Category: General

Leveraging Digital for Real Estate Marketing

December 14, 2016

The industry of real estate in India has matured and now we are doing extensive research online before actually making a final purchase. We are searching for the brokers, dealers, projects, and sellers online, which make the digital marketing even more lucrative for real estate industry. The latest trends have shown that it is mandatory for every real estate organization to have online presence which must be optimized via digital marketing communication mix.   Recently, our CEO Mr Abhishek Rungta has shared his insights on digital marketing forming its roots in Real estate industry through CIO Reviews where he has well explained about the long marketing funnel of Real estate market where people take a long time to make decisions  and hence it is critical to be present throughout the purchase cycle. And therefore it is most efficient and cheapest way to do so is through digital  channels where most of us spend our majority of time.   How to choose partners for internet sales for housing projects ?   Further on his next interview with Indian Urban Infrastructure Review on selling housing projects on the internet has caught the fancy of real estate developers because of the value for money and the efficiency of the online medium. In this interview he had discussed on strategizing sale of housing projects on the internet and gives  few professional secrets away. He has briefly discussed on intelligently using digital marketing channels to generate leads.  He rightly pointed out that Facebook allows for better product showcase through Facebook ads that gives better targeting options. Even brand awareness and the brand story is better executed via channels like Facebook and Google ads. He emphasized on defining a target audience and maintaining a good CRM system and also building a good highly optimized secure website.

Read More »

What Is Ransomware and How to Protect Your Data against It?

December 2, 2016

Most of us already know that clicking on unsolicited links and downloading suspicious files could lead to malware wreaking havoc on our computers. However, in recent times, there has been a more malignant kind of malware. Ransomware, as it is popularly known, a kind of malware that restricts your access to your files, devices or computers until you make a certain amount of payment. In other words, ransomware hijacks your device or files, and holds it up for a ransom demand . If you do not pay the ransom, you will lose access to your files and devices permanently. How does a ransomware attack your computer or files? Ransomware employs methods similar to a Trojan. It deceptively enters your computer in the form of a message, email, or web file that is downloaded intentionally or unintentionally. Once you are fooled into clicking a link, downloading a file or visiting an infected website, the ransomware encrypts files on your computer and displays a message informing files can be accessed only after the ransom is paid. If you do not pay this ransom amount, the attackers may increase the ransom amount of delete your files altogether. While most attackers demand less than $200, some have been known to demand almost a million dollars. Ransomware can wreak havoc on your company in multiple ways Ransomware features unbreakable encryption. This means, you cannot hire decryption professionals to decrypt the files that have been encrypted. Ransomware can encrypt all kinds of files on your computer or device. Whether it is personal photos or company-related executable files, everything can be infected and access to these files will be blocked. File names can get mixed up deliberately, so that you won’t know which file is encrypted or not. Traditional antivirus cannot detect ransomware, as these malware feature complex evasion techniques. In other words, you cannot remain complacent thinking you have the best anti-virus system installed. If you have many computers connected to each other on a local network, all of these computers can get infected, making accessing any file next to impossible until you pay up. If files have sensitive information, ransomware attackers can actually use this information against you and get you into further trouble. If confidential business documents are leaked, you will probably end up bearing legal costs as well. Things you can do to protect your data from Ransomware   Be prepared   The first step toward protecting oneself from any adversity is to expect it. Much like most armies in the world remain prepared for a future attack, you will probably have to live in fear of being attacked by ransomware too. Fear isn’t always a bad thing. It helps you to take necessary precautions and to consider a threat as real. This isn’t being paranoid as ransomware is real, and not a bogeyman in the corner. It could happen to anyone and to any company. The only way to trick ransomware is to expect it to attack you. This will help you to take steps that will succeed in thwarting attempts to encrypt your files. And even if a ransomware manages to encrypt your files, you will still have a safe backup copy somewhere in the cloud or on an external hard disk.   Use external backup drives correctly   This is the cheapest and easiest way to protect yourself from ransomware. Unfortunately, this isn’t efficient or effective in most cases. What you could really do is, connect the external hard disk as little as possible to your computer. Do not let it remain connected to the computer even when you are not using it. This will allow ransomware to attack your external device and encrypt files stored on it too. Also, you should begin to use backup programs that have versioning feature. Versioning enables you to retain backups of older versions of data, so that if a hard disk is maliciously encrypted, you will always have an older version of the disk to fall back upon. This is not a perfect method to tackle ransomware, as your recent changes will be lost.   Start using cloud-based backups   Cloud-based backups are always on but the files do not get uploaded quickly. However, this works in your advantage, when it comes to ransomware. Even if a ransomware encrypts your data, it will take days to weeks for it all to get uploaded. Meanwhile, you can contact your backup service company and ask them to wipe and reinstall. This will again result in recent changes being lost but at least, you will not lose all the data. Cloud-based backups are safe at the moment, though ransomware attacking cloud-data is not too far-fetched. If you make regular backups to your cloud service, chances are, there will always be a version that hasn’t lost a lot of changes that were made recently.   Do not open suspicious emails or links   Most attackers send spam messages and hope that you will click on an email or link that will allow them to install the ransomware on your device or computer. So, first and foremost, use discretion while downloading attachments, opening suspicious links or emails. Even if these emails originate from an address or contact you recognize, bear in mind that anyone’s email account can get hacked. If you sense the tone of the email or the language that is used is different from the person you know, do not click on the link or attachments. Most of the times, ransomware gets installed after people click on links sent by people whom they know. Always train your employees to right-click on attachments and scan them before opening them. If you train your employees well enough, they will become an integral part of protecting your company against ransomware attacks. In other words, employee training is a crucial part of protection against ransomware.   Invest in a good anti-malware tool   While most traditional malware protection tools do not offer security against ransomware, there are a few

