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Archives for August 2016

Infographics Speak Volumes

August 29, 2016 by

Infographics come in all shapes and sizes. Some are more whimsical and illustrative, while others take a more simplified format. No matter what type of infographic you choose to use, all can help convey a message to your audience in a visually interesting way.

Some of the benefits of using an infographic include:

If you’re looking to create a cost effective graphic that’s more visually appealing than simply presenting a spreadsheet, you can go the route of a pie chart, bar graph or scatter graph. Data-heavy information translates well in this format and makes complex information more easily digestible for your audience.

 

Pie Chart

 

This type of infographic is also an engaging tool for a nonprofit organization striving to be financially transparent to donors without having the reader dig through a spreadsheet.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is the more illustrative infographic that takes what could be considered “dry” data and makes it come alive through illustrations, comparisons, telling a story or explaining a process.

For example, in this infographic from their annual data report, Ocean Conservancy visually shows the audience the story of how sea life is affected by trash.

 

10_Entangled_Animals-01

 

This type of narrative creates more of an emotional appeal, which is an effective way of reaching the Ocean Conservancy audience.

Whether you’re creating a data-driven graphic or one that is more of a emotional narrative, it’s important to focus on color contrast, clarity and simplicity to ensure it is easily accessible. Creating a successful infographic for print, a website, social media or a mobile platform means knowing your audience and being clear in the message you’re trying to communicate.

Looking for some help in creating infographics for your organization? Call Dever Designs at 301-776-2812.

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Maximizing Your Trade Show Experience

August 22, 2016 by

Trade_Show

 

Ten feet might not sound like much space…until you find out that you have to put together a 10 x 10 foot trade show exhibit for your nonprofit organization this fall.

Suddenly, 10 feet seems like the length of a football field.

As daunting as it might seem to be tasked with organizing and running your organization’s exhibit, an experienced design firm can help you maximize your trade show experience.

 

Getting Started

To begin, a design firm will help you outline the scope, scale and goals of your exhibit.

How big is the booth area you have to work with? What are you hoping to achieve?

Are you trying to increase general awareness about your organization? Are you attempting to boost membership? Are you introducing a new product or simply trying to network?

Once those questions are answered, you’ll need to develop a budget and timeline. When it comes to the schedule, it’s often helpful to work backward, beginning with the date of the trade show.

 

Think Ahead

It can be challenging to think down the road when you have so much work to do right now, but it’s important to consider how you might use your exhibit materials in the future. For example, beyond your immediate needs, could you use that banner stand at an event two months from now? If so, it might behoove you to spend more on a quality product that can be used multiple times.

Not sure how you can repurpose your exhibit materials? An experienced design firm can advise you and tailor creative solutions to your specific needs.

 

Rent or Buy?

Your budget and the decisions you have made regarding material re-use will dictate whether you rent or buy your hardware and accessories. Renting can seem like the more affordable option, but experienced designers may have some great leads on where to purchase unique materials. If you do purchase, it’s important to buy something durable, that can be shipped multiple times, and to use product lines that are likely to be in existence for years to come.

 

Promoting Your Exhibit

The promotion of your exhibit is actually a pretty big piece of your project. First, you need to work with your design firm to create eye-catching save-the-date cards and other marketing collateral to draw attendance.

Next, you want to do something to help your exhibit space stand out.

To draw traffic, you could:

Your exhibit also presents an opportunity to gather information from your potential customers. You might ask them to sign up to receive your newsletter or have them leave their business card as part of a raffle. Consider what information could allow you to continue to reach out to your audience long after the trade show ends.

 

The End Result

Having a design partner who is involved early can help you to come up with the best options to meet your short- and long-term goals. An independent design firm will not only guide you every step of the way, but will also improve your ROI.

Take a look at the range of trade show exhibits that we’ve designed in our portfolio.

To see how Dever Designs can help you with your trade show exhibit, be sure to give us a call as soon as possible at 301-776-2812.

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‘A Wonderful Experience’

August 15, 2016 by

Brianna Kittleson

 

When you think back to your first internship, you probably remember feeling excited and perhaps a bit nervous. After all, this was your foray into the professional world, the first steppingstone in your career journey.

At Dever Designs we are fully invested in the internship process. People were good to us when we were setting off on the graphic design career path, and we feel, in a way, that we owe something back. We’re thrilled to play a part in building the next generation of designers.

This summer we were pleased to work with aspiring designer Brianna Kittleson, a Maryland resident who recently completed her freshman year at Andrews University in Michigan. We offered her a peek into a real-world working environment, allowing her to observe how a studio runs, gain working knowledge of the craft and help us where possible.

