22 Rules of Storytelling by a Pixar Storyboard Artist

via laughingsquid.com

Former Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats tweeted a number of valuable storytelling rules during her time at the animation studio.

You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.

Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.

Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free....

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Three Rules for Creating the Perfect Press Release

via inspirationfeed.com

Press releases are often eclipsed by new and exciting digital tools, but remain a solid way for brands and businesses of all shapes and sizes to get a message out. The dawn of digital has also had a profound effect upon their creation and distribution – effectively lowering the bar for accessibility in creating and distributing releases. However, as a side-effect – the competition to get releases in front of the eyeballs that matter has increased exponentially. So how can you navigate the perils of press releases and prevent yours from being drowned out?

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Web Design Rules & Guidelines

via bodegazine.com

Attracting a potential customer is hard enough. Grabbing their interest and retaining them is even more difficult. It’s important to design your site so that user frustration is kept to a minimum, thereby maximizing customer retention. We have listed below some basic Rules & Guidelines when it comes to Creating Websites or Blogs. These tips are helpful for both web designers when creating sites for their clients or site owners who aims to improve on their overall site performance. When it comes to your website, extra attention should be paid to every minute detail to make sure it performs optimally to serve its purpose and make sure your website performs well.

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Top Ten Rules For Creative People

via creativeoverflow.net

When it comes to being a creative worker there is nothing more fun than making something that is really useful, beautiful, or both. However creative workers often get stuck in the mindset that if they do things one way and it works then they should keep looking for a better way. Sometimes sticking with what works is really worth it, but sometimes they are right.

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Ten Marketing Rules From Super Bowl Ads

via Businessweek.com

To the average business owner, Super Bowl commercials often appear to be frivolous, expensive diversions from responsible, straightforward advertising. But Super Bowl campaigns done right are among the most effective marketing efforts there are. They have to be—or the world’s leading brands wouldn’t spend big bucks on them year after year.

The concepts needed for a winning Super Bowl campaign are the same for any powerful, year-round marketing program, regardless of the size of your company or budget. That’s what I learned over the past dozen years as my advertising firm asked consumers to rate the big-game commercials in our online ADBOWL. By analyzing the winners and losers from among hundreds of contenders, I’ve identified 10 rules that make winning campaigns work. See how they apply to your marketing efforts...

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Apple's 6 Simple Rules for Designing a Killer iOS App

via mashable.com

Among iOS developers, the day that you finally submit your app for Apple's approval can be a tense one. Even when you've seemingly followed the guidelines, polished the code and passed every field test, Apple can still reject your app for almost any reason.

Not so with Spun [iTunes link]. At first glance, Spun appears to be a simple local news-and-information app with an eye-catching user interface. Which it is. But it's also a showcase for how to design iOS apps that Apple will love.

It starts with the UI, but the Apple-friendly elements resonate throughout Spun's straightforward functionality, novel use of location services and even the original design process. How did Spun learn exactly what Apple looks for in great iOS apps? Simple: from Apple.

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The 5 Commandments For Smartphone Owners

via readwriteweb.com

I am a conflicted tech reporter. I started covering the technology beat because of my love for the power of the smartphone. But the conspicuous consumption of gadgets, with its attendant human and environmental costs, makes me feel as though I'm complicit in injustice. To reconcile these feelings, I've settled on five principles for owning a smartphone. They help me use my device to its fullest potential.

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6 Rules for Deal-Making

The most important external variable to the success of your business is whether or not you had great parents. But you can’t do anything about that. The next most important? Having the right deals in place, at the right times. No one has the team, the resources and the reach to succeed by themselves. Well-constructed partnerships, carefully-structured joint ventures, and timely endorsements help a start-up build its brand, credibility, momentum and customer base.

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Kickstarter lays down strict new rules for creators

via technologytell.com

Kickstarter has exploded in popularity in the past year. It has become the go-to place for companies or individuals to showcase ideas for products and services they hope will become a reality. Backers are led to believe it only takes the right amount of money to turn an idea into an actual product, but it’s much more difficult than that. Kickstarter wants the public to know that Kickstarter is not a store where they can buy products that aren’t found anywhere else. To accomplish this, Kickstarter has created new guidelines for creators that are effective immediately.

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The 10 Commandments for Giving a Perfect Presentation

via blog.hubspot.com

Looking out into a sea of faces while standing on a stage can be one of the most intimidating experiences of your career. It doesn't matter if it's a group of 12 people in a board room or an auditorium filled with thousands of people -- giving the perfect presentation is no easy feat. It's also pretty critical to your success in delivering the message you want to deliver.