Read More »

Discover the Value for Culture of Originality in a Workplace

November 28, 2016

Originality is defined as the ability to create something that isn’t copied. It is something authentic,which comes from the source of the creator or the doer. In organizational terms, originality refers to be creative and being able to make decisions in situations where others might have taken a different path. This ability says a lot about how good a leader you are. “With attitude as my asset and originality as my brand, I believe that originality and creativity are essential for true success.” To answer the question if originality is a workplace culture, we only need to look at it this way – If you are not original, you do not innovate. If you do not innovate, you perish. Thus, it is quite clear that originality is required in  a workplace place, and most important is that it needs to be nurtured and encouraged within an organisation. Boosting originality at work To boost originality at your workplace, there are a number of things you can do. Firstly, it is important to encourage employees who are creative. This may include encouraging their own individual creative processes which may not be related to your business. For example, if your web designer can strum the guitar, why not bring a guitar to one of the rooms, and get him to play regularly to other staff? This helps not only to feel appreciated, but helps in encouraging other employees to realize the value of creativity. Creativity is never limited to a single artistic pursuit. There are chances that the web designer who is good at strumming guitar comes up with a better design than those designers who aren’t very creative. Look for individual instances of originality, especially in problem solving. If a manager makes a daring decision, do not reprimand him. Instead, appreciate him for the courage and laud his originality in problem solving. This does not mean you should allow everyone to do everything they choose to. It just means, hand-picking instances of originality and encouraging that in your workplace. Looking forward Originality at workplace is a work in progress. You cannot develop that overnight. On the other hand, you can inspire those who are not original to engage in creative thinking, by encouraging and providing positive reinforcements to those who are original. This indirectly helps to boost productivity and enhance your organization’s work culture. Encourage creative people and give them platforms to showcase their talent. This helps other people to get creative too, and they begin to value the importance of creativity and originality. It is well known scientifically that creativity and the ability to make individual decisions are very crucial to leaders and budding leaders. Encourage these budding leaders at your organization to reap benefits and also to boost originality at your organization as a whole.

Read More »

