Week 3: EOC 2 - Making Money for Good

Many big companies and corporations make it a point to donate money or proceeds to charities and other organizations and Target is no exception. Since 1965, Target has prided itself on its community outreach, volunteering, helping with social services and helping out schools and funding for education. In viewing the company website, there is a big section dedicated to programs they do to help give back to the community that supports their stores. Some of the programs they take part in are:

• Volunteerism – Team members donate hundreds of hours to various community projects across the country.
• Arts & Culture – Targets provides free or discounted admission tickets to arts and cultural events to support education.
• Social Services – Target provides funding to support the basic needs of families and help in disaster relief efforts.
• Crisis Relief – Target provides relief kids, products and monetary donation to areas that have suffered an outset of crisis.
• Grants – Target supports arts and social programs.
• Military and Veteran Support – Target has donated funds and volunteers to national veteran and military organizations with the focus on education, social services and the arts.
• Reading & Education – Target believes education is important and helps support schools in need of funding.They support this so much that they ask parents to make a pledge to read with their children or those in their lives and also donate a percentage of purchases made with the Target card to support education.

Currently, Target is giving 5% of it income to support communities but now on their website, they’ve announced a pledge to give “$500 million by the end of 2015 to support education and help kids learn to read.“ ( https://sites.target.com/site/en/corporate/page.jsp?contentId=PRD03-005171). This addition would bring the total amount of funding given to $1 billion just for education alone. For more information, visit the Target website.

Week 3: EOC 1 - My Demographics

Being born in 1972, I feel like I have many of the traits that would define me as being part of “Generation X”.  Although I want to be part of the web design field and I like to keep up and have new technology and possessions, I do feel that  I’m a guy who is very much defined much by my experiences and the experiences of others I come in contact with. While I might not fit all of the definition, there are parts that I can closely relate to.

As it was said in Marketing An Introduction, “many of the Gen Xers that are parents, family comes first—both children and their aging parents—and career second.¹⁴ From a marketing standpoint, the Gen Xers are a more skeptical bunch” (Marketing An Introduction, Pg. 73) and I feel this is a trait of being a Gen -Xer that I fits me. Being Asian, I value family and it has always been a priority in my life and although I don’t have kids, whenever I’ve had girlfriends who’ve had kids, I’ve always put them first and treated them like they were my own. My parents have also been a priority in my life and seeing them happy means a lot to me and can have an impact on how I live my life.  Now I don’t necessarily follow everything they say and live my life according to how they want, but since I was raised by them, I feel the need to give back to them. Growing up, they worked hard to raise my sister and I and were away from the house most of the time to where My sister and I had to take care of ourselves while they tried to make ends meet. I feel that now that I am able to, I’ll do my best to pay them back.

WEEK 2: EOC - Is the video game industry facing a recession?

Is the video game market facing a recession? With big titles that came out strong in 2010, one would think not. But in an article found in The Independent that was posted on January 19, 2011 called “US videogame sales flat in 2010:NPD”, the NPD’s, or National Purchase Diary, estimate on video game spending was from “$15.4 billion to $15.6 billion and factored in used games, downloaded content, and money spent on social network play as well as real-world store sales” which seemed to stay around the level with sales in 2009. (US Videogame Sales Flat in 2010:NPD) Even with titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops hitting and Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty hitting record numbers in sales, it wasn’t enough to catapult numbers to show the industry rising up.

                

 Video games used to target the hardcore masses, those that play video games as a hobby, which is why games like Halo:Reach and other big named games are created. However, because of games that come out on social networks , both console and PC hardware and title sales haven’t been as fruitful in years past. While there are still hardcore gaming enthusiasts out there, more sales are emerging from casual gamers. In an article that Ian Sherr wrote for the Wall Street Journal, he states:

Sales of new hardware consoles were hit hard in 2010, falling 13% to $6.29 billion from $7.19 billion a year ago. NPD said the only console to grow in sales was Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Xbox 360. (Videogame Industry Sales Were Roughly Flat in 2010)

Consumers have been holding on to their money tighter because of the current state of the economy. On a brighter note, not all sales can be gauged by how many “physical product” has sold off the shelves. Dematerialized, or downloaded, products, such as games and game components that can be bought off the internet, have also attributed to much of the video games sales. In an article written by Sandeep for Pisqa, the author, in interviewing Georges Fornay, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment France, Fornay says, “If we limit ourselves to the physical market, there is a decrease of 5.7% over 2009, due mainly to the drop in the price of consoles,” however after adding  downloaded games into the mix, Fornay says, “it is likely that this decline in overall value is much less important.” (The video game market, down slightly in 2010, put on laptops in 2011)

While video game sales might seem like it is declining, manufacturers have to find a way to reinvent themselves in order to makes sales for their company happen. With the market and the target audience changing, it might be the only way for the video games companies to keep up.

Week 1: EOC

I've had this for a few days, but I just figured out how to use labels.

