Graphic Design Candidate

Someone looking for work sent us this email and thought I would share it.

Dear Sir

I am writing this letter to enquire as to any available positions at Cosmic.

I see that Cosmic’s goal is “to deliver superior design solutions to clientele looking to explore contemporary design styles and marketing strategies”. I have viewed the excellent awards received from numerous companies and have noticed how creative your designs have made an impact on the success of companies. My immediate reaction was “Now, this is a team I would like to join!”.

In March 2010, I will graduate with a Bachelors Degree in Graphic Design. During the course of my studies, I have learned to use my creative skills to design logos, business cards, Annual Reports and posters. I have received two certificates for Academic Recognition, and I believe that the skills I have acquired over the past four years will help your Company produce even more fresh and creative designs.

I am an honest, personable, diligent worker who takes personal satisfaction in my work and recognize the importance of meeting all deadlines. My main objective is to get each and every job accomplished to the best of my ability, within the required timeframe while satisfying the client’s needs and wants.

Once you have reviewed my resume, please contact me at the number above to discuss my candidacy in further detail and how my skills might be utilized within your Company. I am confident in my ability to make an immediate and long term contribution to your company.

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

CT

Sometimes flattery will at least get your foot in the door.

©2009 \\ COSMIC \\

Graphic design and budgets

I've always been an artist. I was the stereotypical hyperactive child drawing on the walls even when mom told me not to do it. I was even doing in my 20's and 30's.

One thing I can tell you about most artists is that we make crappy business people. For the most part, we have our heads so far in the clouds, the mere thought of creating a sales process or an operations manual or accounting forces us to run, hide and put our heads somewhere where even the sun can't get at us.

Nevertheless, I've finally succumbed to the notion that if I want to keep my head in the clouds, I'm going to have to spend a little time here on earth.

Coming back to reality started last week when I began to work on our company's budget for 2010. This is the first time I have ever done this and the artist in me began throwing in numbers and creating these lofty projections for next year where I was making a quarter million dollars by the end of 2010!

When I looked at year's past however, reality set in and I realized there was definitely a mismatch.

A lot of people question our prices. They often claim they are too high. I would say that's the price you pay for high-quality graphic design work.

After studying our company budget, however, I realized it takes a lot more than a big ego to run a business. Do you know that it costs just over $10,000 for our St. Petersburg office to break even every month? Considering very modest expenses and a staff of one, that's a shitload of money! The reality is I can't have my head in the clouds when when we're talking that kind of money each month.

I love my job and if I could do it for free, I would. Truth is folks, I need to eat and pay the rent just like everybody else. If you are looking for a good deal, please ask someone else, because I'm not going to give it to you. However, if you are looking for a graphic design team to deliver premium marketing solutions for your company, then let's talk business.

Aradia Massage

If you are ever in the St. Petersburg, Florida area, be sure to look up Aradia. Who's Aradia? She's not only one of our clients, she's also one of the most skilled massage therapists you'll ever have the pleasure of knowing.

We launched her new website this week. You can see it here.

The site is pretty basic right now and will be a nice staging point for all the other work we have planned for it in the coming months including an online booking system and storefront.

If you want to read more about it in the news, click here.

©2009 \\ COSMIC \\

Cosmic's experiment with product design

We were just got hired to design a series of very fun Christmas tree ornaments plus the packaging. This is beginning to become a commonplace occurrence for Cosmic: packaging and product design, which is funny because it isn't what we've studied. That's not to say we aren't experienced with it.

There's a shift in the marketplace for businesses. Those that start have the tools available to them to create advertising and design work for themselves. We don't recommend this route and yet, it is something we are seeing a lot of.

The other side of it is we are seeing a shift in what clients are requesting. We just finished project work on the design of a software interface for a custom website application. It was a combination between web design and product design and proved to be a very interesting and rewarding learning experience.

For the future, Cosmic is looking towards new aspects of design beyond print collateral and website design to accommodate our customer's needs.

What new unexpected shifts have you seen in your industry?

©2009 \\ COSMIC \\

Mini Blog: What do You Need Me to Do?

is reading "What do you need me to do?" http://ping.fm/Xg9Kp

©2009 \\ COSMIC \\

Mini Blog: Redesigning Adulthood

Spoke about 'Redesigning Adulthood' today and was voted Best Speaker today at Toastmasters.

©2009 \\ COSMIC \\

Mini Blog: Art Quote

There is no must in art because art is free. WASSILY KANDINSKY

©2009 \\ COSMIC \\

Cusp Conference

Next week, the Cosmic team will be heading up to Chicago for our annual meeting and conference. This year, we'll be attending the Cusp Conference, which proves to be inspirational for creative professionals of any kind.

The two-day conference will be held in Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art and will discuss future trends related to art, music, graphic design and architecture to name a few, presented by some of the world's leading creative professionals.

We'll hopefully come back with lots of pictures and stories and ideas to share, because that's really what creative work is for, yes? To share with the world?

©2009 \\ COSMIC \\

Gap Between Sales and Marketing

I recently came across an interesting statistic. A study by the Chief Marketing Officer Council stated that most salespeople view up to 90% of sales materials created by marketing as valueless.

