The Overflow

For many years I’ve been designing pieces for digital marketing “blasts” (as I like to call them.) I guess you could say I began designing them long before the practice became popular. My clients were looking for a new-age way to instantly connect with clients without having to drop a ton of cash on a print marketing campaign.

These “blasts” were particularly popular with my music industry clients. I created e-newsletters for several film & tv departments of major labels who were looking to engage their clients and allow them to listen to music with ease in hopes of landing that next big film trailer or commercial spot. These labels always did quite well, usually making several sells off each newsletter simply because the music was at their clients’ fingertips. This was not yet a normal practice for labels and so clients found it exciting to receive these blasts loaded with new music in their in-box.

Now times have changed and many businesses have jumped on the e-marketing bandwagon. As a result we find ourselves inundated with blasts day in and day out, completely junking up our inbox. I  “opt out” of one almost every day. Some of these companies even send multiple blasts a day, and after I while I imagine that would drive anyone crazy. So, now that everyone is shooting out these mass marketing emails, how can you set yourself apart and keep your message from going straight to the trash bin?

“Keep it simple stupid”

I’m betting you have heard this phrase more than once? I have!! Simple is best, especially when you are trying to grab someone’s attention on the fly. Think about what your potential client is likely to be doing when you blast out your next marketing message. If you send it out during the work day then you know they will be busy, so make sure the design is clean and simple enough that the viewer can get the gist of your message within the first 5-10 seconds of viewing the email. DO NOT bombard them with information, but design the blast with small excerpts that can be clickable if the viewer wants more information.

Design is everything

A clean and simple design is key, but it must look GREAT too. Another important way to set your blast apart in your viewer’s inbox is to look clean and look great. Great design will get you noticed, especially if it conveys a clear message in a very clever way. Remember, you want the design to be visually appealing so that the viewer is drawn in and wants to learn more about your services.

Don’t rush it

When I receive email blasts I can quickly tell which ones were slaved over to convey the right message and which blasts were haphazardly thrown together. You can bet if the sender hasn’t taken the time to craft their message I’m not going to take the time to read it. A good design isn’t great unless it conveys the message you are intending in a very clear and clever manner. This means time must be spent crafting your message, as if you were working on a larger marketing campaign. Before you dive into e-marketing think about the message you are wanting to convey and realize that you do not need to throw your entire idea into one blast.

Tell a story in a series

A series of blasts crafted to build off of one another will work best because it keeps you in front of your potential client on a regular basis. This is not to say you need to be blasting out emails on a daily basis, just do it regularly, building upon your message each time to help reinforce your brand to a potential client. Who knows, they  just might remember you when they are in need of your services!

This weekend “Sister Sara” flew into town for her 30th birthday! The family took her to Fredericksburg, the wineries and then on to visit with relatives at Camp Mystic. As usual, I brought a camera along and had so much fun shooting the festivities. It had been so long since we all traveled together as a family… we had an amazing time.

Only one day after receiving my Leica M8 in the mail we were headed off to Leakey, Texas for a camping trip. I am in LOVE with this camera.

Here are few shots of the beautiful Texas Hill Country nature that I captured with the M8.

I do have an obsession with cameras. And photography. I take a camera with me almost everywhere I go. I guess photography is one creative outlet I’ve yet to turn into a full-time job and I think I’m going to keep it that way. For years I’ve played with my Leica M series film cameras but was bit by the M8 bug when they first came out. Of course, the problem was I didn’t have 5 grand.  A couple of years ago I purchased a Canon 50D so I could use my Leica R lenses, but shortly after that purchase I was still dying for a digital rangefinder so I could use my M series lenses. I was patient and did a lot of saving (that was quite difficult) and I finally have a M8 of my very own. I could care less that the M9′s are out now, I can always upgrade when the M10 comes out right? Until then I will PLAY PLAY PLAY!

I’ve been very impressed with the M8 so far. I think it’s the simplicity that I love the most about it. Of course, even though it is a digital camera it has a very similar body to the M series cameras of old, and is EXTREMELY durable. There aren’t a lot of buttons to intimidate me and the placement of the components is extremely intuitive. I am always too eager to read an instruction manual, but I haven’t needed one with this camera. It just isn’t that complicated, yet has all the essentials I need without all the hoop-la.

So I will let you know more as I dive in further with the camera, so far I give it an A+. I need to update its firmware, but even that doesn’t seem to daunting. I’m just pleased I can do it myself and not have to send it out to be updated! German engineering at its finest as usual!

Gotta love instagram + gerber daisies + crochet + Chloe!

Yep, it’s my birthday and YES I had a fantastic weekend playing with friends, enjoying my family and celebrating Easter. As usual, I will share some photos. I got in some crocheting in the outdoors, a run or two and even got to watch The Hunger Games!

