As a Project Coordinator at Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA), I work closely with clients and all members of our team - from graphic designers and programmers to copywriters and animators - that are involved in a given project. In my experience, I have come to realize how important it is to take the necessary time and word correspondences correctly to convey a clear and straightforward message. While some of our clients consist of well-established companies with extensive experience in all forms of advertising, others are innovative start-up organizations that lack the knowledge on the best way to proceed in a project, whether it is a website design or a video production.

Bottom line, it is not our clients’ job to automatically understand, it is our job to provide all pertinent and relevant information in an easy-to-understand format so they, in turn, can make wise and educated decisions. That said, it is critical that every form of communication be well thought out and that important points, issues, or potential problems are discussed internally beforehand in order to ensure that everyone is on the same page and there are no discrepancies. Anticipating complications and misunderstandings prior to initiating a response and doing our best to avoid them helps things flow from one stage to the next as smoothly as possible.

“More important than the quest for certainty is the quest for clarity.” ~ Francois Gautier

When I was a little girl, I was roundly scolded one winter morning because I took the blanket off my bed and gave it to a man knocking at our back door for help. He looked so cold, his lips were blue, and to a five-year old, it seemed getting him warm was more important than feeding him. Besides I was not allowed near the stove, and there were no grownups around when he knocked on the door. That was my dramatic introduction to random acts of kindness. I felt good about what I did, and the admonition “never talk to a stranger” soon vanished along with the angry words from my Dad. 

Today, as a business woman, I am often surprised at how indifferent and self-absorbed people can be. Surely, there is time to say “Good Morning” and “How are you?” and mean it. And surely, there should be more warm reactions to all the little gestures of kindness you encounter in your work day. Or is kindness missing where you work? Ah ha, the paradox. There are NOT too many work cultures that encourage kindness and cooperation among staff. Rather the norm is for everyone to out do the other with selfish agendas.

At Dynamic Digital Advertising, we have a very open door policy. We encourage teamwork among the graphic designers, advertising copywriters, and project coordinators assigned to a website design and seo content development job, we discourage  ”I” statements. Our more senior staff help guide and teach informally, and no one in that position be it our Lead Graphic Designer or our Director of Interactive Media ever behaves arrogantly with peers or clients. We have a very robust cc: system to keep all concerned in the loop.

A statement on our wall sums it up best “NO AVERAGE PEOPLE WORK HERE.” And by extension, no one unkind or petty.  Throughout our four-day work week, I hope each of us takes the time to practice kindness (even if we have to grit our teeth or pull our hair at some stupid occurrence). Let’s resist the temptation to be self-absorbed. Remember, it only takes seven muscles to smile.

Like I mentioned in a previous post, we like to give our clients design choices to review and from those choices we (both client and designer) are able to develop the final design rather quickly. Website designs, brochure cover designs, and logo designs are all usually delivered to the client after 3 or 4 initial concepts are reviewed and then tweaked. Before we send our clients the preliminary design concepts to review, the graphic designers will send them to those staff members involved with the project for internal review.

As the key designer for a project, after about the 3rd design creativity starts to slow, ideas start to fade, and as the design problem begins to move forward to a solution, we are ready to move on to the next “problem”. Well, more often than not the request to do just one or two more designs comes through and immediate slouching of shoulders and uttering of sighs begins… for me at least. But, I know what will happen. After some time spent away from the project, stretching of legs and wrists, and hopefully some useful feedback for this “just one more” design, work begins.

And, while I haven’t been keeping record, I would bet money that the client, designer, and internal staff choose this “just one more” design. Why? While I have no proven answer, I would surmise that by the time you have worked through 3 or 4 designs you are ready to actually begin the final. Very similar to a musician tuning up before a performance or an athlete stretching before a big game. Artists are no different. Our creative mind needs to kick in, the left-side to right-side brain switch needs to occur, and we need to fall into the “zone”. Sometimes we nail the design on the first round, but I would again bet money that careful thought and planning have been going on for some time and that “careful thought and planning” is the warming up, the stretching our of creativity that moves the final design from a pile of elements to a final harmonized piece. 

