Recognizing Subtle Significance

Posted: November 29th, 2011 at 9:32am by Erin Canetta

As the year winds down I realize I’m really going to miss 2011. It was a good year for no one big reason but rather for realization of so many special reasons. I don’t know if it’s age or wisdom or what but this year more than ever I’ve found joy in the subtle significance of life.

My baby girl Vivienne, with her bounds of energy, has made me realize that 10 minutes of quiet while staring out the window with a cup of tea is magic. Now with my 7-year-old approaching chin height I’ve realized she’s growing up very fast and I need to really value our enlightening conversations on the way to school. The realization that I get to wake up everyday and work in an environment that is always supportive, encouraging and challenging is extremely fulfilling.

I was looking though our colleague, Jonathan’s, photographs from India that he’s been posting on facebook and he captures that subtlety of the moment in the faces and places he photographed. Living in fast-paced world we are often living in the moment that is ahead of us rather than living in the guaranteed moment we’re standing in. Jonathan picked out many of those “now moments” that most people miss and few would think to capture with a camera.

I think we approach our clients and their products the same way at TAG. On every phone call, conference call and meeting and at every level we are fully present and absorbing our client’s reality and the significance their product offers. We ingest and digest it so we can pick out the seed or seeds that make their product invaluable to their potential customer. Something worth investing in is rarely made up of one big bang but rather consists of many subtle yet important layers that fit into a person’s day to make their job or life easier or more enriched. And it’s the subtle significance at TAG that we focus on, blow up and make real. Once something is made real, its significance becomes intuitive.

So no major big bang in 2011 for me but many, many real moments have made this year worth remembering.

Tagged with 2011, photography, significance, subtle, The Arland Group, year

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Avoiding Designer’s Block

Posted: November 17th, 2011 at 9:48am by Ryan McRyhew

At some point designer’s block is inevitable. Colors become dull, all typography starts to resemble Comic Sans, the vastness of white space stares right back into your soul. It’s an overwhelming feeling that usually strikes while the deadline is breathing down your neck. While I do think that it’s unavoidable, there are some precautions I try to take to minimize the damage of designer’s block and keep the creativity flowing.

As tempting as smashingmagazine (http://www.smashingmagazine.com/) or any other design blog is for inspiration, I often find myself feeling less adequate after spending hours looking at other peoples design. Sometimes there’s nothing more inspiring than physically interacting with the world beyond your window. Whether you work near a park or a high rise, there are limitless amounts of colors, textures, and shape interactions. It can be as simple as going for a bike ride or grabbing a cup of coffee, being open and aware of your surroundings can really breathe new life into the creative process and break the monotony of our drag and drop routine.

Collaboration is key to our process at The Arland Group. Talking through a concept can help your ideas mature more organically. Asking questions can help to develop the idea as well as teach a whole new approach. Some of my best ideas have come up from simply starting a conversation, especially when it doesn’t pertain to the project at hand. Design is visual communication. It helps for me to remember that, rather than keep an idea in suppressed in my head until I break down.

When all else fails, I turn to music. I may be a bit biased because I myself am a musician, but nothing seems to inspire me more than sound. When I’m feeling complete stress over a project, music motivates me to move beyond it. It has the power to change my mind and mood almost instantaneously. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t find myself turning to my Itunes library for inspiration. I also think discovering new music is like developing a new technique. Breaking out of your old standards can inspire you to try new things and discover new ways of thinking. Here are a couple sites that I turn to when I’m looking for something new and interesting: 14tracks.com (http://14tracks.com/selections/182-14_tracks_present_future) and mimaroglumusicsales.com (http://www.mimaroglumusicsales.com/new.php?limit=25&page=2).

As hard as it is sometimes I think slowing down and avoiding stress are essential in avoiding designers block. Being open to new ideas and having the ability to communicate are extremely helpful for me. Feeling stuck is unavoidable. Being able to find and use your inspiration will help you to overcome this hurdle and ultimately become a better designer.

Tagged with blog, collaboration, creative process, creativity, design, music, The Arland Group

Categories: Office

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Sweet Success!

Posted: November 10th, 2011 at 1:31pm by Sharon Lynch

A couple months ago I wrote of a project I was taking on outside of work, a bit creative, a bit of project management and a possibly big challenge for a “capable baker”, but no Betty Crocker or Martha Stewart here. I had decided with some pro-active planning and attention to detail, that I just might be able to produce from scratch, not only a birthday cake (for a 4-yr old), but a Treasure Chest Birthday Cake that came not only with a recipe but a video!

It was served up last weekend . . . and people actually recognized it! It indeed was a Treasure Chest with jewels, gold coins, gold nuggets and a whole bunch of loot. The birthday boy stuck his finger in it (conservative approach) while the little brother stuck his whole face in it to get at the jewels (adventurous approach). I guess that spells success. Have to thank my wonderful job for allowing me to keep my saw sharpened and skills of planning, attention to detail and project management well-honed, they come in very handy in my personal life as well.

