His post, Pretty Sketchy, shares the merits of keeping a sketchbook, and like my own post on keeping a diary, solidifies that you don’t need to be an artist to keep a sketchbook; just like you don’t have to be a writer to keep a journal. Both are about being good thinkers.

Santa Maria even pledges to share his own drawings in the spirit of awareness via his Flickr page, and leaves us with this bit, which I loved: “We should revel in not caring how good or bad we are, and by knowing that we hone our creativity with each stroke of the pencil.”

So what are you waiting for! Check out his drawings, get inspired and start doing instead of just talking about it…

MFX Partners is thrilled to announce the promotion of Lesley Richardson to Intermediate Designer at MFX Partners and Lead of Design for Design Changes, a studio of MFX Partners.

Les will begin working in the Design Changes studio as the main point of contact, serving the design needs of small and non-profit sectors of Kitchener-Waterloo (and surrounding communities). Les will work alongside fellow designer Scott Lee in the studio, and report to Creative Director, Brock Hart, with added support from Alison De Muy, MFX Director of Client Partnerships.

Les has been with MFX Partners for 1-1/2 years, applying her clean and creative design talents to help customers solve their visual communication problems. Lesley is a graduate of the award-winning design program at Conestoga College, where she took home silver at the ADCC (Advertising and

Design Club of Canada) student competition. Since graduating, Les has enjoyed a diverse range of design experience—from trade show display development and advertising in Toronto, to being an integral part of the design department at one of Canada’s highest-ranking universities.

Congratulations Les from the team at MFX Partners and Design Changes!

MFX Partners is delighted to announce the promotion of James Bisch to
Senior Designer. James will take a formal lead role, working closely
with Copywriter, Anna Fleet, to guide MFX’s creative team under the
Creative Direction of Brock Hart.

James has been with MFX Partners for the past 2-1/2 years. He has 5 years of agency-level experience creating visual communications for a wide range of B2B brand print and digital projects—from the conceptual stage, to refinement and final production.

James graduated with distinction in Graphic Design from Conestoga College, one of Canada’s premier polytechnic institutes. His work has earned recognition by RGD Ontario’s Design at Work 2008, “A juried exhibition of professional graphic design, demonstrating how design creates value for business.” And we recently learned that he will be showcased in RGD Ontario’s inaugural Provisional Showcase newsletter to be seen by thousands of RGD members, sponsors and subscribers. We are fortunate to have James as part of the team!

Many congratulations go out to James from the team at MFX Partners!

You’ve got yourself a witty product name. Your logo is something to behold. Your tagline is oh so clever. However, your website was built in flash and it takes so long to load that customers get frustrated and click away before even seeing your site and what you offer. Basically, you’re totally blowing your chances online.

Does this resonate with you?

Well then guess what your website is saying about that fantastic product of yours?

Your site is outdated = your product is behind it’s time

Your navigation buttons don’t work properly = your products break easily

Your web design is lame = your product is lame … your entire company is lame

The blog was last updated 2 months ago = your whole company is lazy

Can’t find your products from the homepage = your product is hard to use

Shoppers can’t find the cart button or shipping information = you don’t sell products online

Your landing pages aren’t properly optimized = you don’t sell what they’re looking for

There is no “About” page on your site = your company is fake and can’t be trusted

… Bottom line, your website is saying that your product or service totally blows.

As web marketers, we often fail to recognize that every single element of our website makes a powerful impact on site visitors. Our website is the very first impression that web consumers (and those can be potential customers, distributors, partners, or stakeholders) will experience with your company, product or service. It’s your virtual business card, identity, the first handshake and the first impression all rolled into one. It communicates everything about the credibility of your product, brand, and company.

If you consider your website an important part of your marketing efforts; you need to identify and fix slow, outdated, error-filled websites that communicate that your company isn’t professional.