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	Be A Design Group
	BE A DESIGN GROUP is an invitation to all people to participate in design. It is a place where designers can test new ideas, share observations, and comment on cultural trends. Our definition of design is intentionally broad so that the subject matter of our posts can be diverse and unlimited. © Copyright 2007
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Mooninites in Boston

Today (Wednesday), we bore witness to one of the more incredible — or incredibly ridiculous — events in advertising. Adult Swim… shut down Boston. That's right. "Suspicious packages" were spotted all over town, triggering a panic, an investigation, and the closing of roads, a bridge, and the interstate. These were, essentially, light-brite-esque renditions of characters from Cartoon Network's Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which airs a few times a week on Adult Swim. The character is a Mooninite named Igniknot, and he is flipping off Boston as hard as he can. The best quotes come from FOX News.com: "They have been in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia." "It's a hoax — and it's not funny," said Gov. Deval Patrick" "At least one of the devices was described to FOX News as a computer keyboard, to which a picture of someone "flipping off" the viewer was taped. Officials at the time suggested that the picture might be an attempt to mock police investigating the device." "Whoever did this — whether it be kids or adults — if they think it's funny, I think they'll soon learn it's not that much of a humorous situation." I disagree. I find this the most awesome situation to derive itself from viral marketing ever. Zombie Redenbacher has nothing on these guys. This is so street cred for Adult Swim. It is the most Mooninite thing to do, ever, to shut down a whole city just to flip them off (enacting a terror alert was not a part of the plan, that happened by accident). There is nothing better for that programming block and their audience than the street cred they will recieve for this. I award a gold star for balls. There are going to be a lot of people who don't get this, but for the people who do, it is incredible.

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 20:44:33 -0700

The 86th Art Directors Flub

What were they thinking? I just spotted a copy of the 2007 poster for the Art Director's Club show on a colleague's desk yesterday and was morbidly curious to see what the ADC had done for their poster this time, immediately recalling last year's bizarre and racist image combination. Steven Heller took the 85th Annual ADC Call For Entries poster to task in Voice on the AIGA site last year at about this same time, and it looks like they're serving an even bigger helping of the same this year...

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 10:05:24 -0700

HOW Group on Flickr

Next year's HOW Conference will be at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. To announce the location, the dancers and singer above gave a performance and ended the Conference on a high note. There were plenty of photo opportunities at the 2005 HOW Conference. The gospel choir at Brian Collins session, the live bands, the Mandalay Bay dancers, Sagmeister, and for those lucky enough to make it out of the hotel: the wonderful city of Chicago. Now there is a place where you can share your photos from the conference or see what you missed. Check out the new 2005 HOW Conference Flickr group.

Fri, 17 Jun 2005 05:03:46 -0700

Redesigning Print and HOW

This session was a rare look into the process of two different designers on some very similar jobs with totally different outcomes. It is fascinating that both *Print* and *HOW* independently decided that they needed a redesign of their magazine and that they both chose a different Pentagram partner to do it. I guess that kind of proves that Pentagram is the designer's design firm. I think the most interesting part of this session was not seeing the beginning and end result but to see the interaction between the designers and the respective magazine staff. Both Abbott Miller and DJ Stout didn't waltz in and get exactly what they wanted when they redesigned each magazine. In fact, they seemed to hold on to some design elements long after they should have let it go (they admitted this). Abbott wanted rounded corners on the right side of the cover, but it didn't happen because of cost. DJ was set on having *HOW* in gigantic letters, going from top to bottom. I think this just ended up breaking too many rules for publication design. The main reason the vertical "HOW" didn't fly was its appearance on the ever-important news stand. Even Pentagram partners have to compromise. When asked about budgets, neither editor, for obvious reasons, didn't want to divulge much. The Pentagram duo seemed happy to share that it was very low for a magazine redesign. Both editors stated that it had been about at least five years since they had a major redesign. They said that this was about the longest amount of time a design can stay fresh. Joyce Rutter Kaye, the editor of *Print,* stated that Print was in danger of becoming the "Cosby sweater" of design. Bryn Mooth, editor of *HOW,* stated that many of their design elements were web based and they needed to be updated. I don't think either redesign is earth shattering in any way, but it wasn't supposed to be. Both magazines' design seemed to be too obtrusive as it was. The design needed to be more transparent and let the design that the magazine was highlighting show through. The true test of the redesigns will be evident in how they evolve and last after each partner is completely out of the picture. It was evident that the senior designers at these magazines were struggling with some of the changes that they had to implement. Hopefully they will stick to the templates that were set up with only minor necessary changes. If you would like to read and see more on the redesign and this session head on over to Speak Up. Debbie Millman has done the research and she was the moderator of the session. A big thank you to Debbie for sending me the "before & after" cover shots.

