That will do!

That will do, or that's good enough. I dislike both of those phrases and I hear them far too often these days.

Perhaps I have a little OCD when it comes to design, but I feel its my job to give you the absolute best designed piece that I possibly can!

That means when I design something for you I take the best photography, illustrations, and content and put it all together into a design that best communicates whatever product or service you are trying to sell.

Sometimes it's expensive and sometimes less expensive, it depends on many different factors.

Far too often I get photography or illustrations that someone took on their smart phone or pulled off the internet (which is copyright violation, it you didn't take it or create it) and asks me to use it on the cover of their brochure or on their website. I usually have to tell them its poor light, quality or resolution, and the comment I get back is; "that's good enough" or "that will do".

Good enough, should never be good enough for your business! Imagine having the contractor only put three walls on your house and saying, that's good enough or trying to do your job with both your hands and feet tied. You might be able to do it, but it will be incredibly difficult to get it done and take double or even triple the time.

It is our job to give you a product that communicates the best way possible. We have an expertise, I assume that is why you hired us. As the saying goes; you wouldn't hire a mechanic to do your brain surgery!

When you tell us, "that will do", you do your business a disservice. What we want to hear is, "That's the best designed piece our company has ever had!" and then of course hire us to do it again!

I want to say thank you to all of my clients! I appreciate your business and all the time you've stuck with me!

Michael Burke




© 2020 Michael Burke/Gotham Advertising and Design

When to recognize opportunity and take action

When do you know when it’s time to take a chance and take action on an opportunity? It doesn’t matter what the decision, whether it’s time to get a new car or to buy a house, or taking a new job, making a decision to take action can be tough and scary.

By nature, I’m a huge procrastinator. I always accomplish a task but its usually on my terms. I meet all my deadlines, but somehow I convince myself it was always my idea to get them done on time. So taking action isn't always my strongest area.

However the major decisions I’m my life have usually been when something has been put in my path and I decided to take advantage and take the path offered. Sometimes this can be scary, and recognizing an opportunity is tricky.

For example.

I used to be a plumber. It was a good job with a decent income and I did okay. I went to work at 7:30 am and came home at 5:00 pm. Anyone who has every been a plumber can tell you, new construction is great, service work stinks…figuratively and literally.

I had been working as a plumber for about five years when we had a really cold winter. I had to drive about 30 miles in the country to fix a water leak in the freezing cold, under a house. When I finished I was wet, cold and miserable, thinking there has to be something better. I was driving down the interstate and there was a sign for a Junior college. To this day, I don’t know what made me do it, but I took the exit and went to the college to check it out. Two weeks later I was enrolled for the next semester.

I finished college there then went on to get my 4 year degree and never had to work in the plumbing business again.

I don’t know why I pulled off the highway, but something in my brain recognized that sign as an opportunity and I took it. That decision to take action changed my life forever.

When I started Jr. college, I majored in criminal justice. I was going to be a Highway Patrolman and I thought it would be a great career for me. A friend of mine had seen me on campus sketching one day and convinced me to take an art class with her. I needed an elective so I thought wow, I should really do this! The class was commercial art and I loved it so much, I switched my major to design and found my passion in life. I’ve been a designer for over 20 years and love it as much today as the day I created my first logo.

The important thing is to learn not only to recognize an opportunity, but having the courage to take action on it.

Around 13 years ago, opportunity was, again placed into my path. The advertising agency I had worked for about 10 years was closing it’s doors. I was one of the first 7 people hired (at one time the agency has 30 employees in our office) and I was one of the last 4 people to walk out the door.

The company offered to let me purchase much of my equipment, computers, scanners, etc. for a reasonable price and I took them up on the opportunity. This small investment allowed my to go into business for myself and I’ve had my own small Advertising and Design business for over 12 years. Again, I recognized an opportunity and took action.

Now I’m not trying to impress anyone with anything I have accomplished. My business is successful but not making me rich, and I have passed on a few opportunities that could have made me money and I’ve kicked myself for not taking the right action. No one can be right every time.

You have to learn to recognize opportunities when they greet you and not be frightened to take action on them! What happens if you fail? Most time you’re no worse for wear. If I hadn’t taken the exit for the college, I would have still been a plumber, it was a good job and I would have continued to be good at it. However because I took action on many of the opportunities life placed in my path, I found my ultimate passion in life.

Don’t be afraid to take action. The decision is often hard and terrifying, but I think, if asked, most people would hate to look back and say, “If only”!

