Welcome to our blog, Cobalt-60.

Clichés aren’t always bad. They can foster togetherness, inclusion and mutual understanding — a verbal or visual common ground.

Writers and designers are “creatives,” but they work quite differently. What can each creative discipline learn from the other?

What makes a slogan so effective? Why do some (think “Where’s the Beef?”) become earworms and others fall flat?

We get it, the communications landscape can be a bit confusing. So we broke it down for you.

Also called vision boards or inspiration boards, mood boards are tools for communicating a feeling, theme, persona or mood for a design or a style in a way that can be quickly absorbed and understood by those viewing them. Mood boards can be used to confirm that all stakeholders are on the same page or get feedback if not. Join Cobalt Communications Art Director Mark Miller on an exploration of this vital design tool.

When you think of brainstorming, you might conjure up images of the Schooner Tuna creative session from Mr. Mom: agency team members gathered in a conference room, cigarette smoke billowing, clothes wrinkled, Chinese food growing crusty in the takeout containers while ideas died their slow death on an easel pad. A lot has been learned about brainstorming since then, including the fact that groups are not always better than individuals when it comes to generating great ideas.

Annual reports — glorified financial statements or robust marketing tools? (Hint: we believe in the latter.) Even though Cobalt is a private company and we don’t legally have to publish an annual report, we chose to create one (and go digital) for 2016 because it offers so many marketing opportunities. And your company could reap these benefits, too.