LimeJam Blog

Internet Trends 2017 Report

Tue, 11 Jul 2017 21:04:37 +0200

Internet Trends 2017 Report from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

There are hundreds of password generators online. So far, we...

Mon, 09 Mar 2015 01:48:43 +0100

There are hundreds of password generators online. So far, we didn’t like any and decided to quickly build our own solution to help our friends with security issues http://password.limejam.com/

Aspirations will transcend single transactions

Wed, 07 Jan 2015 20:08:25 +0100

According to Charlie Brown, If You Want Your Brand To Succeed, Make It Aspirational, Not Inspirational. Companies that ditch tired celebrity personas and transform themselves into vehicles for realizing their customers’ aspirations will transcend single transactions. After decades of marketers using this tactic, inspiration fatigue has set in. You’re never really going to “Be Like Mike.”

Like Wheaties and Martha Stewart, companies that ditch tired personas and transform themselves into platforms for realizing their customers’ aspirations will transcend single transactions. While aspirational identity by itself doesn’t spark a movement, companies that understand how to facilitate aspirations will have an edge.

Mapping the roles within your network, understanding where customers aspire to go next, and figuring out how your company can get them there is no small feat. But it will set you apart from competitors who are armed with nothing but the next shiny object.

Sometimes

Tue, 21 Oct 2014 01:56:10 +0200

Sometimes

Autumn

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 01:52:06 +0200

Autumn

caffeineandsarcasm: “Good budgeting” Current...

Sun, 21 Sep 2014 17:23:37 +0200

caffeineandsarcasm:

“Good budgeting”

Current misconceptions in everyday life

The Motivational Post.

Tue, 16 Sep 2014 20:14:43 +0200

The Motivational Post.

design-is-fine: All Navarre & Terry Lesniewicz, sport shoe...

Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:16:28 +0200

design-is-fine:

All Navarre & Terry Lesniewicz, sport shoe advertising, If the shoe fits, / run it, 1978. Fartlek logo: a type of solo running; in Swedish = “speed play”). Via Cooper Hewitt

weandthecolor: MC – Footwear Identity Design by Mark...

Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:16:11 +0200

weandthecolor:

MC – Footwear Identity Design by Mark Brooks

Mark Brooks has created the brand identity for Magro Cardona, a Madrid based footwear brand.

Check out more information and images of the branding project on WE AND THE COLOR.

Follow WE AND THE COLOR on:
Facebook I Twitter I Google+ I Pinterest I Flipboard I Instagram

design-is-fine: Otl Aicher, visual identity for the Olympic...

Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:15:05 +0200

design-is-fine:

Otl Aicher, visual identity for the Olympic Games in Munich 1969/1972. Pic 1/1969 Die Neue Sammlung, Munich. Via emuseum

Brandbook vs. Guideline

Wed, 10 Sep 2014 10:13:08 +0200

A Brand Book (brandbook) is a set of laws directing the clever use of everyday brand’s opportunities through brand messaging, event activities and a corporate visual identity. Creating a brandbook is necessary to systematize and organize all the ideological foundations of the brand, contributing to a more holistic perception by consumers.

What is the difference between the brandbook and the guideline?

A brandbook is the description of how the brand values can find their ways for reaching brand users or customers. A brandbook prescribes mission and philosophy of the brand, its values, key identifiers (symbols and attributes), brand messages, indicating channels and methods. A brandbook is the official guide for the brand management.

In contrast to a brandbook, a guideline is solely a set of standards and rules for the use of the names, logos, characters, lettering and color performance, as well as proper placement in media. A guideline is just a technical part of the brandbook, sometimes issued as a stand-alone document.

A brandbook usually includes the following elements:

description of the brand’s mission and its philosophy;
brand values and a long term vision;
corporate messaging language, its terminology and tone;
corporate colors, their description and table for a variety of media;
logo and a basic rules for its reproduction and use;
proprietary fonts for different types of media;
letterhead for letters, faxes, e-mails, envelopes and folders for documents, business cards of employees.

In addition, the brand book may include examples of promotional materials for printing, outdoor advertising and other media, mockups, as well as video and audio data, which are included in the corporate style.

