Innovation is shifting creativity from a positive characteristic to a precious, highly sought-after asset in the global market. Esteemed schools like Harvard and Yale have added creativity to their curricula, and several Fortune 500 companies like PepsiCo and Marriott are running employees through creativity training programs. So how do you tap into your ‘inner Leonardo da Vinci’ (the accomplished artist, musician, scientist and engineer of the 15th century)? Try these creativity tactics right now.

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The Strangest Secret is strange indeed, shared quietly amongst knowing entrepreneurs for decades. I first heard of it late last year during a meeting with successful business owners. They mentioned it in passing, and then declared how it’s changed their lives and those around them. If you haven’t heard of The Strangest Secret, you’ll be glad you finally did. Just be sure to pay it forward.

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I believe design shapes the world, and PR can help give the industry a bigger and brighter stage. That’s why I’m delighted with my recent appointment as the National PR Chair for the Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC), which allows me to help foster understanding and appreciation of design across Canada and around the globe.

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It seems almost all designers who partner with our web copywriting firm have made a solemn declaration to Apple products. In fact, the conviction is so profound, it compelled our copywriters to switch entirely to Macs in 2008. Curious what drives this deep desire and devotion with visual creatives, we asked creative directors in Canada, the US and Europe: Why do designers use Macs?

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We live in a world where consumers are starving for authenticity. Meanwhile, businesses continue to serve up homogenous content and brands. Why? To play it safe and fit in with the competition. To inspire and prosper, businesses need to come out of the shadows and reveal their true authentic selves.

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Does your website content confuse visitors or inspire them to take action?

The single most crucial function of any business website is to get people to act, whether it involves calling you, emailing you, buying your product online, or getting off their butts and into your store. Writing in the passive voice is often awkward and confusing, and does not induce desired action.

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Is the Internet making you stupid? Many academics say sites like Twitter — and the Internet at large — are devouring our brains like zombies. But is it really the Internet’s fault that you decided to follow Snooki? No! Smart ideas do exist online, and you can absorb them into your deteriorating grey matter if you know where to find them. Then you can tell professor Mark Bauerlein (author of The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future) where he can shove it!

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FAQs are questions your website visitors and customers frequently ask. But sometimes you need to ask yourself: “Why do they keep asking these same questions?”

The answer could mean there are problems with your website content. What message are you not getting across? What information do people often have problems finding?

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In this inaugural edition of Are You Really Gonna Search That?, Opticon makes a peculiar discovery while conducting keyword research for a snowmobiling company in Whistler, BC.

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Has an influx of auto-DMs ruined your day more than once? Ever respond to an auto-DM thinking there was a real person there, only to be ignored and reduced to just another faceless Twitter account? It’s time for this injustice to stop! Join me in commemorating May 2011 as Anti-Auto-DM Month and let’s work together to finally put an end to auto-DM abuse!

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