Category: Marketing

Jeffrey English NJ

Jeffrey English NJ Designer Shares 6 Graphic Design Trends of 2020

Jeffrey English NJ

When we think of graphic design, we tend to think of the practice of designing the layout of a magazine, webpage, or a piece of marketing. However, Rasmussen College explains the use of text and visuals in any area can be classified as part of the graphic design sector. Design experts, such as Jeffrey English NJ artist and graphic designer, can take any piece of text and visual design and turn it into an eyecatching piece of marketing, packaging, or visual artwork. As with any area of creativity, design trends change regularly with 2020 having its own set of popular graphic design ideas.

1. Cyberpunk goes Mainstream

If the 2010s were a period of conservatism and a return to the 1980s graphic design and artistic styles 2020 will offer a complete change. The world of cyberpunk is designed to offer the viewer a surreal and unusual color scheme that takes in bright colors and neon landscapes that are different and often unhinged. Whether harking back to the literary work of Terry Pratchett or looking to Asian comics for inspiration, many graphic designers are seeking out cyberpunk. Bright neon colors and landscapes bring a sense of the future to the present day by unsettling the viewer and making these graphic designs stand out from the crowd.

2. DIY and Retro Designs

If the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed us to learn anything, it is that ay home crafts and design can be just as impressive as more polished options. The Guardian had already identified DIT design as a trend for Fall 2019, which will be continued into 2020. Jeffrey English NJ graphic designer points to the return of posters from previous pandemics in India in the 19th-century and the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak as the catalysts for this modern trend.

3. Geometric Lines

One of the simplest lessons taught to designers in the early days of any college design course is the difference between lines. In general, humans associate curvy lines with nature and natural movement. In contrast, straight lines are seen as industrial and modern bringing a sense of futuristic vision to the graphic design sector. Much like the cover of the Joy Division album, “Unknown Pleasures”, Jeffrey English believes merging curvy and straight lines will be a trend for 2020 and beyond. The combination of natural and futuristic will run through most of the design trends of 2020.

4. Embracing the Collage

A staple of art students, a collage is often seen as tired by the time a graphic designer turns professional. However, modern collage is moving in a new direction with mixed media options bringing a new vibrancy to this ancient artistic medium. In the view of most designers, an authentic experience is what they are trying to bring to every viewer when they are embarking on a new design. Bringing together text, drawings, photographs, and modern design techniques can change the way a viewer sees a collage in its natural form.

5. Minimalism Remains Important

In late 2018 and throughout 2019, minimalism was the movement of choice for the majority of designers who seemed to fall in love with the clean lines of this style. 2020 will be no different with minimalism remaining one of the most important design styles of the year moving forward. Many brands have fallen in love with minimal designs because they offer easy to read and identify styles that can be enjoyed for years to come regardless of the latest trends.

6. A Dystopian Present

One of the most important graphic design trends of 2020 will be the movement towards representing a dystopian view of the future in a way that is bleak and exciting. Among the reasons for the move towards the widespread use of a bleak view of the future is the influence of dark TV shows that are moving in this area. Dystopia is described by Jeffrey English as the opposite of utopia and reflects a view of the coming years that is unsettling for the viewer. This style is particularly evident in the design of book covers and magazine design trends.

2020 has been one of the most difficult years for the graphic design industry with this feeling of uncertainty reflected in the latest trends used by most of the sector. For Jeffrey English NJ graphic designer, the move towards a more DIY aesthetic is reflective of the late-1970s when punk brought together the use of collage and DIY crafts gave an exciting and dangerous edge to the design sector.

Brian Speier

5 App Development Tricks That Helped Miss Bongo Prix Succeed

App development is now considered one of the most lucrative ways to earn money in the tech industry. Many companies are making apps by the hundreds to help people, gain profit, and scale their growth much easier than traditional business models. According to a successful SMS service company, Miss Bongo Prix, there are several reasons why entrepreneurs get into mobile development:

  • Mobile apps are easier to manage – if there is a troubleshooting problem in your application, you do not need to hire an entire team of people who can repair it. In fact, if you learn how to be a mobile developer, you can simply solve these issues yourself.
  • Low overhead costs – you do not need to spend much in developing a mobile app. If you know how to operate as a developer, the only expenditure needed is for your marketing and operation of the business through a hosting or a cloud subscription.
  • Low-cost entry point for new entrepreneurs – are you looking to venture into the world of business but you don’t have an extensive amount of capital? Perhaps mobile development is an ideal startup for you. Compared to building your own brick and mortar business, mobile apps are generally quicker to make and can help you gain profits much more easily.

