How to Dominate the Search Engines (SEO and Paid Media):

Fun fact: This month marks the 15th anniversary that the Oxford English Dictionary first listed “Google” as a verb. Google and other search engines have since become so important to the business world that digital marketers encounter this question from our clients all the time: “Can you get us to the top of the first search results page?”

That’s a steep request, but also a pertinent one: Search engines are the starting-point for 93% of web experiences, yet only about 25% of users venture onto the second results page. We all know that search engines are in the business of selling your data to corporations, but we allow them to commoditize us because they route us to the answers that we’re looking for. (If they didn’t, we’d jump over to their competitors.) So to dominate the search engines, keep in mind these marketing strategies that the engines reward—and the ones they penalize.

Master the Elements

If you want search engines to crawl your site, you need to become proficient in the basics of search engine optimization. Here are just a few tactics to consider:

Plan Out the User Journey

Before you delve into alt tags and meta descriptions and the rest of it, audit your digital identity to gauge how users are interacting with you. Is your bounce rate going up or down? Are you achieving the holy trinity of clicks, likes, and shares? What’s the final conversion that you’re driving your audience toward? Figuring out how your channels connect will help you plan SEO strategies that ladder up to a larger objective, rather than just improving your metrics for the sake of metrics.

Optimize Your Web Copy

Weave in keywords into your digital content, but limit yourself to about one keyword per 100–150 words—and write a few long-tail keywords that contain the entire phrase that someone might be searching for (4–6-word lines like “how to write a cover letter” along with smaller snippets like “resume” and “job application”). Remember, only weave in long-tail phrases if they feel natural. Search bots will lower your SEO score if your long-tail keywords sound like pianos dropped into the middle of sentences that were otherwise flowing along smoothly.

Incorporate Links

Search engines understand that the internet is a hyperlinked database of information and that we’re all clicking through 37 tabs at once to find the answer to our most pressing question right this second. So if you work in links that are specific, sincere, substantial, and succinct, and that connect to relevant content, search engines will consider your site to be “authoritative.” (If that term seems oddly inflated, that’s because it’s a euphemism for sites that aren’t spammy and that don’t annoy the search engines’ product—us.) Avoid linking to content that’s over a year old, and include internal links to improve the visibility of the lesser-known pages of your site.

Don’t Forget Mobile

In 2011, about 35% of Americans owned a cell phone. A decade later, that number has zoomed up to 97%. Worldwide, you’re looking at 5 billion cell phone users, and to top it off, about half of your audience is finding you through their phones. Point being, optimize for mobile. Search engines will filter you into oblivion if you don’t. Besides, a website today that’s riddled with wonky text and misspaced links when it loads on your phone just feels so … 2011.

Never Cry Wolf

Ever heard of “information scent”? That’s a UX concept that holds that internet users are clicking the links and CTAs that give off a palpable whiff of the intel that they’re looking for. But the opposite could occur, too—sites and content can emit a nasty information scent.

Let’s say you’re writing a blog about starting your own business. If your headline is “Learn How to Grow Your Bottom Line 1,000%,” people will click your link, but if you don’t supply a miracle-gro solution to boosting their revenue, you’re going to disappoint them. In the short term, you’ll drive traffic to your site. In the long term, users may call you out for the charlatan that you are, which could result in search engines downgrading you because of misleading content and sneaky redirects.

Act Local

Search engines are a quandary. On one hand, they make the global village even more united and universal. (Every day, people from Nebraska to Nairobi are all Googling, “How do I fix the printer?”) At the same time, they exert the equal and opposite force of localizing the world. People may or may not be thinking globally these days, but they do seem to be buying locally: Searches with the phrase “near me” in them have risen 150% in the last two years, and 28% of online local searches result in a purchase.

Whether you’re a Mom and Pop shop or an international conglomerate, you’re located near someone, so optimize your web presence for local SEO to make it easy for people to find you, digitally and physically. Update your Google local business listing with the pertinent details about your operation (hours, address, phone numbers), and post customer feedback—especially if it’s positive. Search engines will boost your site’s visibility if people rave about you, since you’ve demonstrated your value to their users.

Make Your Content King

To get noticed online, you need to produce something noticeable, like videos or a blog, and push it out on a regular basis, which demonstrates that what you’re saying is timely and current. If people like watching or reading your work enough to linger on your site, search engines will reward you for having a low bounce rate, since that metric tells them that your site is (you guessed it) valuable to their users.

