Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Last week at Flip


So this is my last week at Flip =( on thursday it'll be Two months since i've been here and i'm sad to go.

There's still so much more that i wanted to learn!

I've learnt i lot of useful tips and tricks on photoshop (like shortcut keys, and actually USING layers and then keeping them organized in their respective group folders)

I've learnt ALOT about websites are Designed,built and created.

I really really don't wanna leave, but hopefully they'll hire me again once i graduate.

And even though i much prefer print over web i still enjoy it and the fact that i still have TONS to learn makes me wanna continue working here.

Well anyways... =(

Demotivated


Hiya!

Well i've been trying SO hard to figure out how to 'advertise" my blog.

I can't PAY to advertise it cuz i don't have (and dont want to have) a card that'll give me that option.

The grapevine isn't working so well because people in the UAE dont blog much...as far as i know.

Even putting it on my c.v. hasn't earned me any brownie points =(

My MOTHER doesn't even check out my blog ... =(

I've tried posting on other people HOPING someone would click
and i've tried putting advertising on my blog through adsense.. and even THAT didn't work.!

Me no know what to doooo =''''''(

I'm getting demotivated =(

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Web VS. Print Design


(Collected from a bunch of websites)

If you’re used to print FORGET what you know

The Difference between web and print design:

Dimensionality

Print design is 2-dimensional
Web design is
1-dimensional and N-dimensional.

Navigation


In print:

it’s just a matter of turning pages


In web:
Hypertext navigation is a major component of web design, requiring decisions like:

  • Appearance of links
  • Making it easy for user to move around the site(telling them how to get somewhere and wher e a link will take them)
  • Visualization of the user's location
  • IA- Information Architecture

Response Time, Resolution, and Canvas Size

In Print:

  • Doesn’t need to be fast. It’s on paper (duh)
  • Pictures need to be in extremely high resoloution.
  • Has to be large enough for people to see without straining themselves.

In Web:

  • Bandwidth fast enough to download a Web page
  • screen resolution sharp enough to render type crisply
  • huge screens the size of a newspaper spread

Multimedia Interactivity

Print:
can stun the reader with high-impact visualization

Web:
Allows interactivity, which makes it more engaging for the users.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Principles of Web Design

Here are the principles of web design based on these three articles:


  1. http://www.digital-web.com/articles/principles_of_design/
  2. http://www.sitepoint.com/article/principles-beautiful-web-design
  3. http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/31/10-
    principles-of-effective-web-design/
  4. http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/09/27/
    10-usability-nightmares-you-should-be-aware-of/


The general principles of design apply:

1 Balance
  • Symmetrical
  • Asymmetrical
2 Rhythm & Repetition
  • Regular
  • Flowing
  • Progressive
3 Proportion

4 Dominance
  • Dominant
  • Sub-dominant
  • Sub-ordinate
5 Unity
  • Closure
  • Continuance
  • Similarity, Proximity and Alignment

Related Concepts:
  • Contrast or Opposition
  • Positive and Negative Space
  • Rule of Thirds
  • Visual Center
  • Color and Typography

The basic rules of usability and common sense:
  • a clear, self-explanatory navigation,
  • precise text-presentation,
  • search functionality and
  • visible and thought-out site structure.


Principles Of Effective Web Design:
1. Don’t make users think
2. Don’t squander users’ patience
3. Manage to focus users’ attention
4. Strive for feature exposure
5. Make use of effective writing
6. Strive for simplicity
7. Don’t be afraid of the white space
8. Communicate effectively with a “visible language”
9. Conventions are our friends
10. Test early, test often

WebPage Anatomy:
  1. Containing Block (1)
  2. Logo (2)
  3. Navigation (Small green boxes)
  4. Content (4)
  5. Footer(5)
  6. Whitespace (6)
  7. Grid Theory
  8. Rule of Thirds
  9. Column Navigation (Left (3), Right, or Three Column)



Fresh Trends:
  • Expansive footer navigation

  • Three-Columns with content first

  • Resizing: Fixed width VS. liquid width

  • Variable Fixed width layout

  • Screen Resolution



Things to Avoid!

