Werkshop Marketing

Photoshop 101- Tips & No-nos

Jenn — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:08:31 +0000

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!

Tim — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:37:59 +0000

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

NEXT NASHVILLE DIG: Thursday, July 15 (Photoshop 101)

Amanda — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:05:09 +0000

WERKSHOP INSTITUTE PRESENTS
THE JULY NASHVILLE DIG:

Photoshop 101

Thursday, July 15
8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Where? First Tennessee Corporate Offices
2525 West End Avenue, Suite 300, Nashville, TN 37203
Parking will be validated. Light breakfast will be served.

—————————————————

This DIG will be an introduction to Photoshop – what it is, what it’s used for
and what it’s basic functions are. The topics covered will be:

What is Photoshop?
Who should use it and why?
Capabilities
Best Practices

We will also show demonstrations of the following:

THE TOOLS/PALETTES
- Introduction to the tool bar (brief descriptions of different tools)
- Introduction to palettes (brief descriptions of major palettes)

DEMO (LEVEL 1)
- Opening a file in Photoshop (compatible file types)
- Resizing the image
- Cropping the image
- Using filters
- Saving a document for print (save vs. save as)

DEMO (LEVEL 2)
- Opening a file in Photoshop (compatible file types)
- Adjusting the colors in the image/balance
- Using retouching tools
- Adding & editing type (including a brief introduction to layers)
- Settings (color mode, resolution, web vs. print)
- Saving a document for web

**Everyone is welcome to bring their computers. However, it is not necessary, and computers will not be provided. If you do wish to bring your computer, you can download a trial version of Photoshop CS5 here.

NEXT BOWLING GREEN DIG: Date & Topic Change Thursday, July 29 (Photoshop 101)

Amanda — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:21:32 +0000

WERKSHOP INSTITUTE PRESENTS
THE JULY BOWLING GREEN DIG:

**Topic Change** Photoshop 101
(The Consumer Behavior DIG has been moved to Tuesday, August 31.)

**Date Change** Thursday, July 29
(Orignial date was Tuesday, July 27)
8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Sponsored by Citizens First & Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce

Where? Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce
710 College Street
Light breakfast will be served. Compliments of Citizens First.

—————————————————

This DIG will be an introduction to Photoshop – what it is, what it’s used for
and what it’s basic functions are. The topics covered will be:

What is Photoshop?
Who should use it and why?
Capabilities
Best Practices

We will also show demonstrations of the following:

THE TOOLS/PALETTES
- Introduction to the tool bar (brief descriptions of different tools)
- Introduction to palettes (brief descriptions of major palettes)

DEMO (LEVEL 1)
- Opening a file in Photoshop (compatible file types)
- Resizing the image
- Cropping the image
- Using filters
- Saving a document for print (save vs. save as)

May Bowling Green DIG: PR 101

Tim — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:03:34 +0000

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.

PR 101 – David Green

View more presentations from Werkshop Marketing.

NEXT NASHVILLE DIG: Thursday, June 17 (PR 101)

Amanda — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:57:06 +0000

WERKSHOP INSTITUTE PRESENTS
THE JUNE NASHVILLE DIG:

PR 101

Special Guest Speaker:
David Green
Principal, David Green Communications

Thursday, June 17
8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Where? First Tennessee Corporate Offices
2525 West End Avenue, Suite 300, Nashville, TN 37203
Parking will be validated. Light breakfast will be served.

NEXT BOWLING GREEN DIG: Tuesday, June 29 (Designing a Website to Integrate with Social Media)

Amanda — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:28:46 +0000

WERKSHOP INSTITUTE PRESENTS
THE JUNE BOWLING GREEN DIG:

Designing A Website to Integrate with Social Media

Special Guest Speaker:
Rob Blackford
Owner, Design(615)

Tuesday, June 29
8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Sponsored by Citizens First & Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce

Where? Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce
710 College Street
Light breakfast will be served. Compliments of Citizens First.

An Ode to the Early Adopters of Social Marketing

Holly — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:46:38 +0000

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 Media Puzzle

Social Marketing Puzzle

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:54:44 +0000

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.

Social media puzzle Handout

Social media puzzle Presentation

Details for Labor and Employment Law Briefing

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:44:43 +0000