Development of brand book provides the following features:

exactly reproduce the elements of corporate identity in different situations;
adhere to the development of promotional and informational materials corporate policy;
serve as a good example for employees on the use of corporate identity;
simplify communication with counter-parties (advertising agencies, printers) in the use of elements of corporate identity and philosophy of the company;
expand the scope of the scheme, or use the franchisee with the exact preservation of all features of the company’s corporate identity.

One of the LimeJam’s core activities is brandbook development. We have extensive experience in the development of both the individual elements of corporate identity and holistic brandbook for leading nation-wide and international brands.

D3: A step towards Data-Driven Design

Thu, 07 Aug 2014 02:41:00 +0200

What is Data-Driven Design? As more designers and writers look to analytics to inform their decisions, many still struggle to implement their findings in a sustainable, ongoing way. In most projects, there are two general types of data, and you’ll often see these discussed in articles about website optimization:

Quantitative data - Numerical data that shows the who, what, when and where.
Qualitative data - Non-numerical data that demonstrates the why or how.

Most analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, provide a lot of quantitative data, such as who has come to your website, how they got there and what actions they took. What these tools don’t tell you is why. Why does a certain group of visitors take one action, while a different group of visitors choose another? Why does one product feature keeps customer longer than another? That’s when we turn to qualitative data. Whereas quantitative data shows scale, qualitative data gives perspective. It helps us understand not just what happened, but why and how it happened. The very best data, be it qualitative (i.e. non-numerical) or quantitative (i.e. numerical), is always empirical. Empirical data is any type of information gathered through observation or experimentation. The best empirical data answers specific questions — because when data is specific, taking action on it becomes easier. When looking for general empirical data, such as “metrics for the website” or “how the product is performing,” you can end up with data that, while interesting, doesn’t lead directly to specific actions.

Everyone understands “the importance”, therefore, we would like to open a door to a word of data and show that working with data is not always so difficult as it seems. Building a product or its series usually requires dashboards that could help distributed teams to overcome complexities and track project performance.

Generally, there are 4 ways Building Teams benefit from data-driven design

Enhance iterative design. Designers are able to capture and analyze key building performance metrics, such as energy use intensity, during conceptual design. That information can then be used to tweak and optimize early prototypes.
Use project data on future work. By collecting data on every project, design firms can eliminate rework and apply best practices on future projects.
Understand how people interect with spaces. Firms can test and evaluate design concepts against the real world, using feedback data from building occupants.
Automate the planning process. Some firms are applying algorithm-based approaches to improve the traditional project planning process.

And here is where technology can help: Have you heart about D3?

D3.js is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data.

D3 helps you bring data to life using HTML, SVG and CSS. D3’s emphasis on web standards gives you the full capabilities of modern browsers without tying yourself to a proprietary framework, combining powerful visualization components and a data-driven approach to DOM manipulation.

D3 allows you to bind arbitrary data to a Document Object Model (DOM), and then apply data-driven transformations to the document. For example, you can use D3 to generate an HTML table from an array of numbers. Or, use the same data to create an interactive SVG bar chart with smooth transitions and interaction.

D3 is not a monolithic framework that seeks to provide every conceivable feature. Instead, D3 solves the crux of the problem: efficient manipulation of documents based on data. This avoids proprietary representation and affords extraordinary flexibility, exposing the full capabilities of web standards such as CSS3, HTML5 and SVG. With minimal overhead, D3 is extremely fast, supporting large datasets and dynamic behaviors for interaction and animation. D3’s functional style allows code reuse through a diverse collection of components and plugins.

Photo

Thu, 07 Aug 2014 02:32:09 +0200

Reading List: Designer

Mon, 04 Aug 2014 12:22:00 +0200

Beautiful and sunny Margaret Kelsey, a Community Manager at InVision, asked some professional designers to recommend the book that inspired them the most this past year. Here we list the series

Inspired by Innovation

Creativity for Sale by Jason SurfrAppThe man behind IWearYourShirt and BuyMyLastName shares a practical guide on how to turn passions into profits.

