The Power of Pinterest : Data You Can't Ignore

Since its launch in March of 2010, Pinterest has shown explosive growth and shows no signs of slowing down. So what’s with all the interest in Pinterest?

Think of it as a virtual cork board. A place where one can organize thoughts, ideas and plans from virtually anywhere on the internet. You can search other pinners and their boards along with pinning directly from any other websites. Many use Pinterest to redecorate their home, plan a wedding or come up with DIY gift ideas. Pinterest can be thought of as an extension of your brain, keeping any ideas for future projects neatly stored until you are ready to move forward with the next project, recipe or birthday party.

For business marketing, Pinterest is an easy way to direct traffic back to your website, reach out to Pinterest members that have similar interests in what you offer and a way to educate or share important information. It is becoming coming clear that leveraging Pinterest along with a professional SEO company or social media marketing agency is an essential part of a successful internet marketing campaign.

Tasha Lee Design, Chicagoland Graphic Designer
Email Me: tasha@tashaleedesign.com

Creepiest Ice Cream Ad.

Our society is blitzed with tv ads, print ads, billboards and marquees. Everywhere you turn there is a marketing message waiting to be seen. It is very important to capture your audience with "out-of-the-box" marketing campaigns.

I saw this commercial on you tube for an ice cream company located out of Philadelphia, is this pushing the envelope too far? It is pretty creepy. I can not get over the guy's eyes just staring into you. Creepy.

Even though this commercial is a 10 on my creepy rating, it is brilliant. It was posted 6 days ago on you tube and it already has over 730,000 views.

Any marketing campaign is a great one when it creates buzz!

Tasha Lee Design, Chicagoland Graphic Designer
Email Me: tasha@tashaleedesign.com

Are You Smarter Than Your Dog?

by Michael Dalton Johnson, author of Rules of the Hunt

Dogs and philosophers do the greatest good and get the fewest rewards. -Diogenes

Dogs can teach a lesson to anyone in business.

Canines came in from the wild many millennia ago. They are the oldest domesticated animal and one of the most common household pets. These intelligent creatures brought with them huge benefits for humanity. The many jobs dogs perform for us is mind-boggling. They are guards, rescuers, herders, entertainers, guides, therapists, crime fighters, and much more.

Above all, dogs are skilled entrepreneurs who have mastered the arts of communication, persuasion, and selling.

Like any good businessperson, dogs are honest. There is not much chance of misunderstanding them. Happy, angry, wary, hungry, or on the alert, they let you know their state of mind.

Like successful businesspeople, dogs know how to ask for what they want. It's a job they do with great expertise. While dogs can't speak, they do tell us their needs via body language that's easy to understand.

Dogs understand how to engage. Their sincere excitement about and interest in their business partner (that would be you) is flattery on a level that's hard to resist. Whenever you are greeted by your dog, it's easy to understand the famous quote, sometimes attributed to Mark Twain, "My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog thinks I am."

Tasha Lee Design, Chicagoland Graphic Designer
Email Me: tasha@tashaleedesign.com

Derby Gala Event Makeover

The Gala event was hosted way back in May, but I just got my hands on the printed materials last week.... I could have not been any happier with how they turned out! Pictures never give printed materials any justice, but how gorgeous these are.

Tasha Lee Design put together a 5x7 trifold invitation card that included details of the event itself, an explanation of what the Kentucky Derby Gala was supporting and sponsor highlights. We chose to use a textured background that looked very similar to linen paper in a bright olive green coloring. The oil painting artwork of derby racers was the inspiration behind the color palette chosen for this year's event.

Tasha Lee Design also designed: coordinating RSVP cards, sponsor banners, print ads and a 16-page program which tied the whole event's image together.

the trifold invitation .... I love the green textured background!

What a beautiful and elegant font to be used throughout the 16-page program filled
with sponsor information, event details and a custom map of the venue

The event was a fundraiser for the hospital's HOPE FUND, a fund used to
give financial assistance those who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Tasha Lee Design, Chicagoland Graphic Designer
Email Me: tasha@tashaleedesign.com

International Tradeshow Booth

A couple weeks ago I highlighted Rogue Partners logo design and promised to showcase the photos from their trade show in Singapore. Unfortunately, I was not in attendance for this particular show, but had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the owner of the business when he returned to the States. What a cool and interesting country. I could have sat there and talked with Ken for hours about his experience, the culture, and dynamics of the Asian market. I was extremely happy with the graphics when everything was put together and the booth looked stunning.

One of the points that intrigued me most is that over in Asia, the idea of animals grazing in an open field is completely surreal to them. As Tasha Lee Design was putting together the tradeshow booth graphics, we made a point to emphasize just that.... a farm with acres and acres of rolling hills. I think the bright green of the pastures against the clear blue sky makes the whole booth really stand out.

Tasha Lee Design, Illinois Graphic Designer :: Chicagoland Graphic Design Studio
Email Me: tasha@tashaleedesign.com

Anything But Cheesy : Part One

What I love about my job is that I am presented with such a wide array of opportunities. Each day is exciting and fresh and I never know what type of projects lurk around the next corner. Recently, Tasha Lee Design was able to work with a gentleman that exports award winning Wisconsin cheeses to Singapore.

