The Rush

Do you go out on a Friday night? Have you ever met someone who smiled at you and he or she just placed everything right, as if everything in your life just snapped together in perfect harmony? They call it love at first sight… and yes it happens! Though once you feel it, you must act on it, believe and do your best to make it work.

That too is true with designing. Ideas come and go, but only few could make you feel that rush of blood to the head. Only few become concepts that make your heart skip a beat, and only few see that happily ever after ending—mounted and displayed proudly on the news stands, or on giant billboards. It sets everything right, once you have it in Photoshop, you’ll know that’s the one on instinct. Clarity follows right after, the color scheme, the fonts, even the faintest drop shadow and vignette. You just need to trust the feeling and have faith. There, you’ve stepped higher for experiencing such rarity. You’ve transformed ideas into tangible creations that would eventually help clients achieve their marketing objectives and make your team swell with pride for a job well done.

You may say, Ah Tèt Syèl ! C’est vrai... it might be dreamy, even lofty, but it happens. It may pass you by, and you may choose to act or ignore, still it ensues. The trick is you must recognize it, act and nurture it—caress and give it time to grow, because in the end you’ll never regret anything if you follow your artistic tendencies.

PS: Whew! Such seriousness was required in this entry. So when you go out tonight, remember to grab that Rhum sour to send you to that Tèt Syèl experience!

Voilà Top-Up

Last week, we showcased a print ad. This week, we decided to go with a TV ad for Voilà featuring one of Haiti's most popular bands, T-Vice.

The ad pretty much explains itself - if you speak Haitian Creole, that is. If not, two members of the band who are brothers, are informing the Haitian population that when their family members who live abroad top-up their phones, they get chances to win prizes, such as motorcycles, minutes, etc.

The fun-filled commercial below is a collaboration between Muska Productions and PubliGestion. Do feel free to leave your comments. Tell us why you love it, or why you hate it - it's a free country.

A German Tank - Civilian Version

We decided that for this week's post to share a recent print ad with you guys. Our client came to us wanting to divulge this new car that their dealership was introducing onto the Haitian market - via social media. We thought about it. We agreed. Then, we changed our minds and decided to go with a simple print campaign on Haiti's leading newspapers. Remember that in a recent entry, we told you that print was still highly relevant in Haiti. What's more is that it is the best way to grab our target market's attention in a quick and efficient manner.

We introduce you to the Volkswagen Amarok. Yes ladies and gentlemen, Volkswagen has a pick-up truck! Fascinating isn't it? You'll understand our rationale behind our tagline, roughly translated into "A German Tank - Civilian Version" in a minute. Hold on...

When we did our market research, we noticed that in Haiti, Volkswagen is a luxury vehicle, and as such people thought it would just be a Touareg... with a bed. We had to find a way to convince our audience that this isn't a car to roll around in the suburbs, but a car to take out for a ride in the dirt, up the mountains and down the valley. Simply put, this car is a rugged workhorse. And guess what? The dealership is now sold out. ;)

Les médias sociaux, un phénomène à la mode?

Il y a environ neuf mois, j’avais décidé d’effacer mon profil d’utilisateur sur Twitter, persuadée que le temps passé sur Twitter était mal investi. J’étais peut-être même prête à parier que cette plate-forme de socialisation rejoindrait Hi5 au dépôt du Web 2.0.

Le 12 janvier a montré la puissance des médias sociaux en Haïti et à travers le monde. Aujourd’hui, je gère des communautés virtuelles sur les réseaux sociaux, y compris Twitter. Ah, les ironies de la vie.

Certes, la question de la rentabilité de ces sites n’est pas encore tout à fait claire. Mais les réseaux sociaux se sont bien imposés comme moyen de communication. Les experts pensent même que l’invention de certains de ces réseaux est comparable à l’invention du téléphone ou de la télévision.

