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Get double the free trial period (100 days free instead of 50 days free, and no credit card required) by clicking here. Use this code TSK2012 when registering.

How can we offer this deal. Because we know the creators of Tasklite (nice guys). And Langton Cherubino Group is responsible for the branding (nice logo).

Here are a few more great Origami resources.
Learn how to make a miniature album here.
Find out how how to fold a Japanese Paper Ball here.
Find out how to make an Koi here.
Make an Lotus here or an hummingbirds here.
Here is a great 3D animation of how to fold the classic paper crane.

More repurposed typewriter  items and ideas here. And here.

We’re all about using visuals to communicate. But it’s not just about the pictures, it’s about the idea, the concept and the content behind the visuals that will make your marketing effective. With that in mind we’d like to share 5 surprisingly easy tips on creating the best email marketing Subject Titles. Because, if they don’t open your emails, they’ll never see the great visuals.

1. Creativity
Creative headlines are often the best way to attract attention…but where do you come up with new ideas? You can try this fun tool: Link Bait Generator. You can type in subjects and it will automatically generate a clever headline adaptation. Brian Massey from Conversion Scientists was inspired by the seminar names at the SXSW Conference and provides this advise, “If our email is to be read, our subject lines must save our recipients from mindless autonomy.” Here are highlights from Brian’s keys to creative email title writing. Read the original post here.

Things That Don’t Fit Together: Non-Sequiturs
Our brains are wired to discard the familiar faster than a bear can spell Constantinople. It is the unexpected that gets the attention of our conscious and prepares us for action. These titles demonstrate the use of twists to pull readers out of their inbox apathy.

Lists of Three
There is something memorable, readable, and easy-to-count about lists of three. This method is especially successful when the third item is overly specific or doesn’t fit. See “Things that Don’t Fit Together” above. (For the Langton Cherubino blog, our subject title “Pinterest, Donuts and Social Networking” worked quite well scoring the second highest open rate in the past 6 months.)

Shock and Awe
Boring subject lines make me want to poke needles into my eyes! Sometimes it makes sense to hit readers over the head with something that is just plain shocking. Sometimes.

Rhymes and Alliteration
Sensual subject lines supplement the bottom line. Alliteration is the repeated use of consonants. Rhymes grab your readers like a musical phrase. Don’t be afraid to add a little poetry to your prose.

Metaphors and Similes
Similes are like can openers for the mind. Metaphors are the batteries in the flashlight of your email. The technical term for this style of messaging is “transubstantiation,” using the characteristics of one thing to add meaning to another in the eyes of the reader.

2. Expectations
One of the best tips we’ve seen is to set the right expectations. Are you sending out content that meets the expectations of your subscribers? Do your subscribers expect sales offers, coupon promotions and special discounts like many retail companies? Or do they expect breaking news? Industry expertise? Interesting and unusual content on subjects that you are an expert in? Do you provide content that is relevant to your clients and supports your organizations goals? It’s important to be clear about what type of content you are delivering so that your Subject Titles can reflect that.

3. Authenticity
You want to establish a long-term relationship with your subscribers as a reliable and interesting source for important content. As the marketers at VerticalResponse say: “Your ‘From Label’ is very important.” Use your organization’s name in the ‘From’ section of the email and it’s a good practice to repeat it in the actual title of the email. We found that when we put “Langton Cherubino” in the Subject Title it was our highest “open rate.” You don’t want to hide or trick the user about who is sending out the email. Gimmicks and tricks may work to give you a temporary bump in the “open rate” of your emails, but in the long run this diminishes your credibility. It is better to be authentic than to come across as too salesy. MailChimp warns that “Most people get so much junk mail in their inbox, anything that even hints of spam gets thrown away immediately.”

4. The Fundamentals:
The next two tips are from Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger. When you’re writing your next subject line, run it through this checklist, based on the Four “U” Approach to headline writing:
• Useful: Is the promised message valuable to the reader?
• Ultra-specific: Does the reader know what’s being promised?
• Unique: Is the promised message compelling and remarkable?
• Urgent: Does the reader feel the need to read now?
When you’re trying to get someone to take valuable time and invest it in your message, a subject line that properly incorporates all four of these elements can’t miss. And yet, execution in the email context can be tricky, so let’s drill down into subject-line specifics for greater clarity.

5. The Specifics:
Beyond headline fundamentals, these are the things to specifically focus on with email subject lines:
• Urgent when it’s useful: When every message from you is urgent, none is. Use urgency when it’s actually useful, such as when there’s a real deadline or compelling reason to act now. If you’re running your email marketing based on value and great offers, people don’t want to miss out and need to know how much time they have.
• Rely on spam checking software: We all know that certain words trigger spam filters, but there’s a lot of confusion out there about which words are the problem. Is it okay to use the word “free” in a subject line? Actually, yes. All reputable email services provide spam checking software as part of the service or as an add-on. Craft your messages with compelling language, let the software do its job, and adjust when you have to.
• Shorter is better: Subject line real estate is valuable, so the more compact your subject line, the better. Don’t forget useful and ultra-specific, but try to compress the fundamentals into the most powerful promise possible.

