Better Design Now

My "Leaving" Problem

2010-11-22T08:23:00.000-08:00

So I spent the better part of my weekend in the yard. I finally found time to get out there and clean up the leaves. I'm sure my neighbor was about an hour from knocking on my door to get out there. It was a magical experience filled with children dancing in the yard and celebrating the fall season to their fullest! And then I turned off the TV and actually went out there with my loud smelly leaf sucker and wet muddy leaves my son wouldn't quit spreading around the yard. The real irony is that one hour after I finished I turned around to see the yard covered in the rest of the leaves that fell off while I was working.

Sometimes the grunt work of our daily lives can feel a lot like my "leaving" problem. We keep working but the leaves keep falling right behind us. My good friend Roger tells me there's always more weeds than flowers and all you can do is keep pulling them. At face value that sounds defeatist at best but there's more than just the surface to examine of course.

By cleaning the leaves up and pulling the weeds I'm keeping my yard and even my neighbor's yard in better shape. Allowing the grass to grow more beautiful and giving the flowers a healthier environment to bloom. By doing this I'm actually helping maintain the properties around and thus adding value to my home as well. After all, who wants to live next to a guy that won't clean up his yard? (Wait a second!?!?)

Balancing Act

2010-11-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

So I'm learning a lot over the last few months about balance. Now before we go any further, I'm not talking about a nutrition plan or something a life coach is gonna tell you to help lower stress. I'm talking about a concept one of my brilliant friends spoke into my life. I'm learning to live in the tension between passion and patience. Isn't that an amazing thought!

I have so many irons in the fire right now and it can be so frustrating waiting for something to fall into place. The biggest challenge is maintaining the passion I have for the things that need to be done when I feel like I'm hearing nothing but no's. I once heard a story about a guy who lived in poverty working at a 7-11 but wore a fabulous suit every day. People would ask him all the time "why do you wear that ridiculous suit everywhere." Some even thought they needed to give him perspective so he would snap out of it. He always answered them "someday I'm going to get an opportunity that requires that I wear a suit. I want to be ready when that day comes." Now that's a guy filled with genuine hope.

Was he crazy or did he just see something most people can't? That's the real question. Can we see the breadcrumbs on our path enough to make it to the road signs? Then can we read the road signs enough to make it to the destination? We all feel lost in the woods sometimes as I'm sure a poor man does working in a suit at a 7-11. The difference is his ability to let the bread crumbs keep him alive in the tension between passion and patience.

Oh, by the way, he did get the job and now wears whatever suit he wants to work everyday.

Keep The Light On!

2010-11-17T08:32:00.000-08:00

Two diverse crowds emerge as the holiday decorations emerge. Crowd number 1: Please at least wait till after Thanksgiving to decorate your "Grizwold'esk" house and please take them all down as close to the New Year holiday as possible. Crowd number 2: Set em up as soon as you smell cold weather and take them down when it's warm enough to get back out in the yard and not risk illness!

I have to admit some years I am in crowd 1 and some I'm in crowd 2. On one hand I love the idea of celebration. The world can be a very harsh place with little positivity. Celebrating a joyous time seems like a great idea considering the magnitude of what happened on the first Christmas. On the other hand we can't all pack up and move to Disney World forever and forget the real world.

I think it's important to bring the celebration to your daily life. Regardless of when you do or don't decorate, keep the light on! Find a way to keep things beautiful so you don't lose sight of hope around you. It's not a materialistic beauty but a true beauty that reflects the wonder of creation around you. Find a way to bring that beauty to your business so it brings hope to those you mean to serve. Keep the light on and take it with you wherever you go.

The Experience Factor

2010-11-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

I once read that "if experience was the most important thing, we would've never walked on the moon." That sort of shifts your view of hope doesn't it! I do believe in having strong foundations and working with experienced people in life and business but I also believe in new and exciting ideas. This country was once nothing more than a new and very exciting idea and yet here we are over 200 years later.

We should never be afraid of new ways of thinking but rather should seek out the wisdom to view those new ideas through the appropriate lenses. This will help us see things for what they really are and avoid the pitfalls of deceptively bad ideas.

In today's world you can't wait to learn everything through experience. The road is too rocky to go it alone. We need each other as resources for wisdom. Remember, wisdom is learning from other's previous mistakes, knowledge is learning from your own. Always seek WISDOM!

Taking time away

2010-11-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

So believe it or not this post is not about vacations. I will say that I just returned from a wonderful trip to Disney a week or so ago and vacations can be as inspiring as they are relaxing but that's for another post. This post is more of a challenge to myself and hopefully others.

