Sustain Yourself: Go Green, Save Green

By Sarah Alvarez, Account Executive

I’ve been living a double life for the past two years.

 
In the classroom I have been taught to keep my scope vast. It is not enough to be looking at the public relations industry in one area, you have to be thinking on a national level. No matter how much extra time I have in my day, I never feel like I have read enough.

On the other hand, I have held various positions in AS Sustainability for the past two years. These positions have taught me to minimize consumption, think on a local level and that small change can create large-scale movements.  

Trying to live by these rules has created some conflict in my life, but I’ve found that keeping sustainability in mind can create a balance that can make life a little easier.

1.  Lose the junk. PR is not a nine to five job, you’re often working much longer hours, and it can be hard to find time to take a break for food. If you ditch the fast food for fresh, local fare you’re consuming fewer preservatives and will have more energy to get through your day and you’re also helping boost your local economy.  

2.  Power Down. When you’re constantly checking Facebook, Twitter and your blog for work, it is easy to get overwhelmed by your digital devices.  By unplugging your cell phone and laptop you’re giving yourself a much needed break and you could be saving money too.

3.  Trash can be treasure.  With technology being such a large portion of our lives, there is often tech trash in our homes and offices.  But think before you toss your CD collection or burned out lightbulbs.  Give your mind a break and get creative!

There is more to sustainability than just recycling and defending mother nature.  Often times, the sustainable choice can benefit you just as much as it benefits the planet.

San Francisco Site Visit

Senior Account Executive, Naubil Oropeza films students from the Department of Journalism and Public Relations on a visit with alumni at their workplace where they learned about the industry and gained insight on how to land a job after graduation.

Ditch your Emotional Briefcase

By Lillian Gray, Account Executive, Photographer

IQ Vs. EQ

Bill Gates has an IQ of 160. Hillary Clinton’s IQ is 140. Bill Clinton’s is 137. Based on the Intelligence Quotient, we believe that Gates is smarter than both of the Clintons individually. I’m not here to argue the validity of that statement, but IQ may not be the correct way to quantify intelligence.

The feeling of emotions is immeasurable. Without any way to quantify emotional depth, some consider this irrelevant when calculating intelligence.

During the ‘90s, Bill Clinton’s “shortcomings” in IQ were explained by his EQ (Emotional Quotient). Emotional intelligence, which is defined as the ability to identify, assess and control one’s own emotions, as well as others and groups, was deemed a quality worth possessing in a leadership role.

Emotional intelligence in the workplace

Being fascinated by the study of emotions has made me equally fascinated by people’s need to express their emotion publicly in the workplace.

What happens when you let your emotions take a toll on your working relationships or even your job? Have you ever considered your work environment to be hostile, perhaps toxic at times?

Your behavior in the office is important to your employers and coworkers. It affects your relationships and your ability to be effective. Our emotions have a huge role in our performance. Remember that you control your actions and reactions to situations you enter.

Abstaining from emotional outbursts

Showing emotion through body language or facial expressions is a natural way we express how we feel. And although our feelings need to be expressed, it may not be appropriate to show extreme emotion in certain work situations.

The following tips from “How to Gain Control of Your Emotions,” an article on www.wikihow.com, can increase your emotional intelligence and, in turn, may create a better working environment for all.

How to gain control of your emotions

1. Know your emotions.

2. Recognize that emotions don't just appear mysteriously out of nowhere.
3. Notice what was going through your mind when the emotion appeared.
4. Write down the evidence which supports the thought that produced the emotion or against that thought.
5. Ask yourself, "What is another way to look at the situation that is more rational and more balanced than the way I was looking at it before?"
6. Consider your options. No matter what the emotion, there are always at least two alternatives, and you can probably think of more:
          Don't react. Do nothing.
          Do the opposite of what you would normally do.
7. Make a choice. Here are some good reasons to act upon:

• Principles
• Logic

Inspiration Kick-starters

By Jennifer Hoffman, Editorial Assistant

I have always been a daydreamer, a lover of the imagination.

As a little kid, I would write funny stories starring my best friends or invent new board games. Sometimes I’d spend the afternoon designing my dream home – complete with indoor swimming pools and secret passageways, of course.

When it came time to pick my future career path, the possibilities for creative thinking are what attracted me to public relations:

• Problem-solving and strategizing to produce results that leave a client grinning 
• Considering new outlooks and angles to help me better see the world’s endlessly entertaining points of view 
• Exploring new methods and techniques to keep ideas fresh and the mind nimble

Recently, in my Internet escapades, I’ve come across a few new websites that instantly inspired me. They sent me either clamoring for my box of craft supplies or running to my notebook, eager for the sweet indulgence of a fine-tipped pen and a fresh page of paper.

