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

Doing for Others

I have 3 sons. Two of them are in their 20's and have grown up to fine young men. The third son just turned 3 years old.

As an older father, and having helped raise two sons, I have been looking for ways to improve my parenting skills and make sure the youngest son grows into a good man (fortunately I have a built focus group with the older two).

I will probably in future blogs discuss different ways that I will accomplish my goals, but the thing he and I decided to to this week is to help someone out every week for the whole year.

Today he asked my how come a man was standing on the street corner holding a sign. I explained that times were tough and he is asking for help. He then wanted to know why I didn't help him; I didn't have a ready answer for him.

You can't really explain to a 3 year old how some of the people out there are not honest, and you can't be sure if they really need the help, or if they are just running a con. But upon reflection, does it really matter if they are running a con or not? I'm trying to teach him compassion and generosity and the only way to do that is by example.

So this week we decided to help one of our neighbors pick up the trash from her yard. She is older and has trouble bending. It only took 15 minutes and she was grateful.

We won't limit ourselves to one a week, but we will at least try to give someone a hand once a week. Whether it's helping someone with a chore, donating clothing to a shelter, or giving someone a handout, if we feel safe in doing so, we are going to help.

My son is already a loving, caring young boy. I want him to stay that way and think of others before himself.

So next time we see someone on the corner we'll go ahead and give them a buck or two and then we will have helped someone who needed it, and even if they didn't really need it, my son will be learning to care about his fellow man.