I have even met some of these salespeople. They hand you a brochure and say something like "Here's some information about our company. You'll have to excuse the brochure though. It's hideous."

One business owner I've met touts his company as an upscale business. He claims to be able to bring your company to a whole new level. He's very inspiring. Take a look at his brochure, however, and not only does it look like a five year old designed it, but it features a photo of a stressed out business man holding his head in his hands right on the cover. The brochure design and the photo contradicts everything he speaks about.

We constantly see a lack of consistency in the design of most business marketing materials. Many just want to do it themselves and others don't want to spend the money. So, how much does it cost you when your sales force is out in the public demoralizing your company through your own marketing materials?

So, what do you do about it? You hire a professional graphic design team that works not only with the company's marketing team, but your sales team as well. Spending a little bit to put in the time and care into your corporate identity program is a critical component to promoting your business in the best light. It is not as much money as you would think and pays off big in the long run.

©2009 \\ COSMIC \\

Respect

Try this experiment.

Walk into to your local grocery store. Load up your cart with groceries and then go find the manager. Tell him you'll pay him at the end of the month or better yet tell him you'll pay at the end of the month and then ask for a 15% discount on everything, y'know…because of the 'recession' and all.

How do you think this scenario would pan out? Sound silly?

»Watch this video.
It illustrates perfectly what many of us deal with on a daily basis.

Graphic Design is a business and it fascinates me that some folks don't get that. We have employees. We have overhead (I'm going to guess that our overhead is a great deal more than one might think it is). We also have families.

Speak to other graphic designers and advertising professionals and what you will probably find in common is that many of them sense a lack of respect for their work from their clients and potential clients. Speak to the clients and they may say they don't see the value in the service.

While finding statistics on ROI for graphic design is near impossible, you can't look at companies like Apple, Target and Starbucks and say that graphic design has had no impact on their sales or customer traffic. Granted these are huge organizations but they also have a huge respect for graphic design.

As designers, it is becoming increasingly important to educate clients and potential clients alike on the value that our service brings to them. We can no longer be just 'cool artists'. We must become research junkies. If you can find facts and figures about how design has helped a business, send it to your clients and you'll start to see value show up.

©2009 \\ COSMIC \\

Boom Business Expo

If you are looking for ideas on how to spruce up your website or where to start one from scratch, you may sit in on the web design roundtable discussions at the Boom Business Expo on Monday, April 27th at the Quorum Hotel in Tampa, FL.

I will be facilitating the discussion with topics that may include How to Build a Great Looking Website, Branding Yourself Online, How to Build Effective Email Marketing Campaigns, Social Media, Website Navigation and the Importance of Visuals on a Website to name a few.

To learn more about the Web Design Roundtable discussions go here.

To purchase tickets to the business conference go here.

©2009 David Scott | Cosmic: Corporate Graphic Design

Incredibly powerful photoshop

Sean sent me this site by Maciej Mitzer, a graphic designer and digital artist out of Poland. BY far some of the best work with Photoshop we've seen. Who says you can't create art on a computer?

Image: ©2009 Maciej Mitzer

©2009 David Scott | Cosmic: Advertising & Design

Getting in touch with our feminine side

Recent invitation design for Women Who Care Society.

The Women Who Care society recently tapped Cosmic to help create an invitation for their spring lunch social. Custom invitations, RSVP cards and envelopes were created for the event.

Women Who Care is a group that allows likeminded women to come together and pool their charitable gifts to sustain vital after school youth enrichment services at the Homeless Emergency Project, a non-profit organization located in Clearwater, Florida.

©2009 David Scott | Cosmic: Advertising & Design

Do you want to be really good at graphic design?

Seth Godin asks why aren't you really good at graphic design?.

As Godin points out, there are a lot of really great resources out there that make design easy for the non-designer.

Perhaps the reason the non-designer is NOT really good at graphic design is that maybe they are better at numbers than they are at art. Maybe they spent 4, 6, or 8 years in college studying economics and not design. Simply put, they are not designers and I would assert that most business people have no desire to be.

When your focus is on saving nickels over enhancing your brand image, your result is usually a formula for poorly executed marketing.

Godin makes a point that it is important to hire someone when it counts, but when does it count for the business owner uneducated in the importance of good design? Does this mean you should be spending $100 an hour to have someone put together a sign up sheet for a golf tournament or a fax cover sheet. No. What about business cards? Absolutely.

Business cards are sales tool. It is usually one of the first interactions a customer has with your marketing. If it doesn't make a powerful impression through design, you haven't done anything to gain trust with the customer.

What about brochures or annual reports? It is best to consult with a professional first to see what your options are. Getting a second and third opinion couldn't hurt. Ask them how hiring them for the project would enhance and grow your business. The answer should determine whether you want to do it yourself or not.

©2009 David Scott | Cosmic: Advertising & Design

Sales and design

I haven't met many graphic designers that are really good salespeople. In fact, most are downright horrible at sales. That's why many of the big agencies are run by experienced sales people, not creatives.

If you do find a designer that has solid sales experience, hang on to them.

Understanding the sales process is essential to the design process. Graphic designers create the tools needed in the sales process to make an effective presentation for their client's company.