Execute by Josh Long and Drew WilsonThis book shows you how to move fast and stay inspired. The book itself was written, designed, and off to the printer in 8 days.

The Good Creative by Paul JarvisJarvis outlines the 18 habits of the world’s most respected artists.

Steal Like An Artist by Austin KleonKleon urges readers to remix, borrow, steal, and re-imagine to play with creativity.

Show Your Work! by Austin KleonKleon’s follow up to “Steal Like an Artist” focuses on how to use your network and how to let your network use you.

Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven JohnsonJohnson identifies the seven key patterns behind genuine innovation, and traces them across time and disciplines.

Inspired by Business

Design is a Job by Mike MonteiroThis easy read explains how to build your business backbone while feeding your creative talent.

Drawn to Business by Bill Beachy of GoMedia.usBeachy tells his story along with 15 others of how to build a successful design company.

It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be by Paul ArdenArden’s book is a inspiring read for designers and non-designers alike, and he offers his wisdom on a wide-variety of business problems.

Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull and Amy WallaceCo-Founder of Pixar, Catmull writes for managers and employees, calling them to be creative, passionate, and unique.

Manage Your Day-To-Day by Jocelyn K. Glei and 99UThis manual shows how to stop working hard and start working smart in a workplace that never seems to stop.

Remote by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier HanssonThis book explores the benefits and challenges of remote work as more companies look to decentralize the office.

Inspired by People

Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent!) by George LoisLois, the original “Mad Man” offers witty advice on life and business.

Herb Lubalin American Graphic Designer by Adrian ShaughnessyThis biography chronicles the life and career of Lubalin, arguably the world’s most influential typographer and graphic designer.

George Nelson: Architect / Writer / Designer / Teacher by Stanley AbercrombieThis illustrated biography explores Nelson’s classic mid-century modern designs.

Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design Hardcover Jennifer BassWorking in graphic design, corporate identity, and even short film, Bass created some of the most recognizable imagery of the 20th century.

Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible by Sophie LovellThis exploration of Ram’s life includes photographs, sketches, and other archival material to explain why we still use products he designed a half century ago.

Kern and Burn by Tim HooverThis book includes interviews with 30 designers detailing their failures and successes as they created careers for themselves.

Steve Jobs by Walter IsaacsonIsaacson writes an honest portrait of the iconic designer based on extensive interviews with Jobs himself as well as his family, friends, and colleagues.

Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products by Leander KahneyThis biography explores the man behind design at Apple, from overcoming dyslexia to becoming the lead designer of his generation.

The Vignelli CanonVignelli himself describes what he considers good design and his process behind his work.

The Manual - Issues 1-3 by variousEach issue contains six articles and six personal lessons from six different authors.

Inspired by the Classics

Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden and Jill ButlerThis cross-disciplinary reference for design pairs clear explanations of design concepts featured with visual examples of those concepts applied in practice.

Art as Therapy by Alain de BottonPhilosopher Alain de Botton shares a new way to look at familiar masterpieces, noting that they can actually be therapeutic for their audiences.

The Noble Approach by Tod PolsonThis book shares Noble’s approach to animation design from concept to final frame, illustrated with sketches and stunning original artwork spanning the full breadth of his career.

Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design’s Golden Age by Steven Heller and Louise FiliThis well-organized handbook shows typefaces, handwriting, neon signs, and more.

Designing With Web Standards by Jeffrey ZeldmanNow in the third edition with essential updates for the modern web, this classic, industry-changing guidebook remains the essential source for creating fast, effective websites.

Responsive Web Design by Ethan MarcotteEthan Marcotte explains how to think beyond the desktop and craft beautiful designs that anticipate and respond to your users’ needs.

Inspired by Product Design

Designing for the Digital Age by Kim GoodwinThis book serves as a roadmap to create useable, helpful products, from team-building to iteration.

Living with Complexity by Donald A. NormanNorman picks apart the argument for simplicity and vouches for complex (but well-designed) products that shadow our rich lives.

The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. NormanNorman delves into product design from the scientific viewpoint of a cognitive psychologist to explain why some products work and others frustrate.

