One of the things about design that is sometimes misunderstood is that it’s more than putting a pretty cover on something. There is a great deal of thought and planning that goes into every project. Whether it’s a postcard design or branding for a multinational company, there is hours (Sometimes days…sometimes MONTHS!) of research that happens before the completed design is presented. Things like “Who is the audience?” and “What are we trying to convey” must be considered if it’s to be successful. It’s always great to see behind the scenes of a project and get a feel for the creative team’s thought process.
Design For Fun (The portfolio site of the amazing Bernard Barry) recently put up a great case study on the work that went into branding Facebook’s semi annual Developer Conference, f8. The study covers everything from logo design to signage to conference attendee experience. No rock was left unturned on this project!
This is the kind of stuff that elevates design beyond being simply pretty images. It’s informative, thoughtful and communicates confidence and competence. Take a few minutes to read through the study, it’s incredibly interesting and awe inspiring to see a project go above and beyond simple branding. (Personally I’m smitten with the printed glass tables, especially the one by Frank Chimero…a bit of a design hero of mine!)
I had a tough time finding out who was responsible, but after a morning of Googling I can give proper kudos to our eastern brethren, Mighty, for creating the brilliant site that is the Rethink Romp. Awesome job on creating a fun experience for all to share.
These are the superheros of Urban Jungle ready to stand up and fight for tatas!
I’m not sure if this is “legal” in the eyes of Facebook, but regardless it’s frigging brilliant. Even if Facebook ends up blocking the campaign, this YouTube video is enough to go on now as it circulates for eternity. 1 day and it’s already up to 82,000 hits. LOOOOVE IT!
I often get asked the question “What is marketing?”
While most people will instantly think of brochures, websites and ads, I believe marketing is listening. Plain and simple. And regardless of whether the company is a small ‘mom & pop’ or a large international corporation, for the most part companies do a pretty shitty job at listening.
Why don’t we listen?
In my 9+ years of meeting with countless business owners and corporate executives, a great deal of them view dialogue as unproductive. Employees should be ‘working,’ not talking. They would rather send a memo throughout the office, informing employees of the latest facts, figures and stats, hoping that the employees relay this information to their customers. Their thought with this approach is that information and logic will cut through the clutter. Instead what they find is it does the exact opposite; their customers end up more confused and less engaged.
When you think about it, how can this approach possibly work when the competition is doing the exact same thing? When a customer has too much information doesn’t it make it even more confusing for the them to decide what is best?
I feel it’s our job as marketers to simplify the consumer’s life. Messages should be so simple and so easy to understand that a 6 year old can comprehend them.
How do we listen?
The only way you can truly listen is to ask your customers what moves them. What are they passionate about? What makes them happy? What makes them feel accomplished? What makes them laugh? Cry? Angry? What can you do to help? Listening means you have to genuinely care about your customers; it means you have to be curious about what makes them tick. Forget the ‘corporate’ speak and what your company ought to sound like. Engage people with meaningful dialogue.
With the evolution of the web, people have access to more information than ever before. Because of the amount of information people have to sift through, consumers are now turning to peers, blogs, and online communities to make their decisions for them. You may have heard the term “Web 2.0,” which is the evolution of interactive websites that maintain themselves through user-generated content. Websites such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn & Digg, as well as blogs are exploding in their popularity because people are finding that someone out there in Cyberspace can help them make sense of all this information.
And while these mediums may be cool, they are only useful when they have a purpose. With a kabillion bloggers out there in the Blogosphere, many often forget what it takes to have a conversation. It involves listening. The better you listen (by probing and asking tons of questions), the more there is to talk about. Listening leads to conversation, conversation leads to meaningful long-term relationships; and in the end isn’t that all we’re trying to achieve with our customers – meaningful, deep, loyal and long-term relationships? Communities help companies shut up and really listen to their customers.
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