The image of the week: We wait, time doesn’t!

Time is relative, according to Albert Einstein. To the rest of world time is either called the enemy either the savior. We always say that time will heal all wounds or we panic when we realize that time is ticking just like a clock and the more we move in the future the more we feel we don’t have enough time to do whatever we want. The truth is time just is, it never moves faster or slower. These are just the perceptions that we have about it. This image by stokkete is so wonderful that i fell in love with it and its concept. I like it so much that i might actually frame it and hang it on my wall as a reminder that we all have time, it’s just the way that we use it that will make a difference in our lives.

What’s so great about this picture?

1. It has a great message that is always actual. Since forever people have complained about either the lack of time or the amount of free time that leads to boredom.

2. It has fantastic geometry that raises this image as a beautiful piece of art.

3. It has a vintage look due to the colors. Vintage is the new modern in our age, also an indication how time actually moves from past to present and future.

4. The amount of copy space gives the buyer the opportunity to write a lot of messages on it.

How could we use it?

•  As the main image for an insurance company, great for promoting a life insurance.

•  Motivational posters for improving life’s quality by becoming more organized and establishing one’s priority. We all know that saying;”Don’t Put Off Until Tomorrow What You Can Do Today!”.

•  An investment campaign either for stock market or real estate.

•  An advert for a miracle cosmetics that stops the aging progress.

•  A campaign for a recruitment company. Time is now, apply and we’ll help find you a job faster so you save the time you spend applying your CV everywhere.

•  Wallpapers for your desktops. (By the way, this is my current wallpaper)

•  A framed print to put on the walls either in your home, office, etc. It really is such an artistic image.

•  The cover for a book or inside print in either books, magazines or newspapers.

•  Outdoors billboards for different campaigns.

 

Image of the week: Freedom in a world of constrains

When i first saw this image uploaded by BDS my mind stopped for a few minutes and i kept starring at it like a kid at something new and lovely. It intrigued me so much because it has so much power and it is so versatile and it speaks so much about freedom and how tied down are all of us by the society. I met once a very wise old man who told me that freedom is not how we perceive it and freedom is not achieved through wars and violence, but through our own minds. In society we need to have rules that we must obey in order for it to function, but what we can do for ourselves is to set ourselves free from the inside out, not the other way around. We can become free by changing the way we see things, the way we think and act towards the world and the others around us. That reminds of a great quote by Mahatma Gandhi that fits just right: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

What’s so great about this picture?

1. It has a powerful full of emotion message – a woman tied up and screaming.

2. It has endless opportunities of usage.

3. It has a lot of copy space on the black background where you can write you own words, message. Actually looking it more carefully you could even write something on the model’s tongue, like a cry for help, etc.

4. The colors are bright and vivid, even though the black background can be a little “threatening”

5. It has great emotional impact reaching subjects as freedom of humans in society, freedom of speech, abuse towards women, emotional and financial constrains, etc.

How could we use it?

•  Outdoor and indoor adverts and billboards with a message about freedom of speech, freedom of women in the Muslim community, stop the domestic violence.

• A commercial for a new radio station where you don’t hear any more bad songs.

• A politician’s campaign image, through which he wants to liberate people of all previous financial and political constrains.

•  A commercial for a new medicine for head-aches or even flu or allergies, asthma, etc.

• A powerful campaign to raise awareness about the human traffic situation.

• A nonconformist job add, for a firm that promotes a different type of working environment, where people are treated nicely and have the freedom to speak without being judged and fired.

• An add for a psychotherapist new office with a possible message like: Rid yourself of constrains and start living a new life!

• Wallpapers for our desktops, banners and logos for applications.

• In magazines and newspapers on a huge number of subjects regarding freedom in every way.

• Inspirational posters.

• Printed on shirts, caps, mugs, promotional material, book covers, agendas, etc

Image of the week: Money is a snake that can both poison or heal

 

No matter how hard we try to deny it and think otherwise, the truth is money is what makes the world spin. The only problem in this is greed. Money make us happy and help us sustain our health, but in the same time it makes us miserable and sick. We all know that food no longer tastes like the food we ate when we were children. It is not because we grew up and don’t taste food the same way, but because greed has led us to the moment when we eat vegetables and fruits made in labs, modified organisms, that have less nutrients, less taste and a high concentration of toxic substances. Living has become a business and this photo made by Gloffs is a wonderful conceptual example that proves it.

What’s so great about this picture?

1. It raises awareness about the current situation of the food industry.
2. It has a big emotional impact.
3. The colors are bright and eye-catching.
4. It has copy space where you can add your own text.
5. Great isolation, the image can be cut out very fast and easily worked on.

How could we use it?

• In magazines and newspapers in articles regarding the food industry and also financial, economical subjects about this matter.

•  Wallpapers for our desktop, logos for applications.

• The image for a nutritionist business card.

•  Outdoor adverts and billboards as the main image or part of it.

•  An agricultural campaign logo for investing in your food by planting and harvesting your own food.

• Inspirational posters about the freedom of choice when it comes to food.

• Websites and blog wallpapers and layouts.

• Printed on t-shirts, caps, mugs, promotional materials.

 

Powerpoint Presentation Tips: Further Reading

The presentation tips posts is just some short pointers to get you started improving your presentations.

If I should give you just one tip instead it would be this; buy Garr Reynolds excellent «Presentation Zen» and read it. It’s an easy read, and will really make you understand what presentations are all about. Most of what I’ve learned is from this book and Garrs blog www.PresentationZen.com. Obviously this isn’t the only book about this subject, but it’s the best I ‘ve come across so far.

After reading what to do, see how others do it. Learn from the best. Here are some links that will show you great presentations:

TED Apple Keynotes SlideShare www.PresentationZen.com

Download a PDF version of the presentation tips!

Cheers, Bjorn

Powerpoint Presentation Tips (6/6): Practice, and Practice Some More

One of the best presenters in the world is Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Inc. Check out some Apple Keynotes and look at a couple of them if you have no idea who this is.A lot of people think Jobs is a «natural» and just really good at this stuff. The secret is that Mr. Jobs is a perfectionist who practices every presentation he holds over and over again.

Have you ever had a boss telling you «I know this stuff by know, I don’t need to practice»? Or maybe you have been that person yourself. Well, if the best people in the world practice over and over again, why shouldn’t you or your boss need to?

No matter what field we are in, practice always makes us better. So spend a couple of hours going through your presentation in front of the mirror, a camera, or a friend. Put yourself in the view of the audience.

Is this captivating? Is this interesting? Can I do more here?

Powerpoint Presentation Tips (5/6): Slides and Handouts are Different

Most people print their powerpoints, and hand them out, either before or after the presentation is given. This is a very common mistake.

Your presentation should be visual and support your story. A handout should be read in comfort by somebody that have already seen the presentation. Your handout is where you can put in the details, and all those facts and graphs that you had to delete from your presentation.