Customers connect with brands on many different levels – with the head and the heart – and the expression of the brand must be consistently presented to appeal to one or both of these aspects at any given moment.

**Read the latest post from MIYO STUDIOS at Fuel Your Branding**

Professional brand consultants are a special breed o’ cat.  Building a strong brand requires a multi-dimensional skill-set that encompasses everything from HR to graphic design to wordsmith-ing.  The best brand stewards manage to play each of these roles throughout the life of a project as they help their clients develop their corporate – or personal – identities into a cohesive package.

So, what is it that the best ‘branders’ do?  What sets them apart?

**Read the entire article at Fuel Your Branding**

(by MIYO | STUDIOS)

May the blessings of this holiday season prepare you and your loved ones for all that is to come in the 2010.  Thank you for being a part of FRIEND | FILES!

Best wishes for a joyous Christmas and a very happy New Year!

*Painting by Franz Von Rhoden (German, b.1817-d.1903)

Brands that are able to capitalize on both subjective and objective criteria are subsequently able to create value for its target market. Often, this effort involves shifting the perception of a brand within the marketplace.

**Posted by MIYO | STUDIOS at Fuel Your Branding**

It’s Thanksgiving Day 2009,
Naturally, one’s thoughts turn to food and to wine.
Turkey and yams and mac ‘n cheese,
It’s safe to say my tummy will be pleased.

But let us not forget the meaning of this day,
To offer our gratitude, thanks, and praise.
For friends and family, the stuff of life!
To those who serve – for freedom they fight.

As you sit down at table to chat and dig in,
Remember the greatness from where we began.
In a land of plenty, we each play a role;
So a life well-lived – that shall be our goal!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

It seems a no-brainer that the most successful leaders are those who are also full of self-confidence (not to be confused with conceit).  However, what is it that makes someone appear “confident”?  What is that certain something that ensures Leaders have Followers?

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith attempts to answer these questions in a post for the Harvard Business blog – excerpted here:

1. DON’T WORRY ABOUT BEING PERFECT. There are never right or wrong answers to complex business decisions. The best that you can do as a leader is to gather all of the information that you can (in a timely manner), do a cost-benefit analysis of potential options, use your best judgment — and then go for it.
2. LEARN TO LIVE WITH FAILURE. Great salespeople are the ones who get rejected the most often. They just ask for the order more than the other salespeople. You are going to make mistakes. You are human. Learn from these mistakes and move on.
3. AFTER YOU MAKE THE FINAL DECISION — commit! Don’t continually second-guess yourself. Great leaders communicate with a sense of belief in what they are doing and with positive expectations toward the achievement of their vision.
4. SHOW COURAGE ON THE OUTSIDE — even if you don’t always feel it on the inside. Everyone is afraid sometimes. If you are a leader, your direct reports will read your every expression. If you show a lack of courage, you will begin to damage your direct reports’ self-confidence.
5. FIND HAPPINESS AND CONTENTMENT IN YOUR WORK. Life is short. My extensive research indicates that we are all going to die anyway. Do your best. Follow your heart. When you win, celebrate. When you lose, just start over the next day.

*Read the full article at Harvard Business*

Photo courtesy of Design*Sponge

A few months ago, I posted an excerpt from a story about Coralie Bickford-Smith – the designer responsible for many wonderful book covers at Penguin Classics.

Well, just today, Design*Sponge (if you don’t know this site, you should!!) posted a more extended interview with Ms. Bickford-Smith.  So, I thought I would share it with you here.  Click on the link below to see the full post in its natural habitat…

An brief excerpt from the Design*Sponge interview:

…That’s the nature of cover design really – the designs are there to serve the writing, and there’s such a range of material that we design for that a personal style isn’t necessarily what you want the customer to see.

If you are in business, you are offering a product.  Whether you’re selling sneakers or your accounting skills, your customers are shelling out money in return for whatever it is you have to offer.  In order to succeed, you need to understand the myriad ways you could fail…

*Article posted at Fuel Your Branding*

Holistic and 3-dimensional brand development results in a powerful relationships with internal and external stakeholders.  The built environment should not be overlooked as an integral part of brand communication.

**Article posted at Fuel Your Branding**

An indoor “fireplace” sans chimney.  Clever, simple, useful!

* Courtesy of Core77 *