| What's
in a logo design?
We
have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to create
|
 |
| logos
and corporate identities for several organizations over
the years. |
In many
ways, logo design is the most critical design work we do. If
you don’t get it right, all future marketing pieces and
campaigns can be at risk.
Below are
two ideas that we feel are the most important considerations
when designing a logo. You might use this opportunity to match
your own organization’s logo up against these key points.
1.
Keep it simple!
– Over time, your logo may very well show up in print,
on the web, on television and so on. Each medium poses different
design challenges. On the print side, your logo needs to look
good in a 2” x 2” newspaper ad as well as on a massive
billboard. When designing your logo, try it out in very large
and small layouts.
The more
“busy” your logo is, the less chance you have of
it displaying nicely across different media. It shouldn’t
be so strong as to draw your eye away from ad copy. Rather,
it should be unique, interesting, recognizable and balanced.
It should nicely complement and round off your ad copy.
2.
Consider your color options up front
– Remember that your logo will probably be with you for
several years, if not the lifetime of your organization. More
color adds printing cost. Spread over all the print materials
you may need, a 4-color logo will dictate that you will always
print in full color, thus adding significant cost. On the other
hand, fewer colors, especially 1-color, can leave you with a
bland identity. A 2-color logo is usually a great balance of
color and cost.
Some successful
logos:
Some less
successful logos:
|
Definitions
of the Month
Courtesy
of Webopedia...
ghost
site -
(n.) A Web site that remains live but is no longer updated or
maintained or only done so very infrequently. Unlike a site
that is no longer available and results in a 404 error message
when the user tries to access it, ghost sites can be accessed
even though they have not been updated. Web sites typically
strive for relevant information that is timely and current.
However, there are some sites in which the content will never
or rarely change, so there is no need to update the site. For
example, a Web site that contains only the full text of the
Declaration of Independence does not need to be updated as that
data is never going to change.
deadlock
-
(n.) A condition that occurs when two processes are each waiting
for the other to complete before proceeding. The result is that
both processes hang. Deadlocks occur most commonly in multitasking
and client/server environments. Ideally, the programs that are
deadlocked, or the operating system, should resolve the deadlock,
but this doesn't always happen. A deadlock is also called a
deadly embrace.
No
more candy!
October
31, and the weeks leading up to it, often means an abundence
of candy is present around the office and at home. November
provides several occasions to celebrate food of other sorts.
Get ready for...
| National
Georgia Pecan Month |
Peanut
Butter
Lovers' Month |
| Vegan
Month |
National
Fig Week (November 1-7) |
| Vinegar
Day
(November 1) |
Sandwich
Day (November 3) |
| National
Men Make Dinner Day
(November 7) |
Cook
Something Bold and Pungent Day (November 8) |
| |
|
Keeping
Your Home PC Healthy – Part 4
 Because
we don’t want to completely run this series into
the ground, this will be the last of the PC maintenance
articles. We do hope our advice has proven helpful, however.
We understand that some of our suggestions may be out
of the reach of the average user (rebuilding the operating
system comes to mind), but we feel that it’s important
for you to know what steps need to be taken even if you
have to pay a consultant to perform the tasks.
Manage
Email
Keep
the inbox of your email application relatively small.
We’ve encountered mailboxes with 2,000 messages
in their inboxes and users wonder why their email is slow
or crashes. Either delete your messages or create folders
and move your email messages into the folders. Also, email
in the Sent folder and Trash can build up (unless it’s
configured to automatically delete). Many people are unaware
of this and are surprised at the size of their email store
when they back it up. Most importantly, always delete
emails with attachments unless you are expecting something
specific. Most viruses come from email attachments and
often come from people you know.
Unload
Unneeded Startup Programs
If
your system is running slower, chances are you have a
virus, spyware or you have too many items loading at startup.
If you have Windows XP, run the MSCONFIG utility (go to
Start:Run and type msconfig in the field). On the Startup
tab, you can deselect many items that are loaded on startup.
Be careful about what you deselect. Do not remove anything
having to do with antivirus software. After removing unwanted
items, reboot your system and see if it runs any better.
You can always reselect items if something isn’t
quite right after you reboot. Test it out for a few days,
not just an hour. See the following site to find out more
about how to use the MSCONFIG utility: http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig.
Get
Broadband Internet
If
you have any extra money to spend on your PC this year,
get broadband Internet access for your home or small business
(either cable modem or DSL). You’re better off with
a 3 year old PC and broadband cable modem than you are
with a brand new Pentium 2.8 GHz and a dialup Internet
connection. The cost is roughly double the cost of a typical
dialup connection, but with 10 times the speed. An added
benefit is that you do not have to tie up your main phone
line. If you have a dedicated dialup line, then it won’t
cost you any extra to switch to cable or DSL. More importantly,
you can regularly update antivirus and Windows in a reasonable
amount of time. Some updates are well over 20 megabytes,
which could take hours on a dialup modem (and that’s
if you’re not disconnected in the process).
Please
contact Promethius Consulting at 317/733-2388 with questions
about PC maintenance. |
|
