10.26.2012

Frankenstein Friday

There's Freaky Friday, Friday the 13th, and TGI Fridays. But TODAY we celebrate...
Frankenstein Friday!

Frankenstein Friday is recognized on the last Friday in October and celebrates the birth of Frankenstein and its creator. One of the best known horror characters, Frankenstein dates back to his birth in 1818 when Mary Wollenstonecraft Shelley, at the age of 21, wrote the story "Frankenstein". We can't imagine the Halloween season today without the presence of Frankenstein, lurking somewhere in the darkness.

To celebrate this day, you can watch a Frankenstein movie, read the novel, or...
COLOR THIS PICTURE!

Frankenstein likes to party too... just WITHOUT the candles!

This special day was created by Ron MacCloskey from Westfield, New Jersey in 1997. But Ron's interest in Frankenstein comes as no surprise because his hometown of Westfield, NJ is also the hometown of Charles Addams, the New York Times magazine cartoonist who created The Addams Family. Ron picked Friday to celebrate this day for the "FR" connection, and because more people can party on Friday than on any other night of the week. Just don't bring the candle flame too close to ol' Franky!

10.25.2012

Using Your Noodle

In our last post we discussed how to market your business using the 365 Quirky Holidays throughout the year. Well, pile up your plate with a big dish of pasta and your favorite sauce, because today is World Pasta Day!

World Pasta Day was established as an annual event at the first World Pasta Congress held on October 25, 1995 in Rome, Italy, and is promoted by pasta manufacturers around the world. Does this mean that you have to own an Italian restaurant to reap the benefits of this holiday? It helps, but NO.

There are countless ways to market this unique celebration with your customers. How about a funny cartoon/caricature of YOU as a chef with the headline, "We're COOKING UP a special offer just for YOU!" Or maybe it's giving away a $25 coupon to a local Italian restaurant with the purchase of your product or service?


The point is, USE YOU NOODLE. No matter what your business or industry, think outside the box and do what everyone else isn't. One of the number one rules in marketing is to stay in front of your prospects. Now, once you have "catered" your marketing to incorporate a bizarre holiday, you can visually grab the reader's attention with a uniquely creative cartoon. Yes, CARTOONS!

Almost everyone will take a few seconds out of their day to "indulge" themselves with a comic strip or  "feast on" a funny picture. And a few seconds is all you need to grab their attention! At VoogDesigns, we produce high-quality custom cartoons, comic strips and caricatures for clients like YOU, that are designed to create a marketing banquet. Customers will buy when they're ready, so even if they aren't ready for your product or service today, you're likely to at least get a laugh. And a laugh means they like you. And if they like you, they are more likely to buy from you at some point.

P.S. The caricature in this post was created for a client in Germany. Here's the email I received from her describing what she asked me to illustrate:
Hey there! I saw a few caricatures you made and I think they are really good! My godfather has his 50th birthday in September and I would like to give him a caricature as a present. Actually, I want it to be more like a big picture of things he likes and that are important in his life with him in the middle. Maybe you can help me with my imagination if you're interested. He loves Apple [products] and photography. He drives a Mini and likes to go biking. And he loves to cook Pasta; that's why he got the nickname "Nudelninja"! I hope this will help you creating! Danke (:
And VoogDesigns can create the same high-quality artwork for YOU! Say "goodbye" to boring and over-used clipart. Get your emails read and your offers engaged using our custom cartoons, comic strips and caricatures. In fact, rather than deleting your emails, they'll be waiting to open the next one!

P.S.S. What's MORE important that 10,000 twitter followers and 500 facebook friends? Send us an email to discuss a marketing strategy for your business, and we'll send you back this MOST IMPORTANT piece of information.

10.23.2012

Marketing Macabre

Macabre. Synonyms: appalling, atrocious, awful, dreadful, frightful, ghastly, grisly, gruesome, hideous, horrendous, horrid, horrific, horrifying, lurid, horrible, monstrous, nightmare, nightmarish, shocking, terrible. So what's KILLING your marketing? You produce great content for your newsletter or blog, but can't get customers to read it, let alone open it.

Well, one fun way to get your emails opened and your offers responded to is with cartoons! Yes, CARTOONS! Almost everyone will take a few seconds out of their day to read a comic strip or look at a funny picture. And a few seconds is all you need to grab their attention!


No matter what your business or industry, think outside the box for a minute and do what everyone else isn't. Did you know that there is a wealth of bizarre, unique, and otherwise special holidays every day of the year? Today, for instance, is "TV Talk Show Host Day".

