YELLmedia

YELLmedia Winner of Five (5) 2011 American Graphic Design Awards

2011-10-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

"Congratulations! You have been selected as a winner in the American Graphic Design Awards." Are the first two lines of a letter I received last week. For nearly five decades, Graphic Design USA has presented national design cometitions that spotlight areas of excellence and opportunity for creative professionals. The American Graphic Design Awards is the original and the flagship, open to everyone in the community: advertising agencies, graphic design firms, corporations, institutions, publishers and more. It honors outstanding work across all media: print and collateral, advertising and sales promotion, corporate identity and logos, internet and interactive design, packaging and p-o-p, broadcast and motion graphics.

See which 5 submissions from YELLmedia, Inc. have won this year.

David Tutera Bridal Jewelry Brochure

OldOrchardSmiles.com Website Design

Spa Space Valentine's Poster Series

Northbrook Institute for Research and Development

Logo Design

www.YELLmedia.com Website Redesign

Congratulations to all the clients with winning entries. YELLmedia thanks you for providing the opportunity to work on your projects and provide high caliber quality designs for your needs. We look forward to continue working and putting out great work. Please keep us in mind for future projects or friendly referrals.

YELLmedia, Inc. Winner of Six (6) 2010 AGDA (American Graphic Design Awards)

2010-09-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

YELLmedia, Inc. won six American Graphic Design Awards for 2010. For nearly five decades, Graphic Design USA has presented national design competitions that spotlight areas of excellence and opportunity for creative professionals. The AGDA is the original and the flagship, open to everyone in the community: advertising agencies, graphic design firms, corporations, institutions, publishers and more. It honors outstanding work across all media: print and collateral, advertising and sales promotion, corporate identity and logos, internet and interactive design , packaging and p-o-p, broadcast and motion graphics. The 2010 AGDA attracted a remarkable 8,000+ entries; a very select are recognized with an Awards Certificate of Excellence and the opportunity to be published.

YELLmedia, Inc. received 6 (six) Awards for the following graphic design and web design projects:

2010 AGDA AWARDED for Irit & Steve | Wedding Invite

2010 AGDA AWARDED Maya | Maya Birth Announcement & Cards

2010 AGDA AWARDED Zen Tax Website

2010 AGDA AWARDED Ella | Bat Mitzvah Invitation

2010 AGDA AWARDED Out-U-Go | Pet Journal

2010 AGDA AWARDED Out-U-Go | Magnetic Car Signage

Thank you to ALL YELLmedia clients for allowing YELLmedia
the opportunity to provide you with award winning work!

Groove Monkee E-Newsletter

2010-07-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

Groove Monkee creator and seller of professional midi-beats wanted to send out e-newsletters using e-newsletter company Constant Contact for maintenance and easy editing. YELLmedia, Inc. created a customized template representing their brand.

Congratulations YELLmedia!!!

2009-09-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

All that YELLing has finally got us somewhere! Congratulations to YELLmedia, Inc. for winning 5 - 2009 American Graphic Design Awards (AGDA)! For more than 4 decades, Graphic Design USA has sponsored design competitions that spotlight areas of excellence and opportunity for creative professionals. The American Graphic Design Awards is the biggest and broadest of these, open to everyone in the community; advertising agencies, graphic design firms, corporations, institutions, publishers and more. It honors outstanding work of all kind and across all media; print and collateral, advertising and sales promotion, corporate identity and logos, internet and interactive design, packaging and p-o-p, broadcast and motion graphics. Prized work is showcased below.

2009 AGDA Awarded for Dig Communications Fruit2O Evite

2009 AGDA Awarded for Bloom Yoga Studio Postcard Campaign

2009 AGDA Awarded for The Smallest Sparrow - Logo, Stationary, Collateral Identity

2009 AGDA Awarded for Upstairs Solutions Website Design - www.upstairssolutions.com

2009 AGDA Awarded for JPL Recording Logo Design

To see YELLmedia's past awards please visit http://yellmedia.com/thework/awards.html.

Jet Set Go!

2009-08-21T06:51:00.000-07:00

JET campus is a not-for-profit that works with educating college students on a many Chicago area and Illinois campuses. They provide learning, travel, and networking opportunities. YELLmedia, Inc. helped them redesign their logos and create a website that would be attractive and hip to college students. We did this by with lots of modern fun graphics, a flash intro movie explaining the things JET campus does, and plenty of real photos of real students. There are ads that can regularly be updated so students have a reason to go back and visit the website along with a google calendar that JET campus can update on their own.

YELLmedia, Inc. provided logo, layout, and web design.

Can you see it?

2009-06-26T12:15:00.001-07:00

Get Exposed Clothing [TM] is a new hip clothing label. They desired a realistic eye image in their logo. After finding suitable photographic images for them YELLmedia, Inc. helped Get Exposed by creating a realistic, yet graphic depiction of the eye using AI's Live Trace feature. This would allow resizing the logo big or small to always look awesome and yet retain that grainy texture feeling without becoming pixelated or bit mapped. We then matched the intense grainy image with an equally stressed type treatment. This featured logo looks equally cool in b/w color and on white or back background.

Groove me baby!