 

Below is her take on her summer experience.

Interning has been a wonderful experience. I have learned and grown so much in just a short period of time. As I head back to school I feel like I have a much better understanding of this field and the kinds of things that come along with it. While working here I have been able to observe and participate in a variety of things. One of the many things I have learned is that attention to detail is key. Watching Jeff as he tweaked colors or adjusted text made me recognize that making even the smallest changes can be the defining factor in pulling a piece together.

Here at Dever Designs, I have noticed the extremely organized manner in which they approach every project that comes their way. It creates an incredibly efficient working environment and personally I will now try and apply these same principles as often as I can.

Another thing I have seen from working here is the importance they place on the interactions between the designer/project manager and the client. It is a huge part of the design process and I can now see how important it really is. Everyone has given me so many insider tricks of the trade and pieces of advice and I am excited to apply them as often as possible. 

My favorite project was when they had me lay out a feature story for my own magazine. I used programs such as Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop to create a feature on a family that runs a farmer’s market. This is a piece I will be able to add to my portfolio.

Internships can and do make a difference. The second employee we ever hired at Dever Designs was an intern who stayed with us 23 years.

To learn more about how Dever Designs can serve you, visit deverdesigns.com

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Can I Get a Little Help Here?

August 8, 2016 by

Imagine sitting in a small swimming pool filled with ping-pong balls and being asked to hold all the balls under water at the same time. Inevitably, juggling all the ping-pong balls becomes too much and they start popping up to the water’s surface.

The life of an in-house marketing/communication team can sometimes seem like this when several projects are coming down the pike at once, and there simply aren’t enough hands on deck to complete the work.

Fortunately, an experienced outside design firm is a great resource for handling any overflow work that pops up.

Since in-house design teams are typically small, it can wreak havoc on scheduling when a staff member is on vacation, experiencing a health emergency or out on parental leave. Utilizing an experienced design firm is a great way to alleviate that stress. Even if your full team is present, having a major design project coming up on top of your regular work schedule can seem overwhelming.

A seasoned design firm can jump in and help with the following:

In addition to providing relief, a design firm can serve as a consultative partner. An expert design team has experience from which to draw, so you can be confident in the work they perform and the advice they offer. They can anticipate potential issues (helping you keep all your ping-pong balls under control) and bring a depth of experience to everything from specialty reports to conference packages.

If there’s anything we can help you with, reach out to Dever Designs at 301-776-2812.

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Behind Every Good Brand is a Good Brand Guide

August 1, 2016 by

Brand Guides

 

Your brand represents everything your organization is. It encompasses the visuals, the messaging, and even your organization’s personality. That’s why when it comes to presenting your brand to the public, you want to get it right.

 

Why do you need a brand guide?

As a company reveals a new or updated logo, it may seem like all employees are initially on board regarding its usage.

But what happens when Nadia in marketing is creating a new social media profile picture and skews the size of the logo to make it fit her needs? Or maybe Alex in accounting decided to have some T-shirts made for a golf fundraiser, but preferred a different shade of gold than what was approved for the logo?

When it comes to protecting, promoting and presenting your brand, consistency is key. That’s why creating and using a brand guide is so essential. A good brand guide will accommodate creativity while policing the parameters.

 

The Value of a Brand Guide

Applying aspects of your brand willy nilly or allowing employees to have a free-for-all with the logo is equivalent to not even having a brand at all. It’s essential to have and maintain brand standards that all employees will follow.

 

Components to the Brand Guide

A brand guide can be as in-depth as what you might imagine a company like Walt Disney would utilize, or it can be short and sweet, depending on your needs and budget.

Visual – Every element of your brand, from the logo to stationery to supporting graphic elements needs to be consistent. Colors, typography and even details such as the amount of white space around your logo, should be carefully outlined in your company’s brand guide. This guide will define the parameters within which you communicate your brand at every level.

Voice – How your organization presents its tagline or other standard language will also be outlined in the brand guide. When, and how, you use this messaging, as well as its legibility, are important aspects of branding.

Tone – Every organization has a particular way in which they interact with their audience. This can mean they take on a friendly and helpful tone or perhaps more of an authoritative, industry expert approach. The brand guide will help define your organization’s personality, which will be captured in industry messaging moving forward.

A brand guide can be distributed in print format, although, increasingly, companies are making it available in a digital format, either as a PDF or a microsite. It’s important to know that the brand guide will constantly evolve as new issues come into play. Be sure to work with your design firm to keep your brand guide up-to-date.

Want to take a fresh look at your company’s brand guide?
Give us a call at 301-776-2812.

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