Business | Tobin Lehman: Blog

ABOUT

Tobin Lehman is a designer and educator who lives in Frederick, Maryland. His professional portfolio can be found at www.tobinlehman.com, and you can contact him at contact [at] tobinlehman [dot] com.

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Sunoptics aquires our client HUVCO L.L.C.

huvco_sunoptics We are very happy to announce that one of our first clients, HUVCO LLC has been acquired by Sunoptics, a national supplier of daylighting to mega-stores such as Wal-mart, Best Buy, and Lowes. This move brings us great happiness for our client HUVCO as they embark on the next phase of business as part of Sunoptics.

HUVCO has had a long relationship with Sunoptics as a dealer of its HPDS products for many years and this merge gives the HUVCO clientele an even wider array of product offerings, new levels of support, and additional people on the ground here on the east coast. In addition, a new division of the company will focus on a particularly strong local market which has been dominated by HUVCO for the past few years.

HUVCO and Tobin Lehman started working together in 2002 with product illustrations. Through the years, Tobin Lehman has consulted on identity development, search engine optimization, Web development, print campaigns, brochures, and outdoor presentation graphics. The HUVCO Web site still outranks many of its competitors in SERPs (search engine result pages), including Sunoptics.

We wish the team at HUVCO the very best.

CATEGORIES: Business, Tobin Lehman | No Comments » | December 2009

Ticalion Quality Management Services Launches!

Ticalion Quality Management Services launched their new online home at http://www.tqmsllc.com. The new site contains information on all the contracting services of the agency, as well as a blog on the latest news in the medical regulatory industry. A quality assurance expert for over 20 years, Stephanie Skipper leads this company with a diverse background in quality assurance for pharmaceuticals and clinical trial management.

The site itself is built on Wordpress, using plug-ins to support the SEO and contact form functionality. An overall light installation make the framework expandable for future pages and posts within the entire site.

CATEGORIES: Advertising, Business, Design, Press, Tobin Lehman, Web design | No Comments » | November 2009

Sustainable Practices at Tobin Lehman

Being a small office gives us some great advantages over many businesses, but one thing that we continually look to improve is our sustainability practices. Sustainability is simply how well we manage the life cycle of our products we create as well as the products we buy and use. Being in a controlled environment like an office it’s easy to audit the resources we use everyday and having a low head-count makes it even easier to hold everyone accountable. So, here are a list of things we do on a daily basis to drive sustainability.

Use both sides of printed paper, recycling when full
Recycle Everything. (Cans, paper, electronics, ink cartridges)
Drink tap water instead of bottled
Buy 100% or more post-consumer content in paper goods and office supplies.
Use skylights to light the office during the day
Shut down the computers and printers at night (after back-ups of course)
Set computers to sleep after a short period of away time
Go paperless for documentation (PDFs)
Use soap and water to clean desks, chairs instead of chemical cleaners
Walk to work and meetings when able.
Use real utensils and dishes, not plastic and paper
Offer sustainable hosting options to our clients

All of these are simple steps that I am taking but I’m sure there is more that could be done. If you have ideas or suggestions, please post back and let me know.

CATEGORIES: Business, Community, Education, Productivity, Theory, Tobin Lehman | No Comments » | November 2009

The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All the Difference

Thinking small is big. Well, its bigger than you might think when it comes to paying attention to the details of our lives and businesses. This theme is the centerpiece of the book, “The Power of Small“, by Linda Kaplan Thaler . This short read focuses on all of the small things that go into our businesses and how we can harness them to make the most of each conversation, meeting, and relationship. I picked this book due to the simplistic title and page count, knowing that I could read it in just a few short sittings. While the ideas in the book may not blow you away, they will help you focus on items that are frequently overlooked and can make a huge difference in our lives if not taken for granted.

I recommend this book to anyone who manages a team or interfaces directly with customers. We need a team of dedicated and thoughtful customer service representatives, not just the one who sits at the front desk. With the holiday season quickly approaching, consider empowering all of your employees with this small book.Â It just might be the best present your office receives.

CATEGORIES: Advertising, Business, In Print, Tobin Lehman | No Comments » | October 2009

Tobin Lehman celebrates our first year!

We are proud to announce the successful completion of year one of Tobin Lehman Design + Interactive!

We would like to thank all our clients and colleagues who supported this company from the beginning for your business, advice, and guidance. Our growth in the past year exceeded our expectations and for that, we are very grateful. In the coming year we hope to continue to beat expectations for our clients in our strategic consulting and account management, as well as our continual focus on the highest level of quality in each and every product.