2009-06-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

Groove Monkee is a company that creates midi-beats sound tracks to be used by professional musicians. They offer a range of products for all types of music genres. YELLmedia, Inc. created packaging for the shelf products. It was important to have shelf appeal, incorporate current branding, and create a graphic style that could be applied to a whole family of products and musical genres so that packaging can look clean and consistent.

Bloom for Everyone!

2009-05-19T12:44:00.001-07:00

Bloom Yoga Studio needed to create some targeted direct mails. YELLmedia, Inc. designed and created these postcards while staying in tangent with Bloom Yoga Studio's brand image. Pictured above left is a postcard targeted at mama & baby yoga classes, workshops and resources, while the postcard pictured left targets a new popular yoga workshop targeted at runner's.

The Soul Mate Guy - Frank Polancic

2009-05-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

Frank Polancic logo was created to brand and represent Frank Polancic as a brand. Polancic is a successful businessman, sought-after speaker and the leading authority on creating soul mates. He has been extensively trained in traditional and non-traditional methods of personal transformation and achieving life goals and has written the popular "Why Wait? Create Your Soul Mate Now." YELLmedia, Inc. redesigned/branded Polancic honing in on a description commonly referred to him "The Soul Mate Guy." Using and creating this brand allows Frank to expand his work to future books, movies, speaking engagements, etc. The logo incorporates the bold red and black and is both simple, clean, and attention getting. The logo can easily lend itself to a presentation or a book. The red of the logo commonly symbolizing love abstractly creats a heart shaped impression with his name.

Spa Marketing

2009-05-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some additional marketing pieces done for Spa Space in Chicago. All items maintain the same brand standard throughout. Pictured above left is a mini-ad. Pictured above right is a direct mail postcard directed at male clientele. Below is a new added page to their website advertising their corporate/business services.

YELLmedia, Inc. designed, provided print ready files, and web updates.

Unlock Your Marketing Potential: Tenloc

2009-05-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

Tenloc Managed Tenant Storage is a new line of business for property developers S & S Builders. They take a buildings unused space and turn it into managed rental storage areas. YELLmedia, Inc. helped them with their logo and creating their brand identity as well as developing several marketing vehicles that compliment their branding. Pictured above is a direct mail postcard piece that compliments a trade show display, as well as an advertisement. Below is their website home page.

YELLmedia, Inc. provided design, layout, print ready files, and web design.

Brochure Space

2009-05-14T08:55:00.000-07:00

Spa Space is your preferred spa in downtown Chicago. Located in the West Loop, Spa Space is considered the most progressive Chicago spa downtown for men and women. YELLmedia, Inc. assisted Spa Space with two brochure designs. One brochure serves double duty as a pedicure menu that sits on pedicure chairs, but also lets the clients know that their station has recently been sanitized printed on a durable glossy card stock to be reused. The other brochure (B2B) targets business' work balance programs by showcasing Spa Spaces corporate perks with office visits offering chair massages, mini-mani's, and more.

YELLmedia, Inc. designed, press pre-prepped, and printing purchasing while maintaining the overall brand identity.

Lock it up!

2009-05-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

Tenloc Managed Tenant Storage is a new line of business for property developers S & S Builders. They take a buildings unused space and turn it into managed rental storage areas. They develop the space and take care of the rentals, and the property owner gets a monthly check! YELLmedia, Inc. helped Tenloc first by designing their logo. Incorporating a look that is both strong and fortified with capital block letters and using the icon of the key for security. In addition to the logo a lot of brand building was done through business cards, brochures, letterhead, and labels.

YELLmedia, Inc. designed the logo, brand identity, layout of brochure, business cards, and letterhead.

It's Ruff!

2009-05-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

Ridgeline Dog Gear is a new active wear n' gear company for dogs seeking quality outdoor gear made out of top notch materials comparable to human outdoor companies such as Patagonia. The goal was to create and identity that conveyed three main qualities - dogs, outdoor adventure, and a ridge from the name "ridgeline." This was a challenge as there were many concepts to tie into the one logo. Also, the logo would need to be flexible enough to be attached to a collar or be printed on a shirt. The logo was placed in a frame to call attention to it and in order to outline the reversed out mountains against a sunrise/sunset active orange gradient colored background.

Also, a homepage place holder was developed to create excitement for the company, by continuing the brand image and featuring some suggestive active canine shots. Contact information provided.

YELLmedia, Inc. created the brand identity, logo, business card design, web page layout.

Online Learning Redesign

2009-05-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

Upstairs Solutions LLC is the premier online training provider in senior care. They needed to redesign their website to be branded across the board and incorporate the use of their training mascot Professor Maxwell. Maxwell is now well integrated into the site from welcoming you on their home page in their flash sequence introduction to buttons and icons throughout the site. Also, important was to increase the ease of navigation and make sure that additional tutorials and audio within the site was also kept within branded webpages.

Additionally we added testimonials, under "True Stories" that let the visitor learn more about success with the online training programs they offer. All of the headings on each page are in the form of a question to engage the reader, but also because learning involved asking questions and getting answers - which is what Upstairs Solutions is all about.

YELLmedia, Inc. redesigned the website, enhanced the intro flash movie, tested and uploaded the site, and assissted with copy.

Eventful Planning

2009-05-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

Leslie-Manning Events is an event service based out of the Washington, DC area creating "uncomplicated, yet undeniably elegant" events. YELLmedia, Inc. helped get the word out about a summer special with a direct mail piece on a short turnaround time. The collateral piece matched perfectly with her current branding and stayed true to the theme of simple elegance.

