How to Choose Colors to Help Establish Your Business Identity Read more: How to Choose Colors to Help Establish Your Business Identity | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2279317_choose-colors-help-establish-business.html#ixzz1uRKM2kux

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     Identify the target market(s) of your business. Be as specific as possible, identifying whether your "typical" customer will be male or female; what age group they fall within; their likely education and type of career; their potential income; whether or not they are married and/or have children; and anything else that you can possibly spell out. The more information that you have about "who" your customer is, the easier it will be to develop a business identity that will appeal to that customer.
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     Determine the message, in terms of thoughts and feelings, that you want your customer to get about your business. For example, do you want them to view your business in terms of creativity or reliability, as steadfast or professional, or something else altogether. It is only possible to transmit those thoughts and feelings through color once you have narrowed them down and matched them against the psychological factors that color imbues.
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     Decide if you are going to use a logo or graphic to help build your business identity. Certain types of designs will more easily lend themselves to certain colors. Others may be flexible no matter what color you choose. Nonetheless, it is important to keep the big picture in mind as well as each small aspect of it.
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     Determine the types of marketing materials and advertising promotions that you are likely to use for your business. For example, online businesses rely heavy on website design where multi-color graphics and designs are common. Regular businesses may rely more heavily on old standards like business cards, brochures or pamphlets, flyers and billboards. While a new business won't likely use a full arsenal of marketing or advertising materials going in, it is important to understand the direction that a marketing plan is likely to take and the role that color might have in the overall marketing package. Don't forget items like packaging, uniforms, signage and other advertising items. If they are to be used in your business, then you must take them into consideration.
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     Start matching the thoughts and feelings that you want to elicit within your customers to the colors that have been shown psychologically capable of achieving such response. There are several standard colors that businesses often opt to use. These are chosen for their unique psychological effects. Red is one of the most powerful colors of the spectrum. It demands immediate attention, elicits feelings of strength and boldness, and stimulates a number of actions (like buying). It also stimulates the appetite, which is why so many restaurants incorporate red into their business identity.Yellow also calls for immediate attention. It also has the unusual effect of spurring one to concentrate.Pinks like mauve trigger a chemical reaction in the brain that calms people, which is why so many law offices, doctor's and dentist offices incorporate that color in their in-office color scheme.Blue is the most popular color of a large majority of people. It represents many things that businesses want, like dependability, sincerity and loyalty. It also stimulates productivity.Green says high quality and appeals to the majority of customers when it is used alone (without being mixed with another color except black). The color is also relaxing and refreshing, which is why a lot of businesses choose green for their waiting area (think of TV's green room).Orange increases energy and warm feelings. It also has the unusual effect of gaining almost instant attention as well as sticking in the human memory long-term.Purple is not usually the best color for traditional businesses but works well for new age, religious, and other spiritual type endeavors because it is associated with those things. However, purple can be useful in businesses that want to denote an air of luxury and sophistication such as high class hotels or spas.Brown spurs confidence and reassures the customer that the business can be trusted.Gray stands for conservative and traditional thinking, which is why a large number of businesses like law offices, Chambers of Commerce, and other business organizations choose to use it.
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     Cross-check the positive psychological effects of color against the negative effects before choosing it to help establish your business identity.Red, if used in excess, can be too overpowering and actually cause customers to stay away. It also stimulates the body by making the heart beat faster, the blood pressure go up and the pulse race. Those things would not be good for businesses that are health-related.Yellow, in some people, relates to "temporary" (think taxi cabs). Mixed with black, yellow actually causes a physical draw back. It spells "danger" (think road signs). It isn't the best color for packaging either because it stimulates of feelings of inferiority.Pink, to men in particular, actually elicits energy loss, which is why gyms and health clubs don't often use the color.Blue, used in the wrong shade, can depress the appetite, which is why few restaurants use the color. Too much of the color can also cause depression and unhappiness because it is so cold and aloof.Green also implies wealth; not something that certain types of businesses may want their customers to feel about them. Who wants to think that the business is robbing from the poor?Orange clashes with a lot of other colors and must, therefore, stand alone. Retailers like choosing orange for packaging because it psychology tricks customers into thinking that their product is less expensive than it really is (think about the number of expensive detergents that use orange in packaging).Purple, because it is often linked with royalty or nobility, can have an effective on the consumer that the business is snobbish, arogant or aloof.Brown, used too lightly, can actually spur sadness.Gray, used in the wrong way, can actually decrease productivity or buying power. Women don't associate well with the color; therefore, businesses appealing to the female customer probably don't want to use gray.
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     Achieve a good balance of the color your choose in order to get the positive responses that you want without achieving any of the negative ones. For example, let's say that you decide that you want to use red because it elicits psychological feelings of strength and stimulates customer buying actions. Red, used too heavy-handed can be too over-powering and undo the very thoughts and feelings that you are trying to elicit.
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     Determine the "shade" of the color that you will use. For example, still using red, if the majority of your business customers are male, it is important to know that men respond better to yellow-based shades of red. Therefore, using a raspberry red might not have the effect that you ultimately want on your target audience.
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     Make certain that the mix won't undo the effects that you are trying to achieve if you choose to mix multiple colors (other than black). For example, choosing to mix red and yellow together in a business identity could negate the overall effects of both colors, depending upon how the colors are used.
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     Determine where in your overall business identity the color will be used. In most instances, you will want to use color the same way you use a logo or font style to promote an overall identity. However, in some instances, you may opt to develop some of your marketing and advertising materials in standard black and white, using color selectively for only certain pieces of your marketing package that you want to have the most impact.
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     Test the color choice in limited pieces of marketing materials to see if it helps your business achieve the identity that you want.