We’ve talked about linking out from your site, but the real goal is to have authoritative sites link to you. Imagine writing a blog about how to harness fusion and National Geographic gives you a shout-out on social media. Search engines will propel your site up their rankings. But you don’t have to solve one of science’s biggest challenges to craft an organic media plan. If you’re an ecommerce entrepreneur, write an article about your market niche on Forbes that links to your site. Upload your videos to YouTube and your music to Spotify. Even guest blogging on less-established domains can drum up the SEO credit that search engines recognize and respect.

Pay to Play

Blogs, videos, backlink hierarchies, designing for mobile—these are all SEO strategies, sometimes termed “owned media” because they appear on channels that companies or users control. (Or that Big Tech lets you think you control.) The other approach you could take is paid media, where you outright pay search engines to rank you higher. One benefit of paid media is that it’s precise: Spend enough, and you can plop your content in front of your target audience, your competition’s target audience, people who are midway down your funnel, and so on.

The main caveat with paid media is that it can feel, well, like you paid for it. Is it really a surprise when Nike serves you an ad about how great Nike is? But when consumers praise Nike on Google Reviews—doesn’t that feel more credible, like humans are recommending a product to each other? Praise like that is called “earned media,” and brands sometimes pay to put that media in front of audiences that their paid media was intended for. Don’t be afraid to pay for ads, just be sure to interweave them with owned and earned media, and keep in mind the old adage about how money can’t buy you likes.

Be Useful to Users

The seven major search engines today are Google, Bing, Baidu, Yahoo!, Yandex, Ask.com, and DuckDuckGo. But let’s not kid ourselves—“Google” has entered the lexicon in a way that “Bing” has not for a reason: Google commands over 70% of the search engine market and 85% of mobile traffic. Google now handles (give or take) two trillion searches each year. Web optimization trends die every season because Google’s webmaster guidelines change all the time, so you’re better served studying their algorithm rather than trying to trick it. Better yet—study what your audience wants. Explain something that users might not know (how to tie a tie, how to interpret case law, how to dominate the search engines) and Google and its brethren are more likely to route them your way rather than to your clickbaity competitors.

Jacob Tyler recognized as a Top Beer Logo Design Company on DesignRush

This year we are proud to have been named one of the top 25 agencies for Beer Logo design on DesignRush. Thanks for the Kudos and we appreciate you loving our rebranding work!

As well, we have made the best of lists for: Food & Beverage Branding Agencies, Small Business Branding Agencies, and Naming Agencies. We are excited to be honored by Design Rush for our work.

How Leading Branding Agencies Create a Consistent Brand Identity – Plus, The Top 25 Branding Agencies, According to DesignRush

NEW YORK (PRWEB) FEBRUARY 21, 2019

A consistent brand presentation across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23 percent.

However, a brand has many visual and emotional components. Therefore, crafting a consistent identity can be difficult for businesses.

DesignRush.com, a B2B marketplace connecting brands with agencies, discovered how the best branding and rebranding agencies build unified brand identities across many channels. These strategies help growing companies capture consumers, increase awareness and recognition, and ultimately improve revenue.

The top 5 ways that branding agencies create a successful brand identity are:

1. Create A Brand Strategy

About one-third of consumers have a specific brand in mind when they begin shopping.

By creating a brand strategy before beginning the actual branding process, experts can pinpoint valuable audiences and ensure that the brand becomes recognizable and trustworthy to them. This will empower consumers to have that brand in mind when they set out to make a purchase.

Building a brand strategy includes tasks such as:

Conducting market research
Defining the target demographic
Determining goals
Writing the mission and core values of the brand
Creating a brand book that outlines brand guidelines
And more!

2. Design A Logo

Studies show that color improves brand recognition by up to 80 percent – and when coupled with a strategic logo, this visual moniker can be the key to brand visibility.

Thus, branding agencies often design a logo that aesthetically embodies a brand’s products, services, mission and values early on in the branding process. Although a logo is not the only branding element, it is often the most highly-recognized.

Successful logos have a few key design qualities. They are often:

Simple and scalable
Modern yet timeless
Responsive for all digital screen sizes
Memorable and have strong brand relevance

3. Name The Brand, Products & Services

Although brains process visuals up to 60,000 times faster than words, every brand, product and service needs to be named in accordance with the overarching brand identity.

Successful brand or product names should be:

Short or simple
Related to the key mission of the brand
Easy to pronounce

4. Brand The Website

Strong branding on multiple platforms can improve brand visibility by up to 4 times – but a website is perhaps the most important platform.

The best branding agencies take the time to properly brand professional websites. Well-branded sites typically have:

The logo in the top-left corner of all web pages, which leads back to the homepage
Large, easily readable font
A consistent color scheme that matches other visual collateral
Intuitive navigation
Strategic landing pages that match brand goals
And more!

