Big Brand Makeovers - Love em or Hate em?

When brand identity makeovers make the evening news, nothing good can happen. What are your thoughts on these two, latest big-brand makeovers? I like em, but then again, as a designer, I can't help be attracted to the new. 

Being Excited to be 'Wrong'

Jonathan Ive once said in a 1996 ( yes, 1996) interview that " It's the inquisitiveness, the sense of exploration" that drives creative teams to new concepts. "It's about being excited to be wrong because then you know that you've discovered something new". Today, the idea of "new" is often talked about in terms of innovation rather than invention, yet, truly new ideas are often scary, if only because they are unfamiliar, and let's face it - what is unfamiliar today? Very little.

It's true that most industries today have very little appetite for risk taking, let alone being open for truly 'new' ideas. A fact that has design trying to catch up in a world where cliche is more digestible to marketers and consumers, than something, different yet better.

New and different doesn't mean that an object or product is better, but it is often the first step in creating a new and enhanced experience. We all expect so much from products today, that often design teams and development teams over-think the evaluation process, resulting in either an over-design product, or a 'looks-like-wanna-be". Of course, most company's will never admit that they function that way, opting for a less aggressive, more cautious statement such as "evolutionary design' or, consumer friendly".

In the future, the real winners will be those who can set new bars - those who can invest with confidence those concepts that  can become legend. Back to Ive's research just for materials, imagine convincing your computer electronics design team to visit a candy factory to see how jelly beans are coated, to discover a new way to treat plastic, now that is raising the bar.

The nuanced and informed work of Matt Lehman

 Matt Lehmon is talented.

 Oh, and before you check our the rest of his work samples posted here,  note that the Matt Lehman Studio is starting to get attention from everyone from Grain Edit to Nordstrom, it won't be long before this client list becomes more impressive so if you want to use him, hurry up! Not that it isn't well known already, after looking as his client list. Clearly, Mr. Lehmon has the chops, and the talent to combine multiple skills of type master, color, art style and creative tone, setting what are often new looks in a world where it is far too easy to look like everyone else.

It doesn't matter where you are from, what school you went to, or where you have worked before, real talent like this rises no matter what. Again, it comes down to what makes one creative different than another, and these differences must be more than just differences - it remains essential that all creative work meets the high standards of culture today, meaning, perfect execution, or perfectly-imperfect intentional disruption, as well as multiple micro skills that inspire oneself to combine techniques for the first time, or revisit old ones, to dare to use a new color palette, or to craft type with nuance and style resulting in a work of art that captures the attention of the audience. These are the skills which define average designers from the rest of the pack. (Yes, the same goes for the brands who hire those creatives).

 Brands? If you want to stand out from the competition, and connect with the new consumer who demands that you understand them. then this is the sort of work that wins. Matt has the right DNA and clearly the right resume ( a few years at the venerable  Anderson Design Group, and a few more at MTV). Not that either make any difference, for such talent will rise anyway, but it does prove one thing- his URL will be making it into many creative directors' bookmarks faster than you can say vectorize it.

Wang Bang and Bose? Watch out for these!

Watch out Bose, the sound reducing headphone market is exploding with savvy cool brands and design. This weekend, I noticed at leave four different hot brands on a flight, and I wanted them all. Do they sound as great as Bose? If not, they look better, but looks aren't everything, right?

 Hmmm.... I'm now not so sure. Like bikes, sneakers, homegoods and jewelry, headphones are making huge design leaps, and, best of all, they are layering in a huge does of lifestyle to boot. These folks know their target, and their market. 

Thanks to Thrillist, check these latest ones out...Named after a Chinese factory worker with really awesome parents, FW's a new high-end headphone-maker CEO'd by a former Netscape dude and developed by a sound engineer from Monster, offering Bose-quality sound at half the price of an N.W.A+ brand like Beats by Dr. Dre. Available as crisp black, red, or white over-ears, these sound-enhancers feature an aluminum-hinged duo-fold structure that lets you fold them into a more-compact Nerf football shape, plus a four-way noise canceling solution and custom-paired titanium-plated drivers to guarantee the sound is of the highest caliber, just like Omar's piece. Oh, indeed. Coolest of all, every pair comes with a built-in duo jack that uses an in-line cable splitter so you can plug in a second pair of headphones and share crystal clear highs and mids with your bros, which'll come in handy the next time there's a dispute over who gets to watch Fried Green Tomatoes first.

Expect to see FW's noise canceling headphones drop in the US sometime in July with expertly crafted, technology-backed over-ear sound delivery, which was no doubt a painful process for Mrs. Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo.

Read more: http://www.thrillist.com/node/222120#ixzz1Nw6sjjQy

Millennials, Gen X want more from the retail experience

Considering re-inventing your retail space? You're not alone. read here about how JWTIntelligence writes about the trend.

