Make Art!

Just some of the paintings participants made at Mind It - Make Art!

Painting reminds me of when I was a little kid doing arts and crafts with my mom and little sister at the kitchen table on the weekend. I never worried about what the finished product looked like, or whether it was perfect. I had no real plan in mind and my mom certainly wasn't handing out a mark for the best rendition of the tree outside or the family cat. The three of us were just spending time together and having fun.

This was the idea behind the art event I put on at Red River College this week with the help of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Winnipeg region (CMHA Winnipeg) and my wonderful volunteers who I can't thank enough. In the middle of a busy hallway at the college, we set up five tables with canvases, paint and a paintbrushes and invited students and staff to come over and paint whatever their heart desired. Art therapy programs have been shown to help boost mood and relieve stress. Similarly, the goal of this event was to help people relax and de-stress by getting them involved with making art.

By the end of the two hour event, over 60 canvases were transformed from blank to beautiful and many more people had stopped to see what all the excitement was about. CTV Winnipeg came by to capture the action for the evening news and Stephanie Forsyth, president of Red River College took time out of her busy schedule to show her support.

I couldn't be happier with the success of Mind It - Make Art! With careful planning and hard work an idea that took root several months ago unfolded almost exactly how I had envisioned it.

Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way. From CMHA Winnipeg's generous donations of time and supplies to the volunteers who rocked Mind It T-shirts and video/photographer, Robin Hamilton — you are all amazing!

CTV Winnipeg showed up to capture footage for the evening news.

Lauren MacLean, vice-president external of the RRCSA shows off her art!

Why joining a professional organization is good for your career

As this year's student liaison for the International Association of Business Communicators, Manitoba Chapter (IABC Manitoba), I act as the link between Creative Communications students and IABC Manitoba.

I'm fortunate to have had the chance to take on this role as I'm learning so much about managing a portfolio and setting strategic goals and objectives. I would encourage first-year students to apply for the student liaison position next year as it's a worthwhile experience!

Last week I had the opportunity to speak to first-year CreComm students and the second-year PR majors about the benefits of joining IABC Manitoba, and I'd like to provide an overview of some of those benefits for anyone who missed that class or needs further clarification. 

So, what's in it for you?

1. Connections.

Most people don't know that 80 per cent of today's jobs are landed through networking. So while you may have 500+ Facebook friends from high school and college or university, that may not necessarily help you in the world of communications where there are many new people to meet and remember.

IABC Manitoba will be hosting at least five events this year and as a member, you will pay much less to get into these events, and sometimes you may even get in for free. There's also opportunities to volunteer on the Board next year once you have an idea of what the association is all about.

2. Valuable information.

There is a members only section of the IABC website with online resources such as articles on best practices, case studies, communication templates and access to Communication World, IABC's member magazine.

3. Job postings.

We're all putting so much time and effort into studying communications so we can eventually work in the field, so why not set ourselves up for job-hunting success?

Whether you're graduating this spring and will be looking for full-time work, or you'll be heading back to finish college in the fall and need a summer job, joining IABC can help you find a job or internship in communications. Many of the job postings that appear on the members-only section of the IABC website are only posted there, or are posted there for some time before they go up anywhere else.

4. Membership discount.

Yes, most of us are broke students, but we can also usually manage to find an extra $20 here and there for a drink and a bite at the King's Head. I'm not saying to give that up, I'm saying we've all probably spent $52. 50 — the annual cost of an IABC student membership — on some less important things than furthering our careers.

Check out IABC Manitoba's website at http://manitoba.iabc.com and if you have any questions about IABC or anything else CreComm-related, get in touch with me by email at meghanbfranklin@gmail.com or on Twitter @Meginthepeg.

Confessions of a Depressed Comic

I've given a number of presentations so far this year to my classmates in my public relations and oral presentation classes and it's got me interested in what makes a speech engaging for an audience.

Although I've been watching TED and TEDx Talks for a couple years now, I just started watching talks by younger speakers. I used to only watch videos with several hundred thousand views because I knew they would be good. But as I'm spending more time researching different speeches and styles of presentations, I'm discovering some really inspiring talks by people as young as seventeen.

Most of these young people are speaking about obstacles they've overcome, including the young man in this video, Kevin Breel. Kevin is a comic and also has depression, something he hid from friends and family for a long time. It's talks like these that I am discovering can sometimes be the most helpful in showing us what makes a great talk, and what makes a talk less effective.

