Please visit Island Graphics’ BIZNIK page at: http://biznik.com/join/david-sparks

Everyone’s linking in these days. But is anyone really connecting?

If you’re someone who thinks about business networking in terms of community rather than tool, Biznik is for you. Biznik combines the best of social networking with the best of real-world connection in a way that helps you:

* Get Real - Members meet online AND face-to-face at member-hosted events.
* Get Noticed - 93 percent of Biznik’s top members rank on page 1 of Google for their name or keywords.
* Get Published - build your professional reputation.
* Get Business - meet your next client or business partner.
* Get Current - keep up with the latest trends in business at member-hosted workshops and seminars.

Biznik is a business community for independent business people who are passionate about what they do and want to be part of a community of like-minded folks interested in seeing each other succeed.

–David

It’s probably been a dog’s age since you even thought about floppy disks — let alone had a drive on your computer that could support one — but floppies are actually still popular in India and Japan. Sony is the last manufacturer of 3.5-inch floppy disks, and while the company sold more than 12 million of them in 2009, Sony has just announced it will stop making floppies as of March 2011.

“Due to dwindling demand, Sony discontinued European production of 3.5-inch floppy disks in September 2009. The last European sale of a floppy disk took place in March 2010,” a Sony spokesperson said.

Although these disks have already drifted into the realm of hipster-fueled, retro-ironic nostalgia (see also: SNES cartridges), we have a lingering love for the floppy. It’s a symbol of a simpler time — a time before cloud storage and Google Docs made it impossible to wedge a corrupted disk under your professor’s door at 5 a.m. only to claim that the paper had been on the disk the night before, a time when it took nine disks or so to get an OS onto your hard drive, a time when 1.4 MB actually meant something. We invite you to browse our Floppy Retrospective Flickr gallery, where we trace the evolution of the floppy from Bill Gates’s best friend to dumpster fodder to dearly loved — but seldom used — archaic trinket.

A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The “QR” is derived from “Quick Response”, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.

QR Codes are common in Japan, where they are currently the most popular type of two dimensional codes. Moreover, most current Japanese mobile phones can read this code with their camera.

Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR Codes are now used in a much broader context, including both commercial tracking applications and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (known as mobile tagging).

QR Codes storing addresses and URLs may appear in magazines, on signs, buses, business cards or just about any object that users might need information about. Users with a camera phoneequipped with the correct reader software can scan the image of the QR Code causing the phone’s browser to launch and redirect to the programmed URL. This act of linking from physical world objects is known as a hardlink or physical world hyperlinks. Google’s mobile Android(OS) supports the use of QR codes by natively including the barcode scanner (ZXing) on some models and the browser supports URI redirection which allows QR Codes to send meta-data to existing applications on the device.

Users can also generate and print their own QR Code for others to scan and use by visiting one of several free QR Code generating sites.

What should a business expect to pay for quality logo design? Why do some designers charge different rates for different uses?”

FIRST OF ALL, WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR

There are a couple of online logo design services that offer logos at under $100. When you find one, hit the “Back” button.

You get what you pay for, and logos are no exception.

Of course, it depends on what your needs are. If you can find a pre-designed logo that you like for under $100, good for you. Just make sure that the logo company is willing to make alterations to the logo without charging extra for each round of revisions. Also make sure that the logo company you deal with does not resell logos.

LOGO PRICE RANGES

Pre-Designed Logos

Pre-designed logos are logos that are created beforehand. Typically these readymade logos are listed on the design firm’s web site and sold on a first-come-first-serve basis.

There is nothing wrong with pre-designed logos, provided that they are unique and that each logo is only sold once.

Price Range: $100 to $300

Custom Logos

With custom logos, an important consideration is the number of unique concept designs that the designer is willing to create. The higher the number of concept designs, the higher the price. Usually.

Price Range: $400 to $550

Cartoon Logos and Mascot Logos

Cartoon logos and mascot logos are generally far more time-consuming to create that regular custom logos and therefor they are more expensive. The critical thing here is to find a cartoonist, not a logo designer. Most logo designers offer cartoon logo design, but only a handful of them actually employ a professional cartoonist.

Price Range: $800 to $4,000

Logo Repair and Logo Redesign

If you already have a logo and just need it cleaned up and/or improved, you can potentially save a lot of money.

Price range: $50 to $250

HOPE THAT HELPS, Aaron and whomever else is reading this. As far as who owns the work, that’s a bit stickier. Technically and legally the designer owns the copyright to the material until it is released BY the designer to the client. Some charge, some don’t, there is really no set practice. This is why a good relationship with your designer should ALWAYS be important. For the same reason that you should NEVER PISS OFF THE BARTENDER! Cheers, All!

Do we always have to take everything about business identity and marketing so bloody seriously?? Don’t get me wrong here…I don’t aim to underestimate the value of logo designing. But, it seems like all the logo design topics available on the internetnet reveal it as an unexciting and boring industry. We ignore the multiple aspects of logo designing, including its fun part.

It is not important for a logo concept to be serious and somber to be successful. Skillful logo designers have the talent of conveying corporate messages through playful logos. They are capable of adding joy, fun and humor to their logo designs without making them look immature.

Today I bring you 25 logo designs, showing you how naughty and mischievous logo designers can get with their designs. Hopefully, these light-hearted logos highlight the joyous aspect of logo designing and fulfill your logo addiction.

Zoomania

Aquarius

Mr & Mrs

Ms. Behave & Mr. Lucky

Bee

Loud Beetle

Light Switch

Coffeenerd

Mister Cutts

The Loaded Daiper

Play

Unpugged

Milk Tooth

DogPaw

Hatapillar

FuoriSerie

Thoppai

Tickletweets

3 Rooms

Office Assistant

2 Boys In a bed

Run Rooster

Drop

Killed

Poop

It seems that every time you look around, you find more complex solutions to the most simple marketing problems.. reaching your audience, effectively communicating, and helping customers advance their business forward.  Let’s see if I can simplify it for you.