EdHive book featured on Behance

May 17, 2012 - creativity + design

Yay, design hero Svante Nilson and I partnered on a book for client EdHive. It was just featured on Behance for Typography.

Real proud of the visuals on this one. (And the copy ain’t bad either.)

See more here!

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  05-17-2012  ::  anne

Sketchnotes from San Diego Women 2.0 Founder Friday

May 7, 2012 - creativity + culture

Over 100 San Diego women turned out for the launch of Founder Friday with Women 2.0 in San Diego. Some familiar faces and a lot of new ones. I think I may have found a few collaborators. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  05-07-2012  ::  anne

What Luke Skywalker taught me about the big idea.

May 4, 2012 - writing

This spring Star War Episode 1:  The Phantom Menace was back on the silver screen in 3-D. So after watching Phantom Menace, I ended up watching Episode 4: A New Home within the same week. Comparing the plotlines of the two movies got me thinking about the importance of the big idea when telling a story.

(Whether you should begin with the prequels or original triology is a whole other blog post.)

Luke is the good guy. We'll overlook the fact he kisses his sister.

The original Star Wars, A New Hope, is a classic story of good vs evil. We follow the quest of young Luke as he grows as a young man.  The end of the movie is an adrenaline rush as we watch Luke and the other pilots make the assault on the Death Star and blow it up.

Contrast this with the ending of Episode 1 The Phantom Menace. Who are we rooting for? Well to start with we have the froggish Jar Jar Binks leading the Gungans into battle against the Trade Federation battle droids.

Jar Jar Binks. George invented him so he could sell more birthday party favors to 5-year olds.

Then we have Princess Amidala  leading the capture of the palace.

Dames with guns are hot. Especially in Episode 2 where they wear ripped white spandex jumpsuits.

Anakin ends up in the sky and blows up the control ship thus disabling all the droids.

Can you really trust a kid who levitates fruit to impress a girl?

And finally, Qui-gon Jinn and Obi-wan Kenobi  battle Darth Maul.

Obi-wan twirls his lightsaber a lot.

Did you get that? Now imagine if this was a marketing campaign. With A New Hope, you can name who the hero is – Luke Skywalker.

Now quick, who’s the hero of the Phantom Menace?

If you stuff too many details in your messaging people end up remembering nothing.

Live long and prosper.

May the Force be with you.

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  05-04-2012  ::  anne

What drives you? The AIGA San Diego 17th Annual Y Design Conference.

April 18, 2012 - design

What drives you as a designer? Fame, glory, money (not), the chance to influence people?

A couple of weeks ago I attended the AIGA San Diego 17th Annual Y Design Conference. The line up of speakers was fabulous. I was particularly charmed by Andrew Byrom who talked about how he financed some of his own projects.

You can find my account on Storify here.

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  04-18-2012  ::  anne

Why I co-work.

March 29, 2012 - creativity

The Realities of Working at Home from Anne McColl on Vimeo.

Yeah, as a freelance copywriter, I can work from home, but that’s not always the best option. That’s why I co-work with other folk.

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  03-29-2012  ::  anne

When in doubt, use a Superhero.

March 26, 2012 - uncategorized

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  03-26-2012  ::  anne

Guest posts for Fandom Marketing

March 8, 2012 - writing

Things have been a little quiet around here. This month I did a series of guest posts called Creative Conversation for the folks at Fandom Marketing.

My favorite posts was about Evian tweeting illustrations live from a food festival.

You can check out the entire series here.

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  03-08-2012  ::  anne

I Blank You: When Words Aren’t Enough

February 13, 2012 - creativity + writing

All you need is words love. A copywriter’s guide to Valentine’s.

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  02-13-2012  ::  anne

What makes an artist?

January 9, 2012 - writing

I’m usually not an inspirational quote type of gal, but these were some of the loveliest words I have read in a while. St. Francis via @dilworth designs.

 ::  Share or discuss  ::  01-09-2012  ::  anne

Words to banish in 2012.

January 3, 2012 - creativity + writing

As an interactive copywriter, I write the way people really talk. Here’s to plain simple English.

1 comment  ::  Share or discuss  ::  01-03-2012  ::  anne