Strong, Bold Statements

Be concise. Avoid including detailed paragraphs of text, or images that are too intricate to decipher at a second’s glance. When your audience turns their attention to your presentation, you want them to get the takeaway point immediately, with the spoken part of your presentation building on the projection you have prepared. Go for strong, bold statements that outline the crux of your message, and take care to present in a font that is suitably sized and colored. People need to be able to read and digest your core message as quickly as possible, without having to struggle to make out your text, so it is best to keep to statements that are easy to read and understand.

Professional, Clean Theme

A professional, clean theme can work wonders for your pitch, displaying the core information behind your presentation in a stylish but professional way. This is in contrast to cluttered themes, or visuals which detract or distract from the main thrust of the points you are presenting, and can quickly undermine an otherwise valuable, meaningful pitch. Don’t go too out of the box, unless you know that’s what your audience is expecting, and avoid garish colors and styling features – they won’t do the focus of your presentation any good.

High Quality Projection

No good visual presentation is complete without a high quality video projector. A high quality video projection system will ensure your visuals are carried through your presentation in the highest possible resolution, making slides easier to follow and helping underline the professionalism in your presentation and your wider businesses. We all know first impressions count, and a shaky or low-res projection system will do you no favors on this front.

Those who deliver presentations on a regular basis, or employers who require presentations as part of their organizational information flow, need to think seriously about the optimum projection system for their needs. Without the right hardware, your job of pitching convincingly will prove much harder. But with the right technical setup, your presentations will convey your message with more meaning, for a memorable, professional presentation.

For more tips don’t miss:
American Society of Journalists & Authors Annual Conference
April 30–May 2, 2015 • Roosevelt Hotel

The post Teaching Tip: Make The Right Impression at Your Presentation With Video Projection Systems appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The post Social Media: Harvard Business Review Found Most Companies Use Social Media Inffectively and They Need Help appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

We Have Seen the Light

Sir Isaac Newton developed a theory of color based on studying how white light breaks into colors when viewed through a prism. The Ancient Egyptians used color for cures to ailments. Some of the earliest studies of light were by Aristotle who discovered that two colors, when mixed together, can form another color. Okay, so what does all of this have to do with web design? A lot.

Color and Website Design

Smart marketing takes color perceptions seriously.

White is seen as purity, the absence of color, sterile.

Black, though it can symbolize evil, also communications power and sophistication.

Blue is the favorite color for a large majority. It is also the considered the favorite of men.

Red is loud — it grabs attention, it conveys excitement, intensity, even anger, but it is also the color of love; just think of Valentine’s Day.

Pink varies — depending on the hue and shade (hot pink, pastel pink, fuchsia, etc.). Light pink is usually associated with love (hearts), innocence and sweetness (baby girls) so, depending on who you’re trying to attract to your website and services, it can be a good choice. A great example is the pink ribbon associated with fighting breast cancer. Pink can also be a very poor choice when you want to attract business clients and project an image of power and strength. Pink can look weak, childish and frilly which does the opposite of inspiring consumer confidence.

Green has a calming effect and relieves stress (nature). Of course depending on how it is used it can also convey power and money or jealousy.

Brown is another symbol of nature and tranquility (wood, soil) and can imply safety, security.

Purple may strike people as exotic, spiritual, or it can imply great wealth. I would be remiss if I didn’t caution designers that purple is a very slippery slope. It can come across as arty-fartsy and unprofessional, especially to corporate clients.

Yellow is cheery and positive like the sun but it also can be overwhelming and should only be used sparingly in web design.

Orange can work wonderfully as a highlight color. Keep in mind though that color combinations that include orange can evoke very different emotions. Orange and brown can convey sophistication, orange with red and yellow is great for websites to attract children, parents of young children and/or industries that provide services for elementary-school aged children. Orange with blue is another tricky combo. They are complementary colors and can look electric, as if they’re vibrating, which can be dizzying and make the text difficult to read. Orange and blue, if chosen correctly, can look strong and stylish.

