Customer Media Trends, Topics & Ideas
Posted on March 30, 2009 in Social media, by Barbara Logan
The New York Times yesterday had a very interesting article and accompanying diagram, which they referred to as the “Celebrity Twitter Ecosystem, ” showing which celebrities follow each other on Twitter.
Posted on in Content Marketing, by Hammock Inc.
Graphic Designer Lynne Boyer is often one of the first Hammock team members in the office each morning. On a typical day in the office, she stays busy designing and collaborating with writers and editors, but I stole a moment of her time today to find out exactly what keeps her going each day.
What is the fist thing you do when you get to the office each morning?
Check e-mail and read the CNN headlines.
Which meal fuels you better for the day, breakfast or lunch?
Definitely lunch. Just taking a few minutes away from the office to fuel up and clear my head goes a lot further than a bowl of cereal.
What communications medium helps you the most during the day?
IM. So often I just need a quick answer from an editor. I get faster answers with instant messaging than via e-mail, and it doesn’t clog up my or my co-workers’ inboxes.
What’s your favorite non-electric tool you use for work?
The Pantone color swatch book and my “reporter’s notebook” with many random facts and numbers.
What is your favorite on-the-job responsibility?
Feature design is the most challenging and fun part of being a designer at Hammock. It’s more free-form than working on recurring sections (departments) which follow a specific structure each issue. Type, photography and color are open for interpretation. It’s a great feeling when you can get all three to work together and complement the writer’s words, hopefully crafting a clear and visually interesting message.
Thanks, Lynne. IM me later!
Continue reading »Posted on March 27, 2009 in Design, Magazines, by Bill Hudgins
Two of our magazine projects—the DAR’s American Spirit and the Marine Corps League’s Semper Fi–regularly include book review sections. Although publishers happily send cover images, we’ve found that photographing the books adds–as you might expect–a custom look to the page.
While several of us have done this job, lately we’ve called on designer Ben Stewart to handle the tasks. There are a couple of reasons for this: Ben originally minored in photography at Middle Tennessee State University before switching to graphic design, and his Canon Rebel EOS is ideal for capturing the quality images we need.
Posted on March 25, 2009 in Editorial, by Hammock Inc.
For some reason, I’ve been thinking about simpler times lately. Times when I was younger and I didn’t have a 401(k) to fret about. Times when all I had to worry about was remembering my locker combination, whether Keith Barnes liked me or not, and preparing for the English quiz Mrs. Hohertz was sure to give every Friday afternoon.
When my mind goes back to my English lessons in Mrs. Hohertz’s classroom, I can visualize the posters that she had on the walls like they were right here with me today. They had a very 1950s feel to them: the colors, the fonts, the illustrations. The posters that I remember helped me out on more than one of those Friday afternoon quizzes. Each poster focused on just a single word, and these are the ones I remember best:
Continue reading »Posted on March 23, 2009 in Content Marketing, by Lena Anthony
With exactly 33 days until the Country Music Half Marathon and a long run of only seven miles under my belt, I need to start focusing on things other than how in the world I’m going to perform on April 25. That’s why I got super excited when a course change was announced last week.
Let’s just say there will be a portion of the race where I’ll be two-stepping, instead of running. That’s right, this year we’re going down Lower Broadway, past all the honky tonks!
Anyone who’s driven down Lower Broad in the daylight knows that the honky tonks blast music all hours of the day, so I can only imagine what they’ll do when 45,000 people run, walk or two-step down the street.
Race organizers say in addition to making the course more interesting and scenic, the change will help alleviate some of the congestion on the course up ahead. And I think it will probably bring out more spectators, as well.
Continue reading »