As mobile app development is getting more popular, Miss Bongo Prix is sharing some useful app creation tricks that entrepreneurs should know before starting a mobile-based business.

5 App Development Tricks That Helped Miss Bongo Prix Succeed

 

  1. Make your app as simple as possible.

As a developer, it may be easy to assume that the more features you have, the merrier your customers would be. This can be far from the truth if your app frequently crashes because of multiple updates, or suddenly takes up too much of a phone’s working memory. Make your app simple, but helpful. What are the things that your users really need? What can they use regularly? These are questions you need to address before starting to build an app. The simpler you can make it with all the essential features packed in, the better.

  1. Be ready for an offline experience.

One common mistake that app developers make is forgetting to consider the offline experience of users. As a result, some apps fail to update, or even fail to function fully. As mobile developers in Miss Bongo researched the possible reasons why some users delete apps, they noted that those apps that don’t work offline are a potential factor. Make sure that your app works both in offline and online settings. Miss Bongo learned this by creating the service through SMS messaging so that their app is easily accessible whether there is an internet connection or not.

  1. Have an appealing design.

You should be able to expect competition in any niche that your app is in. Whether it’s photo editing, communication, social media or other forms of service, there will always be apps that will contend with what you do. How do you set yourself apart from the rest of the competition? It’s simple–by making your app design stand out! By making a responsive but attractive design for your users, you will be able to have more downloads and sign-ups. People prefer a simple design without the complicated fluff.

  1. Go for efficiency.

As people get used to the instant results and the fast experiences, you need to keep up with this culture with the app you are developing. Miss Bongo succeeded with this because they know that users want quick solutions to their problems. They don’t want to do too much research on questions that they are wondering about, much less spend time waiting for answers when they post on message boards or discussion forums. As a result, Miss Bongo developed an SMS service program that delivers answers to inquiries in minutes.

  1. Keep up with the trends.

It is important to get ahead of the competition, but how do you stay in it? According to Miss Bongo, you should be able to do your research on the latest trends and find ways to incorporate them in your app.

By doing these strategies, you will have a constant flow of potential users and find your way to continually develop your app for the best profits.

 

Brian Speier

How User Behavior Influences Design

User Interface
A User Interface designed with the user behavior in mind can be a powerful tool for driving engagement.

At the onset, there is no design without user behavior. While designers in other fields such as fashion might be trendsetters, technology designers do not have that luxury. Instead, the designer who understands user behavior best gets the rewards. In this article, we will look at how modern tech designers are harnessing user behavior in their works.

The article will show the inevitability that developers face in understanding the ever-dynamic human behavior. Competition for attention is stiff. Therefore, developers must use the user persona proactively, or else they will lose out to competitors. In this case, each step of the onboarding process plays its part.

 

How to Reach the User

According to UserIQ, one of the leading experts in the field, this is the most critical step in how technology designers adopt user preferences. Human beings love interactive engagements. When you want to reach them, you need an interactive way of doing things. Therefore, your journey must be interactive—with visual aids such as videos and infographics. It is out of this understanding that we have the current technologies. Web, apps and tech gadgets developers must connect with the behavior of the person on the other end.

A developer must answer that one question — how does the customer want it? Most websites are trying to be mobile-friendly. More and more people are using their smartphones to go online. If your site is not favorable to the phone, it will discourage the user, which will hurt your chances of customer onboarding. Continued trends form mannerisms, which are hard to shake. Once you know the user’s ways, you can confidently base your designs on that. With repeated styles and templates, the customer is hooked to that, and it becomes the standard.

 

How to Excite the Customer

Today’s design is a psychological game played at the highest level. A designer knows that he or she has 7 seconds to impress you. If you are not fascinated, you will most certainly not sign in, which is unacceptable. They do everything possible within that time. Look at many apps and websites today; they have one thing in common—within the first 7 seconds, they will try to sign you already, which may be in the form of a call to action or a direct offer.