Why You Must seek Inspiration in Vintage Graphic Design

November 7, 2016

A vintage looking website is often more popular than shiny new websites with the latest sliders. Why is this so? A little probing will lead you to the conclusion that we, as humans, are motivated by our memories. We seek to use our memories to create a future. It’s only memories, and memories are all we have. All that we are today, is only because of our past memories. The memories of what we have learned, memories of procedures, memories of people, things we did, things we liked and disliked, memories of ourselves, and of our larger life. These memories help in using stimulus to create an appropriate response. For example, when you look at a cat, you notice its shape, its ears and then your brain matches this information with what is stored in your brain, and then you conclude it is a cat. This process happens so quickly that you don’t realize all these cognitive functions taking place. Recognition, such as recognizing the cat as a cat, depends on memory too. With all this in mind, it only makes sense to create websites that may evoke pleasant memories. Pleasant memories usually take us back to childhood or adolescence, and these sorts of memories evoke a very strong emotional response, the kind that would make people do things that they otherwise might not. For example, a website that reminds someone of the time they spent in the 1970s at a rock club will resonate more with someone in his 50s or 60s. If you are building a website for this target audience, it makes sense to rely on various cultural references from those ages. Likewise, different age groups can be encouraged to take action when their nostalgic memories are invoked. In this article, let us take a look at 5 fundamental reasons why vintage graphic design is important. Nostalgia Nostalgia is a very powerful emotion. When design inspires nostalgia in a person, he or she is more likely to succumb to the temptation of taking action. A nostalgia-provoking design usually borrows from pop culture references such as the Archie’s comics, Sherlock Holmes, etc. They may also borrow form, color, shape, illustration, etc. All these things evoke nostalgia, encouraging a person to view the design positively. Authenticity Authenticity is what originality is. A lot of hipsters like authenticity and originality that come with certain things. These people tend to be more amenable to design that scream ‘authentic’. In order to ensure authenticity, use vintage graphic design to inspire yourself while designing a web page or anything else. Originality is something that is lost over time, and it might seem counter intuitive to find inspiration in what has already been done. Retro Is Cool A lot of youngsters today like things that are vintage. A close look at comments on YouTube videos, where youngsters point out that they would have preferred to be born in a different era is a testimony to this fact. By finding inspiration in vintage graphic design, you stand to attract Generation Z, who are much younger than millennials and will be the next purchase-oriented group. Retro Is Different Most importantly, retro and vintage design is different. It stands out from today’s design. This helps you to grab attention of the viewer, regardless of the age. Once you have their attention, your content can help in making them make a decision. Thus, vintage graphic design can act as a bait to lure people to your content. Vintage Design Is Timeless What we must really remember is that vintage and retro design is classic. These design ideas are timeless and will always remain in vogue. Even if current trends go out of fashion, vintage design will continue to remain in popularity, helping you to remain relevant even after years. Certainly, this is one of the better ways to grab people’s attention. How to find inspiration in retro design? To find inspiration in retro and vintage graphic design, notice how they are always about shapes and illustrations. Circles, squares, rectangles and cubes were all very popularly used back then. Geometrical shapes help elicit psychological responses than non-symmetrical shapes. People did not have much money for printing back then. Full color printing was very expensive and thus, many designers chose dual-toned illustrations. These not only provided color but also saved money. You can create a contemporary design in a dual toned manner, which unconsciously will remind viewers of a distant past. Pay attention to typography and borders too. There were always borders in the past, and types were very simple. Bring some noise and layers to your pictures. Layering and texturing helps to create a vintage feel to your contemporary website. Lastly, you can use badges too, to evoke memories of a distant past. Underlying message As you can see, memories play a very important role in people’s emotions and the way they behave. In fact, memories are everything that fuels our thoughts and emotions. It makes sense to use vintage and retro design techniques to evoke pleasant memories of the past. This helps in evoking nostalgia, which is a very strong emotion. This helps in attracting older groups. Authenticity is another aspect of retro and vintage graphic design. This appeals to modern hipsters who like all things original. Moving on to younger generations, a lot of youngsters like old things because it sets them apart from their own generation. They find retro design cool. Another important fact to note is that retro design is inherently different from what is available today. Most importantly it is timeless. Find inspiration in retro and vintage graphic deigns by noticing shapes and illustrations. Move on to dual-tone coloring techniques and pay attention to vintage typography and borders. Find inspiration in layers and textures. All this will help when your business makes use of vintage graphic design in a smart way, without com[promising on fluidity and responsiveness of your website.

Read More »

Why Well Designed Icons Are Important?

