No, I’m not referring to colours, textures and shapes, though these are certainly important elements to the larger picture. What I’m talking about is how great design can facilitate the effective dissemination of information. That is, it helps us learn.

As an elementary school student, I was definitely the kid who flipped through new textbooks to find interesting photos and graphics. For me, images not only made the pages more appealing, they also helped me to understand the information.

This is the case for many people, and at some point in our lives, most of us have probably written tests to determine what types of learning styles best suit us. Typically we fall under one (or many) of three distinct categories:

Some say this system is simple and accurate. Others say it is far too outdated and suggest much more detailed tests instead.

No matter what your learning style(s) of choice, looking at information that has been displayed in a visual way can benefit just about everyone. According to Inspiration Software, Inc., a leading producer of visual thinking and learning software, visual learning helps us to:

Clarify thoughts

Organize and analyze information

Integrate new knowledge

Think critically

Pretty neat, huh?

And visual learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom.

The Oatmeal is an online collection of comics created by Matthew Inman. These comics are created to teach the masses, through graphic design, about anything and everything! Check out 15 Things Worth Knowing About Coffee, and while you’re at it, look at How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You and Inman’s other hilarious pieces, too.

In the market for a new camera and looking for a great deal? Lifehacker, a software blog, has created this very useful visual tool called The Best Times to Buy Anything, All Year Round. March is best for buying luggage and boats, by the way!

As a CC&PR student, I sometimes get asked by friends and family what social media does and if it actually serves a useful purpose. My answer is always yes, though I never know if I’ve succeeded in explaining just how important it actually is. Well, Drew McLellan, owner of McLellan Marketing Group in Iowa, has put together The CMO’s Guide to the Social Landscape, a detailed and colour-coordinated chart to answer those questions once and for all.

Whether you find visual learning to be personally beneficial or not, the most important thing to remember is this: it doesn’t matter how someone learns as long as he or she finds the best way to make it happen.

Happy learning!

Vancouver’s Closing Ceremony aired at 5:30 p.m. PST (8:30 p.m. here in Ontario) and was a dynamic show from the moment that mime stepped onto the stage to raise the previously-defunct fourth arm of the Olympic torch.

The show that followed included elaborate dance routines, the honouring of world class athletes and references to Canadiana galore. Seeing Joannie Rochette carry our flag was spectacular. She is a true hero.

The “Greetings from Sochi” portion of the evening (Sochi, Russia being the location of the 2014 Winter Olympics), was very interesting to say the least. Ballerinas on snowboards, giant zorbs and neon horses were just some of the images filling the screen. I’m really looking forward to seeing more!

Music was also a big aspect of the ceremony.

Unfortunately, if you were to ask viewers what their opinions were in regards to the music as a whole, their response might not be positive. The Canadian anthem was criticized by some as being butchered, and then there was the large selection of not-so-wonderful Canadian music (*Cough* Nickelback, Avril Lavigne, Simple Plan and Hedley).

But please! Before you push the musical component of the ceremony completely aside, I ask that you remember one act: Neil Young.

Young was born in Toronto in 1945, and aside from being one of the most well-known Canadian artists in history, he is also one of the most successful. In the past, he was a member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Buffalo Springfield. As a solo artist, he has received critical acclaim and has been inducted into both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (1982) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice (1995 and 1997, respectively).

In the Closing Ceremony, Young had the honour of singing a song directly following the official closing of the Games. He chose to sing his 1976 tune Long May You Run, and as soon as I heard the opening chords, I was overcome with excitement.

As you may know about me, I was raised in a small northern Ontario town called Blind River (population: 3,600). Needless to say, we don’t get a lot of publicity back home. But if we have any claim to fame at all, it’s that our town is mentioned in Long May You Run.

“Well, it was
Back in Blind River in 1963
When I last saw you alive.
But we missed that shift
On the long decline.
Long may you run.”

Here is a live version from years ago. The Blind River mention occurs around the 1:25 mark…

Within seconds of Young finishing the song, my Facebook feed went wild. Friends from home were shocked about what had just happened. I expressed my pride in a Facebook status update:

Twitter was abuzz with Closing Ceremony tweets already. But suddenly I was able to search for tweets mentioning Blind River and actually find them! I discovered other Blind Riverites through their tweeting, and they found me because of mine!