YELLmedia, Inc. designed and laid out the postcard/pre-press file preparation for the client's printer.

Fruitful Event

2009-03-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

Fruit₂O Essentials had a NY event for which a variety of collateral was needed. YELLmedia, Inc. worked with their Chicago based PR company to design and produce many of these items including: 6 ft Banner, Welcome Sign, Table Tents, Tasting Tent Cards, Name Tags, and invitations. See some of the items below. Requirements was to stay within the brand look and standards/or compliment them.

2 Servings A Day, Keeps The Doctor Away!

2009-03-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

Fruit₂O Essentials had a media event in NY to launch their new product. The invitations were sent via email which YELLmedia, Inc. helped their PR company design and distribute. The e-vite included a form to which those invited could RSVP and select the spa services treatment they would like to receive, the time, along with optional car service. The goal of the invite was to promote the thirst quenching, sexy, healthy lifestyle/benefits of the new Fruit2O Essentials beverage which have different nutrients depending on the flavor, but is equivalent to at least 2 servings of fruit.

YELLmedia Design Published!

2008-12-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

YELLmedia, Inc. promotional micro-site YELLmedia Celebrates was included in the GD USA November/December 2008 Publication. Visit the website at YELLmedia Celebrates and see it for yourself!

Holiday Season Gifts That Bloom!

2008-12-19T07:26:00.000-08:00

Give The Gift That Blooms with a Bloom Yoga Studio gift card! Bloom Yoga Studio wanted to create professional and environmentally friendly gift cards in lieu of paper certificates. They found ones that are reusable and sustainable (similar to credit cards) with an online printer. It's an affordable decision that increases the visual impact of the gift itself.

YELLmedia, Inc. designed the card and gift carrier to follow their current brand standards and added a sense of humor and fun to it - just as gifts should be. Tying into the companies name "Bloom Yoga Studio" to the gift itself "Give The Gift That Blooms". Who would not feel good about giving a gift that gives like that? When the gift recipient takes out the gift card to cash in their gift there is a secret message underneath that says "Enjoy!" hoping to bring the happy impact home.

New Year New Look!

2008-12-18T12:48:00.000-08:00

JPL Records is a local recording studio with a magnificent control room with all of today's latest gear and cutting edge technology. Unfortunately, their logo was not as cutting edge so they wanted to shake things up.

YELLmedia, Inc. researched the many other sound recording studios as background research and worked closely with JPL Records to come up with a great logo. The blue is a common business color that has levity, while the gradations of the blue color are more playful. The bars in the back of "JPL" are a graphical represention of sounds waves and the letters "JPL" are shaped in a fluid motion to continue the feeling of motion and give a high tech edge. Hopefully this will be a great start to a new year full of lots of new business!

Something to YELL about! YELLmedia, Inc. wins five Awards of Excellence!

2008-09-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

For more than 4 decades, Graphic Design USA has sponsored national design competitions that spotlight areas of excellence and opportunity for creative professionals. It honors outstanding work of all kinds and across all media: print and collateral, advertising and sales promotion, corporate identity and logos, internet and interactive design, packaging and p-o-p, broadcast and motion graphics. From 10,000 + entries; of these, a highly selective 15 percent are recognized with an Awards Certificate of Excellence. This year YELLmedia, Inc. has won five (5) 2008 American Graphic Design Awards from Graphic Design USA.

YELLmedia is proud of its earned awards by striving for excellence in cutting edge graphic design, trendsetting, and getting recognition and distinction from the design community. YELLmedia is also excited to provide clients with excellent work and allowing for even better exposure by entering their designs into contest such as these. Please see awarded work below.

2008 ADGA for Chopper Shots Website, www.choppershots.net

2008 ADGA for À La Card Chicago Logo Design

2008 ADGA for À La Card Chicago Package Design

2008 ADGA for YELLmedia Celebrates Microsite, www.yellmedia.com/celebrate

2008 ADGA for a Magazine Website Design

Royal Couture

2008-09-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

Royal Couture is a new clothing store & line which will be opening in 3 Chicago Area malls before the years end. YELLmedia, Inc. helped develop the name and brand identity. Colors were chosen for a hip unisex appeal. The logo was crafted using pull out elements that may be used in subsequent branding on clothes, accessories, purses, shoes, etc.

The JET Set

2008-09-11T10:37:00.001-07:00

JET Campus is a not-for-profit extending educational services to college students. They have another branch that is for professional networking. They required a website and a logo. Their professional branch also had a dated logo.

YELLmedia, Inc. redesigned both the campus and professional logos to bring them up to date and also to create a common link between the two company branches. The "JET" in the logos with the icon both compliment each other while the campus logo is brighter and the font treatment less formal to appeal to college students.

Nest Home Staging

2008-09-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

Nest Home Staging is a business that specializes in staging your home for resale or home redesign. They jumped ahead and had a website designed and in place when they decided to back track and do their logo. Though slightly backwards, this reverse process required trying to match a logo to an already established design. Color requirements already existed. It also required thinking of future applications for the logo i.e. signage, business cards, etc.

