Field Notes Blog
News and thoughts on UI/UX, web design, and more.
 Build Your Skills to Rule the Web - Starting July 10th
Are you baffled by RGB and CMYK? Flummoxed by file types? Distressed by dpi? Do you struggle to understand when to use high-res or low-res images? Do you yearn for short and simple explanations? Then you're in the right place! I'm kicking off July with a Digital Summer Camp web series called The Secret Life of Images. Over the course of eight weeks, you'll gain hands-on skills like how to resize and optimize images for your website and social media. You'll also gain valuable deeper understanding about image formats (Vector? Raster?), file types and we'll crack the mystery of resolution. The web is visual, marketing is visual, communication itself is visual. Before a single word of your carefully-crafted copy is read, people evaluate you based on your images. The difference between a fast, appealing website and a slow, ineffective one comes down to images. The key to high quality, professional brochure is the images. But never fear, YOU can be a Graphics Eagle Scout by the end of summer! Whether you're running your own business, boosting your job skills or managing staff, this series is packed with short, info-packed episodes that will pay for themselves many times over (especially since they're free). That's right, I said episode because this web series is in video format which means you can learn on your smartphone while lounging by the beach, lake or campfire. So join me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube (links in the footer) for a new lesson each week or join my mailing list to get them delivered right to your In Box.
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July Newsletter: Digital Summer Camp, Part 1 | Partner Program Raffle | Summer Special Treat7/1/2018 June Newsletter: World Oceans Month Promo Ideas | Partner Program Success | 15 Social Media Ideas6/4/2018
For me, the ocean is all about science. It is such a wondrous place and we actually know very little about it! I am so blessed to live in San Diego, California, and the ocean has always been a refuge of solace, a place to rejuvenate and an endless canvas of new and interesting wonders. We see dolphins and seals regularly and I've even had 6 foot long leopard sharks swimming all around me - and that's just near the shoreline! "Those who dwell as scientists … among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts." ~ Rachel Carson "In The Sense of Wonder" 1956 If you're looking for some cool ideas for #WorldOceanMonth promos, these some great places to begin:
 Content marketing is a fancy term for promoting yourself online by offering useful material. It's successful because it works on the power of attraction instead of distraction. In the same way we skip commercials, it's easy to tune out cheesy stuff online. Instead, we want to put out appealing, relevant content. Simple! Or is it? Do you have a hard time seeing your business through the eyes of an outsider? What may be an everyday, mundane thing to you (ho hum, here I am meeting with the wine rep again) might be wonderfully exotic to a new client (the handsome Italian wine rep - are you kidding me?!). With the goal of harvesting cool content for your social media marketing, here are 15 social media ideas that come out of the everyday things you probably already do.
May brings two fun social media promo opportunities- Mother's Day and May the 4th, aka Star Wars Day. Most of you can undoubtedly come up with a creative promo for the ubiquitous Mother's Day whether it's a free dessert for bringing in Mom this month or a moms-only discount coupon. But if you're looking for something more unique and geeky, go for a May the 4th promo. May the 4th is a lispy reference to the Star Wars "May the Force be with you" - a way of saying goodbye and good luck. It's a great way to tap into Star Wars mania and connect emotionally with your audience. Here are 10 great short videos to bring your May 4th social media alive. Don't forget to add the #MayTheFourth hashtag to get your posts seen by as many people as possible!
 As an interactive designer I'm fascinated by how much we communicate nonverbally. From websites to social media to the humble business card, we transmit a lot of information visually. But sometimes the effectiveness of a piece has nothing to do with design, it's simply the emotional power of an image. Take for example the high resolution Earthrise image by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter showing our planet from the surface of the Moon. To me, April is a celebration of Earth and a reminder that caring for our cosmic home is nothing less than our sacred duty. Like the more famous "Blue Marble" photo from 1968, this shot instantly communicates - without words - that we are one family living together on a tiny planet. Whether you're a small business striving to use your website to boost sales or a nonprofit using social media to attract donors, powerful images reach people at an emotional level and can carry your message far and wide. If you think that's far fetched, consider the ways in which iconic imagery has shaped our cultural landscape and altered the course of history.
 The best way to make the most of your online marketing channels - whether it's your website, blog, email newsletter or social media feed - is to develop a habit of keeping them fresh. For small businesses and nonprofits though, this can be a real challenge. As small business owners, we wear a lot of hats and marketing often ends up on a back burner. To remedy this, consider scheduling in a 7 step monthly update. Here’s a step-by-step guide to doing your first one and setting it up as an easy task each month.
February Newsletter: 5 February Promo Ideas | $50 off Video & Motion Graphics | Olympic Spirit2/1/2018 |
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About the authorAs the owner of Pixel Lava Interactive I've helped hundreds of small businesses and nonprofits with websites, graphic design and more. I hope you'll find this blog full of useful information.
~ Ame Stanko 
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