THIS WEEK WITH PANDA: Design 101

May 8, 2012 in Creative, WJ Fun Stuff with 0 Comments

Recently I had the privilege to take some of my acquired design knowledge and share it with a very special group of people (My Design Profs would be so proud). I’ve always had a small desire to teach ever since I left art school and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. My younger brothers teacher approached me to give a talk and short lesson on art and design and how it applies to the real world. I gladly accepted the offer and made arrangements to come up and spend an afternoon with the students.

Upon further reflection anxiety began to set in. I have no problem walking into a boardroom full of executives, marketing directors and creative types and pitching a design concept, campaign, brand identity or whatever other corporate collateral ones business may require, but the daunting task of entering a room of 10–12 year olds was frightening. Is it possible to capture a 5th graders attention for 3 hours, how does someone captivate an 11 year old on the topic of design, is it possible to back out of this? Call in sick? Reschedule or send a replacement? I figured the best way to tackle this assignment was to show examples of what inspired me to do what I do, if I could talk passionately about design maybe just maybe I could inspire their young minds to possibly go down the same road I traveled.

Some of my fondest memories of my time in school were those spent in art class, having the opportunity to visualize my uncorrupted imagination and using the mediums at hand to communicate my ideas visually, spending hours painting drawing and sculpting anything that popped into my head. One of the most beautiful things about being a kid in art class is the freedom and the lack of fear to do as you please. How I wish I could go back to those days.

Back to the task at hand, as I began to deal with the fear of standing in front a class room full of prepubescent kids, I remembered the words of my little brother, “ Can you please wear a T-shirt so all my friends can see your tattoo’s” I figured this would at least capture their attention long enough (as well as give me some playground street cred) to get through the introduction to my presentation. The structure of this presentation would be key to me surviving this afternoon. What are kids this age interested in? And how does that apply to art and design. Lets break it down. Because I’m technically still a kid at heart I tried to think of thing that attracted me to design and how it might apply to these little humans. I looked in to areas like video games, character design, architecture, industrial design, fashion, branding etc. I wanted to show the class how far reaching art and design can be, and how things that they see every day are touched by design. I was even able to throw in some art history and still captivate their attention, with the help of artists like Keith haring, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Milton Glasser, Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry, Gaudi and even an appearance from the Bauhaus I was able to give these kids their first introduction into the world of design to their eagerly awaiting eyes. Surprisingly these kids were hanging on my every word, it was amazing. Looking back on it I think I may have even changed a couple career paths transforming future doctors and lawyers in to starving artist, illustrators and designer, welcome to the dark side my little friends, your parents will be proud.

For the second part of the afternoon I wanted to give the kids a little taste of what its like to be a designer. So I tasked them with a little project. I challenged them to come up with there own brand and company name possibly a tag line if they felt so inclined. Once the concept had passed the teacher and my approval, they were given templates to see their logos and branding in application. These templates included Hoodies, T-shirts, shoes, snowboards and Skateboard. It was absolutely amazing to see their little minds spill out on to the paper, with no restriction the class produced some fantastic results, these kids were naturals. Check out some of the results below:

In retrospect this was one of the most rewarding days I’ve had as a designer. It made me remember how great my job really is and how fun it can be. I think sometimes we take what we do for granted and don’t realize how impactful the things we create truly are. I’m hoping to make this field trip and annual thing. Hopefully I was able to at least plant a seed in a couple of the students in the class and show them the possibilities at their fingertip. Who knows maybe one of those kids grows up to be the next super star. Look out world I’m changing design one small mind at a time.

William Joseph named Agency of Record for Tourism Saskatoon!

April 27, 2012 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

New opportunities are always exciting, and we’re thrilled to tell you about our latest: after an extensive RFP and presentation process, Tourism Saskatoon has named William Joseph Communicatons its new Agency of Record.

“We look forward to working with the creative team at William Joseph as we commit ourselves to rise above the crowd, and continue to position Saskatoon as a top-of-mind destination in Canada.” says Todd Brandt, President & CEO of Tourism Saskatoon.

Saskatoon is poised to become one of Canada’s most talked-about tourist destinations. It’s the place to experience fine dining and a bustling nightlife. Visitors can explore cultural institutions, like the Mendel Art Gallery, which houses one of the top collections of contemporary and historical art in the country, and Saskatoon’s network of beautiful trails and pathways appeal to those with a penchant for the outdoors.

“Saskatoon is a vibrant city that is attracting worldwide attention,” says Ryan Townend, CEO of William Joseph. “William Joseph is honored to have been chosen to help promote all the wonderful things the city has to offer to visitors from Canada and around the world.”

