Articles

Recently I was introduced to Adham Shaikh by my good friend Billy, who lives near Adham in Nelson, BC. There are a surprising amount of amazing musicians in and around Nelson, so when he told me that Adham was bring an entire band of world musicians to play at the Commodore Ballroom as part of the Jazz Festival, I was there. And he did not disappoint. While Adham played live keyboards and ran the computers, his small musical army wove together a modern global village sound using instruments such as the bansuri, conga, darbouka, djembe, mbira, flute, mouth harps, mandolin and others. The immensely talented and seductive Gemma Luna not only stunned the audience with her belly dancing skills, but with haunting Indian vocals, completely owning the stage except perhaps for a few occasions when Wassabi Collective's Melissa showed off the percussive and vocal skills she's so well known for. Guest vocalists, a spoken word artist and one of the best dijeradoo players I've ever heard joined the large live ensemble, sometimes causing Shaikh to be slightly lost in the background of his own invention, but there is no question, that this was a special event not often seen in Vancouver. The set, which included songs from his 2004 Grammy nominated release Fusion and new album Collectivity (I'm listening to it now) was an "Indian dub fusion" sonic journey with influences from India, Asia, Eastern Eruope, Carribean and North America. I went home buzzing. I forgot that music could be this cool. Thanks Adham. Speaking of musical armies, this weekend I saw something I won't soon forget: Polyphonic Spree. I have to admit I wasn't really very aware of who they were prior to my friend Jer telling me about their show. I recall something about happy music and a large orchestra and choir. What an understatement! Now that I've seen them perform live, a more accurate description might be a church-like experience with a powerful, high-energy guru leading his 24 musicians (you read that right - 24!) create a HUGE symphonic choral rock sound that makes Herbalizer's "wall of sound" seem like a warm up act. Behind DeLaughter's huge vocals are a gorgeous all-female choir, keyboards, flute, percussions, guitar, bass, cello, trumpets, trombones, violins, French horns, theremin, various digital effects—even a harp. And they are super tight. Spree is hard to explain, so I did some online learning (of course). They've been described by Billboard as "less a band than a happening" and that seems pretty accurate to me. Their website About page begins with "What do you do when your surrounded by darkness and demons? Some pull up the covers and hide, but not The Polyphnic Spree." With a high-energy marriage of passion, beauty, delight, uplifting message, and various other "hippy-isms", it felt like I was at a rally of some sort, the only one in the room who wasn't a member of a movement. At one point, my friend Alan—a musician himself—leaned over and said, "I'd drink his KoolAid" and knew exactly what he meant. Led by former Tripping Daisy frontman Tim DeLaughter, Polyphonic Spree had a packed Commodore Ballroom on their feet jumping and dancing with abandon in a rain of confetti. Like a Pentacostle preacher who has worked his congregation into a Holy Spirit frenzy, DeLaughter turned the entire audience into his own choir on several occaisions, culminating in the best rendition of his lost friend's song Lithium. Nobody should cover that song live unless you can play it the way they did. Their performance has to be one of the most powerful live music experiences I've ever experienced. When was the last time you saw 25 people performing their hearts out on stage after days on a bus for a whopping $25? Exactly. The concert reminded me that good music, as with any inspirations, can be unexpected and inexpensive. Thanks Spree, for making me a convert. But the most impressive recent musical discovery? Not Adham Shaikh. Not Polyphonic Spree. Nope. Spree's opening act actually: Jesca Hoop. Never heard of her, right? Me neither. I had no idea who she was, but when we walked into that room and heard her voice over the unfortunate din of a chatting crowd as they awaited the Spree onslaught, I was immediately hooked and beelined for the stage. It didn't take long for the rest of the room to take notice. This young woman's seemingly simple delivery of remarkably complex original songs was a dizying experience. I struggle to find the words to describe Hoop's style, if she even has one, but it was sort of like someone had jammed all the great female folk singers into a blender along with old jazz and blues masters and blended it like some musical smoothie. There seem to be so many influences in Hoop's music that it seems as though there may be none. One moment her whymsical vocal style reminds of Bjork or Jane Siberry, the next she's conjuring Edith Piaf or Joni Mitchell. Her fearless compositions and bold poetic lyrics are reminiscent of early Tom Waits, who I've since learned is her mentor and friend (she used to be Tom Waits' nanny!). Waits describes Hoop's music as "like a four-sided coin. She is an old soul, like a black pearl, a good witch, or a red moon. Her music is like going swimming in a lake at night.” He's exactly right. Sounds like jibberish? Well you try! Check out her website www.jescahoop.com and mySpace page www.myspace.com/jescahoop and have a listen or check out a couple videos and you'll see what I mean. If you can do a better job explaining this musical hipster, post your thoughts below. Discovering Jesca Hoop on that stage was a wonderful moment indeed. Like falling in love at first site. It was the kind of musical experience that made me so grateful that artists exist that are so creative, so passionate, so driven to express themselves, that they wake you up to view the world through their eyes. Like a filter. Like the air we breath—that air that fills us with hope as we watch those last rays of light leave after a long, hard day. Thank you Jesca, for making such unique music. It made my weekend and I can't stopped thinking or talking about it. So friends, that's enough long-winded rambling for a Sunday afternoon. I'll leave you with this thought:  try not to fall into the musical humdrums like I did recently. Hit your local music shop, read the papers, magazine and websites, but most of all listen to trusted friends and keep an open mind. Don't get stuck on your current playlist. Explore music like you're traveling with a local as your guide. Turn away from the safety of top 40 as you would avoid the sterilized world of tourist-safe sights and restaurants as you explore a country and culture, and get lost exploring music until you stumble across something new that moves you. Something so completely different, that it seems difficult to describe. Then share what you've discovered just as my friend's Billy and Jer did for me. Share your discoveries with everyone who asks or seems like they need a song to make them smile. Post it on your blog. Start a music-haring club. Be inspired and encourage others to enjoy the work of these passionate and creative artists who add unique expressions of themselves to the world musical archive. To Adham Shaikh, Polyphonic Spree, Jesca Hoop or any of the many musicians I haven't yet discovered, thank you for your music which makes the world a fascinating and inspiring place. To my friends who keep feeding me this brilliant stuff, thank you too. [post_title] => Stumbling Over An Old Inspiration [post_category] => 0 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => stumbling-over-an-old-inspiration [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2007-07-15 15:03:05 [post_modified_gmt] => 2007-07-15 23:03:05 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://industrialbrand.com/blog/stumbling-over-an-old-inspiriation [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 5 [filter] => raw ) -->

