No, I’m not referring to some cheesy get-rich-quick motivational program (and yes I’m aware that it missing an S). I’m talking about “Made To Stick” written by Chip Heath & Dan Heath.
I read this book a few months back during my last semester at Grand Valley. “Made To Stick” was part of our course material for my “Creativity in Marketing” class taught by the one and only @maniactive (follow her!). The acronym SUCCES represents the various stages and techniques of creating a “sticky” idea…
S – Simple
U – Unexpected
C – Concrete
C – Credible
E – Emotional
S – Stories
“Why some ideas survive and others die”
The principal objective behind the book is to help creatives, presenters, writers, etc. to properly make a successful and effective idea – To develop a strong idea that will “stick” with your audience whether it be in a board room presentation or an article headline.
The Heath brothers effectively guide the reader step by step through these key factors and highlight the proper methods to achieve your desired goal; and through the use of examples and stories make this book an incredibly enjoyable read at just 252 pages.
Visit www.madetostick.com to learn more about the concepts in the book and pick up a fresh copy for yourself – you will not be disappointed!
-Josh
Our website is now Android ready! But wait! There’s more….
Not only will it work on all Android devices, but it will also work on Blackberry, Palm, and Microsoft mobile devices as well. (And if you didn’t know already, it works great on the iPhone and iPod touch like we mentioned a couple days ago).
But enough talk! To check out this awesomeness, grab your favorite mobile device and point your browser to SEIStudios.com and you’ll automatically be re-directed.
Thanks for visiting!
-SEI Studios
We think this is pretty nifty.
We’ve created a mobile version of our website that’s friendly to the iPhone and iPod Touch (and soon-to-be Android). This cool little web app is custom tailored for mobile devices, which helps visitors coming to our website for the first time get the information they’re looking for without those pesky load times when browsing over the 3G Network.
It’s pretty simple. Just visit our website (http://www.seistudios.com) on one of these devices and the you’ll automatically be re-directed to our mobile site.
Don’t forget to add us to your home screen. We made a sassy high-resolution icon that looks awesome. Oh, and did we mention this mobile site is fully optimized to support the iPhone 4′s new Retina Display?
-SEI Studios Team
Then you should read “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield.
During a period of self-examination, I realized that despite my supposed appreciation for all of the arts, the literary world was not getting the proper attention in my life that it deserved. I hadn’t read a new book in almost a year. I needed to rediscover the beauty of the long lost art of reading.
Fortunately, the first new book that I read was just what I needed.
“The War of Art” is a lean 165-page examination of the things that impede the creative process and higher learning. Pressfield narrows this down to a singular force which he calls “resistance”. This singular force is what prevents us from writing our novels, finishing our screenplays, growing in our characters, balancing our checkbooks, and getting things done. Throughout the book he points out common pitfalls that we all inevitably befall, but more importantly how to overcome them in our daily lives.
Even if you aren’t a “big reader”, this book is very easy to digest. Pressfield writes with a very honest, observational, and matter-of-fact tone that you’ll find refreshing. And as previously mentioned, it’s only 165-pages, which I completed in a little under 4 hours.
If you are a creative person and/or business professional, then this book is a must read!
Check it out son!
-Alex
The Lansing Area Church of Christ was holding it’s 1st Annual BBQ Cookoff in order to raise money for the needs of the church and also for the needs of the churches in India and we were there to help cover the festivities.
Not only did the event help to raise money for the church’s special contribution, but it was a great time of fun, food, family, and faith! The Cookoff featured a handful of cooks all competing for an illustrious title of 2010 LACC Barbecue Master! (Not to mention a nice, shiny trophy too!)
Although many entered, the race was between three entrants, two women named Cathy and one of the church’s worship leaders, Clay. The first Cathy made a smoky BBQ brisket, the other Kathy made Jalapeno Poppers, and Clay made a Grilled BBQ Pizza.
To find out who won, check out the video below!
-Alex
So I promised myself today that I would contribute to the blog today, and it is now roughly 11:15PM. Remember, it’s always important to follow through with the goals you set for yourself!
Sorry for the lack of public updates, we have been pretty busy behind the scenes here at SEI Studios working on various projects for our clients. Been having some fun shooting and editing videos the past few weeks. Tomorrow we are heading to a top secret location in a top secret city (hint: it’s “windy”) to meet with a client that we are extremely excited about!
On a personal note, I recently purchased my girlfriend a bike so now we can ride around Grand Rapids in style, and with less effort than walking with our legs! Other than that, just enjoying summer and trying to stay as cool as possible without an air conditioner. Stay tuned for some exciting news updates and much more later this week. Peace.
Also, don’t forget to follow Alex and myself on Twitter!
Josh: twitter.com/beebtown
Alex: twitter.com/wagszilla
Us: twitter.com/seistudios
-Josh
This past Monday I spent some time at a friend’s cottage in South Haven and wanted to shoot some photo and test out the slow-motion capabilities of our Canon 7D.
Shot all of the footage in 60fps and then conformed it to 24fps using Cinema Tools. All edited and some slight color correction in Final Cut. Enjoy!
Music: “This Time Tomorrow” by The Kinks
-Josh
We were fortunate enough to be asked to film and cover the first ever D/E/C event held at the GRAM last month. This amazing event featured prominent designers, artists, and business owners in the Grand Rapids area…
Simply put, D/E/C stands for Design / Educate / Connect. The brainchild of Evan Daniels (evandaniels.net), Benjamin Gott (boxedwaterisbetter.com), and Neil Hubert (neilhubert.com) “The D/E/C Project” brings the area’s diverse creative talent to a casual interview session and interaction with those attending – giving an insight into their views on design and how it plays a role in their daily lives. Listening to the talent behind such organizations as Haworth, ArtPrize, and Teamwork Design was awesome.
What I loved about this event was the “connect” aspect of it all. Bringing all of these people into the same location and mingling with one another was really cool. Grand Rapids is truly inspiring and with minds like these, it shows. Plans are underway to host the second event sometime this winter, so hopefully the next D/E/C event is just as awesome as the first.
Again, if you haven’t seen the video we put together highlighting the event, check it out:
D/E/C Event – 6.18.10 from The D/E/C Project
Music: “Excuses” by The Morning Benders
-Josh
Check out our new business cards designed by the bright minds of SEI Studios…
Floatin’ in the clouds…
-Josh
We’re pleased to announce that we’re working with Allen Edwin Homes on some really cool stuff. Be sure to check back soon to see what we’ve been up to!
-SEI Studios Team