Our final day :(

April 26, 2012 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

How can I describe my time here at William Joseph?? In one word… amazing!!

This has been one of the best experiences I have had in a long time. Being in school for the last 4 years is no comparison to what I have witnessed and experienced in the last couple of days at William Joseph.

Today we had a chance to go offsite to a client meeting where the team pitched their concept. I have always thought that I was fairly good at presenting, but watching Scott, Jason, and Liz today made me realize I could learn a thing or two from them! They were fantastic! They were so engaging, and the main reason why is that they were so passionate about the idea that they were presenting; and over the course of the pitch you could tell that they had done their due diligence and that really, it was the right course of action and the best idea for them! I can honestly say that I am a little bit sad to go home, and if living in Calgary was not so expensive, they may have not been able to get rid of me . . .

I want to thank everyone at the office for putting up with all of my questions but most importantly for being so friendly and inviting! I am not sure where my career path will take me in the next couple of years, but if I am lucky enough to end up at company like William Joseph, I can say that it will be great career and an ultimate dream come true! – Intern1 aka Lacy

Day two of our captivity…continued

April 25, 2012 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

After an evening exploring downtown on the C-train with my partner in crime Lacy, a good night’s sleep, and more than a few cups of coffee I was ready to take on Day 2.

We started the morning off down in the Monkey Room with the Strategy team. There wasn’t any monkey business; instead we did do some real great exercises in creative thinking. One thing that has really been impressed on me today is the impact of creative thought on the entire marketing process. The team is really great at bringing creativity into both strategy and design for their clients. It has encouraged me to try to practice actively thinking outside the box in the future.

Then it was off to help with a few administration duties upstairs, before meeting with the CEO in the boardroom. We were able to sit in on a video conference with a potential client. It was great to listen in on the meeting and try to understand the clients’ requirements and vision for their organization (which is going to be a very exciting addition to Saskatoon!- But I’m not allowed to talk about it because we had to sign a non-disclosure agreement). Ryan Townend, William Joseph’s CEO was able to describe all of the ways that the agency would be able to help them reach their goals and make the impact that they are looking for. I was very impressed by the relationship that starts to develop from the very first meeting with a client! It was also an awesome opportunity to meet the men behind William Joseph and get to discuss their company and the industry; they have really opened my eyes to the world of opportunity both inside and outside of Saskatchewan.

Next, we sat in on a meeting between Strategy and Design while they planned for an upcoming presentation. The staff here are very hard-working and kept busy with several of the projects that they have on the go, but still make time to share a few jokes and have some fun. Afterward, we stuck around and had an excellent discussion with Scott Hartley, Director of Client Services; it was so interesting we almost forgot to go to lunch! I had my first experience with a Calgary food truck over lunch before returning to the office to spend the afternoon updating contact lists and analyzing clients’ use of social media sites.

It’s been another great day, and I’m looking forward to Day 3 tomorrow!
- Intern2 aka Cera

Day two of our captivity…

April 25, 2012 in Creative, Social Media, Strategy, The Daily Town Crier, WJ Fun Stuff with 0 Comments

Today at the office was a very busy and eventful day! We started off with a ‘Smartshare’ meeting where we got the chance to learn some great creativity techniques that help to get your creative juices flowing. We went through a number of exercises, which were a lot of fun and good for a laugh when I realized that there were others that shared in my sense of humor! In the end after a couple of exercises, I learnt that I am actually creative! Who knew?!!

Afterwards we got a chance to sit in on a meeting with a potential new client and the CEO Ryan Townend. I have to say this was the highlight of my day getting a chance to see Ryan work his charismatic charm! And the only thought I had afterwards was, that if more businesses had the chance to listen to Ryan, they would understand the importance of a good marketing campaign and how beneficial it is for a company’s bottom line. It was really a great experience getting a chance to see how everyone at William Joseph is so incredibly dedicated to helping their clients succeed.

I also had the opportunity to experience a food truck here in Calgary for the first time, and I have to say the food was incredible, which was surprising to me since I was expecting it to be a lot like food you would find at the fair every year.

After one more meeting in the afternoon and some other tasks around the office, it has been an amazing learning experience, one that is above and beyond any classroom experience I have ever had. One thing I have really taken from today, is the fast pace work environment/industry that all the staff encounters on a daily basis, and all I can say is WOW! Their ability to work on multiple projects, all with different deadlines, and budgets is enough to make my head spin! Yet they handle the stress of it all as if it were the most common thing in the world and I respect the heck out of that!! – Intern1 aka Lacy

Day 1 at WJ – continued

April 24, 2012 in The Daily Town Crier, WJ Fun Stuff with 0 Comments

After an early morning flight from Saskatoon, I’ve had a long but wonderful day in Calgary at the William Joseph Communications office.  It’s been a pleasure to meet everyone that I have so far, and interesting to learn about them and what they do on a daily basis.