November 2, 2016

With more and more mobile applications being released every day, it is becoming increasingly important to pay attention to the design of icons. All icons are not made the same and if an app icon is not pleasant enough, it may not get the kind of attention it needs on the App Store or on the Play Store. A good app icon is simple, minimalist and yet fresh in design. Good app icons are easy to recognize and people can easily ascertain what a particular application might be all about, just by looking at the icon. With a growing focus on branding, icons also need to be consistent with the overall branding of a company or product. This way, it is easier for people to associate an app with its larger company. Whether you release an app as a standalone product or as one of the many branding tools, you need to be consistent with your approach and your icon needs to be very well designed. In this article, let us take a look at why so much focus needs to be given to something so tiny, so miniscule. The short answer is that it is really important to remain in people’s memories. The longer answer is given below. To be recognizable Icons need to be easily recognizable. They should be aligned with your branding and they should also be something simple and minimalist. If icons are vague and if they do not utilize good color schemes, then they do not stay in people’s memories for long. Get an icon that is simple, fresh and minimalist. This helps people to recognize it quickly. To be pleasing An icon needs to be visually attractive. It cannot provide any information other than a letter and probably the colour scheme or shape. For this reason alone, ensure that the final icon is as aesthetically pleasing as possible. To not distract If an icon is too complex, people may not remember it or they may not be able to register it in their minds. An icon needs to be simple, fresh and easily recollected. For this purpose, it should not distract viewers with unnecessary textures, shapes and colors. To be consistent An icon should always be consistent with its larger branding strategy. The website, the logo of the company, and other branding materials should be consistent with the shape and color of the app icon. This helps to retain consistency and predictability of the icon. If consistency is not maintained it won’t be easy to recollect it. Building great app icons The more companies are moving towards enterprise mobility, the more app development is taking place at a breakneck pace. However, most people do not value the importance of how an icon looks. An app’s icon should be simple and consistent with the branding of the organization. People should be able to easily recollect and recognize it, and it should not distract people with unnecessary details. If these points are kept in mind while designing, there will always be consistency and recall value.

Read More »

How You Can Revolutionize Your Company’s Culture

September 9, 2016

People always want to know about company’s work culture before joining it.  It serves as a great means of attraction for hiring vibrant and quality talent. Many business leaders have realized that if internal work culture is not healthy, an organization cannot grow. A company’s culture is defined by various factors and practices incorporated by the company. It may include the hiring of right talent, service differentiation, sharing workforce’s compassion, employee skill development, using technology, creating effective means of communication within the organization, and engaging in corporate social responsibility and philanthropic initiatives. A strong leadership is another crucial factor that characterizes company’s work culture. Every company starts small; it is the work culture that navigates it through challenges to become a large and successful firm. Whether you are a startup, a small or a medium sized firm, it is fundamental for you to revolutionize work culture to make sure that you are synchronized with contemporary needs. Following are some important steps you need to take to revitalize your organizational work culture: Look for change An organization can’t be stagnant in its approach. There should be a constant push to make it better. An effective manager yearns for change to bring new energy to the organization. Now, what that change should be?  A manager must sort out what changes need to be integrated to boost work culture. Start with one change at a time. [php snippet=1] Go mobile Today’s young workforce relies on a smartphone for everything. Whether its HRMS or ERP, most cloud applications are accessible via mobile. Employees love to accomplish various business tasks through applications. Technology makes your employees productive and efficient. It is a great step to encourage the use of smartphone at the workplace; however, it is equally important to place checks to avoid misuse. Data security is a major concern when employees access critical organizational data on a smartphone. It should be well accounted for. Find out what makes employees happy A happy workforce can deliver better results than overstressed people. Try to figure out what keeps them happy. It could be flexible working hours, work from home or a monthly bash at the workplace. Do not encourage overtime because it is likely to create anxiety in the longer run. Make sure tasks are completed within stipulated time to promote healthy work culture. Inter-team communication Months pass by and some teams have little to no interaction with another team. Employees don’t get a chance to know members from other teams. Therefore, steps must be taken to promote inter-team communication. You can do so by shuffling team members; organizing get-togethers for discussion or games. Use gaming elements in non-game situations to boost productivity. You can also organize team building events to encourage team bonding in fun ways.  Employees feel more motivated and engaged at workplaces where people know each other well. Seek employees’ opinion There are certain employees who have excelled stupendously in the task that they do.  There are certain others who have a strong decision-making ability and their choices have always paid back. Identify such employees and take their opinion about relevant issues. It gives you a new line of thought. Consultation might help you to learn something new that you can apply across the organization. Learn, learn and learn You can’t sit back thinking that you know everything about how to run your organization effectively. This does not work. It makes your organization dormant in the long term. You have to strive to learn something new every day. Learn through books, magazines, events, symposiums, trade fairs etc to stay updated about new technology, methods, ideas etc. Moreover, learning is what differentiates leaders from followers. Prevent distractions during meetings It is common to see nowadays employees addicted to their smartphone. If employees are constantly bothered about new emails, phone calls, messages, and tasks-to-do, they fail to concentrate on the task at hand. Smartphone addiction creates anxiety among employees and they fail to participate fully in a meeting or discussion. It automatically makes them poor listeners. It creates a negative impression on other team members and they feel neglected. They also miss out on the gravity of important concerns. Create an environment that employees understand the importance of engaged participation and avoid unnecessary disruptions. Get your priorities right  Time management is a fundamental step towards promoting healthy work culture.  Employees are often bogged down by overwork. This happens due to their failure to prioritize work. Important tasks should be completed before other tasks. If there are multiple projects running with different deadlines, prioritize tasks in your calendar as per their importance. If you plan to implement a new application in your organization, set a time limit to avoid unnecessary delays. A good habit like this takes the time to develop, so you need to begin right away. Are you hiring correctly? Many organizations tend to select candidates purely on quantitative basis viz. education and employment history. The result is high attrition rate. When organizations hire, they need to look at many other factors like compassion, creativity, zeal, problem-solving skills, leadership abilities etc. This helps them to minimize the annual cost of hiring and create a quality workforce. Look for unhealthy practices at workplace An organization’s productivity could be marred by unhealthy practices at workplace. It may include punctuality issues, absenteeism, lethargy, banal conversations or probably workplace politics. Such practices deteriorate organizational work culture. It becomes an impediment to attracting new talent and rather becomes a reason for talented employees to quit the organization. Quickly act against such malpractices and revive your organization back to professionalism. Identify the higher purpose of your organization Busy work life often dissolves the higher purpose of your organization’s existence. If a leader fails to recognize that, you can’t expect employees to spot it. A true leader identifies and clarifies the higher purpose of the organization to employees. If employees know why they do what they do, your purpose is solved. Conclusion The work culture of an organization cannot be

