Thursday, April 2, 2009
6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Post Central & The Studios at Linden Oaks, 170 Linden Oaks (base level), Rochester, NY 14625
The RAF created this event to assist in preparing our future creative talent in the fields of graphic design, advertising, new media, and copywriting by offering feedback, advice, and career information. Last year’s event [...]

Over the last couple of days, some very nice things have been written about the copy that is part of the Dundee Ales & Lagers rebranding. It’s been very gratifying…and a little embarrassing.
But here’s some insight into what we, on the Dundee team, knew. Packaging sells beer. No one is buying beer because of [...]

Gary Vaynerchuk owns a wine shop in New Jersey named the Wine Library, and also happens to be a social media expert. Now, I understand that you can’t swing a dead cat on the web these days without hitting a “social media expert”, but Gary’s the real deal, i.e. he uses tools like online [...]

it’s the beauty secret of the industry. and the subject of much debate. some say it adds an air of aspiration. others say it paints an unrealistic body image and false sense of face. and some are calling for full disclosure. see ny times op-ed video:
sex, lies and photoshop
personally, i wouldn’t mind a retoucher slimming [...]

I’m going for a job interview this week. I know the name of my interviewer and her organization. Within 2 minutes I expect to know her background, what she looks like, and whether or not I know anyone who knows her. Yes, I’m talking about LinkedIn.
As a freelancer, I’ve come to rely on tools [...]

So, the audience watching timeshifted tv has increased by 36% from the previous year. Locally, 26% of Rochesterarians have DVRs. That means more and more people are able to fast forward through your commercials that were so lovingly created. How can we be sure that people are actually seeing the commercials and [...]

We’re excited to announce that the RAF Creative SPEEDATE event is officially sold out! On Monday February 9th, 64 college students and 32 creative professionals from our community will be coming together speedate-style at John Myers Photography to participate in this annual event. Stay tuned for other upcoming RAF events—plenty of opportunities to connect still [...]

Keeping a strong idea intact through each stage of the creative development process isn’t for sissies. But if you think its tough when developing a print ad, try designing a homepage. The process begins with good intentions – make it intuitive, prioritize messaging, retain the brand’s distinctive qualities, etc. – but can quickly [...]

Leo Burnett’s UK office just released predictions for 2009 via Youtube. Here’s an opinionated review:
2 things I like
1. They have a point of view on our times
2. They’re using the web to spread it quickly
3 things I don’t
1. Cliché packed – “pace of change is accelerating”, “tipping point”, “brands are vehicles”; check, check, and [...]

Death by Powerpoint. If you’re not familiar with the disease, you know some of the contributing factors:
1) reading from slides
2) multiple ideas per slide
3) all text
I could go on (clip art). Suffer through enough of these, and you understand why some audience members leave laptops open (not really, stop that). At any rate, there are [...]