Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in a few simple steps

[ This is the first in a series of SEO articles.] I led a workshop for the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce a few months back and realized how many myths and questions there were about SEO. I want to dispel some myths and answer a few questions in the space of the next few editions […]

Slicing Your Demographics

This is the science of slicing people – well – groups of people, into segments that can be isolated, measured, tracked, tested and solicited to. This sounds like a cold way to look at humanity. The good news in this is that you don’t need to feel manipulative to simply ensure that the people who […]

What would you do with a bailout?

Quick question: You get word that your organization will be receiving an unexpected sum of money. What do you do with it? It’s a question I like to ask myself from time to time. I’d be quite happy to actually have that unexpected infusion but that’s not the point. For me, it is an exercise […]

Maintaining a Brand in This Economy

If you’ve been paying attention, you probably know that our current economic problems are related to confidence in the health of the economy and cash flow. When things are going well, the two usually go hand-in-hand to create a virtuous cycle of economic growth. Right now, they are working hand-in-hand to create a vicious spiral. […]

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Build Your Brand with Artifacts

In the August 2008 and September 2008 tips I touched on the significance of creating artifacts for your organization. This month, I’ll take that to the next logical step: building your brand with artifacts. As with historic artifacts, the more we find, the more we know about a past civilization. Each part holds information about […]

Creating Artifacts, continued

The conceptual premise of The Center for the Constitution’s brochure was that we tacitly understand contextual clues in our environment. We instantaneously observe the materials, textures, level of precision, craftsmanship, style, colors and so on. Through some amount of cultural acclimation, we are able to look at man-made objects and glean some idea of whence […]

Creating Artifacts

What do pre-historic civilizations and thriving businesses have in common? Artifacts. They are our evidence of life. In some sense, the more artifacts one has, the more thriving one is. While we don’t recommend creating, say a website and brochure for a fund-raising event just because everyone else has one, we do recommend creating a […]

The Way In

On top of design, clients look to us to help untangle the volumes of information they show on the web. Obviously, one wants a website to be more than a data dump where the user can’t find anything because they are presented with everything at once. The challenge is how to sort out the most […]

Handcraft in Design

  The reality is that we work on computers for efficiency. (That “undo” button just can’t be beat.) Often, the computer’s limits define the aesthetics of a project. Using real-life materials is a powerful option to create a unique feeling. We’ve used them in a few projects recently. Examples of this can be seen in […]