YELLmedia, Inc. designed the logo with the above in mind using existing color schemes and incorporating elements for the company name and business into the logo i.e. the nest and the "sold" sign.

Handle with Care

2008-09-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

The Smallest Sparrow creates fantastic handmade and embroidered custom baby gifts. In order to help grow the brand YELLmedia assisted Sparrow in creating some collateral items including custom note cards, hang tags, and gift certificates.

Than hang tags brand the individual items and have a very clean look. They include the logo and website so the recipient of these special gifts can order other items. The back of the tags include wash and care instructions for The Smallest Sparrow products. The note cards are included in mailed gifts and reiterate the brand and the website address. The cards were printed specially so that Smallest Sparrow could customize these cards and print on them with their in-house laser or ink-jet printer. They have complimentary baby blue envelopes. Not one to waste advertising space, on the back of the note cards are some pictures of The Smallest Sparrow products which compliments the back of The Smallest Sparrow business cards.

YELLmedia, Inc. provided graphic design, layout, format choice/options, print preparation, and value added printing services.

Here's The Rug

2008-09-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

Exclusive Oriental Rug started from the ground up. The company needed help coming up with everything from company name, identity, web domain, website design services.

The owner wanted something quick and catchy, but wanted to liaison to his other business which also had "Exclusive" in it's name. After carefully researching other oriental rug companies in the field we came up with "Exclusive Oriental Rugs" because it was possible to also shorten the name to - EOR Rugs and the domain name www.eorugs.com was available.

The logo needed to be very clean and simple, just like its name to compete within the oriental rug carpet market and to appeal to the high end interior designer clientele. Colors were picked for brightness and commonality in hand-woven rugs available. For the business cards we included a piece of carpet that incorporated the same colors of the rug. It was an added benefit to show the consumer some quality product on the business card that tied back to the business. Electronic MS Word templates for letterhead and envelope were requested instead of printing.

YELLmedia, Inc. provided consulting on business name, created logo concept and brand identity.

The Smallest Sparrow

2008-07-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

The Smallest Sparrow is a unique company that makes custom and personalized baby gifts. You choose the fabric patterns, embroidery color, and name or initials and they do the rest. The items are really precious and unique for that one of a kind gift. Yes, I've bought them as gifts myself. At the moment you can only purchase online, but keep an eye open as these make their way to Chicago area boutiques.

The Smallest Sparrow came to YELLmedia, Inc. with their name and preferred colors. YELLmedia designed the rest followed up by business cards that look like a gift with ribbon design around it to compliment the business concept and images of some of their custom baby gifts on the back.

Track Stars

2008-07-11T15:33:00.000-07:00

Track Star Studio is a new event company geared towards tweens. I can't give away the whole kit and caboodle, but if you want to give the younster in your life who loves music a birthday party or event to remember, I would definitely contact theses guys!

Track Star Studio already came to YELLmedia, Inc., with their company name and tagline, but the wanted a logo that really identifies with tweens. Something that was bright and colorful and familiar with a group of kids that love Hannah Montana, High School Musical, and American Idol. The logo would also have to work great in verious applications and promotional items such as CDs, t-shirts, invitations, etc. That's where we came in. Using a really pop type icon of stars that also ties into the companies name and bright colors with a slice of Americana. We developed their logo and business cards.

Are you looking for a good relationship?

2008-07-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

Tree Dental Lab creates dental restorations for, you guessed it, dentists. YELLmedia, Inc. was enlisted to help with a direct mail targeting new dental clients. The DM consisted of developing the concept, designing a tri-fold brochure, and writing a personal letter. The big challenge is that most dentists have a relationship with their dental lab which is "comfortable" and works, so that there is no reason to change. The other issues is that most dental labs look the same with the same colors and the same fake looking smiling pictures. It was necessary to cut through that clutter.

YELLmedia, Inc. developed a very "personal" campaign. It was so personal that the brochure appeared as a personal ad. The goal was to look different from the competition and have a personal feel with handwritten fonts. Even the addressed envelope was in a handwritten font using cream resume paper and envelopes so that it mimiced a personal letter. We hoped with the personal ad to evoke some kind of response - i.e. laughter. We also used strong call to actions with "call now to get your free starter kit" and to be entered in a drawing for a $50 Starbucks card - what dentist doesn't like coffee?
The result was higher than average DM rate with only sending out two mailings for 200 letters each.

You Need Water To Bloom

2008-07-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

Bloom Yoga Studio knows the value of good marketing a creating consistent brand identity within their studio. The connection between fitness, Bloom, and water is clear - so naturally they started to market their own tasty brand of natural spring water. YELLmedia, Inc. designed the water bottle labels and developed the tag "You need water to bloom."

This Bloom Smells Right.

2008-07-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

Bloom Yoga Studio has recently started to advertise more regularly. They wanted to create ads that reflect their brand identity consistently, and also attract new clients that might be intimidated by the other yoga studios. Together with YELLmedia, Inc., we created a consistent ad campaign catered to "Yoga for Real People." All photos were picked for consistency, color, and realistic yoga positions and attire. These photos are changed out at regular intervals. Also, updated special events/programs are added to the bottom of each ad to generate interest. Ads can be seen in "Yoga Chicago", Logan Square Chamber of Commerce, and other publications.

