Campbell, Harrington & Brear

February 8th, 2013
Posted By: Angela Wenner

If a business website uses Flash, probably not.

Adobe Flash is software that is used to create amazing multimedia graphics, animations, and other interactive features on websites. A few years ago, developers eagerly incorporated Flash into their designs, making websites more engaging, entertaining, easy to use. (It made the developer look good, too.) Whether used to create a small moving feature on a site, or as the platform for the entire site, Flash had its day, and life was good.

Music! Lights! Sound! Action! One can see how enthralling it was for the creative developer to have these “flashy” features on a previously static informational or business website. And, one could not necessarily foresee the limitations and inconvenience that Flash might present to future users.

Fairly quickly, the business world was not so friendly toward Flash. Overuse of Flash graphics created annoying scenarios for users: Requiring the download of Flash Player, excessive load times, over-engineered “intro” pages. Websites that used Flash became quaint almost overnight. But businesses weren’t necessarily quick to dispose of these sites, after all, they’d just spent big bucks getting their cool, flashy new site up and running.

Then came the Google factor. Flash sites don’t play nicely with Google. Search Engine Optimization (S.E.O.) has become the #1 priority for most website owners and effective S.E.O. relies upon searchable content and code to determine a site’s purpose and relevance. Flash-based sites present a barrier to this process. If you make it tough for Google, you leave an open door for your competitors to grab market share.

Today, the biggest reason to replace that Flash site is sitting in the palm of your hand. Your smartphone. If your site is not functional and easy to use on a mobile device, then it may as well be invisible. Some smartphones support Flash, but most don’t, and it appears that the biggest tablet manufacturers have placed Flash capability at the bottom of their priority list.

Is there a place for Flash in this fickle world? Perhaps.

If you’re an entertainment company, like Walt Disney, Flash can create an enthralling, immersive web experience that devoted fans expect, like this site for the new theme park called Fantasyland. Seriously, check it out.

But if you’re running a business in the real world, your audience expects quick, easy answers to their questions. So make sure your site is distinctive and well designed. But also make sure that it functions well for every user and every device. They’ll love you for it.

Not sure if your site uses Flash? Give us a call and we’ll take a look.

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March 21st, 2012
Posted By: Angela Wenner

In February, I had the privilege of viewing an exhibit of posters at the Library of Virginia in Richmond. My first steps into the lobby of this amazing building set the tone for a fascinating journey into the histories of advertising, music, graphic design and printmaking. What I didn’t expect was to have a revelation about technology, or, should I say, the lack thereof. Nor did realize how little I knew about something so familiar and recognizable as the classic “concert poster.”

The Art of the Hatch Show Print is an exhibit of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. (The exhibit is currently on display until 8/15/12 at the California University of Pennsylvania, in California, PA).

Since 1879, Hatch Show Print has been in operation in Nashville, TN, producing hand-made posters using the letterpress printing method. Letterpress involves the arrangement of hand carved wooden letters and symbols onto a printing block, which is then inked and pressed onto poster paper using various colors of printing inks. This method produces a result that is simple yet bold, perfect in its imperfections, vintage and modern at the same time.

The exhibit featured some of the most iconic images in popular music, creating moments where I heard the music in my head, or recalled news clips from my past when the event first took place and became historic. These posters are the epitome of timelessness.

Today, many graphic designers are referencing this “vintage” style in an attempt to bring coolness or “authenticity” to their work. Fonts are being designed with the rough-edged boldness characteristic of the Hatch Show Print signature style. Sterile, slick, clean designs are being replaced with imperfect, organic, fractured shapes and imagery that have been inspired by 50- or 100-year-old posters never intended to last more than a few weeks.

The Hatch Show Print workshop is still in operation today – in fact flourishing, while taking orders from around the world on a rotary phone. Its walls are filled with racks of wooden letters, symbols and logos cut by hand by artists with callouses and dirty fingernails. There are no computers marring this living museum of printmaking.  In our world of website optimization, social media, iDevices and instant gratification, the craft of the letterpress poster is inspirational in its simplicity.

I’m regularly asked to speak to groups about the latest and greatest shiny objects in our marketing arsenal, the Pinterests and Facebooks and LinkedIns and such. How they can be leveraged to promote brands and engage customers. These are powerful tools, yes, but do they have value without a thoughtfully crafted, simple message, that is creative, memorable and timeless?

“Advertising without posters is like fishing without worms.”
– The Hatch Brothers

 

See the process: A video of the Hatch Show Print workshop.

Images courtesy of Hatch Show Print, a division of the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum.

 

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October 7th, 2011
Posted By: Angela Wenner

Our new web developer, Christian Gloss, toiled late into the evening last Friday. As the office grew darker, he tapped away – writing, testing, inputting, uploading, linking, integrating, tagging, propagating, and staring into the bright light of his iMac, inhabiting a world that most will never understand and using a language that might as well be Martian. Gradually, a distinctive low rumbling noise began to fill his office. The sound seemed endless to him, relentless even, pulling him from his silicon and caffeine haze.

“Not from around here” as they say, Christian had no idea of the tradition, nostalgia, smells and sounds that make York Bike Night a must-do event for thousands of people each year in late September. What he was hearing was the sound of hundreds of bikers converging into a four-block area to show off, meet up, hang out, and simply enjoy the camaraderie that naturally happens when bikers get together.