Stumbling Over An Old Inspiration

This blog was started years ago in part as a repository for our inspirations, yet I think we often drift away from that purpose a bit, so I want to share something that inspired me this weekend: discovering new music. Obviously music plays [...]

Posted by: Mark Busse on Sunday, July 15th, 2007

Categories: Articles | 5 Comments »

Hating this logo seems a very popular bandwagon to jump onto—some even claiming it could cause epileptic seizures, but I tried to reserve judgment until after doing some reading and watching the videos on their website and after some consideration of how this brand could be applied I started to see some potential in it. Sure, the graphic looks like an eighties videogame icon, but as some have observed, it's certainly not boring, is very flexible as a solution and contains some interesting dynamism, portraying a brave visual expression of the unique attitude of a vibrant new London. It’s a bold departure from what one would expect of an Olympic logo: a reflection of that city’s cultural heritage or most well-known landmarks combined with the primary colour pallet of the official Olympic logo. But is it an appropriate logo for a city such as London and an event as serious as the Olympics? I'm uncertain what the contents of the Creative Brief included in terms of strategy, audience and messaging, but I have heard that the design firm of Wolff Olins were hired after a careful selection process—not an open speculative contest—and paid handsomely for their expertise, so one has to assume they were given clear direction from the planning committee. I'm sure many would considered this logo a success if the primary goal was to create an abstract expression of the diversity and individuality of Londoners, unlike some Olympic logos that focus too narrowly on visual language representing a fraction of a city’s population. Is it actually better than the controversial Vancouver 2010 logo? I think so actually. It's certainly not worse. And it may just grow on all the nay-sayers over time. In our business you'll never produce a graphic design solution that everyone will universally approve of, but is the London 2012 logo "good design"? Well, that has yet to be seen perhaps. As with anything executed to be immediately fashionable, it’s questionable whether it will stand the test of time or become a classic. It most certainly won't be universally hailed as brilliant, but I doubt it will be judged as bollocks in due time. Congratulations Wollf Olins for being so brave. For more information on the new Lodon 2010 brand, check out their main website, though for a more unbiased look at the reaction to the launch, check out BBC coverage and the reaction on the BBC Sport blog. [post_title] => New London 2012 Logo: brilliant or bollocks? [post_category] => 0 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => new-london-2012-logo [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2007-06-04 12:33:51 [post_modified_gmt] => 2007-06-04 20:33:51 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://industrialbrand.com/blog/new-london-2012-logo [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 19 [filter] => raw ) -->

New London 2012 Logo: brilliant or bollocks?

