Without further ado…

1. Step Out of the Bubble

Don’t look at things the same way for too long…

sometimes you’ll find you were off in the first place. (Read our earlier post risky business and you’ll quickly learn how we feel about taking calculated risks…)

Changing your perspective and stepping into your clients’ shoes is a valuable thing to do. Some find this difficult because they’re so entrenched in seeing things from an owner or manager’s “bottom line” point-of-view, but it’s a refreshing practice that can lead your company in exciting directions. The easiest way to get around any difficultly with this is to let your 3rd-party creative professionals get a real grasp of what it is you do, how you do it, and let them do the necessary research to figure out what kind of state of mind your clients are in when they’re using your products or services.

Companies who have the clearest idea of how their clients view them - are usually the ones who are most successful and know what their brand stands for. What’s also important to note is that – if you know your clients, you know where to find them and how to get your message to them so they pay attention.

2. Organization

We can’t stress organization enough. Making sure you’ve got everything in order makes everything go smoothly. Having a plan is crucial. Keep important notes, or keep a sample binder of things you like and things you dont, make a workback schedule. Whatever you do, just know what the other person is doing and when they’re doing it. A project is like an engine in a race car: if it’s not firing on all cylinders, it’s going to lag to the finish line – if it ever gets there.

This is why an experienced project manager is so important. Great managers provide a leadership quality (another important part of a project’s success) that’s an intangible but important piece in helping bridge the gap between need, idea and end-result. They also provide insight and can help in creating great briefs that spark ideas and get the best possible creative in the most targeted manner.

The organization of thoughts – coming in the form of a well written brief allows everyone involved to gather their thoughts and really hone in on getting to your targeted end result (more on that in a bit).

3. Smart Design and Creativity

This one seems like a given, but creativity within a tight budget, short timeline, or – small ad space, for example – is where it can get tricky. Good designers are just creative, but great designers are a blend of smarts and creativity. They’ll set your brand apart from the rest by not only bringing all of the elements discussed on this page together – but contributing to their generation.

Both “creativity” and “smart design” could have been in a category all on their own, but – of course, smart design takes a lot of creative thinking. Besides… 6 Successful Elements to a Successful Project doesn’t have quite the same ring to it….

4. Great Content

Another one of those things that seems like a given, but gets overlooked too often. Copywriting isn’t a lost art – It’s just an undervalued one.

Cutting through the “marketing language” to get at what you’re trying to say in a concise, easy-to-follow, and engaging manner is where a copywriter is worth their weight in gold. If you’ve been to a website or seen a brochure that’s got useless paragraph after paragraph of boring and non-sensical drivel – you know why a good copywriter is a most valuable asset.

5. Goals

You can’t get to a destination if you don’t know where you’re going in the first place.

Without a clear idea of what you’re looking to get out of a project - you absolutely cannot gauge whether or not it’s a success. Knowing whether you’re simply looking to gain brand awareness, or remain top-of-mind is good enough. Just know what you’re looking to get out of a project, so you can know if you need to change your plan or if whether or not you feel it worked for you.

The balanced layout communicates your message simply and brilliantly. The attention to detail is magnificent.

But there’s something terribly wrong with it… your logo.

It’s just not big enough for you.

We’ve seen this kind of thing before. Sometimes it’s a warranted critique (nobody’s perfect, right?). Yet, sometimes it’s a knee-jerk reaction that comes with little analysis.

Here are a few points I’ve come up with to illustrate why I think bigger isn’t always better.

1) Treat your potential customers with respect.

You don’t walk down the street shouting your name into people’s faces. Neither should your brand. Big logos have a negative effect on people. A disproportionately large logo on a page can make a design seem cheap and poorly executed.

2) The human mind is a funny thing.

