Design should be business led not technology led

I was having a grumble with a developer friend of mine the other day as we pored over the designs that a creative agency had sent over. We couldn't understand how they could quite blatantly have ridden rough shod over our technical and functional spec whilst designing their concepts! I mean do they realise how difficult it is to implement this design!?

Problem was- the design was spot on. Focus groups of client customers were happy, client was happy: it did the job perfectly. So the developer and I got on with it: tweaking the technology to make it reflect the design. Pushing the boundaries of our expertise in order to fulfil this website. And that's the way it should be!

Visual design in the business environment or commercial visual communications rarely exists to satisfy its own needs. Design can't be led by the technology we use at the moment. If that were the case we'd be riding around in wooden cars. (That's a gag). We have to push technology to fulfil the marketing objectives of (in this case) a website. And of course the marketing objectives are set by the business goals. Design is a function of a business: it has to earn its keep.

So designers of the world unite in your efforts to create websites that look great in their role of doing a good business task. You have nothing to lose but developers who give you grief!

:-)

Giving the logo space

You see it everywhere.

It's all around us but usually goes unnoticed.

And it's a disease - we need to take action today to stop it spreading!

Thankfully this disease is curable and I'm here to help you recognise symptoms of this damning condition and to help you STAMP IT OUT!

The disease is: Logo clear space impingement.

Mostly this is seen on PowerPoint presentations where business people have pinched a logo from a website and crammed it onto a heavily laden slide (the contents of which can't be digested anyway) and omitted to give the logo some breathing space. OK- not so critical, but check out this on the new Grand Arcade building in Cambridge:

I mean..on a building! With an amazing brand like John Lewis!?

Give the logo some room dammit! Compare it to the John Lewis website here:

http://www.johnlewis.com/

You'll see that I'm not talking about miles of space around the mark; just enough to comfortably recognise it as John Lewis and for it to 'feel' comfortable in its own space!

The reason that when I see this I get slightly uncomfortable is because the logo, which identifies the company and to a certain degree projects corporate values of John Lewis, feels cramped, squished in, about to fall off, unable to breath and at worst: an afterthought. Logos need this white space around them not only to give it a good sense of proportion but to enable a consistent feel across all media so we can easily recognise it time and time again without thinking. OK so John Lewis is a good, solid recognisable brand but if the white space is built into the logo usage visual clarity is maintained and reinforced.

Save the logo now!

Give it air and space to breathe properly....!

CIM: Digital Marketing Conference, July 2007

Yesterday I spent the day at Robinson College in Cambridge at the CIM Digital Marketing Conference and happily I get to report that it was interesting, enjoyable and mostly useful. The thrust of the talks was how to use different online channels to reach customers.

Michael Nutley of New Media Age set the scene nicely highlighting the shifting dynamic of the internet with the movement into a more accessible online environment thanks to fast broadband connections and easy to use online tools. This helps people get online and create their own content and share their views through sites like blogger.com, Myspace, youtube and facebook. Online users are becoming more and more discerning so in an effort to reach them content must be targeted and relevant if it doesn't want to be overlooked.

Other speakers such as Mike Weston, Tink Taylor (read about the case study Tink gave us on Aquaplastics), Rachel Harker and Dave Chaffey outlined the way this targeted content can be delivered through various channels. Cue different case studies: email marketing (well targeted) can be very powerful as long as it doesn't become too intrusive; mobile content delivery (clever hypertag!); online advertising; interaction with and building of social networks and blogging helps access customers with specific interests.

The magic formula is therefore to find out where your customers are online, then use the right online and offline channels holistically to deliver relevant and targeted content. Get online marketing integrated into your marketing strategy early and budget it in so as to get that message across to acquire and retain customers.


Easy.


I'm off to integrate and target.

Trademarking on logos and designs

The following is guidance only! I'm not a lawyer so if in doubt contact one!