June 4th marked the launch of the new London 2012 Olympic logo and it didn’t take long for the controversy to begin. I’d already fielded a number calls and emails before lunch from friends, designers and even the media. My inbox [...]

Posted by: Mark Busse on Monday, June 4th, 2007

Categories: Articles | 19 Comments »

Get Electric I don’t have time to meet with every person who contacts me, especially when I’m not hiring. I have unsolicited portfolios and resumes sitting on my desk, or worse, that take the lowest priority. These days I want to see a PDF, or even better, a website with good samples of your work that are representative of the skills you hope to bring to the company.

The notion of a super busy creative director actually having the time to sift through a bunch of junk to find a jewel in the rough is a romantic one that probably last happened in the 70’s. Seriously, the competition is so tight that portfolios that are not polished and professional are usually completely overlooked.

Touch me while touching base In your email to me:

• Prove you understand what we do.
• Spell our and my name right (it's amazing how often this small detail is screwed up and guess what, if you do it here you're going to do it to my clients so why should I hire you?).
• Don’t screw up and forget to change the salutation containing the name of the last company you sent it to.
• Generally, a well worded, perfectly crafted (spelling, grammar, etc.) and brief letter is going to make more of an impact than some risky attempt at wit.
• Include a link to your website and/or a PDF.
• Tell me what you want and why you think you are a candidate.

So, the portfolio itself:

• First impressions count. Knock my socks off.
• I’m probably NOT going to read very much the first time through. Case studies and descriptions are good to include in case I really am interested and want more, but don’t count on them to accompany your work.
• I personally look at identity work first because I find I can make a pretty accurate judgment of your skills. If your logo work is tight, professional, relevant and attractive usually the rest of the portfolio is good too. I’m generalizing, but guess what, that’s what I’m doing anyway when quickly reviewing a portfolio.
• Keep in mind that I am making a judgment on how your work will extrapolate to the kind of work we need to do for our clients (or future clients). Feel free to tailor the content to our needs.
• Have a physical portfolio too – you’ll need something to bring with you if you get a meeting!
• Fussy, complicated or overly precious portfolios are annoying.
• Well presented work that’s clear and concise is important. Hey, think of it as yet another opportunity to give me a sense of your talent to make a good presentation. Clean, clear, practical, results-oriented and impressive – just like good business communication.
• Dirty, bruised, tired portfolio? You probably are too.
• Two kinds of work: Great design and great concept. These can be mutually exclusive, but show me some pieces with both and you’ll stay out of the ‘round file’! Actually, this student seems to get it. They realize that they should make their portfolio a reflection of themselves, the kind of work they want to do and then pursue the companies that would be receptive to it so as not to get stuck making crap and being unhappy doing it.

Listen up Finally, you’ll hear lots of rhetoric from busy people. Sometimes they take an extra moment to give more honest, personal feedback. Cherish this. Don’t expect a job from people, be happy to simply get advice, and take it (sometimes with a grain of salt). Ask if you can be back in touch sometime. From the answer you can intuit whether there might be something in the future. Then actually do it. Be good if you had something new to offer when you do.

That’s all I have NO TIME FOR.

[post_title] => Me go long time, only $30,000 [post_category] => 0 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => me-go-long-time-only-30000 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2007-03-20 17:44:14 [post_modified_gmt] => 2007-03-21 01:44:14 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://industrialbrand.com/blog/me-go-long-time-only-30000 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 33 [filter] => raw ) -->

Me go long time, only $30,000

Mark just asked me to take ten minutes and jot down my opinions about what a student (or anyone I guess) should do/include/avoid when putting together and presenting a portfolio. A couple years ago I actually did a post on the topic on this [...]

