Topic “Observations”
Putting You Face-to-Facebook With The Crowd
How many friends do you have? Not real friends. Facebook friends. There is a difference.
I can tell you how many friends I have in real life, and it’s nowhere near the number of friends I have on Facebook. That number includes distant relatives, acquaintances, former coworkers, even friends of other people in my family. My extended friends.
Designing From the Inside Out
Ever since the dawn of instant coffee, people crave immediacy. It’s a demand that frustrates and challenges today’s designers. Without an endless supply of duct tape, people aren’t going to sit still long enough to be educated by unfamiliar concepts and images. They’ll see what they expect to see based on what they already know. Unless you hit a nerve immediately, they might not even bother to notice.
Should Some Brands Come With “Sell-By” Dates?
From ice cream to bottled water, nearly everything that goes past our lips has a “sell-by” date on the package. Wise to check on meat and milk, but water? If it’s a week past the date, does water lose something? Flavor?
When A Company Tunes Itself Out
I had my doubts when I heard last fall that longtime (since 1921) retailer RadioShack was finally attempting to join the 21st century with a rebranding. Rather than an engaging redesign, the company’s decision was to simply drop the word “Radio” from its name in favor of “The Shack.”
Wow. Right off that’s confusing, especially in conversation. Did you mean “The Shaq” as in basketball phenom Shaquille O’Neal, or “The Shack” as in the oddly popular paperback by William Young, or “The Shack” as in that old electronic parts store RadioShack, or . . .?
Keep Watching, My Friends
It’s risky to say the least, especially in marketing. But there are times when it works perfectly.
Design Puts The You In Unique
I went to a very cool wine tasting event at a local shop. Rather than concentrate on the varietal (Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc), they give six wines to taste – three whites and three reds – to help you determine your "style." Based on what you like, your style in white wine may be "crisp," "silky" or "rich;" your reds either "fruity," "mellow" or "bold." Wines for sale are grouped by these styles, not by variety or origin. Your style is what you look for. Your style sets you apart.
Afraid of Failure? Then Do Nothing.
I have a friend whose 10-year-old son plays Little League baseball. Because the boys do the pitching, and because it’s hard for them to find the strike zone, there are probably 10 times more walks than base hits. But one of the coaches my friend’s team plays against told his boys not to swing when they go to bat. At anything. He thinks that by doing nothing, eventually enough boys will get walked and they’ll score. It’s frustrating to watch and embarrassing for the boys. They aren’t learning how to hit. And their opponents aren’t learning how to field because there are no hits.
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.
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.
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