Tips and Insights on Graphic Design & Branding

Big Carl Ad Campaign

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:51:00 +0000

I'm scratching my head at this Carls Jr ad campaign. Congratulations Carls, it only took you 31 years to answer the Big Mac.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgZGOcu_E5E

Phil | examplify.com

Ha ha ha, very funny. Seriously now.

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 21:38:00 +0000

When I went out this morning, I found on my doorstep a bright orange bag. "What could this be?" I thought. "Something of value?"

Nope. It was just the Yellow Pages:

Sneaky. They knew I'd toss it out immediately if the bag were yellow, so they made it orange! When I went to toss em out, I found that someone beat me to the recycling bin:

We had JUST gotten these books, and they were already in the trash. They basically had the life expectancy of junk mail.

I like looking at double-truck plumbing and personal injury lawyer ads just as much as the next guy, but it amazes me that people are still paying for yellow page ads in the online review (soon-to-be localized, mobile advertising) era.

Phil | examplify.com

A new logo for GM?

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:48:00 +0000

MSNBC reports that U.S. automaker General Motors is considering an identity change to signal its new focus on fuel efficiency. Overhauling a well known brand is always a challenge, but recent events may help the struggling company repair negative associations the market has of the classic "blue and white" GM brand.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31805852/ns/business-autos/

Phil | examplify.com

Bad Design Kills

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Wed, 13 May 2009 03:19:00 +0000

In design school, my very wise professor had a saying. "Bad design hurts."

It was true. We've all experienced it, in every day things like electronics, computers, and toys. (Ok, those are MY everyday things, but you get the idea.) Maybe you tried to put together a shelf or table with poorly designed instructions. Your vacuum stops sucking and…starts sucking. Your drink bottle leaks when you turn it upside down. You read a print piece that you desperately wished communicated what it was supposed to.

When you come across bad design, it evokes some sort of negative feeling - a cringe, frustration, anger. At some point, we either sigh or call upon our inner designers to rig something up that compensates for the product's shortcomings. At worst, however, bad design is simply a hindrance to an exceptional user experience. (And likely the monetization of that experience.)

Not so for the folks at NASA. In a recent episode, "Space Shuttle Disaster," NOVA explored a couple of well-known NASA disasters: Challenger and Columbia. In the 80's, there was a culture at NASA that held launch schedules as a top priority, often at the cost of safety. In 1986, the Challenger shuttle exploded 73 seconds into flight. According to Dr. Howard McCurdy of American University, there were too many people involved in deciding what the one shuttle design should be. That, consequently, doomed the mission before it even began.

Bad management led to poor culture and prioritization, which led to bad product. (Sound familiar?) Except this time, it killed seven American astronauts.

After an investigation into the 2003 Columbia disaster, which took seven more lives, NASA's Project Constellation was launched as a road map for space exploration. It moved away from the the bulky "shuttle as a plane" approach. Instead, slim boosters were designed to help avoid damage from foam debris, a fate the Columbia shuttle suffered. An escape tower in the booster was incorporated to give crew members a chance to escape if something went wrong.

So the next time design by committee brings you down, remember the dreadful fate our brave astronauts met. It could be much worse. Bad design really can kill.

Phil | examplify.com

Future edition of the New York Times

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:48:00 +0000

The New York Times, in a joint campaign with Intel, showed a glimpse of a future NYTimes page - exactly 31 years from today:

Looks like typographers' visions of what futuristic type will look like comes true! Also, nothing says future like teal. Designers, take note! : )

Phil | examplify.com

Strange icons

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:25:00 +0000

I saw this ad on Yahoo for a distance education site. While I could see the direction the message was going in, I didn't really understand the icons. Made me laugh, though.

Phil | examplify.com

Vote for the Mobile News Network!

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:29:00 +0000

A while ago, I wrote about one of my favorite iPhone apps, the Mobile News Network, being named one of TIME Magazine's top apps of 2008.

