At DDA, we are proud to offer fully integrated advertising campaigns. With the wide array of services we provide, from video production to graphic design and copywriting to programming, we can provide any company with complete digital advertising services. We can build any marketing campaign from the ground up, design company logos, build custom and unique websites, and promote products with brochures, or we can work with established businesses looking to extend their marketing efforts with print designs or trade show ads.

But most importantly, everything at DDA is customized to fit your company’s exact needs. Our websites, for instance, are not created from templates and are custom built. And with the knowledge of our programming department and video production team, your website can be molded to exact specifications, integrating high-end video, search functions, and anything else you need. The sky is the limit when you choose DDA!

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  

My Intel based imac is only about a year old, is named the Pink Panther and has a 250gig HD. Less than a year from getting him I have already used 136gigs of space. I know what you’re thinking. “Big deal, 136 gigs isn’t much.” I can understand that train of thought. I personally have a TB and 500gig external HD at home with only 138mb left on the 500gig and the TB HD is being filled up pretty fast. Regardless, 136gigs for what I do at DDA is a lot. I don’t work with many 4gig file projects, like at home; mostly web design files that range from 150-200mbs and print design files that range from 200-500mbs. I think I may have a few tradeshow graphic or billboard files that are over the 1gig mark. So with only 94GB left on the Pink Panther, I am finding that now is the time to archive! Yes, the dreaded ‘A’ word, archive. It’s not as bad as it sounds. I am currently organizing all files so that any one in the future can navigate through and find what they need pretty easily. No need to thank me.

I can’t wait to see how much space I can free up as I archive and back up all my files. So far I’ve only gained back 5GB…

Today I am creating a trade show graphic. It will be an addition to three other pop-up graphics we have already created for this company for a past trade show. Their goal for this trade show is to attract employees as the company expands, and this will be the main message for the graphic I create.

Besides delivering a message, another function for trade show graphics can be as part of the trade show booth’s “set design,” creating a background mood through colors and images. Those kinds of graphics are especially fun to create because they can be painterly through the use of collage and texture, sometimes having no text at all.

Trade show graphics have a unique set of requirements for their composition. For example, most of the message usually needs to be toward the top of the banner, if it stands on the floor. The bottom part of the graphic is often partially obstructed by a booth table or pedestal, and of course, people standing in front of it.

The text for a trade show graphic must be large enough to be readable at a standing distance, and succinct, to catch people’s attention as they walk by or look around admidst the hustle and bustle of a trade show.

Because of the large physical size of a trade show graphic, the resolution of the image needs to be lower than if it were a printed piece. This is necessary to keep the file size down, as it can easily exceed a few gigs. The printing process is different for trade show graphics than for printed pieces, and the process varies according to the type of material the graphic is printed on.

There are many unique structures to choose from for trade show graphics, such as pop-up banners, roll-up banners, hanging banners, and more. Options allow for easy portability and installation.

The only thing I wish for in this process, is that I could be at the show to experience the effect!

This week has been pretty eventful at DDA. I was able to complete a priority trade show graphic, send out finished illustrations, start on two new sell sheet projects and a new website template and see two sites go live. We also put up the DDA sign yesterday. Yep, all in a week’s work. I have to admit that I am pretty happy with the trade show graphic. I love textures, layering and silhouetted figures, so when I got this job I knew what I wanted out of it. I was fortunate enough to find great vector based images on stock sites that would help bring the piece to life. I was also fortunate enough to have a client that loved the final product. I’d love to see it printed. I’m sure it will be impressive at 9 x 9 ft!

At DDA, we’ve often been asked by potential clients, “what happens if I don’t like the _____” (video production, print design, website design, or any other of DDA’s services can be inserted here). And the response is fairly simple, here at DDA we always try to get feedback from the Client at multiple points throughout the project, so you will always have input and end with a great product. For instance, if we’re doing some trade show graphics our designers will come up with a few design concepts and we send them to the Client to review. At this point we leave it to the clients to decide what they like and what they don’t like about the concepts. If they fall in love with a specific design, that’s great. But if they like different aspects about different designs and want to see some more based on their feedback, that’s great too! From whatever feedback we are provided we apply it to the concept designs and come up with some more finalized designs. Again, the Client is given the opportunity to provide any and all feedback. This process is repeated as necessary until a final design is created. This process remains true to website designs, video productions, copywriting, print designs, and everything else.

Depending on the tastes of the Client, this process can be quick or take a little more time. Either way, you can rest assured that whatever we create for you, you will be happy with the end product. This is truly one area where DDA exceeds, not only in giving Clients a custom-created product, but also giving great customer service and catering to your needs.

