Photoshop 101- Tips & No-nos
Woo! What a DIG we had this morning. Lots of familiar and new faces in the crowd- it was nice to see all of you.
We discussed Photoshop best practices and covered some basic to-dos and even answered some more advanced Photoshop questions posed by our sharp DIG students. (What the heck are layers??!!) A lot of folks came to learn how to better communicate with their designers or clients- so important to a happy “graphic” relationship! We covered a lot but hopefully it will all marinate and become a part of everyone’s personal best practices. I just want to leave each of you with my list of Photoshop tips & no-nos that will make you a better Photoshop user.
JENN’S PHOTOSHOP TIPS & NO-NOs:
1. Photoshop is intended to be used to manipulate photos- not to design page layouts with large bodies of copy.
2. Followup to #1: if you are working on a brochure, newsletter, magazine layout, or other layout with bodies of copy use Photoshop in conjunction with your favorite layout program or Office document program (InDesign, Quark, Pagemaker, Word, Powerpoint, etc.).
3. If your designer is asking you for an eps file they are most likely asking for an Adobe Illustrator eps NOT a Photoshop eps. Very different- be sure to specify.
4. Respect your files. Do not save a jpeg more than once. When in doubt revert to the original file.
5. Most of the time Web/Screen graphics=72dpi, RGB, jpeg/gif/png Print graphics=300dpi, CMYK, tiff. Consult your friendly printer to confirm their preferred specs.
6. Stop! Don’t use Photoshop filters just because you can. We’re not impressed.
7. Last but not least, learning how to use the tool is just the beginning. A professional looking end product takes knowledge, skill, some practice and sometimes some major artistic prowess.
Keep learning your tools and use them WISELY.
Jenn
P.S. If you missed this session we’ll be repeating it in Bowling Green on Thursday July 29th. http://bgjulydig.eventbrite.com/.
(We’ve also had requests from some folks to do some one-on-one training with their staff. We would be happy to accommodate- please contact me for details. jenn@werkshopmarketing.com)
Dot-Com-Munication comes to Bowling Green!
Professor Rob, I have a question — How do we make our website so awesome that it totally integrates with social media? For all Diggers who attended the DIG in BG today, we received the answer to just that question. Call it going back to school. Call it “we learned a thing or two today”. Call it what ever you want, but I think we can all agree it was well worth our time. Rob Blackford knows his stuff. Yes, I said it, his stuff. I can honestly say that Rob is one of the most talented and genuine people I have ever had the distinct pleasure of working with.
Rob spent the time he had this morning educating us to this basic outline of thought — that Design + Content + Promotion = a really good Website. It doesn’t seem like rocket science, but unfortunately, not many are doing it the right way. To bad for them. If you’ve made a commitment to do it right, then do it. If we can be of help, call us.
-Tim
May Bowling Green DIG: PR 101
Toyota. Ring a bell? Yeah, figured it did. Come on, tell me what you really feel about this brand, especially now. They’ve taken a few sucker punches in the last few months haven’t they? It was through their PR efforts, or lack thereof, that we learned just how damaging a situation can become. At our Bowling Green DIG last week, David Green shared with us his philosophy of good PR and how we all should go about such activities.
If you have a hunch that PR should be a part of your daily marketing efforts, you’ve probably got a good hunch. Build a solid plan and make it happen.
For a more in depth look at PR101, see David’s presentation below.
An Ode to the Early Adopters of Social Marketing
I have a confession. I am not an “early adopter.” I said it out loud! I am NOT AN EARLY ADOPTER!!! I’m not sure WHAT to call myself, because professionally, I am a studier, predictor, strategy finder and lover of our early adopting friends. I know them, understand them and appreciate how they, as consumers of our client’s goods and services, keep us marketing types on our toes. They surprise us, and cause us to innovate. I “heart” them.
This group of trend setters has served as the engine behind the ever evolving discipline of social marketing. They have survived a million Google BETA tests and continue to be vocal when FaceBook screws up again. To them, I say, “Adopt on, my friends.” I’ll be watching, learning and once you have it all figure out, I’ll download the app.