Tagged with business, Cake, Planning, Success, The Arland Group

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Happiness -Arland Style

Posted: November 4th, 2011 at 8:19am by Deb Andrychuk

I am a lucky soul. I wake up every day and get to work for a company I love, learn from co-workers I respect and admire and do work for clients I truly enjoy. Roll back the clock to 4 years ago. I had just joined Arland and I was excited about working for a really cool and unique branding agency. I was also keenly aware of the challenges associated with working with a small company and I was more than a little intimidated. We were lacking some basic tools; marketing collateral; processes and support that I took for granted from my prior sales role and I knew that I wouldn’t change the world overnight. Back then, as is the case now, we were running “lean and mean” and wearing multiple hats in our roles. My work life could be described as frenetic at best. At the same time, my personal life had been turned upside down, having lost both my brother and my mom unexpectedly in a 2 month period shortly after coming onboard. I was depressed, anxious, worried and I could have easily let Arland’s short comings and my own personal tragedies slow me down. What is more, I could have allowed sadness and fears extinguish my passion for helping my customers and stunt my growth as a sales person, mother and wife.

When I was at my lowest, I picked up the phone and called my good friend Brian Corey, SVP of Sales at SimplyHired. He is by far the most positive individual I have ever had the good fortune to meet. He consoled me, gave me a pep talk and then reminded me that there is always someone who has it worse in life than we do. It was a gentle reminder that I needed to be grateful for all that I have and that I am the sole gatekeeper to my happiness. It was a turning point in my life. I decided from that day forward that I was going to be a happy person- no matter what!

I know it sounds silly to say that I was going to flip the happiness switch. So, here’s a secret for you: I don’t wake up every day with a smile on my face. In fact, without my morning coffee from my magical Keurig machine, I can be pretty darn cranky. No one experiences 100% happiness all the time. But, I have resolved to spend my days in a good mood or will myself into pretending that I am having a great time. In my opinion, your attitude is three quarters of your success in life and it determines the outcomes of your daily interactions. It’s pretty simple; you can make it really good or really bad. This attitude shift is how I can smile even after I have wrecked my car into the garage (yes that just happened), my dogs have decided to mark my new jeans as their territory or I miss my flight home from a meeting. This might make me sound a bit Pollyanna-ish, but it’s how I have made it through some of the most trying situations of my life and I know it’s why I know I will continue to prosper and succeed in years to come. I am really glad that I have made these conscious decisions to maintain my optimistic outlook and I am so proud of our team’s growth and evolution here at The Arland Group. It’s been a wild ride but I am holding on tight and enjoying every bump and turn in the road!

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Some Things are NOT Better Together

Posted: October 26th, 2011 at 11:11am by Megan

When I present our social media solution to companies, a common question that I get asked is, “Why do I need a separate Facebook and Twitter careers page for our company, can’t we just incorporate this onto the corporate pages we’ve established?” The answer is no.

First of all, I like the St. Louis Cardinals page on Facebook. Does that mean I want to work at Busch Stadium? No, it doesn’t. (Although, if it meant free World Series tix, maybe.) People don’t necessarily become fans of a company on Facebook or follow them on Twitter because they want to work there. A corporate Facebook page is and should be geared toward consumers. Consumers often like to use this as an avenue to voice their praise of a company, but unfortunately, when you take the good, you get the ugly as well. Consumers LOVE to voice their negative opinions and experiences on these pages, which brings me to my next point. Are negative comments about your company the content you want your potential candidates to see?

You’d be surprised, but we rarely see negativity on career Facebook and Twitter pages. When we do, it’s more about not hearing back after an interview or resume submittal rather than unfounded accusations from disgruntled employees. These types of comments are actually a great opportunity to show responsiveness to the person posting and this responsiveness is seen as something positive to other job seekers. Win-win, right? Also, by keeping your employment brand social media pages separate, you can really focus on providing content that will interest your current employees and potential candidates. You can show people what it’s really like to work for your company through posts about work culture, highlighting individual employees for their achievements and showcasing the variety of career paths you have to offer.

Still not convinced? I could give you several other reasons on why you need to keep your corporate and employment brands separate on social media, but here’s the bottom line: Social media is here to stay and the recruitment aspect of it is rapidly growing. Pretty soon, traditional recruitment avenues will become irrelevant and it’s important to stay at the forefront of these developments. By establishing your employment brand on social media, you’re keeping yourself on top of the recruitment game.

Tagged with Employment Branding, recruitment, social media, social media plan, social media solutions, The Arland Group

Categories: Employment Branding

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