I had an existential fear of the alternate digital reality in 1999. If you recall, that’s the year The Matrix was released. Yes, that dystopian sci-fi thriller featuring Keanu Reaves, where humanity lives in a simulated world created by intelligent machines. In the movie, we physically “plug in” to interact with other people in a virtual existence. The plot, genius in hindsight, freaked me out. But I never actually thought it would happen. Looking around, though, seeing people walk down the street with their eyes glued to their screens, it’s not a far stretch to say that the movie’s predictions were disturbingly …

Just about every night, while I’m watching TV or reading in bed, something on her phone will inevitably make my wife giggle. Or crack up, laughing. We share a similar sense of humor, so eventually I cave and ask, what’s so funny? Check your phone, she’ll respond. I’ll click on the notification and, even though I’ve told her many times that I don’t have that app, it will be a link to a TikTok video. Should I just download it, already?! TikTok has grown to be more than just funny dance videos, of course. It’s a marketing machine. Despite the …

I had just spent the previous four weeks crafting the perfect social media campaign. That’s what I thought it was, at least.  The idea was to raise money for a local entertainment venue with an easy social challenge — help name the theater’s main stage. It was mentioned during a client conversation about branding but came to fruition in a class devoted to social media for the public good. I remember thinking, what a fantastic opportunity to test educational theory with professional practice. The concept was simple: Ask users to share their stage name idea using #upstagenewtown. Donate to the …

Has social media impacted social justice or affected global political movements? It’s a valid question. Evidence suggests it has served as a catalyst for awareness, mobilization, and change. During the Arab Spring in 2011, platforms like Twitter and Facebook undoubtedly enabled activists to share real-time updates and amplify dissatisfaction with oppressive regimes. Bilingual users helped to bridge language barriers and facilitate global engagement with hashtags such as #Egypt and #Libya (Bruns et al., 1993). However, digging further into the use of such hashtags reveals that global participation was not particularly “active.” In fact, local uprisings may not have needed social media …

Among my favorite developer acronyms is GUI. It’s fun to say, short, easy to remember, and quickly references the thing a digital designer is most likely to be working on, the Graphical User Interface. Spelling it out takes a whole three syllables, so those in the industry lovingly pronounce it with two instead — gooey. Without getting into the nuances of website or interface design, the purpose of every decision is to make the interface intuitive. It should be easy to navigate and interact with. Since most screen devices now combine images and icons with text, the term isn’t as …

Carved into the theoretical Mount Rushmore of most horrifying humans would be Adolph Hitler, Osama bin Laden, Genghis Kahn, and… Joseph Kony? While the first three inductees are immortalized in history books, the last is an outlier. Kony was made famous by social media’s ability to go viral. In 2012, filmmaker Jason Russell created a documentary-style YouTube video highlighting the atrocities of the Ugandan guerilla group leader. In, Kony 2012, Russel attempts to raise awareness and, ultimately, get viewers to take political action. Within a week, the video was viewed over 112 million times. Since then, it has been deemed a landmark …

How Social Media Helps to Mobilize Movements A consequential role of the Legislative Branch is to check the power of the Executive Branch. So, when Congress allows a President to circumvent approved legislation, the foundational balance of power is fundamentally demolished. In other words, there’s never been a more important time in history to stand up for Democracy in America. With Constitutional freedoms in question almost daily, can social media activism help mobilize networks to fight for change? Activists are wise to leverage social media for one simple reason — it makes action easier. Not easy. Not simple. Just, easier. Importantly, activism …

How social media can help create positive change. Doom is synonymous with unavoidable ill fortune. As in, oh no, I didn’t start my homework until the last minute. I’m doomed. On social media, it’s called “doomscrolling” because, apparently, nothing good can be accomplished by compulsively scrolling through negative news or distressing content. Or can it?  We scroll to escape the present and, in doing so, often discover what’s trending. Activism doesn’t have time to wait until the 5 o’clock news. Social media provides real-time information on the issues of the day. It can supply all the inspiration needed to take action, oftentimes …

