With the launch of a new website several months ago, you probably have a decent idea of our style and what we’re all about as a company…  Pair the website with our facebook, twitter and other social networking accounts, and you could pretty much stalk us if that’s the sort of thing you’re in to

If you’ve visited our key players page, you know that I rocked one mean tuxedo during my childhood days.  What can I say, I was a born lady killer.  While many of you have gotten a kick out of our childhood portraits (as you should), humor was only a small factor in why we chose to display ourselves in such a manner.  In our minds, it was important to show current and potential clients our youthful imaginations, and demonstrate that while we’ve grown up, we still like to think big and achieve things others only dream about.  I mean, that’s what being a kid is all about, right?

Albeit the childhood pictures are great (thanks everyone for your feedback) we felt it was time for a mini photo shoot.  Sure, we’ll need a serious corporate head shot for this, that or the other thing, but most importantly, we needed to have some sharp looking avatars for our social networking accounts (I’ve almost got everyone at the office on the facebook, twitter and linkedin bandwagons woot!)  So we got with our creative director, Steve Clark, and asked him to dig up some lighting and other goodies from his old photog days.

It turned out to be a super rad time Tuesday morning at the office.  Not only did we have a blast putting everyone on the spot to come up with an “O” face (or in my case, the People’s eyebrow) we were able to capture more of the personality that is Splinter Creative.  So while the childhood portraits aren’t coming down anytime soon, we figured it was time to supplement them with some current day goodness.  After all, a picture can tell you an awful lot about someone…

To see all the pics, check out our facebook fan page here.

As I write this brief post, I can’t believe it’s been over a month since my last entry…What can I say, time flies when you’re having a good time.

In case you missed the June issue of Sign and Digital Graphics Magazine, Splinter took down the Vendor’s Choice Award from Mimaki in the 2009 Auto Art Contest. We submitted two sets of vehicle wraps to the auto art contest, one commercial vehicle and one set of team racing graphics. While the Cruz Tequila vehicle wrap made the publication as a vendor’s choice winner, the set of Mini Cooper Racing Graphics for RSR Motorsports took home an honorable mention and is featured in the slide show here (slides 40 and 46).

A great honor to take home the Vendor’s Choice Award, it marks the second time Splinter Creative has been recognized for its outstanding vehicle wraps in the trade publication (the Scion won Best Graphics in the December 2008 issue (page 28)). We’re certainly ready for the next competition, and figured until then, we’ll lay on the shameless self promotion pretty thick

Let me know your thoughts on the vehicle designs in the comments below…  Think they rock? Could have done better? You would’ve liked to see…

Thanks to popular folks and networks such as Ashton Kutcher, Oprah, Barack Obama, CNN and ESPN, twitter has officially blown-up in mainstream media. While many people are hopping on the band wagon to follow their favorite celebs, there are others using this hip new social site to brand their business and more importantly, themselves.

With over 1 million users and 3 million tweets per day, twitter alone is the perfect little tool to market your product or service, meet new people, gain a few leads, or land that next big job. They key is beefing up the profile information with intriguing content that gets others to engage in conversations and learn more about you. Just make sure you have that oh-so-important link to either your Linkedin profile (an online resume for you job-seekers), personal or corporate blog, or directly to your company’s website. Not only can this drive traffic to your business or free lance expertise, it helps educate those starving to obtain more information about you online. No point in making those juicy details hard to find, now is there?

Once you’ve got the content locked down, and you’re keeping pace by actively participating in the ever changing conversations that are happening online (tweets, blog comments, status updates, etc) it’s time to give your profile a professional look and feel. However, for reasons unknown, I see more and more users and businesses that aren’t taking advantage of the impact a custom designed twitter background provides. With some basic contact information, a rad color scheme and a couple cool photos or illustrations, you or your company can have a stronger presence in your social network and stand out from the crowd. Just get creative (or hire a creative, cough-cough) and make the most out of your online wardrobe.

The ultimate goal for any type of networking is to get out there and make more connections in the business world, but until Obama changes the length of a day to 36 hours, many of just don’t have time to hit every networking event we would like. Thus why having a unique online appearance, sharing your story, connecting with others, and engaging in the conversation gains trust and credibility from others (which is what building a brand is all about). So while you may have ¾ on lock down, keep in mind that an interesting look conveying your personality traits and/or a little bit about your business, can gain more qualified followers and friends then you ever imagined (click on image to see a custom background we did for @charshaff). Who knows, maybe you’ll even become the next big twitter star!

Just remember to stick to the basics – whether you’re marketing online, in person or through print, a cohesive look is the key to “great success!”