Colorlouvers.com/blog http://bit.ly/7KV4e8 posted this new color identifying system. Absolutely fascinating and surprisingly logical. Years ago I worked with a designer who was color blind. I had no idea. He managed to execute perfect ads. It wasn’t until someone played a prank on him and rearranged his markers that we came to know he was color blind.
I wonder how a system like this would have affected his productivity. Beyond that, think of all the applications to benefit someone who is color blind navigate and participate in their world. And, from a design perspective, I find this system to be a wonderful use of easy to read symbols that should prove useful anywhere around the globe.
I just came across these links and thought I’d share…
2010 Online Marketing Influencers: Trend Predictions in 140 characters by Trendsspotting http://bit.ly/876UgL
TrendsSpotting’s 2010 Consumer Trends Influencers http://bit.ly/7JPMmg
TrendsSpotting’s 2010 Social Media Influencers – Trend Predictions http://bit.ly/4OWZgV
Pantone announced today that Turquoise is the 2010 Color of the Year. It will be interesting to watch how the color trends in design and advertising. For more info: http://bit.ly/80Fw1O
What Adobe’s Omniture Acquisition Means for Advertising
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=139041
Give Them What They Want – Eliminate What They Don’t Want
Crowdsourcing – what is it? Basically, it’s the appropriation of opinion from a large group of people, with or without a background in the topic being focused on, with the intent of creating a consensus as to the solution to a specific problem or task. The term was coined by Jeff Howe in a 2006 article written for Wired magazine. Its application can be applied to business practices, but for now I am contemplating its use/misuse and potential benefits and long-range damage to media content. Advertising, news, commentary, etc.
I’m all for a group effort in finding a solution to a problem. Everyone has their chance to offer their ideas and as a group you have the opportunity to create a new product, solve a task, or develop a new procedure. I was involved in this type of group effort when I worked in a manufacturing industry. Groups were put together to address various “problems”. There was an Increased Output Team, a Cycle Time Reduction Team, and a Quality Improvement Team. Everyone had a base knowledge and background that enabled them to participate and ultimately solve their team’s specific task.
Crowdsourcing on the other hand puts together a large group of people without assessing their knowledge base and background for the purpose of finding a solution to a proposed task. In this context I am having some difficulty finding value to the process. Particularly when the outcome of crowdsourcing results in advertising, editorial, and deciding what is newsworthy. I admit I’m a newbie to this concept, but I already see the potential for a negative impact down the road.
Everyone wants to save a buck. So I can fully understand a company trying to find an economically beneficial solution to their marketing/advertising objectives. What can they do? Well, they can come up with contests that offer a prize for the winning advertisement for their product. Get as many people as they can to send in ideas and they pick the winner. Let’s go one better, offer a prize to the person who can pick the winner. The idea being that the crowd will ultimately know what it likes and deliver the right message and eliminate what it doesn’t want to know/hear/see. Sorry, just the thought of this process being considered a legitimate way to solve one’s advertising objectives makes me very sad.
There was a time when unsolicited ideas sent in to a company or agency were never opened. Never considered. Now, you’re telling me that you are willing to review material sent in by anyone. There was a time when you had to have some background in your field in order to be considered worthy of offering an opinion. Worthy of review. Anyone who trotted all over town with their portfolio after college knows exactly what I’m talking about. So now I’m to understand that for the purpose of saving money companies choose to not utilize the talents of the truly talented (and educated) and the universe would prefer to consider the offerings of anyone with a pulse.
I read every day about the changes in journalism. The advent of instant media seems to be stampeding over the conventions of journalistic output. Faster is better. Cheaper is better. Being noticed is more important than being accurate, balanced, and providing full disclosure. I’m not saying online journalism is corrupt or flawed to the point of being a bane to society. I am considering how its evolution may deteriorate into a worthless pulpit that provides the public with what they want to hear and not necessarily what they need to know. I hope a balanced approach to the dissemination of information will always be the benchmark of the integrity we hope for in our news outlets.
