March 2021

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 23 mar 2021

According to a survey by The Conference Board, 61% of major global companies spent more on philanthropy in 2020 than budgeted, with 58% of respondents using incremental funds for COVID-19 efforts, and 54% of respondents using incremental funds to help address racism in the US. Moreover, more than 2/3rd of the surveyed companies said they plan to maintain or increase their total level of giving in 2021. A 2017 Cone Communications CSR study found that 87% of respondents will purchase a product because a company stood behind an issue they cared about. And a 2016 Cone Communications study on millennial employee engagement found that 64% of millennials consider a company's social and environmental commitments when choosing a workplace. There is a win-win relationship when corporates focus on long-term social and community involvement. This activity benefits communities and helps improve and build brand value, and also achieve business objectives. Cheryl Goodman, Head of Corporate Communications/Corporate Social Responsibility at Sony, provides key steps that needs to be taken for strategic long-term CSR - (1) Identify Causes To Support: For strategic CSR choose causes to support that reflect company's ethos. Determine tangible societal benefits of the CSR efforts. There need to be a correlation between the beneficiary of the CSR efforts and the business that company is involved in. Survey employees to find causes to support. This helps employee to be more involved and engaged in the charitable efforts as they feel heard. (2) Determine Proper Structures To Achieve Success: To determie the structure, companies should think diligently what will make a long-term impact on communities. Companies should have systems in place to measure the impact and success of their efforts. Quantitative key performance indicators (KPIs) won't reveal themselves immediately, but qualitative measures are essential from the beginning. Companies should evaluate their resources and determine time and financial commitment they will be able to make to achieve desired outcomes. (3) Give Nonprofit Partners Space To Lead: Create an action plan to work with nonprofit partners. Develop trust and understanding with these partners, as they have experience working on the ground and know better how to serve communities. Collaborate early, communicate often and support each other authentically to achieve desired outcomes of the charitable efforts. (4) Get The Good News Out Without Missing The Mark: Secure strategic press coverage by involving the right internal and external stakeholders. Involve the right people from the company and nonprofit that can deliver the message right, and establish solid relationships with members of the media. Messaging should also include any relevant data points and stories that help explain why the cause is pressing. (5) Practice Humility And Transparency: By exercising humility, companies can decrease the likelihood of appearing opportunistic. Read on...

Forbes: How Companies Can Strategically Build Purposeful Corporate Social Responsibility Programs In Five Steps
Author: Cheryl Goodman

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 18 mar 2021

Web design continuously evolves with latest technologies and consumer tastes and behaviors. This results in new trends keep coming up. Most recently cool futuristic design has been prevalent, but now at the beginning of the new decade the trend is shifting to more minimalist and realistic design. Increasing web access on mobile is popularizing this trend. Following are top 10 trends for 2021 - (1) Minimalism: Involves using only essential elements – simple text and typefaces, plenty of space, monochrome or duo-chrome color palettes, and simple graphics. Simple designs are easy to read and functional. (2) Subtle yet intentional parallax scrolling: In this the background moves at a slower pace than the foreground. This adds depth and movement to the browsing experience. It creates an immersive experience for website visitors. (3) Non-traditional scrolling: It can grab attention creatively and quickly. It allows the website to have a fresh new feel. Helps website to stand out from competition. (4) Interactive landing pages: Landing pages help turn visitors into customers. Custom-designed attractive, creative, and interactive questionnaire and unique landing pages will be an important trend in 2021. (5) Dark mode option: Dark mode features light text and images on a dark background. It offers less eye-strain in low-light conditions and improved battery usage than its light-themed counterpart. (6) 3D visuals all around: Higher quality screen resolutions offer the ability to show hyper-realistic or high quality rendered designs that perfectly compliment website content. (7) Custom illustrated graphics: These graphics are welcoming, enticing, and elevate viewers' experience. They provide a more personable experience and a more welcoming feeling. (8) Gradients: Gradients add depth, eye-catching backgrounds, or texture behind an illustration. They are a simple and effective solution to elevate boring and old-school designs. It makes content pop and graphics stand out. (9) Exciting multimedia: Multimedia elements like photos or videos help a visitor learn without reading and can also create an immersive environment to keep a person engaged while browsing website content. Multimedia will be incorporated in new and exciting ways - voice-enabled interfaces; animations with sound effects; immersive and interactive videos. (10) A focus on functionality, usability, and accessibility. Read on...

Crowdspring: 10 biggest web design trends for 2021
Author: Ross Kimbarovsky