Whether an annual report, business card or website, the effective sales person uses each of these tools to grow their company. If the designer does not have a clear understanding of how the sales process works, how will their ideas help you?

©2009 David Scott | Cosmic: Advertising & Design

Selling on websites

A potential client told me they took down their website because they couldn't spend the time to manage all the products they had to sell online. Now he has a website listed on his business card and no site.

With an increasing number of people seeking out companies on the internet, this is not always a good approach to brand development.

You don't always have to sell products on your website for it to be a useful marketing tool. Here are some ideas to consider that require little to no maintenance on your part.

• Even if it one page with your phone number, put something up. You can still optimize a single page site for the web so that people find you online.

• Create a scheduling application that allows users to set service appointments through your website.

• Use a third party site like Infusion to manage your leads and marketing for you.

• Automate everything. From quotes to contact. The more business systems and processes you can integrate into the technology behind the web, the less time you will spend working on it and answering questions.

• Make sure your site is chock full of useful information from the start. A site that is highly informative may require less revisions as time goes on.

• If you need to sell product, sell products that have longevity such as books or a registration to a workshop.

• Create a site that educates instead of advertises. Educating your customer can go a long way to create brand loyalty for your product or service.

• Your design team is a good resource to assist you with any with maintenance issues. They can objectively look at your situation and create a solution that works to save you time.

Possibilities for how to use your website are endless and the solution to your online marketing needs won't always look like you think it has to look.


©2008 David Scott | Cosmic: Advertising & Design

Illegal Logo?

Here's an interesting story. Funny, how our city's skin head community can still wear their swastikas or how we can still read Martha Stewart Living even though she's a convicted felon.

Did the law go too far? Is this a violation of our freedom of speech and expression?

Perhaps the gang is not the most responsible group of individuals, but for those that are innocent, I would think they deserve a chance to redeem their brand by promoting the best they can.

©2008 David Scott | Cosmic: Graphic Design & Branding

Tips On Growth

Joy Gendusa's shares her tips for success during this time in business. You might want to pay attention too. Joy owns Postcard Mania, a successful postcard marketing company that has seen excellent growth for the past 10 years.

Her recession-proof gameplan includes:

• Don't be a survivor; be a thriver.
• Use the database you already have.
• Make sure your core workers are on the bandwagon to beat the slump.
• Leverage government programs and incentives.
• Be picky in taking on debt.
• Market heavily.
• Find new revenue sources.
• Keep morale up.

©2008 David Scott | Cosmic: Graphic Design & Branding

Cosmic Wins Design Award In Creativity Annual Awards Competition

Cosmic Wins Design Award In Creativity Annual Awards Competition
Winning Entry To Be Published In Creativity 38 Annual

Recognized for the design of the 2007 Sovereign Risk Insurance Annual Report

Cosmic Ltd, a full service graphic design firm specializing in annual reports and corporate brochure design, has been selected for publication in The Creativity Annual Number 38, due out in 2008.

Cosmic received a silver award and was recognized for its outstanding design of the 2007 Sovereign Risk Insurance annual report by a panel of judges from some of the most prestigious design firms in the United States.



The annual report was co-produced by graphic designers Sean Collier and David Scott of Cosmic and will be included in The Creativity Annual: a 400 page hardcover book distributed worldwide by Harper Collins.

Originated by Art Direction magazine founder Don Barron, and first held in 1970, the Creativity Annual was one of the first books to showcase leading-edge design. The annual international competition is one of the most prestigious in the industry, and The Creativity Awards competition continues to honor the outstanding work done each year by creative professionals in every discipline. Awards are based strictly on the quality of the submissions, not the size, nor reputation of the firm.

"We are honored and thrilled to be recognized for such an award on an international scale," says Scott. "It’s really a testament to the creativity and hard work we put into this project."

The agency was one of over 2,800 entrants from 45 states and 44 countries, according to the editor and awards director.

About The Creativity Annual Awards
Established in 1970, The Creativity Annual Awards is based in Louisville, KY and is one of the longest running international advertising and graphic design competitions in the world. A print, web, advertising and media design competition, each year the judges choose the best from all over the world to be reproduced in the 400-page Creativity Awards Annual.


©2008 David Scott | Cosmic: Graphic Design & Branding

News: Homeless Emergecy Project hires Cosmic for capital campaign

St. Petersburg, FL, June 12, 2008 - Graphic design firm Cosmic Ltd. has been hired by the Homeless Emergency Project for the design of their capital campaign brochure. The capital campaign will help generate funding to support the construction of the Homeless Emergency Project’s new Social Service Center. The Social Service Center will be Pinellas County, Florida’s first sustainable building of its kind constructed under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines.

“The Homeless Emergency Project is an organization committed to transforming the issue of homelessness in Tampa Bay,” said David Scott of Cosmic. “It is an honor to partner with such an inspiring group and we are delighted to be given the opportunity to contribute by creating a campaign brochure around this landmark project.”

Press Release: Homeless Emergency Project Hires Cosmic for Capital Campaign.

©2008 David Scott | Cosmic: Graphic Design & Branding