There’s much to be thankful for this year. But what we’re thankful for the most is having a nice dinner with the whole team.
We picked up some awesome food from the grocery store!
This is gonna be delicious!
And to top it all off, it began to snow! What a beautiful day!
We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Do us a favor and grab some of our free Thanksgiving wallpapers for you phone, tablet and computer!
While you may feel your company/brand/service/product’s awesomeness speaks for itself, you’re only half right. Good work only goes so far. Online reviews, yeah those matter.
You’ve used Yelp once or twice before, right? You saw how useful of a tool it was and you found that sushi restaurant in record time! That was a good dinner too. Maybe you ought to review the place. A higher rating pushes them up on the list, bringing them more business and ensuring the chances that you’ll get that California roll again. After all, good ratings and reviews brought you there in the first place.
So you’ve seen firsthand how beneficial positive feedback can be. Why not for your business? Over 90% of people who’ve researched a business on Yelp agree that positive reviews lead to purchases. Check out this infographic from Mashable.
Being the 30th most visited site on the web, small businesses are the ones that benefit the most from Yelp’s exposure. Increased customer awareness directly affects sales. Additionally, it’s a great way to get feedback from clients, with the ability to respond back to them! Create a dialogue! Seem like a business run by real people.
Though there is a bit of cautionary wisdom we’d like to bestow upon you: what’s worse than negative reviews are none at all. Don’t just start an account/claim your business on rating sites and let it sit stagnant. Actively encourage customers to leave reviews – there’s no downside to it. Perhaps you could get some inserts or packaging designed and printed to go along with your product, asking customers to write you a short review. In addition to Yelp maintenance, MOS Creative could design you up some snazzy printwork on top of it 
Get a hold of us at MOS Creative, and we’ll help YOU stand OUT!
-The MOS Creative team
Joe Ehrmann is a former NFL defensive lineman for the 1973 Baltimore Colts! Local legend? I think so! Get ready to smile ear-to-ear.
While at an Accelerent networking event, our president Max was able to strike up a conversation and snap a photo with Joe Ehrmann. Super cool guy, and nothing but nice!
Besides a Colts football helmet, Joe’s worn many hats. He’s been an educator, author, activist, pastor and coach spanning longer than than 25 years.
Joe played football at Syracuse University, lettered in lacrosse and was selected to the Syracuse All-Century Football Team. After being drafted, he played pro football for 13 years, and was named the Colts “Man of the Year”. He was also named NFL’s first Ed Block Courage Award winner. Parade Magazine even featured Joe on its cover, with the title, “The Most Important Coach in America”. Additionally, he’s been named one of the “Most Influential Sport Educators in America” by the Institute for International Sport.
Ehrmann is co-founder of Baltimore’s Ronald McDonald House and was chosen by the Baltimore Business Journal as the “Renaissance Person of the Decade” for his work in bettering our city. He co-founded The Door, a community-based organization that deals with issues pertaining to poverty, systemic racism and social justice. But his awesomeness doesn’t end there.
He’s been named National Fatherhood Initiative’s “Man of the Year” and awarded the Frederick Douglas National Man of the Year award for empowering youth to prevent forms of male violence.
His newly released book: InSideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives highlights much of his life’s work. Joe is the subject of the New York Times Best Seller, Season of Life A Football Star, a Boy, a Journey to Manhood.
With all those amazing accomplishments mentioned, he believes his greatest has been his 30 plus years marriage to Paula and his four children Ali, Esther, Barney and Joey.
Pick up those books! This is a great coach, and a great man.
-The MOS Creative Team
While there are many different styles of animation, one of the most-utilized and quickest styles is Cutout Animation, also known as Flash animation because of the program that’s used to create it. It’s a great way to bring characters to life with a rather fast turnaround. It’s no wonder that many animated television series use it. If it’s good enough for TV, it’s good enough for your marketing campaign.
We’ve done many of these in the past. If you remember our articles about our projects with Foodem and Bumblejunk, you’ll know how good we are at it! Here’s another example of our work, with Mosaic Power! Meet Mo!
The way this animation technique works is all the graphics are pre-drawn. Faces, hands, mouths, eyes—every motion a character will make. The result of that is a Character Puppet, or a Character Rig. The puppet can be reused over and over again, to make it look like it’s constantly moving, even though it’s repeated drawings. Neat little trick! This also perpetuates a feeling of consistency and legitimacy. It’s beneficial if you have an idea in mind that involves characters, but you don’t have any available actors to portray them in a commercial. Cutout Animation is the vehicle that’ll bring your ideas to life!
As stated above, many cartoons on television employ this tactic. Some of the more famous examples are Archer, Family Guy, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Dan Vs, and Brickleberry. The characters run the gamut of motion, while in actuality, these are re-used graphics, over and over. It’s beautiful and fun to watch, just as it is fun to make. (Honestly, some of our favorite projects were cutout animation.)
