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.

I get to come to DDA often. Nice place. Yesterday, I got to sniff out a print vendor. He has three dogs in his print shop, and wants to know when we are going to let him quote on a print project again. They also let me sit in on conferences because I’m well mannered. I never interrupt, and if the conference call goes well, I’m the first to cheer. I also like how many nooks and crannies there are for me to explore. The only place I hear that awful word “NO” is if I get too close to the food on the tables in the kitchen when the writers are eating. The “no” does not stop me though. Elise will give me some of her pizza if I wait. Elizabeth says DDA is building a cable run for me in the backyard. I can hardly wait! Yes, I love my dog life.

The Nike slogan, “JUST DO IT” reminds me of our team because at Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA), we share a set of core values that adhere to the concept of doing.  We arrive on time ready to tackle projects, we enjoy a quick cup of coffee or tea or hot chocolate, and on Mondays there can be a scramble for the asiago bagels, which the bagel place makes in very limited quantities. Then we settle down, find our groove, and work. 

It is vital to our success as a team of writers, web developers, videographers, programmers, and graphic designers that we embrace our tasks with efficiency, flexibility, and above all creativity. When I read one of the programmers blogs, I am sometimes met with what I call IT graffiti which even I, realize without understanding it, requires ingenious creativity to assemble. Same thing is true of the hoops our web developers often jump through to get the right balance between design, architecture, and usability for the client’s website.  

We make every attempt to understand our clients’ needs, and are confident that we can deliver the results they are looking for. To be the reliable advertising agency that clients think of when they have a project, we have to continuously push the envelope and be ahead of the technology and creative curve. We have become the GO TO advertising agency for many clients, and it is not unusual for clients to depend on DDA for all their print and graphic design and production, and their interactive media, which includes shooting video to add to their websites as well. Yes, day in and day out, at Dynamic Digital Advertising, we just do it! 

Some days the thought of facing that yellow pad with a long to do list is mentally unacceptable. You would rather do something fun and distracting, something mindless, but you are at work, so you shift gears, and…in my case, revert to my student days when one of my most admired teachers instilled in her class the concept of discipline. As a child, I thought that meant staying out of trouble so you would not get your behind walloped. Fast forward to senior year in high school, and I slowly started to understand from daily contact with my special teachers that discipline REALLY means being self aware, studying hard, finishing voluminous homework without excuse, not feigning a stomachache to skip class, trying hard every day to be better. Believe me there were rebellious periods my senior year, but the persistent example from dedicated teachers who believed in me obviously worked.

Entering the work force in college was not traumatic because I did not feel entitled but rather privileged to participate and learn from more experienced coworkers as I completed my studies.  My career development finally led to what I have done for over a decade, helping to run an advertising company. Today, Dynamic Digital Advertising is not a dream on paper, but a thriving, growing entity pushing the envelope of digital technologies in unique ways. We are where we are because of the determination to go on, to build from two people to a cohesive group of graphic designers, writers, videographers, programmers, seo specialists, and production support staff all based in house. We stress that everything we do is done here, our vendors are local, we do not outsource creative work, we are 100% made in the USA. 

Companies who come to us for any of our digital services realize after the initial conference call they are hiring an advertising agency with real depth… an agency they can rely on for all their marketing and promotional needs… an agency where, though often unspoken, the work force is imbued with passion and self-discipline… an agency that delivers what it promises, and never promises something it cannot deliver. My teacher was right when she said, “The more you discipline yourself, the less you’ll be disciplined by others.” Being hands on managers, working closely with clients and staff, David and I know we are truly part of a unique company, a place where you look forward to coming to work because everyone is focused on getting things done. And I promise, as we grow things will only get more exciting! 

How’s this for scary statistics; one hundred million trees are ground up each year to create junk mail. It is a waste of everyone’s time and money. In America, we use three billion batteries annually, and since too many of us throw batteries in the trash we collectively add 179,000 tons to the landfills.  So, today at Dynamic Digital Advertising, we are going to change to chargeable batteries. Not as convenient, more expensive to initiate use for our videographers and photographers, but oh so worth it,  if we want to do one more real thing to help our earth. 

Here’s another important statistic; it takes 2,500 gallons of water to bring a pound of hamburger to market. You do the math. If each of us would give up one burger a week…exponentially…I’m bad at math, but you get the picture. At Dynamic Digital Advertising, we know we are all above average in one way or another. Writers with flexibility to switch from creating content to shepherding projects to conclusion, a Print Estimator in Crystal who also wears a Pay-Per-Click management hat and does production coordination to boot, graphic designers who can work on multiple projects simultaneously. All this taking place in an environment that fosters productive output daily. Let’s take our DDA culture and apply it, each in our own way, to consciously care for our earth every day. 

“Motivation is what gets you started, Habit is what keeps you going.”  Jim Ryan

I have a confession to make; green is on my mind heavily these days. In my personal life, I would be classified as an average recycler. You know, turn off lights, don’t let the water run while brushing your teeth, always fill the bins correctly–paper in one, glass in the other, plastic washed and clean in the last bin, don’t use pesticides on the grass. Meaningful, but very small measures in the global scheme.