Now they have been nominated for a Webby. Head over to:
http://pv.webbyawards.com, register, and cast your vote in the News category for the AP's Mobile News Network!

Phil | examplify.com

The opposite of PR

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 06:13:00 +0000

Came across this little piece from a t-shirt company who uses American Apparel. It states:

"Yes, (American Apparel) costs us a bit more. And their CEO is a bit of a perv. For truly great shirts? It's worth it."

It's rare to see this kind of candor with what some would consider an image flaw. Instead of trying to bury the CEO's perverted rep, they've opted to be honest and accept the flaw while highlighting the company's strengths. I'm still not going to buy American Apparel, but it's refreshing that some businesses can stop spinning long enough to be frank.

Phil | examplify.com

Top iPhone apps of 2008

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:29:00 +0000

Time Magazine released its Top 10 lists recently, one of which was Top iPhone apps.

I was happy to see one of my favorite news apps, the Associated Press's Mobile News Network, make #3. In addition to great world news, it also picks up your local news. If you haven't downloaded it, check it out.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/top10/article/0,30583,1855948_1863793_1863797,00.html

Phil | examplify.com

Design in R&I Magazine

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:25:00 +0000

Some of our work was featured in the May 15, 2008 issue of Restaurants & Institutions magazine.

The Business section article entitled, "One-on-One or One-Online?" discusses how technology has been utilized in foodservice training. Examplify worked with southern restaurant franchise Zaxby's to design the user interface for their online training tool.

Phil | examplify.com

Why Free is Bad

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:33:00 +0000

No, I'm not talking about free samples of detergent or AXE Bullet Spray.

Recently I came across a blog that touted the benefits of giving away your best stuff for free. Sure, there may be a few individuals, products or services who can make even more money from using "the power of free" (though that has risks in itself), but for the vast majority I think it's a bad idea. If you give away your strengths for free, what else is left?

There are few reasons why free is bad. Giving things away for free tells people, "this has no value." And it conditions them to expect everything for free. Software, videos, creative content, you name it. Often when you give something for free, you can never gage its true value because, who's going to complain about something that's free? Not to mention sometimes "free" leads to the advertising model as the only way to generate revenue.

"Free" is an especially bad strategy for us designers. I was recently contacted by a company who wanted to hire me to do logos. The way it worked was, when they got a client, I would design a few different logos for free, and if the client didn't like them, they didn't have to pay. Which meant I didn't get paid, despite all my hard work. It was an inefficient way to produce the logo - there was no creative process and no apparent research phase. Worst of all, there was no educating the client in how we work. This type of endless work process is a money-losing proposition. The client gets free work at the designer's expense. (Needless to say, I did not dignify the company's offer with a response.)

For you beginners, free design work without pay is called spec work. (Eric Miller wrote a brief Q&A about spec work on About.com.) If you're a creative, you should very much be against it and anyone who insists you work this way. You wouldn't ask an architect to build a house before you bought it. Spec work commoditizes our service, which not only drives down the value of our work, but is counterproductive to the creative objectives our clients come to us for in the first place. If a client refuses to pay for your creativity and wants something for free, consider it a red-flag. They want to lower their risk and raise yours.

In the meantime, stick to your guns and let those who preach the benefits of "free" keep giving it up.

Phil | examplify.com

Super Illustration

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:39:00 +0000

At the 2008 Comic Con, famed illustrator Alex Ross exhibited many of his wonderful art work. But this particular Justice League illustration stood out - it appeared to be priced at – $25,000.

Though I couldn't take it home with me, being up close to the work was a great treat. His work also graced the cover of this year's CC08 souvenir book.

The only disappointment was discovering that the sealed Dark Knight Comic Con box from Playground Maniacs was incomplete. Otherwise it was a fun event, as usual!

Phil | examplify.com

Television Ads: Who's Who?

