Opinion

Oct 01

Auto Sales stats

The Nightly News just posted some statistics.

Apparently sales are down 34% when compared to September of last year.

One thing that has to be looked at in this stat is that a lot of people bought Civic, Prius’s and other gas saving vehicles last year to avoid rising gas prices. Why would these people be out looking for cars again? Yet NBC claims it is because of the credit crisis, but allegedly that didn’t affect anything other than housing markets until recently. Yet from 2007 to 2006, auto sales fell %14.

Good job attempting to feed the hype machine NBC.

Of course, they tried to use another stat to support their argument. Apparently traffic is down %50 at auto shows.

Oh no!

I haven’t been to car show since roughly 1992. In fact, I don’t think we have had one around here in forever. Like baseball cards and stamps before them, Auto shows are becoming things of the past. Why go to an Auto Show when you can view millions of cars online?

I hate one sided or misused stats, 88% of th e time they aren’t real……make that 89%.

Sep 29

Im a PC

Opinion, General No Comments »

I am a PC and a web designer. I don’t need a mac to make me feel elite nor do I need one to make me feel adequate to be in the business I am in.

Just sharing.

Aug 22

Obama Flip Flops

Design, Opinion No Comments »

One would think the election in 2004 would have helped the democratic party from so much flip-flopping but alas, it seems Obama has now taken up where John Kerry left off.

Take a look at the 2 screenshots below:

How does one go from beautiful smooth fonts and styling to the organized chaos of the second image? How could a presidential candidate allow his initally smooth facade be desecrated by fonts, in different weights and sizes and faces. Is this the work of a over-eager campaign worker at 2am who is just trying to get a glimpse of the presidential hopeful or just design gone wrong? I have another suspect, The Content Management System!

I have found that most CMS’s allow a little too much in the way of customization. Giving your clients full access to edit their sites may seem like a good idea at first, but quickly you find that the inexperienced can find many ways of “improving” their websites. Improvements that can make or break a design.

With ARCedit, our custom CMS, we restrict our users from blink tags, red fonts on green backgrounds and abnormally sized images in order to keep the designs as clean as we can. It may be a lot of hand holding, but the payoff is in not compromising your designs.

Thus establishing your platform, keeping it organized and getting your point across without confusing your future constituents.

Aug 14

He or She - Espn is confusing

Opinion, Sports, News No Comments »

Chinese Olympian is 13.

Apparently “He Kexin” is only 13 years old and should not be eligible for the Olympics which means, the whiny US Gymnastics team will probably be given the gold. That isn’t the biggest problem I have with the article. What is more confusing is ESPNs need to repeatedly use the gymnasts first name, He.

So you end up getting gems like, “If the age reported by Xinhua was correct, that would have meant He was too young to be on the Chinese team that beat the United States on Wednesday and clinched China’s first women’s team Olympic gold in gymnastics. She is also a favorite for gold in Monday’s uneven bars final.”

ESPN definitely is not short of a sense of humor, but why not change the gymnasts last name throughout the article. The Associated Press usually doesn’t mind small edits for clarification purposes but instead we are stuck with a confusing mix of shes and hes, which would leave one to question whether the athlete was too young or of the wrong gender for the sport they participated in.

I’m glad that ARC employs a full time copywriter to avoid pitfalls like this and insure all of our clients get their message across clearly.

Jun 13

Not everyone can do web design

Design, Opinion No Comments »

It’s a simple fact that everyone can have a web site, but not everyone can do web design.

Using Kim Komando, Leo Laporte, Lockergnome and HTMLGoodies will help you but there are other elements involved in web design outside of knowledge of code and how to use frontpage.

This is why it is important for your business to select a web design agency that knows what they are doing.

Here are three tips on how to make the best choice:
1. Does the business have a website?
It sounds like a stupid question, but I have heard commercials for web design services that only list the phone number. You can also find plenty of online ads where the only thing listed is a yahoo, hotmail or gmail address. Hiring one of these is like hiring an amish electrician, if they haven’t experienced your wants, how can they serve your needs.

2. How does the portfolio compare to the site?
You should never choose a design company based on their website. You need to delve deeper and view the designs in their portfolio. Some companies invest more time into their own site than the sites of their clients. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
3. How easy are they to find in the phone book?
This really shouldn’t matter. If you wanted a car mechanic, you wouldn’t look under the heading of personal injury attorney. You should be looking online for a web design company. The whole point of having a website is having people view it. If you can’t find a full service design agency through a search engine then how long do you think it will be before anyone finds you.

To some these may seem like common sense, but amazingly some companies are still in business because unsuspecting business owners don’t know what they are looking for.

May 29

Scott McClellan

Opinion No Comments »

In his political memoir, What Happened, Scott McClellan claims that “he stood at the podium and said he had unknowingly passed along false information.”

Didn’t the president claim this was the reasoning for the war, he received bad information, the same information McClellan wants us to forgive him for. Yet the president got no sympathy and neither should McClellan.

The reason I don’t think he deserves any kind of commendation for his new book is simple. This book is his chance to say the things he couldn’t say while he was working in the oval office. He allegedly was forced to lie to cover up for the White House .

In my mind, he didn’t have to. He could have quit, but instead he put his ambition in the political spectrum before his conscience. He is no different that the other politicians that we hold accountable. In fact, he might be worse, because now he wants to share what his thoughts were while the country is in a small turmoil. While gas prices are going up, home prices going down and foreclosures going up, War still raging on, an overall bleak view of the future, and the presidents approval rate stuck in lower limbo, Mclellan wants to show us even more negativity. He wants to bring everyones spirits down even more.

