Archive for February, 2008
Though always the first to eat and the last to leave the table, I used to think that cooking was more about fueling myself — mere drudgery. I decided two years ago that I love eating too much to not know how to cook well. I’ve come to enjoy the improv, self-expression, and sharing in cooking and serving meals. So, when my friend and fellow foodie Melissa Yen opened Vella Cafe with co-owner Sara Voden in ‘06, it was right around when I was learning to look at the act of cooking as art, as self-expression, as a gift for those I care about. Of course, I loved the blunch menu and the open, sunlit aesthetic of the cafe. Between stuffing my mouth and talking with my buddy about our craft projects, I thought about how creativity and pleasure can be found in the least expected places. I wager that Searah, owner of Early to Bed, would agree. Vella Cafe, “The m.henry of West Bucktown,” is up for a Time Out Chicago Eat Out Award. Get your own edible Big O this Saturday, March 2. It’s the last day to vote Vella.
I found this article, Recession Spending: Ad Cutbacks Don’t Always Make Sense (byAndy Marken, President, Marken Communications) in one of the b2b advertising e-newsletters, and only after I read it, did I notice that it was written back in 2003. Despite the fact that online advertising plays such a big role in marketing budgets today, the basic info in this article is still sound. If you stop advertising when the economy gets tough, you’ll have an even harder time when the recovery comes. The trick is to market a little differently, not to stop.
An ideaXchanger asked me this question, so I thought I’d post here for everyone to get in on the discussion, especially for those who are into GTD. First, I’ve been in goals partnerships of some sort for over 5 years and have found them indispensable. In short, a goals partnership helps two or more people achieve their goals in a mutually supportive and accountable arrangement. It’s a two-way exchange, whereas professional coaching is better if you need to focus solely on your own goals. You can set it up in any number of ways. Some are more organized and linear; some are more brainstormy and collaborative. Curious? Check out the power of goals clubs and this online goal-setting community.
We’ve got some awesome PR mavens in ideaXchange, and I’m sure even more come silently to visit us here. I’ve a question for each of you. Why should a company hire a public relations consultant before its national launch? I’m collecting your responses to build a case to hire a public relations consultant for an upcoming project, so let ‘er rip! TIA
Support public radio and get your artwork distributed by winning the Sound Opinions album art design contest!
Along with Amy Cook, Mary Beth Klatt, and Dawn Reiss, Chicago Women in Publishing invited me to speak on its Contract Negotiations for Freelancers panel. The panel will be moderated by Marci Rolnik of LCA and takes place tomorrow at 6 p.m. I’m excited to share my experiences and help navigate this important aspect of self-employment. I’ll plan to stay a bit after the meeting as well and hope to see you there!
The Lincoln Park Chamber is having a Networking After Hours this Wed, Feb 20th. Brian Fons of Corporate Creations, who many of you know from a meeting long ago at my house, and I will be doing a Networking 101 at 5:15p. Event starts at 5:30. These are always well-attended and well worth attending! Feel free to share this with your friends and colleagues. Details: 5:30 - 7:30p Place- Walter E. Smithe Furniture 2009 N Clybourn Non-members: $30. You can pay at the door. Info: 773 880 5200
After one of my regular visits to the JohnsonBanks (UK design firm) website’s “Thought of the Week”, I was directed to this post in DesignObserver (that I somehow missed). It discussed the seepage of the title phrase into the client’s lexicon and the potentially destructive quality to encouraging this. Below are some excerpts, but here’s the full post. Today, the term has seeped into everyday usage, and it has become widely used by commissioners of graphic design. Why? Is it because it’s a piece of useful shorthand that emphasizes the importance of usability in modern strategy-driven communications? Or is it a babyish term that reduces the designer to the role of decorator — someone who gets asked to “color-in” strategic plans made by smart marketing wonks who think design is a no-brainer? British designer Michael Johnson … noted an increase in usage of the term: “Yes, people use it a lot,” he says. “I’ve always mistrusted it as a phrase — apart from sounding vaguely pornographic, I think when you succumb to ‘look and feel’ you’re only a hop and a skip away from mood boards, and that really is the end of design as we know it. It’s the kind of phrase that researchers love to throw around in focus groups, a process almost always destined to remove the last hints of creativity from a project.” Ever since W.A. Dwiggins became the first person to call himself a graphic designer, designers have agonized over the nomenclature of their trade. In recent decades, they have been dumping the word design as fast as they can in favor of more business-friendly terms such as corporate image, corporate identity, and most recently, branding. Does any of this matter? If clients are happy to refer to the output of graphic designers as “look and feel,” where’s the harm? Well, the harm is that it’s a euphemistic term that no better describes what good design can do that “nip and tuck” describes the work of a skilled brain surgeon. We encourage its use at our peril. Resist, I say
This week’s writing assignments have me researching ancient Egyptian art and history, the New York stand-up comedy scene, bridal industry trends, a fancy garden party benefit for a charity that helps the developmentally disabled, and much more. Sometimes I find myself wishing I had a 9-5 communications gig with a big company in the Loop — downtown Chicago is such a magical place, and at this point, employer-supplied health insurance would also be magical. But I know myself well enough to know I’d get bored writing the same stuff in the same style about the same people again and again. I like the random element of freelancing. I like making phone calls to people in a wide range of professions, across thousands of miles, and getting to know them and their work. I like being prompted to learn more about something that otherwise may not have bleeped across my radar. And now, to add even more variety to my writing day, I’m going to polish off another press release, and tackle my new gig writing greeting cards. I wonder how many versions of “Happy Birthday To My Wife” I can come up with in a half hour?
On May 12th, postal rates are going up… again. The charge for a first-class letter will go up to 42 cents (from 41 cents), however the price for each additional ounce will stay at 17 cents. There are several other increases affecting mailers, see the USPS website for specific details. A good incentive to kick off those email campaigns! |