In the next quarter we will be doing some outreach to our clients with surveys and new product offerings. Our research break over the past week, has only opened the door to new strategies and channels available for our clients, and in 2010 we will expand our offerings to bring more of those channels in reach and more consumers to your doors.

Thank you again for a great year one!

Tobin Lehman

CATEGORIES: Advertising, Business, Productivity, Technology, Tobin Lehman | 1 Comment » | October 2009

Browser Compatibility Policy Update: Fall 2009

This post is a general update to inform all on the position on Tobin Lehman Design + Interactive on browser compatibility for new Web site development.

As the Internet continues to be a wonderful place to explore, participate, and consume, the technology we use to engage this plane of reality is in a constant state of development by software developers and their communities. As builder of site that use this technology, we must provide the most progressive and robust experience possible to our clients and their customers, keeping up with these advancements. In this progressive response, we must also leave behind software of the past to continually provide a cost effective solution to our clients. The following list states the current minimum browser standards covered in our development projects.

Microsoft: Internet Explorer 7

Mozilla: Firefox 3.0, Camino 1.5

Apple: Safari 3.0

In addition, as future web browsers emerge on the market, compatibility for your site and these new browsers may become suspect to new issues.Â As a proactive approach, you or your marketing department should be conducting an evaluation and review of these new browsers as they emerge. Happy browsing!

CATEGORIES: Advertising, Business, Community, Design, Productivity, Technology, Tobin Lehman, Web design | No Comments » | September 2009

The More You Give, The More You Receive

This inspirational headline has more of a “nuts and bolts” application than you might initially think. When we start to look at our interactions with our clients as relationships similar to our cherished personal relationships, we have the opportunity to capture a significant place in our client’s mind. When you establish a truthful, unfettered, and open dialog with your client about expectations and roles, it can lead to a stronger relationship in the long run. And as these great relationships develop, both parties are looking for some of value that is not tactile like a finished product or financial, but the intangible and qualitative, such as trust, honestly, and dependability.

These types of relationships can not come without investment. This means extending beyond your comfort level at times to reach new and unfamiliar personalities with confidence and an open, accepting nature. When meeting someone who does not share your interests and outlook on life, you can develop a better relationship by exploring common threads such as heritage, locality, education, view points, and social ties. There is always somewhere to start an open, engaging dialog with a client that extends beyond the scope of the work at hand. It’s our opportunity to extend that olive branch, to set aside differences and communicate in a manner that is both honest and constructive.

The last thing anybody wants to to work with someone they can not communicate with. I believe in looking at each client as a potential relationship and an opportunity for growth. And as you “give” yourself to these relationships, you will inevitably receive more than you give.

CATEGORIES: Business, Community, Theory, Tobin Lehman | No Comments » | August 2009

Tobin Lehman set to serve on the AIGA Blue Ridge Board of Directors

More great news last week as we announce that Tobin Lehman is now serving as education chair to AIGA Blue Ridge.Â Following a 6 year hiatus in membership, Tobin Lehman has rejoined the AIGA and is hoping to bring his years of experience in other organizations to the AIGA Blue Ridge chapter. Following the massive amount of work set forth by Kristin Kaineg and the rest of the AIGA Blue Ridge board of directors, he hopes to keep the education initiatives alive and well.

AIGA Blue Ridge brings together design professionals, students and the people who collaborate with them. Serving Western Maryland, Southwestern Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia and Northeastern West Virginia since 2002, we promote the value of design through networking, continuing education and training and giving back to the communities we live and work in.

CATEGORIES: Business, Community, Design, Education, Graphic Design, Tobin Lehman, linkedin | No Comments » | July 2009

Your Brand as a Cult

Do you see people putting Dell or HP stickers on their things?

No. Their brands are not cults.

As business owners and marketers the greatest achievement we could ever have is to see our brands followers be as devoted to our brand as the example above. Putting the mark of your brand on to other products in their world could only be one of the highest marks of transcendence and flat out love for your brand possible. Read the rest of this entry »

CATEGORIES: Advertising, Business, Design, Tobin Lehman | No Comments » | June 2009

New Arts Foundry Goes Live

Baltimore-based New Arts Foundry found a new home last week at www.NewArtsFoundry.com. The site is the online portfolio for the foundry that casts bronze for many local artists such as Marcia Billig, Antonio Tobias Mendez, Bart Walter, and Jay Hall Carpenter. The site’s simple interface and monochromatic color scheme allows the work to be the focus of the viewer’s attention.

The site also features a blog where the owner, Gary Siegel, writes about current projects in the foundry as well as news and updates about the bronze community. Dont’ forget to check out the step-by-step explanation of the lost wax casting process!

CATEGORIES: Business, Design, Graphic Design, Press, Tobin Lehman, Web design | 1 Comment » | May 2009

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