More Subject Title Resources:
7 Tricks for the Best Email Subject Lines
14 Email Subject Line Hacks
50 All-Time Great Retail Subject Lines
Email Subject Line Comparisons

As seen in INVESTMENT NEWS

By David Langton
May 6, 2012 6:01 am ET

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but are they really the right words to describe you and your firm? We live in a visual world, and you can differentiate yourself and connect with your audience when you use the right imagery. We performed an informal survey of adviser websites recently and found many to be using images successfully. We also came up with several suggestions about how improvements in design and visual intelligence could enhance the client experience.

Avoid the financial clichés.
At a recent meeting to discuss a website re-design, the first thing a new client said was, “No sailboat images and no compasses.” How refreshing. One of the first bits of advice I recommend is to stay away from financial clichés. From one adviser website to the next, cliché images abound — from the green of money as a color scheme, to the lighthouses, to the happy couples walking down the beach in retirement.

The chess-playing images that show strategy and thinking ahead are overused as a metaphor for investing. Such images don’t add anything to a theme unless you can use them in a distinctive way.

There’s one practitioner who really should use this imagery — Dennis Stearns, whose University of South Florida chess team won the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship in 1976. The president of Stearns Financial Services Group Inc. has a real connection to chess, and he could come up with a distinctive way of using this theme. The rest of us should put this metaphor in a retirement plan.

Use images effectively.
If your only choice is to use sailboats, a compass or one of the reliable investment metaphors, find a way to do it that distinguishes you from the competition and adds some visual panache.

For instance, while Cassaday & Co. Inc. uses photos that are not unusual, it has coupled the imagery with themes in a professional design that articulates its mission and investment philosophy.

Another example from the firms we surveyed is Spruce Hill Capital LLC which uses common images, but in a unique way, with a beautiful color palette and thematic terms such as “balance” and “life planning.”

The firm created cohesive imagery that feels inviting. The use of a slide show of its well-selected images, cropped in a distinctive manner, further helps to advance the firm’s marketing message.

Hire a professional photographer.
If you are going to use original photography for anything, especially executive head shots, you should absolutely hire a professional photographer. The difference between what a professional can deliver and what your office assistant can do could make all the difference in how clients and prospects see you and your firm.

For instance, if you look at the executive photos used in the team section of the Willow Creek Financial Services Inc. website you’ll see that the firm does a nice job of presenting its team with good, professional head shots. You can tell they were taken by the same photographer. They have the same backgrounds and are well-lit.

On the other hand, homemade photos on your website that look like snapshots can have the opposite effect. Most financial advisers want to look professional, smart and engaged, yet we often see photos with poor lighting that come across as unprofessional and make the firm’s owners appear unprepared and unpolished.

Keep in mind that executive head shots don’t necessarily have to be you in business attire. Informal is fine; just be sure to stay consistent across all the team’s photos. And while you’re at it, be sure to negotiate the rights to use your photos in advertising, promotion and on your LinkedIn page. Unless you specify otherwise in your contracts, the photographer owns the rights to the photos.

Remember, an investment in your imagery is an investment in your firm and the visual representation you want to portray to your clients and prospects.

David Langton (david@langton cherubino.com) is a partner at Langton Cherubino Group Ltd., a design communications firm. Julie Couser, owner of Invest MarCom & Events, provided research for this article.

Langton Cherubino Group is currently interviewing for Summer 2012 internships positions.

About Us
Langton Cherubino Group is a communication design firm dedicated to improving the way businesses and their audiences interact. Our solutions provide the visual intelligence needed to inform and captivate. Our clients run the gamut from big (Pfizer, AIG, and MetLife) to little (a bubble tea shop and two guys who make dog shampoo). Our projects range from web and print to exhibit and packaging. We are located in Chelsea near Madison Square Park (lunch at Shake Shack or Eataly anyone?).

Internship Requirements
- Current student working towards a degree or recent graduate with a degree in web and or graphic design
- Proficient with InDesign, Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Illustrator
- Solid design and typography skills
- Knowledge and/or experience with Flash, HTML, animation, Keynote or WordPress a plus
- Knowledge and/or experience programming an HTML email (using tables) in Dreamweaver a plus

Opportunities
- Learn what it’s like to work in a professional design studio.
- Experience working on client-driven projects
- Gain work experience, participate in brainstorming and sketching as projects come up
- Create and work on inhouse promotions, blogs, emails and websites
- Receive feedback and tips from partners and senior designers on your current school projects (if you want that)

Salary / Hours
- Flexible hours. Please be available to work 1 to 3 days a week.
- This is an unpaid internship (though we will buy you lunch and give you a monthly Metrocard).
- The internship may also be for school credit.

