Monday, January 16, 2012

caveat emptor- RF images


The only good thing that comes out of bad experiences is often a helpful blog post that serves as a warning to others.

Today’s post is the result of a client choosing an image from one of the many inexpensive “royalty-free“ websites that are so popular now. I’ve had good experiences with some sites, but was unfamiliar with the site they chose. Despite my objection to clients driving the direction of a design to that extent, I designed their project around the image they chose.

The problem occurs because the preview images on websites are of such low resolution that you cannot see imperfections. I once bought an image of a large building only to discover a corner had netting over it due to renovations- you just couldn’t see it on the thumbnail low res version.

Since I do not purchase an image until the design is approved, asking for a refund and finding another image would require redesigning the entire project. It’s apparent these sites don’t scrutinize submitted images for potential problems, but I believe they should either (a) not accept images that have imperfections, (b) require the photographer to correct problem areas, or (c) alert buyers to problem spots before they purchase, either by pointing them out or by severely discounting such images.

I can, and did, retouch the image myself and am awaiting a printed proof while I write this. But even though the image was not as expensive as one purchased on say, corbis.com, I object to the surprise of paying for the rights to an image that isn’t in usable condition as is. This is the difference between paying a premium to a highly regarded site and “getting a good deal.” You may save money on the image only to find out you have to pay to have it retouched, or have the project redesigned in the end.

Put our knowledge and expertise to work for your business— visit our webpage and then contact Canzani Graphics today!
All content ©2011Canzani Graphics

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

social media part 2

Is social media the new, kinder, gentler advertising?

At its core, it is shared experience, but in practice, it is marketing masquerading as a group of friends discussing products, services and/or trends they've learned about. It is kind of creepy on some level, that companies we choose to do business with then use their knowledge of us for marketing. But perhaps that is preferable to every business bombarding us with all their advertising whether we're in their target demographic or not?

Directed marketing saves companies time and money by focusing their campaigns to interested users, rather than the "throw it at the wall and see what sticks" approach. Their social media efforts encourage them to impart information we might not ordinarily encounter and allows them to highlight expertise in their area. They may be reading trade publications we wouldn't come across, and can explain implications that affect us as consumers.

We can't all read everything researched and published on every subject- there just are not enough hours in a day. But if we read something of interest and post it, we expose our social network to what we've learned. This expands our horizons- but only if we want it to.

Put our knowledge and expertise to work for your business— visit our webpage and then contact Canzani Graphics today!
All content ©2011Canzani Graphics

Sunday, January 8, 2012

jobs in social media

On reading the article "How Timeline Radically Changes Your Facebook Marketing Strategy"  this morning, I got to wondering— At what point does promoting your business on social media take so much time that you can no longer work at your business?


If small businesses need to post to their fb pages more often, it wil inevitably lead to many new full or part-time jobs for social media 'experts'. Are we expanding this new classification of job openings? Will all today's 'social media mad' tweens and teens be able to actually make a living posting to fb and twitter all day? Does it being a 'real job' that take all the fun out of it, or is it everyone's dream job? Maybe it will lead to whole new lines of bunny slippers and pjs that look like real clothes. A redefining of "business casual" can't be far behind…


Put our knowledge and expertise to work for your business— visit our webpage and then contact Canzani Graphics today!
All content ©2011Canzani Graphics