Every industry professional has a need for sometime type of calling or business cards. While most business cards have your standard contact information (name, phone, email, and social media) some industry cards require additional information specific to that industry. Recently we were approached with such a project, a good friend of ours, Tasha Philips, who has been working in the modeling industry asked us to design a unique dynamic model comp cards for her upcoming events.

To create this piece of work I started with 5 different looks from Tasha’s past events. I chose to use a very artistic face shot for the front of the card, to give potential scouts a clear look at her beautiful facial features. I pulled colors right from her makeup to create a call out for her name and contact information, which blends with the overall look but still stands out and puts focus on the important information like her name and contact information. On the back of the card I chose a full length photo to show her figure with three other smaller photos to show the versatility of her looks and poses. The goal here was to show as much of the model’s work as possible without cluttering the card. In addition, to just showing her looks I also wanted to subconsciously draw a potential scouts attention to the type of modeling Tasha does. Tasha has experience in both run way and photo shoot modeling, so to emphasize these I used several action photos to give a full view of her walk and grace on the stage.

Another key factor of these model comp cards is the physical attributes information. Potential scouts are often looking for a particular size, type, and build for their modeling jobs so the most important information beside the photo on a model comp card is the placement of this information. On this card I placed the models Weight, Measurements, Eye and Hair Color information in the middle column of the card against the dark background to ensure it stood out and grabbed the reader’s attention as they were viewing the card. A traditional business card contact information is the most important element on the card, however on a model comp card contact information takes a back seat to photos and physical attributes but is still important as with any business card to make sure someone can reach you if interested. For this card I placed the main contact information on the front and back giving it its own significance amongst the other elements. So here’s what we came up with, What do you think?

Every small business needs a website but may not have all the information they need to produce one. Today we discuss what’s the Minimum number of pages you need to start your small business website; and give you a little insight on the advantages of starting your site small and growing it with your business.

If you have questions or  need help with setting up your first website, feel free to Contact Us.

A frank discussion with AKZMe Design’s Owner about the recent changes to Social Media networks and how they effect businesses online presence.

If you have questions or  need help with setting up your first website, feel free to Contact Us.

Happy Earth Day!!!!

As usual Google doodles have struck again this time with a very cool growing garden doodle. They’ve even added a little rhyme below the doodle which links to a page where you can find local growers, buy discounted seeds, and learn more about the environment. “Roses are red, violets are blue, for Earth Day this year, let’s all plant a few”

So why big deal about an Earth Day Doodle?

Google doodles aren’t just the cutest things that we look forward to on special holiday, but they are also part of one of the most ingenious marketing strategies. Many companies (Google doodles being the most infamous) like to highlight holidays, commemorative events, or important days in history in their web presence, not just because they are great world citizens but mainly because they are great traffic draws. What better way to show up in a feed or get retweeted on a trending topic than to be the one talking about it. By mentioning a special day on your Facebook page, writing a blog post (hint hint you’re reading one now) or tweeting about it, you are increasing your chances of showing up in the days Google searches, Facebook’s infamous “others talking about feeds’ and trending topics.

So get in on the conversation, let us know how you are “celebrating” Earth day on your social media page or site.

Lately I’ve seen more and more small business websites without a favicon or using a generic favicon like Vista Print’s signature V. Some don’t know what a favicon is or how important it is to our brand.  Today I decided to take a look all things favicon and help my fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners take advantage of this valuable branding tool.

What’s is a Favicon

A favicon is small (usually 16×16) image used by browsers to quickly identify your website. The most common place you see favicon is before or after your sites name in tabbed browser. For example:

Why do you need a Favicon?

This answer is simple

BRANDING!!!!

This small seemingly insignificant image is the key to your brand recognition online. Not having a favicon is often one of the most  missed branding opportunities. Having a recognized favicon can make all the difference when a user has 20 websites open and they need to quickly find yours in a browser that looks like this:

How many of these sites can you identify from just their favicon?

And if branding in tabs isn’t enough look at all the other places favicons are used:

How do you get a Favicon?

Now you’re SOLD!! Getting a favicon has been added to you thing to do list for this weekend. But how do you get one and how much?

Here’s the good news creating and adding a favicon is very easy and it can be FREE! Many companies use their exiting logo or branding to create their favicon, using first letter of the logo or a symbol that the company uses.  Another good alternative if you don’t have a logo is find a picture that represents your business. For example, if you’re a florist why not make your favorite flower your favicon, or a great head shot of the company president. It’s nice to see your face in your browser.

Once you’ve picked a picture you can use one of many free Favicon generators available online. You upload your photo and the site gives you a favicon.ico file to use on your site. Here’s a great one that I use: http://tools.dynamicdrive.com/favicon/

Last upload your favicon.ico file to your site, many DIY sites like some WordPress themes, Vista Print, and Wix allow you to upload your favicon.ico file right from their webpages. If you don’t have an option to add it and you have access to your file manager simply upload the favicon file to your root directory (the same folder where you index.html file is), browser automatically look for this file when loading your page so if there is a favicon there it will find.

And that’s it magically you’ll have a favicon of your own and let the BRANDING begin!!!!

Do you have a great favicon? Show it off, post your site in a comment and we’ll check your favicon out.