2016 – Will it be Your Best Year?
We think 2016 will be the best year ever for Uptown Studios. Here are a few of the observations from the Uptown Crew on what 2016 will bring… Small business will need to pay more attention to mobile marketing. If your website is not responsive in design (which means it is easy to view on …
Read More »
Challenge Yourself – Read Something New
How often do you read a recently published business journal article? Or the summary document of some new research? How often do you buy a magazine that isn’t part of your normal reading selection? How many of you have an agreement with your friends or colleagues to share interesting factoids/articles/stories with you? And you with them? Reading …
Read More »
Get the Website Security Blanket
At Uptown Studios, we love building websites on WordPress, with all of it’s flexibility and ability to grow and scale to any size – WordPress can handle almost anything you throw at it. Websites powered by WordPress only become insecure if they are allowed to be so, which means it’s critical to make sure you …
Read More »
Gift Giving Guide for the Change Makers
I LOVE giving gifts. All year round, I’m picking up gifts that I think would be great for people and either gifting them right away or saving them up for a birthday or special holiday. So, as you can imagine, December is a pretty exciting time for me. I get caught up in the excitement …
Read More »
Use Design Thinking to Find the Solution
Work-a-round (noun) is defined by Webster as: “a method for overcoming a problem or limitation in a program or system”. It is further defined in Wikipedia as: …”a bypass of a recognized problem in a system”. A workaround is typically a temporary fix that implies that a genuine solution to the problem is needed. But workarounds …
Read More »
Good design is Invisible
Good design is challenging to define. Bad design is impossible to ignore. Good design is often invisible. Bad design often stands out. As renowned designer, Dieter Rams said: “Good design is as little design as possible. Less, but better.” I personally believe this is very well said and applies to all disciplines of design including …
Read More »
Doing Good is Good for the Soul
One of the things I like best about being a team member here at Uptown Studios is the opportunity to work with nonprofit organizations that are making our communities better every day. Last night my video team got to videotape an event at Mulvaney’s Building and Loan restaurant that benefitted Ronald McDonald House Charities. This …
Read More »
Leadership Sacramento Helps Team Set Goals
Leadership Sacramento is a program of the Metro Chamber that develops community-minded business and civic leaders of tomorrow through a year-long interactive program that provides a behind-the-scenes understanding of the issues that impact the region.
Read More »
5 Important Things On Your Website
We are always working with website owners to help them learn and understand some of the most important parts of their sites. We get similar questions pretty often and compiled a few important tips into this list.
Read More »
10 Point Strategy to Beef Up Security on your WordPress Site
Here at Uptown Studios, we host and manage close to 130 sites running on WordPress, so ensuring they are all in tip-top shape in the security department is one of my top priorities. To stay on top of it all, I have put together 10 Point Strategy to Beef Up Security on your WordPress Site.
Read More »
Get Into A Design Thinking State of Mind
Creating change is never easy. When looking to introduce new ideas or strategies to your team, it is important to not rush into it, or implement from the top down. Here at Uptown Studios, we practice and recommend the Human-Centered, also known as “Design Thinking,” method for creating change. Design Thinking starts by identifying the overarching challenge …
Read More »
5 Search Engine Optimization Tips
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be a hard subject for businesses and organizations to grasp, but there are some definite dos and don’ts that can be applied in your everyday work on your website.
Read More »
Leading by Example
When I was younger in my career, I thought that leading meant telling people what to do and making decisions. Over time, I have come to understand that leading is more about “doing” than “telling.”
Read More »
Leadership – How Do You Get There?
I never started out to become a leader. The person that steps toward an issue and people follow. I didn’t even know that leadership was important when I was in my 30s. Hindsight is such a great teacher, it presents processes that become apparent when you look back, but when you are in the middle of …
Read More »
The Amazing Power of Delegation
Early in my career as a designer and principal of a visual communications firm, I was a “I’ll do it all myself” kind of manager. I thought that if I handled everything myself, it would get done better, on time, every time. I perceived delegation to others as a sign of failure. As you can imagine, …
Read More »
It Takes a Team to Create a Website
I’m a planner. On everything I do, I map out every step and explore every possibility before I get started. Now, as a project manager, this can come in handy and helps me guide the team and clients on jobs and ensure we meet deliverables. However, as part of the creative world, it is important …
Read More »
Having a Print Manager Saves Time and Money
If you haven’t worked with a full-service design firm or marketing agency, you might not know what a print manager is or what they can do for you. As the print industry has changed over the last 15 years, online printers have become more available, providing the consumer with more options and more knowledge of …
Read More »