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Inspiration Event List & A Question for You

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Lately, I’ve been writing quite a bit – some weeks busting out three articles a week for Advertising Week and the Examiner – and yet, I’ve ignored this blog.  I’m sorry, friends.

To start making up for it, I’ll give you a couple quality posts this coming month; I promise.  If you’d like me to address something specific about moving up in your career, creating work-life balance, or something else creative career related, please leave a comment below (or e-mail me privately at angela@definingsuccesscoaching.com).

In the meantime, check out the fun list I created for an article on inspiration.  These are life experience-type ideas that don’t take as much time or commitment as the usual examples of traveling, skydiving, learning a language or taking an art class.  Give some of these a try (or let them inspire you to create your own list) that you can pull from when you hit a creative block:

  • Watch a foreign film (with or without the subtitles)
  • Hang out in a store you’d be embarrassed to be caught in
  • Crash a party or happy hour (You get extra points if it’s an industry-specific event for an industry you know little about. Hint: These are constantly taking place in hotel ballrooms.)
  • Search for the perfect gift for the weirdest person you know (and who isn’t a close friend)
  • Learn to fix something mechanical (e.g., old clock, typewriter, motor)
  • Eat at a foreign restaurant where you know nothing about the type of food
  • Attend an open mic or beat poetry night
  • Go to the most bizarre niche MeetUp group event you can find
  • Get to know festival/carnival/fair workers and their stories (Yes, befriending carnies will inspire you. Trust my experience.)
  • Volunteer at a food bank
  • Spend time in a musical instrument store (if you don’t usually)
  • Play with Mad Libs

Read the full article on ways to get unstuck creatively, if you’d like.  If you do, you’ll learn about my “carny days.”

Remember to leave a comment (or e-mail me directly) if you have something you’d like this blog to answer for you.  What would you like help with?

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Articles, Blocks, Creativity, Resources Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Color & Branding

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Color.  It plays an important role in design, branding and our everyday lives.

Color affects us.  It affects our emotions, our heart rate, our choices.

PBS released a mini documentary in its Off Book series entitled “The Effect of Color” [included at the end of this blog post].  The 7-minute video produced by Kornhaber Brown features color experts Thomas Bosket of Parsons The New School for Design, Leslie Harrington of Color Associate, Doty Horn of Fashion Institute Technology and representatives of www.mr-gif.com.

3 Main Takeaways from “The Effect of Color” Documentary

1. Color affects us physiologically and psychologically, soulfully and mentally

2. The 3 Types of Color Associations:

-Universal

Often physiological: When in a red room, our heart rate increases, we talk more and eat more. When on the red carpet, we walk faster.

-Cultural

Often a learned response

-Individual

Connected to our experiences

3. Economic, social, political, technological and environmental influencers drive the ebb and flow of color trends throughout history.  For example, during an economic downturn, people gravitate toward colors they perceive as safe.

Color in Your Branding

When creating your own personal brand, freelance business, or start-up company, consider your color choices carefully.  In The Effect of Color documentary the point was made that when you choose to wear a color, you are saying to the world, “This is me because I’m wearing this color.”  The same goes for your branding.

Color Affects Your Potential Clients

The colors of your logo and marketing materials will affect your potential clients.

Recognize how your potential clients universally and culturally associate with certain colors.  Unless their experiences are closely related to yours, cut out what you individually associate with a color.  (e.g., The color yellow may only make you think of your grandmother.)

Look at the colors of the branding your target audience is already respond to.  Are they responding to colors that are calm? Colors that convey luxury?  Funky, uncommon colors?  Safe colors? A certain combination of colors?  How do your consumers react to the simplicity or boldness of black & white?

One of the guys from Mr. GIF stated that, “You can make anything as long as you make it look intentional.”

Countless resources exist about the meaning of colors.  When searching in Google for “meaning of colors,” 92,100,000 results come up.  Knowing that, do some research, notice what your potential clients are responding to, play around with different colors, ask people you know in your target audience specific questions about the colors you are considering, and go from there.

E-mail Me for Color Advice

If you’d like my opinion on possible color choices, then e-mail me: angela@definingsuccesscoaching.com.  After all, I did my honor’s thesis in undergrad on “The Effects of Color in Advertising Across Generations.”

“The Effect of Color” Documentary

 

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Business, Clients, Freelancers, Resources Tagged With: , , , , ,

Invest in Yourself

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“School is never out for the pros.”

