldn’t Vote
We’re all sick of hearing about the “undecided voters.” Who are these people? Most of us have chosen sides and dug in months ago. Most of us have our leanings and know how we will vote in pretty much most
The Holidays are Here…Sorry
OK, the holidays are not here, but your business should take care of any holiday gifts or cards now. Do you do the same thing every year by default? Do you order everything at the last minute or just say
Give Yourself a Call
Do yourself a favor and call your main business number from an anonymous phone right now. Hopefully, it’s fine and sounds just as you imagine it sounds. Don’t leave this to chance, but check it out. I have a client who’s
7 New Business Leeds
Yesterday I sent out an HTML email and have 7 new leeds from perspective clients and some existing clients. Hopefully I will be able to convert those into jobs, but I’m very pleased with the response. I’ve changed the format
7 reasons why you should redesign your website now.
Let’s say you have a website that’s three or four years old. It’s still kinda fresh and up-to-date. There’s no reason to update it…right? WRONG. Right now, a three or four year old website is out of date. If your
Why Should my Site be Designed in WordPress
Web Design in WordPress and Not Just HTML? Yes. What is WordPress? For those of you who don’t know, WordPress is a site that you can host your blog with, but more importantly, you can build any website on the
My Current Web Design Job will be Obsolete…Kinda
There are great resources out there for small businesses and start-ups to build their own websites. There are templates and content management systems that are easy to use and look great. Sound like if companies can build their own sites,
What's Wrong with Email
Don’t get me wrong, I love email as a tool. Attaching files, giving a list of changes, and connecting with a client in their own time are just a few reasons why email is great. Still, email is the death
The Secret to Success: Return Calls
OK, it is such an obvious point, but I think the world needs a reminder. CALL PEOPLE BACK WHEN THEY CALL YOU. EMAIL PEOPLE BACK WHEN THEY EMAIL YOU. If I call you and don’t get a reply, I get
Don't Give us the Solution.
A great tip for clients when dealing with graphic designers is to present the problem, not the solution when giving feedback. For instance, we hear “Make the logo bigger” because it isn’t standing out enough. We need to hear “The
The Big Ten's New Logo
Here’s the new logo for the Big 10 conference…Everyone pretty much agrees that this sucks. This looks like it was slapped together in 10 minutes for a presentation of initial comps. Don’t blame the design firm! The old logo was
Anatomy of a Website Redesign
As a web designer, it’s crazy that we’ve had the same site for years without an over-haul. We’ve always gotten compliments on it, so we’ve just been revising and adding to it as it is. Finally, enough is enough. What
Email Campaign – Part 2
I didn’t get any new clients. I didn’t get any calls. I got only 4 clicks to my site (.5%). OK, I only sent this to 787 people and 54 folks did open it. I’m not thrilled with this low
