Bing Design and employee Roger Starnes were recognized at a “thank you” tea social at Mills Lawn school with about 30 in attendance on Wednesday. Several teachers took time to thank parents and community volunteers for their efforts in helping students throughout the year. Bing was thanked for our support of the kids’ publication – “Glen, Glorious, Glen: A Fifth Grade Foray into the Forest”. The project was a fifth grade PBL (project based learning) assignment that incorporated writing, drawing, research, design, editing, photography, and teamwork. Students provided artwork, cards, and signatures to thank the volunteers. We were honored to be part of this valuable educational experience for the kids!

Read the final Bookemon.com book by clicking the image below…

Glen, Glorious, Glen Book

 

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Pompey's Pillar - Glen Helen - Diehl Photography

Pompey’s Pillar – Glen Helen – Diehl Photography

A few weeks ago Nick Gaskins, the owner of Bing Design, was discussing a project of a friend who is a teacher at Mills Lawn elementary in Yellow Springs, OH. The project was a book assignment by teachers Ms. Shelton and Mrs. Barclay for their students using an online tool called Bookemon.com which provides users of any age a way to design and create books which can also be professionally printed for a fee.

This group of students is working to increase public knowledge about the Glen Helen Nature Preserve on the north side of Yellow Springs, OH. In fact, it is the yellow springs that provide the initial water flow that both is a feature of the Glen, but is also responsible for helping to carve this geological feature. If you have never been to Glen Helen, we highly recommended you check it out! For its close proximity to the village and bike path, you’ll find a gorge with a large creek, rock formations, even a standing rock pillar like those of area like Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon. There are several hiking trails, a rock stairway near the nature center just off Corry Street with some 130 steps hewn by hand many years ago. From the Glen Helen About Us page… the Glen encompasses some 1,000 acres, has 25 miles of footpaths, features the yellow springs of Yellow Springs, some 400 year-old trees, and limestone cliffs.

This past Thursday, February 21, Mr. Starnes (aka Roger, web/print designer at Bing Design), stopped by for his first visit to Mills Lawn elementary. He met teachers Ms. Shelton and Mrs. Barclay as lunch was wrapping up and was greeted by a couple curious students in the lunch room. As lunch ended, a few classes met in the room of Ms. Shelton to meet Mr. Starnes. We discussed design, typical timeframes for making printed collateral (and what ‘collateral’ is) and talked about how things go from ‘just an idea’ to a ‘printed piece’. There were some 30+ kids during the meet-and-greet with a few questions of their own. :^)

Mills Lawn Elementary School Sign

Sign in front of Mills Lawn elementary

Following the group meeting, students broke into teams to start collaborating on their book. Some teams are creating content, others are designing the cover of the book, still others are doing research. Mr. Starnes met with the cover team to help them sketch out cover concepts for the book on Glen Helen.

After a quick online review of how Bookemon.com works, Mr. Starnes did some paper sketches showing the cover team how covers can be primarily image-based with small text for the book, or could be mostly book title text and smaller images. We also discussed the types of images the students felt most embodied the Glen as they wanted to portray it (trees, creek, animals, rocks, fish…). Each student was given a sheet of paper, and asked to do four ideas to discuss with one another after our hour in class.

Over the next few weeks, Bing will continue to work with the students and teachers to create their public awareness book on Glen Helen, and may even be printing copies. Stay tuned!

Below are some of the cool sites one can find by visiting Glen Helen. Click to visit the Glen Helen website or download a trail map…

Glen Helen Sites

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New Year DusterAs we begin a new year, most of us think about what we were able (or unable) to accomplish the previous year, and we set new goals for ourselves. Sometimes our goals are personal, like losing weight, starting to exercise, and eating better. Maybe we plan to make home improvements or spend more time with the family.

In business, we often focus on reaching more customers and selling them on our products or services. But unless we have a business that no one else has, or it is so much better than all others, it may be tough to make a big impact. Not to fear! There are myriad ways to get your company out there and get noticed by new contacts that won’t break the bank.

Here is a short list of things you can do to help promote your company:

Email Marketing – Bing works with small to medium businesses to help them reach out to current and new clients, creating awareness for their product and services. We take advantage of various online services that offer pre-made templates to simplify the process and keep it affordable. We’ve also found that creating customized HTML emails is a way to get attention and promote what you might be up to or have to offer. Costs for the various services are based on your recipient list. Costs for customizing HTML and graphics for your brand is determined by your goals.

Social Media – Many people now have their own account on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+, or other popular social media sites. Why? Some like to have personal access to friends, co-workers, or staff, others just like to share with the world. Here at Bing, we know there is a real benefit to having a social media presence for your business. One, you are out there in a very public space and accessible. Two, you can use that space to attract old and new customers. Just note, social media outlets are very keen to businesses fishing for new business. Be real, be honest, join in conversations and you’ll find leads. With many sites, you can also have a small page for your business. Just be cautious about depending on these sites for all your web presence, they still own the space, not you. Most sites are free to join. Costs for strategically establishing your brand and goals is determined by your situation.

Web Site – The days of starting a small business site out with a very expensive platform and hosting package are gone. These days, reliable hosting is extremely affordable and we can help you establish a CMS site with all the contemporary bells and whistles. Bing works with clients daily to establish hosting, select and purchase a domain name(s), map out a site, and build content that is good for SEO, relevant to users, and easy for clients to edit and modify if needed. We often work with clients on monthly maintenance such as copy revisions, new content, and special offers relevant to individual branding and marketing needs.

The economy seems to be slowly progressing and growing. If you can position your company well now, you’ll be in a better place to manage new work, with less struggle to bring it in.

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