I cut my teeth in the publishing and printing world. I started when I was in college, writing features for the school paper, and by the time I was in grad school, had done almost every job from typing original material for authors to proofing galleys, doing press checks, and then sending out press releases for print and radio on the new book or program.  I have worked as an editor for educational material, functioned as a production coordinator for a multi million dollar program, and manned many trade show booths selling the pamphlets, books, programs, and teaching manuals the company produced.

In those days, graphic designers and advertising copywriters did not have the luxury of computers. One had to approach a project with great thought because mistakes were difficult to rectify. Today, we have a delete button. In those days, it could be the kiss of death.  When you speced a manuscript, you knew how many headers would need 18 pt. type, and how much you could squeeze into an eight-page sig using 12 pt. for body copy. Today, a graphic designer has as many choices as he or she wishes to work with for originality and emphasis; a custom look and feel is oh so achievable.

In those days, there was justified left and right or ragged right, and no type in curves unless someone wanted to cut with an exacto knife. What client could afford that? The print brochures, sell sheets, and catalogs that a creative, passionate team produces today, can take your breath away. We have some samples to prove my point. At Dynamic Digital Advertising, nothing makes me happier than to see print projects, from a single 8.5″ x 11″ one-sided sheet to a four by eight trade show graphic, come through the door. Guess once you’ve worked in print, the ink never leaves your veins. 

Build any house without a solid foundation and you’ll quickly find your walls crumbling. The same goes for website development, corporate and medical video production, graphic designs, and more.  Without the parameters set and the basics confirmed, progress will be slow, shaky, and inefficient.

We set these solid foundations with a kick-off meeting. Conceptual concepts are secured, deadlines are established, and marketing themes confirmed. From here, DDA graphic designers, web developers, and creative and online copywriters have the necessary information needed to lay the first elements of the project.  

To ensure a smooth and efficient production process with little to no surprises, we seek client approval with every completed step. Without this system in place, countless of hours could be spent on an undesirable direction. Our goal is to deliver a website, brochure, corporate or medical training program, or tradeshow display that exceed our client’s expectation and the system we have in place guarantees this.

May Mondays should be clear and vibrant, and we should all be recharged from a long weekend celebrating Mother’s Day, and weddings, and birthdays. But in terms of weather, this Monday is raw and the forecast is for rain nonstop. Most of us have stashed our winter clothes, so we have all the portable heaters whirling under our desks, and as l watch the wind whipping the tree branches outside my window, I think, indeed, it’s not a clear day.

Yet, right now there is a  clarity at Dynamic Digital Advertising that bodes well for the week. Only one person has reported sick, and the rest of us are going about the business at hand. The main Conference Room has been busy hour after hour with conference calls from companies interested in our many advertising and marketing services.  The Business Development team has its hands extra full for the day. After the initial calls, they now have to develop quotes for the interested parties on top of follow-up work from all the projects from last week.  The Video and Photography Studio has projects lined up to complete, plus a video shoot in New York City later this week.

Our graphic designers are equally busy with trade show graphics and web design. The copywriters and programmers are deep in thought as they wrestle with content development writing, and ColdFusion and broken code on a client’s site or “something’s wrong with my email” questions. As I write, Monday is almost half over, and again,  I realize as I do every Monday, that the DDA  staff will see clearly, and rain or shine the quality work we produce at DDA will make us all proud!  Whoever said the following was a wise person, “Most people don’t recognize opportunity because it is usually disguised as hard work.” Unknown Author  

In a previous post, I was commiserating with an author who wrote an article about the use of typography for html websites and the restrictions that we, as graphic designers, experience. I went on complaining that technology for websites with regards to html typography hadn’t changed in 12 years. Well, if you read last week’s postings by Mick, our Director of Interactive Media, you, like me… are thrilled! Scalable Inman Flash Replacement (sIFR) is just the answer. It’s as if I called out to the Gods of typography and they heard me… just like when I was waiting and waiting for our window installer to call back, then had a dream about him building me a piano, and he called the very next day.