Inspired by Method and Theory

Drawing Ideas by Mark Baskinger and William BardelBaskinger and Bardel’s book is a drawing bootcamp that aims to enhance reasoning skills and ultimately product creation.

90 Degrees by Andrew KimThis iBook exclusive explores the art of knolling.

Designing Brand Identity by Alina WheelerThrough case studies, this book provides a proven, universal five-phase process for creating and implementing effective brand identity.

Designing Design by Kenya HaraHara focuses on the importance of emptiness in design while crediting underrated Japanese icons and images.

Designing News by Francesco FranchiA relative newcomer to the design field, Franchi explains his process behind his editorial design of IL and how the news and media industry should pivot.

Geometry Makes Me Happy by Index BooksSections including art, graphic design, illustration, industrial design, and interior design explore the role of geometry in creative expression.

Interaction of Color by Josef AlbersThis handbook and teaching aid presents Albers’s singular explanation of complex color theory principles.

Just Enough Research by Erika HallHall presents an easy, cross-disciplinary approach on how to do research to create a solid foundation for your project.

Notes on the Synthesis of Form by Christopher AlexanderAlexander presents an entirely new theory of the process of design by which a form is adapted to the context of human needs.

The Shape of Design by Frank Chimero This anti-textbook focuses on the “why” rather than the “how” of design.

Sass for Web Designers by Dan CederholmCederholm shares how Sass, the popular CSS pre-processor, provides a clear-cut path to taking better control of your code.

Inspired by UI

Don’t Make Me Think by Steve KrugIn this classic handbook on information design, Krug shares why intuitive navigation is vital for the success of any web-based product.

About Face by Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin and Christopher NoesselThis book explores interaction design with a new focus on the shift to mobile.

Interaction Design by Yvonne Rogers, Helen Sharp and Jenny PreeceThis book has a multi-disciplinary approach to interaction design focusing both on technical and social issues.

Product Design for the Web by Randy J. HuntEtsy’s creative director explains why web designers need to think more like product designers in order to create the next great thing.

Simple and Usable by Giles ColborneExamples and case studies tout the importance of simplicity in design.

Designing for Emotion by Aarron WalterWalter looks at psychology and how it influences today’s design in this book, focusing on how to make users fall in love with your design.

Designing with the Mind in Mind by Jeff JohnsonJohnson explores the science for UI designers, explaining the theories of cognitive psychology.

Inspired by Typography

Decorative Logo DesignThis image-heavy book explores the marks and logos of charming brands.

Dangerous Curves: Mastering Logotype Design by Doyald YoungThis book exhibits Young’s amazing collection of typography by focusing on the form and curves of the letters.

The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert BringhurstThis manual travels between art, history and technical knowledge, serving both as a reference book and a readable story.

The Ten Commandments of Typography/Type Heresy by Paul FeltonFelton playfully relates typography to religion in this cheeky book that includes “commandments” and “sacrilege.”

Type Matters! by Jim WilliamsThis book is a well-structured answer to modern problems of layout design on computers.

Thinking with Type by Ellen LuptonThis best-seller serves as a guide to typography from digital to print, explaining the rules and how exactly to break them.

Inspired by the Future

Design Forward by Hartmut EsslingerEsslinger explores how design can have an impact on sustainability for the future in both the environment and the economy.

Design Is the Problem by Nathan ShedroffShedroff calls designers to focus on sustainable products and solutions.

Obey the Giant by Rick PoynorThis collection of essays by Poynor describes the increasing connectivity of commerce and culture.

World without Words by Michael EvamyEvamy shows how simple design can explain so much without words and how culture is moving toward a world without words.

Predictably Irrational by Dan ArielyThis book brings to light the hidden forces that shape our daily decisions in life.

The Craft of Words By The StandardistasThis book uncovers the importance of words in design and why designers must think of words as an equally important design tool.

The Creative Habit by Twyla TharpTharp’s books offers prescriptions and exercises to release your creativity from its often-stuck mindset.

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel KahnemanNobel Prize-winning psychologist Kahneman differentiates between our quick, “gut” way of thinking and our other slower, more logical system.

Inspired by Icons and Logos

Geek-Art: An Anthology by Thomas OlivriOlivri’s anthology consists of almost 800 examples of “geek art.”