Inviting Invitations

2008-07-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many of you are aware that YELLmedia, Inc. also provides personal stationary, invitations, and promotional items for events. A micro-site has been created where you can see samples and get ideas for your special life events. Here are a couple of the latest ones for a Tuscan Themed Wedding. Consider YELLmedia, Inc. for a truly unique invitation that showcases your personality. No more cookie cutter invitations! Check out YELLmedia Celebrates micro-site at www.YELLmedia.com/Celebrate for more samples or email yael@yellmedia.com.

Chopper Shots Hits It's Target!

2008-07-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

Chopper Shots is a unique photography outfit that takes aerial and panoramic photos via remote control helicopters for various uses such as commercial real estate, construction development, land surveys, large public events, etc. These are really high-end clients with high expectations. Chopper Shots really needed to update their look in order to sell upmarket. Both their website and identity were looking dated.

YELLmedia, Inc.'s first task was to update the logo. Both the shape and the colors needed to scream cutting edge and high end. What we did was create smoother lines on the logo, and without changing it much we added an additional visual element of a camera lens. Then we brightened the colors to be more modern and catch the viewers attention.

The next task was to overhaul the website. YELLmedia, Inc. not only updated the website by adding a flash introduction featuring Chopper Shots great work and adding a new photo gallery and 360 Panoramic gallery, but they also saved Chopper Shots money by setting them up with a new web host which cut their hosting fees in half. Additionally photos and samples that would open a new window when clicked on, would now open in a window within the website so that the branding remained consistent. Also, it was really important to highlight the different types of photo and the helicopter stabilizer that they sell. So we put that on the front page. In addition. in order to justify the pricing we needed to showcase that Chopper Shots uses state of the art technology, cameras, videos, photo retoucing software, film editing software, and high end remote control helicopters & stabilizers. If a customer were to do this job on their own, beside needing the expertise, they would have to make a large investment.

The last bit of identity work was the business card. We really wanted Chopper Shots business cards to let people know who they are and what they do. Since their business is photos and pictures ARE worth 1,000 words we added about 4,000 words worth to their business card by creating a brochure business cards that highlighted the ways in which Chopper Shots could be used and showing just a few aerial shots to leave them wanting more. Again, branding and identity was consistent throughout.

Design for Designers

2007-11-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Irit-Designs is an artist who creates unique hand-made glass art and jewelery. She needed to quickly have a website set up in preparation for an art show.

YELLmedia helped Irit first by designing an appropriate artistic logo. Since the premise of her art is glass, we used sea glass images as buttons for her different gallery pages and inter-wined an art deco motif. The colors we chosen for the logo and background designs were neutral allowing the more colorful and engaging part of her site (the art pieces) to be the focal point. For her home page image we took a photo of some of her collection pieces and applied some effects to make it an abstract image - as most of her pieces have an abstract quality to them. Next we helped Irit prepare her pieces for display on the website by making sure all images and scans have similar backgrounds, clarity, reduced glare (due to glassy surface), and similarly sized. We found that the best quality images actually came from scanning the pieces directly on the scanning bed. Future additions to the site will include e-commerce options.

YELLmedia, Inc. assisted in domain creation and purchase, web hosting, web administration, logo design, web design, image scans, and copy.

Wrigley's "5"

2007-11-14T07:47:00.000-08:00

Wrigley launched a new "sensory"experience gum appropriately called "5" to indulge your 5 senses. Their PR company contacted YELLmedia to help create a highly customized power point presentation for their Chief Marketing Officer that would would incorporate multiple media clips with little to no text. It needed to reflect "5"s brand messaging and not Wrigleys.

YELLmedia, Inc. designed a custom power point template and laid out and organized the slides according to an outline of the presentation provided by the PR company. Media clips were inserted varying from movie clips to commercial spots, and then all organized and burned to CDs for the presentation.

NEW LACP AWARD UPDATE!!!!!!

2007-11-14T07:34:00.000-08:00

The LACP (League of Communication Professionals) 2006 International Spotlight Awards for print, television, and web awarded the Silver medal to Mather LifeWays 2006 Year in Review - "All's Well Who Age Well." It was also listed in the TOP 100 communication materials received for the contest.

YELLmedia, Inc. assisted in conceptualizing this project and bringing it from concept to finished product with design and layout, hand-drawn and hand-painted illustrations, scans, mock-ups, and finally digital print-ready and electronic web formats.

I like it a Latte

2007-11-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

Emmi is a European dairy company that is entering the US market launching their tasty line of ready to go coffee beverages. Their local Chicago PR company needed help with a product fact sheet for printed and electronic press kits and a charity fact sheet for an Arts event Emmi sponsored to help kick start their launch.

Using their existing look, YELLmedia created both these sheets maintaining a consistent branding look and message. Digg Communications provided the copy.

YELLmedia, Inc. provided design and layout along with press ready and electronic files for ease of use.

Brain and Braun - FirmWise

2007-11-14T06:58:00.000-08:00

FirmWise provides hosting and development solution software specifically for law firms. The software helps small to medium law firms maintain and update their own website on their own.

FirmWise was a new out of the box product with only an existing logo. They needed a letter size Brochure to help sell their product and they needed a look. YELLmedia, created their first brochure and used the logo for inspiration. Copy was provided by FirmWise.

YELLmedia, Inc. provided design and layout, as well as pre-flighting the files for printing.

