Javier Gonzales, General Manager, Electro Sign Supply joins host Scott Sheppard live from his booth at Graphics of the Americas to discuss his range of LED Displays and large format Inkjet Printers. For more information visit: http://www.electrosignsupply.com/

Gary Unger, Author, Speaker, Advertising Consultant joins hosts Scott Sheppard & Gene Gable for some tips from his popular book “How to Be a Creative Genius (in five minutes or less)”. Gary’s book represents a practical and humourous take on the creative process based on his decade in working as a creative serving such clients as Chick-Fil-A, General Motors and the National Basketball Association. He is the originator of AutoZone’s “Get in the Zone” ad campaign and has a shirt in the Levi Strauss T-Shirt Hall of Fame.

Gary provides some practical advice on how to spark your creative inspiration, how to work with your clients in brainstorming creative thoughts, and offers suggestions on getting out of a design rut. Gary’s explains how his book uses humor, sarcasm, and a bit of reverse psychology to get you to think creatively about his challenging statements. Gary also developed an approach to the creative process called XDO which he uses to teach in his mentoring programs and sessions. Gary is an avid social networker and often uses LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

To find out more about Gary’s work visit: http://www.garyunger.com or visit his blog at: http://garyunger.com/blog/

Design News of the Week with Jay Nelson

Jay joins us this week for some hands-on tips on using Acrobat 9’s collaboration features which include a quick way to share your PDF’s via simple email links and comment together via a built-in chat. Acrobat will also allow you to easily share your screen and desktop among members of your meeting. Gene and Jay review some other features available on http://www.acrobat.com including Adobe Buzzword and ConnectNow. Jay has also been using FileChute for Mac OS, which is a quick way to send files via email links. If transferring files is common to you, you may also want to check out YouSendIt at: http://www.yousendit.com/, which offers easy click plug-ins for Acrobat, FinalCut Pro, Photoshop, Microsoft Office and others that allow you to send from within those applications.

For more on Jay Nelson and his Design Tools topics visit: http://www.design-tools.com

Ken Madsen, President, Graphic Systems Group joins hosts Scott Sheppard and Gene Gable to share his thoughts on the current trend of decoupling conceptual brand design from technical production concepts. Graphic Systems Group is one of the nations largest and most successful true production agencies also known as service bureaus. Ken clearly defines that a production agency takes the conceptual creative designs from a brand advertising agency and ultimately handles the technical details involved in executing their vision across multiple mediums including photography, print, magazines, web, interactive, out-of-home, and more. Ken explains some of the skills and knowledge required to successfully develop this into a business model.

Today’s designers are often challenged in maintaining their technical skills and may have to compromise their artistic passion in order to deliver their client’s jobs on budget and on time. Leveraging the capabilities of a production agency presents a logical solution to this creative dilemma. Ken also suggests that recent design graduates spend some time on the technical production side of the business and finds that many designers end up really enjoying the technical aspects and succeed in the production environment. For more information about GSG Graphic Systems Group visit their website at: http://www.gsgnyc.com/ you can also reach any of their staff directly at: http://www.gsgnyc.com/contact.php