June 2010
1 post
May 2010
1 post
April 2010
3 posts
Office on the go
With today’s technology, it is not only an option to have a great home office, but also a mobile office. If you take a peak into my mobile office toolbox, you probably won’t find anything unexpected, but you might notice how little I keep in there. I actually need very few things to execute my job as a writer and communication strategist effectively.
1. Laptop A laptop is essential...
Ten Awesome Agency Websites →
Looking for a bit of inspiration? These sites are pretty cool.
March 2010
3 posts
4 tags
Putting together a successful team
If you can find someone who can single-handedly write, design and develop marketing materials, good for you, but rarely can one person expertly execute this process on their own. Writers are typically not designers, designers are generally not developers, and developers are almost never writers. So, it looks like you are probably going to need a team of people with complementary skills to produce...
Step one in developing marketing materials: design...
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just say to your designer, “I want something engaging that will speak to my audience and increase my business.” Well, duh. Your goal with marketing materials should always be to engage your audience and increase your business. Saying that to a designer is about as good as saying nothing.
While a good designer can make all of the difference, they are not...
Hello. Allow me to introduce myself.
I am Erin Knitter, a writer and online communication strategist. What does that mean? And why would you care? Well, the writer part is pretty self-explanatory. I generate creative content for a variety of applications including web sites, blogs (obviously), print materials, social media accounts and really anything else you can think of.
The online communication strategist sounds a bit more...
February 2010
12 posts
Text Frame Options (InDesign CS4)
In this tutorial, I show you how to properly manage columns with Adobe InDesign by editing the Text Frame Options. Posted via email from The Creative Outfit | Comment »
2 tags
Four Must Have Typography Books
I am always reminding my students that type is the basic currency of design. Without proper command over your typography, your design suffers. Whether you’re a neophyte or had your baptism by fire in the design world, here are four books you should own. The Elements of Typographic Style Robert Bringhurst This is the typographer’s bible. No other tome is more important. It is dense...
Four Tips to Keep Your Creative Juices Flowing
It is not easy being creative all of the time, however, we work in an industry where we can’t afford not to be creative. Even if you are not in the design or marketing industry, problem solving is required for survival, and sometimes you need to be creative to get by. Here are a few helpful tips that we find keep our minds fresh and problem solving skills sharp. Don’t know where to...
3 tags
Typsetting Tutorial (InDesign CS4)
In this video, I show you how to properly setup your documents in InDesign so that you can effectively typeset your work. Learn some basic technique and a little about the technical side of InDesign. Download the exercise files (1mb) Posted via email from The Creative Outfit | Comment »
Lost in the mail... right.
Have you ever had anything lost in the mail? This had never happened to me before, and to be honest, I typically took the expression to mean one of two things. Either the sender never actually sent anything, or the recipient wanted to pretend that they never received the mail to avoid attending, responding, etc.
And then this year, it happened. Something sent to me actually did get lost in the...
2 tags
Four Easy Ways to Organize Your Website
When you visit a website, you want to be able to quickly and easily find the information that you came for. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. All too frequently, users visit a website, click around, don’t find what they need. So they leave frustrated. To avoid this frustration with your site, follow these four easy steps to organize your website and improve the user...
MMMvelopes! →
This one is for Brenda!
(via Patrick)
just because
I love doing things for people “just because.” And last night, Jeff did that for me. He brought home a huge bouquet of lilies just because. It is such a wonderful feeling knowing he was thinking of me and willing to go out of his way just to make me smile. (He’s so sweet, but I will stop gushing over him now. I don’t want anyone to get sick on their computer.)
Do something...
Tuesday Teens
This weekend my father shared a lovely story with me about a teenage boy that I knew when he was quite young. My family used to live across the street from his. Like everyone else, he has grown up, but unlike so many others, he has grown into an amazingly caring, selfless and insightful young man.
School really wasn’t his thing, but what was his thing was giving back. He decided that he...
January 2010
10 posts
4 tags
The Creative Outfit uses Typekit and so should...
The Creative Outfit recently started working with Typekit, a font embedding web application that will allow us to use a variety of previously-non-web-safe typefaces on our clients’ sites. As the design kingpin here at TCO, I am particularly excited about this implementation. For the web neophytes out there, it goes like this: you see the same typefaces on every website because designers...
“Sinfully delicious, y’all.”
– Paula Deen on macaroni and cheese squares wrapped in bacon and then fried. For real? Do people really eat things like that? I think I can hear arteries clogging.
Just in case this does sound appetizing to you, here is the recipe -...
Turning that frown upside down
Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Completely unsure of yourself and the decisions that you have made? What’s next, and how do we move towards success?
Since going out on my own, I get this feeling pretty regularly. I get a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach when I feel like all of the work I am doing isn’t really paying off yet. Will it pay off? So many uncertainties…
Then I...
3 tags
Lindsay specializes in dressing up your style. And...
Lindsay Costello Jewelry (www.lindsaycostello.com) went from unorganized and outdated to simply stunning on the web. The jewelry designer’s previous web site was clunky and difficult to navigate. Now, Lindsay’s web site accurately reflects the her personality and products, presenting her designs in a clean, modern and stylish way. Before a web site could be tackled, a brand needed...
Fleece Lined Tights? Yes, please. →
Finally! Boys have had fleece or flannel lined pants for the longest time, but there was nothing along these lines for girls…. until now! These are going to be perfect for winters in Chicago.
A proper adventure
I am sitting on a plane in Chicago heading to Dallas. I know Dallas doesn’t sound too adventurous, but that is where I will catch my flight to Costa Rica. I am spending five days with my brother with nothing to do but explore and enjoy the country. I will keep you posted on any true adventure experiences. Ha! (It will be a success if I don’t freak out and have a meltdown since I...
“New decade, new CB2 collection. Inside, 80 pages of affordable modern in a...”
– Sentence on the back of a CB2 catalog that fell victim to throwing a ton of buzz words together and forgetting to include a key word. This statement might have actually make sense if they included the word “furniture.” Woops…
the days seem to be flying
Do your parents and grandparents regularly comment that the days, weeks, months and years seem to fly by faster and faster as you get older. I feel like mine “just don’t know where the time has gone…” Now, I may sound old, but isn’t this the truth?
So many wonderful things have happened to me over the last decade, particularly in the last year. I have graduated from...
December 2009
4 posts
Are your gifts all wrapped up?
The holiday season is upon us, and that means that you are charged with finding creative and thoughtful gifts for your loved ones. Were you successful? Or are you struggling as much this year as you did all the years past?
Personally, I love coming up with interesting gift ideas for my family and friends. I find it quite satisfying giving a gift to someone something that they really enjoy. If I...
Most ambitious street vendor
So, on the streets of Chicago people sell a lot of things. You see food, knock-off purses and sunglasses, popsicles and even cotton candy. But today I saw a truly ambitious salesman. He was pushing ten-packs of white athletic socks.
Good luck, man. I applaud your ambition.
Getting ready to go to Jeff’s work holiday party. At the last party Enterprise shelled out for Earth Wind & Fire. I hope they got Prince this year, or maybe Whitney. I could go for some quality 80s tonight. I’ll keep you posted.
Hello, Internet.
Why hello.
It has taken me 26 years to make my introduction into the blogging world. It’s a bit odd that it has taken me this long. I typically have a lot to say, and my brother, Patrick, who is a significant influence in my life, has had his own web site and blog since he was about 15. I wouldn’t say that I am behind the times, rather never took the time to speak to an audience (if...