Temblor Creative Group

Joss Whedon Wrote Me A Letter!

Margaret, Creative Director — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:58:44 +0000

The director of The Avengers took a moment after breaking box office records this weekend to write to his fans (that would include me), and thank them… uh us. With his usual grace and aplomb, he wrote a very sweet note about how great his fans have stood by him just like his family has.

For those unfamiliar with him, Joss Whedon was a seminal creator of some of my favorite movies: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which he wrote, practically started the whole vampires-are-cool trend (discounting the old and newly alive again Dark Shadows…). Donald Sutherland is great in it, and Luke Perry is, well, young. Whedon wrote the screenplay for Toy Story, can’t be beat. Then hit a bit of of slough with Firefly and Serenity, both TV series set in space that sounded good but neither quite made it. Angel, however, lasted 5 seasons and had lots of fans (a vampire again, but with a day job. Sort of). He had his hand in the TV series Roseanne, one of the X-Men movies, and a lot of other things, most of them at least interesting, and sometimes amazing. He writes and creates with loads of respect for his characters, who also speak with a dry but razor-sharp wit.

I look forward to seeing The Avengers, and just about anything that comes from the creative mind of Joss Whedon. Oh, except Cabin in the Woods. yipes. Hella scary. The name says it all.

And thanks for the note, Joss. I’ll try to get back to you real soon.

Margaret Donovan, Creative Director

Green Web Hosting in the Green Mountain State

Riley Moore, Web Designer & Social Media Strategist — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:55:54 +0000

Did you know our website is eco-friendly? It’s true! TemblorCreative.com and 80% of our clients websites are run on wind power. Our web host purchases Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to offset the energy use of its offices and data centers.

We love making websites, but we really love making websites that are green! To learn more, click here.

Riley Moore, Web Designer & Social Media Strategist

Good Brand Identity vs. Trendy Designs

chris — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 20:58:50 +0000

If I say golden arches, you think... Doesn’t even need to be said. If I say red letters in heavily slanted cursive? Not as easy, but Coca Cola right? Brand Identity is a huge factor whenever you are thinking about your business. A lot of companies, around our area especially, are looking at their logos are thinking, “that looks outdated.” Chances are they are correct, most small business logo’s were just mere sketches done by the founder many years ago on a cocktail napkin. Now think about this fact, McDonalds and Coca Cola have had relatively the same design and brand identity since they were founded.

For a quick detour, check out this cool article where you can actually see the progression of corporate logo’s through the years. Some subtle, some more drastic.

The point I am trying to make is that a well crafted brand identity doesn’t have to be constantly updated to fit the current status of “modern,” it can be timeless, even with just a few small tweaks. Let’s take a look at this cool tumblr page I was sent this morning, all of those logo’s at individual glances look new and edgy, cool and sleek. Then take a moment and scroll slowly through them all. Well known corporate names begin to become a blur of just endless “hipster branding.” This indeed is a fast-paced and exciting time to be in marketing, but a smart, carefully thought out, artistically designed brand identity can be timeless.

-Chris Conte: Digital Marketing & Social Media Strategist

March Means Peanut Butter

chris — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:16:41 +0000

Thanks to everyone with the great help that you all did back in January in helping us spread the word about local food shortages. But as the headline from the Manchester Journal points out, there is still a great deal of help needed. The food cupboard’s website has a wish list they put out every month, for March they are looking for instant oatmeal, coffee, tea or hot cocoa, peanut butter, and granola bars. If you did not know, right out side the door at Shaw’s there is a drop box for food donations. So next time you are getting your groceries and have a little extra spending cash, pick up a few things to drop in the box outside.

10 Best QR Codes Fails

Margaret, Creative Director — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:13:39 +0000

All you need is to be near a cow. With your smartphone. And hope they don't move much.

Within the office, we keep questioning the best ways to use QR codes. Or even whether to use them at every opportunity. We love their speed and effectiveness, but hate their appearance.

Some folks, though, don’t seem to have a problem using them everywhere. even where their functionality is, well, questionable at best and sometimes almost deadly!