5. Roll Out The Identity On Other Platforms

There are a near-infinite number of digital platforms and interfaces that businesses must brand in order to properly present themselves to their target audience.

Therefore, they must also roll out the brand on other channels, including:

Social media
Marketing campaigns
Graphic and print designs
Packaging designs
Email newsletters
Video marketing campaigns and commercials
Advertisements
And more!

“Branding is perhaps the most important thing a growing business could do to achieve long-term success,” says DesignRush Founder and Executive Director Gabriel Shaoolian. “You never know where consumers may see your brand or what emotional connections they could develop and when. Therefore, brands need to take the time to build a truly unified persona for their brand and distribute that on each and every possible medium.”

DesignRush’s Agency Listing section features the top local and global branding companies. Some of the top branding agencies from around the world include:

1. Art Fresh Inc.

Art Fresh is an award-winning full-service branding studio, focusing on marketing strategy, brand design, marketing communications, building brands and managing them effectively. They provide premium-quality creative design that includes logo design and corporate identity, print advertisements, label and packaging design, brochure design, responsive web design, and various other promotional services to help businesses capture a strong position in the market.

Visit Art Fresh online at https://www.art-fresh.ca/

2. Baldwin&

Baldwin& is a full-service e-commerce agency with offices in Ghent, Belgium, and Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Brands that are looking for a professional partner to help them develop, design and promote their webshop can tell Baldwin& what they’re after and the agency will make it happen, from A to Z.

Visit Baldwin& online at: http://www.baldwinand.com/

3. Brands to life

Brands to life® is a Melbourne-based branding agency working with local, national and international brands. Their branding, advertising, and digital thinking have launched brands, intensified engagement, gotten more bums on seats, achieved more clicks and bigger donations, increased awareness and boosted sales. They breathe new life into brands to create, refresh or re-position them. Brands to life finds simple truths and creates authentic brand stories and unique, memorable identities.

Visit Brands to life online at: https://www.brandstolife.com.au/

4. Bulldog Studio

Bulldog Studio has a team of graphic designers that develops print projects, branding and packaging projects. Their added value is tangible because they have direct feedback from their clients throughout every step of the process.

Visit Bulldog Studio online at: http://bulldogstudio.es/

5. Catchword

Catchword is a dedicated brand name development firm that has been them industry-leading product, service and company names since 1998. Clients hire and rehire Catchword because they view naming not just as a creative exercise but as a critical component of brand value. Sure, they come up with cool names (some would say super cool), but not before Catchword has a profound understanding of each client’s business and branding objectives.

Visit Catchword online at: https://catchwordbranding.com/

6. Cleverbird Creative

Cleverbird Creative is an 85+ time award-winning web design and digital branding firm based in Chicago. They create beautiful and effective websites for startups, Fortune 500 companies – and everyone in between. Cleverbird Creative marries performance and beauty, with most of their sites not only winning design awards but also seeing an increase in sales, leads, and traffic by an average of 450 percent.

Visit Cleverbird Creative online at: http://cleverbirds.com/

7. ElephantMark

ElephantMark is a full-service website design and branding agency located in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. They build brands from the ground up by creating unique brand experiences and brand strategies. ElephantMark crafts unique brand strategies and helps small and large businesses alike to reach new audiences. A typical scope of work could include a brand audit, brand naming, brand identity design, a brand strategy manual, a website, signage design, advertising campaigns, and more.

Visit ElephantMark online at: https://www.elephantmark.com/

8. Erretres, The Strategic Design Company

Erretres, The Strategic Design Company, is a branding and digital consultancy firm based in Madrid and working internationally in Europe, America, and Asia. Their work is characterized by human-centered and technology-infused design solutions, as well as business innovation and strategy. They are specialists in the simplification of complex problems in order to create identities which bring value to brands and end users. Erretres teams up with their clients at all stages of the process, offering methods and solutions tailored to the particular needs of each project. They are unique, offering both branding and digital international expertise.

Visit Erretre, The Strategic Design Company, online at: http://www.erretres.com/

9. GKV

GKV is celebrating over 35 years of creating advertising, direct marketing, branding, digital and social media campaigns on behalf of their clients. GKV’s success is rooted in their ability to create and execute breakthrough strategies for companies and organizations that are out-spent in their categories. GKV and its clients succeed by challenging the category status quo. On the clients’ behalf, they have created advertising initiatives that have succeeded consistently in the marketplace and in industry award competitions by demonstrating thought leadership, emotional power, and confidence.

