Conduct Your Own Symphony, Visually

The following is an ongoing series from Create Your Own Great Photo Book. The first "Be a Ruthless Photo Editor" covers activities you can use to take control of your image library. The second, "Storyboarding, Not Just For Filmmakers," presents concepts for creating a theme for your images. 

Conduct Your Symphony, Visually

Image: Barbara Weibel (2014), http://holeinthedonut.com

Very frequently, I take a shortcut from the bus stop at Adams/Wabash through the Chicago Symphony Orchestra building to reach the Chicago Architecture Foundation, next door. If I'm lucky, I can hear the musicians in the practice rooms or the auditorium. Music, written and performed, is structured. Components that can help us structure and create our own great photo books.

By now, you've done your sequencing, injecting energy and emotion during the storyboard phase. As a designer, I use several techniques to establish a cognitive flow within a book's theme:

• Add pauses or rests,
• Build to crescendo,
• Emphasis on single images, and
• Tell a story...visually

Below are a few techniques to help you "conduct your own symphony"~visually.

PAIRINGS: Make connections. Typically, still images are static on their own but 'paired' with others the group can make a moment. 

RHYTHM/FLOW: Curate a method of how you want the reader to advance through your book. How can you tell the story visually?

RESTS/PAUSES: A blank page is NOT always the answer; in fact, it can be confusing. Use negative (white) space to balance with your photos and/or text. 

MOTIFS: Be true to the core theme or concept of the book look for colors and patterns to add interest.

TEXT: Your text should SUPPORT the images in your photo book. Refrain from using text to fill empty space. 

PRO TIP: Storyboard your book and create a mock up. This helps you envision the finished book as a singular piece, versus assembling it page-by-page.

Interested in more? Download "Create Your Own Great Photo Book."

Next: Front and back matter–important elements to create a professionally designed photo book.

Happy self publishing.

Storyboarding, Not Just for Filmmakers

The following is part of a running series of posts, from Create Your Own Great Photo Book; the first "Be a Ruthless Photo Editor" covers activities you can use to take control of your image library.

Storyboarding, Not Just for Filmmakers

How do you organize your images? Stay true to your theme.

Developing a structure based on your time is the foundation to create your own great photo book. And, keep you focused. It can be overwhelming when you're confronted with a volume of images. Refer to my previous post, Be A Ruthless Photo Editor, to eliminate the unnecessary, poor quality and non-relevant images.

A screen shot of one folder.

Example: My Family Archive. On a rainy Sunday afternoon, I decided to make a dent in scanning the negatives and photographs––which I have two or three large Rubbermaid storage tubs––from my family's photo archive. I pulled out an armful of 'stuff' and began sorting the pieces. Tossing items that had little relevance to the long-term integrity of the archive, poor quality and extremely damaged. Things like out-of-focus shots, unrecognizable subjects, generic birthday & holiday cards, etc. The result, spending time on quality pieces that would convey the story of my family.

Stay Grounded to Your Theme

As mentioned above, developing a structure will serve as your foundation. Using images and text creates your visual story. Most stories are typical: a beginning, middle and end. Let's take this further.

Tapping into a more sophisticated organization can add more interest to your photo book. Try one or a combination of the following:

4 types of story organization to add interest to your photo book.

Storyboarding your content gives you a 'roadmap' to a finish product. Naturally, we want to be flexible as the project progress. Image sequencing and storyboarding is time well spent!

After you've experimented with your visual storyboarding with your first photo book, it will become easier the next time. Eventually, challenging your creativity to try new concepts.

Interested in more? Download "Create Your Own Great Photo Book."

Next: Add cognitive flow within your theme.


Happy self publishing.

Great Photo Book: Be A Ruthless Photo Editor

Using as many images in your Great Photo Book maybe your first inclination; this is the absolutely wrong approach.

You MUST be a ruthless photo editor! Focus on quality over quantity.* 

Image from http://www.tokyojinja.com/

As you review your big pile (or folder) of images, ask yourself repeatedly:

• Does the image support my theme?
• Does it add visual interest to the message?
• Is this image the BEST quality?

Every image selected must have purpose to the theme.

Intuition plays a huge role and powerful role. Removing your own emotions from your review process will allow you focus on quality and the image(s) contribution to your book.

Conduct research at the library and/or local bookstore, I find used bookstores have fabulous stacks of photo books. Observe the sequencing of images and how each leads you through a process of the visual story. What story are your images telling?

* Select images that express concepts and support the main story or theme of the book. 

