Archive for October, 2006

Post

User-Friendly Free Font Finder

In Design,Marketing on Oct 16 by jason

FontsFinding the perfect free font for a flyer or newsletter can sometimes be arduous. There are many free fonts sites out there, but usually they’re very difficult to browse. Check out Better Fonts for a nice user-friendly solution.

Better Fonts has built a clean interface that allows you to quickly choose the font you like. It displays legible thumbnails of fonts categorized by name. It also allows you to change the preview text. That way you can see exactly what your headline will look like.

A few other free font sites:

Rather have desktop font software?

Leave a Comment

Post

Sketch for Sketch

In Fun on Oct 14 by jason

Sketch Swap Do you like to draw? Okay, even if you don’t… Try Sketch Swap.

Sketch Swap is a site dedicated to pure drawing fun. Sketch a picture on their site and submit your drawing. In return you’ll get to see someone else’s sketch. What’s cool about this is that you get to see every sequential stroke. You’ll have to try it out to see what I mean.

So if you need a break from your busy life, sketch!

Leave a Comment

Post

Email Large Attachments: Pando

In Productivity,Technology on Oct 13 by jason

Email Is your email host too restrictive when it comes to large file attachments? Most of us have been there. You send the email, but the attachment isn’t received. It could be a result of file sending limits imposed by your email provider. Or it could be mailbox size restrictions on the receiving end. Whatever the case, check out Pando.

Pando is a desktop application that lets you email (send and receive) large files and folders. They even have a plugin for Outlook. Do you need to how many times a files was downloaded? Send your files via Pando and you’ll be able to know that too.

One downside is that the receiving party needs to install Pando. But if you’re in a workgroup or small office, this is a great way to share files. Go ahead. Use Pando.

Leave a Comment

Post

Color for the Uninspired

In Design,Marketing on Oct 11 by jason Tagged:

Paintbrush Even for the creative, visually oriented folk, choosing the right colors can be difficult at times. It may be colors for a new listing flyer or postcard. Or maybe you’re trying to redesign your whole look. Whatever the case, and especially if you’re ever feeling uninspired, try predefined color schemes.

A great concept that is soon to be launched is Daily Color Scheme. Once launched, the website will offer a daily dosage of coordinated color schemes.

I’ve tried their beta and it looks good. As of today there are about 19 schemes released since July 2006. The different schemes aren’t distributed daily yet, but it’s still a valuable resource.

If you want more choices and rather flip through paper, get Color Index. Color Index touts over 1100 color combinations that include formulas for both web (RGB) and print
(CMYK).

Looking for more info on color? Here are a few excellent resources.

  • Color Matters: Great info on understanding color theory, emotional effects, symbolism, etc.
  • Color Wheel Pro: Although commercial software, their site provides good information on properly coordinating colors.
  • Visibone: Color charts galore; If you’re designing for the web be sure to check out their free Color Scheme Lab.
  • Color Schemer: I really like this one. It’s a simple yet flexible online color schemer (free).

Leave a Comment

Post

Globalizing marketing terms

In Marketing on Oct 10 by jason

Castle For SaleI just returned from sunny Orlando, Florida, home of Disney World. One thing I learned (in addition to how to make my dreams come true) is the importance of globalized real estate terms. As I drove around, I noticed a lot of billboards for “home sites”. I knew exactly what it meant, but we don’t use that term in our area. We say “lots”.

Shoes or Kicks?

For “athletic shoes”, there are regional synonyms such as:

  • tennies
  • sneakers
  • tennis shoes
  • kicks

In a global marketplace (i.e. the world-wide web), you need to be aware of which terms are the most effective term to market. Will your target audience search for “kicks” or “running shoes”?

Real Estate Synonyms

Now for real estate… If you sell land that people can build on, which would you advertise?

  • Lots
  • Land
  • Buildable lots
  • Home sites

Your answer should be based on three questions:

  1. What do people search?
  2. How often do they search it?
  3. What’s my competition?

Your regional language will probably determine proper usage. However, when you’re dealing with people from out of town (like the freeway near Disney or the Internet) be sure to pick what works. Do some research to find the best terms to market. Don’t assume you know what people are looking for. Get the hard facts. Wordtracker is a good place to start.

And by the way, I don’t think that castle is really for sale. :-P

Leave a Comment

« Back to Home