I want to dedicate 10% of my work week to getting out of the office and helping other businesses or individuals in need in a way that isn't about generating a profit for me. That's it and that's all. Step away from the desk and the phone and help feed somebody who can't afford to feed themselves. Spend time with a missionary and just listen to what they are doing in their area of work.

The reality is that it doesn't take much for apathy to set in and soon we can't see past the monitor in front of us. I think of the scene in Phenomenon where John Travolta finally throws the rake down and shoves his hands into the soil in his garden. Instantly he feels relieved to be so in touch in such a simple way. Where is the garden you need to spend some time in? How can you get your hands dirty? Feel free to let us know and hopefully we'll see you out there doing phenomenal things!

Looking for directions!

2010-08-25T10:15:00.000-07:00

On the Google search engine, the name “Garmin” is searched for over 800,000 times per month on average. It represents the most popular term on anything computer related by more than double the next closest term. The top word for anything related to books is the term “phone book”. Whether it’s a Garmin, a great tool for finding your way around what can be a confusing world, or a phone book, people are looking for direction. I use a navigation system all the time when going to appointments with clients. It can be a big help. With so many people interested in finding direction wouldn’t it be great if we could apply this same technology to navigating the business world?

Pure Fusion Media has put together some great materials for businesses all over the country that help not only each company navigate their marketplace but even more importantly their clients. This entry focuses on some companies we have helped with their branding. A solid brand communicated throughout a companies marketing and advertising material can be a major difference in the success of a business.

Let Pure Fusion Media help you get your brand out there. Visit our site at www.purefusionmedia.com and see how we can help you better serve your clients.

Too Many Eggs Not Enough Baskets

2010-08-18T08:49:00.000-07:00

So we’ve established, and you’ve probably seen it everywhere, that school is officially back in swing and the summer is winding down. That means men everywhere are gearing up for fantasy sports and monitoring football results, kids are breaking out their copy of High School Musical to be sure they’re prepared for the realities of school life (yeah right) and parents everywhere have a new list of worries that range from chicken pox to a new route plan getting everyone to school and work on time.

The reality of fall is that it brings a lot of change to life and often it seems like there’s too many eggs and not enough baskets. Business is no different and often is emblematic of the lives of those who give their hearts and minds to its success. There’s a hundred ways to accomplish your agenda and choosing the right path can be maddening.

Pure Fusion Media has spent the last ten years working with its clients to help bring a concise and unified message to the table. By helping you focus your marketing efforts in the most effective areas and thus pushing your brand into the forefront of your industry, we can take some of those unnecessary eggs out of your hands. This entry provides examples of how we’ve accomplished that for our clients.

Feel free to visit the site for better look at our branding work.

http://purefusionmedia.com/portfolio-logo1.html

Essential Back To School Supplies

2010-08-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

Pure Fusion spent the week finishing up the final pieces of the new web site for Davidson Academy just in time for the returning students. The Nashville based private school wanted to update the look and feel of the site and capture more of the energy of the school through the design. Pure Fusion was able to bring the web site up to date while still keeping the design in touch with their 30-year tradition.

The completion of the project comes just in time for a back to school unveiling. Some of the new features include links to blogs, photos and a virtual tour as well as beautiful rotating news module. All the supplies your web site needs to get the school year started right. Check out some of the pages:

Visit this site at www.davidsonacademy.com and more at www.purefusionmedia.com

A designer's thoughts on searching for the right doctor

2010-07-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

With the advent of social media and the shift from print to web marketing, Medical practice management has become one of the largest dynamics in the doctor patient relationship. Today’s physician’s practice manager must be constantly involved in the maintenance of more than just billing and finances of the office. With the technologies available you must put as much care into your web site as you have your waiting room. Investing in the décor and comfort of the office has become as essential as providing the correct diagnosis. After all a physician can’t help a patient they can’t get in the door to begin with. Pure Fusion Media believes this mindset must be applied as deliberately to your web design and marketing materials as it is to your interior decorating.

This understanding is crucial to the passion and direction of Pure Fusion Media, who seeks to bridge the gap between a very clinical process and a relationship built on trust and comfort. The average patient will not open the phone book or scour the morning paper when they start to experience morning sickness or their child needs an orthopedic surgeon. They will be somewhere between their Facebook page and their email account when they begin the search process. All that to say, the first impression of today’s Doctor more than likely will come from a web site or internet add. A patient may never set foot in your waiting room and will already have determined how the look and feel of a medical practice affects them either positively or negatively.

The goal of Pure Fusion Media throughout the entire marketing process is to establish the needs of every individual client so we can help them meet the individual needs of their clients more efficiently. We believe that physicians as well as medical practice managers should select a design firm with as much care and intentionality as they select an interior designer for the office. Together, the right team can create a patient confidence that will put your medical practice at the forefront of the social market place.

Please visit us at www.purefusionmedia.com