When I think of a brand, I envision an actual person. They have a certain look, a unique personality, something either attractive or uninviting. Aspects of a logo or a website for example, can essentially create a physical version who a company is.

Picture a company with a strong logo, a playful voice and clean modern website. Now, apply these attributes to what a person would look like. Did you imagine a confident, approachable, clean-cut person? You get the idea.

What would your brand look like if they were a person? Does this person reflect how you want your brand to be?

A brand identity is the most important thing to have. It’s the backbone of everything you do. Your brand will drive how the rest of the world perceives you. What will make them choose you over others is dependent upon how you personify your brand.

Let’s get started.

• Name your competitors.
• Name your hero companies.
• Who is your target audience?
• How do you want your audience to look at your brand?
• How do you communicate with your audience?

Your heroes and competitors have their own persona, which can come to life when you analyze their brand. If there’s a company out there you respect and admire, that your goals and personality are similar to, you can use them as a base of what you’d like to be. Just make sure you add your own ingredients to the mix. Always remember you have to differentiate yourself and be authentic to who you are. Who are you trying to stand out to? Who are you going to appeal to? Think of your target audience. What do you want them to see?  Once you’re done answering these questions (yes, write them down!) it’s time to look at your brand from within.

The inside is the guts of your brand, the core standards and morals. It’s how you function and what you do. To define your core, start out by answering the following questions with 7 words:

• Describe what your brand does.
• Describe what is unique about your brand.
• Describe what you would like your brand to be.
• Describe what you don’t want your brand to be.
• Describe your values.

Now look at what you wrote and complete each sentence. Remember that your brand is taking the embodiment of a person, so pronouns are to be used.

I do:

What is unique about me is:

I aspire to:

My goal is:

I don’t want to:

I value:

Now that you know what’s inside, use that to help shape the outside.

Your logo, your colors, the way you present your brand should reinforce what’s inside. If you’ve ever heard of color psychology, then you might know where we’re getting at with this. Colors influence people to form certain associations. Green or brown for example is usually considered as natural, while purple can be wise or creative.  In the same thought, fonts also invoke feelings. Bolder brands need bolder fonts. A children’s toyshop and a bank would not use the same font. Envision what you want your logo to say about you. Make it come to life.

Of course, this only all comes together once you know who you are and how you want to represent yourself. It won’t happen without prior contemplation and discovering your brand.

When you’re ready to discover your brand and what you want it to become, make an appointment with Newton Design & Marketing to chat over coffee. We’ll hold your hand every step of the way and help you in all your marketing and branding needs.

by Raymond Turner

So, here you are, reading this 3rd (and final…maybe) entry on the intriguing subject of creative blocks and breakthroughs.  Your coffee needs to be warmed again; the overdose of Ginseng and Red Bull hasn’t brought about the promised surge of concentration and innovative ideas you were waiting up all night for; and the only thing remotely creative bouncing around your cerebral playground is the catchy hook of “Uptown Funk” by singer Bruno Mars.  See, now you can’t stop yourself from humming the tune. You’re welcome.

A couple of co-workers and I were talking the other day about the “Uptown Funk” phenomenon sweeping through dance clubs, daycare facilities and nursing homes alike.  They were joking about hearing their kids singing the hook lyrics (“Uptown funk you up, I say uptown funk you up”), but how in their kids’ intensely creative minds, the lyric comes out sounding like something altogether more questionable!  How many times have we done this upon recalling hit songs we’ve “sung” from the 70‘s and 80‘s?  We hold up the rockfist during the choruses, but in the verses mumble through what we THINK are the lyrics (especially with Bob Dylan), and then anxiously wait again for the chorus?  It’s a huge shock now 30-40 years later when, thanks to the glory of lyric sites, we find out the real lyrics vs. what we’ve ACTUALLY been mumbling all this time!  In the end, we still like the lyrics (or mumbling) we’ve made up better than the actual words.

But isn’t that the birthplace of creative ideas: taking something existing and somehow reinventing and squeezing it through the filter of “us” and all of our experiences?

I really thought I was done with this topic after part 2.  But like Columbo’s famous line, “One more thing…” here are a few very simple but powerful creative spark ideas I felt compelled to share with you.