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10 Basic Graphic Design Rules for Web Designers

via collegegfx.com

The main goal of any Website is communication. Great communication through pictures, words or overall layout of your website is very important and will help you deliver the information in a successful manner.

Firstly, a designer is that person who succeeds in transmitting information properly and has great communication skills using words and graphics. A graphic/web designer must follow some basic rules in order to create web pages that look good and deliver the right message.

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Basic Rules for an Impressive Web Design

via graphicmania.net

An impressive web design is one that stands in the minds of ultimate users even hours after quitting the system. You don’t need to paint it for perfection, but build it carefully with certain essential factors. Simple, to the point, precise and reliable content wins hearts and sustains there for future use as well.

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The 5 Unwritten Rules That Will Kill Your Business

via openforum.com

It goes without saying that as business leaders we enforce rules that “go without saying.” You know what I'm talking about—those unwritten rules like “The customer is always right” and “Hire only A players.” These apparently obvious business success rules aren’t necessarily written in corporate guidelines or HR manuals, but they obviously work. Or at least that's what we thought.

There are five common unwritten rules that almost every business follows with the best of intentions. The outcomes, though, might be disastrous...

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5 Rules Every SEO Should Live By

via quicksprout.com

You might have noticed in the last year a lot of talk about SEO algorithms, the responsibility of the SEO and how that role has changed over the years due to constant change in search algorithms.

That’s left a lot of companies and SEOs wondering exactly what they should be doing and focusing on. In other words, people are asking what really defines good SEO and what is really important.

Well, to help you answer that question I want to share with you the 5 rules that I live by when I do SEO. Because if you follow these rules, you’ll continually do well in the world of SEO.

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The 10 Commandments Of Web design

via underworldmagazines.com

The world of web design is complicated. There are thousands of designers with their own ideas about how to design a page and make it look right. With different browsers it is even more complicated to create a design that looks good everywhere. If you are looking for a new web designer, follow the 10 commandments of web designing before hiring any web design agency.

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9 Rules for Better Meetings

via inc.com

Many (if not most) business meetings waste time and therefore money, according to Michael St. Lawrence, author of the best-selling book If You're Not Out Selling, You're Being Outsold.

To ensure that a business meeting is efficient and productive, he recommends that the participants agree to adhere to the following guidelines:

Be on time.

Conduct one conversation at a time; avoid "sidebar" discussions.

Respect the opinions of others.

Respond to the topic.

Be solution-minded: When you identify a problem, suggest a solution.

Don't try to "derail" the meeting.

Do not attack other participants.

Avoid introducing tangential topics.

Observe time limits and end the meeting as scheduled.

I estimate that by instituting these guidelines, you get the practical equivalent of increasing your workforce by 10%, or even more--but without increasing payroll costs.

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3 Essential Rules for Winning Trust

via inc.com

Trust is a huge asset in every business situation.

While it's possible to do business with people who don't trust you, it takes a lot longer-- and it usually involves complex negotiations and ridiculously detailed contracts. Ugh.

You're vastly better off winning the trust of your customers--as well as colleagues, coworkers, and employees. Here's how.

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The 10 Golden Rules of Simple, Clean Design

via speckyboy.com

There’s a lot more to simple design than you think. A product such as the iPhone may appear clean and unobtrusive to the naked eye, but there’s a lot going on beneath the surface that most people don’t know about. Nor do they need to. They only need to know that it will do what they need it to do, when they need it to do it. That’s the underlying principle of Apple-style minimal design. Not necessarily to “strip” something down, but to make sure it’s easy to figure out and access with as few distractions as possible.

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7 Rules of Listening, Really Listening

via dumblittleman.com

A few days ago, I got a message from one of my best friends. She asked if we could meet and maybe have a little chat. I didn’t hesitate and said yes. It was great way to catch up.

When we saw each other inside the quiet little café we agreed on, she immediately went onto a sort of rant right after the usual pleasantries. She lamented about how she had this huge problem with a co-worker and how the situation was upsetting her and disrupting her work life.

I listened while she talked, and although we both dropped a few jokes every now and then, I can see that her work situation was definitely weighing her down. The “rant” winded down after a while. She then heaved a sigh of relief and said, “What do you think?”

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7 Rules to understand design & designers

via designyoutrust.com

7 Rules to understand design & designers by Harmonie Interieure.

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