I received texts from good friends filling me in on the news just in case I wasn’t watching.

Even my boyfriend, a Hamilton native, called me in his excitement for Blind River.

To a small northern Ontario town, it truly was a big deal.

Thanks to you, Neil Young, for mentioning Blind River to a worldwide audience. I was already enjoying the Closing Ceremony, feeling patriotic and happy to see our country shine. But this made it all the more exciting for me, my friends and family and spurred a giant social media burst of hometown pride.

I adore these colours. What about you?

In only a few short days, the 21^st Winter Olympics will come to an end. Whenever the Games are happening, I certainly feel the national pride and try to watch as much of the competition as possible. But this year has been especially exciting considering that the Games are being held on Canadian soil.

Quite obviously, an unbelievable amount of planning goes into organizing the Olympic Games. Vancouver was announced as the winner of the 2010 bid back on July 2, 2003 and from that point up until Feb. 12 of this year, the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) worked around the clock to get everything prepared.

The colours at the beginning of this post represent an incredibly important aspect of these Olympic Games. It’s something that was developed years ago when people were focused on Turin, and it’s something that is going to make people think about the Vancouver 2010 Games long after they’ve finished.

Graphic identity.

Sure, its importance can’t possibly outweigh that of the sports or the medals. But turn on your television and try to watch one minute of Olympic coverage without seeing it. The colours and graphics of Vancouver 2010 are everywhere and as a huge fan of the entire look, I couldn’t be happier.

How did the identity of Vancouver 2010 come to be? This is what the Games’ official site has to say:

Canada’s many cultures merge to offer fresh ideas and possibilities. The country’s multiculturalism inspires Vancouver 2010 to portray transformation and fusion as a major theme within the graphic identity. It also represents balance and connections between natural and urban environments, reflecting how Canadians live in and contribute to both surroundings.

Inspired by the dynamic energy of Vancouver, Whistler and Canada, Vancouver 2010 imagery creates a space where nature and culture transform and grow — like the power, speed and spirit of the athletes. Design representations of water and vegetation are incorporated frequently and serve as a symbol of nature’s nourishing and rejuvenating powers. Emotive, dynamic athlete imagery captures the heroism and beauty of sport.

Elbowruminations, a site focused on graphic design best (and worst) practices, created this graphic to illustrate the connection between the colours of Vancouver 2010 and their natural inspirations:

Neat, huh?

I especially love the juxtaposition of natural and urban environments in the wonderfully complex graphic patterns that can be seen on almost every single Olympic surface, such as on the signage behind Canadian freestyle skier Kyle Nissen in this shot:

Here’s another example. Click to see the details!

Notice the trees, the wind turbines-turned-dandelions, the ship and oars, the bricks, the ski lift, the geometric measurements and much, much more.

Creating patterns this large and detailed would have been a trying and very time-consuming task. But as I’ve mentioned before, I think details say a lot and I commend the work that went into designing this look.

And from the designers themselves, a bit on how the entire image came to be:

The graphic identity of the Games has received its fair share of criticisms and as with anything, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

But the whole point of creating a graphic identity is to do just that- establish a visually recognizable brand. And I don’t think anyone could say that Vancouver 2010 hasn’t done this.

[P.S. Check out London 2012’s logo. I’d like to see more before I really decide, but so far all it makes me think about are the 1980s.]

Search “art” on Wikipedia and a self portrait by Vincent van Gogh is one of the first images you’ll see. Search “visual arts” on the same site and van Gogh’s Church at Auvers (1890) sits prominently on that page, too.

The Art Wolf, an online art magazine, lists The Most Expensive Paintings Ever Sold, and which piece sits at number 10? That would be van Gogh’s Portrait of Doctor Gachet. This 1890 painting sold for $82.5 million in 1990.

The prominence of van Gogh’s work can be seen all over the place, especially in the form of merchandise. Cafe Press, for example, offers van Gogh designs on 65,000 products! Want a Bedroom at Arles T-shirt? Or how about a Terrace At Night wall clock?