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:26:00 +0000

In the mobile space, the big carriers spend billions in advertising each year (according to Twinloops Blog). You may have seen some of their commercials. Verizon has a current campaign touting "The Dead Zone," a place where cell phone coverage goes to die. The style of the commercials parodies horror movies, and includes either creepy old folks or a set of odd, identically-dressed boys you might find in Children of Corn or The Village:

Verizon Creepy Old Neighbor Lady Dead Zone Commercial
Verizon Freaky Kids Dead Zone commercial

But they're not the only carrier who went with the movie theme. "Sprint Productions" launched commercials this year featuring the Samsung Instinct, and touted them the "Greatest Product Placement Movies of All Time":

Sprint Commercial 1
Sprint Commercial 2

And though AT&T avoided the trailer-type campaign, Apple's latest iPhone 3G commercial had a, "Get-Smart-action-film" quality to it:

Apple iPhone

AT&T, who also competes in the cable space, has been using a fairy tale type of campaign against Cox Communications, featuring actor Stephen Root as the storyteller, pointing out the downside to Cox's cable service. Well, out here in Southern California, new Cox ads have appeared featuring a fairy tale book with a storytelling narration, strikingly similar to AT&T's. In fact, I thought it was AT&T the first time I saw it.

Why the copycat advertising? Is the idea to confuse the customer, so that it dilutes any impact the competitor's campaign has? Either way, it's interesting to see how little differentiation there is despite the billions of dollars spent.

Phil | examplify.com

Let Your Customers Evangelize Your Brand

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:51:00 +0000

How many times have you heard a satisfied customer rave about a product or service? "Oh it was the best thing I ever bought," and so on and so forth. Then they proceed to tell you all the great things about it, whether you like it or not.

Last Friday, Apple introduced the iPhone 3G. Like the previous release back in '07, many lined up outside of stores, hours before stores even opened. News stations interviewed dozens of iPhone users, who explained all the features of the new release. For Apple, it was like having an army of salesmen working around the clock, around the world, selling one product. Unpaid, at that. Keep in mind that this is not for a new product, but a product upgrade!

Apple is one of the strongest brands in the world. It's hard not to find a Mac user who doesn't double as a brand evangelist.

So how do they do it?

1. Well, it helps to have products that are insanely great. But even if you can't innovate like Apple, you can go above and beyond your product or service. What's the typical expectation of your goods? How can you beat that expectation? If you can't improve the product, can you offer extras or incentives?

2. Clear marketing is critical. Steve Jobs is an excellent speaker and an even better marketer (check out some of Jobs' Best Quotes at Wired). Apple's identity as a stylish innovator and an insanely great tech company goes beyond its products. The minimalist elegance found in their advertising mimic the design philosophy of their products. It's important to know who your audience is and what kind of language to speak to them in.

3. Know that marketing won't do it all. Like Apple, you have to consistently deliver. Remember that it's the product/service that establishes the brand, not the logo, as handsome as it may be.

4. Facilitate brand evangelism wherever you can. Be a part of online communities where your company is concerned. Thank your customers, give out extras (if it makes sense), and address their complaints. Even if your product/service has a few issues, loyal customers will be hopeful if they can be reassured that progress is being made to fix problems.

Next week's post: "Learning how to put your iPhone down."

Phil | examplify.com

Tips on Choosing a Freelance Graphic Designer

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:27:00 +0000

"If you're starting a business, already have a business, or are a consultant part-time, you may have been thinking about hiring a freelance graphic designer to help get you started with your marketing materials. Ultimately, a graphic designer communicates your company's message to your customer. But how do you go about landing a graphic designer you'll be happy with? The tips below can help get you on the right path for your next freelance graphic design job."

How to Hire Freelance Graphic Designers

Phil | examplify.com

iPhone Design Angers Long-Nailed Women

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:01:00 +0000

Is this a design issue, or a rare use case that's been blown up by the media?