Visit GKV online at: https://gkv.com/

10. Jacob Tyler Brand & Digital Agency

Jacob Tyler Brand & Digital Agency is an integrated brand experience agency. They deliver creative experiences and marketing strategies that amplify each brand’s reach, breed customer loyalty, and drive business growth. Everyone thinks they are innovative. Everyone thinks they offer solutions. But Jacob Tyler Brand & Digital Agency helps brands to kick clichés to the curb and focus on exactly what they want to solve for their specific audience — and after over 18 years in business, they’re really great at it.

Visit Jacob Tyler Brand & Digital Agency online at: https://www.jacobtyler.com/

11. KRV Guru

KRV Guru is comprised of a young, energetic, creative and passionate “MARTECH” team who loves what they do and – most importantly – who they work for: Brands. They are known as passionate and crazy marketers in search of innovation. KRV Guru believes that “Marketing is Mathematics” and that they know the right formula to get an answer.

Visit KRV Guru online at: https://www.krvguru.com/

12. Launch Digital

Launch Digital is a creative design and marketing agency working with clients of all sizes and in all sectors. They understand that every brand and project has different values and audiences. Launch Digital has a very powerful in-house creative team with young, fresh designers led by strong marketing directors and management. Their talent and experience produce creativity that is capable of delivering impressive design work for all business types. Launch Digital looks at all of their client’s entire marketing efforts, suggesting amendments and implementing changes with the goal of growing brands, products, services, and market share to give a great return on investment and ultimately increase profit for their clients.

Visit Launch Digital online at: https://www.launchscotland.com/

13. Massive Media Inc.

Massive Media is a branding and experience design agency for companies with ambition. They partner with solution-focused organizations to achieve clarity, effective messaging and the technologies needed to thrive in the wild. Whether the end product is a revised brand, a digital advertising campaign or a new website, Massive Media’s approach centers on deep cultural insights, clear strategic direction and the power of human expression.

Visit Massive Media online at: https://engagemassive.com/

14. MESH

MESH exists to create connections and loyalty to brands. They are an independent award-winning creative and strategic agency with over 15 years of success. MESH works with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to startups, all of whom are ready to grow and transform their brand. MESH has proven expertise in brand building, strategic account leadership, advertising, creative services, public relations, and traditional and digital media. MESH has provided professional and creative solutions to clients in a wide variety of industries, including Visit Baton Rouge, Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation, Mississippi Aquarium, and more.

Visit MESH online at: https://www.meshbr.com/

15. Milestone Creative Ltd.

Milestone is an independent creative agency that builds close, long-term relationships with clients to grow stronger brands. They believe in the benefits of applying creativity to business. It’s why Milestone started back in 1995 and it continues to be their driving force. From ownable branding to using digital channels more effectively, it’s the creative spark that makes strategy come alive. They develop compelling propositions, competitive positioning, and memorable creatives to help brands make a deeper, lasting connection with customers. Milestone Creative enjoys working with a broad base of clients from both the B2B and B2C sectors. They can provide strategic brand consultancy, integrated marketing campaigns, packaging design, and more.

Visit Milestone Creative online at: https://www.milestonecreative.co.uk/

16. Murmur Creative

Murmur Creative is branding, packaging, and web agency that specializes in the food and beverage industries. Murmur’s goal is always to elevate the businesses and organizations they work with and enrich communities through their work and their relationships. Murmur Creative loves working with like-minded organizations that believe in a holistic approach to branding and design. They are strategists. They are partners. And they are dreamers.

Visit Murmur Creative online at: https://murmurcreative.com/

17. Namestorm

Namestorm has been in the market of business naming consulting since 2005. They have advised startups, medium-sized companies, and well-known companies on their name search and helped them create or find their desired name. Namestorm specializes in naming. This means that they do not offer a wide range of services but are exclusively devoted to professional naming. However, they do branch out. For example, they founded NameRobot, a portal with many unique tools for do-it-yourself naming. With more innovations and cooperations in the field of naming, they continue to strengthen their leading position in their area of expertise.

Visit Namestorm online at: https://www.techliance.com/

18. Nuu

Nuu is a hub for strategy, design, and innovation. Their people lead the charge — a team of strategic thinkers who conceptualize and create in combinations of design, code, culture and unique brand stories. Each of their clients has something to share. Nuu finds it and gives them what they need to tell the world.

Visit Nuu online at: https://nuu.co/

19. Percept Brand Design

Percept is a design agency in Sydney. They specialize in branding, packaging design, print communications, advertising, website, and digital design.