Posted by: Ben Garfinkel on Tuesday, March 20th, 2007

Categories: Articles | 33 Comments »

Admittedly, it was a close call this year since we were all super busy (and still are). Even so, for some reason the build seemed to go rather smoothly this year (thanks in large part to our architect team member David). Over the years we've been refining our approach and it seems there are a few things that seem to really make a difference when it comes time to judging. In the spirit of competition, here they are:

Clear, original and creative concept. Clean and simple – big areas of solid colour and don’t try to create minute detail. Play with scale – make small big and big small. Make it emotive – in character or concept, play to the emotional buttons of the viewer.

Feedback from the judges actually cited the first two specifically as contributing factors for our win. I.e. for our interpretation of the theme, "Our Favourite Thing(s)". Speaking of which, here's what we wrote about our sculpture:

It is safe to say that everyone loves a picnic. What could be better than basking in the warmth of a carefree summer day with good friends and tasty fare? But no one likes a picnic as much as its most common uninvited guest, the Ant. Upon that first whiff of fried chicken or potato salad escaping the picnic basket, you can be sure of these critters gathering their ranks and setting upon your serene afternoon with the regimented force of a small army. And, with the ability to carry over 10 to 20 times their own body weight, you would be wise to keep your babies well anchored. Let them take the watermelon instead. Even an ant deserves a decent meal. We all do. That is why we support Canstruction. Let’s all help to put an end to hunger in the Lower Mainland.

We had a good mix of people this year, some veterans (this is Industrial Brand's fifth year participating) and some first-timers. Thanks to everyone who took time from their busy schedules to participate. We managed to shoot another time lapse video of our 14 hour build thanks to Todd Smith. We'll post a fully produced version complete with catchy music soon. For more photos check out our Flickr group. We'll see how we do when the voting for People’s Choice is tabulated tomorrow. In the meantime, our Juror's Favourite Award means we'll go on to the International Award competition in May. Fingers crossed to bring home some honours there and boost the Vancouver competition's reputation. [post_title] => We Did It...Again [post_category] => 0 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => canstruction-2007 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2007-03-12 10:18:29 [post_modified_gmt] => 2007-03-12 18:18:29 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://industrialbrand.com/blog/canstruction-2007 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 4 [filter] => raw ) -->

We Did It…Again

Well, we did it, again. The Industrial Brand/Legends Memorabilia “PicniCANtics” took top honours in this year’s Canstruction Vancouver for the third, THIRD, year in a row (2005 Award, 2006 Award). For those not in the know, Canstr [...]

Posted by: Ben Garfinkel on Monday, March 12th, 2007

Categories: Articles | 4 Comments »

OK, OK, I am a Graphic Designer. OK, stop. Before I go on, let me make something clear. Of course I'm a Graphic Designer. The title of this diatribe was more to get your attention and provoke thought than anything else. I love graphic design, though these days I end up doing far more managing of my team than actual design myself. I deeply respect the history of our trade and wish our craft and creative skills were as respected as they once were. Heck, I'll even admit that perhaps if we all worked together hard enough, we might be able bring back some of the former glory and understanding of the title Graphic Designer. But is that realistic considering recent trends, technological changes and today's design landscape? Me thinks not. Not without some significant changes from within. But I will say this: I'll gladly admit I am wrong if a strong enough argument is presented to me. Show me up. Prove to me that I am just suffering a little crisis of faith about the state of my own design career and that I've missed the bigger picture. It seems to me and the dozens of colleagues that I've polled in the last year that the word "graphic" fails to accurately describe the design solutions that we create. Many feel that the word "graphic" refers primarily to pictures and images -- not the strategies, concepts, words, sound, animation or any other immersive experiences we may choose to include in the design solutions we produce. I suggest that it is time to ask ourselves if we are holding on to outdated terminology that is in effect putting our reputations and entire industry at risk of being misunderstood and confused with desktop layout providers. Some people argue the other perspective - quite angrily in fact - claiming that trying to educate the public is too high a hill to climb and we'd be better served to just focus on doing good work. Easy to say, not so easy to do as the marketplace gets increasingly competitive. Many get hung up on arguing over the technologies designers use these days or the difference between an artist and designer, but computers are just tools and art will always be a huge part of what we do. Finally, many claim that we've come too far and built up too much recognizable brand equity with advocacy associations such as The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (of which I am a proud member and executive) and that a change now would do more damage than good. I'll allow that is a possibility, but I don't think that my suggestion to consider a broader view undermines what graphic design has, and always will be. I am not suggesting dropping all reference to graphic design at all, but challenging that we have on a whole become more than just designers of graphic language. Others have already acknowledged the change. We're falling behind. Back in the day when webs were for spiders and nets were for tennis, it was fairly accurate to say that most of what we provided was primarily graphically focused. That is no longer the case. Our very society, culture and values are being shaped by a variety of media, each designed to communication more than just the words on the page. Literacy in this zeitgeist requires more than aesthetics and readability.