Read More »

How IoT is changing the Outlook for SMEs

August 2, 2016

The market is abuzz with the term Internet of Things (IoT).  Why are businesses and governments obsessed with this new term? What is Internet-of-Things? This is a next-gen technology where everyday objects are connected to the internet with an ability to send and receive data. This ability clearly signals the production of the huge amount of data, often referred to as big data. Big data can be analyzed and processed through machine-learning technology and ultimately deliver refined predictions for users. Main components of IoT The main components of IoT are sensors embedded in devices, internet connection, and processing & storage servers. Sensor technology plays an essential role to intelligently capture big data. Impact of IoT on businesses This technology is going to have a profound effect on consumers and businesses across the world. Since IoT is a new technology, its progression and impact on businesses will be gradual.  Businesses can aim to improve customer satisfaction, financial performance, and productivity. Besides that, there are endless possibilities for research and development. [php snippet=1] Internet of Things is not limited to internet-connected TVs, ACs, or fridges. It includes a growing network of internet-connected products in the industry. IoT will deliver smart products that can take corrective actions to avoid damages. Wearable technology products like smart watches, eye glasses etc effectively utilize IoT to empower the user. [php snippet=1] The valuable data, hence generated can change the way SMEs work. Industries ranging from automobile, healthcare, consumer electronics, manufacturing, and agriculture will be benefitted by this technology. The following article explores untapped opportunities for small and medium enterprises by deploying Internet-of-Things. Manufacturing It will enable production and supply chain processes to be highly efficient.  Manufacturers can effectively manage the flow of materials, cycle time with this new set of information about process interdependency. This will enable them to reduce inventory cost and minimize capital risks. A machine or a manufacturing process can provide information about component wear and tear that helps to minimize operational cost, energy consumption and prevent equipment failure.  A manufacturer can pre-empt a possible breakdown and take preventive measures. He can easily diagnose the cause for poor product quality and take corrective measures. This eliminates the need for damage control by spending on urgent and costly repairs. It makes sure that there are no order delays or a dent in customer trust. Retail Modern retailers are already using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) that uses tags to keep a track of inventory in the stores. As soon as a stock item reduces beyond a certain level, an alert is sent to warehouse for replenishing the stock. This process significantly reduces inventory load and maintain inventory accuracy. IoT technology can be used in retail stores to enhance in-store customer experience. For instance, auto payment debit from payment cards while customers leave the store. This eliminates the need for customers to stand in queues and wait for their turn to pay. Products can be connected to customer’s grocery list in their smartphones as soon as a customer enters the store. This technology will draw a flow chart for customers to move in the store depending upon their product list and help them save shopping time by navigating the organized path. Marketing Businesses can collect a lot of real-time information from consumers that can be instantly processed. This gives them an enormous opportunity to measure and analyze consumer behavior so that they can guide their marketing decisions. Imagine sensors can determine the usability of a product. Consumer preferences, trends, and likings can all be ascertained and businesses will be better equipped to steer their marketing strategy. This technology is a breakthrough for SMEs who often find it difficult to compete with their large counterparts owing to large overheads. They also lack economies of scale. Under such circumstances, big data analytics will provide them a solution to minimize their cost and take bold marketing decisions without going wrong. Moreover, SMEs don’t have enough resources to expend on costly consumer surveys and market research. With IoT, they can quickly and economically collect and analyze a huge amount of data. Product and spare-part sales Businesses can closely monitor the condition of connected equipments. Sales department can predict consequently what part needs replacement and accordingly plan their inventory. They can service customers better by proactively approaching them and informing them about the right time to change the part. Customer woes are minimized because they are prepared to change the part and avoid unforeseen breakdown. If the part is expensive, customers can budget it in their expenses to avoid the cash crunch. Application development hardware and software Application development in IoT era will open up tremendous opportunities for developers in SME sector.  