I suppose they haven’t gotten to know J all that well yet.

Introducing Daniel, our newest website designer.

He began just after the Holidays (does CEO Jim Thomas have this secret knack of hiring people when they’re already expecting presents?)

Daniel likes us so much, he travels an hour and half every day — to work with us lovely, crazy, creative people. Which is good, obviously; we wanted another awesome web designer to add to our already awesome team. He has several years of experience in graphic design and website design, including running his own company, Nextmark Design.

We’ve thrown him small clients to large clients, from simple to extravagant, and he has continued to impress time after time. Each challenge he has conquered, and each test he has surpassed, all with a smile on his face too. That’s more than we can say about a lot of folks.

But it’s true, “I have a passion for making beautiful user-friendly designs that help my clients succeed on the web.” And he shares that passion with the rest of us. Perhaps that drive and dedication to success and great design is exactly what convinced Jim to offer him the position. And we’re glad he did.

Fun Facts about Daniel:

Daniel Acree

• He is originally from Bremo Bluff, Virginia. » Heard of it? Neither have I. Sounds like a poker game if you ask me. Daniel himself says “it’s about an hour and half from Key Web Concepts… or any other semblance of civilization.”
• He’s a musician.  » Eh, most creative people have multiple talents, it’s just something we were born with. (ahem)  – But seriously, he is extremely gifted in creating original music and performing with his band, The Acree Brothers – his band was 1 of 3 finalists to compete  in LA at the National U Rock Battle of the Bands. Right on!
• When he’s not being creative at the office or in the studio, you can find Daniel playing family-man at his home with his lovely wife, Christan.

  Welcome to the team Daniel, you’ve already proven to be a valuable asset and we are happy to have you join us.

  PS – it was Jim’s idea to sit you next to J.

  

  Backstreets Back ?

  Oh, and Anthony wants to know if you’re a backstreet boy?

  Now let’s go meet The Intern!

A lot of copywriters these days not only are content writers, but SEO specialists as well. (Hi, remember me?)

What I mean by this- is a new term hitting the “web waves” called a content strategist. I won’t bother filling this blog with technical terms on what a “content strategist” is by dictionary definition; BUT, I will do my best to clearly explain why you need one. 

It’s one thing to know how to write, it’s another thing to know how to write in a marketable way that makes people want to take action.

I like to call a content strategist a “word ninja”. I will defend your site against spam, skillfully and effectively promote your business, slash pages of useless stuff (if necessary), and use my special powers (SEO skills) to lure your target audience to your site. A word ninja rises above enemy lines (competition) proving to visitors of your site they came to the right place to find what they were looking for. And maybe I’ll throw a few ninja stars in there to boost the traffic too. Ninja stars = shurikens = what I call your social media outlets.

CONTENT IS KING: My ultimate goal with every client is to make them MONEY. Money can’t come if awareness is absent. How do you make your company known? By drawing people to your website and keeping them there. I know a bunch of SEO (search engine optimization) tricks to tell the web crawlers that your site is the one that viewer is looking for. (The Word Ninja’s Mission)

You would be surprised how important it is that the right words come across in the right way when compiling the content for your site.  If it’s not done right, your business could suffer. This is why hiring a copywriter could very well mean the difference between success and failure. Word ninja’s often work alone on their mission, but they train (prep/brainstorm) with other ninjas (web designers<– I like to call them web wizards) all working together toward same goal – ultimate success of assigned mission.

Some businesses don’t realize that you can’t simply create a website and think that’s good enough. Just because you’re on the World Wide Web doesn’t mean that your potential customers are going to find you. A copywriter ensures they will.  We know the right words to use and how to use them with an advantage to your business in a very marketable way. We drive traffic to your site through back links, social media, keywords, and… content, content, content. Did I mention CONTENT? Ninja style.

Personally, I like to really get to know the company inside and out. I want to know all about you, why you’re doing what you do, where you’re from, who is your client base, how big is your staff, what do you want from your website, what do your clients want from you? No matter what kind of industry I am working with, language is a key element. Words are what drive interest in any business, and ultimately words are what drive people to your site.  We work closely with the clients and pick out– sometimes the smallest thing you may mention– and turn it into an entire marketing campaign, maybe even a slogan or logo.

Hopefully you get the idea of why it is important for you and your business to focus on content. Keep up to date with blogs for continued advice and links to tools that will help your business and drive sales to your website.

Til next time………..
NiNjA exiT —-

]]> http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2011/09/content-is-king-hire-a-word-ninja/feed/ 0 http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2011/08/do-we-really-need-a-website/ http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2011/08/do-we-really-need-a-website/#comments Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:16:20 +0000 Jim Thomas http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/?p=1067

As technology continues to infuse itself into every aspect of our daily lives, the need to keep up with the way people are using this technology is becoming more and more important.   10 years ago, only 34 million people in the U.S. had a cell phone.  Today, a cell phone is a MUST with over 310 Million people depending on these devices to keep in contact  with loved ones and business associates.   My 12 year old assures me that he must be the only middle school student that does not have a phone!

In the same respect, while websites were not uncommon 7-10 years ago, it was rare to see  many Mom & Pop businesses jumping at the opportunity to get their business online.   The Yellow Pages was still the best way to reach their target market.

Fast forward to 2011.  The Yellow Pages is dying.  Direct Mail is on the decline.  Smart Phones & iPads are commonplace in business as well as the residential market.  People no longer ask you to “mail a brochure.”  They ask for your web address.