The Icon Handbook by Jon HicksHicks goes from the basics to the finished in seven steps, laying the roadwork for a predictable way to create an icon.

Logo Creed by Bill GardnerThis book goes from discovery to research to development to delivery and gives examples from lead designers about their own processes.

Logo Design Love by David AireyAirey’s book goes beyond just images of logos in order to step into the process of creating them.

Monogram logo by Leterme Dowling and Counter-PrintThis image-heavy book consists of 452 logos and ciphers from around the world.

Symbol by Angus Hyland and Steven BatemanThis well-organized book shows more than 1,300 symbols organized into groups and subgroups.

Inspired by Graphic Design

The Animator’s Survival Kit by Richard WilliamsThe Academy Award-winning animator behind “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” writes an informative handbook on the underlying principles of animation.

Grid Systems in Graphic Design by Josef Müller-BrockmannMüller-Brockmann’s theories on grid design covered in this book are essential to computer-assisted designers.

Design, Form, and Chaos by Paul RandRand draws from his own experience and others that inspired him to share his process of creating good design.

Data Points by Nathan YauYau focuses on the graphics side of data visualization in his follow up to “Visualize This”.

Form+Code in Design, Art, and Architecture by Casey ReasThis non-technical guide serves as an introduction to the history, theory, and practice of software in the arts.

Graphic Design Before Graphic Designers by David JuryJury gives a history of printing and includes almost 800 illustrations, most in color.

How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul by Adrian ShaughnessyShaughnessy writes for young graphic designers, focusing on how to run a successful business and manage their creative process.

Meggs’ History of Graphic Design by Philip B. Meggs and Alston W. PurvisThis academic textbook is the gold standard for graphic design history.

Inspired by Web/Print Publications

Computer Arts MagazineThe industry-leading title for graphic designers, Computer Arts is the magazine for people who believe design matters.

Offscreen MagazineOffscreen is an independent magazine about people who use the internet and technology to be creative, solve problems, and build successful businesses.

Smashing Magazine and its publicationsSmashing Magazine is a website and blog that offers resources, books, and advice to web developers and web designers.

DIS MagazineThe self-described “post-internet lifestyle magazine” has an editorial mission to interrogate and collapse hierarchies.

Dwell MagazineDwell is an American magazine devoted to modern architecture and design.

Digital Natives

Thu, 19 Jun 2014 16:43:00 +0200

Many members of Generation Z are highly connected, having had lifelong use of communication and media technology like the World Wide Web, instant messaging, text messaging, MP3 players, and mobile phones, earning them the nickname “digital natives”.

According to marketing firm Frank Magid Associates, the name “Plurals” reflects that they are the most diverse of any generation in the U.S.; Magid estimates that 55% are Caucasian, 24% are Hispanic, 14% are African-American, 4% are Asian, and 4% are mixed race or other. A Magid whitepaper stated that Plurals exhibit positive feelings about the increasing ethnic diversity in the U.S., and they are more likely than older generations to have social circles that include people from different ethnic groups, races and religions. According to Magid, Plurals are “the least likely to believe that there is such a thing as the American Dream,” while Boomers and their Millennial children are “more likely to believe it”

Coca-Cola campaign to reuse empty bottles

Fri, 06 Jun 2014 14:48:00 +0200

In LimeJam we believe that being environmentally conscious is not a trend but an obligation. Therefore, when we consult companies on adjusting their product lifecycle, we serve the purpose of businesses with recycling in mind. Here is the new technology that can be a potential battle field for creatives with recyclable polimers.

Another great example was shown by the Coca-Cola company campaign, proposing 16 Crazy Caps to Turn Empty Bottles Into Useful Objects Ogilvy’s ‘2nd Lives’ campaign By Gabriel Beltrone.

Changing the corporate rules

Mon, 12 May 2014 11:52:42 +0200

When your initiative to improve the processes gets the answer: “Why change anything? It is not broken, we do not need to fix it” - just show them this short video.