Visit Percept Brand Design online at: http://percept.com.au/

20. Slice Design

Based in London, UK, Slice Design is a branding and packaging design agency that has helped consumer brands grow and get noticed since 2004. They like to think of themselves as a challenger to the larger agencies. As the name suggests, Slice Design cuts through jargon with their flexible, no-nonsense approach and down-to-earth attitude. From their studio in London, Slice Design works for clients around the world, including big household names and small startups, challengers and leaders. Whether a big brand re-design or simple packaging update, Slice Design is proud to remain flexible, refreshingly honest and wholly independent.

Visit Slice Design online at: http://www.slicedesign.co.uk/

21. South Made

As digital marketing evolves, so does South Made. What started as a boutique web design firm has grown into the one-stop shop that is now South Made Marketing. Collectively, they have a background in business management, web design, graphic design, photography, creative writing, social media, sales and marketing. South Made builds brands digitally through marketing, web design, graphic design, branding, strategy, social media, SEO, pay-per-click advertising, videography, photography, consulting, and more.

Visit South Made online at: https://southmade.com/

22. Startling Brands

Startling Brands is an agency full of branding and marketing specialists that work globally with industry-leading, innovative, purposeful companies and institutions. They provide a full range of integrated strategy, brand consulting, creative, marketing and strategy development services to help their clients to create, grow and manage their brands.

Visit Startling Brands online at: http://www.startlingbrands.com/

23. Streng Agency

Streng Agency is not a typical advertising agency. For that matter, Streng is not a typical business. This is due in part to their approach to solving everyday problems as creatively as possible. That includes every decision they make. Streng Agency is contemporary and state-of-the-art in its office space as well as their approach to work. They have made it their ongoing practice to not only hire the best creative professionals that ensure experienced leadership but also individuals that are driven by finding new, provocative ways to change markets. Streng has been providing award-winning customer-generating marketing for over 30 years. During that time, they have developed a wide range of capabilities, specializing in advertising and marketing, strategy, branding, design, web development, digital marketing, and a totally integrated approach to all of these services and marketing tactics under one roof.

Visit Streng Agency online at: https://strengagency.com/

24. Tridimage

Tridimage is a leading 3D branding, graphic design and structural packaging agency in Latin America. Tridimage has creative headquarters in Buenos Aires and has account managers in Mexico, Ecuador, and Guatemala. Tridimage’s reputation attracts the attention of both established and emerging companies operating in Latin America, the U.S., and Europe. Tridimage has worked in more than 30 countries in the world, carrying out more than 7000 projects. Tridimage’s designs have won six Pentawards, three Vertex Awards, and even more accolades.

Visit Tridimage online at: https://www.tridimage.com/

25. Wegacha

Wegacha adheres to the saying “We get it.” They understand that many brands and businesses have imaginations that run wild. And they know that a good business takes time to grow. Luckily, Wegacha is ready to help brands build great things. They are thinkers, dreamers, doers, storytellers and hackers with a cause that will guide clients through this new journey into the digital world.

Visit Wegacha online at: https://wegacha.com/

Brands can view the best branding firms by rates, expertise, experience, case studies, reviews and more on DesignRush. Users can easily filter to compare branding agencies and find the top branding experts to position their business for long-term success.

About DesignRush: DesignRush.com is B2B marketplace connecting brands with agencies.

DesignRush features the top agencies around the world, including the best Branding Companies, Digital Agencies, Logo Design, Digital Marketing, Website Design, eCommerce Web Design Companies, and more.

San Diego Branding Agency by Jacob Tyler

Bistalk Radio Interview on ESPN 1700 with Les Kollegian and Richard Truss

Les Kollegian and Richard Truss interviewed by Bob Ryan on ESPN 1700 and had a fun and insightful conversation on small business and branding. Check out the podcast below to listen to the whole show.

Consider the Right Color for Your Brand

At Jacob Tyler, we are responsible for building brands. In the beginning, we take a lot of time to research and determine our client’s brand story, position, values, differentiation, identity, and you guessed it… colors. If you’ve recently started a new company, created a new product or are rebranding an existing entity, chances are you’ve been thinking a lot about what your new or invigorated brand will look like – and what it will feel like. Depending on your situation, naming and other brand components may come first, but the color of your brand is never far behind.

When deciding on colors for your logo, there are a few things to consider:

Consider The Psychology of Color: There have been extensive studies on the effect of the human subconscious – and even more written about how brands can utilize color to attract customers and drive consumer decision-making. Though not an exact science, there is certainly validity to the effect of color on mood and emotion. “Color Theory” has been around since the days of da Vinci. It’s why interior designers favor certain hues (“warm” and “cool” colors) for certain living spaces.

