The first ART bus rolled into ABQ this week. The exterior and interior design was created by Studio Hill Design as part of the overall ART brand development. Check out the news report below. Next up … station signage.
Category: Marketing
What the heck is Interior Branding?*
Branding is possibly the most overused and least understood term in modern business. At Studio Hill, we simply define branding as the sum of the perceptions and experiences people have of your company. Our goal is always to define and strengthen our clients’ brands. That’s why, years ago, we expanded our design offerings and developed Interior Branding. A critical key to building a strong brand is to bring all perceptions of your company into alignment. What could be a more powerful experience of your brand than when someone walks through your door? At this point, they are literally immersed in your brand – for better or worse!
With standout Interior Design and Branding, customers will be inspired and more inclined to work with you.
Many companies understand and value the importance of a great logo and website, but their office space is drenched in beige and filled with generic furniture from “business interior” land (interpreted: overpriced and boring.) Throw in a lobby logo sign and a couple of plants and call it good.
Your visitors AND your employees deserve more than this. Why not use your physical space as a palette, a message board, to tell the world what your organization is all about? The opportunities to maximize your space are nearly endless, as indicated by these examples of Studio Hill’s Interior Branding below:
Consider these interior elements:
Color: Does it feature and/or coordinate with your corporate identity colors? Or could your space be anyone’s office? Does it say something unique about your company? Does it exude a unique, welcoming vibe? Is it a place you feel good about coming in to?
Signage: This is an obvious opportunity to reinforce your brand. Showcase your logo as a gorgeous, 3D lobby sign in a prominent location.
Quality of materials and finishes: It has been said, “Anything you do reflects everything you do.” If you skimp on quality in your space, customers will know that you skimp in other places, too. This need not be expensive. It just requires attention to detail.
Overall design quality and ambiance: Is your space purposeful and well thought-out? Or did it fall together over time with no real plan? Again, you can show visitors that you care about the details and you value quality.
Lighting: Is it welcoming or off-putting? Is the light sufficient for a good work environment, yet easy on the eyes? And the scariest question of all … does it consist of only of plastic covers over florescent tubes? There’s a world of opportunity for improvement!… Especially with new energy saving, long lasting LED options.
Reception desk: The first impression when they walk through the door! Does it instantly convey your company personality and exude a professional, welcoming vibe?
Lobby area: Your guests will spend their first minutes here, getting a feel for your company. What do you want that feel to be?
Break room: Often the most overlooked space in the office. Do you want your employees to feel valued? Give them a great space! It will build loyalty and camaraderie.
And this is just the beginning.
With standout Interior Design and Branding, customers will be inspired and more inclined to work with you. Employees will be happier and more productive, as well as being proud of the place they work. And you will have the satisfaction of knowing you finally have all your branding ducks in a row. Interior Branding offers a prime opportunity to exude your organization’s unique DNA, and to let your visitors know what is so special about you. Don’t hide your light from the world… shine out!
Check out some additional examples of Studio Hill Design’s Interior Branding in action, and decide if your space measures up.
*Don’t feel bad if you are unfamiliar with this term. We invented it.
Studio Hill Designs for Adventure – An Exciting New Brochure!
Looking for adventure? Look no further than the 44 page guidebook we crafted from the ground up for Specialized IRA Services. This hefty tome is printed on #120 cover and smartly coil bound for quick reference. SIS wanted to target a younger, adventurous demographic who are not afraid to carve their own financial path. This fun-to-read reference book gets them off to a running start.
The award goes to…
Dayna Crawford, Deputy Director, Project Manager for ART and Sandy Hill of Studio Hill Design
While many this weekend were comfortably curling up on the couch to watch the Oscars we packed our bags and headed to Florida. There, in Tampa, we were thrilled to collect our 1st Place Adwheel Award for ART (Albuquerque Rapid Transit) from the American Public Transportation Association. We learned a ton about transit and the weather wasn’t even half bad. Ok… the weather was awesome!
Ybor City, Tampa, Florida
Award Winning Design from Studio Hill
Studio Hill Design is pleased to announce that in conjunction with the City of Albuquerque Transit Department we have won a First Place Award in the 2017 Annual AdWheel Awards competition. The competition, sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association, accepts entries from municipalities across the country.
The winning entry for Best Marketing and Communications Educational Effort will be presented at American Public transportation Association’s 2017 Marketing & Communications Workshop in Tampa, Florida, Tuesday, February 28th. Don’t forget your swimsuit!
Studio Hill Design in the News… Albuquerque Business First interviews Sandy Hill
Mike English of Albuquerque Business First took a left turn into our Downtown Albuquerque studio office to find out what it takes to make a perfect website and what it takes to make a successful 30 year career in marketing and branding. The interview can be read in the current issue of Albuquerque Business First or online via the link below.