We’ve trained ourselves in an information-rich and time-poor age to figure out what we’re looking at and what’s important about it. Fast.
Why should your logo be the first thing anyone sees? It’s a backwards way of doing things. Your message is what’s most important – not your logo. This is especially important when you’re not an international conglomerate and don’t have the luxury of everyone inherently knowing what product or service you sell. Companies don’t sell their logos, they sell products. Tell people about what it is you do in a creative way and then tell them why it’s so great. They won’t care about who you are until they think they need what you’re selling.

When you’ve interested someone enough to have them say to themselves “hmmm… I wonder what this is all about.”, you’re way ahead of the game. You’re one step closer to having a new customer.

Think about it: when you look at advertising on billboards, magazines or newspapers, the logo is often in the bottom right corner. It’s there for a reason – people’s minds need structure and reinforcement to connect your brand to their needs. A good designer will use the space around items to get the viewer to see what they want them to see. That includes your branding. So, the logo doesn’t need to be enormous to do the job.

3) A little bit of Sherlock Holmes never killed anybody.

Part of what makes an effective piece of design is the “hook”. You’re caught up in a story. A catchy headline has got you scratching your head – so you look further to understand the concept, and without fail, you look to see an identifying mark. It’s inevitable. You need to see the logo to finalize your experience. The beauty of this is that the logo doesn’t need to be big. You’ve got your viewer so interested, they’ll pull out a magnifying glass if they have to just to know who you are.

Next time you have the urge to say “make the logo bigger” - just remember: bigger isn’t always better.

This March, a good friend of ours is teaming up with the Violence Intervention Project to stand up against gun violence in Toronto.

For three nights at De La Salle College, Nick Harauz of Inconscience productions is putting on an entertaining blend of theater and documentary, with proceeds going to East Metro Youth Services and the Violence Intervention Project.

“Extensions: the play” focuses on the perils of gang membership and gun violence – weaving an intriguing tale by using modern day situations and believable, rich, and multi-dimensional characters that youth can relate to. Extensions will engage and affect at-risk youth by encouraging dialogue in communities most affected by tragedy and violence.

We can’t snap our fingers to change our current reality, but helping change the way people think – by showing that options exist, that violence is not the answer is the most certain way to ensure a chance for things to change for future generations.

No one is immune to violence – that’s why we’ve been so proud to help Inconscience with the play’s promotional material and website creation (extensionstheplay.com).

*We will let it be known that choice exists.
*We will speak out for those that have lost.
*We will be catalysts for change.

– 5th

Judging by the number of return visitors to the site, you’ve been waiting to see something new for a while.

We’ve got some exciting projects coming down the pipeline for our friends at Halton Hills Financial and more high-profile work for Inconscience Productions that we’ll be sure to post.

Thanks for staying tuned.

– 5th

After the very necessary Christmas lull, our batteries are recharged and we’re more excited than we’ve ever been for any year.

We’ve been busy working on some truly rewarding projects, and working with people that hold the same values we do and appreciate our craft.

Thanks to all who helped us along in 2006, and here’s to wishing you all the best in 2007.

– 5th

Success takes risk. Initiative. Vision. Creativity.

We’re not advocating blind risk taking. Don’t rush out to the nearest casino and put your house on Black. That’s not what we’re getting at. What we are advocating is a little bit of flair and an openness to allow for ideas (visual or otherwise) that might not fall within the archetype of your business category. Fresh thought is always good for business.

We’ve stressed the fact that design is at its very essence about communication. Stagnant design from stagnant designers offer nothing to their clients, and more importantly: to the viewing public — meaning the likelihood of a person’s reception to your messages drops significantly. Not good.

Any company whose enlisted the services of a design team has done so because they’re looking for attention. At the end of the day, the goal of all design exercises is to inform and entertain… and to be different while doing it.

I heard the perfect line the other day that sparked something in me… Serendipity was on television and one of the characters quoted:

“If you want to improve, be prepared to be thought foolish and stupid.” – Epictetus

No one ever said breaking moulds would be easy, but even the biggest companies continuously update their image. Why? Because culture catches up to them, and they realize they need to adapt to stay relevant — or because the people they used to talk to don’t listen to their brand of “speaking” anymore. How many times have you seen the same old ads rehashed over and over and over and over and by different companies? Eventually, people just stop listening.