“21st century literacy is the set of abilities and skills where aural, visual and digital literacy overlap. These include the ability to understand the power of images and sounds, to recognize and use that power, to manipulate and transform digital media, to distribute them pervasively, and to easily adapt them to new forms." - A Global Imperative (Adobe, April 2005)

If we take a look around at the design industry landscape we find design associations are wary to make drastic changes and put their brand equity at risk, while international design associations and education institutions have already taken the plunge, embracing new titles such as "Visual Communication Design" or just "Communication Design" - some even changing their very association names to reduce confusion and create opportunities to educate the business community and public at large about what we do as creative professionals. The international association Icograda has recently switched from "graphic design" to "communication design" as part of their official vernacular. Evidence of this can be clearly found in official communications such as Icograda President Jacques Lange's address to the International Forum on Cultural and Creative Industries this past December. This is a very important moment representing a paradigm shift as Icograda is the "world body for professional graphic design" and national graphic design member associations should soon follow. GDC and SGDQ are both members of Icograda. Here is the official explanation directly from Icograda:

"A policy decision that was made by the Icograda board at our board meeting in April 2006 in Montreal. In 2006 we have been concentrating on renewing Icograda’s strategic objectives and measuring the relevance of our best practices and policies as well as identifying gaps. In April, as part of the policy discussion on competition guidelines and best practices on soliciting design work, it became apparent that there was consensus amongst the board that the term ‘graphic design’ did not reflect either the current state of the profession or how our members described themselves. So we made time within the agenda to devote a session to the topic of defining the profession. As designers, our members work in increasingly rich media and collaborative environments. In addition, the senior members of the profession are working increasingly in consulting capacities with less focus on ‘traditional’ design production. In many ways, it reflects the shift from thinking about design as an artifact – producing a thing – and embraces the reality of design as a process – a means of creating communications solutions. There was unanimous support as the outcome of this policy session and subsequent follow up in a virtual environment to shift from ‘graphic design’ to ‘communication design’. In general, it has been well received by our stakeholders, especially design buyers, who understand the idea of communication design more clearly than graphic design and the value and role that it plays in their businesses."

Icograda Vice-President Russell Kennedy recently published a terrific article on this subject, called "Blurred Borders Sharpen the Focus: Adjusting to the New Paradigm" suggesting that trying to ‘reclaim’ the term graphic design is like trying to beat the tide coming in the Bay of Fundy. From the article:

"The borders between graphic design and its associated creative disciplines have been blurring for some time. The discipline is currently in a state of flux. This is due in part to the computer revolution and the multimedia phenomenon, but mainly to a changing attitude towards design itself. Design is now referred to holistically. Multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary practise is growing."

Even our US brothers and sisters at the AIGA have dropped use of the term "graphic" from the title and gone with only "design", positioning themselves as "the professional association for design". They have decided to keep the "G" (for Graphic) in their name which may cause confusion with other design fields such as interior, industrial, fashion, etc as the descriptor "designer" can be rather vague. But the reality is that they too have dropped the old term, recognizing the difference between aesthetic design versus strategic communication design. "Design is the intermediary between information and understanding," says AIGA President Richard Grefe, "it's not just something with an aesthetic or style." From the AIGA website:

"In an ongoing quest to fulfill both needs, AIGA's board and chapter leadership recommended a shift in positioning. The organization has begun using the existing acronym along with a new tagline that better describes AIGA, its members, and their interests instead of using the full name of the organization. “AIGA, the professional association for design” was chosen for its ability to help the organization create a greater understanding of our members' potential role, the value of their role and importance of their contributions. Retaining the brand equity of the acronym “AIGA” has been a priority, as it preserves a rich legacy of graphic design. By shifting the language away from “graphic arts” and towards “design,” AIGA can achieve greater recognition for design's role in culture, civic society and business."

