Just signed an agreement with Columbia River Yacht Club to work on Brand Development and Web Enhancement. Great bunch of people, and looking forward to working with them. See you on the water!
Blog
Arts of Clark County Logo Unveiled
To illustrate how the arts effect our lives in so many ways, Scott of J.S. Collard Design created the logo for the newly established Arts Of Clark County. We are currently working on the web design with Dene Grigar of WSUV. The site is expected to formally launch in the beginning of April.
J.S. Collard Design creates Graphic & Web Design and has been working in Advertising Arts for over 25 years.
New Website For CFO
J.S. Collard Design just launched the new website for Cedar Factory Outlet, Battle Ground, WA. Fencing and decking materials from CFO have been making elegant and functional statements throughout Washington and Oregon since 1989 and now they’re on the web!
Fences define your yard. Whether it’s protecting children and animals, or creating a private oasis. Fences can be simple or ornate. CFO has all the building materials to frame your yard and create a landscape masterpiece in many varieties including split rail, cedar, pressure treated, maintenance free polyvinyl and chain link. CFO offers styles in picket, lattice topped, scallops, french gothic, dog-eared and more.
Visit the CFO site and see if they can assist you in your home and landscaping needs.
Created A New Blog For The ParkingZone
Just finished setting up a new blog presence for The Parking Zone and remodeling their Website and dormant Twitter account. Blog and Twitter are up and running and the website graphics should be implemented by their in-house IT by the end of the week. Even with a narrow industry section, parking products & supplies, The Parking Zone is using Social Media as a tool to communicate with a very targeted audience.
Visit
- The ParkingZone website
- The Parking Zone Post blog
- ParkingZone.Twitter
Next I’ll work with the staff at The Parking Zone so they can create the continual posts & tweets.
Contact J.S. Collard Design if you would like us to set up a custom social media designed to have a consistent, professional look. Or if you just want a remodel, we can do that too.
Creating Custom Brushes in Photoshop CS4
Recently I was asked by a client how to make a highlight star burst in Photoshop. It’s rather easy to do if you can create the image in the first place. I volunteered my services to create the image and sent it to her with these instructions:
1. Using any selection tool, select the image you want to use as a custom brush or copy over the individual image to a new file. Don’t make it larger than 2500 pixels square.
2. Choose Edit > Define Brush Preset.
3. Name the brush, and click OK.
Pretty simple, you can either use the sample I posted here or have fun and experiment with creating your own Brush Tip.
Scott
Too Many Hats, Not Enough Time!
This is my interpretation of what it feels like to be a small business owner. And a tribute to The Son of Man by French painter René Magritte.
-Illustration: J.Scott Collard
Main Street America Wasn’t Invited
Small Business represents 99.7% of all employer firms and employes the majority of workers in the U.S. Most of my clients fall into the small and micro business classifications and many are asking why the support for the “little” guy hasn’t filtered down to them.
I don’t know anyone who can answer that question and I can’t begin to discuss it without getting a little hot under the collar.
The only thing I can advise is just be frugal and smart about investing in your business – for both the short and long term results. The least expensive and the easiest is updating or remodeling your existing brand and your channels of advertising.
A Website Remodel can create greater interest for your return customers as well as capturing new ones. Initiating an e-touch program using your own client lists can remind your customers you are still a viable business. Refreshing a logo that is outdated or doesn’t fit your brand experience can help to better tell your story. Targeting your demographics to focus your website for better Search Engine Optimization. These are all effective ways to bolster your business now and in the future, without too much of a financial investment.
So if you feel that you weren’t invited to the party, don’t let that stop you from throwing one of your own. And you never know, a new party may show up, one that more of us are invited to.
Illustration by: J. Scott Collard
Clark County Arts Foundation & Advisory Board
Scott Collard of J.S. Collard Design & Dene Grigar, Phd. Director of the Multimedia Department of the Washington State University, Vancouver Campus will be working on the logo and marketing vehicles for the the newly formed Arts of Clark County Foundation and the Clark County Arts Advisory Board. Scott will be developing the graphic elements and Ms. Grigar will head the digital deployment.
On January 27, 2010, the Clark County Commissioners agreed that it was a good idea to form a county-wide Arts Advisory Board to work with the Commissioners in promoting and developing the arts in Clark County.
Thanks to the hard work of Laurel Whitehurst and many other supporters, the formation of the Arts of Clark County Foundation and the Clark County Arts Advisory Board is off to a great start. The Foundation will be the fundraising organization and the Advisory Board will work with the Commissioners.
Both the Foundation and Advisory Board will be dedicated to the promotion and development of all art forms and made up of individuals from all areas of Clark County. The Foundation and Advisory Board will champion the arts as a vital element to our quality of life and it’s force in economic development.
More info will be available in the coming months as the Foundation and the Commissioners finalize the plans for the Advisory Board.
Data Without Creative Is A Boring Ride
For years, the buzz around the marketing cooler has been the talk of Analytics, Target Market, Customer Demographics, Data Cultivation and so on. They’ve taken the front seat in driving the marketing bus. Don’t get me wrong, they should be right up there and every CEO and business owner needs to keep them in mind when making any advertising road trip.
But making all promotional materials data driven alone is like handing over your brand to an accountant. Now I don’t want to get any death threats from accountants, I have friends who are accountants and they do a great job on taxes and stuff. We all have our own expertise! I can’t make heads or tails of the IRS tax codes for corporations, and not one of my number crunching friends can draw a decent reposing nude on a bar napkin (let alone come up with a full fledged creative campaign).
Each day consumers are bombarded with thousands of advertising impressions. Consumers want to develop a relationship with a company who has personality and that is projected through the creative. Data by itself only lets you know where you want to be. Creative is the vehicle that gets you there. So, How’s Your Ride?
If your message is boring, what consumer would want to travel with you?
Merging data with creative and clever solutions will cut through the clutter and the mediocre. Getting noticed is the key. First you have to get their attention and then you can make them a customer.
Entering the 2010 OBIE’s
The art/production department of Lamar Transit Advertising has entered our Erik Runyan 2009 bus board design in our behalf to the OBIE Awards
Thanks Lee and the rest of the group!