It looks like this:

Yukiko’s Floral Design Studio new page wall image

Facebook wants it this way.  We know so from a protected video, by Social Media Examiner, based on the book Face Book Marketing all in one for Dummies (paperback is sold out, but you can get the Kindle edition with a free Cloud Reader from Amazon.com).

Now we are smarter for having (1) watched the video and (2) read the book on Cloud Reader.  For example, we know now that the branding image should go in the top left hand corner of the page (that’s the only place it fits on Facebook pages).

And, beware the deadly logo image — secret studies find that Facebook users are most likely to go into pages with a smiling female face in the branding image in the top left hand corner.

Alas, not so much when you use a masculine photograph and least of all when you use a plain logo.

Our son Dana designed Yukiko’s black and red ikebana logo about 20 years ago — ever since, she has been using it as branding image for her Floral Design Studio in Marin.

Now, Facebook doctrine is to work the logo into the picture at the bottom somehow (we haven’t figured out that part, yet).  Meanwhile, we still have our new branding image in my electronic files — so, do we/you use it on your own website or blog?

If you use it outside Facebook, wouldn’t that blur the distinction between our Facebook page and our website or blog?

OR the distinction between Facebook and the rest of the internet?

Gee, whose idea was that?

Cool.

I bought lunch boxes (bento) from hawkers on the train platforms in Japan — sometimes they came on board the old trains and sold their ¥100 (28¢) bento to me, sitting next to an open window as the countryside and its flowers rolled by.

Now I sometimes make ikebana reminiscent of the bento .  I display them on my Online Florist page — they look like this:

Bento Ikebana Design Reflects Train Station Lunch Boxes in Japan

When peonies are plentiful in season, the bento ikebana may look like this:

Bento Ikebana — when Peonies are in high season

The Bird of Paradise Ikebana (at left) appears in Yukiko’s new video — a one minute showing of her distinctive style in floral design.

We placed the video in her Yelp!  listing to let viewers differentiate the artistic form of her studio craft from the generic arrangements of flower shops.

No secret: there are many commercial florists listed on Yelp!  Yukiko’s blend of ikebana and contemporary styles stand-out uniquely.

The independent floral design studio enables creative freedom.  Check it out in Yukiko’s video on Yelp!

Golden Gate Bridge to Yukiko’s Floral Design Studio

Cross the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County, immerse yourself in the hands-on experience and take home four new arrangements.
Scroll down this blog to sample a few photographs of Yukiko’s original designs.

Call Yukiko to inquire: (415) 456‑6763

I say Give Original Bouquet by Yukiko to your Valentine, and 

If your Valentine is in Marin, do Both!

Dramatic Sweep of Roses and Orchids with Marin foliage for Valentine’s

We have saved photographs of several years of Yukiko’s original floral designs off-line – that means you can’t see them where they are now.

Do you want to see them?

If you do, we’ll put them on Flickr.com galleries and integrate them with our new website.

We have a small, photo collection as a toe-in-the-water placeholder on Flickr now. 

The idea is to expand this presence by several hundred images (well, maybe a few thousand). 

We would catalogue the new images  by categories such as Ikebana, Wreaths, etc., on Flickr and also make the pictures accessible on our own site or blog.  Or both.

Cool?  Uncool? 

Peter

Actually, the very first thing is to survey floral design websites that are out there now.  The vast majority are comfortably beneath contempt.  But, there are also a select few whiz-bang floral sites worthy of at least Four Star ratings.

The best design site we find is DianeJamesHome.com.   Yes, it markets silk flower arrangements rather than the real thing, and, yes, Yukiko would rather fall on her Japanese sword than craft artificial flowers.

Check out the Diane James site, because it does well everything a high-end website should do in the W2 world:

• Its connected unobtrusively to Facebook and Twitter, and projects its boutique image tastefully over the internet. Top hole.
• Its blog (The Buzz Blog) is current and full of trendy East Coast interests – such as large rose sculptures in the middle of Park Avenue.  Writing and photography appear to be professional.  No internet skanks buzz there.
• Most importantly, DianeJamesHome.com is optimized for smart phones and iPads.  It looks good on the small screen; I used my iPhone to test it’s touch-screen hotlinks (I didn’t buy anything).

In a post today, skyje.com attributes these and other trends in web design to smart phones and iPad tablets. 

Gotta go there.

Yukiko’s new Floral Design website and blog will use the latest WordPress software –- design and ecommerce CMS interface with social media (Facebook, Flickr, Twitter).

We’re building the new site’s Content Management System (CMS) behind the scenes — so it won’t interfere with Yukiko’s original website and blog.  

When can you see it?  In a few weeks the “new” website will re-launch here –  in place of Yukiko’s original website and blog.

Meanwhile, we’ll post progress reports here on this blog — what’s happening in development of the new site and questions as they arise.

Can you help us work through to the answers?

Simply post your comments at the end of each post, or email FloralDesigner2005-Yukiko@Yahoo.com

We reply promptly to all.

Will Valentine’s Day save the florists? They certainly need saving, but their problem is much bigger than another bum Valentine’s Day.

The industry magazine Florists’ Review’s January edition, cites market statistics showing…

(read complete article)

First published in Technorati.com

by author Peter Neibert     

They’re Ugly, They’re in-your-face, They Save You Time –

     So Why Not Use Them?

When we first added PayPal to our Floral Design website, we had mixed emotions about including the “Buy Now,” or shopping-cart, buttons on our pages. 

• The e-commerce doctrine of the day told us “you really must, MUST have an electronic shopping cart” taking orders 24x7 and spewing marketing statistics out the back end.
• But they were ugly then and they’re still ugly now.  More importantly, these crass buttons detract from the upscale elegance of Yukiko’s floral designs.  Yes, but every floral website had such buttons, so all customers were conditioned to expect them.
• Well, that was then.  Now we find more of our clients prefer to call us up and talk us through some of the pictures on the website.   They ask about seasonal materials, discuss design suitability for various occasions, budgeting, and a bunch of other ideas.  

Some could get what they want from a “BUY NOW” button.   But it wouldn’t be the same, would it?

Got thoughts about our “BUY NOW” buttons?  Let us know, or try the “COMMENTS” button (above).

Oops.