Here are some excerpts from the article:
Sandy Hill’s marketing career covers more than 30 years in Albuquerque. As the owner of Studio Hill Design, which she started in 1986, she guides the company’s branding and web design efforts as well as everything from logos to interior design. She spoke with Business First about how her company helps clients discover the core of who they are and what they want from their website.
Your design career predates websites, if I might note. How does web design relate to other kinds of design?
It’s true. We not only predate websites, we also predate computers — think Xacto knives and rubber cement. But basically, the same principles still apply and they apply across all mediums. What I tell our web-design clients, who might be comparing us to other tech firms, is that we’re a marketing firm and a design firm. Our goal is to go in and see what is unique about the client, learn about their target audience and make a connection. Websites are just the vehicle that carries the same kind of messaging that we’ve always created.
What makes a good website, here in 2015?
All of the above: making a connection, providing value, speaking to the viewer and not just yourself. There’s a book around here we all had to read called “Don’t Make Me Think.” It explains that if someone needs to muck around on your website to find things, that’s not good. It needs to be simple and straightforward, easy to understand, easy to navigate and it needs to make a dynamic connection with the viewer right away.
How do you work with clients to identify what they want from their website?
We run everyone through our branding questionnaire, which is probably 12 questions, from asking them to describe their company in one sentence to what their target market is, what their goals are, all of that. The magic comes when we can get to their unique value. That’s why we do so much listening. It’s just like human beings: When we look in the mirror we cannot see ourselves objectively. Companies are that way too. We’re too close to see ourselves. I think that’s the beauty of having a company like ours come in, because we know how to look and listen and sort and separate out the magic of a company compared to what all their competitors might be doing. That’s the core truth we build the marketing message on. The super fun part then is to figure out how to communicate that.
Read the full interview here…
Studio Hill Design Ranked Top Web Design Firm – Again
In 2013 Studio Hill Design was again reported by Albuquerque Business First to be one of the top grossing web design firms in New Mexico. How does this happen to such a small company? Offering a combination marketing-based website design, graphic design, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and video production for websites is common place among good web design firms. But we add a little something special. We make connections. Using what our clients have referred to as insightful questioning and intuitive understanding, Studio Hill Design has developed an expertise in discovering and understanding each client’s potential. With this understanding we design websites that create positive, meaningful experiences … that’s how.
Is my website working for or against me? Get the website design you deserve.
An estimated 8 out of 10 consumers who are dissatisfied with the performance of a website are unlikely to return. While the reasons for their dissatisfaction can be as numerous as there are connections to Kevin Bacon, the number one reason is due to poor design. Poor design could mean that the site is simply outdated or it fails to reflect the core character of the business it was meant to represent. It fails to communicate. In other cases, the site might be difficult to use due to underlying technologies that slow the site down or generate an unreasonable number of errors. It could be poor architecture, meaning the site is difficult to navigate and find what you want quickly.Here is a closer look at some of the numbers according to the Online Marketing Institute;
• 85% abandon a site due to poor design
• 83% leave because it takes too many clicks to get what they want
• 62% gave up looking for an item while shopping online
• 50% of sales are lost because visitors can’t find content
• 40% never return to a site because the content was hard to use
• 83% leave because it takes too many clicks to get what they want
• 62% gave up looking for an item while shopping online
• 50% of sales are lost because visitors can’t find content
• 40% never return to a site because the content was hard to use
In addition to the obvious revenue that could be lost due to a poorly designed website are the potential costs of fixing such a site.
Often placing a “band aid” can be a far from ideal solution and can sometimes cost nearly as much as the initial investment. This leads to the inevitable conclusion that it is well worth your while to plan properly before designing a website and hiring a website design firm.
Here are some questions you should be asking your web designer before beginning your next website.
How much time do you spend planning and researching?
Designing a successful website requires planning and research long before a single line of code is written or a layout is considered. On average, Studio Hill Design spends 5 to 10 hours diving into the backstories and histories of our clients, learning about how they got to where they are and where they want to go. That might seem like a lot of time. But we take this knowledge and leverage the information into clear and measurable strategies that support our clients’ goals. We need to know who you are to take you to where you want to be. That is how we make good design. That is how we make successful websites.
Do you create wire-frames and site maps before designing a website?
Website wireframes and site maps are visual representations of where the content on your site will be placed. They don’t contain any design or content. They simply explain visually where content can be found. It manifests a mutual understanding between us and our clients as to the scope and expectations of the site. It clarifies and simplifies the viewer navigation experience. It presents an opportunity to consider additional value-added content. Wireframes and site maps are vitally important to creating a website that is useful to its audience and that accomplishes the goals that the research has identified, while staying on budget and on time.
How much do you charge for web design?
