We've talked about how great a well designed bookmark can be for author promotion in the past, but tonight I wanted to share a recent bookmark I have designed for a client. Enjoy! You can visit his site here.

Well, as the days pass, more and more people are beginning to buzz about the Student Designer Identity Competition. Posters are still being hung, cards are still being passed out and the word is spreading!

What do you need to do to get involved? Check out our entry page and get your identity package designed today!

A remarkable print process has been released. The 75th anniversary of Esquire magazine boasts a printing first: E-ink.

What is this new phenomenon? It's literally a digital display that is battery powered and snuggled in the front of the magazine cover. The cover, barely heavier stock than a normal cover is not even noticeably different. That is until the image changes in front of your eyes.

I'm a firm believer in learning by example. Whether positive or negative. That being the case, I love to look at successful logos. Not to steal ideas, but to learn from the strategies and execution of an idea.

Recently, Interbrand, a international brand consultancy specializing in brand services and activities, including: analytics, brand engagement and brand strategy. Last week, they announced the top 100 global brands. I'll have to admit I was a little surprised at who did and who did not make the list.

Recently, I observed a friendly debate between colleagues discussing the pros and cons of creating a business card that relied on die cuts, embossing or spot UV coatings. Is a business card really a good investment? Will it make the difference between being thrown away and being treasured?

My opinion? It’s up to the designer and the client. While there are definitely budget constraints that should be taken into effect I do believe that money spent on designing a dynamic business card is well invested.

Alright, so let's say your new client is an author. And they want you to design . . . .  a bookmark! In an earlier post we touched on designing a bookmark as a promotional piece, but let's take it a step farther tonight. In the book industry these days there is REALLY stiff competition. Do you have what it takes to stand out amid the chaos? You better.

Coming to you from the big 'ol state of Texas. =P Download it here. Smashing Magazine issued a challenge to designers for the new year, and I’m on board! I tried to decide what type of design I’d want to do and could stretch my boundaries as a designer. So in answer to this Challenge, I will be designing and posting a new Bookmark design each day on this blog. The Designs will link to a downloadable file that you can feel free to download, print out and share as desired.

A couple of weeks ago I was approached by an online printer with the possibility of doing a free giveaway of their product via In Search of Design. Unfortunately, I wasn't familiar with the company in question, "NextDayFlyers.com" so I explained that without first hand knowledge of their product quality I wouldn't feel comfortable introducing my readers to their company.

The sales rep that I had spoken to set me up with a free order of these cards as well, so that I could see their quality first hand, no strings attached. If I liked the cards, we could do the giveaway, if not, no problem. All that to say, when the cards arrived last week, I was very pleased with the results! The card stock and gloss quality are as good as any I've seen and what I've dealt with from a customer service angle thus far has been great. Next Day Flyers specializes in quick turnaround on everything from business cards to brochures.

All that to say . . . .

TODAY if you’d like to receive 500 FREE (TOTALLY FREE) business cards from Next Day Flyers, all I need you to do is comment on this post with what you want the cards for and the sales rep from Next Day Flyers.com will be selecting a winner on Wednesday and I’ll announce it here at the blog! Be sure to include a valid email, because if you’re the winner, They will need to contact you for your shipping address!

Here are the specs on what you’ll be winning:

• 500 Standard Business Cards (Square Corners)

• Full color front / Black back

• Next Day Printing

• Ground Shipping to Continental U.S.

Winner will be contacted via email! Good luck!!

While perusing the list of sites I follow and blogs I watch this morning. I stumbled across a gem on the Advertising Age Web site. After a summer consumer marketing campaign, during which, PEPSI got their followers involved in their marketing strategy by allowing consumers to submit designs for a new PEPSI can, which appeared very successful as cans began hitting the shelves at grocery stores, PEPSI has re-vamped their logo.

What does it cost for a national brand such as PEPSI or CocaCola to update their brand? Though the company won't confirm the cost, experts at Advertising Age estimate the logo development itself cost somewhere above $1 Million. Why so much? The firm contracted to do the re-design: Omnicom's Arnell Group, spent a solid 5 months to develop the new look. 5 months? On a logo?

For those of you who are still scurrying to get your entries finished and entered, I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you that the competition will be closing in 15 DAYS! Don't wait till the last minute to get your entries finished!

In case you don't remember, you can read all the details of the competition here.

To get you thinking in the right direction, here are a few more sample Identity Packages you should check out! I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Happy Creating!