This morning we held a kick-off meeting for a new site we will be developing. I have to say, I am very excited about this project as this is one of the rare opportunities that DDA can truly flex its creative muscle. Many times with projects, whether they be a tradeshow graphic, brochure, or custom corporate and medical video, our creative freedom is limited to the clients comfort zone. But with this particular company and product, we have received the green light to strive for innovative and ground-breaking site concepts, animations, and interactivity that will lead the way for future site development.

It is a joy to watch the imaginative wheels turn.  The new ideas brought to the table push the boundary of the norm and open opportunity for immense success. Site interactivity, that employs the user’s involvement, is the answer to effective websites that inform, engage, and entertain, and DDA’s website development service is continuing to reach for the best methods of application.

Videos, 2d and 3d animations, site navigational elements and more, combine to make a user experience unlike any other. Excited?  Yes, I am.

My 3-year old is in the throws of the “why?” stage. He’s also going through some other stages as well, but I’ll save those for another time. “Why do we have tears?” Why do I have a mommy?” “Why is he a giant?”(said to a rather tall McDonald’s customer). We should all be so curious and observant. 

Graphic Designers need to be especially observant and ask many “Why’s” before, during, and after a project. In fact, it’s a great habit to ask Who, What, and Where as well. For example: Who is my target audience? What type of paper is this brochure being printed on? What resolution and color mode should I set up for this trade show graphic? Where is your literature being distributed? Where will people be viewing your website? Why am I using this font, these colors, and why will this layout be most effective for the client?

While it can be draining to answer rapid fire ”Why’s” throughout the day, I know that my 3-year old’s curiosity is something that we should all, as artists, graphic designers, videographers, programmers, animators, illustrators, and writers adopt on a daily basis.

Visitors to our Portfolio don’t often see what has gone on behind the scenes for each finished designed piece. What is shown in our portfolio is the chosen design, most often by the client, that has been printed, uploaded or burned to a CD or DVD. What they have not had the opportunity to view are all the concepts that were provided to the client to choose from. I like to give my 3-year old two choices. You can either have this or that, do this now or do it later, say you’re sorry or sit on the step. And, usually, it works. There may be tears, but it works. Everyone likes to have choices and most often DDA provides our clients with at least 2-4 choices to review before making a decision. We encourage client involvement and will provide our professional opinions and suggestions on designs - whether it be for a printed piece such as a brochure, logo design or trade show graphic, or a design for online or CD/DVD use such as a website, intranet, or video for CD/DVD. The designs that were not selected are saved in the client’s file and archived with all the other important files for that project. Since we do not use templates for our designs and each design is custom for our clients these other choices are usually not to be seen again. Until now… We will soon be offering, starting with our Logo Design portfolio, the option to take a peek at our DDA Sketchbook which will showcase the designs that were not chosen. It’s time for the unchosen to have their turn in the spotlight!

It’s been said before. Ugh.

Funny, how when trying to write a post about not using cliches in writing, the only opener I can come up with is, well a cliche.

But it happens. As a writer, I try to steer clear from those well-worn phrases, the ones that have been around the block a few times. Dang, did it again.

Every time I embark on a writing project, regardless of the medium — video script, website content, brochure, and so on — I really try to go about it from a fresh perspective, look at it from an angle that, possibly, others haven’t before.

It’s easy to churn out canned phrases and wording, to repeat what has been said before, but to do that would be doing our clients a disservice. Myself and the other writers here at DDA, really work hard to create engaging copy that attracts attention and will draw the reader in.

With clients from so many different industries and as a full-service company with projects from programming to graphic design, we need to switch it up a lot, writing to physicians one day writing to the buyers of alloy plate products the next. And naturally it’s tempting to plop down whatever trite phrases, or overused cliches may relate to that particular field. But we don’t.

As professional writers, we know what good writing is, and it’s not a cliche.  Now that you can take to the bank. Dang it.

The one thing you can never accuse the DDA team of lacking, is passion. From the search engine optimized websites to the custom database and admin programming, the level of output put forth by the graphic designers, videographers, copywriters, and search engine optimization specialist is of the utmost quality. I’ve been with DDA’s full-service advertising agency for over a year now, and I’ve come to realize we are a team of overachievers. And as Martha Stewart would say, “that’s a good thing!”

When developing complex websites, innovative graphic designs, and technical or market driven copy, having a team that genuinely cares about producing the best product possible is key. We strive to not only please our clients, but also one another. By constantly pushing the boundaries and reaching for better ways of carrying out tasks, success is bound to occur. I think this is why a majority of our clients develop a lengthy relationship with our team. They may initially turn to us for a tradeshow display or brochure and later decide to partner with us for a corporate website, custom animation video, or more. We are experts at building marketing systems that establish a powerful marketing foundation that lifts our clients to greater levels of success.

So, continue overachieving team. It definitely is a good thing!

It is hard for me to find the words or topic I would like to write about. Luckily for me I am not a copywriter here at DDA, nor do I fit the mold. That is what makes DDA such a great place to work! The fact that each person here possesses a talent or ability that is above average is truly amazing. Thankfully our coprwriters are gifted and have no problem when it comes to writing content for a brochure, website, trade show display, direct mail piece, etc. or perform any other task for which they are needed.