If you would like to be considered for this internship please e-mail Norman Cherubino. (norman at langtoncherubino dot com)

Please include links to current web projects, a link to your online portfolio or a PDF of your portfolio.

No phone calls please.

For more information about Langton Cherubino Group please visit our web site.

Good visual marketing employs the art of seeing the other senses with deliberate imagery that evokes the essence of all 5 senses. Here are a few examples.

Taste

This is tasteful advertising. For visualizing taste, you can’t get more delicious than the Magnum Temptation print ad campaign showing the explosion of flavors.  Photographers Diver & Aguilar were commissioned by Spanish advertising agency Lola, to capture the taste and flavors of ice cream bars. Remember how Charlie the Tuna used to try to show he had good taste, and the narrator would say, “Sorry Charlie, StarKist doesn’t want tunas with good taste. StarKist wants tunas that taste good.” Well, taste alone, is not the only way to attract attention. In fact, in a study in the Journal of Consumer Research, Ryan Elder and Aradhna Krishna of Michigan’s Ross School of Business show that advertising that utilizes multisensory cues of taste, smell, texture, sight and sound can enhance the taste perceptions of the audience. “Mentioning senses other than taste can increase positive sensory thoughts about the food and, consequently, taste,” said Krishna. “Because taste is generated from multiple senses, ads mentioning these senses will have a significant impact on taste over ads mentioning taste alone.”

For a different take on taste, Burger King created an unusual visual campaign where they try to visualize a Whopper burger in the eye make-up of a model.  The sesame seed bun, lettuce, burgers, pickles and cheese are shown in eyeliner and mascara. Burgers are in the eyes of the beholder? Perhaps the idea is that you are what you eat. It’s a funny visual, though it doesn’t really make me want to taste a burger.

Touch

Angel Soft toilet paper has a “touching” campaign that evokes the senses of touch. (Isn’t it interesting that toilet paper ads rarely mention the words “toilet” or “paper”?) The ad features imagery of the heavenly angelic baby complete with billowy clouds, and fluffy wings nestled among the rolls of white paper. Notice how the wispy little baby’s hands make an impression in the oh-so-delicate roll of toilet paper. It positively conjures up the sensation of the soft touch.

Hear

Stefan Sagmeister designed a CD album cover image for Lou Reed where you can practically hear the lyrics. The style of the handwritten typography superimposed on Reed’s face is raw and personal. It reveals the inner poetry of the singer-songwriter sharing intimate musical compositions. You can hear the gravelly voice of Lou Reed as you try to decipher what he is singing about.

Smell

Check out this visual campaign for Coach promoting a new perfume that utilizes a combination of soft hues and delicate colors to simulate the fragrance of poppy flowers. Mia on Candymag.com describes it as, “One whiff of Coach’s newest scent, Poppy Flower, and I’m suddenly all loyal and steadfast again. It’s a sparkling fruity floral that isn’t at all overpowering. It’s sweet without being dowdy, feminine without being cloying. I cannot stop sniffing it.” It’s enough to make you stop and smell the poppies.

He wrote, “The written web is steadily becoming a thing of the past. By 2013 Cisco estimates that 90% of all consumer IP traffic will be video. If you think this sounds implausible, consider that even today video represents well over 50% of all consumer traffic.”

With the web moving more towards video, it only seems natural that web search will move more towards video too.

This list includes some of the most popular video search engines:

Yahoo Video, YouTube, Google Video, AOL Video, Bing Video, MetaCafe

And here are some upcoming video search engines:

Blinkx has built a reputation as the Remote Control for the Video Web. With an index of over 35 million hours of searchable video and more than 720 media partnerships, including national broadcasters, commercial media giants, and private video libraries, it is one of the premier destinations for online TV.

Videos.com is a video search engine that indexes millions of online videos from all across the web. Search over 31,000,000 free videos from all major video sites. Over 2,500 new videos are added daily.

Unlike other similar sites that pull video from only one or a few different sources ClipBlast is pulling video from everywhere so you are just as likely to get results from ABC as you are from YouTube or MetaCafe.

Fooooo is the most used video search engine in Japan. Currently, it is possible to search videos from about 130 video/movie sharing sites in one shot.

From the beginning, Vimeo was created by filmmakers and video creators who wanted to share their creative work, along with intimate personal moments of their everyday life. As time went on, like-minded people came to the site and built a community of positive, encouraging individuals with a wide range of video interests.

VideoSurf searches Hulu, CNN, TMZ, MetaCafe, Comedy Central, Dailymotion and more to find the best entertainment videos on the web.

Why the excitement around here? Well, our Design Director Jim Keller, is responsible for the visual look of the menu system at Elmo. So, while you are checking out the show, check out Jim’s menus.

Missed the premiere? You can always watch the show at NBC.com.