In a very general sense, certain colors are thought to portray certain virtues – yellow for optimism and warmth; orange for cheerfulness and confidence (also used subliminally to make people hungry); red for excitement, energy and boldness; green for growth and tranquility; purple for wisdom and creativity; blue for trust and stability; white for innocence and godliness; and black for elegance and power. Think about how you experience color in your own life. When you are surrounded by a certain color, how do you feel? At Jacob Tyler, our offices are awash in red. You can feel the energy and intensity right away. It’s a great color for a creative space – but probably wouldn’t work too well for a relaxing day spa.

Obviously, there is some validity to the psychology of color. I’m not a doctor or psychologist by any means, but in my opinion… OUR opinions of color are formed by individual experience, exposure, and preference. Thus I feel color favors nurture over nature. I will admit that creating a brand color scheme based on color psychology is a good baseline, but it shouldn’t be your only consideration.

Consider Your Audience: Before choosing your brand’s color scheme, you must define you brand’s audience. Who are they? What are their preferences? What are they looking for, and how will they find it in your brand? You might boast the most “creative” financial investment products in the industry, but your audience most likely prefers the byproduct of that creativity – stability. In this case, you’re better off choosing a blue or green as opposed to a “creative” purple or red.

Consider Your Product: In some cases, you may be selling a product that is widely known to be a certain color – like a basketball. In this case, you may not want to brand everything lime green. When it comes to color, sometimes the product speaks for itself and inate color association from you customers is important.

Consider Your Competition: What are others in your industry doing? Is there a successful standard that you should stay within? Can you potentially differentiate yourself by going way outside of the mainstream, or would that be self-defeating?

There are certainly cases where thinking too far “outside the box” would be detrimental to your brand. But there are also examples of industries where wildly different brands successfully offer similar services. Take the car service industry, particularly Uber and Lyft. Both offer a similar service – rides on demand through mobile apps – but have wildly different brands. Uber has a sleek black and silver logo and offers black and silver cars. Lyft’s logo is pink, and each Lyft car has a giant pink mustache on its grill. Both have significant shares of the same market but each brand is very different from tone, to goals, to mission.

Consider Mixing it Up: There’s no rule that says you have to use only one or two colors for your brand. Of course, using multiple colors is the exception and not the rule, but there are instances in which multiple colors make sense – and make a bigger impact than a traditional two-color scheme. There are also very good reasons to have different color palettes.

In 2014, Jacob Tyler rebranded and designed the San Diego International Airport’s new website, www.san.org, featuring nearly the entire color spectrum. This is NOT something we usually do, but the use of these colors were strategically developed to match the airport’s brick and mortar color scheme, which uses those colors to guide travelers through the airport by topic – red/orange for flight information, orange/yellow for dining and shopping, green/blue for parking and transportation, and purple for public and travel information. The website is part of the airport’s ecosystem, creating a four-dimensional experience for the traveler. The site is a good example of how using non-traditional color schemes can be effective for certain unique brands.

Consider the Whole: Great brands are greater than the sum of their parts. Great brands are an experience. Brand colors should be carefully selected to communicate this experience to your defined audience and achieve your branding goals.

If you’re obsessed with color and learning more, or you are a design professional looking to create color palettes for your project, a really simple site to use for a crash course is Canva. Their “Colors Design Wiki” teaches you everything you need to know about colors, their meanings, and the many color combinations that will hopefully give inspiration to your next design. For more information, you can visit https://www.canva.com/colors/ or if you want to talk to me… you know how to find me.

Iconic Speakers to Tackle Game-Changing Innovation Issues at Techonomy 2017

NEW YORK, NY – October 16, 2017 – Techonomy, the thought leadership company that poses the most provocative questions around technology, business and social progress, is excited to announce its eighth annual, invite-only Techonomy 2017 conference. It takes place November 5-7 at The Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, California. The three-day event will bring together a diverse group of business leaders, technologists, academics and government officials for unscripted conversations about the most pressing issues facing innovators, investors and business leaders.

“The past year has thrown startling new hurdles at all of us – from catastrophic weather to political revolution, social resistance, and tech industry crisis. We all need to step back and evaluate the future of the country, the world, tech and business,” said David Kirkpatrick, founder of Techonomy. “As the lines between people and technology continue to blur, we consider the impact and ask what’s real and what’s not in a digital-first world. We ask urgent questions like ‘Who controls the truth when everybody’s a publisher?’”