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/hughes/29052

Phil | examplify.com

Tip: Creating a Logo from Concept to Completion

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:30:00 +0000

Here's an example of how a single sketch/concept starts out and evolves into a refined logo. (Usually, dozens and dozens of sketches are done during normal development.)

1. The client, Nevada Arbitration Association, is a body that settles disputes between two parties. The sketch process started with jotting down the words, "2 sides talking it over via NAA." You can see the wording in the second sketch translated into a visual pictogram.

2. As the simplified concept takes shape, small adjustments are made that generate different design ideas and visual styles. I felt that the fourth sketch below was a solid design direction that was strong, both conceptually and visually.

3. When enough adjustments are made to form a solid design direction, a digital comprehensive is done. Additional meaning within this mark can be interpreted as, "two parties speaking to NAA," "two parties speaking through NAA," "two parties having a dialog thanks to NAA," and even, "people are talking about NAA," indicating some sort of buzz that's being made about the company. The more layers of depth the better. The final comp was presented below:

Only the key sketches are displayed on this page. Sometimes it takes several sketches to get from idea to idea, but staying true to the process will ensure results that are both unique and functional.

Phil | examplify.com

My Site's Been Scraped, Part 2

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:27:00 +0000

This is a follow up post to My Site's Been Scraped, Part 1.

After contacting the offending website's owners, I got a response that explained what had happened:

"...[our] designers were just testing the site by putting dummy text and unfortunately they took the material from your website. We respect your copyright and ensure you that this will be off in the next 24 hours and would like to assure that we don’t intend to use the content in any way."

The good news was they took most of it down (within 48 hours). The bad news was, some of my content was tweaked around with a thesaurus so that it was slightly different. Also, some of my content STILL exists on their site through pages that I had bookmarked, but are not viewable by going through the site from the home page.

It seems unfathomable to me that a so-called "creative" company would blatantly take content that isn't theirs, slightly tweak it and post it as their own. I could understand if they were doing it in the context of reporting news, reviewing, or educational. Bafoonery, I say!

It's worth mentioning that I did contact the web host's legal department (based in Dallas, Texas) and got NO response whatsoever.

I understand that my situation isn't unique, and it probably happens a lot more than we realize. (Truth be told, this has happened to another of my sites before.) So be vigilant and keep tabs on your content! If you've experienced anything like this, I'd love to hear about it.

Phil | examplify.com

A Few Legal Tips on Starting Your Own Graphic Design Business

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:41:00 +0000

Someone recently asked me: "What do I need to do (legally) in order to start my own graphic design business?"

Here's a short list of things you'll need:

1. Apply for a business license or pay a city business tax, depending on your state. Check with the City Treasurer website in your local area.

2. If you are using a unique business name (that isn't your real name) you'll need to file for a fictitious business name or DBA. Again, check your area's City Treasurer site or your local chamber of commerce. (If you are using your real name as your business name, no action is needed.)

After filing for your fictitious business name and paying a small fee, you are usually required to publish an announcement in a local publication, such as a newspaper. Even the smallest newspapers will do, so shop around for the best price by visiting newspaper and publication websites in your area. Look for the business announcements section. They'll walk you through the process – it's pretty painless.

3. What will your legal status be? If you choose to incorporate, you will need to take further action. Otherwise, as a freelancer, you can use "sole proprietor" status and no legal status filing will be required (this is recommended). You'll have no protection of your assets as a sole proprietor, but graphic design isn't a very litigious profession by nature. : ) Look at sites such as findlaw.com for more information on business set ups.

These are just the basics, but they should get you off on the right track.

Best of luck!

Phil | examplify.com

My Site's Been Scraped, Part 1

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:53:00 +0000

Or copied, or stolen, or infringed, or whatever you want to call it.

As I was googling some terms from my business site, I came across some awfully familiar phrases and names in the search results. Mostly my names, mixed in with a few of my clients' names.

"What the...?"

