One of the many things Studio66 has been pursuing this summer is self-promotion among the Davis and Sacramento community. As I have stated before in a previous blog post, graphic design is a contact sport, and self-promotion is a large part of this game. As the intern here, I got to observe some of the ways Studio66 gets its name out into the surrounding community. Here are some of the ways I’ve seen – and sometimes helped – the studio promote itself:
- “Cold calling”: Here’s a term I was unfamiliar with until I interned at Studio66. Cold calling is basically calling up companies in the area who may be interested or in need of design services. These companies are not chosen randomly but by what they do and if they could use some design services. This takes some time and research, but I’ve learned and seen that it’s well worth your time. Studio66 has recently done some cold calling to charities and non-profit organizations around the area. I got to help in the process by actually trying some cold calling myself, and also entering the contact info of all the organizations who were interested in getting some info about the studio. I’ll be honest, this wasn’t very exciting, and did not involve any designing (at least not yet) but I did understand it’s a part of the business/marketing part of design. I also found the process to be quite informative since I got to learn about all the different non-profit organizations in the area – organizations I may be possibly designing for someday.
- “Sweet Design”: I was part of the initial concept stage of this self-promo design project in which Studio66 gave out Rice Krispie squares to local business to promote the studio’s services. These tasty treats were sealed with a sticker and wrapped in tissue paper with a tag attached. I helped come up with the project’s tagline which was “Sweet Deal on Sweet Design,” and the sticker and tag were designed by the folks here in the studio.
- Holiday greeting cards: It’s something I see lots of design firms do, and Studio66 takes part in this. I got to see some of the previous holiday card designs and themes done here, which included a stress-free holiday kit and also a card with an interchangeable front design. I find holiday cards a fun and clever way to keep in touch with current clients and perhaps send out to potential clients.
A recent edition of the HOW magazine highlighted winning self-promotion projects – for clients and design firms – which included clever and whimsical tee-shirts, desk calendars, and stickers. I find self-promotional design to be quite the creative endeavor, since well, you are your own client. This should also make it a fun project to do, since it’s also a way to show the personality of your design firm and the people that work there. This is definitely something for me to think about and start doing myself as I get my portfolio together this upcoming senior year.