How the iPad Will Change Publishing Design

July 21, 2010 by 2 Comments

iPad+publishing=evolution

“It may well be the saving of the newspaper industry,” publisher Rupert Murdoch proclaimed.  His reasoning was that it would make it cheaper to distribute content to a broader audience, including driving down costs such as paper, ink, printing and trucks.

“It has all of the visual impact of paper, enhanced by interactive elements like video and animated graphics,” Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired said.  “We can offer you a history of Mars landings that lets you explore the red planet yourself.  We can take you inside Trent Reznor’s recording studio and let you listen to snippets of his work in progress.  And we can show you exactly how Pixar crafted each frame of its new movie, Toy Story 3.”

With three million units sold in less than three months, and who knows how many since, it is safe to say the iPad is here to stay!  For many it is the second coming, as if the printed word never existed before.  Still others joke about how they fit the oversized iPhone in their pocket.  One thing that is clear is the impact of the iPad on the publishing industry, even in its initial stages.  Industry leaders are quoted left and right that the evolution has begun.

Other major players are following Apple into this format quickly (e.g., the Android-based Slate).  This leads to an interesting question the publishing industry faces:  who designs these new publications? Read more of this post

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Happy Ice Cream Day

July 18, 2010 by 1 Comment

Did you know it’s National Ice Cream Day?

I love a good ice cream when it’s hot. And for you, dear reader, I scooped out these designs we created. Feast your eyes on these, then go out and have some of the real thing. What’s summer without ice cream?

Vector Artwork Design: Ice Cream Cone

Embroidery Digitizing Design: Boy with Ice Cream Cone

Vector Artwork Design: Ice Cream

Embroidery Digitizing Design: Ice Cream

Embroidery Digitizing Designs: Mimo's Ice Cream

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Get to Know: Santosh Mane, Team Leader, Ad Services for Newspapers

July 16, 2010 by 11 Comments

Team Leader, Affinity Express Ad Services team for US Newspaper

Santosh Mane with his team behind him

Santosh Mane just celebrated his second anniversary at Affinity Express, and those two years have been anything but uneventful. He joined as a designer in Pune in June 2008, and was promoted to team leader in June 2009. He is one of the two team leaders for a 39-member team that works on ad production for a top ten U.S. daily newspaper.

This team works on approximately 800 ads per week, and Santosh supervises ad production, ensures quality, and coaches and guides his team towards continuous improvement.

He starts his day by looking at the job orders that have come in. These are categorized based on creativity and complexity, and handed out to team members based on their experience and skills.

Read more of this post

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Sample Designs: Print Ads

July 14, 2010 by 3 Comments

Since our readers have been most excited about seeing samples of our work, I am excited to share some more great files!

Sample Designs: Print Ad for Restaurant

Mmmmmmmmm, food!

Read more of this post

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7 Things to Do If You Outsource Ad Production

July 12, 2010 by 2 Comments

Checklist for Outsourcing Ad ProductionLast week, I wrote about how you can discover whether your company is a candidate for outsourcing advertising production.  Now, let’s look into what you should do if you have decided to outsource, to help make sure that your outsourcing initiative is successful. I have put together a handy checklist for you.

When reviewing outsourcing vendors, ask about:

  1. What is the implementation process, and how long is each step going to take? If a step seems to have more time allocated than necessary, ask why. The answers might tell you quite a bit about how your vendor works. In general, ask as many questions about the process as you can—you need to ensure that your vendor has thought it through, has planned for eventualities that might arise, and has enough experience that this will be a smooth transition for you. Read more of this post

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Get to Know: Affinity Express Employee Ted Pusecker

July 9, 2010 by Leave a comment

This is the first of a series of blog posts in which we profile Affinity Express employees and their work.

Ted Pusecker, Production Manager at Affinity ExpressTed Pusecker has been with Affinity Express for three years. He is a production manager and works in Ohio. He and his team of three handle the processing of ads for 22 weekly publications and a parenting magazine, as well as print and deliver products. Ted also helps the NCI team with on-boarding of new accounts.

Ted feels that one of the biggest pleasures of his job is building relationships with clients. Often, it can be hard to convince new clients that the new processes Affinity Express introduces will soon become the norm. But  Ted is glad to have the opportunity to work with so many different Affinity Express team members and accounts to overcome obstacles, develop relationships and deliver results. He says: “We have a very dedicated staff that wishes to give clients the greatest chances of prosperity. Their success is our success.” Read more of this post

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Should You Outsource Advertising and Marketing Production?

July 7, 2010 by 1 Comment

Should You Outsource Advertising and Marketing Production?Because I work for an outsourcing company, I know first-hand that outsourcing continues to be a popular management tool in 2010 with no signs of slowing down in the near future.  Companies are dealing with the global recession and working to focus on their core competencies.  I see on a daily basis that, in both the private and public sector, organizations are increasingly turning over various internal functions to outside providers in order to reduce costs, improve efficiency and increase flexibility.

Although ad agencies, marketing services firms, commercial printers, newspapers and retailers and companies in a variety of other vertical markets have been employing this practice for some time, the outsourcing of advertising and marketing production is still a new concept to many organizations.  You should see the glazed-over look I get when I explain what I do at cocktail parties or talk to other parents at my kids’ sporting activities!

The reality is that we all outsource every single day.  Does your company use a payroll service?  Who runs your cafeteria?  Is that security guard in the lobby an employee of yours?  Do you have a service to mow your lawn and when was the last time you washed your own car?  Granted, outsourcing of advertising and marketing production involves a function that’s more complex and mission-critical than trimming hedges, but you get the idea.

Now every company does some amount of advertising and marketing production, whether in-house or through a vendor. You design your company logo, create business cards for your employees, have a website, maybe emails or newsletters that you send out to customers or other stakeholders, case studies or product specs, print collateral such as brochures or flyers, or other business document that require some design effort.  Some companies have in-house designers who do this; many work with external vendors or contractors.

The big question is:  how do you know if outsourcing advertising and marketing production on a large scale will work for your company? Read more of this post

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In the Spirit of Independence Day

July 5, 2010 by Leave a comment

We thought we’d show you this.

Artwork Sample: Eagle

Hope you had a very happy Fourth of July.

P.S. – You can view more designs here on our Facebook page.

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Ad Production for Marketing Companies

July 1, 2010 by Leave a comment

Affinity Express works on marketing communications and advertisements, both print and online, so I am sometimes asked if we compete with marketing firms and ad agencies. The short answer: no, we don’t. They are clients or prospects for us, not competitors.Ad Production for Marketing Companies

But how does this work? Let me explain.

A leading marketing services firm is a client. They have a thriving direct marketing business, reaching 100 million consumers each week and working with 15,000 advertisers. Their quality standards, it goes without saying, are impeccable.

And they have worked with Affinity Express since mid-2006, to get reliable ad production delivered at fast turnaround times and low costs. Read more of this post

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