Starry Blue Brilliance

Masterpiece communications

Tag Archives: Vincent Van Gogh


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Hope is in the Stars and on YouTube

Meteor showerPhoto: Looking for the Perseids meteor shower in Luhasoo bog in Estonia. In the photo there is one Perseid, Milky Way and Andromega galaxy and light pollution on the horizon. By Martin Mark. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Vincent van Gogh said that “Hope is in the stars.” Looking at the stars and featuring them in his work was a way to help give him comfort and hope. He wanted to bring that feeling to others too.

That’s what inspired me to create Starry Blue Brilliance in 2013. Through my work in communication (also an art), I want to bring hope and success to others. In turn, I receive hope and success through the work and inspiration of others, through you, my followers and future followers.

Most recently, I began a new adventure of building a whole new Starry Blue World, based on collaboration, the foundation of hope and success. See what I mean in my new video, “Collaboration Begins Here.”

Collaboration begins here. With all of us. Together.

Thank you for continuing to inspire me, and most of all, giving me hope. 🙂

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A Whole New Starry Blue World

IMG_0527“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” – Vincent van Gogh

That’s my feeling as I’m creating a whole new Starry Blue world dedicated to growing your business legacy through communication design.

I’ve updated my website and “conversation” materials (aka marketing materials) with a fabulous new design by Kong Cheong, design entrepreneur.

A huge thank you also to Stephanie Graf, UI/UX designer, for designing my logo, which expresses the heart of my brand.

Please check out the new content on my Home page and About Me page and let me know your thoughts.

My new Starry Blue world will be on exhibit at the Intranets for Internal Communications Conference, Dec. 9-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. If you’re planning to attend, use Priority/VIP Code SBB when registering to receive a $200 discount on Regular pricing.

My mission remains the same: To provide you with masterpiece communications, resources and insights that will help you succeed.

Starry Blue Brilliance will always be our collective masterpiece. For that, I’m truly grateful. Thank you for your continued support and readership!


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How Writing Led to My Next Adventure

Starry Blue Brilliance logo

I’ve always been a writer. And I’ve always used this talent to help people be successful at whatever they are trying to do. Engaging blog posts. Relevant content marketing and branding strategies. Stellar relationships with customers and employees. Collaboration and continuous learning. If it involves improving people’s lives, I am always willing to help! 🙂

It’s this passion for writing and helping others that led me to create Starry Blue Brilliance, a collection of masterpiece communications, resources and insights. Through this website, I’m dedicated to helping you build your business legacy through communication design.

Vincent van Gogh inspires my work. Through the iconic The Starry Night, van Gogh mixes “dreams and reality, observation and imagination.”  My goal is to make masterpiece communications that people will recognize and remember today, tomorrow, always.

Please let me know how I can help you and your business succeed. After all, “I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.” – Vincent van Gogh.


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Building a Better Blog One Week at a Time

Flickr_-_paul_bica_-_moonlight_shadow

Photo by paul bica

When I launched Starry Blue Brilliance last September, I promised myself I would continue to learn how to make this blog even better for all of us, week by week. Thanks to your loyal following and sharing of my blog, I stay focused on fulfilling that promise.

Here are three articles that are helping me pursue blogging “brilliance:”

Please share your ideas on topics or people you’d like to see featured. You are my inspiration to continue the masterpiece we’ve collectively created on Starry Blue Brilliance.

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” – Vincent Van Gogh


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How to Create Your New Slant on Corporate Videos

Flickr_-_paul_bica_-_slantPhoto by paul bica

“Let’s not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it.”  ― Vincent Van Gogh (www.goodreads.com)

Great storytelling evokes emotion. Using the power of storytelling, you can create emotionally compelling videos with equally compelling messages that will continue to resonate with your audiences and build brand loyalty.

This video is one of the best examples of storytelling I’ve seen:
http://publicwords.com/the-3-minute-storytelling-lesson-you-wont-forget/?goback=
This post on www.publicwords.com also provides tips on how to recreate the same “magic” for your videos.

Ready to learn more? Here are two articles from www.ragan.com to help get you started on creating your new slant on corporate videos:

What are some examples of highly effective corporate videos you’ve seen or created?


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Create Your Organization’s Face with Visual Storytelling

Photo: Sculpture Per Adriano, work of Igor Mitoraj, Square of Isla de Madeira, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, License CC-BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Sculpture Per Adriano, work of Igor Mitoraj, Square of Isla de Madeira, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, License CC-BY-SA 3.0

“A good picture is equivalent to a good deed.” – Vincent Van Gogh (www.goodreads.com)

Artists know the value of creating compelling visuals to tell their stories. Communicators can use this same concept of visual storytelling to engage their audiences on a personal level.

This article from prnewsonline.com can help you get started on the road to “visual storytelling mastery:” http://www.prnewsonline.com/water-cooler/2013/10/29/6-tips-for-visual-storytelling-mastery/

If you take your own photos, you’ll want to read “Telling Stories” by Phil Douglis, ABC, IABC Fellow and a master of visual storytelling. In his article from IABC’s Communication World, Phil shows you how to engage your audiences and draw them into your story to help them develop a deeper understanding of your organization. For more inspiration on visual storytelling, check out Phil’s “cyberbook” of photo galleries at http://www.pbase.com/pnd1

How do you incorporate visual storytelling into your organizational communication?


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Begin with the End in Mind: Communication Measurement Best Practices

Photo: Chesapeake Finish Line Tower, commons.wikimedia.org

Photo: Chesapeake Finish Line Tower, commons.wikimedia.org

Begin 2014 with the end in mind. Every successful communication plan is supported by an effective measurement strategy. Here are the top posts on communication measurement you helped make successful in 2013:

1. Six Sigma Project Ideas for PR

2. Measure What Matters with a Communication Scorecard

3. How to Calculate the Value of Organizational Communication

4. Reflecting on the Right Questions for Your Readership Surveys

Thank you for your readership and support of sharing corporate communication best practices in 2013. As we continue to build on our collective masterpiece of Starry Blue Brilliance, I’m inspired by the words of Vincent Van Gogh: “I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.” (goodreads.com)

Have a very happy, healthy, prosperous and brilliant new year!


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It’s about sharing success

Ideas are the foundation of success. This timeless concept was best expressed by a Deutsche Bank advertisement in the Wall Street Journal in April 2001 that proclaimed: “Ideas are capital. The rest is just money.”

Sharing ideas about corporate communication best practices will help us create and carry out highly effective communication plans and programs to support our organization’s continued success.

The work of my favorite artist, Vincent Van Gogh, inspired the name for this blog. The header is a partial photo of one of his most well-known masterpieces, “Starry Night.”

As Van Gogh said, “Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” (www.goodreads.com). We can succeed together by creating and sharing ideas, one inspiration after another, until they form a collective “masterpiece” of corporate communication best practices known as Starry Blue Brilliance.