QX or the Quality of Experience

Wed, 07 May 2014 14:46:00 +0200

Quality of Experience (QoE or simply QX) is a measure of a customer’s experiences with a service (web browsing, phone call, TV broadcast, call to a Call Center). QX focuses on the entire service experience, and is a more holistic evaluation than the more narrowly focused UX (user experience, focused on a software interface) and CX (customer experience, support focused).

Quality of experience (QoE) is a fast emerging multidisciplinary field based on social psychology, cognitive science, economics, and engineering science, focused on understanding overall human quality requirements. QoE is the blueprint of all human quality needs and expectations. Traditionally, technology-centric approaches based on quality of service (QoS) parameters have been employed to ensure service quality to end users. QoE expands this horizon to capture people’s aesthetic and even hedonic needs. QoE is a blueprint of all human subjective and objective quality needs and experiences arising from the interaction of a person with technology and with business entities in a particular context.

You can learn more on QX metrics from IEEE article and also join Summer School on Statistical and learning methods for reliable assessment of Quality of Experience August 25-28 2014, Nantes, France

We Just Need A Logo, Can You Help Us?

Mon, 05 May 2014 15:44:06 +0200

Probably not, unless you have a full branding brief created and all the strategic work for the brand is defined and actionable. Sometimes we get asked to do design without a strategy — it is probably the most ineffective and least gratifying way to work. We avoid this path.

Photo Credits: The Way To Nowhere, aiutico.com

The first day.

Wed, 23 Apr 2014 23:54:00 +0200

Photo credit Kristian Tuomilehto

The first days are special moments you don’t easily forget.

I remember my first day at school, of my first day at university, of my first day at Microsoft, and I also remember very well the first time I met Nikita Lukianets.

We were sharing the same hotel room for a Miscrosoft Mach seminar at Dublin, Ireland. We ended up there thanks to the Microsoft MACH program organisation, and had decided then to be exclusive roomates on all the Microsoft events we attended to the two years following.

These moments of work, fun and discussion allowed me to discover a bright and talented colleague that I never ceased to admire since for his dedication to his dreams and the multiple challenges he puts daily into his life. A very inspirational person with a real will to change the world, and that I’m truely glad to call my friend.

After three years of hard work and learning, we both chose to leave the paths that an American giant had designed for us, to follow our dreams and inspirations, we both kept a close contact and a real friendship after these years spent being colleagues, it was logically the time for us to achieve something big, by working together.

Yesterday, Nikita asked me to join Limejam,YOUR local brand communication consultancy firm, and I’m glad to write that today is the end of my very first day as a Limejam Partner.

I’m very pleased to meet you. My name is Rémi Rivas.

What I do with Limejam :
My professional goal is to help your organizations think and act like startups. I want to help you challenge your business models; your products, services and experiences, through the use of applied creativity; design thinking and structured innovation processes, in order to generate together remarkable and strategic business ideas.

Who am I :
I would describe myself as open minded person, who likes to collect data, to analyze and describe problems, and to conceive and test solutions. With a very analytical mind, I like to understand and translate complex systems into adapted stories and graphic visualizations.

I’m very inspired by the notions of collaborative conception, especially when I have the luck to work with people from different backgrounds and cultures, I also truly believe in the strengths of serendipity.

Where do I come from :
With a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and Communication, a Master degree in Innovation Marketing from ESC Rennes School of Business, and after three years working at Microsoft France (Advertising & Online division), I’m about to complete a year of Advanced Master in Innovation and Design at Strate College Paris (school of industrial design).

Passionate about digital universes, I’ve designed all my professional curriculum around digital business. Before to join Microsoft, my training led me to work as an affiliation program manager at PIXmania France (a European E-Tailing group), as a corporate blogger and search engine marketing analyst at Ramdam Communication (a French web agency), and as a digital consultant for Altavia Group (a world communication agency).

And like Nikita, I’m also an alumnus of the Microsoft Academy for College Hires (MACH) 2011 prom, an accelerated career development program designed to recruit top-performing graduates, which aims to cultivate talent thanks to training, mentoring, and community support.

Any question you might have on Limejam ? Please contact me !

Rémi Rivas
Partner @ Limejam
remi@limejam.com