An introduction to self-publishing techniques to create your own amazing book using your photographs or illustrations.

Download Free eBook 

Discover techniques to create and publish of your own photo book, plus an introduction to self-publishing options (print and digital formats). Ideal for photographers, illustrators, architects, chefs, historians and many more.

Topics covered:
Image Sequencing & Storyboarding
Page Layout and Structure
Cover Design
Image Preparation
Overview: Shutterfly, Lulu and Blurb

Start Creating Your Own Photo Book

Create Your Own Great Photo Book

Create Your Own Great Photo Books

• Have you ever wanted to create your own photo books?
• How do you start?
• What are techniques to make it look professional?
• How do I get it printed?

Download Free eBook 

Just released a few days ago to select list of followers, now available for you.

An introduction to self-publishing techniques to create your own amazing book using your photographs or illustrations.

Discover techniques to create and publish of your own photo book, plus an introduction to self-publishing options (print and digital formats). Ideal for photographers, illustrators, architects, chefs, historians and many more.

Topics covered:

• Image Sequencing & Storyboarding
• Page Layout and Structure
• Cover Design
• Image Preparation
• Overview: Shutterfly, Lulu and Blurb

Start Creating Your Own Photo Book

* eBook format is 21-page PDF, compatible on desktop and mobile devices.
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Secrets of Self-Publishing Presentation December 19th

Are you an aspiring author looking for a publisher? 

Look no further than the closest mirror! 

I will be leading a class and discuss to help you simplify the self-publishing system, whether you’re excited about e-books or hard-nosed about hard copies. 

You’ll learn about a wide variety of author services, DIY tools and creative platforms while deciding which method of print and distribution fits your circulation aspirations. And the best part is, you’ll love who you’re working with: yourself!

This free class will be held at one of the community classrooms at Next Door Cafe in Chicago. We'll begin at 6:30p and I'm planning on leaving enough time for Q&A. Next Door Cafe is located at 659 West Diversey. 

In case you can't make this live event, I have prepared an, Self Publishing: Navigating the Process; loaded with description of service providers, tools and pages of resources. 

Available for viewing/downloading via Slideshare.

Self Publishing: Navigating The Process from Creative Aces

REPACKAGE. REPURPOSE. PUBLISH.

• Are you consistently writing blog posts or articles about your industry?

• Is your marketing kit filled with thought-leadership pieces?

• Are you called upon as a 'expert' to address professional audiences?

• Are you using a self-authored book as a key marketing tool?

A self-authored book/ebook as an instrument in your marketing strategy is as old as the hills. People have been doing it for centuries. Today is the day to turn your big pile of content into your own book.

Create. Collaborate. Publish!

In today's 'always connected' digital world, your business book serves as a platform for your ideas and expertise; building on the foundation that you are already a thought-leader in your industry. Use a book or ebook to assist with relationship building of influencers, media and higher-level clientele.

Repackage. Repurpose. Publish.

Sit down, spend the time to review all the articles or blog posts that are stored on your computer or web server. Do you notice a theme?

Let's work together with an editor to organize your articles and construct a book. Freshen up content, double checking facts and sources, adding imagery to enhance the key ideas, crafting a new introduction... and you are on your way to being a self-published author.

Create. Collaborate. Publish!

Production and distribution is now available to everyone. Period. Delivery and distribution to mobile devices has never been easier. The millions, tens-of-millions of smart devices in use today dramatically broadens your reach.

There's no need to order thousands of printed books and store them in your basement. Order what you need for promotional purposes, keeping out-of-pocket expenses within your budget.

Are you ready to publish your ebook? 

Visit the Creative Aces portfolio to learn more about publishing to the iPad or tablet.

Spring Celebration 10% Discount New Projects

For the third year in a row, I am offering a discount on creative services. 

Ten percent off new projects (please no updates to previous projects) now through June 28, 2013.

For more information, visit: Spring Celebration

Spring is undoubtedly my favorite season. When spring arrives, there are numerous celebrations in my family including four birthdays, mother & father days, and this year another high school graduation.

• Have you been thinking about launching that ebook?
• Catch the newest trend... proposal and pitch deck.
• Is your pitch/presentation deck in need of a new look?

Reach out to me today so we can discuss your project and get started NOW.

One of my client's recently said the following about their proposal-as-pitch deck.

"A visually-elevated and professional presentation of our company to prospective clients, receiving positive feedback and {serious} interest in our services."

Tyler B.

Sr. VP Global Sales

Cover Design: Why It Matters.