Fri, 17 Jun 2005 04:40:54 -0700

The Road Ahead by Andrew Zolli

In the final session of the 2005 HOW Conference, Andrew Zolli's, "The Road Ahead: Forces Shaping the Next 25 Years," gave an optimistic and exciting forecast for the future. He sees a future where designers move beyond brochures and logos, and move towards projects that make huge improvements to life on Earth. It might sound like a bold prediction, but Zolli is convinced that the skills of designers are going to be extremely valuable in the near future. I am not talking about the ability to put type on the page, I am talking about our ability to solve problems. We are at the beginning of a revolution that is radically redefining many of the fundamental pillars of our society. The main reason for this is the power of a population that is increasingly connected and networked. As more and more people join the network, the power of the individual is increased. People are no longer seen as consumers. They are now participants. The masses can no longer be looked down upon as consumers. Every member of the population is now a co-participants with a strong role in the networks. This is revolutionary. Companies the fail to see this fundamental shift will fail. Some companies are recognizing this change but they see a threat rather than an opportunity. This results in destructive actions like the suing of the fans and customers that the companies depend on for revenue. The empowered consumer is no longer satisfied with just consuming. We are participating and we aren't asking for permission. The suing of fans is more than a dangerous trend, it is a design problem. The challenge is to channel the power of your networked customers. Zoli used the example of Star Wars fans who create unapproved Star Wars movies. Rather than sue the fans for copyright infringement, LucasArts empowered the fans by teaching the fans how to improve their work. They harnessed the power of their fans rather than stifling them. Another similar case could be made for iTunes. ITunes is a well designed solution that is solving the problems of digital music without destroying the fans, artists, or music labels. Echoing a theme that Brian Collins hinted at in his Branding session the speaker emphasizes the importance of collaboration. He described 4 models of how designers work that he classified as Think, Play, Look, and Envision. **Think** This is the traditional model of having small teams of very talented people that are pushed very hard. In this model of isolated designers bas a breakthrough 20% of the time. Their solutions are innovative and have a large impact. This process pushes the designers very hard and leads to burnout and high stress. **Look** Teams of designers partner with industry experts. This model has an 80% success rate, but their breakthroughs aren't very large. **Play** The third model consists of a team of external designers that play with the clients products. They have a small failure rate, but you get a redefinition of the problem and new solution. **Envision** In this model, designers partner with futurists. They prototype the future. Success is not an afterthought, but the result of a designed situation. This is the model of the future. If you would like to learn more about the ideas of Andrew Zolli, be sure to check out www.zpluspartners.com

Thu, 16 Jun 2005 04:08:34 -0700

Package Design: Creating Your Own Trends by Leslie Evans

What is it that makes package design a unique discipline? In the words of Leslie Evans, "You are engaging the consumer at the point of puchase. You have a couple seconds for them to decide if they are going to buy your product." Leslie's company [LEDA](http://www.ledadesign.com/) (Leslie Evans Design Associates) has created the packaging for some big companies including Timex and LL Bean as well as many smaller companies. The thing they all had in common was great packaging. She showed a great portfolio and gave some insight into her process. I was surprised that she feels that because packaging is very foreign to most clients, she finds that it is easier to sell. Unlike a brochure or logo, clients are more willing to take her advice without trying to change her designs. There is so much of an investment in package design that identity makeovers often occur at the same time. Leslie's advice is that because package designs often have high budgets, charge accordingly. Although the following advice would make more sense in the context of Leslie's slides, I wanted to share some of Leslie's advice: Design with merchandise in mind. Utililze unusual shapes. If a company has a history, take advantage of their heritage. Design with Merchandising in Mind. Ask yourself "how will it look on the shelf?" Sometimes a client's logo is so bad that a package design is a huge opportunity to redesign the company's identity. Utilize unique shapes to improve your design. Use the client's mission statement as a starting point. Consider the competition's products that will sit near your product on the shelf. Consider the product's price point versus the competition before you design. Get involved with the printer before you start designing. If you can't find a PMS color you like, order a special mix from the printer. Always request draw downs on special mixes or process matches. Although this wasn't my favorite session of the HOW conference, it was interesting to see a great portfolio.