Sadly, it’s all to line his pockets with cash and exact revenge on an office that forced him to resign.

Thanks for doing nothing Scott McClellan, I think I liked the old you better.

Jan 21

Copyright - 19pts

Opinion No Comments »

Scrabble shutting down Scrabulous

After reading the article, I am bit confused about the reaction. The creators have basically said they made a blatant ripoff. If Hasbro does not want their game online, then so be it. Why should Scrabble lose money and pay the creators of Scrabulous for their software?

Can I create a big mac at home, add Worcestershire sauce, and sell it at Burger King? Then have Mcdonalds say I ripped them off, but buy it from me.

That’s not very realistic. Copyright infringement is wrong, there is no situation where the infringed should have to appease the infringer.

The second issue, boycotting, I find humorous.

Why dont boycotts work? Well it is quite simple, No matter how much of one company you boycott, your business or interest in a product is usually not a measurable percentage of the total. Oh but what if you get a large group to participate, say 100,000, how many of them are actually going to participate? Ask the American Family Association if their old boycott of Disney had any effect on Disney’s final figures in those years.

The success of most boycotts are merely trumpeted by one’s ability to stick to it. The reason is, for every person for something, there is someone against it.

That is why they just don’t work and why the ageless Scrabble will win and fad of the year Scrabulous will lose.

I guess everything is right with the world.

Dec 28

Giveaways Not Necessary

ARC Design, Opinion No Comments »

A trend that has lasted as long as companies have been in business is attracting new clients/customers by giving something away for free. It can be seen in any sector where a sale needs to be met, whether it be department stores, design agencies, lawyers or restaurants.

Examples of freebies are:

Services - most of these encompass a free service such as a “free estimate” or a service in conjunction with a purchase. Think “free windshield wipers” with an Oil Change.
Company Item - This would most likely be a free mouse pad or drink cozy with the company logo emblazoned on it.
BOGO - “Buy one, get one free” sales which can usually be found at any hat, shoe, or clothing store.
Free Item - One great example of this is when Taco bell gave away one free soft taco per customer if someone got a stolen base. This deal is also usually done through a coupon or some other loose advertising.

While these giveaways are nice, wouldn’t it better to get a quality product?

Once these companies get you in the door, do they wow you with their customer service or work? Do they try to intimidate you by reminding you of the free item you received?

As far as design agencies go, I can say the best way to find out if you are at the right place isn’t based upon the number of clients or the number of giveaways. You should base it on their work and the work ethic of their people. Look around you, if someone is offering you something free and not offering you something they have done, shouldn’t you be a little curious.

The creative team of ARC welcomes you to stop by and see samples of our work and meet the designers.

You may not leave with a free set of ARC pom poms, but you will leave knowing you made the right decision.

Dec 12

Insurance

Work, Opinion, General No Comments »

Who has the best insurance commercials?

I think the answer to that is pretty easy, everyone loves Geico’s commercials. From the cavemen, celebrity endorsements, nostalgic characters to the almighty gecko himself. There is no shortage of creativity from their ad agency.

Recently, I was in a car accident, my insurance company who I won’t mention but says they take a stand. They do take a stand for themselves. I had nothing but issues with them during the process. They wanted me to take a lower price for my car, pay for my rental and I wasn’t even at fault. I have since switched to Geico, they were the other guys company.

They called and kept contact with me, paid for my rental in full, sent me a check for the car and followed up to make sure I was receiving the right information. This is why people switch to Geico. They pull you in with their commercials and follow it up with great customer service.

They realize the importance of great customer service as opposed to just having an image. An important lesson for all businesses.

You may be flashy and offering a great service, but if people can’t use it, then what purpose does it serve. If no one is going to offer guidance then why should your customers refer you or come back to you.

So the Question is “What are you doing to elevate the image of your company?”

* note 1 - By switching to Geico I saved $220.
* note 2 - Geico’s greatness is only the opinion of this guy. ARCdesign does not promote or endorse them as the auto insurance company of choice.

Nov 30

Web Typography - 2005

Design, Opinion No Comments »

What is quoted below is a post I made on my old blog March 25, 2005 -

While Some would say that Web Typography still sucks. I would say it isn’t a big issue. The average web user notices nothing strange about serif or sans-serif fonts compared to their favorite magazines unless pointed out to them. Although I do highly agree that it is either too complicated or too much work to include the font of your choice in a website.

This is of course is a blessing in disguise as 1,000,000 geocities members would soon prove by using fonts like Bullet Holz or even worse Kefka.

This Article on Using CSS to Embed a font has another danger listed. The font must first be downloaded before the page will be seen. In a world of high-speed internet, this wouldn’t be a problem, sadly we aren’t in that world yet.

It’s just another case of trying to figure out “Is this something we really need or not?”. As a designer I think not, Images and flash can get our messages across with minimal use of a ‘designer’ font. The text on web pages are easy enough to read with what’s available, no reason to complicate matters. As a web surfer, the answer is also no, I don’t want to waste my time deciphering someone’s font choice.

Comfortability breeds clarity.

Its amazing how in almost 3 years, the ability to use your own custom font still hasn’t found a simple remedy and yet is still a feature that isn’t needed. As blogs have become the new Geocities (meaning overpopulated with a lack of design or overuse of a template), it’s better to keep the type simple before readability becomes a huge problem.

Rick Howard

Auto Sales stats

Im a PC

Obama Flip Flops

He or She - Espn is confusing

Not everyone can do web design

Scott McClellan

Copyright - 19pts

Giveaways Not Necessary

Insurance

Web Typography - 2005

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