LinkedIn is my go-to social media destination for discovering new business opportunities. Unlike other platforms, users network, engage, and communicate with their careers in mind, making it a more professional online experience. While it originally acted as a resource primarily for job seekers, members now use it to share industry news and insights, increase brand awareness, and connect with potential collaborators. For my business, Map Agency, it’s relatively easy to find and connect with customers. Since interest-based targeted advertising has become one of the platform’s offerings, however, I’ve noticed that my personal account gets tracked by other businesses more frequently. …

Uncle Matt’s is a bakery in Sandy Hook, CT. The owner, Matt Kirshner, is a pastry chef that trained at renowned New York City establishments like the Russian Tea Room and the Essex House Hotel. He has a worldly view of baking that isn’t common in a small town, however, his bakery has become known as somewhat of a neighborhood coffee shop. The reputation doesn’t match the high quality of Matt’s delicious breads, desserts, and other baked goods.  To draw more affluent customers from surrounding towns, Uncle Matt’s needs to elevate their brand perception in the marketplace. Enter, the influencers. …

Starting a design studio is relatively easy. All that’s needed is a computer and a creative suite of software. Registering a business with a state can be done in a few minutes online. That’s it. What they don’t teach in design school is how to win new business. Turns out, that’s the tricky part. While anybody can be a graphic designer, clients need to pay for the services rendered in order to have a successful business.  Like many entrepreneurs, I started a business during the pandemic. Map Agency is a branding and graphic design studio based in Sandy Hook, CT. …

In this hyper-digital world of augmented and artificial reality, many of us look to create memories we can hold onto. We’re physical beings, and touch creates a vivid sense of recall. Fujifilm is looking to fulfill this basic human need with Instax, a line of instant analog cameras. Here’s how it works: aim the camera, snap a pic, and wait for the printout. The photo develops as, in the words of Outkast, you “shake it like a Polaroid picture.” For those of us that grew up in the 80’s, the experience of holding a photograph is pure nostalgic gold. To …

Edmond Town Hall is a 1930's Georgian-style historic building in the heart of Newtown, Connecticut. As the name suggests, it once served as the town hall. Today, it's a community gathering place that shows movies and live performances in a 500-seat theatre. However, very few local residents realize that Edmond Town Hall also has rental space. Guests are welcome to rent the theatre for private screenings, a full gymnasium for sporting events, or one of several historic rooms for galas and weddings. Edmond Town Hall wants to generate awareness of their available space and, more importantly, get people to rent …

NATO has been in the news a lot lately. Otherwise known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the transnational military alliance includes 32 members, including the United States, and was established in the aftermath of World War II. The security pact is simple: each independent member state agrees to defend each other against attacks by other parties.  No doubt, member expansion and the current situation in Ukraine has led to heightened tensions between NATO and Russia. In addition, support for NATO has been heavily debated since 2018, when President Donald Trump began threatening to pull America out of the alliance. …

Connecticut is in a state of exodus. Big businesses, and all their tax-paying employees, have been leaving the state for years. General Electric, the company founded by Thomas Edison, left for Boston in 2016. They blamed state taxes as a major issue. LEGO, based in Enfield, announced their headquarters will also be moving to Boston by 2026. Aetna, United Technologies, Edible Arrangements... the list of state departures continues to grow. (Fowler, 2023) The solution? A bold rebrand, of course, and a brave new advertising campaign. In 2023, Governor Ned Lamont launched a $1.5 million platform to tout all of Connecticut’s redeeming …

What breaks through marketing and communications clutter on social media? For the announcement of my Medium article, "Logo Design is Dead," I want to accomplish two things: 1. Intrigue readers about the topic and, 2. Entice them to learn more. To captivate the audience, the graphic needs to visually relate to the content of the article, which is about the role of AI in the future of logo design. "Logo Design is Dead," provides a provocative statement and, in a sea of AI-generated artwork, I think a large headline set in a bold font has the potential to stand out. …