Deviant Art is a social-networking community for creative types of every kind with galleries galore. Amazing art, photos, prose and crafts abound, enough to make you awe-inspired and ill with envy, all at the same time. Fancy a vampire killing kit? They have that. How about an animation about animation? Well they have that, too.

Offbeat Home is a place for those of us who like taking a walk on the unordinary side to trigger alternative modes of thinking. All sorts of glee-inducing inspiration can be found. If you want to learn more about “government-sponsored zombie preparedness literature,”or how to make “un-bedside tables for book storage,” you will be pleasantly rewarded.

So often I’ve found that inspiration is contagious. The next time you feel a creativity block, take a moment to stop and smell the painted roses.

Pin Your Online Life Together

By Melissa Baxley, Editorial Assistant

Social media is continually changing, those who are computer savvy are constantly looking for new user-friendly services to make their life easier. One new website attracting a large number of users allows people to collect and organize ideas as they discover them on the Internet. It’s called Pinterest. 

Pinterest enables people to organize ideas and images from the Internet into categories, or “pinboards,” and share them with other users. According to its website, “people use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.”

Picture a huge tack-board with sticky notes showing interesting websites, DIY, pictures, ideas and much more attached, or “pinned,” to it. Separate boards can be created to keep one’s items categorized and easily accessible. 

Each “pin” contains a short description and a link to its original source. Therefore, when an image on one’s pinboard catches a user’s attention, he or she can click the link and is immediately taken to the website where the content originated. 

The easiest way to create a pinboard is to install the “Pin It” bookmark. By doing this, when one is on a website and finds a picture that catches his or her eye, he or she simply clicks the Pin It bookmark. The page then turns into a bunch of boxes that show all of the pictures, and the user clicks each one he or she wants to add to his or her board. 

Pins can be shared on Facebook and Twitter, and users can register via Facebook Connect or through Twitter. This enables users to “like” or “repin” your pins. 

This is an excellent tool for planning, organizing and remembering interesting things you’ve come across on the Internet.

Netflix: Sorry We're Not Sorry

Ian Twamley, general manager of TGC, highlights the importance of timely and transparent two-way communication between an organization and its customers, especially when changing or launching a new product or service.

Simple Design 101

By Lauren Beck, Graphic Designer

When we think of Nike, we associate it with a check sign. Target -- the red bull’s-eye, and McDonald’s -- the golden arches. Despite these being well-known companies, there is something about the simplicity of the brands that make us remember them. The beauty of simple design does not only hold true when designing logos, it can be applied in a variety of visual design.

According to the attractiveness bias theory, a good-looking design will draw more attention than a poor design. The first impression of something will be an ultimate factor in whether or not the viewer reads the content presented.

The power of simplicity in print design

Take advantage of white space or negative space. This refers to the space between elements in a composition. When used correctly it can turn a layout into something more appealing to the eye. 

In this example you can see how white space is used to improve the advertisement from looking cheap and cluttered to clean and sophisticated.

Improving Web design

Simplicity holds true not only to print, but to the online world as well. When browsing online, a well-designed website makes a world of difference.  This is an example of a well-designed website vs. a poorly-designed website. 

Example one is cluttered, uses lengthy paragraphs and feels overwhelming. While example two is clean, simple, easy to navigate and straight to the point.

Why would a viewer stay on a site where they can barley find the home button? We all are constantly browsing sites on the web, so making a first impression is crucial.

By using clean, simple design it allows the users to quickly identify the purpose of the site, find what they need, and increases the chance that they find the content on the site reliable.

Key factors for creating a design of your own:

1. Know your audience.

• People don’t read online they scan. Information online should be easily identifiable. Use design elements such as: bolding the type, adjusting the size, color and contrast.

2. Use one or two fonts max.

• Too many fonts can make a design look cluttered and will distract the overall design.
• Be aware of serif vs. sans serif fonts. Pairing the right fonts together can be a challenge, so here are a few examples of sans serif and serif fonts that work nicely together.
• Keep the headings, subheads and body fonts consistent.
• Be aware of tracking, kerning and leading.

3. Avoid colors that clash or are too bright.

• It can be distracting, harsh on the eyes and unattractive.
• The wrong use of colors can even make a work impossible to read.
• Using a color-wheel can help to make successful color choices.

An example of my own design:

The purpose of this USRentalListing postcard is to advertise website services to universities. I used color, type and whitespace to attempt to create a design that was clear, simple and straight to the point.