And don’t even try to convince me that you’ve never seen van Gogh’s The Starry Night (1889), pictured below:

Possibly one of the single most recognizable pieces of art in history, songs and poems have even been written about this painting! Oh and hey, while I’m on the subject, check out this Starry Night throw pillow. Not what you’re looking for? Well maybe this ceramic travel mug is!

Okay, okay. I’m done.

WAIT! I lied. Haven’t you always wanted a Starry Night thong?!

Anyway, to anyone who isn’t familiar with Vincent van Gogh’s story, you may assume that he saw major commercial success throughout his life, especially after considering his popularity and online presence today. This, however, was not the case at all.

Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853-1890) was a Dutch artist whose pieces resonated in what is now called Post-Impressionism. In his short 37 years, van Gogh created more than 2,000 pieces of art including 900 paintings. Those paintings, featuring the artist’s signature brush strokes and use of rich colours, are now so incredibly famous that only the wealthiest of museums or art collectors can covet them, let alone own them. During his lifetime, however, the story was different for van Gogh. His art was highly underappreciated and as he dealt with depression and other challenges in his life, he struggled to make ends meet.

Oh, if only times had been different for van Gogh! Imagine he had lived in our day when new types of social media seem to be popping up almost daily (*ahem* Google Buzz). What would this have meant in terms of his ability to hold two-way dialogues with his potential customers or to promote his artistry on a wider, maybe even international, level? Surely if people are willing to dole out millions of dollars for his art now, he would have had a lot of interest back then, too. He just didn’t have the means to make his presence known.

Fine art and the Internet: one of the oldest types of communication and one of the newest. (And yes, believe it or not, the Internet is new! Especially in relation to the Paleolithic cave paintings of Lascaux, one of the oldest documented pieces of art.) In its earliest days, we may have thought that the Internet could’ve never complimented visual art, let alone worked hand-in-hand with it. Fortunately, artists of today are finding more and more opportunities to take advantage of online PR and social media tools like Twitter to do just that.

Tweetable Art: 10 Twitter Tips for Artists, was written by Natasha Wescoat, an American artist and tech-savvy social media user. The article, featured on Mashable, lists ways in which an artist or creative business can use Twitter to effectively connect to potential customers and promote their work. Some of these creative tips include:

1. Share your work in progress
People want to hear what you are doing, what it looks like, and what you are thinking.

5. Research your followers
Use keywords to find out who their favourite artists are, their favourite colours, or what their lifestyles are like. This gives you an opportunity to analyze the possible audience you can have or do have on Twitter.

8. Hold Twitter contests
Offering a fine art print each week or month to friends who RT (retweet) gives you traffic and new buzz. If they don’t win, they may buy something. Include a link to your portfolio or online shop to build immediate traffic and gain buzz.

Wescoat’s work is absolutely stunning and has been featured on a variety of television shows and films. For those like myself who are interested in visual art, I suggest checking out her official site as well as her blog entitled Natasha’s Art Candy. P.S., she credits Vincent van Gogh as one of her sources of inspiration… but I’m going to go ahead and guess that she doesn’t own any of the aforementioned merchandise.

Twitter isn’t the only social media tool that is enabling artists to build their online presence.  DeviantArt is an online community where artists new and old can upload their pieces in order to self-promote, receive criticisms and participate in arts-related discussions of all varieties. It’s a great site to be involved in for any artist who is emerging onto the scene and wants to tell the world what they can do.

Visual art is valued highly in the lives of many people, including mine. When so many artists struggle to make a living doing what they love, it is fantastic to see how social media facilitates the relationship between fine art creators and fans, ensuring that these beautiful forms of communication continue to be made.

Oh, and who is that kid in the painting above? That would be me. It was Halloween of 1987 and my mom dressed me up as an artist. My talented sister Miranda painted it and I’m lucky enough to have it hanging on my living room wall.