Mon. April 15, 2013 Update: I saw this article from New York Times "T" Magazine, with "an illuminating cross section of 83 years of book design" for F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."  

____________________________

We DO judge a book by its cover. 

Sad, but true.

The cover is an invitation to "enter" the publication.

The most important sales tool at your disposal is the cover of your book (ebook, white paper, presentation, annual report). Make it noteworthy! 

Your cover design should be approached with the same mindset used by product marketing and creative teams. Product packaging drives purchasing decisions for the thousands of products on the market. A book is a product. The cover will be judged as an indication of the quality of the content.

Good, think GREAT, cover design will make you linger, soaking up the imagery, type and layout. You may even run you hand slowly across the cover. Even in our digital world, pausing ever so slightly to enjoy a cover design and when interactivity is added... it's still tactile. 

While cover design varies from business-to-business (B2B) versus consumer (B2C); the end result is still the same. It MOTIVATES.

Check out Chip Kidd's TED Talk "Designing books is no laughing matter. OK. It is."

Below are a few guidelines that can help differentiate your cover.

• Kindle Interest: The cover is the reaction to "tell me more." It's the invitation to enter, learn more, travel to new places, explore ideas, etc. Good cover design requires research and study. Testing structure, placement of elements, image selections, fonts and color palette. 
• Identifies With Your Audience: Understanding your target audience and sharing that profile with your designer is imperative. Your designer will develop concepts that should appeal to your audience.
• Visual Overview: Is the cover a reflection of the theme? It doesn't matter if we're selling our company's features and/or benefits or telling a fictional story; the cover of the publication should be a visual overview.
• Convey An Idea (Emotion): The cover should be more than an afterthought to package the contents. It should be the forethought. Sparking the motivation to turn the cover is how we get to the "tell me more" motivation.
• Make It "Top Drawer": The accessibility to do-it-yourself is everywhere and we recognize the work of a true professional. As a minimum, invest in a professionally designed cover. After all... it will be your primary marketing tool for your book or publication.

Reference links:

Creative Blog 10 Imaginative Annual Report Designs
http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/annual-report-design-2131905

New York Times Favorite Cover Design of 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/12/19/books/20favorite-book-covers.html

We're All Publishers, Now.

2013 will be the year of Content Marketing, will you be ready?

What is Content Marketing?

How do I do Content Marketing?

According to Content Marketing Institute (CMI), it is defined:

Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.

Content marketing goes deeper than what we may have done in the past and the tools to distribute content are more accessible than ever before.

Earlier this month, Joe Pulizzi, founder of CMI, was the guest speaker at a BMA Chicago luncheon. I walked away with an insiders’ perspective and new ideas.  Content marketing may not be a new concept, in fact it has been around for quite awhile. Pulizzi made reference to the cookbooks Jell-O developed to sell its (new) gelatin product. Think Coca-Cola, Harley Davidson and Red Bull and the strategies used to cultivate and educate their loyal audiences. We should be creating the ‘stories to sell products/services’ and our content should be as good or better than any publisher.

What am I going to say? Start with “why?” Check out Simon Sinek’s TEDx Talk about inspirational leadership (video has garnered nearly 8 million views).

What keeps our customers awake at night? How can we address these issues and reassure our customers that we have the solutions they don’t even realize they need?

According to Pulizzi, go deep and small by developing quality content that fits with your overall marketing vision and editorial calendar with the customer/client as primary focus.

Here’s an example:

• Develop key topics that you want to cover for the year, say 4-6.
• Next, dive deep into keywords connected/derived from the key topics.
• Then, create unique content products scheduled for distribution through the year that includes ebooks, blogs/editorial, video and slide decks, etc.

Your ebook is the main product with extended shelf life for blog entries, info graphics, landing page, social media posts, etc. (Replace ebook with case study, research report or video and you’ll have enough content for several months.)

Tracking results can be achieved using your website analytics for page visits, Google Analytics and alerts to make adjustments in your key topics and key words for the next content marketing product.

Content Marketing Unspoken Rules

1. One Call To Action
2. Give Content as Gift (freebie)
3. Social Media Etiquette (promote others and keep your own self-promotion and thought leadership entries to a minimum).

Brainstorm With A Teenager For New Insights

My apartment is filled with images captured by husband, Dominic R. Sondy. A lifetime of creativity on film, slides, transparencies, 4x5s, prints and digital files; all stored in archival quality sleeves, bins, DVDs and USB devices.  And he continues to create more everyday.

