branding 101 with Creative Alliance Design in Lake Zurich

Branding - designing the experience before the experience. 


Branding is what your logo, marketing, sales, products and ads say about you as a company.  It is not your product that is branded it is your company as a whole. 


Branding is not about convincing your target market to choose you over your competition.  It is about showing your prospective customers that you are the only company that can do the job they need.  You are the answer to their problem.


To make branding effective your main priority should be to understand the needs and wants of your current customers and your prospective clients.  At every point of public contact you should be analyzing their needs and adjusting your marketing accordingly.  Your branding will then turn into your promise to your customer.  It will be as invaluable to them as it is to you.  


One thing to start considering is analyzing the content of your website. Could you get rid of the 'about us' section of your website and still have your viewers/readers understand your story? If not, make changes and get your branding up to par. Potential customers will make their 1st impression of you within 10 seconds. Make it a good one.


To get your branding off to a good start, employ a good graphic designer or marketing firm to help you create your image.  Creative Alliance takes pride in helping businesses do just this.  Branding is made easy with the experience of Creative Alliance Design in Lake Zurich.  Check us out on the web at www.creativealliancedesign.com or on facebook.  

Valentine's Day Cards by Creative Alliance

These cards are adorable! These Valetine's Day cards come in sets of 20 and are just $1/card.  They are perfect Valentine's Day cards to hand out at school and to friends and family.  Just email me a photo, we'll pick a template and I'll have them sent directly to you.  Kids are so excited to hand out their personalized Valentines...way better than the store bought super hero cards that everyone gets. Contact me at creative alliance design or email me at julie@creativealliancedesign.com for more information to place an order. Thanks!
Here are few examples:

Custom Valentine's Day Cards by Creative Alliance

Quick!  There's still time to order custom Valentine's Day cards.  Kids love to pass out Valentine's Day Cards to their friends and classmates.  Let them feel extra special by having a custom card with their picture on the card!  I have lots of templates to choose from.  A pack of 20 is just $20.  That includes shipping right to your front door!  Choose a custom greeting and send me a picture of your little one and I'll do the rest.  You'll get  a proof in your inbox within 48 hours.  You can pick a design template from my webpage at www.creativealliancedesign.com, or email me at julie@creativealliancedesign.com

These are just so cute.  Everyone will want to know where you got them.  Every year I make the ones for my kids I get tons of compliments.  You'll be glad you took the time to order these as they will be a keepsake.

Julie

Creative Alliance Design: claiming your listings!

Creative Alliance Design: claiming your listings!

claiming your listings!

Have you claimed all your free business listings online yet? What a PITA this is.  It is so time consuming, but well worth it.  The more you can claim the better your web presence will be.  Google yourself, then your competition. Make sure all the listings that pop up for you, you've claimed.  Then make sure all the listings that your competition has, you also have.  If you don't claim it or create one.  They are usually free, so what have you got to lose?

For more marketing tips and tidbits, visit me at www.creativealliancedesign.com

Thanks for reading.

iphone 4/4s custom cases on sale NOW!

Get one of these custom designed iphone 4/4s cases NOW, before the sale is over!  Theses super durable cases have a back that I can customize with your logo, favorite picture, QR code, or whatever you like.  These are black, white or clear with edge protection.  They are printed on white gloss, silver matte or gold finishes. FABULOUS! The iphone 4/4s custom case in on sale only until January 30, 2012.  Custom iphone 4/4s cases now only $20, that's 50% off!
Contact me for ordering details at julie@creativealliancedesign.com
Check out my website for other awesome offers and products.  www.creativealliancedesign.com 

web design trends for 2012

I've been doing my research on how to stay current with web design.  There are lots of fun trends for 2012 and here are my favorite.

Bold attention grabbing designs will always be around. The focus is still on aesthetics but functionality is also crucial. 

On an average, a web user spends about 10 second on the page. So the message should be conveyed instantaneously making an impact as soon as the page is viewed.

1. Colors

Bright hues of red, pink and green are being used on the web instead of neutrals. Saturated rainbow hues that captivate interest are a must. However, use only 2-3 colors and be consistent with branding.

2. Typography

Custom fonts can be put together using CSS Typeset, Typetester, WhatTheFont and other tools. Bigger font size textured fonts with depth, 3D effect, gradients, transparency and shadows are hip.

3. Photos and backgrounds

To grab user attention, large sized photos and backgrounds are used. Images and icons are substantial in size. The page should look rich with animation just like a movie or video game. 

Come see what all we have to offer at www.creativealliancedesign.com