Mashable has a quick, funny series of 10 examples, which you will marvel at (don’t miss the captions). But the original source is a truly funny Tumbr called WTF QR Codes. THAT you really must look at!

Chrysler’s Big Comeback

chris — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:06:52 +0000

As everyone in the country is now aware of, Chrysler ran a two minute Super Bowl spot, costing an estimated 13 million dollars for air time. It featured Clint Eastwood delivering his legendary gravely-voiced oration. Naturally all of the big ads were discussed both leading up to and following the biggest event on earth. So what does politics and Saturday Night Live have to do with this? With today’s relentless 24-hour news cycle virtually anything can become a highly discussed topic. So when people started saying that the ad was in fact a political endorsement for President Obama and his auto bailout, it hit the news stations everywhere. Regardless of where people stood on the issue, they were talking about it, a lot.
Then when the buzz died down, Saturday Night Live, with their long running comedic commercials, parodied the Chrysler ad three different times in one show (watch the videos below). It was back, the whole story, everything from the political controversy, the SNL skits, and the commercial itself. Two minute commercial, two weeks of constant conversation, and behind all the buzz and noise is one simple fact that everyone now knows. Chrysler is back, and in a big way.

Gentlemint

chris — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:42:14 +0000

So if you are familiar with Pinterest you might have noticed that it is rather, well, girly. Lots of cute clothing, home decorating ideas, and delicious baked goods. So what is a man to do? Well the Internet never leaves a void empty long, and we have now found Gentlemint. Complete with bacon-look band aids, motorcycles, knives, and quotes from Airplane!. But don’t be too alarmed, it is still the Internet, so there are still funny photos of cats.

Oh, and according to the American Moustache Institute, it is “…one of the more manly websites on the planet.”

New Friends, Lots of Food

chris — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:01:11 +0000

Final tally from our January challenge: We made 48 new friends and we collected 48 items for the Community Food Cupboard!

Riley almost tipped over holding the box of food for the photo. We are happy knowing your participation is helping a great local charity. A food cupboard embodies the same spirit as our community: no person and no town is alone. We all contribute to our food cupboard — paying forward, if you will — and it is there for everyone when he or she needs it.

Don’t “Like” This Story!

chris — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:55:29 +0000

Through the end of January, you can click food onto someone’s table. We are donating one food item per Facebook “Like” to our local food cupboard. We want to be clear about this, though—you have to “Like” Temblor Creative’s page on Facebook, not this post to get a donation credit. It works for The Image Loft too. “Like” them and they’ll donate food. The window display at The Image Loft shows just how far a “Like” can go! Food is over flowing from our box, but that is not enough! Do you know that Vermont is the 10th most food insecure state in the country? Here in Bennington County, 1 out of every 5 kids has had to go hungry. The food you are donating with your click isn’t just for Manchester residents, our food cupboard serves Dorset, East Dorset, Winhall, Peru, Landgrove, Londonderry, Mount Tabor, Pawlet, Danby, Jamaica, Sandgate, Weston, Bondville, Wells, and Middletown Springs. There is a huge need and they deliver over 15,000 pounds of food each month! So with 12,290 Vermont children depending on food shelves each month, we hope you ‘Like” both Temblor Creative and The Image Loft and help offset the need. If you have already clicked our Like buttons, you can still add to the food crate by sharing this message to all of your friends. So don’t (just) like this story, Like us!

Keep the Food Coming

chris — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:38:09 +0000

On Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we launched a food drive on our Facebook page, overnight it was a huge success. For every like our page receives, we buy one food item for the Manchester Food Cupboard. On Tuesday our friends (and family) down the street at The Image Loft joined in on the effort their Facebook page, only to build even higher on that success.

But we are not done! This food drive runs until the end of the month. We are hoping to need both John’s and Chris’s trucks to drop off the food! So even if you already like us, spread the word to your friends, share the link on Facebook or click the ‘recommend’ button at the bottom of the page, then everyone will really like you.

Below is a short film Hunger Free Vermont financed and produced by Alison Segar that focuses on childhood hunger here in Vermont.

Click Over Here to Like Us

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