IoT will generate the demand for the development of niche applications for specific industry and for a specific product. Data storage devices and data compression devices will be rapidly sought after to handle and store big data load. Security remains a primary concern for businesses when critical data is exposed to the cyber threat. Cyber security applications will also be in heavy demand by businesses to secure their data. Product improvement and new product development Tracking data through IoT will enable SMEs to monitor product condition, settings and usability to devise product improvement.  Engineers can easily analyze data to improve product material and design.  It can give way to new product development. Transportation The smart city is a growing concept these days. Smart city residents can use technology to access transportation related services with convenience. Residents can pay toll or parking charges through mobile wallet services or other smartphone applications connected with payment cards and accessible via city-wide Wi-Fi.  They can also find out real-time information about parking availability in parking lots. Similarly, this technology can be implemented across public transportation systems like metro, buses, local trains etc. SMEs can use this opportunity to develop applications based on government requirement. Medical services Doctors, healthcare professionals, diagnostic centers and hospitals can monitor patient’s health by tracking data through wearable

Read More »

Should You Study Art Professionally to Become a Great Designer?

April 11, 2016

If we discuss design, we immediately realize that it is inextricably linked to art. It can be safely said that modern design is a combination of science and art. Modern design combines computer science, laws of basic sciences and art to create objects and ideas that surpass previous creations. With this in mind, a number of people often wonder if they should study art professionally in order to become a designer. Should you study art academically? To answer this question, one needs to find out what kind of designer one wants to be. If one wants to be an instrument designer, art may help but it is more important to have a clear background in general sciences, such as mathematics or physics. However, if we are talking about product design or package design, the lines blur a bit and we may have to consider the importance of art. If we are discussing web design, the importance of art is even more evident. in short, if we are discussing design in terms of what can be viewed for pleasure or information processing, or for consumption (with the idea that it must also look good), then art is definitely very important. However, is it important for you to study art academically? The two kinds of artists and what we can learn from them An artist will tell you that there are two kinds of artists: those who take art so seriously (the ones who study it academically), that they stop having fun. This kind of art nerds will probably never create something like Picasso did. They probably will be great theorists and academics. The other kind of artist is the one who self-learns, experiments and simply engages himself or herself in the process of creating something, beautiful or ugly. This kind of person is the real artist and one can easily argue that professional training is not required. When it comes to web designing or product design, art can be studied in terms of various periods. This helps to understand the design process from a linear perspective. Also, it introduces the designer to various art movements, great artists and the way they played with colors, textures, and lines. This is quite important but can be self-learned. Thus, if one has set out to become a web designer or a product designer, it is important to study art but not professionally. He or she can pick up any of the resources available and acquaint themselves with various art movements, periods and the artists themselves. Indeed, it can be summarized that while it is important to know the various art movements, art periods and the great artists, it is not necessary to study art professionally or academically to become a great designer. It is important to tell impressionism from surrealism but it is not necessary to know how to play with the brushes or with clay. Going ahead and reading a few books on art should suffice to add to your existing design skills.