The bottom line is this: when you choose a web designer it makes a huge difference if they have a strong background in the psychology of colors, eye tracking (see article “Eye Tracking: How the Eye Scans Your Web Pages“) and experience with search engine optimization (SEO), keywords, trending topics, and a strong understanding and success rate with social media accounts. At the very least they should understand that YouTube has become the second most popular search engine — Google, of course, is number one. For a website to look current and professional it must include icon links to, at the very least, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. Pinterest is growing at a rapid rate in popularity. Depending on the crowd you want to attract, your website designer should consider all of the additional socialmedia options too, i.e., Reddit, Stumbleupon, Google+.

The post The Psychology of Color appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

In this first graph, the circle represents where the eye first goes and then it tracks the way the eye scans the rest of the page and the arrow is where the eye ends up last on their first view.

This graph from Google shows how the eye travels. The colors are “heat spots” — i.e. the most intense and darkest color in this image is where the eye is drawn to the fastest and has the strongest pull. The lightest shade of color represents the worst “real estate” of the page.

The next graph shows the visitor’s eye beginning at the top left of the page, then scanning across the top, where the navigation links are usually placed on websites then the eyes move down. This is basically the way an eye moves as you read a book: left to right, down, left to right, down, etc. The pattern looks like an “F.”

The bottom graph is the same pattern you would use when writing the letter “Z.”

The post Eye Tracking: How the Eye Scans Your Web Pages appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The article refers to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and claims that the top 2 tiers of hierarchy explain why people share: “People want the respect of others, and they want to feel a sense of belonging.”

Here is a very interesting study from the New York Times’ Consumer Insight Group if you’d like to read more.

The post Viral Content: Why Some Posts Spread and Others Don’t appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Finishing up my August cover story for the New York Resident magazine about Oscar-nominated actress, Vera Farmiga and her directorial debut, Higher Ground.

Turn my attention to a new assignment from Petside.com (Buddy will of course make a cameo).

Write up a proposal for another star interview (I won’t say who yet… just to build suspend and to save face in case it falls thru).

Continue work on websites. One for beautiful miniature animal art by Melody Lea Lamb.

Finalize copy on my review of Magic Trip, a new movie about the famed Ken Kesey bus trip immortalized in Tom Wolfe’s Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

Continue to interview all people involved in my author profile/book review for Face to Face about a mother whose son shot off his face with a rifle in a failed suicide attempt and about the extensive expensive plastic reconstructive surgery he had to endure.

A brochure for Ann Woodfield and St. Bart’s church.

Social media for Dr. Thomas Romo.

Social media for Little Baby Face Foundation.

Feed my neighbor’s cat (she’s away).

Begin to compile all of my notes for my travel piece about Cancun, Mexico.

Make a phone call to receive instruction for my new brochure(s) project for a real estate company.

Follow up on PPGGNY (Philanthropic Planning Group of Greater New York) conference photos project (I am awaiting their captions).

Begin 2 more book reviews

Follow up on pitches to magazines, especially one on a personal essay that is probably the best thing I ever wrote (to date).

Watch Law & Order reruns while I do my 3 loads of laundry.

Count my blessings and exude gratitude that i have work.

Take a nap.

The post I’m a Strong Believer in Making Lists appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The post Welcome Back from the Holiday Weekend! appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The post Population and Online Statistics appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The post The History of Halloween & Scary Pumpkins appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Join OVEREXPOSED author Susan Shapiro
and her 5 former students with new books out and their editors and agents.

Come meet:

Hilary Davidson, author of Forge mystery THE DAMAGE DONE

Paul Stevens, Hilary’s Tor/Forge fiction editor

Renée Watson, author of A PLACE WHERE HURRICANES HAPPEN and Bloomsbury young adult novel WHAT MOMMA LEFT ME

Renee’s Random House Children’s book editor Suzy Capozzi

Abby Sher, author of AMEN, AMEN, AMEN, a Scribner’s memoir

Abby’s Delbourgo literary agent Molly Lyons

Bruce Frankel, author of WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THE REST OF MY LIFE, Avery nonfiction

David Goodwillie, AMERICAN SUBVERSIVE, a Scribner’s novel

David’s Defiore & Company agent Kate Garrick

Self magazine editor Paula Derrow, author of the Delacorte anthology BEHIND THE BEDROOM DOOR

Paula and Sue’s nonfiction editor Danielle Perez (now executive editor at NAL)

10% of book sales go to the NYU Creative Writing Program’s Goldwater Hospital Workshop

The post Tonight FREE How to Get Published Event appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.