The statistics on how much it costs to produce plastic bottles, bags, etc. for American use is staggering. It turns out paper products like grocery bags cost even more. Our streams and rivers are more polluted with discarded prescription medicines and antibiotics.  So, at DDA, I am trying to make us truly aware of what a careless society we have become. The first suggestion on how all of us can be more avid as a group came from Laurence, our Director of Motion Arts. “Why don’t we bring our own cups, dishes and utensils?” Great idea. In a couple of weeks, anyone from writers to programmers to designers will have a spot in the kitchen only for their stuff–just like camping. And we are donating clothes, shoes, toys, dishes, pots and pans, and small electrics to American Cancer Research for their fundraising efforts.

Any time we can extend the life of an item by not discarding it, we help the environment. The full impact of less trash is visible when you consider the landfill and the numerous trucks carting waste into Pennsylvania from New York. So less waste has only positive impact on our economic and personal lives. Next, I would like all of us at DDA to repurpose paper. As a creative house, we go through a lot of paper. Let’s reuse.  Take it home for the kids to draw on (Jessie has been doing this for years), use the second side for notes at your desk. Think before you print an article–can you just read it on line. To all staffers, thank you for trying. 

“Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children.” Ancient Proverb  

My 6-month-old has figured out how to rollover onto his belly flawlessly. Problem is he doesn’t yet know how to roll onto his back from that position. He’s stuck. So, we’ve all been helping him roll back over. We sometimes let him work it out on his own, but eventually he gives up and bonks his nose on the floor. But, no matter how many bonks to the nose he takes during the day, it doesn’t stop him from rolling and rolling and rolling. He’s so determined. 

It’s that sort of determination you find at Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA). Not only have I found that our team of graphic designers, web designers, programmers, animators, writers, video and 3D designers are independently determined, but they will help others out in an instant. We all get stuck during the week and it is comforting to know that there is always someone ready to plow through each project with you, such as determining the best color palette to use on a brochure or how to properly test a newsletter template before sending it off to a client. 

So, if you bonk your nose this week, never fear, there is always someone ready to flip you back over!

I passed our old office on my way in this morning and recalled many memories. I remember when I first started at Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA) years ago, starry-eyed and scared of not succeeding as I sat next to Esther, a 70-something woman who was, at the time, in our Sales/Marketing Department. A hard-nosed go-getter, she made me laugh at least once every day. I remember moving to the front of the office and how quickly our space filled with eager writers striving to find their place and learn everything there was to know about the business.

Now, as I sit in our current office, which has more than tripled in size, I think of what a great beginning that was and of how much I’ve grown, learned, and evolved in my personal and professional life. There is still so much to learn and so much life left to live, but both myself and the company have come a long way. Aside from a great office space, our advertising agency consists of a team of professionals that works incredibly well together. Each member of our company has a unique skill set that brings diversity and creativity to the mix. And, still, I laugh at least once every day!

The great poet, T.S. Eliot, declared “April is the cruelest month” and I am adding but in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, April is  breathtakingly beautiful. Anyone who enjoys the outdoors relishes the rich yellows and pinks and snow white blooms from daffodils, tulips, azaleas bushes, crabapple and dogwood trees, and the way sunlight plays with grass in the late afternoon. So as stewards, we should also be cognizant of our responsibility to protect our earth.

At Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA), we have a good start. We work a four-day week, so we use less gas and less electricity. We recycle glass and plastic, and when it is time for lunch, we try to have one person order for others or at least drive together to pick up. Those who bring lunch and snacks carry their food in reusable containers.  We have the copiers set to draft to use less toner. We save boxes and reuse them to ship.  We turn off unnecessary lights. Good start but we can do more.

With Earth Day right around the corner, I hope each of us will look for one more thing we can do to walk lightly on our earth. Being socially conscious should be a habit. As a forward thinking and very creative group of writers, graphic designers, videographers, programmers and search engine optimization (SEO) specialists, being green should be DDA’s watchword.      

The green grass of spring is finally here. The landscapers are visiting for the first time and the bushes, lawns and even the rocks are being pruned, pared back, raked and mounded in preparation for growth. Hope springs eternal and spring brings eternal hope for the promise of growth through good weather and hard work.

So it has been for thousands of years and so it will be.

At DDA, the growth is as much a personal one as it is corporate or financial. The human condition does not allow for stagnation. We are all either learning, and striving, and growing or we are ignoring lessons, slacking, and dying.

Every day I see our photographers learning, our programmers improving, our website designers testing, our search engine marketing specialists tracking, our artists illustrating, our writers illuminating, our video production crew stretching, our flash artists animating, our branding team clarifying, and our ecommerce technicians polishing and presenting.

The weather is not always great, the world is not always perfect, but it seems the growth comes not from the results but rather from the effort. Spring is here, again!