Data point: Millennials, Gen X want more from the retail experience

Discovering David Klein

While searching for some period influence for art posters, I can across a site for artist David Klein ( 1918 -2005), and I realized that I am more familiar with his work that I had thought. Since my father was also ( is also) an illustrator and graphic artist from the same era in New York ( 1914- ), I recognized the style and many of the pieces from his studio. If you are looking to design vintage looking type, posters or advertising inspired by the mid twentieth Century, you must review the work of David Klein.

The original 1960's travel poster that inspired the Orbitz poster.

David Klein is more will known for his Broadway window cards since his first job was for the theatrical advertising agency Clifford Strohl Associates in New York City. His illustrations for Broadway' dbrdy knoen shows of the era remains on of the most enduring hallmarks of the golden age of Broadway and graphic design.

Hi book illustration ranged from children's books to text book medical illustrations.

A New Generation Pushes the Big Brands Hip

LAB Partners design and Illustration's work for a new HP Retail Publishing group, who will appeal to a younger, hip consumer who expects more ( or less) from advertising. Thanks to the suaveness of Goodby, Silvertein and Partners, this idea grows into something completely new and fresh and very far away from the 1990's model of Neville Brody design that we still see so much of today in big business.

Happy Bottledays - Evian's Paul Smith Bottle

Evian launches a bottle designed by British fashion designer, Paul Smith. An icon gets madeover for the Holidays.

ADC Young Guns - Julien Vallée and pecha kuchaism

ADC Young Gun winner, Julien Valée may have presented a body of work at an Apple Store, but this could be a Window dislay equally, effective. It's high and low, tech, and could still sell the most sophisticated of electronics. Yeah, paper sculpture can sell technology today as well as a slick, perfectly shiny photo with a reflection, can. Maybe,even better. Take note, Apple.

Connecting with culture today takes much more than simply believing that modernity is the the answer. For, after all, what is modernity today, anyway? Recently, a number of factors are moving me, personally, to challenge conventional thinking when it comes to crafting creative design solutions. Mostly, I am exploring the curious trend of technology becoming more organic, and natural rather than the cliche expressions we see over and over again from the tech companies. Take Apple, for instance.

It's funny, and quite clear, to see brands beyond Apple, design packaging which is sold within the Apple stores. "Make it look like Apple" and suddenly, it's quaintly not new, not modern, not original, and definitely, not Apple. Sometimes, the answer can be found in the solution rather than the challenge. Creative people, who are brilliantly good at it, are discovering some amazingly elegant and yet, provocative ways to capture our attention. After all, marketing today should be more about engaging us ( even if it means, entertaining us) than boring us with the expected. The message, if presented effectively, can be said more in the experience, than in words.


Take Montreal ADC Young Gun Julien Vallée's work. Brilliantly new, a voice of today, if not tomorrow, and certainly worth noting.



Congrat's also, to ALSO, chicago design firm, and friends, who've I've been using for years for their creative collective minds. You go, Guys!

I can see the Future, and it's moving. Look out Harry Potter.

The idea that motion in print, in our magazine, newspapers, or whatever we end up calling our devices it going to become a reality, seems unavoidable given the progress that technology is making. According to Mashable last week, it's really going to happen, and I can't wait. "Two still mythical tablet devices, the Microsoft Courier and the Apple Tablet, are probably the hottest and most coveted devices that do not yet officially exist.

OLED TEchnology allows for bendable screens.

With print on paper magazines failing left and right, (good bye Gourmet), and with everyone freaking out about books, magazines, journals and print going away for ever, and even with libraries closing, books and newspapers leaving our shelves and doorsteps, there comes along a disruption - thank you Harry Potter, and your world of moving images in Newspapers...maybe this fantasy will become reality sooner than we think ( Thanks Gizmodo) (Via Designdust).

I have always believed that even though many things which are creatively produced in our life are now repeating, that in reality, we are just in a time of tremendous change, a time of transition, a cultural florescence may be about to happen. Print may not be going away, only the medium. In our world where magazines seem old fashioned and quaint, we still love our printed medium, but we want it free, or at least in high def. Think about it////this Holiday season, many of us want an Amazon Kindle, next year, we may want a 4 color version, or a Microsoft Courier, even an Apple Tablet. Print isn't leaving us, it's only getting better. Much better. It's becoming motion-print, and not unlike those black and white newspaper photos in the Harry Potter films, we may actually be entering a whole new era of design and creativity that can, indeed, change everything.