Turns out, some other graphic design company swiped the text off my site and used it as the core content of their site (which shall remain nameless, but we can refer to them as thieves, scrapers, scammers, etc. :). So I clicked around and found not a paragraph, but at least three solid pages of things I had wrote. Which is substantial, considering how small graphic design company sites are. Usually you have About, Portfolio, Contact, and if you're lucky pages on process.

Below is what I gathered. Click on the screens to enlarge.
My comments are in red.

Screen 1
Here's my original "Why Examplify?" page, which I wrote with a certain kind of personality/style. It's followed by a screenshot of what the thieving expletives stole!

Screen 2 - The Examplify Creative Process
Again, here's the original Creative Process page on my site:

Here's what the other company did to it:

The fact that they swiped this page vexed me the most, since it was the most personally written page on the site.

Screen 3
Here's my original Testimonials page, where both my name (Philip) and "Examplify" are referenced.

And this is how it looked post-thievery:

Who steals a testimonial, first of all, and second of all, leaves the original names on it?

Course of Action
Naturally, I looked up some information about the offending party. Found out the company was in India (were we outsourcing copyrighted copywriting now?). Emailed the person listed as the contact, but who knows whether the information was real. I await a response.

Then I sought what course of action to take, and came across these two sites. They were pretty helpful:

• What to Do When Your Online Content Is Being Stolen, and
• How to Fight Copyright Violations - Get Your Content Off Other Sites

From those readings I sent an email to the offender's web host, who was listed as Dallas-based. If nothing happens after that, I can then try their registrar, and if all else fails, the search engines (which some point to doing first, actually).

What do you think? Has this happened to you? I'll be sure to post an update when I get some resolve. Stay tuned.

Phil | examplify.com

The Typefaces and Fonts of Indiana Jones 4 - Good or Bad?

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Sun, 25 May 2008 21:28:00 +0000

So I went to see the new Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last week. It was enjoyable. Not Raiders of the Lost Ark enjoyable, but enjoyable.

The first thing I noticed in Crystal Skull was the vintage Paramount Pictures opening, which the first three Indiana Jones movies shared. It looked something like this:

I loved that they reverted back to this.

But as a designer, one of the things that bugged me about the movie was the opening scene with the credits and title. My first thought was, "Wow, those are weird titles." They looked odd and out of place.

I read others' gripes about the credits, and decided to dig around and compare the titles to those of the first three films.

Turns out, the typefaces used in Crystal Skull aren't new at all. They used the same faces in Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. I know one of the typefaces is Eurostile Extended, but the other white-outlined face eludes me, though I think it's safe to rule out Trajan, Garamond, and Goudy Oldstyle. [EDIT: I believe it might be Penumbra.]

Here are the opening title sequences and credits to Raiders of the Lost Ark:

This is the opening title sequence to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:

Eurostile was used sparingly when displaying cast names such as Alison Doody, John Rhys-Davies and River Phoenix:

...but was not far away when the secondary typeface was needed:

Looks like Eurostile Bold Extended was used, since it looked a little thicker than the Eurostile in Raiders.

So why did the titles in the Crystal Skull bug me (and others)? I don't know. Maybe it was because titles nowadays are crisper and sharper compared to the softer titles 80's film making produced. Maybe it's because my eyes are 19 years older and keener to these types of things. Whatever it was, I'm withdrawing any criticism about the faces. They didn't change – my awareness to type did.

By the way, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was the only film of the series to veer off dramatically in terms of its typography. Check out its opening credit typefaces:

I wouldn't be able to guess this was from an Indy movie. Looks more like Star Trek to me. And here's the movie title, where they opted to go with the Indiana Jones logotype from the posters:

Seeing the titles in a still frame like this makes it look cartoony, like an episode of Ducktales. Combined with the orange credits and the opening musical number, Temple of Doom was probably the strangest of the three. (er...four.)

All and all, I'm glad they went back to the original titles. If there has to be a lesson in all this, I guess it's that type is part of your brand. Don't mess with it – or your core elements – too much.

