UM-Flint University Relations

The new Digital Asset Management (DAM) system for all of our photos, logos, testimonials, and videos will officially launch December 1. This system will replace Mediabin which will be discontinued by December 30, 2014. The main purpose of the new DAM is to have an asset system that is fully metadata/keyword searchable. Additional features include*: […]

If you’ve ever been in a meeting with our Front End Developer Chad Hietala, you know that he likes to draw out his explanations of complex web thoughts.  For those of us who consider technology speak to be a legitimate foreign language, Chad’s hieroglyphic drawings are greatly appreciated. One day, we were talking about Chad’s […]

I was at a meeting recently where someone accused a group of not engaging in “Thought Leadership.” My first reaction was, “What the heck does that even mean?” I have never been a proponent of business jargon.  I don’t advocate for synergy, I detest the notion of thinking outside the box, and I shudder at […]

Where do we get our inspiration from in University Relations? It turns out we all have different resources that help us to think creatively, strategically, or just make us laugh out loud.  Here’s our list of things we find useful, and they are categorized for your convenience.  Happy clicking!

At the age of four, my daughter has a mantra.  It is “Try Not Shy.” My husband and I decided early on that there were some things that were absolutely essential that had to be drilled into her small head, but we knew we couldn’t fit in everything that we think is important.  So we […]

Ever wonder what goes into designing a brochure, laying out a billboard, or creating a website? Believe it or not, there’s no “Easy Button” when it comes to effective and strategic design. The process is often long and always well thought-out. Here are the steps to producing a successful design project:

I have never cared much about cars. It’s an odd dichotomy. I owe so much of my comfortable middle-class life to the automotive industry, where so many of my family members spent long hours on an assembly line, and yet, I barely notice anything about cars. As Alanis Morrissette might say, “Isn’t it ironic?” The […]

I am helping my husband plan his family reunion.  We have immersed ourselves in nostalgia, going through old photo albums, connecting with Aunt Hazel’s kids on Facebook, and remembering the unique family history that only members in that exclusive club can appreciate. As part of the fun, we are trying to create a feeling of […]

I’ll be the first to say that I’m not an illustrator, nor am I a classically trained designer, however that does not mean that I can’t draw.  Humans by nature are visual thinkers, which historically can be shown by the cave paintings in Lascaux in France.  Drawing allows us to present the ideas in our head to […]

As a new homemaker in the early 1990s, I just had to have one of the hot appliances of the times:  the automatic breadmaker.  Panasonic produced the most popular version of this insta-bread making wonder.  All you