The Importance of Branding

A few days ago I went to Stew Leonards to pick up some shrimp for a recipe I was making. For anyone who has been to Stew's, you know it is impossible to just walk into that place, get what you want, and walk right out. IMPOSSIBLE. This is even more difficult while I am shopping with my boyfriend who will walk around any store or shopping center several times just to get as many free samples as he can. 

Apple even uses Brand Architecture to build its company brand

Anyway, while we were making rounds for free samples we came across the bread section and a man was handing out Belgian Waffles covered in cinnamon and sugar. Right off the bat... anything covered in cinnamon and sugar, to me, is perfection! (For all of you beer lovers out there, check out the Shipyard Pumpkin Ale. Not only does it taste like pumpkin and cinnamon, but when you order it as a draft, the bartender puts cinnamon and sugar on the rim! Amazing, right? Unfortunately it is only sold in the fall so if you see it you need to get it... sorry tangent over.)

Yes, the waffles were delicious, but like all of the other samples I was fine living without it. I was ready to move on and I started walking away. But the samples guy said something that stopped me in my tracks. He said "Imagine yourself running out of the house in the morning with a cup of coffee in one hand and this waffle in the other..." Weird, right? Not weird, genius. At that point I needed those waffles. My life would not have been complete without them. I needed to fulfill that vision because oddly enough it sounded so realistic to me. I could definitely imagine myself doing that. Thinking about this yesterday made me think of web techniques for advertising, marketing and most importantly, branding. 

Customers today really desire a connection to what they purchase. There has got to be a reason to use a product other than the simple fact that it works. We want to feel like the company understands us, our needs, and our lifestyle so much so that it feels like they cater directly to us, that they are thinking specifically about us as they are developing their products. The way a company brands themselves and positions themselves in someone’s mind truly determines how a customer will react to them. Companies have to figure out what makes themselves and their audience unique and how to cater to those people, and create a brand out of that.

Companies, especially new ones, just do not understand the importance of branding. It isn’t just picking a logo and colors, and it is no longer the ability to just inundate our media with commercials for products and services. What a company needs to be sustainable is customer loyalty, not just people who will laugh at a sarcastic or witty commercials and then change the channel. Look at Apple, for example. Not only do most hearts flutter when they see that bitten apple on any piece of technology, but no matter how many almost identical versions of the same product come out 4 months apart, people buy them anyway. Owning Apple products is less about owning a phone or a tablet or a computer, it is more about owning a lifestyle.

Regardless of how you feel about Apple’s products specifically, all companies could take some notes on their techniques. Whether it is through conferences, events, renaming employees to "Geniuses", providing a brand that your customers can directly fit themselves into far surpasses any frog saying "Bud...Weis...ERRR". 

Check out this article on branding techniques for designers:
The Designers Guide to Branding

Article of the Day: How to Develop Task Management Skills as a Freelancer

Here is an article I found today about task management skills. I constantly find myself reading these types of articles because they always shed light on new ideas on time management, which is something I think everyone needs help with. This one is probably the best article on the subject I have read so far because it moves away from any cookie-cutter "make a list and shut off all distractions" advice and instead actually uses great examples to give a real life perspective.

A screenshot of my current Producteev workspace.

Also, below is a link to a list of great task management tools that you can access online and are generally free. I use Producteev because it is straight forward, I have an app on my phone for it, and I can create several workspaces to keep tasks for my personal life and work life separate. Another great thing is that it very easily syncs with Google Calender so I only have to schedule something once, rather than on several different platforms. It isn't mentioned on this list (which is suprising because I discovered it in an article similar to this one) but it is definitely worth checking out.

Article 1: How to Develop Task Management Skills as a Freelancer
Article 2: 10 Extremely Useful Time Management Tools

Tips and Tricks: How to Avoid Being Lazy in the Morning

If you do not currently have full-time employment, find yourself being overly lazy on the weekends or on days off, or work from home the difficulty behind getting up and being productive in the morning seems to always put a damper on your day. After graduating and deciding that I would run a business from home, it quickly became apparent that waking up at 11, lounging in my pajamas until 2 and then finally starting work around 3:00pm was just not going to cut it. I knew I had to come up with a system, and after close to 6 months of this routine I am very close to having it perfected, so I've decided to share it. 

Step 1

Have a bedtime.

Go to bed by 12:00, or earlier if you can. My normal bedtime both while I was at school and on the weekends, or on break was always between 12 and 1, no matter what time I had to get up. If you are used to getting 8 hours of sleep, there is no chance you are going to wake up early if you are not going to bed at a reasonable hour. My personal judgment is that anytime before 12 for someone my age is a good time to shoot for. 

Step 2

Eat breakfast.

I noticed that not only do I feel better for the rest of the day when I do eat breakfast, but it trains my stomach to sort of wake me up in the morning. Eating regular meals throughout the day definitely helps, too. I guarantee that you will be more energized throughout the day if you have a good dinner the night before and breakfast that morning. It does not have to be fancy in any way. For me I will have a bowl of cereal, with maybe a banana (if I have them), and a cup of orange juice before I go to get coffee. It's a simple idea, but a lot of people skip breakfast in the morning, usually due to lack of time. If you find yourself lounging around all day, trust me you have the time. Also, drinking a lot of fluids always helps my mood throughout the day. Red powerade, coffee or Arnold Palmer are my go-to drinks for keeping me hydrated. 

Step 3

Schedule something to do in the morning. 

Whether its a yoga class, meeting with a friend, or something work related... I always find it so much easier to wake up when I actually have something to go out and do rather than just waking up and walking to the computer in my living room. Plus it works well with Step 4.

Step 4

Go outside right away.

This is probably the most important step for me. Even though I have coffee that I could make in my own apartment, I always go out in the morning to Starbucks to get coffee. Why? Because it gets me dressed and out of the house. To me it is my "travel" to work. If I do not do this then I am usually in my pajamas well into the afternoon and that definitely does not help me get work done. Even if you do not want to spend the $1.60 for a tall cup of coffee every morning, you can go for a short walk, do some food shopping, stop by the library, or sit outside drinking your homemade cup of coffee... basically anything that forces you to get dressed and get right out of the house in the morning will help you start your day quickly. 

Step 5

Set goals for the day

I tend to be pretty competitive and there is nothing or no one I like to beat more than my own expectations. If I set goals for myself for that day, and especially a time constraint, then odds are I am going to do whatever I can to finish my task list. I make it very reasonable, of course, but it is important to set a specific time to be done so you have that urgency when you wake up in the morning.

So there it is. I hope you can take one or a few tips from here and implement them into your own morning routine. If you have any tips of your own put them into the comments section, I would love to hear from whoever reads this!

-CS

Welcome to My Blog!

Hello there,

As you can tell this is my first blog post. Hopefully you found this blog through my company website, and you already know a little about me, Cara Stellato, and my business, Top Line Design. If not I encourage you to visit my website at www.tlwebdesign.com. 

Through this blog, I will do my best to talk about different aspects of web and graphic design from my perspective. I will share some insightful articles that I have read, and if I am feeling extra creative, will also write some of my own. Being a young business owner is definitely not an easy thing, especially during this time, and since I always find comfort in learning from the experiences of others, I will try and share my experiences and tips with you.

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to send them to me. Advice should always be free and it will make me feel extremely special to know that there are actually people out there reading this. Keep in mind that others may join in the writing of this blog, as well. I am working on building a great network of people to be able to offer my clients as many services as possible, including: web and graphic design, photography and video editing, marketing and advertising, open-source programming, etc.

Until next time,
- Cara