The attention span of human beings is small, especially on things that are not interactive. Designers must ensure that every step is engaging. Take the target person into a visual map. You have to make it easy to enhance user adoption. Today’s website ranking is based on the usability index. The higher it is, the higher the rates of user adoption, and vice versa.

 

Enticing the Sign-Up

Safe experimentation is a common feature in today’s onboarding experience. The customer wants to try it before they commit. Unless someone comes through a referral, exploration phase is imperative. The user wants to start small. They want a systematic process. Even the most sophisticated customers want to start from the known.

Tech development follows this primer — from experimentation and safe exploration towards incremental construction. Every solution ought to be more straightforward than what is available. Products designers incorporate the free/beta version as part of their development process. They use this version to gather user experience data, which will inform future upgrades.

You cannot know how the user will perceive the product. Sometimes what you expect to happen doesn’t. Instead, you learn something about the ever-dynamic customer.

 

Integration with Other Devices and Services

You will see a lot of efforts towards integrated services and products. It’s not an option that developers have; it is a necessity. If there is something you can do to increase your chances of customer onboarding, you have to try it out.

Recent research shows that continued integration with relatable services increases customer onboarding. At first, designers included payment services. Today, vertical and horizontal integrations give way to other possibilities.

Social media integration, gamification, and reviews are some of the ways that designers have responded to user behavior. If you make it cumbersome, you complicate the user experience. The customer will defer his choices, or he might abandon the pursuit altogether. All these decisions come from the subtle things that users, millions of users, subconsciously do. Through data and analytics, such behaviors cumulatively inform future designs.

 

Conclusion

UserIQ, after many years in this business, recommends that at the design phase, the designer must answer pertinent questions that relate to your target customer behavior. These questions stem from the customer acquisition process — from how you reach the customer to how you engage after selling. All have to feature into the design of the product.

 

Brian Speier

Five Ways Your UI Can Help Your Law Practice Stand Out

Creative User Interfaces
A well designed and creative UI will help your law firm stand out and lead your potential clients through their buyer’s journey.

It is interesting to note that legal companies have new ways to advertise their services. They no longer need to rely on traditional means such as print ads, newspapers and TV, they can also create their own websites and have digital forms of marketing. According to Kinney Fernandez & Boire, one of the leading legal companies in Tampa, Florida, there are several benefits to having your own website as an attorney:

  • You will be able to reach more users beyond those who take a look at traditional advertising methods.
  • There are better calls to action that users can perform aside from calling your number. They can subscribe to your newsletter, make use of your services online, or reach out to your online messaging platform.
  • There are more opportunities for targeted advertising, where people who really need your services can find your company. These targeted leads are more likely to inquire and lead to conversions instead of random traffic.

Kinney Fernandez & Boire also emphasized the importance of having a good user interface on your website to increase the likelihood clients will utilize your services. According to the company, there are five ways you can improve your website to help you stand out as a private practitioner.

Five Ways Your UI Can Help Your Law Practice Stand Out

 

  1. Using a chatbot software with a personal touch to provide immediate information

Sometimes clients feel intimidated by a website when they view complicated information but they have a specific question in mind. They might not want to invest the time and effort to email the company, so they opt out without having been led to inquire about the services. The newest trend for improved user interface is the use of chatbots. Some software services, such as Amazon Lex, offer SaaS (Software as a Service) to help companies grow their business through 24/7 customer service. This gives the potential client direct access to general information. For example, a user might need help and type in a question such as slip and fall attorney Tampa. The chatbot can help retrieve related information in the database and provide the user with what they need.

  1. Having a speed-optimized website

A recent study showed that a slow loading time affects a user’s likelihood to stay on your page. It was noted that almost 50% of people abandon a website when a page doesn’t load within 10 seconds. It is important that users get the most optimized experience possible with page loading. Fixing code errors, debugging your layout, and using a minimalist theme for your company blog are some ways you can improve your website’s loading time.

  1. Content for search engine optimization (SEO)

Unless you are a legal company who has made a name for itself even before the internet existed, you can benefit greatly by using SEO tactics to help users find your business online. SEO stands for search engine optimization, or the content you place on your websites so that search engines such as Google can help users find your page. For example, if you have blog articles that have keywords such as car accident attorney Tampa, users will be able to access your website who need legal assistance regarding a car accident in Tampa, Florida.