YELLmedia Introduces "Celebrate" Micro-Site

2007-10-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

YELLmedia, Inc. has extended its services to provide personal as well as business needs. The services included in this new extension are custom-designed, personalized, handmade invitations , announcements, stationary, and accessories to help you get heard! Stand out from the crowd with unique party items to fit your events theme, colors, mood, and story. Make your event as memorable as possible, by not leaving out any details. Customization allows you to really express yourself and your event and takes the blah out of ordinary cookie-cutter invitations.

In order to launch this new enhancement YELLmedia has created a micro-site befitting celebrations with samples of previous work. No two people are the same, so trust that no two events will be the same. Visit www.YELLmedia.com/celebrate.

A Makeover from a Makeunder

2007-09-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

SpaSurgicaKenosha.com wanted to revamp their look and name (previously UltraSmartLipo) to be more professional. Their former site had 4 pages which included their welcome page. They felt that is was too cartoony, and doesn't draw the type of clients they would like to be getting. They came to YELLmedia, Inc. with a simple black and white logo and asked for a complete redesign.

Before & After (pictured right). The new site looks a lot more professional and sophisticated with tasteful pictures on all the pages. The website also navigates a lot better in a easy and cohesive manner. There are separate sections for before and after shots, testimonials, technology, etc. Plus there is an email database to collect visitors information for future email blasts and an easy to use contact form on the "us" page. I think they will be very successful with their new site.

YELLmedia, Inc. provided website design, database set-up, web forms, stock photography, web hosting, emails, domain forwarding, and web administration.

An Amazing Facelift - Before and After

2007-08-26T06:27:00.000-07:00

This company needed a makeover for their website. They've been in business since 1939 and their website looked about the same age - complete with a white box around the company logo. They make all kind of rain gutter products and sells tools to distributors. But their website didn't quite match their materials or say a whole lot about what is so fantastic about their company. They also had parts of their site that had completely different looks - a great inconsistency, as well as a lot of products that opened to different views, but the views were no longer in a branded page. So that's what we fixed.

Our first goal was to match the collateral materials so they wouldn't have to go reprint or redesign. The next thing we needed to do was explain who the company is by adding some Flash to the site (quite literally). We added a flash movie to add movement to the page. Underneath the movie is a little more explanation as to why you should choose them over anyone else. We added a weather feed at the bottom of the page - so you can always check the weather at the corporate headquarters. It seemed relevant since their products have a lot to do with the weather and a nice added feature.

We continued the look and the branding onto the interior pages. Simply clicking on a type of product brings you to that products page. There you have the option to click on 3D views where you can move your mouse around and see the product from different angles, see an elevation drawing of the product, or just see the image larger.

YELLmedia, Inc. provided web redesign, graphic design, and stock photos rights management for this project.

Every"BODY"s Different

2007-08-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

Unique Body Solutions (UBS) is a new company associated with Laser Concepts Chicago and Hair Free Chicago. They provide affordable solutions to your body concerns from laser hair removal and acne scars to skin tightening and cellulite reduction. They offer a la carte solutions packaged to solve your individual needs and of course...it's all very discrete. No one needs to know you've had anything done!

YELLmedia assisted UBS with logos, taglines, web design, and web hosting/administration, database collection. The logo concept picked up on soothing med spa colors of green and blue with the cleanliness of white. The reflection was used to mimic water for cleanliness and beauty reflected in/out and on surfaces. The tag ties into the title "Unique Body Solutions. Because EveryBODY's different." "body"="BODY", "unique"="different".

In the process of developing the UBS logo, we also developed a second logo that ties into the new brand identity. This is for their private label skin care - Unique Skin Solutions. The sun represents renewal, refreshing, and a tag line "Where Beauty Awakens."

The website's focus was to show all the great media and press coverage received by the high quality technology that UBS uses and to inform the visitor of all the great solutions they can provide for your unique body concerns. I was certainly sold after designing the site. A "Before and After" page highlights just some or their solutions and a "Technology" page focuses on the different laser machines used with downloadable PDF's and links to the manufacturers. Visit the "Media" page to see a few clips from various TV coverage or once again link to the manufacturers websites for even more coverage! The best kept secret in Chicago is no longer a secret!

YELLmedia provided copy, design, branding, web hosting, web admin, and database to collect visitors emails.

Draw a Card...Any Card!

2007-08-24T12:01:00.001-07:00

A La Card Chicago is a terrific new company. They promote authentic Chicago restaurants through their special discount card decks. They also have a charitable arm that donates proceeds to a local food charity. These cards make great corporate gifts and your companies logo can go on it, or they can be sold as fundraisers, or just given as gifts. If you like to dine out and try new restaurants, this is definitely worth your while. I don't want to give away the whole enchilada, so you will just have to wait for further website development. Please contact A La Card Chicago if you are interested in participating as a restaurant, purchasing card decks, or have any questions at info@alacardchicago.com tell them YELLmedia sent you.

YELLmedia first assisted A La Card Chicago with their brand identity. This particular logo concept was chosen to convey a sense of adventure for the different types of restaurants you can try out. The colors are modern, and reflect the earthy and natural food trend as well as the charitable part of their organization. The style adapted is slick and modern to attract higher end and trendier eateries. YELLmedia went on to help with business cards, letterhead, and the actual card deck designs/card boxes.