We began curating collections and publishing books, beginning with “Saigon Shuffle” his Vietnam experience covering his assignment at the front and then as a military correspondent covering Asia.

Since then, I’ve always tried to look for opportunities to extend the products available for each collection.

For The Trees #19 Poster

One of his most recent, “Can’t See The Forest For The Trees” is pure imagery. An esoteric look at the oddities on trees in Chicago’s Lincoln Park. Think inkblot meets horticulture. Naturally, individual prints are available, over 100!. But I was looking for opportunities to extend the product line not only for “Can’t See The Forest For The Trees” (“FTT”) but also for other collections.
 
Publication of the FTT book took several iterations to get the quality just right. Working with image rich content requires higher standards than just “ink on paper”. Everything from size of book, image wrap vs soft/hard cover, paper selection and print quality were examined carefully.  

While reviewing one of the early editions, my youngest daughter started flipping through the pages and free-styling ideas for products.

 Posters! iPhone/iPad cases! Calendars! Oh, my!

For The Treest #093

Productions of calendars was already on my list, but I hadn’t thought about posters and skins for devices. I started to listen intently to my fourteen year old who was selecting images for these products. “Mom, this one would be great for a poster. I’d put this up on my wall.”  “Imagine this one on my iPhone staring at you.”  
I went to work creating the products and building the landing page for the “Can’t See The Forest Through The Trees” product offering.

We were doing the victory dance last night when I blurted out to my daughter that we sold one of the posters!  

My New ‘Youth-Oriented’ Focus Group
Sometimes I get so stuck in my own, old, conventional methods that I fail to realize that my audience may be much different.  It took the off-the-cuff suggestions of a daughter reviewing her father’s work to add new thinking to marketing and product creation. In addition to the product suggestions, she went further, hinting at a pricing structure for each product and poster size. In other words, what she would be willing to pay to hang a poster in her room.

Since my daughters are part of Dominic’s and my social streams and their friends tap into their streams, that presents an opportunity to connect with new markets that I hadn’t seriously considered. I’ll be looking forward to another serendipitous focus group session with my (smart and insightful) teenage daughter.

Design. Digitize. Distribute.

10.18.11 Update: I recently learned PDFs are, and have been since 2001, indexed by Google.

I'm interested in how businesses can distribute and share their documents & publications across various platforms, versus keeping a monthly newsletter trapped in its PDF filing cabinet or parked in an email. We're now able to publish on platforms that are accessible to our audience regardless of device.

Additional products/services will be rolled out over the next few weeks, too.   As a designer who enjoys the convergence of text + imagery, I've been concerned about quality on your monitor, smart phone or tablet; but I think that argument is mostly extinguished as technology improves every day.

Creative Aces' Digital Publishing Services is on online publishing, viewer and analytical platform powered by Issuu. The features offered at PRO level have the potential to increase readership and feedback from your own list plus Issuu's 33 Million monthly readers. As we begin to bridge the desktop-to-tablet technology, additional features of this platform include:

• Customize the viewer with logo, icons, colors, animations
• Remove the advertising sidebar on embedded and standalone publications
• Newsstand/library to display and monetize your publications
• Organize documents and distribute your content
• Bulk upload for uploading hundreds of publications
• Auto-embedding to automatically embed latest edition
• Detailed statistics and reporting
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and high Google ranking
• Active links to websites, email links and advertisers
• Add audio/video to your documents or presentation

We can get the process started with previously published documents and begin building a library of materials outside of the corporate server or a "jump drive."

Here's a just a few ideas: Investment profile or white paper, quarterly earnings presentation, sales presentation, annual report, monthly newsletter, portfolio, "look" book, etc. in which we could build a direct marketing campaign and track the results.

Joann

A Winning Combination for B2B Content Distribution

Looking for a simple, cost-effective solution to distribute your message beyond your list?
Marketing gurus call it 'silo' jumping or simply put expanding your target list. I prefer to think of it as casting a wider net since the landscape for targeting your audience now includes social media.
Social sites are now a viable solution for B2B marketing and IR/PR to reach millions -- for FREE!

SlideShare & LinkedIn = Winning Combination

View more presentations from Creative Aces

Let me explain. I'm referring to LinkedIn. (This is NOT a case study about Twitter or Facebook).
LinkedIn has become the silent giant for business professionals, if you haven't created an account I urge you to do so immediately. And, if you own your own company or work for a company -- get a company profile set up.