  • Hidden log-in link.
  • Pop-ups for content presentation.
  • Dragging instead of vertical navigation.
  • Invisible links.Visual noise.
  • Dead end.
  • Content blocks layering upon each other.
  • Dynamic navigation.
  • Drop-Down Menus.
  • Blinking images.
  • Don't use pop-ups.
  • Don't change users window size.
  • Don’t use too small font sizes.
  • Don’t have unclear link text.
  • Don’t have dead links.
  • Have at most one animation per page.
  • Make it easy to contact you.
  • Links should open in the same window.

Monday, July 14, 2008

My Fifth Week @ Flip



This picture only shows about a fifth of the people working here (There are about 50 people working at flip)

As you can see from the title,it's been five weeks since i've been at Flip Media.

I actually really like it here, you don't have to be uptight and proper like in most advertising/interactive agencies, you don't have to immerse yourself purely in your own "tasks" , you don't have to worry (too much) about the way to talk to or address people. You can wear whatever you want, ask for help or to give help to/from others, and you can speak to everyone as peers.

And, unlike many other companies in the U.A.E. they have a proper naming/ filing / work system to follow. Which, in my opinion, is on of the main base reasons behind their success.

They also follow MBWA (Management by walking around) in which the CEO allows us to speak to him freely and even sits with the employees to do his work instead of doing it in his glass enclosed office.

They also give people good chances at working here, they train you and give you minor jobs until you understand the system enough to do a major task.

I like it here, i like the people and the way everyone works together. They have also been extremely understanding when my car broke down twice (which made me late for work) and when i overslept (late again) and when i took a day off to sort out my car.
I don't know if i'm going to be punished but so far they seem fine about it.

I really like the atmosphere and work ethic they have here, and i hope to work here once i graduate.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Internship Cont.



So it's my third week at flip I really really like the people here but everyone's so busy with all their deadlines that they barely have time for me.
But they're really really really nice and very helpful when i ask them questions.
So... i've been going around asking random people if they've needed any help no matter how small (as long as bringing coffee wasnt involved)

- I've ended up editing this website's design on photoshop
- Doing QA (Quality Assurance) for this other website which was in Arabic so i had a great advantage helping them out there.
-I've done lots of screen shots and picture searching for them too lol which ,apparently, was a great help.

So yea, im still currently working on my own personal project in which i have to design my own site.


- It starts with a brief and creating my logo( upper right)

- Then the site map

- Then WIREFRAMES -the basic layout of the pages -Which as you all now know i hate. to do that I've been having to use this program called omnigraffle pro (which is good because now i at least have basic knowledge of it)

- After that - the fun part - the design =D

Yaaaay

The cycle goes like this :

Initiate
Research
Design
Build
Deploy
Issues
Evolve

Basically. A website doesnt just stop at making it "live" (putting it out on the internet) you still have to fix the bugs and keep maintaining it.

Wireframes

I Hate them

They are the most annoying thing i've ever had to do

and redo

and redo

and redo

and redo

and redo

....

Sunday, June 15, 2008

A week's Internship @ Flip

Hiyaz,

Well i've done a week's worth of internship @ FlipMedia.
I've been given my own laptop to work own, An Email Address and A fingerprint to enter the workplace =P
Slowly but surely i'm learning more about website development and design.
I've learnt alot of new terminology like wireframes (basically the website layout)
And im trying to teach myself how to use Omni graffle Pro (as i was only given a tiny crash course on it)
To tell you the truth i was hoping to do alot more alot faster.
But anyways the people are nice and the workplace is as well.
Currently, i've been given a "project" in which i have to make my own website portfolio
So ive done a brief, a sitemap , and now im working on the wireframes.
I wish i had had to chance to have taken an advanced course in this stuff though!

Anyways, i am enjoying myself. 5 weeks left including this one.
I really really really wanna be able to learn news things. Fast. AND be given the chance to be helpful and productive. well i was able to once.

Yalla we'll see what happens!

More later =)

Friday, June 06, 2008

Yaaaay

Hello!