For a more cerebral version of my “Ode to Social Marketing and the Early Adopters who we have to give thanks,” see the presentation below.
Social Marketing Puzzle
What I’m learning about Social Media marketing is that every 48 hours the information I thought was cutting edge becomes irrelevant. New tools and technologies are coming online hourly, users are opting in in droves and are finding new ways to communicate, sell and sway opinion. I used to think that Google Adwords was the hardest media tool to wrangle, but strategizing for retail use of FourSquare, Yelp and finding the “best” blog platform and account aggregator have trumped AdWords easily. Social marketing has become a game of endurance. Research, strategize, try, test, learn and start over. Those steps follow one another over and over and over. As professional marketers, we love the challenge, we love teaching our clients about how to use it, and we can’t wait for what it throws us next.
For the most up-to-date presentation and white paper on the Social Marketing Puzzle, see below.
Details for Labor and Employment Law Briefing
The Business of Sports
Yesterday’s DIG in Nashville was a special treat. My friend and client, Rob Bironas, was our special guest. Rob and I spent the 90 minutes talking about the business of football. We broke down the “org chart” of the NFL and even talked about how the athletes make money. Rob talked about the ins and outs of the “Franchise Tag” and about roster bonuses, but also about why he made the decision to handle his career with a plan in mind. Rob not only has a degree in Marketing from Auburn, but he understands that there is life after football. Check out his “Top 10 List” for insight into how he approaches his career and marketing his image.
March BG DIG: Marketing Planning 101
Oh, how I love to DIG in! Today’s content was about meat and potatoes. Obviously, not literally, about meat and potatoes, but when you live and breathe marketing planning for a living, teaching Marketing Planning 101 is my version of soul food. I shared the basic principles of marketing strategy and walked through the steps – one at a time. The group reviewed a sample marketing plan and chuckled together as they saw common pitfalls and road bumps and identified with them!
The takeaway? Marketing strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. As a matter of fact, the simplest strategies can be the most effective. If you do your homework, and plan tactics that fit your brand, you’re on your way to meeting you goals, and a big sense of satisfaction.
While I’ve given this presentation a few times, it has been given a few updates and a face-lift. Look below to review. And, use it as a resource for your own planning, and of course, call on us if you need a hand.
March Nashville DIG: Designing a Website to Integrate with Social Media
Whoa, baby. If you missed the 3.18 DIG with Rob Blackford, you really missed a heap of information!!
My introduction of Rob to the group of 40-something that came to participate involved words like “repeat offender entrepreneur” and “technical genius.” However, Rob is also one of my favorite people who happens to run a Nashville web and technology company called Design615. We work together weekly (sometimes daily), and our staffers lean on Rob for the times when pulling their hair out over technology or a web design issue isn’t the best option. Having a sharp brain behind the front of web design and development are vital, and he’s got just that.
Rob’s content walked the group through the old, the new, and a projection for the future of web design. With a participatory approach, each attendee filled in a worksheet with components of web history (like, how sites were built in 1997?) and current best practices. The group discussed social marketing tools, and how they affect how sites are put together. They even argued about the “best” content management system! Hello? Drupal? No – wait – proprietary – or Wordpress??
What we learned was that like most marketing tools that we tout at Werkshop, a great, current, social savvy site is best achieved with a plan/blueprint in mind. Ahhhh, strategy. Love it.
Holly
Click here to visit Rob’s site.
Handouts from presentation:
February DIG: Hammers & Thumbs
Today, I had the distinct pleasure of serving as tour guide to a group of trusting fellow marketers through the world of marketing blunders. We relived New Coke, grumbled at the iPhone repricing debacle of 2007, and laughed at Snapple’s big idea of 2005 to create the world’s largest ice pop. (It melted – everywhere – in the middle of New York.)
What we learned today is that if we make marketing decisions based in strategy, we are far less likely to end up as fodder for a similar presentation. Of course, we also learned that it’s okay to laugh at ourselves — because if you aren’t making mistakes as a marketer, you probably aren’t trying very hard. The presentation portion of today’s DIG is below; to continue the conversation and get updates on upcoming educational opportunities, visit us (and be our fan) on Facebook.