While a large percentage of business owners still don’t know how it all works… they know that their target market has changed the way they search for products and services.  A comment we hear quite often is:  ” I don’t know what it involves… I just know I need to get my business on the internet!”

As many have learned, getting on the internet is only the first step.  It’s not as easy as just grabbing a domain and throwing up a few pages through a free site-builder.  There often is a false impression that thousands of people will start flooding to their website just because it exists.  Without proper design and good search engine optimization, people quickly realize the old adage “You get what you pay for” rings true in website design as well.

Your website is your new storefront to the world!  Finding someone that can help build one that will inspire confidence and be easily found on search engines is critical.

Give us a call and schedule a free consultation so we can better educate you on “how it all works.”   Let us help you do it RIGHT.. the first time!

Jim Thomas
President
Key Web Concepts, Inc.

1. Create a Mood

The most effective designs have the ability to make us react a certain way, to feel happy or sad or comfortable or on edge or whatever the situation calls for.  With innate emotional connotations, the right colors can be the single most important factor in creating the right feeling for a particular project.

The McDonalds website makes great use of its iconic red color.  Red, besides being one of the colors most effective at stimulating the appetite, can also create a feeling of energy and happiness if used in the right palette.

The logo of the The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation uses a warm palette of orange, gold and pink to create a real feeling of positivity and energy, which combine with the lively icon to create a real message of forward movement.

2. Make an Association

In addition to making us a feel a certain way, the right colors can also make us think of and make associations with certain things, an important consideration if you really want to create the right look.

With its deep brown and dark rustic red, the Sky’s Guide Service website immediately makes you think of rough and tough outdoorsmen.  The rich textures enhance the site to create a great visual for the visitor.

Designed by Jacob Cass, one of our favorite reads on the web, the logo for UKE utilizes a strong, deep purple to make a visual connection with royalty.  Selling chocolate gift baskets to an upscale market, the logo effectively communicates a refined, sophisticated image.

3. Create Emphasis

Through brightness and contrast, color can also be valuable tool to create visual interest in strategic areas and direct the viewer’s focus.

The Taami Berry website utilizes a simple layout and soft, earthy, off-white background augmented with punches of red to direct the visitor’s eye to key elements such as the logo, slider and shopping cart.

The colors of the British flag are used cleverly in the UK Space Agency logo.  Juxtaposed with blue, a calmer, more static color, the powerful red directs your eye to the UK and the focal point of the upward-pointing arrow.

4. Unify a Design

One of the most important functions of a strong and consistent color palette is to unify a design, to give it the appearance of being a single, purposeful, cohesive unit.  Furthermore, across a variety of different materials, a consistent use of color can really strengthen a brand.

The Product Superior logo, website and business card all make use of a bright, distinctive blue and green to create a strong brand for the business.  Perhaps more importantly, these colors are used consistently across all of their materials to create a unified message.

5. Define Structure

Color can be used for organizational purposes as well, to define certain elements of a design and distinguish them from others.  Especially in web design, this can be a useful strategy for creating a clear site structure and hierarchy and for clearly communicating to the visitor where they are within your site.

Cubicle Ninjas has a collection of six different one-page websites, each devoted to a different type of print material. The sites make use of a common navigation across the top of the page, but each site is assigned a prominent background color to clearly separate it from the others.  We also see a good selection of color in terms of connotation and emotional reaction; the brown of the white paper site immediately communicates a more restrained, professional tone than the intense red or punchy blue of the poster and business card sites.

]]> http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2010/07/5-ways-to-use-color-to-enhance-a-design/feed/ 2 http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2010/07/how-do-i-look/ http://www.keywebconcepts.com/blog/2010/07/how-do-i-look/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:53:16 +0000 J Ivy http://keywebconcepts.com/blog/?p=414

Note: this post was inspired by a post by Gareth from Down With Design, the original can be read here

Custom VS. Pre-Packaged Designs

Your logo is the first impression customers have of you. Maybe they see it on your website, or on a business card or mailer they received. Wouldn’t you want to be represented by something that says “you”? This is what branding is all about. You want imagery that is unique, interesting and memorable. You want something that will stick with your customers long after you have provided the goods or services they were looking for, so that in the future they will return and want to do more business with you.

On the Internet there are millions of images, clipart and pre-created logos just floating around. They were created by someone at some point to serve some purpose. The issue with these pre-packaged designs is not only are most of them copyrighted, but also they were created with someone else in mind…not your company.

It’s like walking into a bakery and looking for a wedding cake that will look beautiful, fit with the ceremony, make you happy and fulfill all of your needs but settling on that 3 day old doughnut. To get the cake of your dreams you would need to talk to the pastry chef. A pastry chef has studied cakes and knows exactly what to do to make your cake look and taste great. A pastry chef will take his or her expertise and work with you to make your dream come true. The two of you would sit down and plan: How many guests does the cake need to feed? What colors are in your ceremony? What ideas do you have as far as patterns and designs? And after that they would bake a cake just for you, not for Debbie down the street or Joe your plumber, but you.

Switching back to design….

This is where designers come in. We listen to your needs, and find how you want to be represented, and what demographic you want to appeal to. Then we create. We create things just for you. Whether it’s a brand new logo, business cards, brochure, or website, it being designed specifically for your needs. You’ll get that dream cake, not a stale doughnut.

J Ivy
Graphic Designer at Key Web Concepts

Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations.
–Paul Rand