Since this is such a popular style, it’s very likely that people will latch onto commercials done in this manner. That, mixed with the popularity of youtube, our SEO, and just a dash of creativity, a cutout commercial will be beneficial to ANY marketing campaign. Remember, animation is able to do whatever you want, and is 100% editable. Cutout animation is no different! So perfecting an animated video for you is just one of the many things we at MOS Creative are proud to do! We see a production from conception to completion, all in-house! Pretty versatile if you ask me! Give us a shout and see what we’re about!
Let’s make beauty together. We want to help you stand OUT! So let’s get to work!
Here’s 3 quick reasons why Cutout Animation might be the perfect fit for you and your business:
1. Puppets.
Prepared puppets are a great alternative to having an animator draw a new drawing every single frame, like traditional animation. It can get completed in days-to-weeks, rather than years!
2. Puppets take the place of live actors.
If you have an idea but no actors to help out, then it’s just a voiceover and a puppet or two away from being realized!
3. Re-utilization.
These puppets can be used over and over again. If you have multiple campaigns and want to keep your character appearing throughout, then it’s no problem. We can pop the puppet back in, and make it do some awesome moves for ya!
Our thing is that we love helping you stand out. That’s just what we do, and we’re happy to do it for you. Let’s chat and see how we can bring your ideas into this world!
-The MOS Creative team.
Hey there,
I’m Katy Leuschner, the new Project and Marketing Manager/Copywriter at MOS Creative. Originally from Severna Park, MD, I went off to James Madison University and graduated with a double major in Media Arts & Design (concentration in Corporate Communications) and Spanish. After graduating, I spent almost a year and a half working as the assistant to a self-made multimillionaire in Virginia. Working there was a phenomenal learning experience and also enhanced my adaptability (I would assist with writing investor summaries one day, then help lead horses on a trail ride the next).
Besides loving all the outdoorsiness of the Shenandoah Valley (hiking, caving, camping, kayaking), I felt the urge to move back to Maryland and continue exploring my interest in marketing. I had read about MOS Creative in the Baltimore Business Journal and decided to email them on a whim to see if they had any open positions that would fit my interests and experience . . . the rest is history! And luckily there’s still an abundance of outdoorsy activities around here, plus wakeboarding and crabbing.
Now instead of watching out for deer and cows as I drive home, I just need to find ways to pass the time in rush hour traffic. Currently using language CDs to brush up on my Spanish, but open to new ideas.
All in all, I’m very excited to be back in Maryland and have the opportunity to be a part of the MOS Creative team!
-Katy
Hello everyone! This Throwback Thursday, we want to show you a site we’ve created for North Point Builders.
We’ve come up with a slanted theme that’s prevalent throughout each page of the site.
Every aspect falls into this style.
Not only were we focused on keeping the same feel, but we also had fun with it. The navigation bar shows this.
Even the dropdown menus followed this slanted style
Notice how the Portfolio page keeps this up
We even implemented a map to show locations that this company has done work.
Like what you see? We here at MOS Creative can create an awesome site for you too. Ya’know, just ask!
-The MOS Creative Team
PS: check out our Tumblr!
Animation, it makes your marketing seem alive, vibrant and vivacious! There are many kinds and styles of animation ranging from stop-motion to cgi. But motion graphics convey a certain feeling. They’re as quick and informational as they are beautifully designed and animated.
Motion graphics are a great way to advertise yourself because of the simplistic, often minimalistic visuals. Here’s an example of our work that we’ve done:
Don’t forget to participate in the contest mentioned in the video! You’ve seen this style of animation everywhere; Motion Graphic is used frequently to this date. Most commercials, online tutorials, website ads, and more utilize this method. One of the best things about this style is it’s relatively quick to make, especially compared to a fully animated cartoon. With that being said, remember our animation post from before? With youtube being the 3rd most popular site on the web, it’s a good idea to get something on it to spread the word about your product/service/company! 200 million potential eyes on you? Sounds like a deal to me!
Remember, animation is able to do whatever you want, and is 100% editable. Motion graphics is no different! So perfecting an animated video for you is just one of the many things we at MOS Creative are proud to do for you. We’re graphic designers and animators. We see a production from conception to completion, all in-house! Pretty versatile if you ask me! Give us a shout and see what we’re about.
Let’s captivate your audience together. We want to help you stand OUT! (We’re awesome at it!)
Here’s 3 quick reasons why Motion Graphics might be perfect for you and your business:
1. Quicker turnaround than most methods of animation.
We can and want to do a Disney-esque animation for you! But you may not want to wait that long for a final product. We understand, you’ve got weeks, not years. Well, motion graphics doesn’t need to take so long to create! We can have a beautiful finished product to you, lickety-split!
