Duffin Creative

Tips on success, from Scott Adams

Thoughts on success and failure, from cartoonist/philosopher Scott Adams:

I heard a useful rule about predicting success during my (failed) attempt at creating a hit Dilbert animated TV show. While watching the Dilbert pilot being tested on a focus group, an experienced executive explained to me the most non-intuitive way to predict success. Since then I’ve observed it to be true a number of times. It goes like this:

If everyone exposed to a product likes it, the product will not succeed.

The reason that a product “everyone likes” will fail is because no one “loves” it. The only thing that predicts success is passion, even if only 10% of the consumers have it. (…)

If you plan to try 10 things, knowing 9 will fail, do things that won’t kill you in the process. I prefer challenges where the worst case scenario is that I’m embarrassed or tired, as opposed to bankrupt or dead. And I prefer challenges where the upside potential is unlimited even if unlikely. But those are personal choices. I find it easy to shrug off failure, so failing 90% of the time works for me.

(Source: Dilbert blog, via The New Shelton Wet/Dry)

Graphic designers get out the vote

The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is backing a Get Out the Vote effort that involves some of the best graphic designers around:

AIGA has announced that 16 nationally recognized designers have joined the grassroots effort to encourage voter turnout in its 2008 Get Out the Vote (GOTV) awareness campaign. Some of the most acclaimed contemporary designers, AIGA Medalists Gail Anderson, Bart Crosby, Steff Geissbuhler, Ellen Lupton and Rick Valicenti, are joining the more than 200 designers from across the country who have created posters, digital videos and motion graphics to be distributed nationwide this summer. This effort to motivate civic participation through effective design is part of the AIGA Design for Democracy initiative, which is now working with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to redesign the nation’s elections process.

(From Graphic Design USA magazine)

Updated website for Shapiro Recruiting and Consulting

We just relaunched the website for Shapiro Recruiting and Consulting, a company that specializes in the placement of  marketing, advertising and creative professionals.  The site is a good example of a simple, clean design for a business.

Contact us for more information about designing and launching your own website.

Pitch presentation complete, "The Perfect Day" makes the rounds

Having completed our pitch presentation for the TV series "The Perfect Day," co-executive producer Julie Berke (of Steorra Entertainment) and Duffin Creative are now shopping the program to networks. Because it's an independently-produced pitch, everything is under wraps until we screen it for interested parties.

Co-creating and co-writing the show was a lot of fun for us and we're looking forward to what happens with it! Thanks to everyone who joined the production team and brought this project to life. Down the road we'll provide more details.

New television production tag for Steorra Entertainment, LLC

Here's the new production tag for Steorra Entertainment, LLC, the film and television production company launched as a partnership between Duffin Creative and producer Julie Berke. The company creates projects with a positive slant. We're currently in production on our first TV pilot. More news soon!

If you're not familiar with this item, a production tag appears at the end of TV episodes to ID the company that made the show you just watched. Our animated tag was designed by Ron Clark of Art F/X Inc., a company based in Valencia, California.

When I Grow Up I Wanna Work in Advertising

This little video is about a year old, but if you haven't seen it yet, it's pretty humorous. Though it pokes fun at the advertising industry, it's also a commentary about human nature in almost any business. See how many archetypes you can spot -- there's probably someone like that in your office too.

Can't break away from that BlackBerry or laptop? Take a vacation

From this month's e-newsletter of Graphic Design USA (www.gdusa.com), the newsmagazine for creative professionals, here's another helpful "Take Five!" from The Creative Group. Modern technology means never having to say you aren't available. For those of us who can't break away from our cell phones, PDAs, or laptops, here are a few ways to give yourself some "me time":

A new survey by The Creative Group shows that 47 percent of marketing and advertising executives check in at least daily during holidays. To avoid being electronically tethered to the office on your next break, try these five strategies:

1. Time it right. For example, the best season to venture to new lands isn't necessarily in the summer if you're a catalog company. Plan your breaks for periods when your office is traditionally slow.

