Stop Marketing Using Someone Else’s Tagline

Stop Marketing Using Someone Else’s Tagline

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Just last week, while I was browsing LinkedIn, I saw it: a red hat featuring a familiar slogan. You know the one, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past two-ish years. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a refresher:

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Yup, that’s the one.

But this wasn’t the rare political post on LinkedIn. I did a double-take and was surprised that it was clearly a marketing ploy by a company that I’ll keep to myself. I was a little surprised. It wasn’t a spoof hat, like “Make America Love Again” or something. This one said, “Make America Great Again with [company].” Continue reading “Stop Marketing Using Someone Else’s Tagline”

The Four Types of Critique

The Four Types of Critique

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I wrote this post way back in 2011 after a group of colleagues and I had a conversation about critiquing. Back then, I published it on a blog that applied to modeling and photography. I am reviving it here with some minor modifications, since it applies just as well to being a creative and working in general. Enjoy!

As I see it, there are four different types of critiques: the “Unhelpful”, the “Unicorns and Rainbows”, the “I’ll Do Your Job For You”, and the “Constructive”. I have been at the receiving end of all four of these kinds of critiques, from the time I was a kid taking art classes after school and well throughout my career. I’ve also been on the delivering end of most of them. As a creative, critique is unavoidable, but I think as a working adult it’s unavoidable as well. Learning about these four types of critiques can help more than just the creative person you happen to work with, and you’ll realize you likely criticize more than just a designer’s work. Continue reading “The Four Types of Critique”

Five Ways to Beat the Cold Office Blues

Five Ways to Beat the Cold Office Blues

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As I mentioned last week, I have long battled the office thermostat, and have learned that there’s really nothing an individual can do to change things “globally”. Instead, the easiest way to make yourself more comfortable in an office where you’re freezing is to take matters into your own hands. Over the past 12 years, I have discovered quite a few things that work, and many that don’t. These are my favorite things for keeping warm in a frigid office.* Continue reading “Five Ways to Beat the Cold Office Blues”

The Battle for Control Over the Office Thermostat

The Battle for Control Over the Office Thermostat

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Offices are known for being cold. The cold office has been a subject on notably credible websites like CNN and the New York Times, to trendier sites like Bustle and Mental Floss. Most of these articles say the same thing:

Offices are too cold for women… and yet thermostats are stuck in the 60’s, literally.

Most women I know that work in an office are cold. Office thermostats are often set to the high 60’s, and a lot of research points to this number being decided upon decades ago, when offices were full of men wearing suits all the time. Nowadays, with workforces mixed and dress codes more lax, office spaces are shared by men and women who are wearing less layers and lighter fabrics.

Of course, I can’t forget to mention that in some cases, HVAC systems are set to move air through offices that are full. Every cubicle has a vent blasting air down into it, but not every cubicle has a body and electronics warming it. That heating/cooling system is working overtime to make sure that non-existent employee is “comfortable”, while half of the actual workforce is huddled around space heaters or wrapped in blankets. Continue reading “The Battle for Control Over the Office Thermostat”

Five Things Not to Say to Someone Who’s Job Hunting

Five Things Not to Say to Someone Who’s Job Hunting

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Every one of us has been on both ends of the job hunting story: looking or know someone who is looking. And no doubt every one of us has received well-meaning advice from someone who hears we are looking. Having begun searching myself not too long ago, I was on the receiving end of quite a bit of advice, tips, suggestions, and more. Some of it was helpful in one way or another, but other commentary proved to just frustrate me further. So I decided to put together a list of five things you should avoid saying to someone who’s looking for a new job. Continue reading “Five Things Not to Say to Someone Who’s Job Hunting”

Five Desk Drawer Must-Haves for Creatives

Five Desk Drawer Must-Haves for Creatives

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Over the years, I have curated a fine collection of office supplies and other random things that I’ve found I cannot live without at work. Among these things are items that make me smile, keep me motivated, help me be efficient when it comes to doing my job, and inspire me. Many of these things come with me from job to job, and some have even followed me from college. Of everything I have collected, I find a water bottle, a ruler, a stress ball, a stash of non-digital inspiration, and colored pencils.

Continue reading “Five Desk Drawer Must-Haves for Creatives”

Post Share: Going Business Casual on a Budget

Post Share: Going Business Casual on a Budget

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I mentioned that I fed a lot of my creative energy into style blogging, and I did for quite a few years. One of my favorite posts was based on a real-life scenario a friend dealt with at work. With a single day’s notice in the form of an email, her office went from yoga-pants-and-sneakers casual to strict business casual. Not an easy task for someone who’s spent years in a casual environment.

She reached out to me for both a sympathetic ear and some ideas on how to quickly and cheaply snag some key pieces to start transitioning her wardrobe so that it was a better fit for the new dress code. I gave her my ideas and then started thinking about taking what I told her and making it into a blog post. After months of working on it, I was able to publish Going Business Casual on a Budget. Continue reading “Post Share: Going Business Casual on a Budget”

Three Tips for Communicating Effectively With Designers

Three Tips for Communicating Effectively With Designers

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As a designer, one of the biggest challenges I have faced over the years has been communication. It can be difficult to work with someone when one or both of you cannot communicate effectively. Between freelancing, working as an in-house designer, and serving as a contracted “agency” for outside companies, I have been in numerous situations that have served as teaching moments.

There are three things that I have found immensely helpful when one is striving to communicate better: asking questions, explaining why, and showing if you can’t tell. While these all seem like no-brainers, you’d be surprised how little they are used when it comes to working with designers, or by designers themselves. Utilizing these three methods can help things run smoothly, and keep both clients and designers happy.

Continue reading “Three Tips for Communicating Effectively With Designers”

Coming soon!

Coming soon!

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I’ve started “The RJH Touch” because evidently, I needed another project… ha! 

I’m not new to blogging. Before creating this space, I dabbled in style blogging. But with over 10 years of experience working in marketing, and quite a bit longer being a creative, I figured I might as well try to get some of what’s in my head out on “paper”. So here I am. Continue reading “Coming soon!”

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Thats all.