So, I decided to check out this new technology (this Godsend). I took about a half hour this morning and read through the documentation, the how-to-use files and sample files, and got to work. I would like to preface what I’m about to write by stating that I AM NOT A PROGRAMMER. I change what I need to change, upload what I need to upload, and save what needs to be saved. Sometimes it works and sometimes I fail miserably, but thankfully one of our very talented and personable programmers, Amy, is located two offices down from mine and always ready to help.

Basically, all that is required is setting the typeface in Flash, exporting it as a .swf file, and calling it up within the Javascript in the html page. Magically, at least for me, the type is just as I want it to look: search engine friendly, linkable, and selectable. I’m very excited to implement this new technology in future websites we design. We can now have the best of both worlds… great looking type on websites that work!

Now, I only hope someone reads my post about wanting a new SLR digital camera….

Working with clients from project inception to completion as a Project Coordinator helps me establish an overall understanding of the needs of particular clients, their direction, and their intentions for the outcome of the projects at hand and those of the future. It is my hope that every project ends on a positive note for the client and DDA. I work closely with staff members, such as programmers, search engine optimization (SEO) specialists, graphic designers, copywriters, photographers, videographers, animators, and the AR/AP department to ensure that every “i” gets dotted and “t” crossed. Working in this manner also helps me to understand the intricacies, responsibilities, and tasts involved with every DDA employee.

In the past few weeks, we’ve managed to complete and close a variety of different projects from copywriting services to logo design, and much more. I’m pleased to say that we were able to meet each project’s deadline and every client was satisfied with a job well done. But with the completion of one project means the inception of another and the same goal… to meet and exceed client expectations so that he or she returns to our full-service advertising agency for any and all of their advertising and marketing needs.

Last night I watched Top Chef, a cooking competition show in which I’ve recently developed an unhealthy addiction. During each episode the chefs compete in challenges with hopes of impressing the judges, winning immunity, and passing through to the next round, inching one step closer to the grand prize. The reason I enjoy the show so much, and reserve an hour of TV watching every Wednesday, is because I love the creativity. The challenges are universal to all participants, but the way each chef approaches their meal varies drastically. Even more, the end results are always quite impressive given the amount of time they have to finalize their dish. There may be moments of panic, but inevitably the chefs find their inspiration and work vigorously to meet there specified deadline.

This atmosphere of creativity is not unlike the environment here at DDA. The graphic designers, creative and online copywriters, corporate and medical video production specialists, and programmers all have to work under a certain conceptual umbrella determined by the client’s needs. However, each individual has their own approach and style, imprinting their signature on the end product.  

This is what makes our staff here at DDA so great. If we only produced cookie cutter websites, brochures, and corporate and medical training programs, our business would not be thriving as it is now. Clients turn to us for our creativity and tendency to reach for the innovative. And with a staff comprised of creative individuals possessing various strengths, exciting websites, graphic designs, custom programming, and exceptional video development are guaranteed.

Today is a rainy Spring day that makes you feel kind of blah. So, I am trying to think of something happy. One thing that always makes me smile is our mascot Indie. His blog yesterday made me laugh! He is always so happy and well mannered. He is  always a bright spot in any work day. DDA will again be working with some fun party type products for print design. This time it will be for your pets, and that will make it all that much more fun! Our Graphic Designers will make the most out of our product photography to create a fun and colorful new print ad design that will make some people want to borrow a pet just so they can enjoy the fun! Maybe we can have Indie model right here in our own photography studio! Pretty soon, he’ll be charging for autographs…..