There is a very comfortable and collaborative atmosphere, and a great team assembled here at William Joseph (including a staff member’s dog who has kept me on my toes today).  It’s been educational and insightful to observe the staff of different departments working together, and the flow of project materials from one to the other.  While I’ve learned a lot in my courses, it can’t compare to observing a real agency in action. The staff has been great, answering our questions and showing us around. We’ve even been given our own project to work on!

The opportunity to have a behind-the-scenes look at some past and current campaign materials, and sit in on a real project meeting has been indescribably rewarding.  I can’t wait to see what is in store for us tomorrow. – intern2 aka Cera

Day 1 at WJ – our interns report in…

April 24, 2012 in The Daily Town Crier, WJ Fun Stuff with 0 Comments

Today has been an amazing experience so far into the world of advertising; and what’s great is that there are still 2 days left, which means that there is still a lot to see and learn! What I can say so far is that all the classroom learning cannot compare to what it is like to actually be in the center of it all. In any business school you spend a lot of time working in groups, and every professor will assure you that collectively you will come up with better quality ideas then when you work alone. I personally have had good and (more often than not) bad experiences working in groups. You know the experience I am talking about! That one group where one person does all the work because there is that one mysterious group member that no one seems to know or have ever met. One thing that absolutely impressed me today at the office was the level at which the staff at William Joseph works together, and ultimately the culture that they have created. The staff here is not just a group brought together on a common project, but instead a extremely strong team all dedicated to a high level of customer service, and as such they produce some amazing ideas and executions. I would feel very lucky to be part of a company like this that not only has each other’s back, but can do it with a smile and joke along the way! I am excited to see what the rest of the week has to offer and what else I can learn while I am here! – Intern1 aka Lacy

Welcome Cera and Lacy, our 2012 interns

April 18, 2012 in The Daily Town Crier, WJ Fun Stuff with 0 Comments

Each year, we sponsor the William Joseph Communications Case Competition presented by the Marketing Students’ Society at Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan.  The winners of this annual competition receive a two day internship at our WJ head office to see what life in advertising is all about (it’s not entirely unlike Mad Men).  Last year we welcomed the awesome duo of Laurel and Leanne (otherwise known to these hallowed blog pages as Thing 1 and Thing 2) to WJ Calgary and now I’d like to welcome to our new interns, Cera and Lacy!  In just a few days you’ll get to hear all about Cera and Lacy’s experiences here first hand.  Allow me to congratulate and introduce our 2nd annual WJ Case Competition Winners! – HM

Cera Youngson

Cera Youngson is an Edwards School of Business student completing a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Marketing. She is interested in international   business and cross-cultural communications, after spending 9 months working in China and 6 months studying in France. She was awarded the Grant Issac Award in 2012 for her involvement in the Honours Research Program and volunteer work with the International Student and Study Abroad Centre.  She enjoys horse-back riding, and remains involved with the Saskatchewan 4-H program as an alumni and volunteer.  She is looking forward to finding a career in brand strategy and communications, and excited for the opportunity to intern at William Joseph and gain practical knowledge in the industry.

Lacy Grambo

Lacy Grambo is an Edwards School of Business student, graduating with an Honours degree in Marketing. She has divided her time between school and a part time job over the past four years. Lacy’s greatest experience outside of school was working for Vector Marketing Canada. She started out with Vector as an independent sale rep and,  by the end of the summer, was the #2 rep in Canada with sales of over $50,000 selling Cutco Knives.  She was then promoted to an Assistant Manager and then Branch Manager.  By the end of her term, her  team had sold over $150,000, making them the #2 Branch Office in Canada and garnered Lacy a dream trip to Costa Rica. Last year Lacy and her colleagues from ESB developed the winning advertising campaign for The Saskatoon HOME Magazine.

 

5 Tips to Improve Website Usability

April 17, 2012 in Web with 0 Comments

The Internet has changed drastically since I created my first website in 1998. Many of the technologies and processes that exist now did not exist back then. I remember when most websites were built with HTML and an animated .gif would knock your socks off! Here, I will share with you 5 key points that I’ve learned throughout the years to leverage your website to suit your needs.

1. First Impressions
In life, I was taught, “Looks aren’t everything”; but in the online world – looks is a major part of legitimacy of your website. A design that suits your clientele with an easy to navigate menu and strategically organized content will go a long way to achieving your online goals. Ask yourself: Who is your target audience? What are you trying to achieve with a website? Who are your competitors? What is your budget? Being specific in your needs will help make sure you have a solid foundation before embarking on a website build.  A website is just like a house – a strong foundation is critical.