What happens then when in order to prop up sales the media decides to give the public what they want? Do you want random groups of people responding to questions about media deciding what is considered newsworthy? Could that be a potential result of crowdsourcing the news?
What if there were a predominant sentiment in editorial submissions? Would that sentiment become the ultimate solution? How would you know that was the predominant sentiment? Who decides? Can the use of crowdsourcing truly provide the answer in an editorial format? Who is moderating the discussion? Is it even a discussion anymore?
These are some of the things that have been rattling around in my head lately. While I can see the benefits of a group consensus when that group is qualified to be considered a worthy source to tap into, I still can’t see how a random group of people processing information – with all of their biases and personal objectives – could be the best way to put together an advertising campaign. I don’t understand how the potential elimination of information (due to a random group’s interests being focused on some of the information and not all of it) could possibly offer me news that is fully fashioned, properly vetted, without commentary, and without the inclusion of an unbalanced agenda.
No answers here – just some thoughtful consideration… I will continue to seek out factual data that will enable me to come to some conclusions about crowdsourcing. For now, I wait, I watch, I read, and I scrutinize the media that comes my way. I guess I could do a little crowdsourcing myself right now. I’d like to hear from you – any and all of you . What impact will crowdsourcing have on advertising, news, and commentary?
While checking out some of the people I follow on Twitter I came across a link to a post about the misconceptions about graphic designers. It started me thinking about why I love what I do.
At the core of a designer’s job description is the necessity to be able to develop solutions to a specific problem within set parameters. The very circumstances that may stump some and cause them to reject a career in design fuel the passion in a designer to find the perfect solution. It is that passion for design that has fueled me through the good times and the bad. I don’t know why it happens but each time I’m faced with a creative project I lose all sense of time and immerse myself in the process.
Design for me is a universal language. It breaks all barriers and allows the designer to communicate on a conscious and unconscious level with the viewer. Over time as you hone your skills design becomes more a part of who you are than a skill set you apply during a workday. It becomes a passion that never leaves your mind. There is no turning it on or off. You seem to notice everything.
One of the most amazing things to me is that now, many years after attending SVA (School of Visual Arts) I am still in awe of design. I crave it. I have to know as much as I can about it. I need to experience it in as many forms as possible. The design world is a fluid entity. It evolves into many forms and flows from so many resources. There are classic styles passed down historically and studied to this day. There are new trends and discoveries announced which utilize new tools and concepts developed by designers who don’t allow themselves to be constrained by any preconceived rules of engagement. Some develop into a new movement and others are left as a channel of discovery.
For as long as I feel so entranced and empowered by design I will continue to delve into its many forms. I will continue for as long as I’m offered the opportunity to face a challenge and solve the problem with a design solution. You never know what the future holds. For my design self, I hope it’s years of successful design and engagement with the design community.
If dust were an art form I’d be right up there with Picasso. I suppose for some of you that’s TMI, and I’m sorry for putting that picture in your head. It’s not a matter of cleanliness actually. I just prefer an old-fashioned broom to a stupid vacuum. Anyway… the time had come to remove some winter dust. Mostly the product of heating with a woodstove. So out the vacuum comes and low and behold – the minute I flicked the switch on the vacuum I instantaneously turned on my brain.
I suppose you could call it getting in the zone. I’m more inclined to think of it as the result of a brain-numbing activity. Doesn’t matter though. My mind was whirring away with each movement. Once I realized what was happening I figured I’d allow myself to profit from this “state”. So I whipped out a notepad and every idea went down on paper. It was really incredible.
I’m wondering what other people do that allows them to just think. Is it running? Is it riding in the car? Locking yourself in a room? Just what gets your creative juices flowing?