I've learned it's not the "perfect" presentation that will win over an audience. It's a speech that is personal, relatable and true. People want to find things in common with other people, and when it's your turn in the spotlight, the best way to make your audience feel at ease is to show them they have something in common with you.

Check out Kevin's speech about his struggles with depression. It's not perfect, but it's engaging because he describes his experience in real human terms, doesn't shy away from difficult subject matter and provides real details that lets the audience know he's telling the truth, and from the heart.

Mind It - Make Art!

As some of you know, I recently launched a mental health awareness campaign at Red River College called Mind It.

Mind It will be holding several fun and interactive events at two Red River College campuses throughout the 2013/14 academic year to raise mental health awareness among students and combat stigma. All of these events are FUN and FREE for everyone!

The first two events are art making events. We'll be all set up with a ton of art supplies like paint, markers and glitter in the Library Hallway at the Notre Dame Campus and in the Atrium at the Roblin Centre on two different days. You definitely don't have to be artistic to participate — it's all about just having fun and finding a way to de-stress for a few minutes.

We'll be at the Notre Dame Campus on October 16 and The Roblin Centre on October 23 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. 

Go ahead, put "RELAX" in your calendar on those days right now!

See you there :)

Event Planning Dos and Don'ts

Event planning is an area of public relations I've been reading a lot about lately. Within the next six months I'll be planning six events — five are related to the Independent Professional Project I am completing in school, and one is a networking event for the International Association of Business Communicators, Manitoba Chapter (IABC Manitoba).

In the early stages of planning the first of these events, I looked to my experience at the handful of awesome events I've attended over the years as well as the many poor ones for direction as to what to do, and what not to do. But event planning is not so simple, and there is much more going on behind the scenes than you might think.

Every single event is different — even when a business throws the same staff Christmas party year after year, an event planner can never expect the party to go exactly the way it did the year before. There will probably be new employees to invite and there may be a smaller budget to work with, or a new venue or catering company to consider. Basically, putting on any event involves at least a little bit of risk. Come event day, there will be some things that will most certainly not fall entirely within an event planner's control.

With that said, being highly organized and well-prepared, is imperative to the success of any event. Based on my event planning experience so far, I've also come up with some less obvious things event planners should make sure to cross off their lists, and a few things to avoid.

Do:

1. Research what the competition is doing.
Look into what similar organizations/businesses have done and whether or not it worked for them. This could potentially save you time, money and embarrassment leading up to, and on event day.

2. Align yourself with great people and partners.
All the best films, commercials, books, music and advertising campaigns are the result of a team effort on some scale. The same goes for events. Don't try and do everything yourself because your event will suffer. Share the work load with people with different skills-sets than yourself and who you know you can trust. Try to partner with other reputable organizations with similar mandates — this can boost your credibility and increase your resources.

3. Get online.
Being active on social media is a given, but so is having a website. Too many businesses and organizations rely solely on social media to promote events, but people need another online space where they can access more detailed information about you and the event.

4.  Remind yourself of the purpose of the event — often.
It's easy to lose sight of your objectives when taking care of the logistics of any event. Don't lose sight of why you're actually putting on the event in the first place. Of course you want people to come and have a good time, but that's probably not your end goal, although it can start to feel that way during the planning stages.

5. Take risks.
In some ways, event planning is a volatile business to get into. There are so many events vying for people's attention on any given day that the only way to grab people's attention is to raise the bar of what is expected. Put on an event that is different then what your target audience has seen in the past. Think of something that hasn't taken place at your school, workplace or community centre before. By putting yourself and your big ideas out there, you could be rewarded in big ways.

Don't:

1. Limit yourself before you start.
Before you decide on any one idea for your event, brainstorm as many ideas as you can and don't eliminate any right off the bat. Come back to the list in a few days. Did you think of anything else? Focus on expanding, not cutting your list of great ideas during the initial stages of event planning.

2. Give away free stuff just to give away free stuff.
Free promotional items at events are a good idea if they have a purpose. Don't spend a bunch of money on junk that your target audience will look at once and then toss. People should want to attend your event for reasons other than free magnets and donuts.

3. Take no for an answer.
You're likely going to have to try more than once to get the right people on the phone or to land a full sponsorship. Keep trying.

4. Spam people.
Invite friends and family to LIKE your Facebook Page once. Remind people about your event via email no more than twice. If they aren't responding they way you wanted them to, either you don't know your target audience very well, you haven't created something they value, or both.

5. Stress the very small stuff.
At the end of the day, if you forget a stack of brochures or a door prize, the show must and will go on. If you've done your best to prepare in every other way, everyone will be having so much fun they won't notice.