2. Starting pages
Make sure all pages of your website are relevant and to the point.  Every page is your homepage now.   Your actual homepage probably only accounts for less than 40% of incoming visitors. Surprised? Here is an example:

If we search “William Joseph Communications” in a Google search, sometime similar to this (below) will display:

People can click on the contact link and miss the homepage where we showcase material of interest – this is why we’ve integrated content buckets on that page featuring this content in smaller form.   This way, people get what they came for (our contact info) and a little extra by the ability to be quickly transported to our portfolio.  That being said, I’ve analyzed various user-clicking habits in the past and about half the people click on the smaller sub page links. This intrigued me as I usually click on the homepage and from there, navigate through other parts of the website.  It just goes to show that you need to think about all the ways that a user might experience your site, and how and what you want them to take away from it no matter where they enter.

3. Up-to-date content
Love it or hate it, content is king in the online world. Adding quality material to engage consumers is key. The design will intrigue the user, but the content is what keeps them coming back. There is an analytic term called “bounce rate”; this refers to the amount of time that visitors enter the site and leave the site rather than continue on to view other pages. Typically, the lower the bounce rate the better on pages with significant content. A high bounce rate on pages that display something other than quickly consumed information (say, your contact information, or other quick info) typically indicates that users have not found what they are looking for and so have left to go find it.

4. User device
Times are changing, mobile surfing is growing fast. Is your website compatible to both mobile and conventional web surfing? Does technology on your website (i.e. videos) work on all browsers and mobile devices (i.e. flash is not supported in an iPhone). The dimensions of a website layout has changed throughout the years as well. In the 90′s square monitors (left) were the main stream where as now, the wide screen theater style (right) is more popular. Keep up with what your clientele and the technology they use for the best results.  Out of date websites are more apparent than ever now due to changing device formats and platforms.

5. Track with Analytics
Knowing where your visitors came from, which pages get the most activity and what kind of device they are using can be an easy way to help you change your game plan to gain more visitors and/or sales by targeting a more specific audience. Google Analytics can tell you all of this information and display it in a chart or graph form as well. Knowing what is happening can help refine your future goals and monitor your past actions for success.

REF:
http://www.netmagazine.com/features/five-essential-google-analytics-tips-web-designers
http://www.netmagazine.com/news/mobile-drives-marketers-soda-survey-121810
http://support.google.com/adwords/certification/bin/static.py?hl=en&topic=23858&guide=23857&page=guide.cs&answer=152618

Images used:
http://www.google.com/search?q=william+joseph+communications&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
http://img1.grafika.cz/grafika/images/FW900.jpg
http://www.externaldevicesprice.co.uk/images/cheap-Samsung-P2470HD-Full-HD-Widescreen-LCD-TV-Monitor-Freeview.jpg
http://dallasgoogleguru.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/google-analytics-example.jpg

New roles, new staff – Congrats and Welcome!

April 16, 2012 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

We’re always looking for ways to better serve our clients, which is why we take care to put the right talent where it benefits our clients the most. With that in mind, we’re excited to announce a few recent changes – and additions – to the William Joseph teams in Calgary, Saskatoon and Las Vegas.  Read more about  these good folks and the rest of our team at williamjoseph.com/meet-the-team.

Scott Hartley brings over 13 years of client-side experience to the agency, including stints at WestJet and RBC Financial Group, where he managed both national and regional marketing efforts.

Scott joined William Joseph as Director of Strategy. He is bringing the talent and insight that has made him such a success in that role to the role of Director of Client Services, where he’ll unite our strategy and account services teams to create a group that can develop strategic thinking based on a more complete, ongoing picture of the realities that our clients face every day.

”It’s all about enhancing the level of service to our clients,” says Hartley. “We see their business through a lens that gives us a more complete understanding of what they’re trying to accomplish – from their strategic vision right through to their operational realities.”

Tyler Power has worked on design and illustration for some of North America’s most recognized brands, including Dell, Shaw, and Nike Canada. Tyler joined William Joseph as a Senior Graphic Designer and he now brings his love of print design and typography – and a keen ability to translate it to the interactive landscape ­– to his new role as Art Director.

Amy Stewart-Nunn has a background in journalism, marketing and advertising. She brings her experience in a variety of sectors, including retail, non-profit, credit unions, health, and economic development to her new role as Account Manager in our Saskatoon, Saskatchewan office.

Bret Nelson brings a wealth of experience in business development, strategic planning and organizational development to his role as Business Developer in our Las Vegas, Nevada office.

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