graphicd, Author at Graphic Design Studio ~ Maui

May 2015

Take action and protect your online ID

You have probably heard in the news about the latest security breach that affected over 100,000 IRS accounts. This hack and the constant bombardment of phishing emails is prompting me to go over some important considerations about online security. 1. Don't give away too much information about yourself On social media sites, such as Facebook limit the information to the basic information necessary to create an account. In privacy settings mark information like your birthdate visible to "only me" and/or I don't even enter the correct birthdate. Facebook won't know the difference. 2. Create A Safe Username and Password Websites have a two-level login: user name and password. Personally, I don't like the ones that use my email address for the user name, unfortunately, often that is the only choice. But when a site gives you the extra level of protection — the user name — take advantage of it. [...]

April 2015

The fate of the Easter Bunny

SORRY LITTLE GUY :( or is print dead? Now that we are all so socially connected it appears that THE way to engage with our customers is through Social Media Channels: Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest etc. What happened to good ol' print marketing? Is it still a good way to get the word out and leave a lasting impression with potential customers, or are you wasting your budget? After all, you want to save the trees and be green, be socially responsible. In our quest of stretching our tight budgets and our environmental awareness, being "social" definitely seems more appealing. Today, I want to challenge this single channel approach: Why do you think large companies still spend millions of dollars on printed material? Because, if done right, this medium will support your brand through captivating your customers' attention for a longer time. And when it comes to the dreaded invoice from the printer? Consider this for [...]

February 2015

Spam anyone?

We are having our initial meeting with a client and are listening to his ideas for a new web site. There is nothing out of the ordinary, just the usual stuff. Then it is our turn to ask questions. Same thing here, our standard questions and the usual answers. As we get to the “Contact Us” information the client is adamant about creating the page in a way so that spammers can’t “attack” him. Fair enough. Who likes to receive spam anyways? Not long thereafter we get to the topic of the ordering system. He would like to be able to automatically collect his customer’s email address whenever they place an order so that he can include them in his e-mail campaign. Now that’s interesting. It has “spamming” written all over it. Let’s take a look at the definition of Electronic Spam (From Wikipedia): Spamming is the abuse of electronic [...]