Tried and true works, we’re not disputing that. Traditional concepts may, in fact, be the right angle with which to approach a design problem. However, sometimes breaking away from that kind of mentality is exactly what’s needed to see gains. Take the Dyson Ball Vacuum for example. They’ve taken a market segment generally reserved for “boring” women and turned it into something cutting edge and exciting for not just women… for a burgeoning market segment in men as well. I was impressed when I saw its first ad. What’s the over-under on how long it will take their competitors to catch up? Call it a hunch, but I’m willing to bet Dirt Devil or Hoover come out with a high profile line of “designer” vacuums before they lose too much market share to a forward-thinking, risk-taking company.

History has shown us time and time again: those who take calculated risks are rewarded. Those who don’t stay stagnant, or boast only marginal gains. Take risks. You’ll be proud of yourself in the end.

The subtle intricacies in a typeface, some will argue, can only be seen by a designer. Not so…

The recognition and retention of wordmarks and icons is amazing. We’ve all seen those tests that ask you to identify a brand by seeing only one letter, or a portion of their iconography. I usually end up with a pretty decent mark most of the time, and I doubt I’m better than the average person.

Choosing the right typeface affects more than just brand recognition, more than this article can cover, in fact. Issues like font weight and readability also need to be taken into account. Lines of type on a page create spatial relationships between objects and can massively affect the appearance of a layout. Choosing the right one is critical to setting the mood of a page.

The creation, selection and/or alteration of a typeface sounds easy, right? Sit in on a meeting with an executive that says his company is “Big (but has the soul of a small-business), is fun to work with (but not too loose), is highly professional (but not stuffy)” – then try and go back to the drawing board and pick a typeface out of tens of thousands available. Not as easy as it sounds… especially when there are tens of thousands – if not millions – of dollars at stake. Anything short of perfection puts your job on the line.

When designing a wordmark, part of our job is interpreting what a company stands for and then conveying that message through type.

A wordmark is the face of your company. Your silent employee. When you’re sleeping, it’s working for you on the internet, on a business card, a letterhead. Everywhere. What is yours saying about you?

Wait. let me correct myself…

It’s not what they don’t know that surprises me… more who doesn’t know.

I recently met with the owner of a company who’s impressive resume was getting bigger and better by the week. Her client base was slowly solidifying. Not one to rest on her laurels, she was being bothered by a nagging feeling. Things weren’t happening fast enough.

She was lamenting her company’s inability to quickly seal a deal. Competitors that didn’t have anywhere near the level of expertise and range of services she offered, were gobbling up bigger and better clients and – it was rumoured – for far more money. Blue chip companies were dismissing her services quickly after her team gave their pitch, it seemed.

Having heard what she did before, I thought I would ask her to take me through a routine presentation and her leave-behind materials. What I got was a painfully arduous explanation, and confusing language that would certainly turn off potential clients. Blowing a company away with impressive statistics and case studies was the norm, but when the time came for Company X to budget for something they couldn’t explain, things fell apart. Badly.

“So,” she turned around “I’ve never really understood what it is you do.”

Design can be a tough discipline to explain – which is why I’m not entirely surprised everyone doesn’t know what a designer does – but everyone’s got a good elevator pitch, right? So, I started into mine.
I told her simply: “I help companies communicate”

She was taken aback. She thought I was a graphic designer. Not satisfied with my answer, she said “How?”

“Well, for example,” I continued, “a client might come to me and say ‘Anthony, I’d like to tell people about my new product, but I’m not sure where to reach them, how I should speak to them, and what best way to visually represent my product, so they know i’m speaking directly to them.”

Suddenly, it all became clear. You could almost hear the electricity run up her spine and charge the bulb in her head. Not long after, we had ironed out a plan to overhaul her communications package and restructure the way she communicates with clients.