I may be behind the scenes at DDA, but I am also a client. As a professional artist I have had many things sent to a printer; business cards, postcards, flyers, trade show graphics, etc. I usually want my products printed right and as fast as possible. I expect to be updated on my project and see good results. Unfortunately, things hardly ever go as hoped. For instance, I requested a plastic bag quote back in early February, from some un-named vendor, and they STILL have not given me a quote. They keep telling me that they are “working on it”. In order to get any answers from them, I have to keep hounding them. My impression is that they are not professional and I would never recommend them. My trade show graphic was ordered in early march and I have received no word as to the progress of that as well. This makes me really angry. How difficult is it to just email me and say that you are behind schedule? I also understand that they might have forgotten about my order…but at least correct the situation after I have emailed an inquiry.

At DDA, we keep our clients informed and respond very quickly to their inquiries. This is the type of service I fully expect to receive as a client. However, not many places are as professional as DDA.

This past weekend, I went wine tasting with my husband. As novices, we don’t necessarily swirl the wine in the glass just so or perform all the well-known techniques just right, but we enjoy experiencing the different tastes and smells each bottle has to offer. Under the wine umbrella, there are different variations, including but not limited to merlot, chardonnay, blush, pinot grigio, and riesling, and within each type there are those that are dry or more acidic, those that are sweet or tart, and those that are aged six months to six years and so on. The flavors of each can run the gamut from fruity with specific floral aromas to spiced with a carmel or butterscotch aftertaste.

At the end of the trip, my husband and I were able to agree on a bottle to take home that suited our tastes best. I couldn’t help but think that this process could be applied to that of website design, brochure design, video production, trade show graphics, and more in the field of advertising. While other advertising agencies often utilize a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to design and development, Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA) takes on every project as a unique venture that needs customization based on the business, organization, and target audience.

Just like in wine tasting, in website design, there are many different types of websites - ecommerce,  Flash, database, corporate, medical, etc. - and within a certain type, the possibilities (like the flavors) are virtually endless. But unlike the vineyards, we (at DDA) make sure our clients end up with a final product that is exclusive to their company and tailor fit to their distinctive needs. With our team of professionals, we don’t just choose from an extensive list of existing materials, we create it from scratch.

Many years ago (at least ten), we included a feature in the DDA website called DDA Dare. Dare stood for Digital Agencies Requesting Exposure. It offered a listing on our website, to any other agency worldwide that offered all of the digital advertising services that we offered.

Due to the significant amount of traffic that our website receives, the DARE feature was exposed to thousands of competitors. Over the years a small number of design and advertising companies across the world have applied for the honor and advertising exposure the DARE program offered.

When researched by us, not a single one offered anything approaching the spectrum of advertising services offered by DDA. Further emphasizing this distinction is the fact that every one of our advertising and marketing services is done in-house. Branding, logo design, website design, trade show graphics, programming, copy writing, research, search engine optimization and search marketing, illustration, CD development, photography, video, DVDs, 2D and 3D animation, and more is all done by degreed, experienced, professional, full-time, year-round DDA employees.

As with all advertising and marketing projects, it is the results that are most important. DDA’s extreme capability and combination of services results in innovation, the development of hybrid technologies, and in products and services that outperform our client’s competitors in their respective industries.

Anyone can build a website. Find another organization that can build, in-house, a website like http://www.chains-and-charms.com/ that is professionally scripted, video integrated, e-commerce enabled with powerful proprietary programming, copy written with search engine optimized product and marketing content, monitored for usability, hosted, maintained, and tracked and I will…..give them free advertising in DDA DARE.

Everyday I am choosing and using fonts from our library of fonts. I’m always on the prowl for exciting, new fonts to use for our website designs, direct mail pieces, trade show graphics, logo designs, and more. From sans serif to serif fonts, text fonts to distressed fonts, and screen fonts (optimized for web viewing) to heavy fonts, I have used them all and enjoy each of their unique qualities.

Choosing the right font for a project is probably one of the most important steps during the graphic design process. Choose the wrong font and your design can be difficult to read, set the wrong mood, or fail to communicate the correct message. Imagine the chaos if all the traffic signs were set in a script font or handwritten font.

Here are a few general rules to follow when choosing the correct font:
1. Use serif fonts for a large amount of text. The serifs will help the eye move through the text quickly. Also, keep your line length reasonable and your leading (space between the lines of text) comfortable so the descenders and ascenders of the letters don’t connect. 
2. When setting type for a billboard or large graphic, tighten up the kerning (space between the letters of a word). The tighter the kerning the easier it will be to read from a distance.
3. Don’t mess with the horizontal or vertical height of a font. If you need to keep your font large in a small width, choose a condensed font or if you need to fit a small word or words in a large width, choose an extended font. 

There really is a font for every graphic design application and by following a few simple rules the font almost chooses itself!