Saturday, September 27, 2014

Dissolving TheMerryBird Designs



After 8 + years of running an online/offline graphic design business I've decided to close my online freelance doors.  The business times in the past two years have been erratic and slow,  so officially, March 2015 TheMerryBird Designs will no longer offer graphic services.

The following shops, online links and Merry Bird places will be pulled down or altered to fit a new phase of business at a later time.

www.TheMerryBird.com
www.the-merry-bird.blogspot.com
TheMerryBird etsy  "Your Stationery in Flight"
http://www.twitter.com/TheMerryBird
http://www.facebook.com/TheMerryBird.Designs
TheMerryBird Ryze
TheMerryBird Thumbtack




Thursday, April 03, 2014

5 Tips for Creating an Ingenious Presentation



Wheeewww! it's been a while! And I thought while my mind was helping my children with childhood projects and presentations  I would fly in to blog about tips to keep your presentation top notch!

Years ago, as a  graphic book cover artist I would never forget to "present" my work in its best form, clean, concise boards on easels and a flawless speech about my ideas. Here are some tips I remind myself of each time a presentation is needed at work or for a freelance client.  These tips hold true for a professional as well as a student presentation:

1: THINK BIG

Can everyone read the presentation board you created from 4-5 ft away? or from a seat in the back row? TEXT must be BIG enough to read from afar.

2: SHOW SIMPLICITY

Being simple is best.  Don't use too many words or have too much to read. When presentation boards are simple, those reading them or viewing them can easily remember points about the presentation or see images in their mind when they walk away.

3: HAVE CLARITY

Color, Font Size and Font style all come into play so think before you choose a "script font" in "red" printed on a blue background... the audience will get a headache!

4: SET A GOAL

Have a goal in mind for your presentation. Do you want to engage? educate? make a joke? or be serious? or inform your audience?

5: PRACTICE YOUR SPEECH

The more you practice the less you have to read from your info/prompt cards!

If you use these five tips your presentation will be off to a great start! You will have confidence and will prove you know your stuff! So fill in the blanks and practice, practice, practice!