DAAKEPov

A Different Green Thumb

Regardless of the roller-coaster temperatures outdoors, the gardening season is here. People are eager to realize the personal fulfillment of putting a seed or a plant in the ground in May and a couple months later enjoying the fruits and veggies of their labors. It’s a way to utilize and at the same time care for the environment. Farmer’s markets are great, but you can’t get any more “locally-grown” than your own back yard. 

Bring Focus Into Strategy

A point of convergence. The clarity of an image. Close attention. The center of interest. The most important information being presented. All these words describe one very important word: focus. 

DAAKE Wins 18 Industry Awards

DAAKE brings home 18 Aster & Healthcare Advertising Awards for 2010. Among them were 4 Gold Asters for Magazine Publications, Service Lines and Poster/Displays; and 2 Gold Healthcare Awards for Publication External and Website.

Design and Well-Being

Health. Happiness. Prosperity. Security. All are factors that affect a person’s well-being. But for a designer, there’s more. 

Design Requires a Pac-Man Sized Appetite

Creativity can be described as fulfilling a hunger to produce something new, relevant and exciting. To satisfy their appetites for fresh ideas, designers need to be more than skilled producers, they must be voracious, non-stop consumers.

Think of Pac-Man, the yellow circle with the chomping mouth. Insatiable by nature, he (or Ms. Pac-Man) gobbled up those pulsating dots – and the pink, aqua, orange and red ghosts that chased him, once they turned a valuable shade of blue.
 

The Blank Face of Electronic Communication 

How many emails did you send and receive today? Now, compare that to how many face-to-face meetings. Is the ratio of emails to meetings 10:1? Higher? 

Speak Figuratively

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a figure of speech should be worth at least nine-hundred. When you say something that causes the listener to interact with the statement and visualize it, or put context around, or try to understand what you mean - you have just engaged them. This isn't a new idea in advertising. Any compelling headline plays on clichés and figures of speech. But what about everyday PowerPoint presentations or elevator pitches or that pamphlet in your lobby?

Design To Overcome ‘Attitude Gaps’

Designers realize the mindset of an individual changes dependent upon demographics such as education, income, even the area in which we live. But to market successfully requires going beyond obvious distinctions and examining other factors, not the least of which is optimism.

Insist on Thrashing Early

Design, in my opinion, is like sculpting something out of a large block. First you make the big awkward block out of all the practical, impractical, crazy and logical ideas. Pile on everything the audience wants and everything the client needs. Then you thrash away at it trying to slim it down into something beautiful. Sometimes a big piece flies off that needs to be put back, sometimes you're standing with 95% of block at your feet in rubble. The idea is to get at the CORE - the soul of the brand message.

A Brand You Can Bank On 

How long is a brand? How deep? Better yet, what is a brand worth? All intangibles, as difficult to measure as dedication and integrity. But still possible.