Fun Design

Google Alerts is a great way to keep tabs on topics of interest using Google’s powerful search engine. You enter a topic and receive emails when it is mentioned online.

It is great to monitor what people are saying about your business or organization. Of course we have “Redstart Creative” plugged in and this week we received an interesting google alert:

Mmm…we dont’ remember being in Europe.

As it turns out this is an article on urban habitats created in London and how it is benefiting the “Black Redstart“, a bird native to Europe. It’s name is very close to our namesake the “American Redstart” – a small songbird.

So you never know what you’ll learn using Google Alerts.

Hope for West Africa Foundation, Inc. works in partnership with charities that serve the poor and those infected by HIV/AIDS in West Africa. Their mission is to cultivate partnerships, as well as to advance and support programs for those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. This brochure was designed as a fundraising piece. As a non-profit organization, Hope for West Africa relies on donations to fund their projects. The brochure also included many pictures of their work in West Africa and information on how to donate.

www.hopeforwestafrica.org

www.hopeforwestafrica.org

My Sister’s Circle is a program designed to mentor girls from disadvantaged Baltimore neighborhoods during the challenging years of middle school, high school and even into college. The program is a relationship-based program that provides mentors to girls year round. These mentors serve as role models and provide academic and personal support to many girls who lack a network of adult intervention and essential resources for success. My Sister’s Circle serves over a hundred girls ranging from fifth to twelfth grades.  This brochure highlights the program and was created as an informative leave behind piece.

www.mysisterscircle.org

St. Vincent de Paul is a non-profit organization that provides human services to people experiencing hunger, homelessness and poverty throughout Baltimore. Being a non-profit means that St. Vincent de Paul must enlist volunteers to help provide services, as well as donors to help fund their programs and keep them running.  For their 2010 Annual Report, St. Vincent de Paul wanted to highlight their programs and clients-the people who were helped by their services. The annual report was distributed to donors, allowing them to see where their donations go and how they are put to good use.

www.stvincentdepaulbaltimore.org

Please join me as I present MyCity4Her.com’s first FYI4Her session. Learn the basis of design, how to work with a design partner, understand those crazy terms designers throw around and learn what to do if you have to design something fast on your own. Bring your own lunch and enjoy water, coffee, tea and dessert as our guest.

Do’s& Don’ts of Design
Co-Presented by Rebecca Teaff of Redstart Creative and MyCity4Her.com
Friday, April 16th
1:00pm – 2:30pm
Emerging Technology Center
2400 Boston Street
Baltimore, MD 21224

http://handsonfyi4herlunchapril2010.eventbrite.com/

Design Do’s & Don’ts Flyer

Foursquare is a virtual game that enables you to compete with your friends by checking-in to various locations throughout the week. As you check-in, you gain points, earn badges and the status of mayor at locations you frequent.

Foursquare started in New York City, expanded to 100 other cities and is now available anywhere. This means that anyone from New York City to Smalltown, USA can join Foursquare provided they have a mobile device with internet access.

How to sign up for Foursquare

You can create a user account online or by downloading the application to your mobile device. Currently, Foursquare applications are available on the iPhone, Blackberry and Android.

The next step is to find any friends who are also on Foursquare and link to them.  Now you are all set to check-in during your daily travels from your mobile device. Your Foursquare friends will see where you are and, if you choose, you can feed it to Facebook and Twitter.

Badges

As you check-in, you gain points for your activities and can earn badges. Be warned, these are not your Cub Scout badges. They range from “Newbie” for the new user to “Bender” if you’ve been overly active on Foursquare.  (In the process of writing this article I hit “Superstar,” which means I’ve checked into 50 venues. Not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed. )

You can view your badge screen to see what badges you earned (shown in color).  and those you have yet to earn (appear in gray screen).

Here are some known badges:

-Adventurer- Earned when you have checked-in to 10 venues.

-Explorer – Earned when you have checked-in to 25 venues.

-Superstar – Earned when you have checked-in to 50 venues.

Here are some badges I’m curious about:

-I’m On A Boat

-16 Candles

-Zoetrope

How Does Foursquare Relate to Business?

There are three ways Foursquare promotes business:

-First – through having your location buzzed about on Twitter with location check-ins

-Second  - by having your best customers provides tips on your location

-Third  - rewarding your supporters on Foursquare

Foursquare detects your location and will list tips for other locations in your area. If you are not sure where to eat or hear the best music, check Foursquare and see any tips relating to restaurants. Tips are all user-created so they are subjective, but it is just like asking your friends for a recommendation.

When a Foursquare user becomes a “regular” at a venue, they can become mayor. Some locations offer deals or specials to Mayors.

In Baltimore there are currently five venues offering specials to Foursquare users and Mayors in the Baltimore area :

Bad Decisions

http://foursquare.com/venue/174532
@ Bad Decisions: Free Flaming shot for every 10th visit. Show the bartender after checking in and cheers!

Caesar’s Den

http://foursquare.com/venue/165133

@ Caesar’s Den: 15% off your food bill every third time you check-in on Foursquare!

California Tortilla

http://foursquare.com/venue/333576

@ California Tortilla: Free Chips and Queso with any purchase if you check-in at these California Tortillas.

Ledo Pizza

http://foursquare.com/venue/237479
@ Ledo Pizza: Free fountain soda with any purchase for the Mayor.

Teavolve

http://foursquare.com/venue/31281

@ TeaVolve: One free entree for the mayor!

The Future

Currently Foursquare is a game that you can play with your friends, and it has only scratched the surface of marketing opportunities. In February of 2010 Foursquare signed deals with Zagat, Warner Bros., HBO, the History Channel and ExploreChicago. These brands will have tips and information on Foursquare to promote their movies and TV shows. As more users sign on and more partnerships are announced the future of Foursquare is unlimited.

For more information check out http://foursquare.com/learn_more.

(All images courtesy of Foursquare.com)

Welcome to the new website for Redstart Creative.

A special thank you to all our supporters in our first 6 months in business. I hope to use this blog to keep you up to date on creative ideas, events and our latests projects.

Stay tuned,

Rebecca