Over the past year, MSLK has been very involved in the social media hype, figuring out the best strategies in using these medias to reach our clients and potential clients in creative ways. In light of the upcoming FGI presentation, we thought we would give you a sneak peak of various key statistics and demographics of users of blogs, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Read more to find out a few of the fun facts that we found. You can download a pdf of the presentation here.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our webinar on Social Media, with marketing expert, Sheri Koetting and social media consultant, Shannon Nelson.We hope you gained some new insights into the power and potential that platforms like Blogs, Facebook, and Twitter hold. As we discussed they not allow you to reach millions of users, but give unprecedented access to data about your fans and their daily lives.

We’ve had several requests for the presentation from those of you who couldn’t join us and those of you who were riveted and need to watch it again. A recording of the presentation is posted here for your convenience.

Affordable Luxury Webinar 5/6/09 from MSLK on Vimeo.

Thank you to everyone who joined us today for our first webinar on “Positioning Your Brand as an Affordable Luxury” . I really appreciate all of the great feedback, pointers and responses we’ve received thus far. It seems that many of you agree with the positioning opportunities that we’ve defined and I truly hope that our insights provided you with a new lens of how to view the marketing initiatives  you see all around.

Here at MSLK we are keenly interested in the effects of society’s mass consumption of plastic. It seems that the things that are most transient to us such as disposable bags, silverware, applicators, packaging and bottles are made from plastic, a material that is very enduring. What happens when we are done with these single use items? Where do they end up? And more importantly how many of these things are we mindlessly using every day?

Websites have become the most essential marketing tool for businesses. One click from a customer is a valuable opportunity that can make all the difference. If created properly, a Website should instinctively lead visitors where you want them to follow.

In spite of the known value a good Website can bring, take a moment and think about just how many poor Websites you encounter every day. While not every business needs their site to be a high-budget multimedia extravaganza, every site should be effective, and properly targeted to a company’s audience.

Too many times people rush into putting up a quick site, thinking this will hold them over until they get around to the big launch. This is a fallacy—it is almost always far more difficult to rebrand an existing Website than to start with a good one.

The quickest way to change the public perception of your brand is to give it a facelift. MSLK was recently presented with the challenge of re-inventing the image of a photographer whose identity was making his work feel dated and out-of-touch. Our objective was to develop an identity to help Jim attract his ideal clientele and speak to a younger crop of art directors. It needed to be engaging and flexible, but not overpower his detailed photography. See some examples of his new look in comparison to his old identity after the jump.

MSLK is commonly asked what our process is like working on a project. As is the case with designers, it’s often more informative for us to show rather than tell. We recently completed an invitation design for a luncheon at which local Long Island City companies will be honored for their green business practices. Read more to see how we developed the invitation from sketch to completion.

First of all, I’d like to formally give a huge thanks to everyone who donated, helped, supported, and promoted 2663 Urban Tumbleweeds. Really, the outpouring of support we received was astounding.

Some artists could wait their whole lives to get as much support as we received. We happened to land it on our first endeavor. I know this has less to do with the project and more to do with the message — which was timely, informative, and a real-feel good piece. This was our intention, and we wanted to make a piece that touched on all those principals. We wanted to turn facts into art and connect people with the environment.

The thing I am most proud about with Urban Tumbleweeds is the number of people who’ve already made a changes in their lives as a result of just knowing about this project. To everyone who’s started using reusable totes, you really deserve a pat on the back.

I just realized that somehow one very important topic/thread of how we spend our time outside of the studio has been missing from this blog…Spark

Over 5 years ago, when Ellen was a young lass, fresh off the bus from design school, she and I decided on a lark to check out a cocktail party a friend of a friend was hosting at someone else’s home/studio. The impetus for the drinks? Get together and talk about being a graphic designer.

Little did I know then how much these drinks around the corner would change my life.

Valentine’s Day is officially a week away, so it’s time to get started crafting the perfect plans for romance and fun on the 14th.

At MSLK, we don’t believe that Valentine’s Day is only about red wine, romance and roses. It should be a day dedicated to spending time with the people in your life that you love. It’s a day to head out and appreciate your surroundings. The studio has compiled a list of some of our favorite places in New York to help you plan the perfect night — whether you are on a date or hitting the town with friends.