Category Archives: mad scribblings

The Everything Syndrome

That Swiss army knife is great, it has everything in it, and it can do just about anything — if you don’t happen to have any real tools around. The multi-tool sacrifices the ability to do any one thing great, by trying to do everything. Unfortunately, the same is true of a lot of marketing pieces. Anxiety about not missing anything leads to cramming in every last little thing a company can do, so we overload the copy. We think we’re communicating (and therefore selling) the value of the company, but we’re often just causing confusion. In the end this makes messaging less memorable. Each piece of marketing collateral should be serving a purpose, a particular function within your selling process. Don’t try to make every piece do everything. Instead, try to make each piece effective in its given role, and don’t be afraid to hang your hat on the one thing that your company does best. Otherwise, you may end up with a stack of Swiss army knives and still not be able to hammer in any sales.

Also posted in Branding Thoughts, context, tools | Comments closed

The Mirror and the Lens

We in the marketing game love to talk about processes, tools, trends, methodologies and such, but when it comes to branding I think the most important tools at our disposal are the mirror and the lens. A brand is more than the sum of its marks; it is an expression of the company, a promise to the customers, and a signpost for expectation and accountability.

To brand effectively requires introspection – a good, long, hard, look in the mirror. It is essential to understand what you look like, to know how you are perceived from the outside. You need to examine your best face and your worst hair day to know where to apply your energies and to know how you can best service the brand you’ve created. The mirror help us see ourselves, take in our own gestalt, but we need to be open to what we see when we take a look.

Once we’ve begun to see ourselves, the lens is how we focus down on trouble spots.  Examining detail, tweaking and adjusting under the microscope.  Bending our vision to see as clearly as possible the impact our corporate work flows are having on our outputs and acceptance.

The process is not linear, but a pendulum swinging back and forth between the holistic and the detailed, the gestalt and the minutiae. This motion between mirror and lens bringing context to both views and thereby creating a deep and permeating brand awareness.

Also posted in Branding Thoughts, context | Comments closed

Simplicity Made Simple

John Maeda is remarkable. He is a designer, computer scientist,  and spokesperson for all things simple. He is the author of a wonderful little book called “The Laws of Simplicity.“  Why is it wonderful?  Why is he remarkable? Well, anyone who would in print (see p.89) accuse a rugby team (and I say this as a former member of the scrum) of relying too much on intellect is remarkable IMHO.

The book is wonderful because of the audacity and originality of the subject. Maeda takes an a priori concept, simplicity, and makes it the focal point of a structured meditation and analysis. We all know what simplicity is when we run across it.  We admire it when it informs design, and we expect it in our daily interactions with both life and technology, but how many of us have taken a pause to reflect on it? If for no other reason than to take some time out to marinate on the nature of simplicity, this book is a worthy read.

Personally, I am most excited about the role of context in the study of simplicity. Simplicity doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it needs complexity as a foil to have meaning. Exploring the tension between complexity and simplicity can often be the foundation of great design, elegant usability, or even an effective business model. In the book, Maeda keeps it simple, deliberately only scratching the surface on this and other aspects of simplicity, but in doing so he creates a framework for deeper analysis, and even argument.  The simplicity of the structure providing the mental space for exploring a not-so-simple subject.

Also posted in Bibliography, context | Comments closed

Thought for (the end of) the day

To quote John Maeda (who may well have been quoting someone else), “At the end of the day, there is an end of the day.”

I just love that phrase.  It reminds me that time keeps moving no matter what we do, no matter how we might protest, so you should value your time and use it wisely. It also makes me think that the many trials and adversities we may face will also pass.  We build our lives, reach our goals, survive our struggles, and create our legacies one day at a time. Of course here at Propel Creative we like to say, “At the end of the day there is Krog”.  Naturally, we get some funny looks.

Also posted in Thought for the day | Comments closed
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    Caitlín Mowbray"I adore your doodles... I swear looking at those bunnies lowers my blood pressure, calms my mind and makes me smarter. Who needs meditation when there are bunnies?"
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