A Re-visitation to Good Logo Design

Hi everyone!

I have been asked quite a few times in recent months, how do I hire a good logo designer? My standard answer is...you hire me! But there is more to it than just taking someone's word that they will do a good job for you. They may have a plethora of experience or their portfolio may look outstanding, but if they don't have the total package, can they really do your company justice? Read below and judge for yourself.

The following is my very first blog post and it's just as relevant today as it was in 2009 when I first posted it.

Thanks,
Michael
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Good Logo Design


In the years I have been in the advertising and design business, I have seen hundreds of logos. Some of them very good and some very bad; there’s an obvious difference between the two. The good ones define the company and support the brand. The bad ones don’t.

It sounds simple, doesn’t it? It’s not.

Good logo design is more than having your company name in a cool type font, or maybe a nifty little graphic illustration. A good logo designer starts off with research.

If you hire someone to design your logo and they don’t ask any questions about your company, run for your life.

When designing a logo, a designer should find out as much about your business as he or she can. It is not unusual for the designer to ask in depth about your business plan, marketing plan, and your product or service. Sometimes, this seems like the designer is digging into your privacy, but it is important to have as much information as possible so the design can work best for your company. After all, the designer is creating the visual identity that defines it.

Think about it, THE VISUAL IDENTITY THAT DEFINES YOUR COMPANY. That’s pretty strong stuff. The logo is the first thing most people see before they even meet you. It’s on your stationery, business cards, note pads, envelopes, products (if you sell a product), store fronts, and the list goes on and on.

Your logo often introduces your company to your customers. Now ask yourself, do you want someone who doesn’t want to know information about your business goals and aspirations to design the image that represents your company to your customers and potential customers? Or do you want a designer who cares enough to ask the right questions and provides you with a well researched and thought out design?

Along with a business plan and marketing plan, logo design should be one of the top three things you do when you start a business.

Steps that should be taken when designing your company logo.


• Initial meeting – An introduction and chance to meet the personality behind the business. It is important to meet the principals in the business because their personalities can help to define the parameters of the design.


• Research - Research is one of the most important, and most often ignored, parts of the logo design process. The designer needs to find out as much information about your business as he or she can. There is no such thing as too much information. The design firm should know almost as much about your business as you do. Research also includes doing copyright and trademark searches. This search should be done by a copyright and trademark attorney. If you don’t have an attorney, the designer should be able to provide you with a name (if the designer can’t give you a name you should worry, they should have someone that they use regularly). This trademark search is for the safety of your business. The search makes sure that no one else is using your name or mark. Finding out this information is extremely important because you don’t want to spend your hard-earned money on a logo design, thousands of dollars on corporate identity packages and signage, only to find out that some other business has the same business name and similar logo design and that they had it first, forcing you to spend more time and money re-designing and re-implementing your logo. Some companies spend over a million dollars a year just defending their trademark, so research is important.


• Design - The designers will sit down and go over all the information they have accumulated from the meetings and research, and start to come up with ideas. Designers don’t just start picking typefaces and drawing illustrations with no direction or purpose. A good designer will have a good reason for every part of a logo design. Designers are problem solvers and should provide several different designs for you to look at.


• Client input - After providing you with several designs, the designer will ask for your input. He or she will find out what you like and don’t like about the logo designs presented. This is a process that will help fine-tune the design and provide you with the logo that fits your business best.


• Final artwork - After all the research and meetings, it all comes down to the implementation of the final logo design. It is uniquely yours and will be tailored to your business.

Once you have a good logo design in place, it will make the branding and marketing of your business much more effective.

Logo designs are not inexpensive. A good logo design takes time. With the proper research and input from the client, the logo design will be some of the best money you spend. If you want to know how good logo design instantly identifies your business, think of these business names and see what pops into your head when you read them. McDonald’s™, Dodge™, HR Block™, Starbucks™, Best Buy™. These are the types of identifiable logo designs that are well thought out, researched, implemented, and effective, and none of these companies cut costs on their corporate identity design, and spend a lot of money pursuing people who infringe on their identity.

Finally, a good, extensively researched and designed logo supports your brand and makes your company immediately identifiable to your customers and potential customers. It also makes more effective implementation of all marketing materials. A well designed, professional logo is the public face of your business. It represents your company in all aspects of your daily business; the design should be solid, researched, immediately identifiable and knock their socks off!


© copyright 2014 Michael Burke