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Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work
The above quote is by American painter and photographer Chuck Close. I came across it while I was, ironically enough, bashing around the internet looking for inspiration for design related blog topics. I had looked at all my regular sources, Creative Review, and MyFonts, and Getty, and a few others. [...]
Organizational change – managing resistance and promoting success
Whether it’s due to a restructuring, downsizing, rapid growth, new leadership, or market forces, change within an organization can be difficult. People, it seems, are often wired to respond to change as a threat, triggering primal responses similar to that of being chased by a lion. Since running away and [...]
Before you begin: branding assessment worksheet
Are you considering a brand refresh or brand assessment for the new year? Whether you plan on engaging a marketing and branding agency or conducting your own review, taking a little time to locate resources and establish your access to key information can save frustration and delays along the way. [...]
One simple question that can get any business back on track.
Between changes in technology, changes in economic, marketing and business theory, information overload, and this seemingly global simmering anger, the world of work these days can be extremely challenging. Marketing in particular, still often considered by companies as more of an expense than an investment, is plagued by an absolute [...]
How to lead a truly effective meeting
As someone whose job it is to make things, I’m not crazy about meetings. They me away from my primary responsibility and what I really like to do. This makes it difficult when we live in a world where meetings have overtaken the workday. However, recently I attended one of [...]
How to not drown in your content marketing strategy
Content marketing is the biggest thing going in marketing these days. When combined with marketing automation it can be a powerful method to help overwhelmed, over-exposed, information-overloaded people decide they want to buy your product or service. It’s also easy to get lost in KPIs, content types, promotion, distribution, editorial [...]
Proposals and other performance art
As a “creative type” I spent the first years of my career in marketing blessedly unneeded in early meetings focused on sales – convincing strangers that you are actually really good at what you do. I just had to BE really good at what I did, it was up to [...]
Is a designer an artist?
Is a designer an artist? It’s a question that has come up in conversation pretty often over the course of my career – as it did during an outdoor happy hour one warm evening last week. My answer has generally been no, not really, not the kind of designer I [...]
Agency management vs. vendor management – one CD’s perspective
Most days I love my job. But, some of my most frustrating days as a designer and as a creative director have come about primarily because I forgot one simple truth that none of us in the agency world can ever really afford to forget: we are vendors. Agency people, [...]
Stock Photos in Real Life
Ah, stock photography, one of John Paul Getty’s greatest contributions to the lives of designers everywhere. (Ok, it was actually his grandson who started what is now the world’s largest source of quality, licensable photography, Getty Images.) As d.trio is a Minneapolis marketing agency, we work primarily on marketing, meaning [...]