Been a long time since i posted anything, anyways i'm starting my internship this sunday =) 8/6/08 yaaay with Flip ---> www.flipcorp.com for 6 weeks 8hrs a day

So yea i'm going to be under the supervison of the Creative director and im reallly looking forward to it!

I really really hope i get to learn new things and i hope i do my very best , i know ill try =)

Lets see if i can find work in august, or continue with Flip till then!

wish me luck!

Sunday, May 04, 2008

NASCAR Scratch-N-Sniff

Hello Everyone!
I know this isn't related to the UAE or Internet Marketing (well it is related to the net a bit cuz i found most of the info on other blogs) but this is MY blog and i'll post whatever I want to =P haha anyways:

Found something very interesting on the web the other day, NASCAR bringing racing to your home... well at least the smell of it.

A very interesting campaign, but with very bad targeting! One of the bloggers i've added in my links below said that he didn't even LIKE watching NASCAR... shame. Some ppl liked it some didn't. I think it's pretty cool and pretty creative, and if i was in the US and received a Scratch-N-Sniff of burnt tire rubber in my mail box, i'd definately be curious enough to go and experience the races myself for once.


Links:
http://nighseencreeder.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html
http://airsensenews.com/
http://blogs.mediapost.com/media_creativity/?p=83

Marketing research about living in the UAE


"A ... study ... shows more than 70 per cent of the people in the UAE are unhappy with work."

I think this is very disappointing, because so many people come to the UAE the build their dreams and their careers.

i myself wish to live and work here for the rest of my life but the problem is that employers generally do not care about employee happiness or welbeing, contracts are not consistent and pay is never enough thanks to the rising costs of living in the U.A.E.

Also, if anyone wishes to start up a company or business here the starting capital needed is so high that not everyone can pursue their dreams, which sucks because the UAE, esp. Dubai, is a land of innovation and the best place to implement creative ideas and innovations.

Why are you doing this to us Dubai WHY? =(

Monday, April 21, 2008

Ok......

I just recently found out that the UAE has companies that sell flowers and gifts and stuff online
like http://www.hadayaonline.com/gifts_list

Lol i feel ignorant

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

A "fake" website

The otherday i was ckecing my Facebook account and found that i had three similar messages in my inbox that went something like this:



hey pplz...A web site that is willing to pay 50$ for just registering, and also 1$ for each person you invite and join....its really amazing :D.... please register before 31/3 by clicking the following linkwww.diabian1.dubaimlm.complz ppl do it for me ill appreciate it a lot..LOVE U ALL....its only gna take 2 mnts..n we both profit from it..when u register i get 50$ n u do too..THX...



Of course it seemed too good to be true, HONESTLY... DUBAI? giving away money?! No way!

So i went to check out this website here's what it looked like:
A few things to note:
Poor design, ugly banner ads, bad layout.... among others.
I would rather be caught dead than send an email begging people to log on to this website so that i can make money.
But let me tell you one thing, im sure they ended up with a huge traffic count! Dubai has bad traffic even online =P
Well anyways, you can check it out for yourselves if you have nothing else better to do.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Online shopping in the UAE


75% of UAE internet users avoid online shopping because they believe it is "unsafe" and "too risky acc. to Symantec

Most of the online users that do shop online do so without proper security procedures, but the UAE has the highest rate of Online Shopping compared to other Pan Arab Countries.

I think that internet users in the UAE need to be informed on the dangers and advantages of online shopping and need to be able to differentiate between Trusted and Non-Trusted websites otherwise emerging e-commerce sites Such as http://www.souq.com/ will have great losses
(Please note the i have previously typed souk.com thanks to MA for his/her comment => )

Region has bad Radio Ads

Ever since i have lived in the uae all the radio ads have been the same & They always have the same voices and tones, the same structure, and REALLY annoying Jingles.



"Honey"

"Yes, dear"

"There's no more yougurt in the fridge"

"I know dear"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well honey, i've replaced them"

"Replaced them!? with what!?"