For the tag, we wanted something quick, catchy, and yet descriptive. What could fit the "bill' better than "draw. dine. save." Because that's what you do. Draw a card, eat at that restaurant, and save on your bill. Fait Accompli!

YELLmedia also set up A La Card Chicago's interim website and email addresses. Stay tuned for their next developments. They are totally going to be on OPRAH!!!!

YELLmedia provided/developed brand identity, design layout, copyrighting, tag line, web design, and web administration.

Case Study: A Manual That Instructs

2007-07-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

CellKeeper[TM] is a fantastic new company that provides digital device (iPods, cameras, cell phones, Blackberry/Palm Pilots, mp3 players, etc.) carrying accessories. The CellKeepers are versatile caddies that have room for your IDs, credit cards, money, key hooks, and digital device - for those on the move and in case you don't want to drag your purse or briefcase out with you on your next walk. They are convenient if you switch bags all the time and they are also fashionable. Worth, the company's founder, says he came up with the idea when he went to walk his dog and had no where to put his keys.

The problem (or plus) is that the product is so versatile. The current "How To Wear" guide which folds to the size of a credit card and comes packaged inside the wallet portion of the product wasn't very clear, and if anything was more confusing. Focus groups were thrown off by it's complexity and vague descriptions.

We redesigned the manual with the user in mind, by taking very clear photos (instead of illustrations) of the products parts and labeling them up front. Then we added section headers for the different wearing styles and clearly detailed the steps while referencing to the product parts photographed. We maintained a consistency with their brand style, but used more of the company's orange color to appeal to a wider audience - all the while maintaining the same size final product.

YELLmedia provided layout design, copy, photos, and photo retouching.

Bloom Keeps Growing!

2007-07-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

Bloom Yoga Studio is a real unique place - a yoga, massage, and childbirth resource that provides a variety of classes from beginning yoga to advanced, and from prenatal to mom and baby. They also offer special workshop classes on an on going basis. I just checked out their website and there is even a belly dance class! I got to go sign up for that!

The concept behind Bloom Yoga Studio is that they wanted to create a safe environment for anyone to come do yoga...not just Hollywood actresses and the like. Its a positive place for everyday people where no one gets judged. Since outsourcing their website in 2005, they had been creating much of their advertising by themselves. They finally decided they had enough.

Our first project was an ad which needed to be friendly and down to earth, not unapproachable like some high-brow yoga studios with attitude. That meant an inviting headline "let's yoga!" that defies the English language and an approachable model who doesn't alienate anyone by being too thin or too scantly clad. The copy followed along this reasoning - fun, upbeat, and inviting with a strong call to action at the end - a limited engagement free yoga class. We maintained their brand identity by using the same colorful bars used on their website and logo and introduced their main focuses (yoga | massage | childbirth resources) in a graphic arc treatment.

From there we went on to polishing their monthly e-newsletter (which was managed by an e-newsletter vendor) maintaining the the colors and bars from their website. Water bottle labels, which are needed by thirsty yoga-ers, were created to help promote the brand in a fun way, coming up with the water's tag line "you need water to bloom." Once again retaining the brand in a modern and clean way. As the companies owners Kerry and Zach look to expand we will keep adding on new items piece by piece - building their brand, brick by brick.

YELLmedia provided copywriting, concepting, design, layout, and HTML web programming.

SEO(T) - Search Engine Optimization Tips

2007-07-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

To be found or not to be found? That is the question.

Today people spend serious dough on what is called SEO or Search Engine Optimization. What's that you ask? Its improves the likelihood that people will a) find your website and b) when they find your website that they were actually looking for it. As with anything it can be a science and a full time job on. There are now companies that exist for that sole benefit. But if you understand it, you don't have to break the bank over it.

Here are some tips/tricks specific to Google[TM] but applicable to other search engines on improving your page rankings:

1) LINKS: It's important that other websites link to yours and that those sites are quality and reputable i.e. not just anyone and nothing underhanded. It is even healthier and better to have reciprocal links. So if your clients don't compete with your services i.e. you sell janitorial supplies and your link partner is a maid service, it would be a great idea to trade links support each other. Start a linking campaign.

2) TITLE TAGS: Make sure that the title (seen at the very top of the browser and programmed in the "head" of the source code) is pertinent to your site and to what is on that page.

3) KEYWORD DENSITY: This refers to the content on your page and specifically the keywords. If you are selling puppies and you mention them once on your page and then have a whole bunch of pictures, you page isn't very dense. If you mention puppies 50 times on that same page, that's density you can cut through with a knife!

4) KEYWORD LINKS: Links to your website should say more than "click here." For example if you sell puppies, a link with the text "Purebred Maltese Puppies" pointing at your site will cause your site to be listed earlier if a visitor searches for "Maltese puppies" than if the link simply said "click here".

5) ALTERNATE TAGS ON IMAGES: Since images are sometimes names "38756.jpg" or any strange variety of letters and numbers on your website, a search engine isn't going to figure out that that's a picture of Brad Pitt, unless you changed it's name to "BradPitt.jpg." So the solution is to place ALT tags on images. In Brad's case it might be tags such as . You get the picture.

