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Creating Beautiful Websites With Unique Fonts

Jack McDaniel — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:35:27 -0500

The most important characteristic of almost every website is how the fonts are handled, their spacing and size and the length of a line of text. We like, as designers, to think in terms of beautiful graphics and images. But great user experience begins with fonts and how easy it is to read a page and navigate it. In fact, the first thing most people look for when going to a web page is where to start reading.

Impress Design Is Now Cleverlike

Jack McDaniel — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:19:08 -0500

We'd like to tell you that one of those giant corporate guys swallowed us up, made us an offer we couldn't refuse – piles of cash heaped in front of us – with glitzy titles included.

Victory Communications Re-Design

Jack McDaniel — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:19:20 -0500

When Texas based communications company Victory Telecom, Inc. called us to re-design their website we hit the drawing board immediately.

Johnny's Asian Bistro Re-Design

Jack McDaniel — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:47:13 -0600

When presented with the challenge of recreating Johnny’s Asian Bistro corporate identity with new branding and a completely revamped website, we strove for a sleek and modern solution that would be both visually stunning and would boost their internet presence. We chose a design that was reserved (nearly color-muted), with the exception of the flashy orange highlights. Creating the site with effective SEO, social media, analytics and traffic reporting, and appropriate directory listings assured that the site would thrive and find a prominent place on Google, an especially important aspect of the re-design in our growing digital age of marketing.

Tortoise Or Hare

Jack McDaniel — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:30:37 -0500

Walk into Life Certain Wealth Strategies in Denver, Colorado, and you will find a busy place that is somewhat out of sync with the current economy, especially given their business - Financial Planning and Investments. Many businesses today are struggling with an economy that is in recession. But at Life Certain Wealth Strategies things seem to be at the other end of the spectrum.

My Interview At Thumbtack

Jack McDaniel — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:02:27 -0500

I began Impress Design after spending many years in the corporate world in sales and marketing. My last two positions were as Director of Sales and Marketing. So, I bring a very clear understanding of the value of speaking directly to the target audience in both design and copy.

Steve Jobs

Jack McDaniel — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:59:11 -0500

The world changes with each passing moment, sometimes for the better, too often for the worse. Recently, a leader who changed all of our lives passed away. Steve Jobs was only 56 years old, but his impact on the world was tremendous.

We all loved Steve Jobs for the incredible products Apple has given us over the years. He built the first computer that was actually fun. He made a machine our friend instead of something we had to use. For those of us in the creative arts he re-defined our professions and allowed us to go in directions that none of us could have ever believed possible just 25 years ago.

My daughter is fourteen years old and she has never known a world without an iPod or the iTunes store. Music dominates her life – is her life – and yet neither of those products existed before she was born. Garage Band, an Apple application for editing audio and music, is an essential tool in her world and it is barely out of infancy.

Big Fish Email Manifesto

Jack McDaniel — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:10:24 -0500

Revolutionize Your Business

It’s this simple: email marketing returns nearly $40 for every dollar spent. Are you building your list and connecting with your audience?

This new eBook will change how you market to your customers with email.

Download Big Fish Email Manifesto

Jack McDaniel — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:02:11 -0500

Please let me know what you think.

Creating Erin Says Blog

Jack McDaniel — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:09:33 -0600

Erin Says is a blog about ... life. A lot of what Erin Moroni, the author, writes about are common, everyday events (and a lot of them are just plain crazy) as she and her family make their way through life.

Free eBook: Big Fish - A Guide to Dominating Your Local Market

Jack McDaniel — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 11:15:30 -0600

Learn how to dominate your local or niche market online

5 Chapters from the Online Section of the book

A Case Study in each chapter

Learn what your competition doesn't know

Take Your Place - Google Places for Business

Jack McDaniel — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:54:45 -0500

Free exposure for your business on the biggest search engines is an absolute must for any company wanting to become the Big Fish in their local or niche market. Google Places is quickly becoming online what the Yellow Pages were in the 1970s, especially with its presence on mobile devices.