• 81.8 Million Monthly Visitors
• 7.1 BILLION Page Views (Monthly)
• 12 Million Professionals Worldwide
• Executives from ALL FORTUNE 500 Companies
• 75 of FORTUNE 100 Companies
• 2 Million Dedicated Company Pages
• Mobile-friendly

Add SlideShare to create a winning combo!

• 50 Million Monthly Visitors
• 90 Million Page Views (Monthly)
• Free Accounts and Pro Accounts
• Easy-to-Use, Embed & Share
• Mobile-friendly

Make sure you add the SlideShare app to your LinkedIn profile so your presentation or other content appears on your page. We should craft our marketing strategies to include content creation and curation.
References:
SlideShare Deepens Ties With LinkedIn (PC World)
Social Media Marketing By The Numbers [INFOGRAPHIC] (Mashable)

My Pet Peeves of DIY White Paper & eBook Design

Design matters. Especially when the company name and reputation are involved. A well-designed white paper has the potential to elevate the “importance” of the content. Admittedly, don’t we all place 'value' on the appearance and attention to detail in the items we buy.

By nature of my profession, I view a lot of documents as sources for inspiration, trends, information and fun. However, as the explosion of Information Marketing is taking the web by storm; I’m noticing more DIY or off-the-shelf document formatting.

Design matters, a lot!

Below are just a few peeves that distract from the readability and ultimately, the value of a white paper or e-book. (I have purposely excluded samples from this article because I don't want to embarrass anyone, including myself.)

Peeve: Frumpy, Dumpy CoversCreating a compelling “tell me more” cover is an art and skill. I typically reserve finalizing the cover until the interior is complete. If you’ve ever taken a small child grocery shopping, you’ll understand why he/she picks up certain (high priced brand) boxes off the shelves while ignoring others.

Fix-it Tip: There isn’t a quick fix tip for designing covers. In my opinion, one of the most challenging aspects of the project.

Peeve: Text That Hurts My EyesThis is one of my biggest frustrations. I give a company my email address to receive their ebook and I can’t get past the first few pages because the font and paragraph styling is best suited for a birthday card. As a reader, we tend to scan groups of words when reading and anything that creates a barrier to this process erodes the value of your content.

Fix-it Tip: Use serif typefaces for body copy. The finishing strokes or serifs on typefaces like Times New Roman and Garamond aid the eye as we move from word-to-word.

Fix-it Tip: Add extra line space. The default ‘single’ line spacing is not the best choice since it tends to make the lines of text too tight. The addition of some white space between lines guides the reader left-to-right.

Fix-it Tip: Avoid long lines of text by increasing left and/or right margins or adopting a multi-column format. Could you imaging reading an article in the New York Times that was a single column of nearly 23” wide? Eye strain!

Peeve: Lack of Visual Cadence
Documents of continuous blocks of copy without headlines, sub headlines, call-out boxes, and even bullet points are just plain boring. Let’s be perfectly honest; you’re skimming this entry right now trying to glean the best stuff. The goal is to increase readability & readership.

Fix-it Tip: Use subheads, formatted with a complementary font and color.

Fix-it Tip: Add white space between ideas or sections.

Peeve: Disordered Page Layout
Rag-tag, zip-zagging content is ugly. Ugly to look at and easy to dismiss. A call-out box here. Chart inserted there. Close file. Total waste of my time.

Fix-it Tip: Using a multi-column format can provide the containers for text and other elements to be placed efficiently and neatly.

Peeve: Blatant Disregard for DetailsRunning spell check is easy, but actually printing a hard copy and reading your own white paper is a big payoff in catching small details. Here are a couple more:

Fix-it Tip: Two spaces at the end of a sentence is very old school. Consult today’s style guides.

Fix-it Tip: Fix awkward line breaks on formal names, dates, locations and numbers by keeping on same line.

Fix-it Tip: Stop using the Return key to add unnecessary extra line spacing between paragraphs. Use paragraph styling instead to automatically format paragraphs with approx. 1 ½ lines of text between paragraphs.

Peeve: Using Every Color AvailableI was trying to read an online magazine today, but couldn’t get past the first few pages because the ‘production artist’ was using just about every color of the spectrum more suitable for a birthday card. An experienced publication designer will establish a color theme, rendering editorial content consistent; thus emphasizing images, charts and adverts.

Fix-It Tip: Stop the overuse of color by developing a limited color palette. A less is more mentality is needed.

Peeve: Ignoring StylingFormatting text as you go is inefficient and amateurish. Even MS Word has the ability to create styles for text and paragraphs.

Fix-It Tip: Select typefaces and attributes once and apply consistently throughout the document.