This last weekend I was at a conference south of LA.  This weekend it was in the low 80’s with an ideal slight breeze.  The conference was minutes away from Huntington Beach; I could have happily lounged the day away on the sand, hypnotized by the lull of the waves.  Instead, I was in a grand ballroom of an upscale hotel sitting in smack dab in the middle of 250+ people.

It was a training conference with my sales mentor Eric Lofholm, his mentor Dr. Donald Moine (who I’m pictured with above during the conference), and Eric’s coach, Jay Abraham.  You may not recognize these names but in the areas of sales and marketing for small businesses and even some Fortune 500 companies, these men are the millionaire (and multi-millionaire) examples of how to be an industry leader through serving others.

Results from my Sales Certification

The weekend conference was a self-imposed deadline to wrap up my certification requirements (including a written and verbal exam) as one of Eric Lofholm’s Proteges.  Since late November I’ve soaked up the materials on a weekly basis.  The last five weeks I studied on a much deeper level and before my test date arrived, I noticed a change with my one-on-one coaching clients.

Not only was I implementing the “Sales = Service” in my own business model, but also I was starting to teach my clients with advertising freelance businesses sales systems.  I was coaching and consulting on a level I hadn’t before and my clients reaped outstanding results.

Then on the Monday before the conference, I passed the final requirements – both the written and verbal exams – to earn my certification.  The feeling of accomplishment for earning the certification pales in comparison to the joy I get when my clients share their sales victories because of what I’m now able to confidently teach them.

You invest in you.  I’ll invest in me.  Then, we’ll invest in each other.

At the conference, one multi-millionaire stated “School is never out for the pros.”  It was Dr. Donald Moine, and he was right.

While I encourage others to invest in themselves, it’s equally as important that I invest in myself in order to continually give my clients and those around me more value.  As Ben Franklin put it, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

What are you doing this summer to invest in yourself?  Maybe it’s a class, maybe it’s reading a book filled with business concepts, maybe it’s jumping on one of the free teleseminars I’m offering this summer (wink. wink.  You can request all the information about my teleseminars for advertising creatives here.)

The Challenge

I challenge you to add one thing to your summer schedule that’s sole purpose is education.

Share the one thing you will do this summer to invest in your own education.  You can leave a comment here; I’ll start. 

Filed Under: Business, Clients, Events, Goals, Money, Resources, Time Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Advertising & Design Awards & Friendly Faces

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As the advertising and design award shows gear up, the anticipation builds.  Who will be the big winners this year?  Who will get the credit they deserve?  What work will stand out in the sea of product promotion?

The 91st Annual Art Directors Club Awards are currently being judged.  Today, this clip from the interactive jury was posted, and a friendly face of one creative director with whom I worked came up.

Yesterday, the face of a colleague from my advertising days showed up in the 2012 Facebook Studio Awards Jury Session photos.

It’s incredible to think that I’ve worked alongside the best of the best – the advertising creatives who are jurying Cannes and The One Show and the ADDY’s and the Andy’s…and…and…  It’s simply incredible (if incredible can be simple).

As I write about the talent I was surrounded by and that I remain connected to, I want to clarify that I don’t mean to be “name dropping” nor jumping up and down saying, “Look at me!  Look at me; I have cool friends!”  My experience, my network and my insights are not a point of pride but rather tools to better help my creative clients.  My passion is coaching and consulting advertising art directors, copywriters and graphic designers.

Also, it makes me smile to see a friendly face on a video such as this one for the Art Directors Club Awards. ;)

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Clients, Creativity, Resources Tagged With: , ,

Group Coaching

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This year’s ACT & YOU SHALL ACHIEVE Group Coaching Call Series has reached its half-way point and is steadily crescendoing. The members’ goals range from those involving art to real estate, time management to finances. It’s incredible to work with a diverse group of people – from the west coast to the east coast – and to facilitate them helping themselves and helping each other achieve their goals. There’s a certain synergy when a group like this one comes together, and it’s wonderful. Whether it’s career coaching or life coaching, planning or prioritizing, acknowledgement or tough love that they need during our group coaching calls, I’m with them every step of the way.

Filed Under: Blocks, Clients, Goals, Money, Resources, Time Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Working on the New Career Coaching Website

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After more than one year of officially “being in business,” DEFINING SUCCESS COACHING has outgrown its old career coaching website.  As I jump into WordPress, my intention is first and foremost to build a resource for my career coaching clients.  Every post, every link, every page, every single aspect of the new site will be designed with you in mind.  Yes, if you are reading this blog post, this site is for you.

Here’s to defining and claiming your own success!  Let me know if I may be of service.

All the best,

Angela

Filed Under: Business, Clients, Goals, New Website, Resources Tagged With: , , , , , ,