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The online shoe company, Zappos, believes that  great customer service is  essential to their success. That’s why the one of the fastest growing web retailers has got as big as it did. While other companies pour money into advertising, trying to get new customers to shop from them, Zappos puts the  money that could be used for commercials or magazine ads back into the customer experience. Tony Hiesh, CEO of Zappos,  says that “It’s a lot cheaper to get existing customers to buy from you than it is to try to convince someone [new]. “ (Pg. 1)

Zappos isn’t doesn’t carry special shoes or merchandise that’s exclusive to their company, it’s just that people keep coming back because of the customer experience. If they don’t have an item, they’ll find it with another store even if it means they will lose the sale. The company culture revolves around 10 core values including “Build open and honest relationships  with communication” and “Deliever WOW through service!” (Pg. 4) But this doesn’t only keep the customers coming back, but the employees as well. New hires were given the opportunity to take $2000 to quit the company during their 4 week customer service training but only a few were willing to take the money  and leave.  In our class book, it was said that “Hsieh says that originally the incentive was $100, but the amount keeps rising because not enough people take it.” (Pg.4) . Employees are told to “check their competitiveness and egos at the door” and by doing this they’re able to provide a good experience for everyone involved.

Building better customer relations mean everything to the Zappos. Keeping touch through social networks like Facebook and Twitter, Hsieh and other employees are able to guage how they rate with their customers and gather any feedback they might have. They share the good and bad and keep the customers aware of what’s going on within the company.  

The business model adopted by Zappos should be adopted by more companies during this economic downturn. By keeping your employees happy, they’ll in turn keep the customers happy. By doing this, they’ll keep them coming back and word will spread about how this company is.

References

Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing    

Is Steve Jobs Changing HIs Mind?

I remember watching G4 last year and hearing the news that Steve Jobs will not allow any porn on his Apple products, such as the iPhone and iPad. But this morning as I was looking for articles to read on web design or design in general, I came across an article in Mashable that's titled "Uncensored "Playboy" Magazine Coming to iPad in March" written by Stan Schroeder. According to Schroeder, Hugh Hefner tweeted something to the effect that all back and current issues of Playboy will be available on iPad.  This just makes me wonder if Steve Jobs is caving to the fact that sex sells or if Hef and Playboy has that much influence.

Web Deign with Adobe Illustrator

It seems a lot of people like to use Adobe Photoshop to help design websites. At one time, I wished I was one of those guys but sometimes you got to do what feels comfortable to you to get the job done. One program I've spent a lot of time on since I first learned how to use it in Mr. Lais's class is Adobe Illustrator. This program, like the name implies, is used for digital illustrations. I've used it for graphic design work in making logos and posters but it seems like you can also use it for web design layouts.

I came across this article in Smashing Magazine called "Productive Web Design With... Adobe Illustrator?" written by Vincent Le Moign. In his article, he covers how more effective Illustrator can be compared to it's Adobe counterpart. For instance, shapes are easier to create and manipulate, text can be formatted a lot easier, and wireframes can be created easier. It's all about maximizing productivity in the time you have to work with. If you like Illustrator, check it out, it's a good read and pretty informative.

Making an Effective Web Design

On my quest to check out articles to help me be an effective web designer, I came across this small article on what the author, PixelCrayons, believes would help make your website more effective. For another class, I was to critique both good sites and bad, and after reading this article, I can see how those sites failed. On the Associated Content site on Yahoo, PixelCrayons wrote an article called "Tips to Choose an Effective Web Design". In the article, the author had 6 tips that could help your site be more effective:

1. Since the internet is a hub for information all over the world, make sure your content is spot on.
2. Presentation for the content should be easy to navigate through,
3. Navigation should be easy on your site.
4. Links should work.
5. Pop ups can be annoying and could drive away people visiting your site.
6. Don't overload your site with videos or images that might slow down accessing your page. 

I guess simple is good. Make sure you check out the link above for the full article!

A New Way to Paint

Technology is amazing! I was checking out this site called PSD Tuts+ and came across this article called "Paint With Lasers!". Russell Brown showcased this technique at Adobe Max where he took a photo and was able to have it engraved on wood with both a laser and ink printer. The image was 3D. Looks like it might be pricey (Not sure where to get a laser engraver) but it's still cool nonetheless. Check out the video above!

7 Ways to Kill Your Freelance Career Before it Starts

Ever since I've started blogging, I've taken into reading more articles about web design and designing in general. Although I'd love getting into a company and learning the "ins and outs" of the trade, I'd love to also get into my own business and do the whole "be my own boss" thing. I came across this article on the Vandelay Design website that was published on January 14, 2011 called "7 Ways to Kill your Freelance Career Before it Starts". There are mistakes that the author wants the reader to try and avoid if they're considering starting a freelance job. Mistakes like jumping into a freelance job too soon, not having savings set aside or believing things will come easy because you're a good designer will get you in trouble before you get started. As someone who's new to the freelance business, this is a good guide to follow.

I'm new to doing freelance work. I've done maybe 1 graphic design job for an Airshow in El Centro, CA that's for the US Navy and i had to ask my friends who have experience what to do and what not to do. I've never dealt with customers and I don't know what's customary to charge someone. If I go to high, they'll go to someone else. If I go to low, I won't be making up to my potential. One thing I know I have to do in the freelance business or even in a regular business setting is to gain clients. In an article by Uzi Shmilovici in Smashing Magazine called "How to Identify Good Clients (and Avoid Bad Ones)" , Shmilovici writes that influential business one of writer Peter Drucker's ideas is that "without a customer, there is no business". In this article, Shmilovici lists principles or ideas that one should consider when looking around at clients. It's a good read!

5 Mistakes to End Your Freelance Career

I was surfing the web to looking for anything new or interesting in the field of Web Design or design in general and came across an article named "5 Mistakes to End Your Freelance Career" written by Allan Branch. Thinking about what we talked about yesterday in marketing class, I thought this was relevant to marketing yourself, and what “not” to do or how to be. I found this pretty helpful since I’m just getting into doing freelance work and it answered a few doubts I had.