This might seem like an obvious question to ask, but the surprise comes in how you react to the answer you get. Website design that is results-oriented takes a generous amount of time and expertise. You might find an inexpensive web coder, but why would you trust your main marketing tool to someone without a design background? Studio Hill Design is a design and marketing company who understands how to make deep connections between you and your customers. Thoughtful website design is the key that helps our clients make that connection.
Is search engine optimization incorporated into the website?
The intent of a powerful, targeted and well designed website is for it to be seen. We incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) organically from the very beginning of the project to maximize every opportunity for search engines to find your site. Little details in the content and coding of your site make a big difference in your SEO rankings. Studio Hill Design can take this even further by offering you enhanced SEO options to drive even more traffic to your website.
So Now What?
Talk to Studio Hill Design. And talk to some web geeks. See who you feel comfortable trusting your company’s brand and reputation to, when you understand how important your online presence is. Then let’s get started promoting your company online and on target.
You do not measure up to this goldfish. Now get some video on your website, improve your SEO and engage your visitors.
The average attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds. Your attention span? A paltry 8 seconds, down from 12, as recently as 4 years ago. Heck, you probably can’t even remember what you had for breakfast, let alone something from 4 years ago.
This statistic might seem alarming to you. But this is the world we live in, where a constant barrage of distractions are hitting us from every direction. Right now, within in your immediate vicinity there is probably a cell phone and an office phone where you can be reached, two email boxes that need answering and a text message coming in from your daughter who needs a ride. Distraction is everywhere. Add to this the fact that you have the entire world-wide-web at your fingertips right now. FlappyBird much? Facebook much? The average office worker checks their email an average 30 times an hour. Wow.
Still with me? I have another number for you – 2.7 minutes. What’s this you say? The entire history of the world? That my friend, is the average length of time that internet users are willing to commit to watching a single video on the web – 2.7 minutes. Compare this to the Neilsen Norman Group’s report that the average page visit is less than a minute, or that the average television commercial is 15 to 30 seconds. Think of what you could do with a 2.7 minute engagement from your website visitors.
Video is your best oportunity to communicate a lot of information quickly. Viewers can see what your products or your services look like and make a meaningful connection with you and your company. A short punchy video can convey in just a few moments what might take 200 words to say. That is powerful.
Further, with yin yang symbiosis, video can improve your SEO. You see, not only does Google index and direct traffic to your video, but once it sees that people are spending a lot of time on your web pages, it increases your SEO page ranking. It’s a win-win.
So if you have made it this far, the next thing you are probably asking is “How do I make a video?” That’s simple. Call us.
As far as goldfish are concerned… wait… what was that about the goldfish?
[youtube_sc url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wIxNwLX2Cg” ratio=”4:3″ modestbranding=”1″ fs=”1″ rel=”0″]
What makes a successful social media brand?
Let me share a little secret with you. You know that social media campaign that your competitor just launched? The one that keeps popping into your customers’ inboxes and social media feeds? The one that has you scrambling to play catch up? Well here is the secret – the intern didn’t do it and neither did the company CEO. No, really. That insightful blog post, the ingenious timing and motivating call to action, the one that got even you to almost press the share button on your Facebook page – they didn’t do that in house. It was written by an advertising and marketing company. The same folks who produce the best advertising, the best billboards, the best print campaigns, and the best brands also produce the best social media content. In the same manner that you went out of your way to hire the best bookkeeper you could find, they went out of their way to hire the best social media expert they could find. And they are kicking your butt.
So what do you do? First you should understand exactly what a social media campaign is. It is building relationships over time backed by a game plan to maintain those relationships. Effective social media is not just posting every other day, tweeting a few times a week and then counting Followers and Likes. Instead, it is publishing engaging useful content on a consistent basis combined with excellent customer service and expertise in your particular industry. What does it get you? More sales. Over time, the cumulative effect of meeting and perhaps exceeding the expectations of your readers, your customers and even your vendors will have them talking. Word gets around.
So is it that simple? Do you just hire someone, give them access to your Facebook account and set them free? Not quite. Think of it like this. In the same way it would be unwise to have nothing more than a New York Times strategy it would be unwise to have a nothing more than a Facebook strategy. Your social presence needs to be a cohesive, integral part of your overall business plan along with your website, brick and mortar, company advertising, marketing and public relations. All of these reflect your company’s philosophy and unique value. To be successful, your social media voice must combine a deep knowledge of your business and offer valuable content delivered with the appropriate tone and an art for persuasion through beautiful creative and branding.
So the secret is out of the bag. Great social media brands don’t just happen. They are created through careful and deliberate planning by experts. Sort of like what your bookkeeper does. If you understand that kind of thing.
417 Second Street SW
Albuquerque New Mexico
505.242.8300
EMAIL US