"(Product name) Yougurt is 99% fat free it's blah blah blah"

"Oh Honey, let's good by some more (Product Name Yogurt)"



BORING



Basically this article talks about how dissapointing radio ads are here and how the clients actually lack in knowledge of the usefulness of radio (Target segmentation ...etc)



Click on the link to read the article

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Region behind in e-commerce due to poor marketing

This Quote sums up the main idea of the article:

“[Online marketing] is not lacking because of concerns over security, but probably because it’s something new and the mentality in the region is more traditional, where shoppers prefer to shop by themselves and look at products before buying,” said Antoine Harb, Kingston Technology’s Middle East and Africa business development manager.

Click on the title to read the article

FACEBOOK!!! and Internet access in the UAE!

This is VERY imp. to residents such as MEEEEE in the UAE. And people, Facebook will NOT be blocked, only certain bits of it! Sooo yea, if you want to find out more, click on the title to link to the article.

It just mentions that Du is Etisalats Competition, that Etisalat will (basically) stop blockin sites completely but will only block bits of them , and keeping in mind the cultural,traditional and religious values of the UAE

Oh, and on last class's topic, if you wanna know more about how facebook makes money and how its helping others, (the application developers) then read this article -> http://www.business24-7.ae/cs/article_show_mainh1_story.aspx?HeadlineID=3270

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Ecommerce in the UAE

Facts and Figures:

Internet Service Providers 1
Companies with Internet Access 88 percent
Companies with own Website 60 percent
Companies with E-Commerce Operations 14 percent
Compaines Intending to Begin E-Commerce Operations 42 percent
Companies with no Intentions to Begin E-Commerce Operations 12 percent
E-Commerce Market (1997) $11.5 million*
These numbers have grown significantly since 1997

Click on the title for the link to the article



A popular Egyptian Blog


Wael Abbas, a humanitarian, decided to create a blog to report on all the indecent acts going on in Egypt that the government continuosly tries to cover up. He reported on how corrupt the Egyptian police force is through, Abuse, Rape and Torture. He reports on all the unfairness of horrible and gruesome things, such as acts of violence and political indiscrepancies, going on in the Middle East.


He's won several awards such as:


  • 2007 - The Knight international journalism award

  • 2007 - The CNN Middle East Person of the Year

  • 2006 - The BBC Most Influential Perosn

  • 2006 - Egyptains against corruptian award (Masryeen dud Al Fasad)

He sells Ad space on his blog and has posted videos on Yahoo and YouTube of some of these acts that he's caught or managed to find on Camera. However, YouTube and Yahoo have suspended both of his accounts so that he has lost most of this coverage


You can watch a YouTube video of him being interviewed by CNN



Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Advertising usage to beat the competition

This is an article that shows how advertising can be used to develop brand loyalty, create brand presence, win against your competitors... etc.

UAE advertising industry expands 22%

  1. An Ave. of 22% growth in the past 10 years.


  2. First is Outdoor, Second Is Print, Third is TV.


  3. Sign and Graphics 2008 brought together companies from N.America., Europe, the M.E. and N. Africa and S. E. Asia, and 63 UAE-based companies;Advertising technology can increase tremendously thanks to this.


  4. Ad spending has increased helping private and public agencies expand.


Click on the title to go to the main article

or click here: http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Media/10190816.html

here's another website Quoting the same article http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093186129

Pepsi UAE

Has anyone seen the new packaging that PEPSI has made for their DIET PEPSI in the UAE?
I'll post a picture of it soon (a badly taken one)

It's reallllly pretty and feminine. It's only on the Diet Pepsi cans, main colours are baby Blue and Pink. Mostly Metallic. Obviously it's targeted towards females. I looks similar to the iPOD campaigns though, since PEPSI is using women's shillouettes on the cans. Also, Coca Cola used a similar technique to increase loyalty about a year ago...

Probably because of the pepsi can shock last march 2007... read the article by clicking the title

Advertising & PR in DXB and Abu Dhabi

Clips showing advertisements in Dxb and A.D.


