Archive for the ‘Here’s a Thought’ Category

Here’s a Thought :: Mom Knows Best – Part 2

Posted May 8th, 2012 in Here's a Thought | No Comments

Source: google.com via Ani on Pinterest



My mom and I have always been big on sending each other cards – Easter, Halloween, Valentines Day or even “just because”. When I graduated from college she gave me a card, which I still have today, that contained my favorite piece of advice – “I know you’ll do great, but always do good.” At first I thought she made some grammatical error but then I read it again and again and finally understood what she meant…

Thanks for being the best person I know, Mom.

~Allyson

Here’s a Thought :: Deciding Whether to Rebrand is Like Peeling an Onion

Posted April 18th, 2012 in Blog, Here's a Thought | No Comments




In a fundamental sense, a brand is a commitment and the way in which that commitment is perceived by employees, customers and the market. This perception is shaped and built over time through hard work, consistent attention and is obscured by layers and layers of interactions, cultural context, personal experiences and the thoughts, fears, hopes and dreams of massive groups of people. These all need to be separated, organized and analyzed to see if the strategic efforts can remain fresh, relevant and top-of-mind and have been working or, if changes need to made to the brand’s commitment or the perception of it.

Sometimes the decision to rebrand is easy—there has been a merger or the organization’s structure or the strategy has changed significantly, or perhaps, through growth and time, your focus has narrowed and the company has specialized or diversified—but sometimes it is less clear. Occasionally the brand drifts slowly away from its target and over time, ends up in a place where it is no longer relevant or highly diluted without shifting far enough to be recognized at first blush. This frequently happens with older brands that met with enough success to feel self-important. Through reluctance to break from what has worked in the past and constant introspection, these brands have become so arcane that they can no longer compete. In either event, perspective is the solution. Ask your employees. Ask your customers. Ask outsiders. Have them tell you, who you are. Have them tell you what they wish you were. Have them tell you why. Don’t ignore the small stuff, but it’s the bigger things that you’re looking for. If your widget keeps coming up in the answers from your survey set – don’t stop there. Follow up. What is it a part of? What does that whole do? How does it do it? Why is that important—to a person, group or the world?

Once all of the research and analysis is done the answer should be clear. Re-branding should never be undertaken because someone thinks “it’s time for a change”. That is a recipe for disaster. Ask the questions, look at the answers, and your course should be clear. Acknowledge your past and plan for your future but make sure that you address today’s needs today. Whether that means your brand needs to evolve to meet changing needs, to be aligned to a completely new strategy or just re-activated through initiatives that revitalize employees and energize consumers – good research, thoughtful analysis, and thorough understanding will show you the way forward.


~ben



Here’s a Thought :: Good Design is Invisible

Posted March 22nd, 2012 in Here's a Thought | 1 Comment

When design is doing it’s job, it’s invisible. Think about it. If you look at Amy’s post from Monday the thing that makes the I (heart) NY graphic great is that when you look at it you recognize the idea Mr. Glaser had and have an emotional response to that idea. You don’t look at the curves on the terminals of the letter forms or the contrast between the red and the black. The design is transparent so that you can connect with an idea that you already had but could not recognize—could not voice. Effective design speaks to a truth inherent in our culture as manifested by a brand, organization or device. Great design recognizes that truth in a way that irrevocably changes our cultural awareness of that truth and that recognition impacts our lives on a fundamental level. If you look at something and the “design” is the first thing you notice, you are likely looking at a technique or process and not an idea. This is true in all areas of design whether that be information architecture, industrial/product engineering, experience design or graphic programs.


invisible design 2 doors


Think about doors and the way that you open them. If the door has a bar across it you will push on it to open. If the door has a vertical handle at the far end away from the spindle you will pull on it. These are sensible reactions resulting from both a user’s cultural mindset and a physics standpoint, and that have been internalized possibly without realization. When the design aligns with the truth in our culture it’s not noticeable but when it is at odds with that truth, it sticks out like a sore thumb. I know you have attempted to push a door open that you needed to pull and then felt badly about it. However, more than likely it was the result of someone designing that door in a way that was at odds with your concept of doors and their use and not your fault at all. Donald A Norman from the McCormic school at Northwestern University wrote a book about this phenomenon titled The Design of Everyday Things if you want to learn more about the design that works invisibly in your life—but I digress.