Phil | examplify.com

Are good brands inflation-proof?

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:24:00 +0000

Saw an interesting episode of Fast Money yesterday.

With inflation rising at its fastest pace in 16 years [Lee Brodie, CNBC], the team at Fast Money looked at companies that will be able to weather the storm best. River Twice Research president Zach Karabel noted that it's best to look for "irreplaceable inputs" in this type of inflationary environment. Irreplaceable inputs are things that people cannot do without. He pointed out that a BRAND is one of those types of inputs. He cites Apple, Tiffany, and Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton because either their high-end customers don't necessarily feel the effects of this enviornment as intensely, or their brand has no comparable substitute.

Do you think high-end brands survive more easily in rough times? Or are the discounted brands the ones who have more success because of their broad consumer appeal?

Phil | examplify.com

New Photos posted on Flickr!

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Wed, 21 May 2008 02:55:00 +0000

The Boulevard
Originally uploaded by Examplify

Just posted a bunch of my photos on Flickr, including this one entitled, "The Boulevard." Check em out!

Graphic Design for Charitable Causes

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:58:00 +0000

We're currently looking for opportunities to work with organizations who need to get the word out about their social cause. Send us details on your next project. While we do not have strict requirements on which projects qualify, here are some guidelines to keep in mind:

Be either a charitable organization or a group who represents a social cause

Have a need for print marketing or logo/identity work

Your organization must operate with no advertising or design staff

Your organization can reside anywhere in the world. If you feel you have a good cause on your hands, let us know about it. If you're a printer interested in partnering with us by donating print services to a good cause, please sign up with us!

kw: charity, charitable, pro-bono, social cause, aid

Phil | examplify.com

Design and Branding on CBS Sunday Morning May 18, 2008

examplify.com@gmail.com (Examplify.com) — Sun, 18 May 2008 15:39:00 +0000

There were some great design and brand-related stories on the CBS Sunday Morning "by Design" show this weekend.

Swimsuit Evolution
The first one I caught was "The Fashion of Speed," which involved the evolution of the swimsuit. Suits have come a long way in 40 years, thanks to companies like Tyr and Speedo, which design improved, hydrodynamic suits that many say give swimmers and edge.

LED Designs
In the next segment, "Let There Be LEDs!," Martha Teichner discovers how far LED lights have come since the 1960's, how they are changing the architectural landscape, and how modern designers are helping those in developing countries with solar-powered LED fabrics that can light a room for 7 hours.

Umbrella Design
Also on the show was a story of the form, function and design of the umbrella in Britain. Its design was simple, but became more than a salvation from rain. The piece discussed how brand allowed the company to sell their umbrellas to nations who didn't get much rain.

The Sean John Brand
Then there was a piece on Sean Combs, and the rebranding of his name (Puff Daddy, Puffy, P Diddy, Diddy, Sean John) and the reinvention of his persona from rapper to actor to fashion designer. "He wants to design your life." Listen to his music in the morning, put on some Sean John clothing, go to work at one of his many companies, come home, watch one of his TV shows, put on more Sean John clothing, dab some of the perfume he's created on you, hit the club and drink some of his CIROC Vodka. Though I'm not a customer (unless you count a couple Notorious BIG and Mary J. Blige CDs I bought back the 90s), I still find his half a billion dollars in sales impressive.

It's Gotta Be the Shoes
By far the most fascinating story for me was the brand battle between Puma and Adidas, rival companies started by brothers Rudi and Adi Dassler in the town of Herzogenaurach in Germany. It started during the time of the Hitler Olympics in the 30's, in which Jesse Owens ran away victoriously in Dassler spikes. It discusses how the rivalry split the small town, and in the 1980s, blinded both companies to "what was happening in the rest of the world." That is, the brand revolution known as NIKE.

Here's the textual recap at CBS Sunday Morning.

Phil | examplify.com