2. It conveys your message in a simple, user-friendly manner.
One of the most useful aspects of Motion Graphics is the fact that it lays out everything in a visually-stimulating manner, while keeping it simple. It’s usually accompanied with a voiceover to help convey your message. Though just because most motion graphics are often minimalist, it doesn’t mean we can’t get crazy with it. Animation is limitless, and we LOVE challenges!
3. Infographics, the still version of Motion Graphics.
Infographics are a great way to explain yourself. They’re all the rage these days, and motion graphics are very similar! Essentially, motion graphics are the moving version of infographics! Both are visually enthralling, but Motion Graphics gives us a little bit of awesome added to the mix. Contact us for both!
Our jam is that we love helping you stand out. That’s just what we do, and we’re happy to do it for you. Get a hold of us and let’s see how we can set your motion graphics into… motion.
PS: Check out our blog! Also, sorry for saying “jam”. It was dorky, but needed to be done.
Hey there! It’s that time again. Time for MOS Creative’s Montly Meetup! We just wanted to check in with you, teach you something, offer our services, and hold a contest! Check out the video below for how to win! That’s right, just comment on Tumblr, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, or LinkedIn to win! Be our favorite by not only getting the answer right, but also making us laugh, cry, or simply scratch our heads in confusion. But now, onto LOGOS!
If you’re a reader of this blog, as you should be, we spoke about logos previously. Here, we go more in-depth—trying to find out what makes a good, effective, memorable logo. Consider this post "Logos 2: The Rebranding" :D
Logos date back to ancient Roman and Greek coins. What were inscribed onto them were images of leaders, gods, and memorable symbols. Each design was done simply and recognizably—just as successful logos are today.
I wanna collect them all!
But what makes a good recognizable, and distinguishable logo? Well, you need to ask yourself, “What’s my company stand for?” mixed with a dash of, “What do I want to convey about myself/company/product?” You don’t want a jeweler with a logo looking like a metal band’s album cover. Well, that might actually be kind of cool… maybe not.
Oh, this little thing? I got it down at Awakened Demon Jewelery!
A logo should fit your company. A logo should convey the attitude you want to convey. If you’re a lightbulb manufacturer, you’d probably want a logo that focuses on brightness, sleekness, and life of your product.
There’s got to be another reason why a good logo is a good logo. Is it maybe… mathematic? Well, yes it is! There’s a mathematical ratio proposed by Dr. Gustav Theodore Fechner that lays out a blueprint that focuses on balance and visual harmony.
It’s called the Golden Ratio.
Many logos follow it. Here’s just a few:
Thank you Banskt for the helpful info!
Get a hold of us at MOS Creative and we'll make a logo for you!
Hey there! This sneak peek into the office of MOS Creative this week comes with a song! Our head developer, Yuriy, whipped out a guitar and played us a tune. Give it a listen!
You thought logos, slogans, SEO and hashtagging were all that went into marketing? Well, there’s much more than that! Those are sort of static; we need something a bit more ALIVE! This is where we utilize a little technique called ANIMATION!
Be it a tv commercial, online ad, or a simple video on your site—animation can be implemented into any marketing strategy. With Youtube being a prime source of entertainment (AND the 3rd most popular site on the web), you’re going to want some presence there. I mean, only 100 million internet users check out online video a day. That’s 200 million potential eyes pointed right at your animation. With more than 3 billion hours of video views per month, you’ll want to get your foot in that door.
Why animation though? Well, animation, above all, can be made to look however you’d like. You can do whatever you want with it! If you can think it, it can be created. Another great thing about animation is, it’s 100% editable! Plus, there are many styles in which to captivate your audience with–motion graphics, hand drawn animation, stop-motion animation, cg animation, cutout animation… well, the list goes on and on. There’s so many styles, so many techniques that can be utilized to create a completely unique and original piece that helps YOU stand out.
We here at MOS Creative are quite the animators ourselves. We see a production from conception to completion, all in-house! We’re pretty dang versatile! Check out our blog posts about animations we’ve done for Bumblejunk and Foodem! Get a hold of us and see what kind of animation we can do for you!
Here’s 3 quick things to keep in mind while creating an animation:
1. Consider the style.
With many options out there, you’ll need a style not only intriguing, but also one that fits your brand. You wouldn’t want a cartoony character hopping around the screen while speaking about your Mixed Martial Arts training program. Keep in mind your audience, know what they’ll respond to.
2. Length of the piece.
Animation, while quick to watch, is not quick to make. The more content you want in it, the more time it takes to animate. Though one thing MOS Creative has perfected over the years is a quick turnaround on animated projects. We pride ourselves on that fact!
3. Make it fun!
Animation is a limitless medium, so don’t be afraid to get crazy!
While you’re here, please enjoy one of our animated projects, a quick little toon about Mosaic Power!:
Check out our tumblr at moscreative.tumblr.com!