Now combine this "unique holiday" with a "special offer". One of the number one rules in marketing is stay in front of your prospects. They will buy when they are ready. So even if they aren't ready for your product or service today, you're likely to at least get a laugh. And a laugh means they like you. And if they like you, they are more likely to buy from you at some point.

Now, once you have catered your marketing to incorporate a bizarre holiday, you can visually grab the reader's attention with a uniquely creative cartoon. At VoogDesigns, we produce high quality custom cartoons, comic strips and caricatures for clients like you, that are designed to BRING LIFE BACK to your marketing.

P.S. What's MORE important than 10,000 twitter followers and 500 facebook friends? Send us an email to discuss a marketing strategy for your business, and we'll send you back this MOST IMPORTANT piece of information. You'll never bore your customers again. Get your emails read and your offers opened using our custom cartoons, comic strips and caricatures. In fact, rather than deleting your emails, they'll be waiting to get the next one!

9.07.2012

Art Academy Welcomes New Patrons

Ready to "DRAW" Partner? School is back in session and so is the VoogDesigns Art Academy!

Over the summer we were fortunate enough to make two new connections, which has allowed us to reach out and help even more students learn about the magic and joy that comes from drawing.

We are proud to now teach for the following patrons:


Thank you for the opportunity to serve you!

8.22.2012

A Tale of a Tail

Date: 2011-05-07, 9:54AM PDT Animator/Concept Designer
Seeking someone to assist in initial designs for 3 interactive, family oriented eBooks. Characters range from human, animal, and graffiti. Stories are complete and written in rhyme. Hand drawn or computer skills fine. Open to style, but loose and elastic preferred (Disney / Pixar for example). Initially, three pages of Character Design or Story Illustrations would be sufficient. Forwarding of website or samples appreciated.
And that is how it all started. Over a year ago, I have been collaborating with Gary Frutkoff, a wonderful gentleman and founder of iTaleStudios, who has entrusted in me the privilege of bringing 2 of his 3 stories to life.

I'll share some fun stories in future posts, but for now, I'd like to introduce to you...

Gary Frutkoff, Michael Voogd, VoogDesigns

7.26.2012

A Brave Birthday

Red Rider. For me, like many others, those words bring only one movie to mind, A Christmas Story. And just like little Ralphie was obsessed with getting his Red Rider BB Gun for Christmas, my daughter was persistent about getting a Bow and Arrow set for her birthday after seeing Disney's 'Brave'.

So as a tribute to the movie, I created this fun Brave Banner for the birthday girl.


7.05.2012

'Braving' the Anticipation

Patience. Try telling a 10 year old girl that is anxiously awaiting to see the newest Disney-Pixar film that she needs to wait a week to see it.

Due to my work schedule and her summer activities, we were not able to see Disney's 'Brave' until this week. I promised her that I would take her and a friend to see the film at the historic El Capitan Theater on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. And WOW was the wait worth it!

We arrived at 9:30am for the 10:00am showing. Upon entering the lobby there was a great photo display set up for taking some memorable photos of the occasion. Then of course we stopped by the concession booth to grab a little something before finding our seats. (Nothing like an over-sized bag of popcorn for breakfast!)

The ambiance inside the theater was 100% Hollywood, with the velvet curtains, balconies and colorful lighting. A organ player was even on stage to resurrect classical musical melodies from Disney films of old. When at last, several screens began to retract upward, one after another until the movie screen was unveiled for us to watch the previews of all the newest Disney films in the works. Then the curtains dropped again, reminiscent of the way movies used to be preparing us for a big surprise.


Spotlights suddenly illuminated a group of entertainers who performed songs from Hollywood's best musicals while they introduced Disney's beloved characters to the stage! As soon as Donald appeared I found myself grinning ear-to-ear as if I was transported back in time to being a kid all over again. It was the most amazing feeling, and one that continued throughout the entire performance. We saw Mike and Sully, Buzz and Woody, Donald, Goofy and of course, Minnie and Mickey! To top it all off, they added a special patriotic performance for an Independence Day celebration!

The show ended with an appearance from Merida, before the curtains opened one last time to show the movie. Not only was 'Brave' stunningly beautiful to watch, with all the cinematic scenery, I thoroughly enjoyed the story as well. And as much as we've heard about the "Disney Formula" for making movies, it once again works.
Although this was a daddy/daughter day, I recommend that mothers and daughters see this movie see together as well. It tackles the struggle that so often happens as girls mature, leading to sometimes very nasty arguments with their mothers.


The afternoon ended with a trip to Mickey's Soda Shop which is right next door to the theater. We enjoyed a nice lunch and dessert before heading back home. This was another magical afternoon that this father will continue to cherish before his daughter grows up.