I had heard this type of story before but it really hit home when her plight became apparent. A powerful woman and successful executive had been spinning her wheels for some time… all the while she had only thought of ever contacting a graphic designer for a logo. A direct mail piece and website? She could build it herself – and that she did (potentially causing irreparable damage to her brand and what it stands for along the way.

There’s really no telling if she’ll get a foot back in the door of the companies that opted to go with another company, but there’s always hope for the next company, and with that, a fresh start.

Had she used a designer to help organize her thoughts and create impactful visual materials that could briefly explain her services when she wasn’t there, she and her staff would have the added confidence of communicating a clear, concise message, and the added security and trust that a well managed and powerful brand offers.

In truth, designers are equal part communicators and organizers. Visual communication only being a portion of a much broader spectrum of skills. I sincerely feel design is gaining more importance in the business community and companies are finally starting to see designers as more than just logo creators and beret-wearing fine artists. It seems more and more executives and small businesses are seeing the value of professional design and are relying on a designers’ expertise for business strategy (i’m not even entirely sure “graphic designer” is an apt enough title these days). A great overall communication and branding strategy is essential because – working in tandem – they speak for your company when you’re not able to. If they don’t work… they can do irreparable damage by sending mixed messages and tarnishing a company’s image.

The thing that most strikes me about the whole situation is that business owners and executives should be on top of all things related to the optimal operation of their company. Communications being one of particular importance. Executives, especially, should be looking for any competitive advantage and to streamline their messages any way they can. Savvy business people will tell you that the perception of a brand can alter a consumer’s purchase decision. Knowing how a designer can help creatively organize and communicate – beyond creating attractive graphics – is a great first step in making sure your brand is working hardest for you.

An intro at the start of a website can be compared to making a child sit through a marketing presentation before entering a theme park. Yes, they may learn a bit about the park but it’s limiting there ability to experience the park for themselves. If most people were forced to do this then theme parks would be empty, people would just leave and not come back.

If during this presentation they were given a pass to leave before it was done [think skip button] most people would. Then why even have a presentation if you give an option to bypass? There are other ways to communicate this message [commercials, flyers, podcasts, etc.] without limiting your user’s experience and damaging their impression of you. If you can get better or even the same results without the intro then why have it? You can find other ways to communicate that information to the few who have stuck around for the presentation.

This is all assuming that people are actually interested in your website and its content. What if people are just surfing or more importantly are recommended to view it to determine if you get a job or not. I’ll use the same theme park analogy but what if you were a parent bringing your over excited children to the park. Would you want to sit through a presentation that you are uninterested in [while your kids are complaining] ? No, it would be in the theme park’s best interest to get people into the park and see for themselves what the park has to offer. Maybe there is a ride just for the parents, or a store for them to buy things, or maybe it will make them want to come back one day, even if it just keeps the kids happy the park is a success.

I’m not saying that intros don’t have their [limited] place on the web but why create them if it is keeping your viewers away from what they wanted, your content, where they can make their own choice.

Publishing a website when you don’t need one is a crime.

That statement might seem odd coming from two people who pride themselves on building on- and off-line brands for a living… but it’s an honest one.

Spending thousands of dollars on developing a website that’s going to generate no interest and no sales for a company is a travesty. Why not invest in a more direct approach of marketing that’s going to speak to an attentive audience? The internet is a big place and more than likely, no one’s going to visit your site unless it’s for a telephone number and address. This isn’t true for multi-national companies who have legalities to deal with in terms of publishing information, but from some small to medium sized businesses we see an utter refusal to face this reality.

The web is a great place to be, but not the only place.

Until the time comes that web development is necessary to your company’s growth or functionality, invest in grassroots advertising, create a brand awareness campaign, or improve your overall image… they’re integral elements in the growth of a brand and are all too often neglected. It’s important to be perceived as #1 at whatever it is you do locally before tackling a larger market where there are a lot of variables that could alter the path of your success and how you get to your ultimate destination.

Before you know it, your company will have more to offer the internet than a phone number and address.