I was asked whether there were any rules on how to apply the TM sign on logos and icons to protect them. I have done this some time ago for companies but needed to refresh my memory so here is what I've found out: You can apply the TM sign on any of your trademarks at any time to claim rights in it. The C-Circle can be applied only once the mark has been registered. (Ref 1) (Ref 2)

If you are concerned about this ruining the layout of your brochure as you have to dot the TM symbol throughout then fear not fellow creative as you can add it to the first mention in the text or the most prominent usage of it. (Ref 3) "When in doubt, err on the side of “over-marking.” "

And what about your beautiful logo that you've designed? Will it be ruined? Well all I could find is this mention:

"Remember that apart from marking, a trademark should also be properly used (e.g., used as an adjective and distinguished from surrounding text by capitalization, distinct typeface, color and/or size)." (Ref 4)

And...

"These symbols are often put in superscript (smaller, raised) form." (Ref 5)

Wikipedia Trademark article.

CIM: Digital Marketing Conference

I find myself in the unusual position today of being able to spend time on MY business rather than other people's. Quite refreshing.

So I've booked myself on to the Chartered Institute of Marketing's (CIM) Digital Marketing Conference. http://www.marketingconference.co.uk/

Note the seminar named: "Is Blogging good for business?". You may see a shift in emphasis in my blogging patterns as of the 7th July...!

I am intrigued by their bold statement: "Cambridge is the UK’s e-hub, so it’s natural that this should be the location of the leading e-conference"

Oh yeah? Since when? Is this because it's the birthplace of PIPEX or the home of the Cambridge Network? I've just looked up a definition of an 'e-hub' on the web and am more confused. Well I'm happy to be corrected but it seems like that statement is nonsense to me. I'll try and pin someone down on this next week :-)

Looking forward to the venue! I love conferences in the colleges... :-)

Collaboration....!

...is what you need.... (if you wanna be a record breeaaaker!)

The interesting thing about working closely with other skilled artisans (like myself, ahem), is that often you get to swap ideas, working practices and tools. So in an effort to streamline my hectic lifestyle (!) I've been glad to pick the brains of a friendly developer (yes they exist, I know it's hard to believe). This process usually consists of me looking over Darren's shoulder and saying: "Oh that looks cool, what does it do?". Now I appreciate that this may lead to all manner of tangential conversations but on the last two occasions my prying has brought me real workable tools which I'm happy to share, just as Darren did. That's how it works you know:

http://www.bubbl.us
"The simplest way to brainstorm online."

http://pidgin.im/pidgin/home/
"Pidgin is a multi-protocol Instant Messaging client that allows you to use all of your IM accounts at once."

So no vacillating for me! It's off to so some communication and brainstorming online! Oh did I say that Howard Hodgkin has a retrospective on at the Fitzwilliam..... Maybe I'll just nip out for 5 minutes.

:-)

Which Typface are You?

Well it seems the BBC website has gone font crazy!

A nice little piece showing how different typfaces represent different feelings.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6654655.stm

And also a free chat-up line thrown in for you!
(Hmmm- what a beautiful body size you have.... erm, maybe read the article huh?)

Helvetica versus Comic Sans!

Well, take a look and make your own mind up. It never ceases to amaze me how many official documents end up in Comic Sans or some other simlarly weird font. Given the choice, which font would you use for your business in order to convey clean, crisp efficiency and professionalsm?


http://bancomicsans.com/home.html

"In 1995 Microsoft released the font Comic Sans originally designed for comic book style talk bubbles containing informational help text. Since that time the typeface has been used in countless contexts from restaurant signage to college exams to medical information. These widespread abuses of printed type threaten to erode the very foundations upon which centuries of typographic history are built."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6638423.stm

"The Helvetica font is celebrating its 50th birthday. You've probably seen it a thousand times today. Why?"