This year’s theme, The Convergence of Man and Machine, will serve as a framework to explore AI, robotics, IoT, VR, autonomous vehicles and more. The event includes impressive icons of tech and business with unique perspectives on the issues that will shape 2018: Denise Morrison, CEO, Campbell Soup Company; John Chambers, Executive Chairman, Cisco; Lowell McAdam, CEO, Verizon; Mark Bertolini, CEO, Aetna; Beth Comstock, Vice Chair, GE; and many more. Executives from Microsoft, GE, Uber, Facebook, Amazon, Airbnb and many more will join discussions on how recent advances in commerce, health, agriculture and beyond can change the future.

There are several lenses through which the event will examine the fundamental economic, political and technology shifts underway. In several sessions speakers and participants will discuss the new world order in which Amazon, Facebook and Google have formed a monolithic triad of global dominance, begging the question of how to regulate what has become such an intrinsic part of our economic infrastructure. Another pervasive issue is the rise of artificial intelligence and how to measure positive economic gains and modern conveniences against disruption to employment and existing human institutions. We will also address even more fundamental human needs as leaders such as John Kelly, IBM’s senior vice president of Cognitive Solutions and IBM Research, Oscar CEO Mario Schlosser, CEO Tracy Young of PlanGrid, renowned author Dr. Eric Topol, and investor and newfound tech industry critic Roger McNamee consider and discuss a range of topics including how to regulate actions, create perceptions, build things sustainably, transport people, increase health, and give people access to food, water and air.

Techonomy 2017 is uniquely positioned to focus on the most important areas to explore. People from a wide range of backgrounds and expertise have committed to attending and sharing their questions and counterpoints during one of our several open-mic Q&A sessions.

Techonomy is proud to announce continued strong support from our partners, including: Accenture, Cognizant, Grayling, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Phillips, Pitney Bowes, Turner and Verizon.

For the full program agenda, list of participants and more information, please visit: http://techonomy.com/conf/te17/

Jacob Tyler Branding Agency CEO, Les Kollegian is excited to be invited and a part of such an amazing group of companies and individuals/

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About Techonomy Media

Techonomy is a thought leadership company posing provocative questions about the role of technology and innovation in business and society. Through events, editorial coverage and video content, Techonomy seek to accelerate progress and productivity.

Techonomy Contact
Joshua Kampel
President
josh@techonomy.com
617 233 7722

Pet-Friendly Offices Are Simply Better…It’s Science!

Bring your dog to work day has become much more than an annual excuse to boost company morale, it’s become a regular occurrence at companies across the globe, and for good reason. Having our fur babies trotting through the hallways, snoring through meetings and barking at the FedEx guy greatly impacts our work day happiness and it’s backed by scientific research.

The three biggest benefits to a pet-friendly office are:

1. Boosting Creativity

Getting employees up and moving more often stimulates the brain and can help to increase creative ideation. Utilizing small breaks can also have the opposite effect, in a positive way, as it allows the brain a chance to rest and charge up for what’s next on the list. In a creative environment, anything that can help to boost creativity is not only good for the employees, but also for the clients who reap the benefits of a sharp, creative team. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found going for a walk can boost creative thinking by as much as 60% compared to staring at a screen.

2. Increased Bonding In the Humans

Whether it’s the snorts of a bulldog during a status meeting or the endless attempts of a developer to get the snarky chihuahua to like him, we all benefit from a few more laughs in our day. The work we do is important, yes, but also important is the time that we spend with our co-workers. Our furry friends can be a conduit to learning more about the person sitting next to you. A study from Central Michigan University found that dogs in the office can lead to better collaboration between co-workers.

3. Lower Stress

We can all benefit for a little less stress. Whether it’s the impending doom of a huge deadline or the fifteenth shade of blue the client has rejected for the new logo, we all suffer from work related stress. If giving a 30 second head rub to one of our canine buddies can decrease that stress, why not take advantage of it. The simple act of petting a dog has been verified as a way to increase oxytocin and increase employee smiles.

At Jacob Tyler, we know that great work comes from a great environment. By challenging the norms of a typical office environment, we are able to push our work and ourselves further. Having some of our greatest fans sitting on our laps just makes the journey a little better.

Jacob Tyler in San Diego

Jacob Tyler Photography Challenge

Every Monday, Jacob Tyler will be voting on a photo that best represents a creative theme announced the previous week. The selected themes are aimed at instilling inspiration, interpretation and will encourage creativity in anyone who takes part in our challenge.

