Logogram
How to Collect and Receive Info From Your Site by Email Using Google Drive February 23 2013, 0 Comments
Recently I had decided to retool my client intake system. And after browsing for the info and collecting it from different forums and sources, I decided to gather it in a tutorial for anyone else who had more than one question. I had a need, instead of collecting all submitted requests for work inside Wordpress using a simple Custom Form plugin, I wanted to gather all of this data in one place, and just have it let me know when any changes were made. I didn't want an email, or multiple emails piled with new and fake requests. Already this is sounding like a Google solved problem. I set up an intuitive form using Google Forms that would allow clients to request for new work. I needed an extensive set of options for users, but it needed to be clean, easy to use, secure against bots, and easy to set up and change if needed. I grabbed the 'Wordpress Google Form' plugin and the link from my newly created form, and inserted it into a <code> tag. I put that on a single page in code view. Essentially it looked like this: <code>[gform form='https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ZBT1Oy566b9r2tRyLSKunWP2UzlUoYGcePDNghi6L78/viewform']</code> Since Google Forms doesn't really have a recaptcha system like my contact page, I set up another simple human verification tool to protect against bots.Make a multiple choice question with a simple math problem, create 4 answers where only 1 is correct. This answer will "Continue to next Page" Whereas the other 3 will be specified as "Go to Page #" which is your form.
Another important step is making Google Drive notify you of any changes. First, inside your Google form go to Responses on the toolbar, hit 'Change Response Destination' and create a new spreadsheet if you haven't already. All of your new data will get put into this spreadsheet which is located on your Google Drive as a separate file. Now you just need to open that new spreadsheet, go to Tools on the toolbar and select 'Notification Rules'. Here you can add as many rules as you need, for it to email you anytime changes are made, or when a user submits a form. They can be set up to send out as soon as you receive them, or as a daily digest if you get quite a lot. Of course now there's a few more options of what to do with these requests once you have them, but that's another post!How to get an appropriate brand for your business. February 15 2013, 0 Comments
How to get an appropriate and professional brand for your business.We want to strip down and rebuild what you think about your brand.This is like ground zero for your logo.
Step 1
Define target market
This section used to outline general attributes at your business. But I don't think target markets get stressed enough. Target audience and demographics are usually gathered early in the business planning process, but a well defined target market can ultimately drive your logo and brand appeal.
If its a more generalized market like simply health care, try and outline a few characteristics of your audience in detail and market towards them in a less 'niche' approach. Don't simply gather your demographics and expect them to tell a story of who your company is, that's where the designer comes in.
Be able to answer a few questions that any interested customer would want to know. These specs give the designer many hints as to what those people want to see, its their job.
Who is this product for? "Who's going to be buying it, how and where?"
What do they like? "what brands appeal to them already"
There, that wasn't so hard. Now, what's your business about?
Step 2
Trim the fat
You've probably got a good thorough list of attributes and ideas for the logo that speaks volumes about your business. If not, sigh and go back to Step 1. If so and you have a list of about 20, delete them all! Chances are whatever ones you can remember are the simplest most memorable ideas that you should use. This is how the consumers brain remembers objects, simple and to the point.
You sell soft pretzels that sometimes come with salt and sometimes mustard, please don't think a logo of a pretzel with salt and mustard on it will be a good idea. I'll suggest not even making it a pretzel, because if a customer wants your product they already have pretzel on the mind. Plus you might be excluding potential customers by selecting a logo that's too focused. Maybe that customer doesn't even come for the pretzels, but the other 12 items on the menu.
Don't tell people what you do, but how you do it. They already know what you do. And if your business is something vague and complex to the ordinary public like AVG Converters, be even more simple and draw in those leads that have a need for AVG converters and don't even know it.
Step 3
Well did you want another step? Cause your done, no need to drag this out. Hand your target audience, a mission statement, and a solid list of 5 attributes that come to mind first off to someone like Logogram. We will be thrilled. For extra homework send your designer examples of logos you admire in general, and logos you admire in your industry. Style and feel are secondary qualities, designers should help sort this out. Don't get any one idea concreted in your mind, they might have ideas that you didn't even think of, or didn't think possible.