William Feather said this, and to me, it makes a lot of sense.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a detail-oriented person. From visual art projects to event planning (big or small), I try to put the time and energy into everything I do in order to make it work as well as possible. It’s something I enjoy doing and thrive upon. Those who know me well are very much aware of this character trait. In fact, one of my best friends recently told me this:

“Jess, when I get married, I’m going to make you my Maid of Honour… because you will plan everything!”

I’m not sure if she was kidding or not. Either way, I take it as a compliment because I believe that no matter what the setting is, success starts with the small things.

What is the difference between going the extra mile and, well, not? Sometimes it’s everything.

Budding PR practitioners like myself should expect details to play a large role in any future communications positions. If working on the corporate side, know the mission statement and vision of your employer. Memorize their identity standards and perform duties with their values in mind. Always.

If working in an agency environment, (multiple) client expectations are high. Know their desired outcomes and how they wish to go about achieving them. If clients see that you consider the details and they are pleased with your efforts, they will feel valued and come back to you in the future. They may even recommend you to others. On the flip side, if you are not perceived to be someone who considers the small things, you risk losing those professional connections.

And what happens if a relationship with a client becomes strained? Is it too late to recover from it? Not necessarily. The situation can be improved and sometimes becoming re-familiarized with the small but very important details is just the ticket.

In his post 8 Small Steps to Improve Client Relationships, Toronto PR expert Dave Fleet argues that little details and big impact come hand-in-hand. If the communicator-client relationship experiences conflict, it is important for the practitioner to consider Dave’s eight questions:

Do you return emails and calls promptly or do you wait to do it until later?

Do you show up for meetings early or do you always arrive a few minutes late?

Do you meet deadlines or do you often push them back?

Do you constantly keep clients updated on progress or do you check-in occasionally?

Do you stay within your budgets or do you frequently exceed them?

Do you deliver high-quality products the first time around or do you expect others to revise them for you?

Do you follow-through on tasks without needing to be reminded, or do you need frequent prompting?

Do you deliver the minimum required but never go beyond?

“Think about it,” Dave says. “Figure out your weak link(s) and find a way to strengthen them. Little improvements can make a big difference.”

Still not convinced that details have an impact? Consider Google and its ever-changing logo.

For 12 years, Google users have been welcomed by an array of specially-designed logos on its page to visually reflect holidays, birth dates, artists, pop culture topics, literary greats, significant events and more. Back then, these unique logos popped up only a few times per year. Nowadays, you can see them multiple times each month. Did I mention that Google can receive over 5,000,000,000 searches each month in the United States alone? Talk about design that touches millions!

Dr. Seuss’ birthday – March 2

I appreciate the thought that Google puts into its changing look. Sometimes the logos reflect worldwide-celebrated moments. Other times, they are specific to particular parts of the globe. Whatever the case may be, Google takes the time to celebrate individual countries and cultures by acknowledging their values and the moments in history that shaped them to be what they are today.

Argentina’s Independence Day – July 9

Does Google have to do this? No. They certainly go above and beyond their search engine duties in order to feature these logos. But by doing it, they are connecting to their multi-national user base on personal levels and truly identifying themselves as a worldwide service.

China’s Porridge Day – January 22

Last time I checked, they weren’t doing so badly.

And it all started with some small details.

First, I am extremely proud of my event team and what we did. Come Fly With Us was a huge achievement and I like talking about it! Yes, some may refer to this as a shameless plug.

Secondly – and this relates all the way back to the first paragraph in this post – the CC&PR program has been useful to me because it has taught me new skills but also because it has allowed me to sharpen some that I already had. It has enabled me to do the things I am passionate about. And that, my friends, is visual communication.

I am a big fan of Adobe Photoshop and InDesign. Before my job as a Communications Assistant at Laurier, I had never really used the programs before and wasn’t sure where to start. In my interview for the position, I was asked if I was familiar with these tools. “To be honest, no,” I said. “But I learn quickly and I’m excited for the challenge!”

Luckily they gave me a shot.

Since then, graphic design and publication layout has become a true passion of mine. It enables me to combine creativity with communication, two of my favourite things.