I had intended to only vacuum my living room. Let’s not go crazy here with the vacuum! My son actually put his hand on my head to make sure I was feeling o.k. But the more I vacuumed the more kicked into gear my head became. The short term result was a spotless house. But more importantly, my long term creative outlook is now filled with wonderful ideas for my blog and all sorts of things I want to try.
I know I have ODD (Obsessive Design Disorder). I suspect this was a new symptom. But unlike the other times my design mind has taken over, I was safe in knowing that the only thing I was bothering was a little dirt. I suppose I can endure the burden of a perpetually clean house when in return I am the recipient of all the wonderful things it congers up. Note to self: Always have a notepad around when vacuuming.
I came across this via Twitter… Give it a try. What did you score? I got a 15.
Thank you to X-Rite!
Let’s take a quick review of White Space 101. First, you have a sheet of paper. Onto that sheet of paper you apply type in the form of your copy and art in the form of graphics, illustration, photos, etc. All of the areas that are covered are the positive space. All of the blank area around the copy and the art is known as the negative or white space. Recognizing the difference is important in design because it can mean the difference between balance and imbalance.
Too much positive space will look cramped and dark. It can be difficult to read. It will have a heavy appearance – type-heavy and/or graphic-heavy. Too much negative space will look unfinished, like there’s something missing. It will have an unpolished feel to it as though you didn’t follow through on the execution. There is an automatic response to both of imbalance. Teetering too much one way or the other.
Let’s consider ads created for newspapers. A balanced design allows the viewer to scan the ad comfortably. There will be pockets of white space for the eye to rest and allow the brain to process what has just been observed. Balance makes reading a pleasurable and cognitive experience. Reading flows at a natural pace so that your eye can move across the page with ease and your mind can decipher the message. In a world where we are bombarded with messages through many media outlets all at once, the balanced design will be the more successful design.
I’m mentioning this because I’ve recently noticed a pattern in a local newspaper. It is getting increasingly harder to actually read the paper. Each page has been disected into many pieces to allow for ads with a few articles slipped in. While this may be a sign of success for the newspaper’s sales team, it is putting a burden on the advertiser that I think should be acknowledged. It is becoming measurably more difficult to focus on individual ads. Instead I find my eye just washes over a page without stopping to rest in any particular spot. If I have no predetermined interest in any of the company’s ads I seem to glance past them without any retention at all. They all look the same. There is a denseness to the page that I can’t get through.
To explain the logic behind this fill-it-up policy, I want to backtrack a few years to when I was responsible for a weekly circular for a retail store. There were some people who felt that if they were paying a good price to place an ad it obligated them to fill up ever little nook and cranny on the page. Saturation meant a good return on investment. As I hope to explain, nothing could be farther from the truth.
The cost of advertising can be a burden to some. It’s a necessary part of being in business, and I can fully understand the financial sting you may feel each time you place an ad. I also acknowledge a potentially diminished confidence level when rating the success of your advertising. Keeping that tenous psyche in mind, let’s explore some options. It doesn’t matter whether you have trusted your account to someone else or are creating your ads in-house. All responsible parties should be mindful of how your puzzle piece will look when set into place with all the other pieces that become a full printed page.
First, there is always the option of color. Adding color to any ad will draw attention to it. But, keeping the currently shrinking budgets of many advertisers in mind, I will stick to good ‘ol black and white.
Next, let’s think about the size of your ad. Just how big does it have to be to be noticed? (I was going to say, effective, but on second thought – that’s another option all together.) Your ad can be as small as a business card to as large as a full page. Which size will work for you? I think that all depends on your message and what it will take to make your point. If success for you is to simply relay contact information, a small ad will do. If you need to engage your viewer to promote your product or service, that will require more space.
Keep your copy to an optimized size by eliminating non-essential information. Short and to the point always wins over verbose and meandering. OK, you’ve got your copy ready to go. Your logo is added to the mix. Now, decide whether or not you need to add an image. Will adding an image enhance the message? Will a specific image draw the eye to your ad? Will an image detract in any way? That’s for you to decide. If you are including an image, just how big does it need to be? Keep in mind the impact you want. Oh, and let’s not forget about borders. Darker and thicker is, well, just darker and thicker. Based on all of the individual parts you’re trying to put together decide on the size. It’s not a matter of will it all fit. It’s more a matter of effectiveness.