  1. Easy access to hotlines and important contact details

Some businesses have excellent SEO content and great website layout, but they miss out on one crucial thing—using customer support hotlines for their legal business. Some users do not wish to dilly-dally with the information they received, they want to act right away, or they want to press on further but still have additional questions in mind. In this scenario, it may be helpful to place a hotline for your firm at the top part of your page. Kinney Fernandez & Boire suggests placing a hotline or a business email address at the header of your website to help users reach out if they need immediate information.

  1. Having a site menu with essential details

A legal company’s website menu would need the following–services, contact, about, branch locations, and if possible, testimonials from former clients. This menu should be seen right below the site’s title and header so that viewers will be able to easily browse through the information that they need. Some clients would prefer to browse instead of calling a hotline, so it is important to leverage this feature for different types of potential customers.

The user interface is important for service-related businesses such as legal companies. By following these simple guidelines in the user interface, you are sure to stand out in your law practice whether you are a seasoned or a startup company.

Brian Speier

5 Best Marketing Campaigns in 2017

When it comes to selling a product, one of the most important aspects of the overall business plan has to do with marketing. This is because a solid marketing strategy ensures that some of the following important questions will be answered:

  • Who is the targetted audience?
  • Is the goal sales-oriented or customer retention-oriented?
  • Where will the targeted demographic find the advertisements?
  • How will this contribute to the brand awareness?

One does not have to be an expert like Whitney Blodgett, for example, to know that if a company does not have answers to basic questions like these, their sales are going to suffer. So, what were some of the most impressive marketing campaigns in 2017?

1. IKEA App

Combining innovation with old-fashioned furniture shopping can be a risky idea. This is because the outcome will either be an inevitable nightmare or a great success. For IKEA, it was the latter. The popular company implemented a new smartphone app that enables users to see what furniture would look like if it was inside of the customer’s home. People loved the idea as it saves them the time that they would have to spend by going to the store and looking for something, making sure it matches the measurements, and potentially getting it test delivered.

2. Heineken Advertisement

By highlighting political issues that are trending, Heineken achieved something that does not happen too often. This beverage company matched individuals with opposing views on issues like climate change and feminism, and then had them discuss innocent questions that eventually led to more serious matters. This helped set their differences apart while they were constructing a bar. Ultimately, both parties got to see the pre-recorded video of the other person’s beliefs. Nevertheless, they maintained an open mind while drinking Heineken!

3. Cheerios – Charitable Contributions

Although behind the scene endeavors are mostly handled by people with extensive expertise in marketing like Whitney Blodgett, there are many things that even newcomers would appreciate. This campaign by the cereal company is one of those. Cheerios organized a campaign where they donated 10 meals every time somebody would use hashtag “goodgoesaround” under a video of them drawing the letter “O”. The ultimate product was an inevitable spike in brand awareness as well as more than 1 million meals donated.

4. Nike – Marathon

In order to promote their running shoes, Nike had to do something impactful since there are many companies that have been taking over this market. To this end, the German producer did an advertisement that showcases athletes they sponsor running a 2-hour marathon. This achievement in itself is extraordinary as the median time is more than twice that. Nike, of course, equipped the runners with the latest shoes that undoubtedly contributed to such as an impressive result. As far as the marketing outcome goes, the campaign generated nearly 100,000 social media mentions within a few days!

5. Mazda – Safety

In order to raise awareness about the issue of “scrolling and driving” as Mazda labels it, this auto manufacturer created an advertisement that addresses the matter. People who have a bad habit of using their phones for social media apps while driving were targeted. The video demonstrates an iPhone that is showcasing a Facebook page. As someone is scrolling through it, a Mazda vehicle suddenly comes across the screen accompanied by a loud sound of breaks. This was meant to serve as a warning to drivers who are endangering other with their distractions and it was well perceived by the public.

There were many more successful campaigns such as McDonald’s Search It, Spotify’s dark funeral-related endeavor, Bacardi’s short video, and more. All of these used strategies that combine creativity with thorough research of the market. The ultimate product was an increased value of the brand as well as a spike in sales!

Brian Speier