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 08:11:15 -0700

Presenting 101, by Richard H. Truitt

I apologize to Mr. Truitt for the soap box that I am about to get on. It has nothing to do with him, except that it happened in his session. People of the world, i.e. the middle-aged women who I assume is a principle of her own firm by now, please do not talk during the session. Do not talk to your colleague or friend during a session. At least wisper. As quiet as your voice is and as important as you think you are, you are not quiet and not any more important than anyone else in the world. Please shut up and listen or leave the session. If you are not happy, don't sit their and fill out your evaluation while others are trying to get as much out of a session as they can. Please don't yawn and raise your hands like you just got out of bed. Don't do distracting things the entire time and then grace us all by leaving ONLY ten minutes before it is all over. Leave much sooner next time. You maam are very rude and distracting and I would compare your manners to that of a naughty three-year-old who crawls under the church bench when the pastor starts speaking. Now on to the session that I had such a hard time paying attention to. Richard Truitt was a story teller. He wasn't a vibrant, vocal, inspirational speaker, but he told a good story. He wasn't the most exciting (or excitable) person in the world, but he has experience and the content was there. I don't have a ton of experience so this is all great information for me. Only implementing some of the ideas will tell how much good information I gained from this session. I am sure that even though this wasn't the most exciting session (although he had some very funny stories) I will go away with some very tangible guidelines. Here are a few things that I gathered from his presentation:

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 08:03:23 -0700

Branding a Band by Jeff Kleinsmith

Most of us have an album from our childhood that evokes powerfully nostalgic feelings. We remember the place in our rooms where we would listen to the music. We remember our friends at the time, the clothes we wore, and the first time we heard the music. Our memories aren't limited to music, and we get the same wonderful feelings from seeing the album art. Is that feeling lost in the explosion of MP3's? Jeff Kleinsmith, founder of Patent Pending Industries, and art director for Sub Pop Records, honestly admits that he was worried for a while that he might lose his job because of the digital boom. Sub Pop actually uses the phrase "Sub Pop - Going out of business for the past ten years," in some of their promotions. The truth is that although the methods that we get our music are changing, we still have a need for the visuals that accompany the songs. That more than anything is why Jeff Kleinsmith's art stands out. He is able to fill the visual hole that is left by music downloads. Posters are not only popular for collecting, but Jeff makes an interesting observation: Without the branding that comes with CD packaging, posters are contributing to the "brand" of the band. This is really unique. Since posters are usually commissioned by the people promoting concerts (not the record labels or the band), the brand of the band is partly out of their control. Poster design's like Jeff's can be much more powerful because a poster doesn't have to survive the political minefields that often sink great album art. There isn't a committee, a target market, research, or even long term goals for the design. The other major impact of digital music is that it is forcing CD packaging to be more than just a jewel case and a cd. Design can add value to the cd. This plays right into the hands of Jeff's design which has a tradition of forcing interaction between the person and the artwork. Once he got over the fear of the digital revolution, he was able to recognize that his work was actually more relevant as a result. He is able to do more innovative cd packaging as well as satisfy an audience with an increasing appetite for music posters. That's not to say he has embraced MP3's himself. He still hasn't opened the iPod he got for Christmas.

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 07:51:28 -0700

Fusion: Word and Image by Marshall Arisman

Marshall shared his shorthand notes with us in a preview for this blog. It is interesting to compare his finished session with his notes. As a designer that is slowly becoming more of a writer, this session is very pertinent to what I do here on the blog. Of course we as designers work with images and words on a daily basis. Here is some of his advice about writing. Write about what you know about. Anything else is plagiarism. If you don't like dogs don't write a children's story about a dog. He also talked about how he recommends that a writer should write by hand first because it looks too finished when you write on the computer. It was interesting to hear that perspective about writing since we hear it very often in reference to design. After you write it by hand, Marshall recommends that you read it into a tape recorder. If you can't read it through then there are problems in your writing. I have to admit that I was not very familiar with Marshall's persona. He is definitely and individual. He is obviously a very visual and spiritual person. He has psychics in his family and he says that he sees auras. That is a hard one to digest for a person that doesn't see them.