invisible design 2 great logos


Do you know what made the iPhone a great success? It fulfilled a desire that was predominant in our society but that only a handful of people recognized. Do you know what makes the FedEx or Amazon logos great? They are a simple, elegant execution of an idea embodied in every way by the companies that would make these marks their monikers. Do you know why coats have a line of buttons on the sleve ends that do not button anything? To keep cavalry men from wiping their noses on their uniforms when it got cold out and which was both foolishly and unnecessarily latched on to and assimilated to now be a crucial fashion “design” element, without which a coat looks peculiar for some unknown reason. There is a joke about no number of designers being able to change a light bulb because they cannot decide whether it had to be a bulb—but this is not a joke. All great design answers a question—one that may not have been asked, but that exists all the same. If your design firm can identify the questions that you should be asking they are earning their keep. If they are answering those questions in a way that resonates, they are benefiting your company. If they are answering questions that your target did not know they had, in a way that resonates with them and you, via an idea that can be explained in two sentences or less—that you do not have to think about and still “get”—they are providing an invaluable service to you and yours.

~ben

Here’s A Thought :: What Makes a Design Great?

Posted March 19th, 2012 in Blog, Here's a Thought | No Comments

What makes good design great?

Unlike fine art, which is subjective, graphic design needs to fulfill a purpose – be it solving a problem, conveying an idea, making a point, disseminating information clearly, making a complex task quick and easy to understand, selling a product, calling to action, and so forth. It has a goal.

Usually, the goal is business driven – but it can also be to explain how to use your seat cushion as a floatation device, how to use a voting booth, explain dosage of a medication, the ingredients in your breakfast cereal … well, you get my point.

So, when I spotted the above graphic on Pinterest today, it disturbed and angered me. Whoever crafted this piece belittles my professional purpose. Colors, fonts, shapes are merely some the tools which we designers use to help us visually depict a meaning.

Adding further insult to injury, this graphic only lists three of our tools – what about photography? Is copy important? How about illustration? Paper? Printing? Style?

Which leads me to my next question – what, in your opinion, makes great graphic design, well,  great?

Here are a few key indicators that I would judge a piece by:

1. Is the message clear?

2. Did the designer select the best medium for the message?

3. Is it designed with the target audience in mind?

4. Will they find it engaging and appealing?

5. Does it follow established corporate branding (when required)?

6. Is the information hierarchy accurate and clearly understood from the reader/user perspective?

7. Is there a clear ‘call to action’ or takeaway from the piece?

8. Is the piece strategically sound? Does it align with the company or organization’s goals?

9. Is the way the piece aesthetically designed, printed and produced effective and in-line with who the company is, what the piece is for and the message it is trying to convey?

In other words, you wouldn’t print an annual report on a paper napkin, right? The way a piece looks, feels, handles, folds, prints – are all vitally important to the end result.

What would you add to this list? How do you judge great design?

Try using Milton Glaser’s famous I {heart} New York iconic graphic {below} to answer the above list where applicable. It will do very well. Can you say the same for each of your marketing pieces? If you cannot, do you plan to do something about it?

You can apply the same test using my list above with these beautiful business cards designed for a company who creates wedding albums. Tell me what you think. How did they do?

{Plumeria business cards; printed by Studio on Fire and designed by Braizen}

~Amy

Here’s A Thought :: Staying Focused

Posted January 9th, 2012 in Blog, Here's a Thought | 1 Comment

Some days – very much like today – I find it nearly impossible to stay focused.

How can we – when we are increasingly bombarded with all these new distractions we never had to deal with just a few years ago – from pop-up messages and insanely viral YouTube videos, text messages to Facebook, iTunes to Instagram? And I beg you to not even get me started on my addiction to Pinterest.

What is a designer/mommy/business owner (fill in your own title here) to do?

Well, this week, we’ve decided to start by focusing on focusing.

It’s a new year – a time for new beginnings. So, how do you plan on staying focused?

That’s what we aim to find out. So stay focused on this space and all week we will work on giving you enough tips and advice to help you stay focused all year long. Our goal is to have our most productive year yet – and that starts with learning how to really stay focused on our goals and work.

Are you still with me?

Great! Let’s begin ….

Tuesday’s post will offer you 10 tips to help you stay focused.

Wednesday will be a resource guide for books on productivity.

Thursday, we’ll share our own tips and advice on staying focused – what works for us – and we’d love it if you shared what works for you!

I’d like to leave you with this link that a friend, Jim Gorman, shared with me (I told you it was timely, Jim!). It is by Dr. Stephen Covey author of the must-read landmark business book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”.

It is called “The Time Management Matrix”. I’m sharing it today with my staff and I am going to start using this handy chart myself. Take a look, print it out and see if you think this will help you get focused on exactly what you need to do today. The chart basically breaks down your activities into 4 categories: Urgent, Not Urgent, Important, Not Important. Simple, right? Well, let’s try it.

Alright, back to work! Let’s have a truly productive day today.

~Amy