Other respected "graphic" design associations followed suit, not only dropping the old title but also changing their association names. In 2005, the Professional Graphic Design Association (PGDA) debated the risks and benefits of repositioning and rebranding itself with a new name that was felt to be more inviting, more international, and more distinctive. Championed by President Catherine Morley, PGDA decided a change was necessary as a response to sweeping changes in the industry to focus design on clients instead of graphics, ultimately deciding on a new name: the Professional Society of Communication Design, or Proscodi. Even international award competitions have recognized the need for change. With more than Since 1955, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen sponsored Red Dot Award has been one of the oldest and most sought-after design competitions globally with over 5,000 entries each year. They officially adopted the term ‘communication design’ back in 2001, no longer making any reference to graphic design in any of their award categories. Likewise, the influential German-based iF Awards, considered by many as an international display window on the latest design developments and trends, has dropped using references to graphic design - also choosing to embrace the title communication design. Many other competitions have adopted this change in stride and more are surely to follow. Errol Saldanha has perhaps put forth the most articulate argument in favour of this sweeping change to our own self-identity on his recently updated website www.beyondgraphic.org and in his article on Cat Morley's Creative Latitude. A former professional GDC and RGD member, Mr. Saldanha has approached both graphic design associations on this matter with little results. Frustrated by the lack of movement on the issue in Ontario, he and several other professional Communication Designers formed a quickly growing professional association called the Communication Designers of Toronto, or Cdot, serving as a local forum uniting professionals, educators and students of the communication design discipline throughout the GTA. From the Cdot website:

"Cdot emerged out of the need for graphic designers to go "beyond graphic". Industry research via beyondgraphic.org made it clear that once again the role of the "graphic designer" was evolving -- and that our professional title must evolve with it. The term communication design deliberately emphasizes readability (function) first and aesthetics (form) second. Design with a message..."

We are losing ground and I fear the longer we as a creative industry cling to this dated term the more we'll be misunderstood. The public and business community may not immediately understand what Communication Design means, but at least we'll have the opportunity to explain, demonstrate and earn their respect for doing something more than make things pretty. We are Communication Designers. Design is rapidly growing in its importance in modern society. As our friend Rick Poynor says,

"It is no exaggeration to say that designers are engaged in nothing less than the manufacture of contemporary reality. Today, we live and breathe design. Few of the experiences we value at home, at leisure, in the city or the mall are free of its alchemical touch. We have absorbed design so deeply into ourselves that we no longer recognize the myriad ways in which it prompts, cajoles, disturbs and excites us. It’s completely natural. It’s just the way things are."

While much of what we do as visual communicators still involves aesthetic choices and artistic skills (craft), our professional practice revolves around a message-driven design discipline that involves research, learning, concept development, structuring and presentation of messages designed to facilitate better understanding within an audience. The terms "communication design" or "visual communication design" or even "information design" seem far more accurate and suitable to express the uniqueness of our trade.

"The focus of information design is on the reduction of noise in the communication channel by eliminating extraneous content, simplifying formal options, and narrowing possible interpretations. The general economy of this kind of thinking leads from the many to the few... Contrast this with a practise of graphic design that adopts a general economy of excess, one solution produces a multitude of interpretations: the tendency is additive, not reductive." – Andrew Blauvelt, Editor @ Emigre

