After booking a studio appointment at Celebrity Kids for our first family portrait, I received a follow-up phone call confirming the date and time and asking what type of photos we would be taking so they could let the photographer know (dressy, casual, etc.).

Service with a Smile

Upon arrival, we were greeted quickly and waited just a few minutes before our photographer came out and introduced himself. He showed us around the studio and asked a few questions about our style and what types of photography we liked — candid, posed, propped, or themed. He discussed the process—we would do the whole family first, then the kids, then review the images on screen in studio and make our selections. We had 90 minutes and the photos would be ready later the same week.

The photographer was personable and good with the kids, patient and full of ideas. He took photos when we weren’t ready–photos of us looking at each other and not just at the camera. They were perfect. I spent twice what I had planned and left feeling sick about the money I had spent.

A Value Proposition

In an effort to save money on my next set of pictures, I made an appointment at a different studio.

This time we were casually greeted and left to wait as staff members chatted in the back of the store. Eventually, the same person who greeted us and one of the people to whom she had been speaking told us they were ready and took us into a curtained room. No one ever spoke directly to me; the two staff members spoke more to each other than anyone else. When I mentioned wanting to change my daughter’s outfit, as their website had recommended, I was told “If there’s time and another appointment is not waiting.”

It was clear there was a system to which I wasn’t privy. One took photos as the other strategically posed my daughter, who not only looked uncomfortable but out of character.

An Image Problem

The photos I selected were printed out and handed to me in a messy pile. “Do these look okay to you?” I was asked. The photos were gray, muted, flat. Surprised at the low quality, I expressed my concerns. They did some retouching and reprinted slightly better images, but still not great.

I spent a fourth of what I spent at the first studio, but didn’t like the results. The process wasn’t personal — I felt like a name on a list and job that was to be started and finished in the allotted time frame.

Image Really Is Everything

In recent articles about branding we’ve touched on all that a brand is and how it is communicated to its audience through the logo, colors, messaging, imagery, website, staff and service.

A branding agency can do a lot for its clients, but it can’t hire the right people for your line of service. Remember, your people are your brand and even if you do everything else right, it only takes one bad experience to ruin your whole brand for that customer.

Image source: Prettywar-stl

Art at Hand

Chances are if you work in an office there are a number of recycle bins sitting around full of paper. If you happen to work in the design industry, those recycle bins are probably full of beautiful pieces of art. So, if you see something you like, pull it out and use it to wrap a gift or frame it to create a new piece of art for your office or home.

Trash to Treasure

Inspiration and ideas surround us and there are countless ways to turn trash into treasure. To find out more visit Danny Seo’s website for more suggestions on creating wrappings, tags and gifts from everyday materials. Seo is the author of Simply Green Giving and Simply Green Parties.

Standard informational signs communicate without words or letters, using symbols to create meaning. You use them every day to guide your way through unknown territories such as foreign and domestic airports and cultural events—and surroundings as familiar as your local mall. When you see them, even from a distance, you intuitively know what they mean.

AIGA, the professional association for design, and the U.S. Department of Transportation worked together back in the 1970s to create a system of 50 passenger and pedestrian symbols that would cross cultural and age differences to clearly communicate complex messages.

First published in 1974 and still in use today, the initial 34 symbols received a Presidential Design Award. Now, for the first time, all 50 symbols are available for free download here.

One of the first things consumers respond to in any advertising or marketing campaign is the imagery. The color, style, mood, lighting, and subject matter all describe the brand—your brand.

The Internet affords instant access to excellent stock photography from around the world—photography that would take weeks to scout, cast, prop and art direct to shoot it yourself. And, these websites do it all for a remarkable price. In most cases, usage rights to a high-resolution digital image cost less than $500.

But do you run the risk of paying a much higher price for stock photography? You don’t actually “own” it; even after you buy an image, it’s still available to anyone who’d like to purchase usage rights.

So, what happens when your competitors use the same stock photography websites to find images to sell comparable products or communicate similar messages? Sometimes they select the same imagery, diluting your advertising and diminishing your brand.

Clearly, stock photography is useful and convenient, but there are potential risks. Consider campaign longevity, distribution and market. Your brand essence is a big price to pay to save a few dollars.
(photo: Selva Morales)

Not only is Google the number one search engine, it’s also the best place to work according to Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For 2007 list.

An intentionally unconventional company, Google understands employees spend long hours on their Mountain View, California campus. To reward their hard work and loyalty, there aren’t many perks Google doesn’t offer. In addition to the conventional child care, concierge and on-site gym, they also offer 11 gourmet cafeterias and enough snack areas to ensure no employee is more than 150 feet away from a food source. All free.

Other amenities include access to five campus doctors compliments of Google, and no cost laundry rooms—even the soap is free. For your car, on-site car washes and oil changes.

Want to bring your dog to work? Sure. Got your eye on a hybrid car? Google will give you $5,000 toward its purchase. Having a baby? They’ll reimburse you up to $500 for take out food your first four weeks at home.

Employees also have a climbing wall, swimming pool, Foosball and a variety of other diversions when they’re ready to take a break.

Beyond fun, food, and personal conveniences, Google puts its money where its mouth is. To reward employee innovation, they offer compensation incentives including special bonuses and a Founders award that can grant an employee millions of dollars.

The word is out, Google treats their employees well. Approximately 1,300 people a day submit a résumé in hopes of witnessing first-hand just how well.