Read More »

Common Mistakes that Mobile Ad Strategies Encounter

March 30, 2016

With mobile marketing taking center stage in companies, it is becoming increasingly clear that people are making a number of mistakes. While it is a good thing that companies are actually focusing on mobile, where the most number of visitors are, they are still not able to distinguish mobile marketing from desktop marketing. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, they may not understand how people use mobile devices. Secondly, they may not understand who are using what kind of mobile devices. If the companies are not using big data to gain access to data analytics, they may also not understand buyer behavior and user preferences. Thus, mobile marketing needs a multi-pronged approach which is best handled by an experienced digital marketing agency. With that in mind, it is also important to know what mistakes others are doing, so that you can avoid them in your own mobile strategy. This will help you to create a mobile strategy that is devoid of errors or loopholes, ensuring that you will reap the most number of benefits your investment can provide you. Here are the most common mobile ad strategy mistakes.  1. Rehashing desktop ads for mobile devices Most companies make this mistake. They believe that mobile advertisements are similarly structured as desktop ads are. However, this is very far from the truth. Mobile ads are not only different they also need to be structured differently. Most of the times, desktop ads that appear on mobile devices do not attract the kind of hits that an ad publisher might like. Mobile advertisements should be specifically designed for mobile devices. This helps the viewer to grasp the marketing communication easily. In the end, what really matters is how put-together an advertisement really appears and when it does look designed for the device its being viewed on, there is a great chance of conversion. 2. Making ads for the mobile browser While companies may have a mobile strategy, they may feel most people use mobile devices using browsers. So, mobile ads are built around mobile browsers. Now, most people use their cellphones and tablets to access applications. Very few people use the mobile browser all the time. If we are to invest a lot of time and effort on mobile ad strategy, it is better to do it for applications than for just mobile browsers. Mobile browsers continue to be important for people to browse but most of the visitors access your advertisements on applications. Choosing the right app used by your target audience may help you better. 3. Ads are not responsive One of the most important things to make sure of is whether an ad is responsively designed or not. Responsive ads are designed in such a manner than they adjust to the size of the screen of the device on which they are being viewed, regardless of which one it is. This requires special skills and may prove to be costlier than regular ads. However, if we are going to opt for mobile marketing, ads should be designed for mobile devices. This means responsiveness has to be taken into account. 4. There is no monetization strategy A number of applications do not have any strategies to make money. If you release your own application, there has to be a mobile monetization strategy. Companies usually design an application and then wonder how to monetize it. Instead, one should design an application only after a monetization plan has been decided upon. This might mean you have to find out ways to enhance subscriptions, in-app purchases and other methods to help improve the monetization. Needless to say, one must also think about how to place advertisements within an app so that more subscriptions are registered. 5. Lack of market research It is important to understand your market before unleashing any kind of mobile ad strategy. If one does not understand what really is happening with the market that you are targeting, you will not be able to come up with a strategy that works. A number of companies avoid engaging into serious market research or they may just touch the surface.This results in a mobile ad strategy that is not completely in sync with what the market might demand. Investing in market research techniques is very important to come up with a mobile ad strategy that works.  6. Lack of insight into psycho-graphics Psycho-graphics help in understanding a target audience’s behaviors, personality quirks and lifestyle choices. With a lot of big data analytics being offered by cloud enterprises, it is easier now to tap into the psycho-graphics of your target audience. While demographics can easily be obtained, psycho-graphics help you to understand why people make the choices they make and what motivates them. Unfortunately, most companies do not involve psycho-graphics into their marketing strategy. 7. Verbose or lengthy ads Nothing is more off-putting than an advertisement that is very verbose or lengthy. People who are on their mobile devices do not have a lot of patience and it is important to convey the message in as tiny an ad space as possible. The more time and effort it takes the viewer to process your marketing communication, the less likely they will actually process it. They may just ignore your advertisement altogether. In order to avoid that, you should ensure that your advertisements are short and crisp and attractive to look at, especially on a small screen. Do not make the mistakes others have made Certainly, it becomes clear that we must not make the same mistakes that everyone else has been making. However, companies still repeat mistakes others have made and end up suffering losses. Mobile marketing presents a very attractive opportunity. One just has to understand how to tap into this amazing opportunity without making mistakes. It is quite easy too, with all the consultants and agencies around who are there to help you. After all, when one invests money into mobile marketing, one is looking at returns, and not at