You do not have to work at Jacob Tyler to join in on the fun. Everyone is encouraged to participate in the Jacob Tyler photo challenge. Just make sure to use #jacobtylerinspired upon uploading your photo to Instagram. Winners will be selected every Monday morning at 10am.

To view past #jacobtylerinspired entries, visit: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/jacobtylerinspired/

Jacob Tyler Photo Challenge Rules:

All entries must be uploaded to Instagram by 10am Monday mornings.
Judging to be administered by the Jacob Tyler staff
To be considered, all entries must use the Hashtag: #jacobtylerinspired
Winners and the weekly theme will be posted to Instagram and Facebook every Monday by Noon.
You may post up to 3 entries per week
We highly encourage the photos be physically taken within one week of being submitted.
Filters and enhancements are fair game – We’re a Creative Agency after all! (note: #nofilter photos will earn mad respect and are always appreciated!)
Photos submitted must be yours
The beauty in both design and photography is that it is open to interpretation. Out of the ordinary (but tasteful!) entries are always encouraged.
Have fun. Be creative.

We look forward to seeing your entries! #jacobtylerinspired

Previous Jacob Tyler Photo Challenge Winner: Color Theme

Additional Entry Examples: Color Theme

Digital Advertising in San Diego

On the Twelfth Day of Creative: Our Team

As told by our CEO, Les Kollegian…

On the Twelfth Day of Creative, I’m both joyful and thankful for all that Jacob Tyler has done this past year. After some VERY big changes and a major transition to a new office in the beginning of the year, we have managed to build our team and frankly, I feel our culture is the BEST it has ever been. We love the work we are doing for our clients and it shows. How can I tell? It’s not just the awards and the type of work we are doing… it’s the fact that our client retention and satisfaction is ALSO the best it has ever been. Our clients keep coming back for more and we are all thrilled.

I would love to say there is one project I am particularly proud of, but I take pride in my team and all the projects we do. I appreciate everyone who contributes to accomplish our goals and the 100% you bring every day to create success for our clients, and us.

Thank you all and have a GREAT and happy holiday.

Avoiding Unnecessary Complexities

Since first watching the TED talk by Roman Mars entitled, “Why city flags may be the worst designed thing you’ve never noticed” I’ve been on a mission to avoid unnecessary complexities – not only in my work, but also in my daily life. As humans, we tend to overcomplicate things time-and-time again. Such is the case with these poorly designed flags. In order to elude this path and avoid complications, I often remind myself of the phrase, “Keep it simple, stupid.”

Coined by the U.S. Navy in 1960, this phrase known by the acronym “KISS” was used as a design principle stating that most systems work best if they are kept simple, rather than made complicated – making simplicity an essential goal to achieving great design. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word Simple is defined as: Not hard to understand or do; having few parts; not complex or fancy; not special or unusual. If it were up to me, this definition would be revised to subtract the idea of simple meaning not fancy, and not special or unusual. If something has simplistic qualities, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s boring or not special. What it boils down to is effectiveness. In order to be effective and accomplish success through simplicity I look for three key factors.

Does it have deep meaning or reasoning?
Does it accomplish the predetermined goal?
Is it relevant, yet interesting?

To avoid the association of simple meaning boring, the third one is key. Often times, the most simple designs are the most interesting which is a direct contradiction of simple being associated with not unusual. And in most instances, creating a simple design can be a major challenge.

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

— Steve Jobs

Going back to the TED talk, the most successfully designed flags, the ones that are flown proudly through their cities streets happen to be the most simple, yet they are also the ones with the most meaning and by far the most interesting. In order to create these rare beauties, it requires much thought and strategy. In his talk, Roman shares five principles of successful flag design according to the North American VexillologicalI(the study of flags) Association. As he mentions, these five principles can be applied when designing just about anything.

Keep it simple
Use meaningful symbolism
Use two to three basic colors
No lettering or seals of any kind
Be distinctive

From left to right: Denver, Colorado; New Orleans, Louisiana; Ocean City, Maryland; Mesa, Arizona; — From left to right: Denver, Colorado; New Orleans, Louisiana; Ocean City, Maryland; Mesa, Arizona.

While the study of flag design may not sound all that appealing to everyone, I encourage you to watch the the talk, as you will not only walk away curious about your own cities flag, but also feel inspired and entertained by all that Roman has to say. While I agree with these five principles as a way to avoid unnecessary complexities, especially in the art of flag design, what it all comes down to is the top item on that list and understanding that simplicity is essential to achieving great design. Should you find yourself treading the waters of complexity, just think of the U.S. Navy and, “Keep it simple, stupid”.