Read more: How to Choose Colors to Help Establish Your Business Identity | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2279317_choose-colors-help-establish-business.html#ixzz1uRLXivLp

How to Lose a Job in 10 Days

So you are discontent, dysfunctional, discomfited and dis-eased with your job, and by hook or by crook you want to get terminated from employment. You've tried to be as incompetent an employee as possible, and yet you've not fallen to prey to the job cuts and the economic recession, that people keep talking about (you're an economist yourself, but don't know what recession is, that's how bad an employee you are but they're still not firing you!) So what do you do? Getting terminated is not very difficult. When in a soup, go for a coup, is what I say! Take an extreme step. Don't wait for someone to slip the pink slip to you. Don't wait for that entire long-drawn termination process. An easy way to get the office to rid themselves of you, is to become the number one villain of the office. You don't have to be very blatant in your villainy - you don't have to get your face tattooed or scarred, nor do you have to empty a bottle of eye-liner onto your eyelid to get the deathly Gothic look. You can always be subtle because 'tis the age of subtlety. Yes! You can dress up in pristine branded clothes, resembling the hero, when actually you are the villain. You don't need to have a loud and guttural evil laugh, a snigger to the side will suffice. So getting down to business, how do you go about becoming the villain in the office, thus, successfully ensuring losing your job? There are so many ways for losing a job that you will be spoichoice. Let me lead you into temptation..                              .  The Yawnfather
Sleep during meetings, irrespective of whether they are boring or not. In fact, irrespective of whether the director is excitedly talking about his ambitious project to foreign clients, while speaking exceptionally bad Spanish at the top of his voice. In fact, irrespective of the presentation having such bright slides that it would make Gwen Stefani's makeup seem dull; still fake sleeping (you get the point). And now is the time to use that loud, obviously fake and extremely distracting yawn you have been practicing since you were six years old. It's sure to be a head turner and a job burner. Simple, soporific and a terrific way to get terminated from job.

Lord of the Trings
Cell phones have truly become more of a nuisance than anything else. Hence, why not take advantage of this and use this nuisance to become a nuisance yourself? Set your cell phone to the loudest and most annoying ring-tone ever. Don't stick to the staple ring-tone's, make a style statement. If you're a guy, you can keep a song that has a string of abuses (any Eminem song basically) or just to irritate people further, you can keep 'I'm a Barbie girl' and claim you have to keep it because you lost a bet, or you can use the chorus of 'Mr. Lonely', nothing irritates people more than that shrill high-pitched voice. Oh and of course, ensure that your cell phone rings. Ask a friend to give you a missed call every half an hour. That's what friends are for anyway, aren't they!