Dove Real Beauty Sketches: Going Viral

Love it or hate it, no one can deny the success of nearly 60 million YouTube views.

Debuting on April 14, 2013, the Dove Real Beauty Sketches web commercial — a part of Dove's ongoing "Campaign for Real Beauty" — went viral in less than three days.

From a public relations perspective, the ad is brilliant. It generated extensive national and international media coverage for Dove, including 121 print features and 484 major broadcast news and lifestyle segments, and became the most watched video advertisement OF ALL TIME.

So what's so special about it?

Simple — it evokes emotion in the viewer.

Capitalizing on the common human truth that people are their own worst critics, the video shows a criminal sketch artist drawing women first as they describe themselves, and second as other people describe them. The artist then reveals the two different sketches to each woman. The differences between the two sketches are obvious and point to how women tend to describe themselves as less beautiful than they really are. 

The video is clever, believable and beautifully shot. But does everyone buy into Dove's messaging?

Of course not. People are always going to find the bad in even the best campaigns, including this one. Negative feedback is something a communications team is trained to manage. 

In this case, it's relatively easy to sift past the slew of favourable media stories and rave reviews to find plenty of people dissing the video for playing into the very beauty stereotypes Dove claims to be trying to dispel.

"What's wrong with how the way the women look in the first sketches? There are people in the world that look like that," one woman commented.

"The majority of the women in the ad are thin, white, and have blond hair and blue eyes. Only a small sub-set of women are being depicted," said another.

But perhaps the most pointed criticism is aimed at the hypocrisy of the ad's central message.

According to New York Magazine columnist Ann Friedman, "The ad still upholds the notion that, when it comes to evaluating ourselves and other women, beauty is paramount. The goal shouldn’t be to get women to focus on how we are all gorgeous in our own way. It should be to get women to do for ourselves what we wish the broader culture would do: judge each other based on intelligence and wit and ethical sensibility, not just our faces and bodies."

As for myself, I like the video enough, but there's no ad Dove could create that would make me forget that they are owned and operated by the same company as Axe, which continues to run campaigns based entirely on objectifying women.

Creating a Great Collage in Photoshop

Before
Model: Brandon Richmond

After

Following up on last week's post about collages, today I'll share how I made the collage above in Adobe Photoshop.

The steps below will be most useful to those of you who are at least a little familiar with Photoshop. If you've never used the program before, digitaltutors.com and lynda.com offer some excellent tutorial videos on how to use Photoshop as well as other Adobe programs.

I'll also mention that these steps are only guidelines based on what I've learned so far in my Image Editing & Web Design course and information I've gathered online. There are many different ways to produce the same effect in Photoshop, and everyone will have their own creative process for achieving any one style or look.

My Guidelines for Creating a Great Collage:

1. The secret to a great collage is a great concept. Brainstorm some concepts or themes that you think you will be able to convey through images. It can be very simple like someone flying a kite or a fish in the ocean to something more complex and abstract depending on how skilled you are at manipulating images in Photoshop.

2. Choose several images (7 - 12) you might want to use in your collage and cut them out in Photoshop using the magic wand, quick selection, or pen tool.

3. Make any colour adjustments you want to each image using the selections available under: image, adjustments (brightness/contrast, hue/saturation, black & white).

4. Decide which image(s) you want as the focal point(s) of the collage. I suggest choosing no more than 1-3 images (textures & type included).

5. Create a new document in Photoshop with a canvas size of at least 800 x 400 pixels. This is where you will place your images and begin building the collage.

6. Place the image in the new document you created. As you bring in each image they will automatically appear on different layers. You will need to select the layer each image is on to make changes to that particular image.

7. Try moving images around to different areas of the canvas, rotating them, and decreasing their size. Cut out a part of an image and make it larger than the rest. Don't be afraid to try new things, you can always delete the layer and bring in the image again.

8. Experiment with applying different effects to the images (fx button is located in the layers window on the bottom left hand corner). Apply a colour, gradient, or pattern overlay, or try lowering the opacity levels on the image.

9. Add some type and try out different fonts. Maybe you only want to include one word, or maybe a couple sentences. Vary up the size and colour of the type to draw the eye to the most important words.

10. When you're relatively happy with how everything is looking, make some final tweaks. You might want to boost the colour, or experiment with overlaying different textures over the entire collage to achieve different looks. For example, I used a grunge texture to achieve — you guessed it, a grunge look.

What are some of your tips for creating a great collage?