We the moderns

Upon cycling along the Cam this morning with a clear, bright blue sky overhead and a stiff but pleasant nip in the air I felt great! On top of the world. Or at least on top of my uncomfortable rcing saddle... Breathing in deeply I enjoyed the ride and on arrival at the office slid the window open and poured myself some authentic Japanese green tea from my flask (thanks Vicki!). I felt good! All these sounds, sights and feelings evoked a mix of pleasant emotions within me.

Plus the prospect of seeing an exhibition at Kettle's Yard today that I've been looking forward to. It's called: 'We the moderns':
http://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/exhibitions/hgb.html

It exhibits sculptures by Gaudier-Brzeska who lived (briefly!) at the turn of the 20th Century and who explored the idea of dynamic movement while leaving behind the old order of the arts, embracing the new technological advances of that age. Gaudier-Brzeska was a member of the Vorticism movement which was linked to the (mainly Italian) Futurist movement.

So what has this to do with my lovely morning and visual communciations? Feelings and emotions. My morning cycle ride produced good feelings inside me through external stimuli which my senses captured. I processed these senses prompting memories and thought processes and hey presto: nice feeling!

Funnily so do the sculptures by Gaudier-Brzeska! This amazing sculpteur managed to convey dynamic movement from dead stone! How wonderful to be moved by cold, lifeless stone. To have emotions well up within us all caused by a static sculpture.

And I'm interested in the same processes going on in people's heads when they interact with a website or a piece of visual communication: how can we develop emotions from 2D interfaces. We need to tap into the psychology and cultural make up of our target audience in order to get that warm fuzzy feeling. The goal? To communicate: to buy, to sell, to inform, to convince, to persuade .... Developing this visual language is an iterative process with the end user: research, design, trial, feel, feedback, design, trial.... And sometimes it works.

But never as well as Gaudier-Brzeska.

The Little Technology Hut

What happens when 2 bright sparks with lots of interesting clients and associates get together? We burn the house down that's what!

Last night we launched this joint initiative between Mudhut Communication (http://www.mudhut-communication.co.uk/) and Littlefair (http://www.littlefair.eu/) with a bash at a local bar overlooking the Camb. Plenty of wine was drunk and hopefully some good networking done!

We've started this collaboration in order to help key individuals within the technology sector present complex technical or commercial information. This way both Mudhut and Littlefair can continue their businesses while focusing together on the technology sector.

Read more at our website: http://www.thelittletechnologyhut.co.uk

Logos as guidance

People see logos, at worst, as pretty pictures and sometimes as conveying softer values of a company's character but sometimes they can help save lives (?)

We are surrounded by logos or " a graphic element, symbol or icon" (ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo) which help us live our lives and also can save our lives. This following article brought this to mind:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6120138.stm

We're always looking for a personal referral and logos do this too! They can act as a stamp of approval such as the recycling logo or the ISO 'stamp' for quality assurance.












As a footnote to logos as guidance I thought I'd mention road signs and they way their iconography has passed into design: check out the lousebusters logo!http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6111476.stm

From no right turn to ghostbusters to lousebusters. Nit anyone?

Logo quiz time!

So you think you know your council logos huh?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5345222.stm

Based on this news story: "Hackney threatens Nike over logo "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4998956.stm

Interesting to see the way different councils approach the idea of branding. I'm sure some of them don't give a monkey's about it because it's an unnecessary expense. Others have made great efforts to portray the feeling and character of a place. Take for example these two logos and see how a slightly different approach can give a completely different message!

Although they are both using a modern approach to portray ideas about the town one seems a lot more traditional while the other is a more rooted City life (urbane?) design.


Welcome to the world of logo!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo

Lines of Enquiry

I draw stuff. That's, on a basic level, my job. OK it gets a bit more complex than that and if you fancy a coffee I'll buy you one and tell you about it sometime. But I draw when figuring out a way of communicating information or when actually illustrating technical concepts.