I’ve never liked the sound of my voice. Something about the tone bothers me, but it’s not that I’m annoyed while talking — I’m just never satisfied after hearing it recorded. That’s probably why I became a graphic designer. With type, I can communicate in whatever visual tone of voice I choose.  In, On Writing Well, author William Zinsser suggests that writers shouldn’t alter the tone of their voice to fit the intended audience. (Zinsser, 2006, pg. 231) We should write in our own style, he argues, no matter where the final piece will be published or who will read it. …

On the Road, by Jack Kerouac, is the first book I read twice. I loved the story, of course, but was enamored that Kerouac wrote the original draft on one continuous reel of paper in three weeks. What a work of genius, I thought, before plucking it off the shelf again. What people often disregard is that “the scroll,” as Kerouac referred to it, was typed in 1951 — three years after his initial attempt. And, On the Road wasn’t published until 1957. A work of genius, it turns out, takes nine years of rewriting. The ability to publish content today is …

Why is it that fishermen seem surprised when they get a bite? If they’re anything like me, they’ve spent hours planning. Careful consideration has been put into rod, reel, and line selection. Lures have been strategically arranged in a complex system of tackle boxes. They’ve checked the local forecast, twice. Every decision made has been in the service of getting a bite.  Similarly, writers painstakingly ideate to craft that perfect story. Whether it’s breaking news or an introspective essay, they’ll wrack their brains to compose an intriguing introduction. Inspiration strikes at the most inconvenient time, so a pen and note …

John Rudolph is an entrepreneur, creative director, and fisherman. He’s interested in simplifying the digital landscape to help organizations reach their audience in more authentic ways, and explores interactive media from a graphic designer's perspective. His ideal solutions contain empathy and wit. After almost 20 years in the creative industry, John still believes design has the power to make the world a better place. John jump-started his career at Catapult Marketing in Westport, CT, where he was quickly promoted to creative director. There, he leveraged consumer insights to inform retail marketing programs. Among his favorite projects, John worked with Family …

I learned how to write nonfiction from a staunch Republican — At least, that’s how my American History teach, Mr. Olson, referred to himself. I was in my junior year of high school. He’d stand proudly at his lectern, spitting out historical events in chronological order. “This is how they’ll teach in college,” he explained. It was the same educational environment where he laid out how to format our thesis papers. A Lengthy Introduction First, we were taught to write all our supporting arguments, along with a well-defined thesis statement, in the opening paragraph. In Mr. Olson’s class, it was …

Give a Creative Director a creative brief and make yourself a bucket of popcorn. Sit back and watch as he or she questions the objectives, pushes back against the target audience, and argues over the communication points and product benefits. The brief is all wrong, the Creative Director will explain. It needs to be reworked. The Strategist will have to dig deeper to find a more insightful approach.  Give that same creative brief to a Designer and expect ten solutions by morning. It’s the inquisitive nature of designers that drive them to roll up their sleeves and get to work. …

Remember when businesses had to make something and sell it to turn a profit? Find a way to produce it cheaper, decrease costs, increase revenue, and investors lined up at the front door. That’s how corporate America worked since the Industrial Revolution. When companies were fraudulent or corrupt, customers stopped buying their products, Wall Street stopped investing, and the business filed for bankruptcy. Survival of the fittest was Capitalism in the good old days.  Survival of the Creepiest Today, it seems as if consumers reward companies for misbehaving. Take Facebook, for example. They’ve been accused of everything from stealing our …

Designers and project managers are like oil in vinegar — they don’t mix. Project managers focus on budgets, objectives, deadlines, and the process of getting from point A to point B. That’s foreign language to designers. We’re concerned with colors, patterns, fonts, and the way things look. Creativity doesn’t always spark according to a detailed timeline.  Of course, if graphic design is going to behave like a business, clients need to pay for our services. That means, for small to mid-size creative studios without project managers, creative leaders must manage our own projects. Enter, the modern project management system. For a project …