Z Blog

As today’s younger generation shapes society, many businesses find the impact of a multi-generational workforce is shifting company culture, as well. As a result, workers are more accepting of the differences that make us individual and unique. Companies like Zappos, Google, Patagonia and Apple are successful in large part because they are culture-driven organizations that are quickly adapting to today’s changing landscape. They celebrate and encourage individualism, while redefining what it means to be part of a team. Today’s business leaders must adapt how they manage to embrace a changing cultural landscape. Here are three leadership guidelines that can help to harness this cultural change...

No, this is not another post about the soon to be released blockbuster hit. Though I have your attention, now don’t I? Company culture is a topic of discussion in many business forums and on many motivational blogs. If you are anyone in a professional setting, you have an opinion about how to nurture culture, why your service or product is better because of it and what to do when culture goes south. There is no black or white answer. Each company is ultimately unique, which creates many shades of gray. As a leader who is passionate about guiding our clients through creating and practicing...

Everyone loves to be the first to get the scoop. In journalism, this is known as an exclusive – when a news item is reported by one journalist or media outlet before others. Typically an exclusive consists of important news with an air of surprise, excitement or secrecy. A reporter is able to “scoop” another news organization when he or she gets that news first and therefore gives the story premier placement and distribution. And they love when they can do this. They want to beat the competition just like any business. It used to be a more common practice, but in today’s 24/7 news...

I’m not the biggest sports fan; in fact I don’t own a single piece of logo gear from any team. But, my brother-in-law is a huge Patriots fan, and sometimes you do things that take you out of your comfort zone for a good laugh and to make someone else happy. So, I went to our family’s Super Bowl party in full red, white and blue face paint. I made some strategic choices expecting a certain outcome, which luckily paid off – a happy brother-in-law and a Patriots win! Three of our nation’s biggest marketers also made strategic bets on their Super Bowl presence with...

Do you remember the first time you saw a gorgeous 1080p HDTV? Probably not, since our world is saturated with them at this point, but I can assure you were amazed. It was an incredible step up from the old box in the corner of your living room. It might seem like the 1080p standard is still relatively new, but it’s actually been about 10 years since it was introduced into the mainstream. In today’s fast-moving world, that’s ancient. Now it’s time to make room for the next big thing: enter 4K (Ultra HD). I’m not going to lie… 4K is beautiful. Check out the...

Pantone has announced Marsala as Pantone Color of the Year 2015 — or for the more technical people out there, Pantone 18-1438. Straddling the line between deep rich reds and earthy browns, Marsala is a color that is linked to beautiful natural clays used to create ancient pottery, paints and fine Italian wines. Coming after Radiant Orchid, Pantone Color of the Year 2014, Marsala provides the rich natural sophistication that is perfectly on-trend right now. Here are four tips for incorporating Marsala into your work for 2015: 1. ####Pairing Marsala When using Marsala, it works well to pair with warm hues such as browns, dark...

By now, most businesses have a Facebook presence. Gone are the days when people picked up the phone book to find out more about a store or service. People are quickly checking Facebook to look up information. While businesses have accomplished the task of setting up a page, I often see flaws when they publish content. Here are eight quick tips to ensure your Facebook business posts always look polished and professional: 1. ####Tagging their page When mentioning another organization or business that also has a Facebook page in your post, tag their page by using “@” (e.g., @Intrinzic). Once the post is published, the...

Looking back on my past four and a half years of college, I honestly can’t remember a time where I didn’t have at least one meeting a week. Now in my fifth and final year for my victory lap as a student in the co-op program, I find myself appreciative of those stressful and tiring weeks. Those weeks are where I experienced professional and personal lessons, grew an immense network, had fun and developed into the woman I am today: confident and ready to take on the real world. It’s important to get involved for that very reason. You can only learn so much from...

With the exponential growth of technology and all the devices it brings into our lives, designers can become overwhelmed or even dismissive of the possibilities. We have a tendency to repeat routines, reopen old files and ground ourselves with what is comfortable. We take on favorite typefaces and use them ad nauseam. We recondition the same color palettes and treatments of line and pattern in order to assure ourselves that our work is on point. We become so comfortable with our design habits that it can take quite a bit to break us of them, so when a new technology is introduced, or a new...

Invented by Adobe, the PDF (which – bonus fact – stands for “portable document format”) has been in existence for over two decades and its popularity continues grow. No doubt many of us are reading and writing PDFs on a regular basis. However, many users may be under the impression that all PDFs are created equal, but this could not be further from the truth! ###PDF Basics Most PDFs contain static content. However, PDF files can contain a mixture of content including static content, clickable links, data form fields, video and audio. Users enable various levels of security to limit access to specific users as...