– Field ideas from other unrelated genres or sources of art and seek to apply something from that in your own sphere of work. Cross-contaminate.  Cross-pollinate.  Cross the other side of the tracks. (I suppose that would take you “uptown”).

I’ve seen this concept numerous times on the television series, Shark Tank.  Some of the best ideas pitched on the show are not always completely new ideas.  They are often existing products or concepts someone has taken and translated to a different context not normally associated with that product.  An example would be the inflatable mattress for truck beds.  An entrepreneur took an already existing product (inflatable air mattress) normally only seen in homes, and literally reshaped it to perfectly fit the unusual shape of pickup truck beds (cross contamination).  Problem solved.  How simple!

• Don’t shy away from templates as a starting point. From a Beethoven symphony to Taylor Swift, to Oscar award winning movies, the core is usually the same.  Templates, movie plots, pop arrangements and symphonic forms are merely there to serve the same purpose as the cement walls in a lazy river: to give shape to what’s poured into them.  We must not be afraid to leverage templates.  They save creative brain resources.

• Welcome the Digital Age and it’s advantages. Whether video, graphic design, blogging, web design, songwriting, etc, we can begin almost anywhere in the process since they are usually laid out digitally from start to finish.  In writing this article, I didn’t start at the beginning. Start with whatever section or element most inspires you; stop when the inspiration stops; come back the next day with muse by the hand and begin working from where she leads.

• Purpose to surround yourself with works of art that touch you deeply. This leaves less room for criticism.  Allowing ourselves to be inspired by something produced by another human opens up a larger creative space within us to do the same for someone else.

• Reference other art for inspiration and not as the standard to surpass. Every profound work of art was fueled by a fire in an artist’s bones, and not simply as an effort to do something better than someone else.

• Be inspired in whatever you do. Be moved by your own work FIRST. Competitiveness will not last beyond the opportunity of the art.

• Finally, as creatives, let’s not take ourselves so seriously. The days of dying on a hill for our art have long gone like a faded Polaroid. Our job is to produce; especially on days when we don’t feel like it.  It has been said that, for years, Stevie Wonder wrote a song every day.  I’m sure not all of them were Grammy worthy.  Creativity shows up as you show up for it, day in and day out.

WHEN IS IT DONE?

Sometimes, external factors such as deadlines, budget constraints, resource hours, a headache, etc will dictate when a project is “fini.” But if you have a breathing moment, take a step back and look at what you’ve done; not as the creator or critic, but as an aficionado.  Does it make sense to you?  Does it move you?  Even with a deadline looming, the creative piece will tell you when it’s done.  Then, it’s time to dance.  “Uptown Funk” of course.

Raymond Turner is our Project Manager Mogul. Before coming to Newton, he was a producer, director and professional drummer. Raymond and his wife Maria have two children. In his free time, Raymond is big into sports (wii sports that is), reading, drawing, composing or drumming

By Amy Kelley

It happens all the time. You are on your favorite social media site and you see a title or heading that interests you, so you click on it, expecting to be brought to the full page article and instead you are brought to a series of images and much like a scrapbook, the story unfolds as you flip through the pictures.

This is an example of image focused content, and it can be very useful in helping you grow your online business. Read on for some examples on why you should consider using image focused content.

Image focused content will…

Capture the Reader’s Attention:

90% of information that is transmitted in the brain is visual? Not only that, but the brain processes visuals 60 thousand times faster than text alone. It’s clear that if you want to capture your reader’s attention, visuals are the way to go.

Drive Your Point Home:

Imaged focused content will assist the reader as they move through your content. It will help keep their focus, help reader get a better understanding of what you’re saying and help keep your thoughts organized.

Get Your Brand Noticed Quicker:

When your content is imaged focused, readers will be drawn to it and if the content that connects to each image is interesting, informative and gives the reader what the want, the reader is very likely to forward your information on. This means more face time for you, your company, your blog, or whatever you are trying to build.

Enhance Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

Finally, Image Focused Content is great way to boost your Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which means that you will show up nearer to the beginning of search results (i.e., Google, Yahoo)
By adding a few images to your content, you can optimize your search with key words, meta tags, image names and descriptions to increase web traffic to your site. Whatever you write about, just be sure to show your reader what it is you want them to know.

Amy Kelley is  the Newton Design & Marketing Content Queen, she has worked with clients big and small to create and build content & successful narrative. Chances are, she’s writing something right now!