2. Head someplace truly exotic. Perhaps your cell phone and BlackBerry won't work there — darn!

3. Limit your access. If you must remain connected, plan to check in at a certain time each day, and let colleagues know that's the only time you want to be contacted.

4. Use out-of-office technology. Direct people to others who can help them while you are away.

5. Get outside help. If you feel like the office will cease functioning without you, consider bringing a freelancer or consultant on board during your absence.

The Creative Group is a specialized staffing service providing creative, advertising, marketing and web professionals on a project basis. For more portfolio advice, log onto www.creativegroup.com or call 888.846.1668 for the office nearest you to order a free copy of their portfolio guide, Book Smarts.

Lonely creatives flock to virtual offices: it's a good thing!

Wired.com reports on a new, very economical, way for freelancers and home-office-based entrepreneurs to enjoy the benefits of a real office: Try some Jelly, a biweekly "coworking space" hosted by 27-year-old Amit Gupta in his New York apartment:

Jelly meetings are a way for folks who usually work at home to get out of the house, find kindred workers to collaborate with, or simply to socialize -- without having to commit to the gym-like membership setup of most of the country's coworking arrangements, where rented office spaces feel much like a traditional workplace and require a regular financial commitment beyond the means of most freelancers. Indeed, the term "office" can happily be avoided all together with Jelly.

With an ever-increasing number of employees working from home (15% according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), and many freelancers looking for some interaction with other human beings, periodic networking groups like Jelly are a great idea. Gupta runs Jelly during normal work hours -- 9:30 AM until 6:00 PM -- and participants can do just about everything they do in a "regular" office, including computering, discussion with coworkers, and trips to the water cooler.

1 Minute, 15 Seconds at Jelly from Amit Gupta and Vimeo.

Streaming video and audio advertising will hit $1.37 billion this year

AccuStream Research in Salinas, Calif., just released a study about online advertising -- in particular, streaming audio and video that runs on your screen when you log onto a website. There's debate about the effectiveness of such advertising, but you can't discount the attention-grabbing ability of a cleverly built video ad.

Streaming media audio and video advertising will reach $1.37 billion in 2007, an increase of 38% over last year, according to a new report by AccuStream iMedia Research. The company estimates 1.4 – 1.6 billion pre-roll avails will be sold against inventory of 2.1 – 2.7 billion views per month, making up 26.7% of gross video ad spending in 2007. In contrast, embedded or in-page placements are expected to make up 58.8% of gross billings this year, falling to 55.8% in 2008.

As social networking and video upload sites like YouTube and MySpace continue to get gobbled up by the conglomerates (Google bought YouTube, while Fox and NewsCorp's Rupert Murdoch grabbed MySpace), expect to see online advertising become more advanced.

Traditional television advertising has become more challenging because viewers are making use of the Tivo/DVR fast-forward button to skip commercials. Likewise, Internet advertising runs the risk of becoming "too much" to the point where surfers might ignore the multiple pop-up windows, streaming video ads, and floating ads that sometimes block their view of what they're looking for on the Web. With all that data hitting you in the face at once, advertisers will continue to find new ways to compete for your attention.

(Accustream data via Cynopsis.com)

New design for PDF version of Hot Psychology Magazine

Hot Psychology Magazine, edited by Jim Idema, has a new look. Actually, two new looks. We redesigned the online e-zine version back in May, and just completed a new design for the print (PDF) version.

A monthly online and PDF publication, Hot Psychology Magazine has an international staff of writers and editors who produce a great batch of solid, thoughtful articles on subjects as diverse as current events to sports to dating. The magazine's mission is, as its tagline reads, "discussing the issues that make us human." Hot Psychology will hold its first conference in Chicago from September 6-8, 2007. Check out the new version 3.0 design of the Hot Psychology Magazine website here, and purchase a copy of the current PDF issue here.