‘Authenticity’ poster set
I’ve collected quotes since my teens, and soaked up graphic design ideas like a sponge for decades. These posters (and four others included with the recent “Notes to Myself” post) are the merging of those two streams. For 8.5 x 11″ print resolution pdf versions, click on the thumbnails below. If you’re inspired to share them, feel free, but please keep Kauai Design’s name and copyright info...
read moreGrab Attention with Your Message
The old advertising acronym AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. To influence or persuade anyone of anything, we must first get their attention. Only then we can turn our energies toward arousing their interest, piquing desire and prompting action. It’s been reported that every year 65% more information is strewn out into the world.1 The business world, like the academic world, seems to have adopted a publish or perish mindset, posting massive amounts of content online everyday. (And yes, I joined in the fray 8+ years...
read moreNotes to Myself
“Positive Psychology” didn’t exist when I was a Psych major in the 1970′s. Back then psychology was all about diagnoses and dysfunction. Now researchers are exploring happiness and thriving. I recently finished my eighth or ninth book on happiness. And though each author approaches the subject from a slightly different angle, all share the latest brain science on feeling good. My latest read, What Happy People Know, by Dan Baker, PhD, emphasizes how fear-based we humans are … how we are hard-wired for fear for...
read moreLeveraging a Great Logo
I know that not everybody collects images they like for creative inspiration, but most graphic designers (and a fast-growing number of Pinterest members) do. I probably use my iPhone to capture appealing visuals for my ‘swipe’ file as much as anything else. Pictures, fonts, color palettes, and interesting layouts can serve as jumping off places for design projects. I’m a sponge for ideas and visual effects that might contribute to the creative process currently incubating in my head. And while I honor intellectual property...
read more7 Good Reasons to Work with a Professional Graphic Designer
I so appreciate an entrepreneur and the courage it takes to launch a new business. The vision it takes. The optimism, commitment, drive, passion, sense of purpose, confidence, resiliency … It can be quite a ride and it’s not for everyone. I especially love the energy that comes with a start-up, and have collaborated with many of them on their branding and print promotions. But plenty of other new entrepreneurs overlook this critical step in launching a solid business identity and end up projecting an embarrassingly unprofessional...
read moreBuyer Personas
I needed an idea for a radio spot for my graphic design services and was struggling with how to translate such a visual medium into sound. I was also aware that Kauai Design is primarily a B2B (business to business) business and that the vast majority of the radio audience are not business owners or executives. So how could I reach out to that small percentage of listeners who need my services? It came together while reading The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott. Buyer personas. Scott insists that ‘push’ marketing...
read moreBreak Up Your Text
Your readers will love you for breaking up long blocks of text into manageable chunks of information, and you can make your pages more attractive and interesting in the process. White space, photos and illustrations are commonly used for this purpose. Other...
read moreNine Mistakes Beginners Make
With a computer, a bit of software, and internet access, almost anyone can be a ‘desktop publisher.’ And that’s a good thing. Power to the people. Self-expression. A voice. A forum. But along with the proliferation of information (and opinions) that came with the home computer and the internet, came a lot of bad graphic design. I made all of these blunders and more myself as I was getting educated in the principles of design, layout, typography, etc. In the interest of helping to raise the bar for any ’newbies’ out there, I offer...
read moreContrast
by Laura Lamar. Excerpted from Before & After magazine, originally published in 1992 Design isn’t just about making things look good. It’s about helping the reader receive information. Contrast is a designer’s most powerful communication tool: It can attract the eye, create visual priorities, establish landmarks, control movement, lead, label, emphasize and define. I’ll go so far as to call it ‘the design secret of the...
read moreThe Creative Process Illustrated
Review of W. Glenn Griffin & Deborah Morrison’s The Creative Process Illustrated (How Advertising’s Big Ideas Are Born) Griffin and Morrison take us backstage and introduce us to 36 successful ‘creatives,’ (creative directors, art directors and writers) and share their backgrounds. But the best part is getting into these folks’ heads as they unveil their processes for getting to the ‘Big...
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