You can view the entire book by clicking on the pdf link below.

SLC Book pdf

My role— I work with the designer Christina Erteszek developing and designing her communications pieces, art directing photo shoots for print and web, and most recently in color consultation for the line. The web programmer for this site is William Glenn.

So what does this have to do with you? If you are seeking to build your business, improve or alter your messaging or just getting started— you are going to need strong and innovative marketing and creative thinking in your tool kit.  But here’s the rub. There is no measuring stick for creativity. There is no hourly rate put on the design process. It would be virtually impossible to clock in and out every time I thought about a client as once I’m on the job, I think about your product or service all the time. A creative person is inspired by everything and often will find applications for it to a client’s marketing or design. Let them do it and you will be more than pleased with what that creativity can do for your bottom line. Apple is a shiny example of that. Their marketing is brilliant. Their packaging is dead on. It feels like Christmas when you buy anything from Apple.

So the message here is this. Innovative design and marketing can and does improve your bottom line. Period. Stop concerning yourself over how much time it took to develop a logo or brand system, and start asking yourself does this design do what I need it to do? Is it helping my image or telling my message? Is it speaking to the right audience? If your answer is no, then you need to find yourself an inspired creative who can help you with this and let them. It will be worth it.

Now, everyone is going QR crazy. It’s sort of getting ridiculous really. Next we’ll have them tattooed on our foreheads for the quick response to who we are and what we do. Just scan me and download the info. Wow! That’s it. Just scan me. What if the t-shirt was just a QR code? No frills. Get With the Program. Once you scan someone with the t-shirt on, you’ll go to the KDUR web site and get the deets. I had this vision of people scanning each other and it sounded like fun.

So here it is.

KDUR

It always feels too soon to be thinking about the Holidays. Crazy even. Yet as a business owner, timing is great to start your holiday marketing and planning.

Ready for a few ideas?

1. Retarget your particular audience. This concept is used a lot in online marketing. The idea that you reach out to people who have already visited your store or in this case, online site. Think about how it applies to your retail store. How can you sepcifically call on them again to think of you for the holiday shopping season? Do you have a data base or some other means to talk to your customer?

2. Kicking off a mini campaign specifically for this season can increase visibility and boost sales. What’s new about your store? What’s special? Remind your customer shopping local is a way to benefit the entire community. Your customers are searching for holiday gift  idea as early as three months before the actual holiday. Start giving them good ideas.

3. A slow economy is not the time to abandon your advertising and marketing efforts. Be a savvy retailer and really focus on your customer. The customer needs to know that you are sensitive to the economy but you need to stay top of mind. Using as many cost effective tools to stay in touch with your customer, perhaps even more than before will keep you first and foremost in their mind.

4.People are spending less, but are making their money count. Many consumers are looking closer to home to shop and are making choices based on environmental considerations. Can a small percentage of their purchase go to a cause? A purchase they can feel good about. Additionally, your customers are looking to buy from smaller locally owned or operated shops. Step up.

5. It’s hard to compete with the ease of online buying. The internet has provided a way for people to shop within their “community” by giving brands the opportunity to deliver a more locally focused offer and reach their social networking audience. What can a retail store do that they can’t? You can offer an experience that makes the holidays more enjoyable and less hectic. Humans are real and many would prefer to interact with one than a computer. Be human and be available to your customer. Create a cozy hoilday experience so your customer tells their friends how fun it was to shop at your store.

And most of all smile. Holidays are supposed to be fun. If you are having fun, your employees and customers are as well.

Another one of my logos has been selected to be published as part of the Master Library series, titled Typography & Enclosures- a part of the LogoLounge new series of books. This one is for a package design I put together for Jaki’s Eye Makeup Remover Cloths. This project was maybe one of my favorites. I loved the illustration and fun feel of the design. It was just really great to explore this range. The logo was selected for its typography treatment.

Milton Glaser, designer

What is a Logo.

I am often asked what I think the purpose of a logo is or in other words, what is its job description. My answer is always the same. It’s an emotional trigger. It is the most boiled down essence of a business. It’s there to either remind you of the expereince you have had with a business or service, whether your experience is limited to your ad in a phonebook or a full blown marketing campaign.

More importantly, I continue, is what the logo’s job IS NOT. It’s not there to give your potential customer the low down on everything you do. It’s not there to fulfill the role of a capabilities brochure or website or advertisement. In fact, the more you put into your logo, the more confusing the message often is.

A logo is the entry point to the brand message.

“While brand speaks to the mind and heart, brand identity is tangible and appeals to the senses. Brand identity is the visual and verbal expression of a brand. It begins with a brand name and brand mark and builds exponentially into a matrix of tools and communications.

Brand identity is a tool that is powerful and ubiquitous. It is the shortest, fastest form of communication available. It is an asset that needs to be managed, nourished, invested in, and leveraged. Done well, brand identity is the consistent reminder of the meaning of the brand.” Alina Wheeler, Designing Brand Identity

On Building a Logo.

It used to be that once a logo was created, you left it alone. It stayed true to itself for years, never failing in its unflinching ability to remain ageless. We now live in a different world. People are fickle and easily swayed. We have access to loads of information, loads of brands and ways to buy them. What we think is cool one day is not necessarily so the next. I believe that a logo today needs to live and breathe. By that, I don’t mean that you change it up all the time just for fun. You allow it to be flexible and adaptable when necessary while staying true to its core essence. But one thing that has not changed about logos, or at least strong logos, is that it absolutely must be a functional design.

The basic rules for judging this functionality are:

· Does it succeed in one color as well as multiple colors?

· Can you shrink it and maintain clarity or blow it up large without degradation in quality?

· Can you embroider, screen print or give it some other treatment successfully?

· Can you give the logo to someone for use on a poster without any issues due to filters that do not translate from one file format to another?

But really this brings me to the bigger issue of what a logo should be or do. I know I have written on this before. It’s a big thing for me, because you often see logos that are trying to do too much. It does not have to include everything that a business does. It really just needs to trigger an emotional response. This little frog guy does that for me. It makes me curious, want to know more, smile and think about solar technology and its impact on the world.

I think that’s a good thing.