OLED Technology allows for flexible, video

Sure, it may take a few years, but I can't help but to imagine that these digital devices are only a stepping stone to newer mediums, and with the introduction of flexible video by Sony and Samsung, the idea of 'Living Magazines" may not be that far off. The future of flexible video may be pricey now, at least to be disposable, but maybe it isn't disposable? And, come to think of it, the idea of me finding a $10,000 plasma screen TV seemed unimaginable 5 years ago, now, they are at discount stores for less than 300 bucks. As an avid reader and a fan of scientific and botanical journals, this concept may change how plant societies and main line magazines, if not certainly advertising, will consider print in the not too distant future.

UK designer Pete Harrison's Magic

In time when Photoshop becomes more of the look than the artist, comes along someone like Pete Harrison. As a tool, Photoshop can be as useful as an Xacto knive or Rapidograph was to an earlier generation of creatives. But merely learning the filters and applying bevel and emboss to a font or image, rarely results in brilliant design. Usually, it's just a mess. Still, Photoshop and Illustrator along with many computer programs have become the primary cause for the recent demise of design and creative talent.

But in the right hands, this powerful tool can help artists create extraordinary designs that move, motivate and sell. Check out the work of the UK's Pete Harrison, known as Aeiko, and aeiko.net.

Live and Let Never Die

Now that I've moved back into the home I was born in ( yikes), and the house my 96 year old dad was born in ( yikes), I've been living in a sort-of time warp. Cleaning out attic's and cellar, sheds and barns, has been rather cathartic, and healing. As a designer, I am also finding the venture less of an exercise in nostalgia than I had expected. It's been a bit surprising to see how relevant many of the magazine covers, advertisements ( not the tech one or auto ads, but the food ad's!) have been. In a time when I am constantly pitching against "I hate circus type" and " That ad feels, so......1970's" or :" I love it but change the sixties feeling image", it's been just plain old fun, to see some of the pure, vintage type and styles. All fodder for helping others understand the differences, and the real reasons why we are currently revisiting the past. Surely, many of these images will be making their way into my presentations.

First, a bit of naughty. I admit that I am old enough to remember this sexy cover by Herb Alpert - for the famous and still rather edgy Whipped Cream cover, was the foundation of a "private club' I created in 1967 in a back cubby of our chicken coop, um..well, goat house actually, which makes the story better, if not creepier. our 'boy's club' was called the Bradford Boobies Club, after all, we we're 9 years old, and this is what 9 year old boys do in the 1960's, right? It was inspired by random clipping swiped from my Dad's Art In America circa 1967 magazines, which, well, had lots of black and white images of boobies and such, since hey, it was the 60's. Anyway, I found this album cover in our cellar last weekend, and three days later, I get this email from a design firm pal,( thanks Gabe!) who shares, out of frustration, the struggle and sometimes irony that surround the recent trend of using the past as inspiration for something modern, specifically - recycled type, mid-century images. For those of us who 'Get it', it's been a time of frustration and defense, and sometimes, the only way to sell through a vision is to defend it with proof-of-concept. People and business will 'get-it' soon enough, until then, check out this re-creation:




Reinvention is fab when executed perfectly. Which reminds me of this recent redesign of the Hilton identity for Hilton Honors, which pay's homage to the 1966 logo, but still, so elegant and daring. Isn't it amazing when such vision is confidently brought to fruition in a business world which is sensitive to change? One has to admire such feats. Go Hilton.




While on the subject of vintage inspired type, I can't help myself, and must share these cover designs for books created by artist Michael Gillette for Penguin UK. Michael's work continues to show up on my radar, and on others, as I've noticed on a recent binge researching for another project. Surely, this won't be the last we see of him.

Brands be nimble, brands be quick

After a week of globe trotting, I've had time to think ridiculously long on red-eye flights. Mostly, I've been thinking about what's next in my life. What do I want and where will I get it. What can I offer, and where do I want to offer it. Stuff like that. Oh, and yeah, I've also been thinking about the future, not just of design, but about nailing tickets to the opening ceremonies at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, about what color Nike runners should I decide on at Nike.com ( black with white soles, or black, steel grey and white soles?), but mostly, I've been thinking about bigger junk. Bigger opportunities, bigger steps that might change everything for me.

This sort of thinking has be bonking myself in the head sometimes, but this time it is different, for, sometimes, the answers are right there in front of you, the whole time, and you suddenly realize it only when viewing it from 33,000 feet.

That had be thinking about desire lines, a metaphor coined by landscape architects for those paths people ( or, my dogs) make in yards, parks, etc, that do not follow the identified paths, that the designer intended. Shortcuts, if you will. I read an article online by Peter Merholz and his concept of desire Lines as a metaphor for the 'Adaptive Path', brilliant, obvious, but brilliant because of that innate obviousness. I love that. The idea of adaptive design come slow, to some businesses, but in a world which is constantly changing, and redefining what one should and should not do when it comes to marketing or in attracting consumers, it's not surprising at all, after all, adaptive design is, um, scary. In the USA, a commercial is currently airing which confirms my theory that many still feel that listening entirely to the enduser, is still rather irresponsible, old school even, after all, what do they know about what they want? The ad is for a telephone service, and runs something with a line like this" You mean you are listening to the customer? What do they know, that sounds dumb to me".