My experience in design came in handy during the planning of Come Fly With Us. Being able to use my skills in the development of our event brand and identity was a lot of fun for me. I feel happy looking back at the material I created knowing that it contributed to what we as a team wanted our event to be.

Visual communication, in its many forms, speaks to us. It persuades us. It can shock or disgust us. It can relate to our personal lives and make us feel emotional. In the end, it’s never one-dimensional. There is always a message within, whether it’s a positive one or not.

With this blog I hope to explore ways in which visuals, ranging from fine art and photography to design and product packaging, are constantly communicating to us even if the realms in which we communicate are changing.

And with that, here are some pieces from Come Fly With Us. Click to enlarge!

Our boarding pass ticket

The Red Eye bar sign

Event itinerary

Having graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2008, I had already spent plenty of time searching for employment. I was well aware of how tough the job market was (and unfortunately still is), and I wanted a program that complimented the skills I already possessed while teaching me much, much more.

One of the many reasons why I was attracted to the Corporate Communications and Public Relations program at Centennial College is because it offered such a diverse array of courses. I felt excited about the subject material and was eager to begin developing skills that would set me apart in the job market.

Today I find myself halfway done the program and almost one month into the second semester already, and not once have I regretted pursuing the CC&PR program. In only four months I have learned so much. For example, I now possess a sharper eye for copy editing. I have developed my writing skills and taken a glimpse into the world of media relations. But that’s only the beginning.

Event management. It was something I had briefly been a part of while working as a Communications Assistant for Laurier’s Department of Athletics and Recreation. During that time I would play roles in some of the event managing process, but usually this involved setting up venues, working on specific tasks throughout the event and putting everything away once it came to a close. I had very little idea of how much work went into it because I had never been a part of the overall planning or decision making.

That was until the day when our teams were chosen in Event Management class in the CC&PR program.

The months of September, October and November were a complete blur. Ayesha, Patti, Cailin, Karen and I found ourselves immersed in every little detail imaginable. Writing proposals, drafting budgets and laying everything out in critical paths were quite new to us. Oh, and the decisions! What should the decor look like? What will our guests eat? How will we keep them entertained? For someone like me, who was quite new to event planning, this was a hectic time. However, it taught me a wealth of truly invaluable knowledge and if I were asked to do it again, I would in a heartbeat.

All of the planning and hard work resulted in Come Fly With Us, an evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and travel-themed entertainment benefitting the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Specifically, we were raising funds to grant the wish of Tyler, a five-year old boy from Burlington who is currently undergoing treatments for a life-threatening condition. He wanted to go to Disney World and we wanted to make that happen.

The event occurred on Nov. 24, 2009 at The Local Company, a resto-bar located on the Danforth. Ours was the first of all seven events to take place and needless to say, this was quite a nerve-wracking time for the entire team. Thankfully, the evening went very well. Our guests were able to learn about the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Tyler while they munched on delicious food and sipped our signature drink cleverly named The Red Eye. Surrounded by Local’s modern lounge setting, black and white travel photos were projected onto the wall while silver accents and glowing candles set a classy mood. We were proud of the details we thought of, including wrapped candies and pretzels for our guests, gift bags spreading awareness and silver planes set around the venue that we constructed ourselves.

As for activities, we kept our guests busy throughout the evening with a variety of options. Seven fantastic prizes made up our raffle offerings, including an unbelievable round-trip voucher from Porter Airlines. Our balloon pop game was a huge crowd pleaser and sold out almost immediately. At the mid-way point of the event, a travel trivia game took place which resulted in guests excitedly racing to submit their answer cards first. We received many compliments on the event as a whole and in the end we exceeded our objective of raising $2,000 for Tyler’s wish.

In total, Come Fly With Us raised $2,770 for Tyler and since then we’ve received word that the granting of his wish will take place once his treatments are complete!

Planning an event takes a lot of time, patience and the ability to make things work. My team and I could not have pulled off such a successful event without the strength and dedication from one another as well as the support from local businesses and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. However, Come Fly With Us would have never existed if it weren’t for the Corporate Communications and Public Relations program at Centennial College. Now that the event is over, Tyler’s wish can come true and we can feel confident in the skills we gained from the experience.