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 07:00:26 -0700

Designing the Brand Experience by Brian Collins

Stained glass and organ music welcomed us to the sold-out "Designing the Brand Experience" this morning. I almost forgot that it wasn't Sunday, and I half expected Brian Collins to be wearing a clerical collar or a robe. I have to admit the church theme had me thinking "man, this guy really takes this brand stuff seriously!" Brian Collins' first experience with a brand was with the Catholic Church. The church had graphic costumes, extrordinary artwork, and an incredible story. It communicated a message. To illustrate this point, Brian invited a local Chicago gospel choir on stage. After a moving (not Catholic) performance, Brian returned to the stage and defined designers as "Possibility Creators." "This is the perfect moment for design," he said and added that he thinks today a MFA is as valuable as the MBA degree used to be. Design is hot right now and has leaped into the mainstream press. Business Week, Fast Company, and Wal-mart have all put design in the headlines recently. Brian's sermon notes were five key attributes of creativity and inspiration: Collaborate, Clarify, Challenge, Commit, and Delight. **1. Collaborate** The ability to collaborate will be the most important skill of the next ten years. When Brian was starting at Ogilvy, he was in charge of starting a creative department. The Ogilvy office was ugly, and not conducive to creativity. He painted the walls black and turned the walls into giant chalk boards. Within a few days, the team was interacting and collaborating. **2. Clarify** What is the first chocolate company you think of? Hersheys? What is the first chocolate factory you think of? Wonka? Hershey's owned the idea of chocolate, but they didn't own the idea of where chocolate was made. Ogilvy's team proposed that Hershey should buy a building on Times Square and create a Hersheys store. By story telliing, Hershey was able to start a new business. About this time, the audience starts to smell chocolate. Brian Collins explains that they created a chocolate fragrance that was used to fill the Hershey's store. The same sweet fragrance was being pumped into our room. It was great. **3. Challenge** Leigh Okies worked for Dove which was considering a Carl's Jr/Paris Hilton style of campaign as they tackled the question, "what is beauty?" Instead of focus on celebrities, Ogilvy convinced Dove to use female photographers to tell a more responsible, realistic, and optimistic story of what beauty is. The photos went on an international tour. The catalog was a photo book. It was set up calendar style as a reference to the pinup calandars of the past. **4. Commit** Jen Panepinto shared the story of her senior project as a student of Brian Collins. She developed a set of nesting bowls that allowed you to know the measurements of the bowl you are eating out of. With nearly 2/3 of Americans classified as overweight, her simple design solution gave hope and beauty to dieters everywhere. **5. Delight** Deborah Adler was also a student of Brian Collins. She shared the story of her grandma who became sick after taking her husband's medicine. This is a common occurrance that kills many people each year. She says that 60% of people who take medication have taken it incorrectly at some time last year. The error occurrs because medicine bottles lack design. Aside from the child-proof lids, the pill bottle has never seen innovation. Small type, dark type on dark backgrounds, coded "medical speak," are just the start of a long list of design mistakes. Deborah's solutions are beatiful, simple and intelligent. Most importantly, her design is saving people's lives. Target adopted her ideas and has released one of the best products on the market today: ClearRX. This was probably the best session of the HOW conference. I wasn't sure what to expect being that Brian Collins works for Ogilvy. When I hear the name Ogilvy, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and not in a good way. As an ad man, Ogilvy didn't seem to have much respect for designers. Ogilvy is a much different company now than it was during the rule of Mr. Ogilvy. It is innovative and is truely using design to change our world for the better. That is an uplifting message of hope. Amen? Amen.

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 06:27:25 -0700

Hatch Show Print by Jim Sherraden

With so many sessions to attend at the conference I had very briefly considered not going to this one. I had read the book and I was wondering if Jim��s session would cover a lot of the same ground. I was wrong. I really gained a great deal from Jim��'s session. I could really tell that Mr. Sherraden spent a great deal of time preparing for this presentation. This session was chock full of examples of Hatch work, past and present. There two screens were constantly showing two different slides that related to each other. It was an excellent way to see two different blocks for one poster or to see the block and also see the final poster. Jim had put some of the recent work in the presentation, which was great to see. He even had work that was done within the last two weeks. I was also greatly encouraged to see some of the great and more experimental design that is coming out of the shop lately. Jim has delegated much of printing and design of the new posters over to the interns and staff. While still using the original Hatch fonts these designers are achieving a new and innovative look. I appreciate the vintage justified Hatch poster, but it is great to see some different looks come from the historic type and blocks. He also has a great policy to encourage the staff to move on to other jobs, so more people can come in and learn this unique craft.

