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If you are within the graphic design industry, or thinking about joining, no doubt you’ve been confronted with the quintessential question of: Mac or PC. The controversy regarding which better suits the needs of a picture design professional rages just like raucously today and stays just like contentious as ever.

The controversy between the Mac and also the PC is really a massive topic which has generated lots of curiosity about the computer industry.

Generally speaking Macs seem to be the graphic design industry favourite, while PC’s are preferable in the industry world. However, when creating the decision will still be important to think about a variety of key elements when creating your final decision.

Graphics, colours and font variety are a key element to think about when you work within the graphic design industry. Using a computer that makes use these three things simple and easy , transferable between computers is very important. Apple has always established their brand as being a very design focused computer, often surpassing PC’s in many regards. Mac colour calibration and display is usually better, and more configurable.

The program that’s unique to PC and Mac is yet another component that graphic artists should consider when choosing a machine to work on. All of the major applications, including the Adobe Creative Suite, are developed for both platforms. But, because Mac is much more design focused, programs specifically made for the purpose of design have emerged and therefore are exclusive simply to those who use Macs. Some of the best professional apps are unique simply to Macs. Apps for example best pro apps are targeted at it like TextMate, BBEdit, Final Cut Pro, Reason etc. In saying that though, in case your work is focused inside a particular faculty of graphics, for example 3-D animation or game design, the programs around for PC are very outstanding, especially thinking about the PC reputation as being a gamer’s computer.

There are other smaller details which make Macs more useable than PC’s. Short cuts, easy and obvious function buttons make utilizing a Mac considerably less time consuming and frustrating than a PC, though there are the ones that reason that these characteristics of the Mac detracts from the traditional computer experience. Macs are also reported to be much more reliable that PC’s. They crash far less than PC’s and experience less screen freezes. In terms of how this relates to the work of a graphic designer, having a faster and more consistently reliable machines implies that you can remain confident that your projects isn’t going to be lost or perhaps your work flow isn’t going to be constantly disrupted. Like a graphic designer it’s easy to find yourself dealing with delicate and tedious scopes of work. Precision when working is really a fundamental part of being a successful artist, so having a machine that can accommodate to that particular is of particular importance.

Ultimately, the people behind Macs are very aware of their primary audience and they also create and deliver equipment and programs accordingly. The scope for PC is a lot broader than a Mac, though that is certainly not to say that the utilization of a Mac is restricted to simply graphic design. The strength of the Mac remains firmly related to its brilliance in the region of design, while your personal computer is less specific to design and more committed to other areas of computer usage.

All great brands have something in keeping, a powerful understanding that it’s all about the customer. Ultimately, branding is the process of defining your reputation in the mind of the consumer. This perspective is truly the distinction between a thriving along with a dying brand. Some brands create “Signature Cues”, a term coined by the mega brand strategy firm Lipponcot, to intentionally pursue an experiential connection with the customer. Signature cues can be colors (Tiffany Blue Box), shapes (Coke Bottle), symbols (Nike Swoosh), rituals (Corona Lime Wedge), service (Zappos), voice (“My Pleasure” for any popular chicken sandwich chain), and even sounds (Toyota wireless keylock). With that in mind, here are 3 ways to produce unique Signature Cues for your brand:

1. Audit your present customer experience. Begin by getting feedback out of your current customers. Determine what they like and what they don’t. Simply ask them a few open ended questions and you will be surprised about the things that arrived at the surface. We feel in qualitative over quantitative research in this instance. Once you have a reading in your customer’s pulse, map out every touch-point from start to finish and examine the current experience landscape. Look for regions of improvement and include customer feedback for given areas.
2. Analyze the competitive landscape. What are your competitors’ signature cues? Among John Deere’s signature cues is the green tractor. Then when Kubota tractors entered the market they choose orange tractors as their cue. Basing your signature cue off a competitor’s strategy might seem counterintuitive at first, but quite often it may prove effective when two similar yet distinctive cues become a badge of loyalty for customers choosing one brand over another.
3. Ideate and map cues. Take a seat and consider why is your business special. What cues do you currently posses? What color, texture, shape, products, service, voice, or sound makes the experience of your brand unique? After thinking about the various factors which make your brand unique, go ahead and take key and work to create a signature cue through it. Cues do not need to be complex to work. They need simply be memorable and recognizable.