Right now we have copy, your logo, and possibly an image. You’ve put it all together into your ad. I hope you actually have a draft of it in front of you. So, what do you think? Is there a balance of positive and negative space? Do you find that your eye rests in the white space you’ve created?
Now, cut out some ads from your local paper. Put them all around your ad as if you were making up a full page. How does it look? Do you see what I’m talking about? Is your ad as effective as you thought it was going to be? Or does it blend in with the other ads melting into a blur of black and more black?
From this point on it’s up to you to decide on your course of action. Maybe you should eliminate some copy? Maybe the image is too big, too small, not necessary at all. Is the headline noticeable? Is the ad easy to read? Does the ad compell you to stop – and read it? Should you size the ad up?
For those of you who have hired a professional to put your ads together, please rely on their expertise. If it’s suggested that you need to make your ad bigger or change or lose some of its elements it’s for a reason. If you’ve decided to do it all yourself, please take your time and don’t be afraid to get the opinions of those around you. Hang the ad on the wall for a few days and see what kind of a reaction you get. You should always put your best work out there and you deserve the return you were hoping for. But should your ad fall short of your expectations use it as a learning experience that will enable you to develop your advertisements in the future to speak clearer and spark interest. The learning curve to successful advertising has no shortcuts.
I received a phone call out of the blue – a local company wanted me to meet with them, asap, about their advertising. I did a little online research and went through the local paper to get a feel for them, their competition, and what I might expect.
I had a total of two meetings with this company. The first was rushed, unfocused and full of expectations. I was supposed to take the tidbits of information that were thrown at me and turn them into a fully viable campaign. To top it all off, I was not allowed (in their minds) to charge for any of the pre-production costs. That would include coming up with a concept, working on a mutually acceptable concept to fruition and then the time it would take to develop the ads associated with that concept. According to the owner, he felt that these steps were of no value to him and so he wasn’t obliged to pay for them. Every internal early warning system of impending peril sounded the alarm at this point.
Research has always been my starting point. I can’t do your product or service justice if I don’t understand exactly what you offer and how you fit in among your competition. I probably appeared to be a nag at this point because my main focus was developing the best approach to their advertising which required as much information as they could give me.
Days later, without warning, it was requested that I come in again for another meeting, asap. We sat down at the table and I was asked to “show me what you’ve got”. Poof!!! It was expected that I would produce for them the proverbial “rabbit out of the hat”. They actually expected me to hand over a full campaign. Done. Ready to submit.
So here is my advice for anyone wishing to engage a professional designer, copywriter, etc. Do not expect successful results from inadequate preparation. There is a saying that comes to mind in regard to advertising, “Garbage goes in – Garbage comes out”. (Yes, I cleaned that up quite a bit…) If you’re not prepared to become a partner with your professional, then don’t waste your time and theirs. If you can’t understand that their time is worth as much as yours you shouldn’t expect much of anything to come out of any meeting.
You see – Advertising is NOT Magic! It’s a skill set based on education (through research), planning, and implementation utilizing skills which require the expenditure of time. Taking short cuts in any one of those will result in a faulty presentation focused on the wrong market with a shoddy appearance. Everyone involved in the advertising process hopes for success. The client looks for a positive return on his investment and the creative team wants to fulfill the obligation they accepted when they won the account.
If you recognize a part of yourself in the demon in this tale you should know that you can always change your point of view. Start looking at your creative team as vital participants in your success. Enjoy their expertise and learn to profit from it. Respect their talents and be prepared to pay for them. If you’re on a creative team, always remember that your first priority is to supply your client with the best you can do. Respect your client’s time and his budget. It’s all about teamwork.