Read More »

5 Design Festivals You Can’t Miss in 2015

September 2, 2015

There are a number of reasons why people attend design festivals. One is to meet and network with people and another is to find inspiration. Another reason why designers go to design festivals even if it is not related to their area of design is to learn from other forms of design. For example, if you are a web designer, you might wonder why you should go and visit a conference or festival dedicated to product design. However, there lies the paradox. Seemingly unrelated areas of design are quite inter-related. Every design area focuses on usability, color combinations, aesthetic appeal, innovation and inspiration. If you are a web designer, you will know that these are the most important elements of a good website. Similarly, if you are an animation professional, you will find it important to visit a web design festival because you will know what it is like to build websites and how design is important in that area. There is a lot to learn and find inspiration from not to forget making important contacts. These lead us to believe that every design professional, whether a website designer or a conceptual artist, should visit design festivals to learn, find inspiration and meet people. Of course, along the way, one also gets to visit new cities and countries, which can enrich our experiences. In this article, let us take a look at five design festivals which will take place after a few months, so that you have enough time to plan and go. Galway International Arts Festival, Dublin, Ireland – 13-26 July, 2015 Galway International Arts Festival is a centre for visual art, discussion, music and performance. It was one of Ireland’s premier festivals and people from all over Europe visited it to meet artists, musicians, designers from around the world. All of them gathered and walked through the winding cobbled streets of Galway. Galway itself is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city and you could have probably met your next business partner, if you looked around. Dublin Animation Film Festival (DAFF), Dublin, Ireland, October 16th and 17th, 2015 This is another Irish design festival but dedicated to showcasing animated films. All kinds of animation movies are showcased and this helps other designers to understand the art and technology behind it. In a way, this will help you to get away from the crowd and enjoy what it truly stands for: creative animation, art and fun. Dublin is an interesting city and is the capital of Ireland. You will surely be able to make some important contacts and exchange business cards, if you are looking at it from a networking perspective. London Design Festival 2015, 19-27 September, United Kingdom If we are talking about design festivals, there is nothing more important than the London Design Festival. It is an annual event and has been construed to promote London as the design capital of the world. Naturally, some of the biggest names in all areas of design would be present. This will be a great place to meet the international creative community and get yourself acquainted with them. Seattle Design Festival, September 2015, Seattle, the United States of America The Seattle Design Festival takes place in the grunge capital of the U.S. It strives to bring together communities of various areas of design and exchange information and ideas during tours, at workshops, gatherings and talks. There will also be movie screenings and you will be able to interact with a number of people who will be interested in your area of work. Seattle is a charming American city that is known for its start-up culture. You are bound to meet interesting people in this interesting city. Florence Design Week, 27-31 May 2015, Florence, Italy The Florence Design Week  was an International design festival that aimed at focusing on creative cities, this year. This had helped people to understood the problems of urban spaces and how nature can be brought back to our cities. This was also of interest to people who were into constructing cities and buildings. It combined creativity, business and innovation with tradition and nature. Florence needs no introduction and is one of the most importance cities of culture in the world. If you are unable to travel If you are unable to or could not attend any of these design festivals, try to attend design festivals closer to your location. It is sometimes not required to travel too far to come across some of the rarest talents in the world. If you can afford to, these 5 design festivals listed above are great events to attend to.

Read More »

Services

Industries

Company

Resources

Press Kit

MENU
Book a Free Consultation
CONTACT US

Let’s connect!

Loading form…

Book a Free Consultation
CONTACT US

Let’s connect!

    Privacy Policy.

    Almost there!

    Download the report

      Privacy Policy.

      Book a Free Consultation