Les réseaux ont changé la donne. Ils permettent d’accéder à une masse d’informations, et ils vous aident à vous lier d'amitié avec vos consommateurs. Voici quatre raisons de continuer (ou de commencer) à exploiter ce qu’offrent ces outils incroyables.

1. Votre réseau. Le terme Networking ne veut pas dire ouvrir son Rolodex, appeler un collègue, et aller prendre un cocktail en ville. Le carnet d’adresse électronique, votre Facebook perso, votre email, votre BBM pin sont indispensables à votre succès. Le réseautage classique est mort.

2. Le marketing communautaire. Nombre de grandes entreprises, telles que Prestige, tentent de créer des communautés de consommateurs-fans autour d’un produit, d’une personne, ou d’une entreprise, sur des plates-formes telles que Facebook. Ce genre d’interaction crée une certaine confiance chez la clientèle. Sans ce type de marketing sur Internet, votre marque deviendra aussi depassée que votre équipe de mercatique.

3. Un puits d’informations. Nous l’avons compris déjà depuis longtemps que l’Internet contient des informations précieuses qui sont à la portée de tous. Vous avez certainement essayé de Google votre nom pour voir quels résultats reviennent. Mais pour aller plus loin, il faut jouer le jeu, et participer activement aux réseaux.

4. Observer vos concurrents. Vous voulez savoir ce que prépare la concurrence? Et bien oui, c’est possible. Je suis sure que si vous demandez à un chef d’entreprise ce qu’organise la concurrence, il aimerait bien pouvoir répondre. L’utilisation intelligente des réseaux sociaux permet de surveiller la concurrence efficacement. Certains mots-clés bien choisis, vous donnent une arme superbement efficace et économique pour dénicher les affaires et la pression au sein des concurrents.

Soyez visible. Soyez présent. Soyez bavard. Soyez honnête. Puisez des racines très fines, et adaptez-vous au terrain. Si vous avez besoin d’aide, nous sommes là pour vous. Vous le savez bien. A la prochaine!

Relationships.ai

We’ve talked about love in a recent entry, and with love come relationships. In an Absolute World, we’d all be living in harmony, holding each others hands while running along a field of purple daisies all in One Love. However in the real world, we’re working with clients and colleagues who feel like it's the apocalypse, and with Photoshop running like a speeding coffee mug. What’s a loving graphic artist to do in a not-so-ideal-world?

1. Relax, breath. When you’re in hakuna matata state, you make better creative decisions, and find ingenious solutions faster. In this kind of environment, you can’t afford to work for naught and make wasteful panic decisions.

2. Smile. The Dalai Lama said, “A smile is the only crooked line that sets everything straight.” When you smile the whole world smiles with you. Always consider giving a relaxed smile (even a giggle) when you are asked to go to mars and back in 2 seconds. By smiling, you reduce aggression and stress. You relax and you create better.

3. Plan. Can you ever think of having lots of children in a shoestring budget? The same is true with working with designs. Each day you’re given a limited number of hours, resources and most especially, patience. So you need to manage and allocate your time and energy well.

4. Eat. Your brain is a 24-hour workhorse and you use it a lot for creative work. It consumes 75% of your blood sugar and 20% of your body’s oxygen. Imagine, your brain uses 1.5 calories per minute by doing crossword puzzles, how much more when you’re dealing with your beloved clients and layouts? So eat. Well-fed graphic artists are more creative and happy.

5. Like the last entry, when everything really goes sour. When you really can’t work it out, the last resort is to go home and sleep. Everything will be different tomorrow. Fresh eyes give you new perspectives, and new perspectives offer you a better view of the world around you. Always enjoy your days off, and feed the soul! Remember, “A Sunday well spent, brings a week of content.”

These are few of the hundred ways on how to manage your calling. If you’re a graphic artist and you know of other ways please share it to everyone and leave us a comment below. ‘Till next time! Kudos!

Sources: http://www.impactlab.net/2006/07/05/how-much-energy-does-your-brain-use/