Distress the Damsel in Distress
In every office, there is always the perennial damsel in distress, the woman who does not know how to even walk a step without beckoning for help, at which all the males in the office would leave a dying relatives bedside to spontaneously appear. Yes, while most men will be at her beck and call (hoping half-heartedly for a peck and call), you need to willfully ignore her. Yes, this is a case where ignorance will be bliss. She will get disgruntled with your 'discourteous' behavior and will use her popularity and get you fired. There you go! This story will become the office version of Beauty and the Beast indeed. (Warning: There might be some people who will go about masquerading with placards claiming you were wrongfully terminated from job or that you were terminated for no cause that was worthwhile. Take adequate measures to handle these people beforehand).

Who Let the Dogs Out?
When it comes to animals, at one end of the spectrum are hardcore non-vegetarians, whose digestive tract can only digest meat, while at the other end are PETA activists. In between these two extremes, are people who are dead scared or dead allergic of animals. So if you have a colleague who is an asthmatic, then all you have to do is leave a cat in her office. Also if you know of a colleague who cakes her face with so much make-up that her face looks double its original size, then you can just drop in a cute dog who can't do without licking people's face. And voila! Your new-found hobby of being the zoo-lander will land you with a pink slip before you can say "Holy cow!"

The Whole Nine Guards
There is no better way than by capitalizing on your talent for procrastination. You always keep snoozing your alarm, thus ending up coming late to office. The only difference is that now, you will purposely come late to office, and will not ask your horn-rimmed bespectacled best buddy to swipe your card for you while all the security guards aren't looking. Now, you will actually take credit for coming late. Stroll into the office at your own leisurely time like you're the king of the jungle. If anyone asks you why you're so late, you can suddenly turn into a nature-freak and say things like "I was waiting to see the leaves turn yellow" or "I was waiting to see whether after rising from the east, does the sun stay there or not?" or you can even say "I was willing to test my neighbor's patience level by seeing how long it takes for him to blow his top when I'm staring at him through my window." You can actually do these things if you want. And before you know it, you'll be walking out of the office with the termination letter in your hand and a smile on your face.

Become the Gossip Girl
Use the office cooler for reasons besides thirst. You know that if the office cooler had ears, he would have to go that extra mile for asking for forgiveness from God for having sinned by hearing all the gossip that he has no option but to hear. And irrespective of your gender, you've been a part of that gossip group all through. The only difference will be that this time when people ask you if it was you, you only have to truthfully admit it, unlike vehemently denying it the way you always did. You can say things like "Oh you know, Mel is on a diet! And you know why she's going on a diet? 'Cuz Sam told her she was too fat for him!" This will obviously enrage women who are members of WTF (Women True to Feminism), and they will go stomping off to eat Sam alive. Of course, after the furor is settled, and you have been identified as the cause for the whole episode, you will be fired under clause no. 420 which states 'Fired for causing discontent and discord in the harmonious and peace-loving office environment', or some untrue clause like that. Oh, but make sure that while you are leaving office with your packed brown boxes, leave Sam a sorry note, or at least your coffee mug (provided it is unstained and uncracked) or better still, a part of your remaining pay slip, if you get any at all that is.

Dumb and Dumber
Ever wondered what it must be like to be Archie for a day? Sans the noisy jalopy (do use one if you have one!) you can try out all the antics that he uses to bug the life out of Mr. Lodge. Drop everything in sight, stumble on everyone in sight and if you have a cup of hot coffee in your hand, the more the merrier! Especially, use this trick if you know that the office environment is such that job stress is at its peak. If you see a colleague in a white or cream-colored shirt, let the loaded coffee mug 'accidentally' slip out of your hand. Mix up your colleague's extremely important documents just before his big presentation. Let the first slide of the presentation be 'I am done. Thank-you for your time and money, suckers!' Even if all the above tips fail, this one surely won't.

Let me add an obvious disblamer disclaimer. This article is purely for entertainment purposes (evil laugh). The way to quit a job in real life is by curtly courteously going into the required person's office cabin and slammingputting down your papers.