Lines of Enquiry at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge:
http://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/exhibitions/linesofenq.html , shows other professional scribblings. Beautiful illustrations of boffins of all sorts thinking through their highly complex work through drawing. Fantastic! Not only an insight into how non-'designers' (graphic) illustrate concepts but just plain beautiful too. This aesthetic beauty was largely a by-product, but sometimes intended (as in the illustrations by Dick Powell and Richard Seymour).

"Sketching helps me think" Professor Philip Cooper.

So what are you waiting for?
Get sketching kids.

TIME.com: 50 Coolest Websites

So it's that TIME again. 50 coolest websites. Interestingly I wonder how on earth they come to some of these listings as very often or not they are not revolutionary or web technologically more advanced than other websites. Take for example http://www.hopstop.com/ which TIME says: "Plug in start and end points and you get clear instructions, alternative options and maps", but I can't really see anything new here. The AA site does a great job for the UK already..

But this list does reflect our changing communication attitudes. How do we 'talk' to each other. Community culture: How do we share stuff? Why do we feel the need to share stuff?MySpace is a great example- it's absolutely ballooned in the last few years.

"One of the key drivers of MySpace's success has been the music component."
http://searchviews.com/archives/2005/05/why_MySpace_roc.php

"A huge part of the success of MySpace is an age and culture thing"
http://www.danah.org/papers/FriendsterMySpaceEssay.html

"Talk about instant entrepreneurial success. A little more than two years ago, MySpace didn't even exist."
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2006-02-12-MySpace-usat_x.htm

Some of its success can certainly be attributed to the way we see the world. It's no longer a huge planet with continents separated by intimidating distances. You can buy and sell from (eBay, iTunes) or promote yourself to (mySpace, YouTube) anyone in the world instantly. That's what I see in the TIME top 50. New ways of being.

It's a shame there are no new exciting interface designs that explode the way we interact with online information. Many of these sites use the same old ideas. I cite http://www.hopstop.com/ again which is peppered with ads to the detriment of the actual information!

happy pictures

Artwork 'changes to suit moods'
Having read the above article I found it quite interesting to see the different interpretations to the different 'mood' pictures. What was perceived to be 'happy' visually had rounded shapes and warm colours. For me it reinforces all those colour references we pick up throughout life such as sadness being associated with blue or anger having a jagged 'personality'.

I've found also that this can apply to music too(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4395122.stm). In my own experience I sometimes find that the 'Clutch' album I bought, although great for mountain biking to, or even doing the housework, isn't really calming.

All these wonderful cultural references are up for grabs when design communications. How lucky we are to be able to play with such a diverse palette or colours, sounds and textures in order to get the desired effect!

OK, back to work. Get on the AC/DC!

Eric Gill's sex secrets (Or how I learned to stop worrying and love Gill Sans)

I was researching a project recently and stumbled across a beautiful piece by Eric Gill, most famous for the elegant 'Gill Sans' typeface. This reminded me of a documentary I had seen about the house in which he lived towards the end of his life. I seemed also to remember that he had some perverse sexual practices such as incest and bestiality which he announced in his diary as the "experiment with the dog".

All this is an aside... My main aim was researching the concept of perception in visual communication. How the viewer interprets information and consequently how the designer can work around knotty problems. It was from Harry Beck's famous tube map that I made the leap over to Gill. Both Gill and Beck designed typefaces & graphics in the early part of the 20th Century which we still lust after! Their designs illustrate how to portray information in a clear and beautiful way.

Something we designers should still strive for.

But Mr Gill.... step away from the dog.

Cobblers' children

Unfortunately for me the old saying of cobblers' children being ill-shod also applies to communications agencies. No. I do have a pair of shoes, but I don't have my website or portfolio online yet. Luckily for me my marketing consultant at Actual Marketing, Steve Thorn did a great job of kicking me into touch last week and keeping me focused. To make a success of the business means setting targets and working towards them. So today I work on the website!

It's a hard day today though for motivation. Maybe it's because I had a few beers at a client 'do' last night. 82ASK are a great bunch and punting on the Cam followed by (more) beer and pizza at their offices was just needed.

Back to work....