Of course we still use the elements of traditional graphic design such as image, type and colour to communicate, but often use important elements of modern messaging such as sound, animation, touch–or even smell in a recent case in my studio–to produce effective human experiences and targeted message via print, electronic, three-dimensional or environmental applications. We also no longer work in a narrow field of specialization, but rather work across and/or specialize in various fields such as branding, marketing, packaging, advertising and publishing - both in the traditional print space and online (interactive). To say we practice Graphic Design is to disregard much of what we do in our practice. Change can be very good. As I imagine the next ten years and a continuing trend of "design democratization" where anyone with Adobe Creative Suite, camera, printer and Internet access can potentially teach themselves the basics and begin selling their services as a "graphic designer," I fear that our industry may continue to lose its influence and ultimately wither and die as we cling to a dated term that only partially describes what we do professionally. It is more crucial than ever that we demonstrate what differentiates us from the self-taught or poorly trained amateurs. If we decide to embrace this evolution and are smart about how we spread this message, I believe we can use this as a powerful branding and PR moment for the entire professional design industry. If we all adopt this new identity that more accurately reflects who we are, we can create buzz and grab the attention of designers, educators, the media and the business community around the world. This idea upsets the staunch defenders of the craft of Graphic Design and I completely understand why, but I am not suggesting we drop using the term entirely. Some will indeed remain practitioners of primarily Graphic Design and call themselves this to be clear. But for the rest of us that have expanded our skills and responded to the changes around us and our clients' needs, using much more than graphics in our designs, the title just doesn't fit anymore. Many of my respected colleagues feel this discussion is tired and irrelevant, some even penning wonderful rebuttals which argue that fretting over the words we use to describe ourselves rather than promoting our craft is tantamount to hiding our true creative skills beneath layers of business rhetoric. Perhaps, but I am not suggesting that we drop "graphic" or "arts" from how we describe what we do. On the contrary, I firmly believe that our craft skills and training in the traditional visual arts - sketchbooks, pencil crayons, felt pens and all - are a big part of what differentiates us from the pretenders. But without the understanding that we use more than just pretty things to produce successful design solutions, we'll always be viewed as the "artsy fartsies" and the strategy, interactivity and innovative work will be left for the others while we proudly show off our lovely poster designs. Can we take back the power of the word "graphic" as an alternative to adopting new ones? Maybe. But I doubt it. Not in this zeitgeist. But if we truly desire the professional respect and increased patronage of the business community we need to evolve our own brand identity, perhaps by using a little business rhetoric. Will claiming we're Communication Designers, or even Visual Communication Designers, make it much clearer to those who don't already understand? Likely not at first, and adopting a new title won't automatically bring more respect or higher hourly rates either. But it will create an opportunity for a conversation and open the door for change. I certainly don't have all the answers, but I suggest that we need to make this change now or it may haunt us forever as part of our legacies. Respect starts with self identity, and the core of self identity is what we call ourselves. As for me, I am no longer a Graphic Designer, I am a Communication Designer, though I offer graphic design as part of my services. If you have thoughts, opinions, facts, ideas or anything you think relevant to this discussion, please take a few minutes to send it in or post in the comments below. [post_title] => I Am Not A Graphic Designer [post_category] => 0 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => i-am-not-a-graphic-designer [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2007-03-10 19:16:01 [post_modified_gmt] => 2007-03-11 03:16:01 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://industrialbrand.com/blog/i-am-not-a-graphic-designer [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 73 [filter] => raw ) -->

I Am Not A Graphic Designer

The longer I stay in this industry, the more I realize the difference between producing graphically appealing (pretty) solutions and creating strategic communication designs that produce results. Though I use my training in Graphic Design d [...]

Posted by: Mark Busse on Saturday, March 10th, 2007

Categories: Articles | 73 Comments »

canstruction2006

Canstruction 2006 — Jurors’ Choice Again! In an incredible repeat performance, the IBC and Legends Memorabilia team took home top hours for the second year in a row at the Canstruction 2006 competition. After tireless hours of schem [...]

Posted by: industrialbrand on Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

Categories: Articles, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

canstruction2005

Canstruction 2005 — More than just Peanuts We teamed up with Legends Memorabilia again for this year’s CANstruction© competition. Our Snoopy sculpture went on to take top prize locally for “Jurors & Peoples Choice” [...]

Posted by: industrialbrand on Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

Categories: Articles, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

canstruction2004

Canstruction 2004 — Cans Film Festival This year we teamed up with Legends Memorabilia and MGM to create yet another successful CANstruction© sculpture. Check out our Cans Film Festival. [LAUNCH WEBSITE]

Posted by: industrialbrand on Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

Categories: Articles, Uncategorized | No Comments »

canstruction2003

Canstruction 2003 — Royal Hudson IBC teamed up with First Associates in the CANstruction© charity event to create a replica of the Royal Hudson… out of cans. [LAUNCH SITE]

Posted by: industrialbrand on Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

Categories: Articles, Uncategorized | No Comments »