Just posted these in my Etsy store!

First hibiscus flower of this season! (And wordpress just corrected my spelling of ‘hibiscus’. Apparently I’ve been spelling it wrong for a while now!)

My view while I was crocheting this weekend.

Let’s see… there was printing to be done, t-ball games to attend and crocheting to do!!! I even got in an amazing yoga workout with Andrew at Yoga One downtown.

On saturday my crochet book from Hong Kong arrived in the mail! The next few pieces I make will HOPEFULLY be from this book:

And check out these stamps that were on the package:

Now on to sharing my favorite photo from the t-ball game. This was right after Chloe scored at home.

Oh and I finished another crochet piece. This is a butterfly applique. Crochet from #10 cotton thread. I had a lot of fun with this quick little piece.

I know you all have been waiting to see what I was going to crochet next… I’m happy to have finished 6 of these flower motif coasters and have actually just posted them for sale in my Etsy shop! These are crocheted with #10 multicolored thread, and of course they are 100% cotton. I can crochet them in a variety of colors so please email me if you would like to place an order in another color.

As many of you may know… we began a kitchen remodel right after Christmas. We did not know what was in store for us (structural problems, sinking foundation etc.) but the hard work and lack of a kitchen for a month was well worth it. My aunt helped us out and hooked us up with an amazing cabinet maker, and with his guidance the kitchen of our dreams became a reality!

Chris and I had no idea what was involved in a kitchen remodel, but we learned pretty quickly that going to Home Depot and Lowes was FAR cheaper than hitting up those fancy interior design places like Walker Zanger. In fact, with a little researching and hunting around we found the big box stores actually offered beautifully designed products at a fraction of the cost.

Once we had our cabinets picked out (we wanted clean lines, nothing too intricate) we began to explore floor tiles. We wanted something with the look of travertine, but with the durability of porcelain. We went with an 18″ porcelain tile we found at Home Depot that had a similar look to travertine but under $2 a square foot!

The back splash was a bit more difficult to find. We originally settled on a counter top that we THOUGHT was granite, but it turned out to be limestone (don’t ask). We picked out a beautiful glass subway tile from Walker Zanger which we loved until we noticed its price. We spent a few more days hunting around and finally found something similar at Home Depot that made us just as happy. Of course all that work hunting for the right back splash was unnecessary when we had to change our choice in counter top. When I returned to Olympus Marble & Granite to pick out a new counter top they had just received a shipment of beautiful granite from a new quarry that I just couldn’t pass up. Of course it was a bit more expensive but it was exquisite! Overall it had a very light, white feel to it, but mixed in were brown and black patterns and even a large amount of quartz which allowed the stone to shine and reflect the light beautifully. I was thrilled with this final choice even though it meant going back to the drawing board when it came to choosing a back splash.

Back to Home Depot we went! We returned the 600 square foot of tile we had just chosen the week before and luckily stumbled upon yet another glass subway tile which looked wonderful against the new granite. It actually gave an even more bright and clean look to the kitchen! Even better was this tile was HALF the price of the previous tile we picked.

Sure, I’m a designer, but designing interiors is FAR different from designing for print. Each step was a painstaking process (at least in my head) and I  definitely have a renewed respect for interior designers. Choosing the paint color for the cabinets and walls almost did me in. I wanted something different, something bright, and something that would be appealing to a potential buyer (should we ever move). I broke out the Pantone books just to get an idea of what colors would work with our floors and counter tops, then it was BACK to Home Depot to find swatches. Home Depot and Lowes failed miserably when it came to paint. We found the swatches of the colors we wanted, however Lowes could not reproduce the swatches close enough. It was a strange problem to have considering these swatches were for their brands of paint. So we took the swatches to Sherwin Williams and they matched them perfectly. They were a bit more expensive, but it was a better paint which was evident during the application process.

The new kitchen has recessed lighting, but I could not do away with my “atomic ranch style” light that I purchased 4 years ago to hang over the kitchen table. Funny enough, nobody had ever noticed this amazing fixture until AFTER the kitchen remodel. I’ve had multiple people ask about it since the remodel and if you are interested in one yourself check out this link: http://mioculture.com/lighting/bendant-lamp.html. You can actually bend it into any shape you would like… it is by far the coolest fixture I’ve ever had in my house.

So enjoy the photos and feel free to contact me with questions. I am just thrilled with the final outcome and so much more at ease now that the most IMPORTANT area of the house is now brand-spankin’ new and COMPLETE!

One of my achievements this month has been learning Zmags! My client, The John Cooper School, was ready to “go green” with their news publication and I’ve had a fantastic experience working with Zmags to make this possible. Check out our first digital issue and let me know what you think!

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/f8b8b93c