This year’s Bike Night featured a Grand Marshall that legends are made of: Beese Wendt, a seven-time National Hill Climb Champion who happens to be from York County. A 1976 Sports Illustrated article described him this way:

“An intrepid gentleman named Beese Wendt helped build the Jefferson hill, and holds the record for climbing it. His given name is Truman, but years ago the other riders tagged him with Beese (Bee-zee), sort of short for BSA, because he was fighting faithful to his trusty BSA bike. It is a classic 1949 Vincent, painted bright purple, although Beese swears the aerosol can said burgundy. For Beese Wendt to ride a purple Vincent at Jefferson is akin to Buddy Baker driving a flathead Ford with fender skirts and a Continental kit at Darlington. Despite years of hillclimbing, Beese’s bones are intact. “Got a lot of bruises, and once I hit that darn concrete shed at the top of the Muskegon hill and tore all the cart-ridges out of one of my knees, but that’s all that’s ever been hurt bad,” he says.

“But I don’t know,” he adds reflectively. “Last year was like all the others. I traveled 10,000 miles, and all I got is a car that’s wore out, a bike that’s wore out and a body that’s wore out. I just don’t know….”

The 2012 commemorative Bike Night t-shirt was designed by CH&B’s Mark Leinaweaver, who captured the flavor and excitement of  the 1960’s era Hill Climb competitions where Beese became legendary. Within a few hours, the T-shirts were sold out, vendors headed home and only the hard core partiers remained. I’ll bet Beese was around somewhere, in a smoky bar, telling young riders stories of the good old days.

A few blocks west, Christian shut down his iMac and headed home – for a quiet martini, and a soft pillow.

 

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March 28th, 2011
Posted By: Angela Wenner

Ah, technology. Just when we think we’ve got it all figured out, some smart programming team based somewhere in Silicon Valley excitedly announces the release of the latest version of their browser.

You may have just gotten comfortable with Internet Explorer 7 and all of your company’s internal computers are now loaded and running smoothly. Or, you’ve been using Firefox 3.5.7 because your I.T. guy says that it’s less prone to viruses. Well, guess what: Firefox just announced its latest and greatest version, 4.0. And it’s pretty cool. And the recently released I.E. 9 might not be all it was cracked up to be.

Maybe you don’t have a preference about browsers… but your company website does.

Continue reading “The Never Ending Saga of Website Compatibility” »

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October 28th, 2010
Posted By: Angela Wenner

Being located in downtown York, PA, has its advantages. We can walk to our beautiful downtown farmers’ markets for lunch several days a week. We are part of a vibrant business community committed to improving the downtown environment. And every year, on a Friday in late September, we become “Harley folks” in more ways than one.

Continue reading “York Bike Night 2010, A Celebration of All Things Harley!” »

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February 12th, 2010
Posted By: Angela Wenner

I recently had the opportunity to see a celebrity chef in action. Chef Pippa Calland was the first winner of the Food Network’s reality competition show, Chopped, and appeared at the York Builders Home Show in early February. Campbell, Harrington & Brear handles the advertising and promotion of the Home Show, and had made the arrangements with Pippa to appear on Sunday of the show. (Thank you to CH&B designer and fellow foodie Kristina Sheetz for the suggestion!)

A temporary kitchen island with an electric induction cooktop was provided by L.H. Brubaker Appliances. Pippa had no sink, very little counter space, and only a few ordinary ingredients from which to demonstrate her culinary skills. Her challenge was to prepare a weeknight meal using typical ingredients found in everyone’s kitchen.

Continue reading “Lessons Learned In the Kitchen” »

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October 21st, 2009
Posted By: Angela Wenner

Industry experts are projecting a 4.5 percent annual rise in U.S. demand for dental products through 2012, citing favorable population trends, continued interest in cosmetic dentistry and growing concern about overall good health.

Unfortunately, that rising tide won’t necessarily lift your sales. Markets don’t demand what they misunderstand … or, worse, miss altogether…

Download Our FREE White Paper On New Media Trends and Tactics

We’d like to help by offering you an informative free white paper on new media trends and tactics, titled “The Tooth is Out There.” It offers many ideas that might help you get started on the road to more effective marketing in this brave new world.

Continue reading “Dental Product Demand to Rise: We Can Help You Capitalize.” »

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October 5th, 2009
Posted By: Angela Wenner

I’m getting ready to leave tomorrow for the AIGA Make/Think design conference held in Memphis. The design conference celebrates design excellence, reinforces friendships and connections, and stimulates thinking about the critical issues that surround design practices.

As a designer, having the chance to attend an event like this is an outstanding opportunity. A four-day long conference which will revolve around absorbing, learning and stimulating my creative mind. Just to name a few of the people who will be helping me with this process are Stefan Sagmeister, graphic designer, typographer and founder, Sagmeister, Inc.; Michael Bierut, designer and partner, Pentagram; Ben Blumenfeld, communication design manager, Facebook; David Butler, vice president of global design, The Coca-Cola Company; Khoi Vinh, design director, NYTimes.com.

Continue reading “What a “Tweet” Idea!” »

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February 23rd, 2009
Posted By: Angela Wenner

Being an avid movie lover, I of course tuned in to the Oscars last night. Not only do I love seeing the glitz and glitter, the accolades, but also the advertising. The Oscars are one of the biggest events for advertising, second only to the Super Bowl. With over 30 million households tuning into the awards it provides an unrivaled opportunity to advertisers. Although several sponsors from last year forwent the program due to the economy, it is still one of the few big TV events each year that viewers still prefer to watch live – commercials and all. With this kind of viewership it seems only fitting that the commercials should be recognized and honored with an award as well.

So who would be my nominees for best advertisers this year? Hyundai, Hoover, PepsiCo, JC Penney and Coca Cola. I would choose these nominees based on two requirements. Keeping their target audience in mind, which was women, and driving people to their websites, which CNBC said that this year’s Oscars commercials were specifically meant to do.

Continue reading “And the Award Goes to…” »

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