Google Places is based upon location. Twenty percent of all searches involve a location. It makes sense when you think about it. We don't search for "automotive repair." We search for "automotive repair Arlington Texas." Taking advantage of this can give your business a lot of free exposure. And the exposure is specific to your market segment, which means the potential customers doing the search are highly motivated. You can't beat that

Free eBook: Big Fish - A Guide to Dominating Your Local Market

Jack McDaniel — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 11:44:58 -0500

Learn how to dominate your local or niche market online

5 Chapters from the Online Section of the book

A Case Study in each chapter

Learn what your competition doesn't know

Death To Stock Photography Business Teams

Jack McDaniel — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 22:33:00 -0500

One of the worst online practices is the use of stock photography for sales or marketing teams and organizations. You know what I mean. We've all seen them. The photo of a business team on a tech company's website, their formulaic poses, hip looks and perfect teeth.

Consider these images, available at any stock image service: 1) the way-too-integrated business team, 2) the orgasmic computer screen, and 3) the high-five-we-just-saved-the-world team shot. Most likely you already know what I'm talking about, but let's break each down, just for fun.

How Sociable Are You?

Jack McDaniel — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:42:29 -0500

Over night, it seems, we have been swept up into the world of social media, from microblogging (Twitter) to video blogging (YouTube). It can be daunting to consider all of the possibilities and opportunities to promote your brand.

Time is of the essence for anyone looking to become the Big Fish in their local or niche market. Your efforts need to be focused and fine-tuned to achieve your ultimate goals. So how do you determine what social marketing is relevant to your business? More importantly, how do you use it to help drive customers to your business and, in the process, help others?

There are many avenues to choose from in the online social world. For this article I am going to concentrate on just three of them: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (in the book I will cover others). These are three of the biggest social networks and they offer something for most businesses looking to use social media.

Over the Rainbow: Email List Gold

Jack McDaniel — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:30:32 -0500

The single most effective form of direct marketing is through Email. Eh? Don't doubt it. There are plenty of stats that back up this statement. Spam mail may have tarnished the perception of email marketing but there is no doubt about the effectiveness of marketing to a list of people who have asked for your updates.

Be The Expert

Jack McDaniel — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:11:52 -0500

Establishing yourself as an expert is important on several levels. First, it gives people a reason to visit your site on a regular basis. Second, you give them a reason to advertise your business. If people like the information your are giving them they will share it - and the source, you. Referrals, as we all know, are like gold to any business, better than any advertising response.

So, how do you establish yourself as an expert? Remember this: Content IS king. You have to commit to this. Your new site needs to be built with an "Articles", "News" or "Blog" section. It doesn't really matter what you call it. The industry you are in will dictate this, to a degree. If music or movies is your gig then a blog works well.

Dominate Your Local or Niche Market

Jack McDaniel — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:07:35 -0500

"How do I get more exposure?"

It's a question clients often ask. Given the current economic situation they also want to know how they can do it on a budget. This five-part series will show you how to achieve your goals over the next several weeks.

First, however, we have to lay down some parameters. While these ideas and techniques will work for any company, large or small, they are tailored

Creux Salon Brochure

Jack McDaniel — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:02:21 -0500

Some projects are just more fun than others. Sometimes you get to exercize all of your creative powers and in the end the product speaks perfectly to the target audience while also being loads of fun to create. Creux Salon and Spa needed a brochure that listed its prices but one that did it in a manner that was consistent with the shop's image.

JustGod.tv Re-Design

Jack McDaniel — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:21:19 -0500

JustGod.tv has been around for 9 or 10 months now, but they felt they needed the site to be re-designed to be in-line with the direction the ministry is heading. The focus of the site is the application of Jesus' teachings without all of the religious baggage. The ministry is focused on reaching out to those who feel alienated by the church and want something that speaks to their everyday lives. As their slogan says: it's "A safe place to connect with God."