6) META TAGS: The Meta Keywords tag used to be an important way to get your page listed under specific keywords under the search engines. Nowadays major search engines like Google and Alta Vista ignore this tag, and the keywords tag no longer has the significance it used to have in the early days of the web. You probably remember when you use to do a search for a "car" and 10 adult sites would pop-up. They put "car" in their meta tag, and this is probably when Meta tags don't have the same weight they use to.

Though the benefits conferred by using the various meta tags on your page is not substantial, they are nonetheless useful in controlling how the search engines index and list your page. Since tags like the description and robots tag require very little effort to add to your page, it is probably a good idea to add at least these tags to your pages. So you can slug them in and sleep easy at night.

7) MANUAL SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSIONS: Go to each of the major search engines and make sure your URL is listed with them. Make sure you have a list of keywords handy, as they will ask you for this. This is time consuming, but a FREE service. This should be done yearly.

8) PAID ADVERTISEMENTS/PAY-PER-CLICK: All the tips above relate to what they call a "natural" search. But the best way to guarantee that your website ranking is to define your prescribed criteria and then BUY it. There is no such thing as a free lunch. How it works is that you select the keywords you want to be found under. Those keywords have a different cost depending on popularity i.e. "dog" might cost $1 a click while "runt" will only cost $.05 a click.

You only pay for what was clicked. So if you budgeted $10 for "dog" after 10 users click through the ad to your website your ad won't come up on top of the search anymore. You can outbid the highest purchaser of that word i.e. $1.10 to guarantee your name comes up first every time till you have exhausted your budget. You can do this with as many relevant words as you please. Your search engine vendor will be able to provide you with access to reports on how your rankings, number of click throughs, and budgets. From there you can constantly play with your key words and budgets till you find a winning combination.

Hopefully this helped explain and demystify the SEO monster. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to add some SEO magic to your website. Just YELL!

yael@YELLmedia.com.

No Average Annual Report

2007-07-16T06:13:00.000-07:00

All's Well Who Age Well was the last project I worked on as I transitioned from Marketing Art Manager of Mather LifeWays to Creative Director of YELLmedia. The project specifically was the Mather LifeWays 2006 Year in Review. As with any Annual Report type piece, the purpose was to convey to shareholders, board members, and customers who the company is while instilling confidence in the future of the company, and highlighting certain benchmarks.

At the same time we started brainstorming the project Mather LifeWays had introduced the idea of storytelling or storywelling into its company culture. Working with their in-house copywriter we developed the concept for the annual report by taking the idea of "storytelling" quite literally. The Year in Review as a story that the audience would be more likely to read (maybe even more than once), hold on to, and show to their kids. It would reflect a book from title page and dedications to the foreword and afterword, and separate Mather LifeWays from the others in their industry. It would also convey the companies ideas and feelings about aging and better define the company. Often people are confused at who Mather LifeWays is because of their many great offerings: Research/Education, Senior Living Residences, and Community Outreach.

Our story revolved around a character we invented called Alli, an average, female, older adult who wonders if she is "aging well." As Alli goes on her quest to find "Ways to Age Well" (the companies tag line), she embarks on a virtual tour of Mather LifeWays. The reader learns all about Mather LifeWays as Alli does. As she visits a location, that locations benchmarks are highlighted along the margins of that page.

At the end of Alli's journey the story is left open ended with a call to action for the reader to submit how he/she thinks Alli's story continues. It calls for the readers to take a more active role and symbolically shows that there is more to the journey/adventure of aging than you might think. To download the review click here.

YELLmedia helped with developing the concept, storyboarding, hand drawn paintings & illustrations, layout, and print production.

Case Study: Migun Means Beautiful Health - Reconstructed

2007-07-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

It's official. Welcome to the first YELLmedia blog, a.k.a YELLog. Let's hear it! Can I get a YELL? Booyah!

I thought starting a blog would be a great way for future clients to get a glimpse into the thought processes and capabilities of YELLmedia and at the same time give a little more exposure to my clients. Today, every link counts in bringing your hits and search engine rankings up. Also, I solidly support all the projects that I work on. I think it's good moral, work ethics and it helps keep me be excited about the projects that I am working on.

Migun
Migun South Africa came to YELLmedia without anything - no collateral, no website, no business cards, zippo. Migun is a Korean company that creates thermal massage beds that actually improve your health. The beds are sold world wide. I've tested one out and it feels nothing like those wimpy massage chairs at novelty stores. Helga move over!

Migun Headquarters has no brand standards that they issue to franchisees. That means that every Migun website in America looks completely different. This particular entrepreneur had full rights to the South African market for Migun and wanted to be sure any subcontracted stores looked exactly the same . He understands the value of a consistent brand.

We developed their distinct branding and feel which all subsequent stores/locations will need to replicate. Migun HQ had two different logo looks with blue and green. We really connected with the green color because of its association with nature and health. Since Migun South Africa is a start-up work was done on an ongoing basis and rolled out little by little. After corporate identity, we developed the website which is constantly evolving.

From there we started with gym ads, flyers, the Grand Opening E-vite for their first Demo Centre, and Web-coupons. They are currently growing, have teamed up with a highly respected Chiropractic professional, and have a couple large deals on the horizon.

YELLmedia provided the following skills for this job: brand identity, marketing strategy, copywrighting, web design, print collateral materials, photo selection/purchase/rights management, e-vites, and press release.