The design you did for our firm brochure has consistently won rave reviews.

David E. Brook
Managing Partner
Hamilton, Brook, Smith & Reynolds, PC.
Patents, Trademark, Copyrights & Litigation Law
Lexington, MA

 

Case Study

Bridals by Valerie

Web site reduces cost of yellow pages advertising.

Bridal retailer Peter Gayeski, owner of Bridals by Valerie had been tracking his store traffic. "Most of my traffic came from the Internet" says the Reading, Mass retailer. Enrico Design developed an easily navigable Web site which displays Gayeski's line of bridal dresses and headgear. Reports Gayeski, "With the Web site, I was able to reduce the cost of my yellow pages advertising by 50% a month."

 

 

 

As a designer, I read a number of specialized magazines and trade journals about design. While many are written for the design professional with years of education and experience, a few of the publications I receive are relevant for the business professional who wants to use design to increase sales. If you want to know more about what constitutes effective design - and how companies are using design to achieve business goals, the following newsletters and books are a good place to start.

GraphicsIQ.com

Dedicated to "helping designers and creative professionals stay current on the latest products, best practices, news, and tips and techniques in the graphic and Web design markets," GraphicsIQ.com is an excellent resource for marketing communications professionals who want to learn more about design. My favorite section is "Graphics Best Practices".

Here you'll find dozens of real-world case studies that show how businesses, such as Pottery Barn, PBS and Sony, are using graphic design to solve pressing business issues. A few of the topics covered include trimming sales costs via the Web, effective branding, cross-channel selling and more. Sign up for one of GraphicsIQ.com e-newsletters - the link is in the navigation bar at the top of the page.

@issue: The Journal of Business
and Design

A free publication published by the Corporate Design Foundation and Sappi Fine Paper, @issue dicusses how design contributes to business success – with "design" covering many aspects of life, including personal, office and public environments, products, and marketing/advertising.

Each issue includes an interview with a Fortune 1000 president or CEO who talks about how design and creativity are contributing factors to the success of the business. Case studies show how innovative product design and/or marketing can help turn a company around. My favorite column is an entertaining piece that tests your design IQ – can you match the symbol or color with the corporate name or identify various typefaces. It's reminiscent of those consumer magazine quizes that you take – just slightly more high-brow. The publication comes out only twice a year, but you can subscribe to it online. Look for @ISSUE JOURNAL in the left navigation menu. And don't forget, it's free!

Designing Direct Mail That Sells
by Sandra Blum

An excellent addition to any direct marketer's reference library, Designing Direct Mail that Sells is for those of you who want to know more about the role design plays in direct mail and response. Ms. Blum states upfront that the success of any direct mail program depends on three factors: the list, the offer, and the copy and design. If you already know about the importance of the list and offer in direct mail campaigns, this book will show the importance of the rest of the equation.

Ms. Blum gives a great overview of direct mail and highlights several nationally known designers who have built their careers creating "control" packages — packages or letters which have been tested repeatedly and which consistently deliver higher response rates. You'll clearly see the threads running through the winners here, since the book is lavishly illustrated in full color.

It's interesting to note that the industry these mailings are most effective in is magazines – due to the fact they have a built-in offer and response mechanism (receive a free issue, send no money now, we'll bill you later). The book includes a sprinkling of samples from other industries as well.

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Winter, a time of hibernation for all of us, is a great time to catch up on your reading, increase your knowledge and pay attention to your "inside" work. If you've read anything about design, marketing or advertising lately that knocks your socks off, please let me know. There's still enough winter left to get in a few more good reads.

Sending you all the warmth I can muster right now.

Cheers,

Linda E.

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Enrico Design will help make your next communications project meaningful to your audience, project your values and ensure your company makes a lasting impression. To find out how Enrico Design can help you keep your e-newsletters, web sites and print materials from getting trashed, visit http://www.enricodesign.com/, call 781-631-2520 or contact us by e-mail.

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