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 23:25:46 -0700

Verbal Brainstorming by Juliet D'Ambrosio

I am not a writer. Why is it that I can write page after page for my blog, but when I get to work, I aggressively avoid writing copy? Lately my lie that "I am not a writer" has bothered me more and more. That is probably the main reason I chose to attend Juliet D'Ambrosio's "Verbal Brainstorming" session. Here is what I learned from her presentation. A brand is really just a company's story. How do you tell that story? Most designers, me included, don't consider ourselves to be writers. It is easy to make excuses to get out of writing. "I don't need to. I don't care what it says as long as it looks great. I'm bad at grammar and spelling. I hate writing. I don't know where to start." Designers outnumber writers 5 to 1 in ad agencies. If that is true, then who is doing the writing? The answer is designers. When faced with the challenge to write, designers can tell powerful stories. We are all excellent communicators graphically, it just takes a little more work for us to write words. The first step is to stop making excuses and take the initiative to want to write. Once you have taken that huge step, here is some advice from Julet: Start with the real world. Do research. Start by asking questions about things that interest you. Start with a purpose, and reframe the question. Start with your subconscious. Once you get started, you get past the intimidation of the blank page. Start with a typeface. Start with a single word. Instead of an outline, create a storyboard. Tell your own story. Redefine the structure of your story. Put yourself in the reader's shoes. Avoid saying what the images say. The beauty is in the details. Push your descriptions and dig beyond the expected. Don't tell boring stories just because your clients are boring. Tell the story through other people's words. Use facts. Cross-pollinate with other formats. Don't work too hard. Know when to stop and don't overwrite. Be mercilessly simple. Share your work with someone you trust and admire. Read out loud. Always present in person. Listen to your clients because they *are* smart. Her most important advice was to believe in yourself. You can do it.

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 23:18:23 -0700

Wilde Thinking, by Richard Wilde

I would like to preface this review with a couple of environmental issues that could have tainted my opinion. I skipped lunch to not win a G5, so I was extremely hungry, and the sleep depravation had already started to set in. Did anyone else think the room was very cold? Maybe this was the reason that Mr. Wilde's presentation wasn't my favorite. It was also not the worst. I have a huge amount of respect for Richard and I guess I was expecting it to be my favorite session. Richard didn't disappoint me, I just didn't feel like there wasn't enough of him in the session. There was so much of this student's work shown that I felt there could have been some more content. The student work was amazing, that is for sure. I hope my lack of enthusiasm for the student work is not because I am jealous of the quality and shear genius of some of the work. It is very obvious that he gets a lot out of his students. Richard made the point, which I have heard many times before, that society and life in general takes the creativity out of us. We were born with observation and learning skills, but we tend to lose them as we get older. He gave some examples of ways to look at things from new perspectives. He also gave us a couple of quizzes, which I didn't do so well on. He suggests doing concentrated doodles to try to find your way of working and your visual voice. He also encourages people to move from the known to the unknown. I have found this to be true throughout college and beyond. I seem to create some of my best work when I am experimenting with something new and unknown. This is one of the reasons that he suggested working with digital video.

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 20:03:56 -0700

Inspiration Super Nova by Matt Mattus

This session started with Matt shooting Nerf balls into the audience. The balls represent things you read, wear, listen to and watch. Each ball had something different written on it. Certain balls represented creatives and the others represented the marketing people. The creative ones had phrases like raise canaries, iPod, Toy Robot, PMS 187 and collect Peeps. The marketing people had phrases on their balls like reads best sellers, Disney World, Sports Illustrated, Banana Republic, Coach Potato, People Magazine etc. His point is that we as designers have a capacity to edit. We have a need to take in so much more visually. He also stated that today anyone can be a designer. All that you need is a Mac and some software. What makes us different is what happens in between the eye and the brain. In essence, we are a ÄúlibraryÄù. Matt works for Hasbro and works in the division that markets to teen and preteen girls. A lot of what Matt does is trend hunting. He travels the globe in search of the next big thing. Write now we are seeing many influences from Japan. They are always ahead of us. I thought it was interesting how he described some of the reasons that the Japanese are such trendsetters. First of all they come from a very creative and cultural history. In the past each community had it's own cultural identity. It had it's own symbols and visual uniqueness. I found it interesting how the Japanese culture really encourages their youth to work at being original from the ages of 17-20. Whether it is pink hair or clothes made out of plastic, the Japanese really embrace this experimentation in their youth. When they reach twenty then they are supposed to enter into the work force. Their girls also feel less pressure to grow up so fast. It is very common for a twenty-year-old Japanese girl to carry around a stuffed animal. I think this explains why everything is so over the top cute in their culture. He then proceeded to show some of the biggest Japanese influences on our culture right now.

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 08:13:44 -0700

Monday Breakout Sessions 3:45

Please share your thoughts and reviews about the sessions that we couldn't cover. These sessions include Wilde Thinking, Paying Your Dues Without Selling Your Soul, Secrets of Perfect Printing Revealed, and Designing Your Reality.

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 07:08:24 -0700

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