A signature cue is a unique facet of your brand that sticks within the mind of shoppers and allows them to experience what your brand has to offer. This cue helps to create a customer centered experience that allows a brandname to stand in the marketplace. Consumers feel a personal connection to Corona once they squeeze a lime right into a bottle from the company’s beer and women instantly feel special and appreciated when they open one of Tiffany’s blue boxes. Thinking about why is your brand special and applying it to some recognizable signature cure is a superb way to engage consumers in a manner that encapsulates these questions unique experience only attainable using your brand.

About the writer:
Craig Johnson may be the chief strategist and co-founder of Matchstic, a premier brand identity house. His Atlanta branding agency helps organizations create passionate brands which are memorable, relevant, and lasting. Focusing on brand development through brand strategy, positioning, business & product naming and brand identity services, Matchstic’s brand architects forge positive change and accomplish business objectives through creativity and smart design.

Most people, once they hear the term branding, think logos – however, branding is really a lot more than that. A brand involves blending the look, purpose, and concentrate of your business, together with your core marketing message, and coming up with a thing that will stick in the minds of people who encounter it. Like a business or an independent professional, it is what you are and that which you do, packaged neatly, clearly, and memorably. A logo is only a tangible representation that works to strengthen a brand.

So – what type of personality does your company have? Is it conservative and solid? Outgoing and fun? Or robust and strong? And, what is your company focused on doing? Whom would you like to use? So how exactly does your business differ from the competition? And what makes it stand out, in the end? Do not try to name every special quality or unique selling point – it is possible to build a brand on only one unique quality! Once you can answer these questions, you can begin to create your brand. The question is what you want YOUR brand to leave behind in people’s heads.

Practically any business or professional can benefit from a powerful brand. But branding is much more important for micro businesses and independent professionals because they face tighter competition. A properly executed logo and identity can help them compete on a larger playing field, appear more professional, and stand out from the hordes of competitors.

Once you determine how you want to be remembered, your image as well as your message will need to communicate that. The look can easily be a consistent look used in all your correspondence, a logo that marks everything that comes from your company, and the identity you utilize on your site and brochure. The content can be a tag line, your 30 second “elevator speech,” and woven through the content on your site.

A logo is only one symbol of brand identity, accustomed to produce a memorable impression, but it is useless if you haven’t clearly defined your audience and the focus of your business. There are plenty of clearly branded businesses using only consistent fonts or colors in their marketing collateral. But whoever you hire chose one image to stay with through all of your business communication, and make sure that image is professional. Quite simply, if you do not have the resources or finances right now to possess a professional image produced for you, work with less, rather than using badly formatted clipart or perhaps a layout that makes you look amateurish or cheap. That approach can only hurt your business as well as your brand, so discover the level that Works for you with no negative effect.

Once you figure out what get you noticed are thinking about creating, and also have developed a name to accompany it, the job just begun. You will need to vigilantly reinforce your brand every moment you’re in business. Your brand needs to affect everything your business does, everything you and your employees say, and every little bit of information that comes out of your office. Letterhead, invoices, proposals… these should all consistently market your brand. Inside your voice mail, inside your email sig, and each time someone says, “What is the next step?” your brand should come out to shine. Domains and site content should, again, reinforce your brand. Everywhere you use your brand with consistency, you’re emailing the voice of your company.

Be aware, though, this does not occur overnight – your brand will have to build with time. Develop a strong brand, and use it consistently, and more and much more often, your brand will pop into people’s minds whether they have a necessity that you could provide.