A few days ago, I went to buy picture frames for a poster project I was working on for our new Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA) office. There was a young lady working in the frame department at the time which made me say to myself, “Great, she’ll know what I want and I’ll be out of  here in record time.” So, I explained I was in search of 10″ x 10″ white square frames. “Oh,” she says “they are over here. We have 8″ x 11″ and 11″ x 14″ squares.”  ”No,” says I, “I need squares.”  ”Those are our squares.” I actually left the store bummed. Is it possible she did not know the difference between a square and a rectangle? Isn’t that something you learn in preschool? 

Segue to who we are as a full-service advertising agency at Dynamic Digital and what we expect. First, in terms of excellence, it is always to try and surprise clients with the quality of the work we produce. For example, we routinely provide not one logo when a company comes to us for logo development, we provide ten or twelve truly unique ways our graphic designers feel represents that company, its product/service, and the message they want to convey from a logo. The project coordinators work closely with clients to make sure we are on the same page with every request they make, be it changes to a website or reprints for a brochure, we have a process that ensures the client’s voice is always heard.

To stay competitive today, we have to excel everyday. As we have grown, we have resisted the temptation to isolate ourselves from clients. We do not believe in voicemail. Calls are answered quickly, as are emails. We want our clients to know that working with us on all their advertising, promotional, and marketing needs  includes a personal touch. Organically, our culture at DDA has always given everyone permission to perform.  David and I encourage initiative on every level. We knew when we started DDA that everyone who signs on — be it a programmer or a writer, a videographer or an animation artist, a production support person — has to WANT to deliver excellence. It cannot be foisted on anyone, it has to be the individual’s  choice. We have a saying on our wall “NO AVERAGE PEOPLE WORK HERE.” I should add, no average employee stays. 

“The principle is competing against yourself. It is about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before.” Steve Young    

This morning we have a kick-off meeting for a website we will be developing. It will be a highly-optimized site, with 35 pages of new content developed by DDA’s writers, specifically crafted to reach top rankings on search engines like Google.

It’s a common affair here at DDA — not just website development, or developing optimized copy, but a kick-off meeting.

For nearly every project we undertake, the first step is a meeting with the client to determine their goals and the direction of the project. It’s the first taste of a what will be a long string of client involvement.

Regardless if it’s a video, website, animation, brochure, or trade show booth, we are developing the product for our clients, which means their opinion and feedback is vital. We don’t move forward during any stage of development without approval.

This approach is indicative of so much of what DDA is and does — the fact that we were created with the needs of the marketing or advertising executive in mind; that each project is customized specifically to that client no matter how many times we have developed something in that medium; that we have a strong sense of pride in the work we create.

The other week we had a conference call with an existing client. Before finding DDA, this client had signed on with another company to do website development. We had undertaken a completely separate project for this client, but during the course of working together, it was apparent on both sides that there was a strong working relationship. As it turns out, the company this client signed up with for website development, did not treat them well, or more like not at all. After the initial meeting, this client barely heard a word again and had no clue as to what stage the project was on.

While we of course were more than happy to take on the website project, it was bitter sweet. They should have never had to go through that in the first place. There are so many companies out there that care little about the work they produce or their clients.

I am glad I work for a company that respects its clients and values their business. And as for my kick-off meeting this morning, I know that it’s just the start of what will be a long relationship.

At Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA), we have a staff of talented and degreed individuals, which include progammers, copywriters, videographers, animation artists, photographers, web developers, search engine optimization specialists, graphic designers, project coordinators, and more. While many advertising agencies employ freelancers that are remotely based and often times disconnected from the work involved in a project aside from that of their own, DDA has all creative team members available in-house for linear production and comprehensive collaboration.

For example, the work I do as an advertising Copywriter for a brochure is not considered seperate from design, but rather part of the whole overall concept. The text supports the illustrations and vice versa so the brochure functions as one cohesive piece that conveys the “right” collective message. This approach is applied to all service areas of our business. No team member, whether they be man or woman, animator or writer, is considered more important than another. We work together to accomplish the objectives of our clients. All pieces of a project are critical to its success, even down to the proofreading done for accurate functionality and spelling.

Our ability to communicate and work together for a common goal is one of the many ways that make DDA the better choice for your advertising needs. We are a team of professionals that have obtained degrees from around the world and have come together to work on a level playing field and provide the very best quality work for our clients.

Starting a new design, whether it be a logo, brochure, or a website design is very much like a puzzle that can be put together in a number of successful ways. Imagery, photographs, colors, logos are all collected. The target audience, design goals, functionality are all necessary considerations. Once all your “pieces” are prepared and organized, the real work can begin.

As you prepare your puzzle “pieces,” quite often the design begins to unfold in front of you without much effort. Of course, experience and a thorough knowledge of graphic design software is vital in making sure the “pieces” are put together correctly and efficiently. Fortunately at Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA), our degreed graphic designers and project coordinators have the experience, creativity, and wide range of talents such as digital photography, illustration, proper use of typography, and color that help put together all of our puzzles.