Dumb? Well, perhaps, if you are in the business of blazing new trails, for I don't disagree with the fact that often, the masses will direct you in the most common direction, if not the most cliche one....then again, with some brands, the customer will only lead to to the most direct, and obvious path if you listen to them, and ...well, see? It might actually make stupid sense with certain brands. Confused? Look....

Peter references a recent talk by Doug Bowman, Creative Director of Twitter, and it reminded me of recently meeting him on the set of Martha Stewart, there, he talked about how the Twitter consumer is actually improving his idea, by use. User designed, if you will. Martha asked him why did he limit Twitter chat exchanged to 140 character message? And he responded with a technical solution, that that was the amount of characters that could fit comfortably on a cell phone window. Beyond that, not much thought went into what the user will think , or how they might use it.

All around us consumers adjust their use. At Hasbro, little girls played with The LIttlest Petshop Toys, but they never had names or a world, so girls made up their own, now, the brand is massive worldwide, and continues to grow. Twitter users created FollowFridays (#ff), hashtags, retweets,etc, and Twitter is now the number one choice for sharing news, thoughts and ideas worldwide. Somethings just don't need to be designed, rather, they are phenomenal, they evolve, they have a life of their own (scary) but exciting if you've got the balls. Mostly, you need to be open to such information, and use it properly, not over react, not deny it, not ignore it, and most definitely, have the ability to not only identify it but to jump on it. ( if not over it).

Desire lines are sometimes right there in front of us. "I want it, oh I don't know why, maybe because it's yellow" Or maybe because it makes me look successful, or part of a tribe. Maybe it makes me look sexy, hot, thin, rich, tough, cute, or maybe I want it because I am lazy, rushed, tired, the reasons are endless, but ultimately, they often are emotionally rooted. Still, we all desire something, and usually, that something, is expressed as a brand.

Especially in Internet usage, but even more so in architecture and space, well, anywhere where humans must navigate, be it a website, a mall, or a retail store. Even a magazine page, a package back panel, even a remote control for a TV, damn it. And, yes, even a park. Fact is, sometimes THEY do know better. Not always, but, sometimes design is so obvious, that the answer is right there in front of you. Just don't trip over the candlestick.

What happens when the mall, is suddenly, more experiencial than your retail store?

The Tokyo, Omotosando Prada retail experience designed by Herzog & de Meuron





I was researching retail store design this weekend at my local high-end mall, and I noticed something. Amongst the faux wearhouses, concrete cubes and other fantastically designed retail stores, there were still rather average experiences, if not poor ones. The best analogy I can throw together is that now that the interior of the Mall is essentially, perfectly designed with birch forests, interesting angles and surprising arcs of glass and space, that some of the retail stores still stuck in the 1990's felt, um...a bit like shoe stores. Laminated wood, chrome, and some even had cash out areas at the door.

But the retail world is changing faster than many of us all thought, and I think, for the good. A recent trip to Tokyo reinforced this while researching Zaha Hadid buildings for retain, for my book Beyond Trend. Simple, think like the firm, Eight.inc.

As these images suggest, when retail design moves beyond the typically inward focus of interior design (something in which most retail stores take part), the results can elegantly (and instantly) raise the brand’s profile and even transform the shopping experience of neighboring stores. Herzog & de Meuron’s exoskeleton Prada store in Tokyo’s high-end shopping district is one of many “one-off” Prada stores designed by noted architects. Instead of developing a one-size-fits-all in-store experience, Prada shrewdly chose to bolster its image by being unique in each location - so long as each store is suitable for its level of luxury. Prada’s Tokyo store plays well against Toyo Ito’s Tod’s store down the street too, which consists of another equally original take on exoskeleton/open floor-plan architecture - this time in the form of poured concrete and seemingly random shards

The Apple’s store experiences are certainly among the most well-executed worldwide. Eight Inc.’s minimalist use of materials, color, and layout are perfectly consistent with the clean, efficient design of most Apple products; similarly, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s crystalline Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York City serenely rests in a clearing of monolithic, concrete, behemoths (a fortuitous - or sly - Apple v. Microsoft metaphor).

Behance Brilliance. Go ffffffFFFFFAT Face

Lately, I am loving the work of Montreal graphic artist Stefan Dukaczewski. Seems like others are too, after the buzz online at Freelance network Behance, as well as FFFOUND. Look how sweet his work is here - hint* it's the color!