Click on the links to see the clip

PR Ad for the Ad. water co. :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWMbGLhJ-1c

Outdoor adsin DXB and AD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM8ezafQx1k

PR for Dubai Film City: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hiBDLzTNOw&feature=related

An Ad. Agency advertising for themselves on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMNt0NDFINU
I wouldn't go to them if they're that desperate =S
Maybe their creative director leaked it?
Dunno

Guess what i found on youtube!

This is a short video clip that discusses and debates the usage of religion (Islam) in advertising to convince consumers to buy a product, there's also a short discussion of using women as sex objects.
The female presenter is a student at AUS.
Guest Stars Prf. Andrew Lynch! Mohammed Ibrahim (Known as Mo Hyena) , Habiba... and someone who's name i don't know.

Check out http://www.uaestudents.blogspot.com/ for more information.

Advertising ex.s in movies

Hey everyone!
So i was watching "Sweeny Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street", Great movie btw, a bit gruesome. Anyways, i found some examples for one of my classes on old forms of print Advertising, Hawkers, and Bad word of mouth. Took some movie snap shots for you guys

A Hawker, and Outdoor Advertising in the background =D
A better shot

The characters in the movie were spreading bad word of mouth when the Hawker was trying to advertise the "Miracle Elixer"


A shot of an example of an outdoor print ad in the movie

Saturday, February 16, 2008

UAE should stop using "Imported Campaigns" !

This article is basically about how the Ad industry in the UAE is lacking because of the use of "imported" advertising campaigns from other countries and just translating them for use here.
I seriously doubt that the culture in the U.S and the U.A.E are similar!
And we all know about the numerous implied rules in the Ad industry here!
Main Points:
  1. Whole Campaigns are being imported from other countries and translated into Arabic
  2. These campaigns fail because they aren't segmented to the UAE audience
  3. The Audience in the UAE are extremely diverse, that's why the imporated campaigns fail.
  4. Loss of Arab culture and westernization

UAE Ads! Thinking outside the Box!

BTW Etisalats management SUCKS.... But they did focus alot on PR when it came to dealing with their employees during GITEX 2007... Apparently not good enough since im saying this loool
How Come i never see ads like this here?

Hahahaha any woman's last wish!


GREAT idea!


I like!



Creative Outdoor Ads!


Very Cute, Very Creative... but i don't really like their food!


Cute Valentines' day ad.





Hey!


Ok, i know this has NOTHING to do with the Mid. East Ad world, but i came across this Ad and wanted to share it with you guys.





Four things i found interesting:
  1. The products' name was only mentioned once, shows confidence


  2. The product was shown (in full) once, but placed about 2 other times


  3. Both target audiences are defined --> but the problem is that i felt like they focused on targeting the men (Who buy the drinks for the women) more than the women. (Or they were being empathetic towards cupids since this product came out!)

  4. It's a bit too long, but cute to watch for the first time.


    Ok!, So let me know what you think! - click on the link pweeeeeeaseee
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHoiDKi35dg

Monday, February 11, 2008

UAE outdoor Ad Prices

- Major players:
Shoof
Concept Group
Emirates Outdoor

- Outdoor ad prices have increase due to the demand for advertising space from the real estate market

- The cost of outdoor advertising in Dubai has rocketed by more than 500 per cent since 2003

- Billboards on poles on Sheikh Zayed Road formerly cost Dh400,000 a year to rent. But the price today is between Dh1.5 million and Dh2.5m


Retrieved from : http://uaeinteract.com/docs/Outdoor_ad_prices_to_rise_by_20/28017.htm

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Interesting Info about U.A.E advertising


1 - The UAE's Ad sector is the 5th fastest growing in the world with an estimated
growth of growth of 108.9% between 2006 and 2009, according to ZenithOptimedia.

2 - The TV Ad Market is worth $300 million

3 - Internet usage in the M.E has incread by 500% since 2000

4 - Outdoor advertising is the most cluttered in the U.A.E

5 - 55% of residents said advertising in the UAE is not original, while 71% believe only a small percentage (0-29%) of advertising is relevant to them.

6 - 68% said most adverts do not make them feel good about the brand.


Info from: http://www.iaauae.org/en/news-archive/advertising-2008.html