Jen's blog

If you're a social media user (as I am), you might find yourself wondering why some "tweets" and "posts" do better than others. It's not just about content; timing plays a major role in social media success and, believe it or not, certain days of the week and certain times of day equal more bang for your buck in the social media universe.

Before I worked for and with not-for-profits directly, I thought the most important thing about any organization was what it did – literally, how the charity addressed one particular problem. That was the only thing that mattered to me when deciding where to allocate my time and donor dollars. What I’ve learned from my time on the inside is that charming potential supporters isn’t always so simple. These days, with the rise of watchdog organizations and the proliferation of multiple charities supporting the same or similar issues, sometimes what you do isn’t as important as those who say you’re doing it well. Legitimacy and credibility don’t come from action alone.

Saw this great infographic on Galleycat this morning and thought it would be fun to share.

If you turned on the news any time this past week, you probably heard that Joss Whedon's comic book film "The Avengers" opened with record-breaking numbers this past weekend. In fact, the film raked in approximately $200 million in its first couple of days on screen (smashing the record of $169 million taken in by "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" on its opening weekend last summer). As such, I've got "The Avengers" on the brain. And with that in mind, I wanted to share with you a little bit of design that fits in with the comic book theme.

Bad news, not-for-profit friends. When it comes to your website (despite all our advice), what donors want and what you're giving them still aren't quite matching up.

Two of the items users most want to see upfront on a not-for-profit website are your goals and how you use donation dollars. In other words, potential donors want to know what you're trying to do and how you spend your money. And sadly, most nonprofits aren't doing a great job sharing this vital information.

Changes are afoot here at Nyman Ink and we have both sad and happy news to share with you.

It's been awhile since the Nyman Ink blog discussed branding, so today I thought I'd bring you a piece modified from one by the experts over at Fast Company. Just a couple of weeks ago, Fast Company blogger Mark McNeilly wrote a piece entitled 9 Principles For Great Branding By Design, which contained some helpful insights I thought worth repeating.

Hey colour lovers, great news! Pantone Inc., everyone's favourite authority on the rainbow, has just announced the launch of  336 new colours (or, colors, if you're American).

Saw this fun graphic from CMYBacon the other day and wanted to share.

Every day, a photograph is used without the photographer's consent.

This is the sentiment behind a new advertising campaign put out by the Union des Photographes Professionnels, a French group that represents pro shutterbugs.