Tasha Lee Design was given the opportunity to develop this brand from the ground up, starting with the foundation of any small business, the logo. After sitting down with Rogue Partners, and going through a creative brief, we came up with some ideas to develop into an influential brand that not only represented the farmstead, but also the high tech ways of the Asian market The products are made in USA, while the target audience is located in Singapore, Tasha Lee Design had the challenge of representing both cultures in one solid identity.

Rogue Partners is a US based company that exports award-winning farmstead products to the Asian market.

Utilizing the most influential color scheme in Asia's market trends, the red and yellow create a nice balance with an illustration of the old traditional horse and cart, along with utilizing a Wisconsin state silhouette off-set by prairie grasses and wildlife. The *O* in Rogue is represented by a rotating globe clearly stating that Rogue Partners is an International business.


Up & Coming: Bringing the vision together into trade show graphics and printed materials.

Tasha Lee Design, Chicagoland Graphic Designer
Email Me: tasha@tashaleedesign.com

The orange and pink color combination of More Than Mugs custom logo and newly designed website; matches the high energy of this husband and wife team well. With a great passion for what she does, Laura Herman, founder and owner, has ideas bursting at the seam for client appreciation, promotional items and keepsake gifts. Their logo uses a fun and flirty font coupled with a custom illustration of a business women. This combination creates a nice balance between Laura's creative side and professional service.

The website design showcases several types of products available in the slideshow gallery on the home page. With portions of the site directed specifically to retail and business clients, it simplifies the process for both business and retail clientele. The website also features several different photo galleries that specifically showcases products that More Than Mugs created in-house allowing viewers access to a variety of ideas and inspiration for creating their own personalized gift.

To learn more about more than mugs, please visit http://morethanmugs.com/index.html, designed and developed by Tasha Lee Design.

Tasha Lee Design, Yorkville, IL Graphic Designer
Email Me: tasha@tashaleedesign.com

Same Event, New Twist

Each year Treehouse hosts an annual outing for all of it's employees. With a new theme rolled out each year, this company knows how to keep the anticipation and excitement high their employees. With careful preparation a full week is dedicated to education, leadership building, employee recognition, sales training and social outings. With each new theme comes a new logo design that is used in all aspects of the corporate outing from t-shirts, employee gifts, power point programs, banners and giveaways. Below you will see a timeline of the past four years and each of the branding packages used from year to year. Tasha Lee Design spearheaded the process in working with Treehouse and creating a new and unique identity for each year's corporate event.

As you can see each identity from year to year varies greatly from theme to coloring to tagline. In 2009, Treehouse wanted to embrace the year of leadership and working as a team, they came up with "Win As One" making it apparent to their employees that success only comes when we all work together. Tasha Lee Design aligned the 2009 logo with a racing theme and translated it into wall clocks (shown below), tshirts, keychains, power point presentation and signage.

In 2010, Treehouse wanted to share the growth of it's company with it's employees and recognize the hard work of all employed there. Tasha Lee created a winning logo of two boxing gloves. Treehouse loved this event logo so much that we translated it into an animation that could also be used throughout the week in power point and short video clips.



In 2011, Treehouse felt it was time for a new tagline and were changing up their marketing strategies. To go along with their male dominated sales team, Tasha Lee Design created a theme that aligned well with the ever popular Star Trek era. This logo was used on all employee recognition gifts, on giveaways and in all printed materials for the event.
In 2012, Treehouse wanted their event to come off as fun and upbeat, With a theme of 70's music and Volkswagen beetles, we created a more generalized identity that would appeal to all music genres to promote regular usage of all items given away throughout the week. All images are copyrighted by Tasha Lee Design © 2009-2012. All rights reserved.


Tasha Lee Design, Chicagoland Graphic Designer
Email Me: tasha@tashaleedesign.com

Old Mixed with the New.

With a company name change, an updated services list and a new perspective; Trinity Electrical absolutely loved a portion of their old logo design and didn't want to let it go. Understandably so, the fist with a lightening bolt aligned well with their business ethics and strongly represented the concept of power and strength.

However, a different color scheme and a fresh look was a priority for any marketing materials used moving forward. With a slick black and grey combination, the yellow lightening bolt really stands out on this custom designed business card. When printed on a high-quality cover stock with a glossy finish, this business card design is one that will catch the eye of anyone who sees it.

Start designing your custom designed business cards today with Tasha Lee Design. Tasha Lee Design is a creative design firm located in the Chicagoland area who specializes in print design for small businesses.

Contact Tasha Lee Today :: 630-335-0156 :: tasha@tashaleedesign.com

National Peanut Month!

It is ironic that I came across the interesting fact of March being National Peanut Month because I have just discovered a new Peanut Butter Ball recipe that is to die for! This recipe is all over Pinterest and if you are a fellow user, you too, have most likely run across it.

What is so awesome about them, is these balls are packed full of protein and are healthy for you! My family fights over them when I make them and a double batch barely lasts 5 days in my home. So if you are crazy about peanut butter, you MUST try these out.

No-Bake Energy Bites

(makes 18-20 bites)

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything above in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy! Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Original Source: Smashed Peas and Carrots

Tasha Lee Design, Chicagoland Graphic Designer
Email Me: tasha@tashaleedesign.com