Kevin McGuire

Event Development: Earn their hearts, stay on their minds

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Todays consumers attend events because they are looking for inspiration, education and often to see who is breaking the status quo. Below are a few brand checkboxes to consider before hiring a design company to help make your next event memorable and sharable.

What are consumers looking for from your brand? What are their wants and needs and how can your brand fulfill them? Is it aspirational, practical, both? Is your product or service an industry disrupter or is it an improvement? Once you know where your brand stands in the marketplace you can focus on crafting the right message and driving it home with great design. Remember, it’s a busy event environment so don’t overwhelm consumer’s with secondary selling points, focus on three and prioritize them.

What do you want them to remember? Think back to the last event you attended and which brand stuck out in your head? Whatever you saw was probably iconic, cut through the clutter and helped you understand the brands positioning and personality quickly. Simply put, you will want consumers to remember your brand, its personality, why your brand should matter to them.

What key takeaways do you want consumers to share with co-workers and friends? If attendees share their positive brand experience with others over social media you have successfully extended your message beyond the event. Help facilitate this by providing them photo-opt worthy environments that integrate your brand message. Remember, your event materials should reflect the personality of your brand.

A well thought, branded event venue will not only function to bring people in it will also leave a lasting positive brand impression. If you need help developing your brand message and translating it into a memorable event give us a call at 203-646-8448 X100.

Mindful Packaging: Fonts, colors and negative space

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Message matters in packaging as in all media. But it’s also important to note some often under valued decisions made during the packaging design process.

Chose the right font: Nothing can change the brand personality of a package quicker than a font. No mater how important your message is the look of the font conveys more. Analyze your brand personality and select fonts that compliment it. Although fonts are organized by font groups titled; Display, Script, Sans-Serif, Serif, Block etc. they would be wiser to be though of using terms more suitable like sophisticated, boastful, calming and down to earth. Mind your consumer – are you marketing to an older population? If so, keep your message to the point and ensure your font size is adequate. Small font sizes and lengthy explanations cause frustration and confusion. Avoid the use of thin serif fonts and unnecessary tight kerning and line spacing.

Mind your colors: You should be able to justify the use of color as more than ornamental. Colors evoke emotion and colors when used properly help differentiate products and make them easier to find on shelf. Primary colors are used the most often in packaging but its the secondary colors that are the real stars. Take the time to hone your color scheme. White, shunned from packaging at one point because of its generic nature has found a home in todays often oversaturated packaging world. Blacks can be made using exclusively black inks or with the inclusion of other colored inks to making them richer and either cool or warm toned.

Embrace negative space: The space in between objects and copy is your friend. It allows the eye to pause and breaks up messaging leading to better communication hierarchy. There is a constant push to cram as much information onto packaging as possible and this negative space is often the first to go. Hold onto it – chances are you are communicating too much and the message could be more concise.

This only touches upon some of what goes into effective packaging design. Need help with new packaging, product repositioning or concept work?  Please call 203-646-8448 X100.

 

Top 3 benefits of a well branded office

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A well branded office space serves to inform, inspire, and motivate employees and company stakeholders alike. Here are the top three reasons to reenergize your office space.

1. Showcase Corporate Values and Mission

Companies are built upon certain values and principles that serve as the backbone of the organization. By prominently showcasing them to stakeholders it serves as a reminder to reflect upon these values & principles in everyday situations. Ensuring when decisions are made, they reflect the personality of the company.

2. Facilitate Innovation

Fostering innovation isn’t easy and requires extensive collaboration and long hours of healthy deliberation. Having a relaxed and comfortable office space designed with graphics showcasing your company achievements helps reinforce the importance of the innovation process.

3. Showcase History

It’s important for employees to know the company’s history when planning for its future. A history mural serves as a common place to reflect upon key milestones and achievements throughout the years. Common areas where people gather such as lobbies and reception areas are ideal for displaying history murals.

When you are ready to reenergize your office space give us a call at 203-646-8448 X100.