The church is the first big corporation - the first brand. We're often told not to talk about religion or politics with strangers or new friends for fear of offending someone. I never did understand why and often say things I probably shouldn't. Recently I said to one of my design students "Brands are like new religions". She seemed shocked by this, perhaps even a little offended but I think there is something valid to this, regardless of one's faith or belief system. The comparison of brands and religion is not a new idea. In fact, the whole branding discussion may be a tired subject to some. But I'm not convinced there has been a close enough look at the parallels between brand loyalty and religious devotion. Perhaps there has been fear to compare the secular act of building brand allegiance with consumers to the seemingly more sacred topics. After all, Nike or Starbucks can't save your soul, can they? When I compare what I do professionally now compared with my recollections of sermons and messages learned during a childhood spent in churches, youth groups and bible studies, I find them strikingly similar and wonder if there isn't an opportunity to learn from religion; or at least objectively reflect on what it is that we do and whether there isn't another perspective to consider. Mind you, these days I wear Parasuco jeans, ride a loud Harley-Davidson, read Macintosh and Communication Arts magazines and attend design and computer conferences. I haven't read the Bible or been to church in years. So which is the more prevalent influence? What do branding and religion have in common? Looking beyond the issue of divinity and objectively examining the psychology and behavior of religious groups and comparing this to brand loyalists, we find parallels and lessons we can learn as marketing strategists and communication designers. Both passionate religious leaders and cunning marketers use carefully crafted icons and symbols to create visual references and identifiers for their particular group. Both groups rely heavily on the message, doctrine and ideology to create a feeling of like-mindedness in their followers. They each hand pick and elevate deacons or heroes for others to look up to and emulate. And perhaps most importantly, both groups use fear and play on emotions with their promise of salvation to elicit reaction and devotion from their particular tribe, creating a sense of belonging to a clear community. Patrick Hanlon, founder of Thinktopia and author of Primal Branding states that "a brand is a belief system," though I don't think consumers realize this often enough. A popular and overused term the last few years, branding is often used to describe a larger set of intangible perceptions that exist in the minds, hearts and guts of consumers. There are many definitions, but similar to religion, branding is basically a belief system. A symbolic embodiment of all the information connected with a company, product or service, a brand typically includes a name, logo, and other visual elements such as images, fonts, color schemes, or symbols. But it also encompasses a set of expectations associated with the company, product or service, which typically arise in the minds of people. It's a very valuable, yet vulnerable, corporate asset so hard to own because it has little to do with what the company says, but what the actual audience says a brand is. A brand is most often communicated using visual language with the intent to appeal to a particular audience, making them want to buy or be associated with a product or service - but it can also be the unintended messaging such as the way a receptionist answers the phone that is part of a brand. Have you called your local telephone company lately and spoken with that wonderful computerized operator voice? Feel agitated just thinking about it? That experience becomes part of their brand as much as their logo or billboard advertising. My religion fits like an old pair of jeans. Kevin Roberts' best-seller about brand loyalty, Lovemarks - The Future of Brands, explores how products, trademarks and brands consumers truly trust (like Diesel, Adobe, iPod, Harley-Davidson, etc) can evolve, gathering respect and love throughout the world, essentially inspirational consumerism. Sounds like a religious movement, don't you think? People have always wanted to belong to a community. It's the natural human fear of being alone and desire for leadership. It's always easier to clasp onto a philosophy or set of beliefs presented to you that seem somehow to fit you and provide meaning or identity. Douglas Atkins, author of The Culting of Brands: When Customers Become True Believers, is convinced that many people can find meaning and identity in cult groups such as Krishnas and Moonies just as easily as others might find comfort by being a devoted Apple user. Atkins will also tell you that there are significant differences between cults and religions, but for the purposes of this discussion we'll only use the broader definition of religion as "a group of beliefs concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions and rituals associated with such belief". The etymology of the word religion includes references to "binding together" or "concerning a gathering" of people as well as reverential meaning about the divine. If we swap the divine for revered brands, we find that brand allegiance similarly binds communities together around the proverbial campfires, like town hall meetings and church gatherings, which used to be quite popular in small towns. These small towns and churches have not disappeared; they've just changed appearance thanks to the modern communication age. Logos are only wrapping paper. The visual marks or logos so prevalent today become a big part of brands, though they are really only one element of a larger strategy. A logo may impact the initial appeal of a product, service or company, but it is really only decorative wrapping paper. Once the shiny, colourful paper is peeled away, a set of values or philosophy must exist to entice a consumer to desire association with that brand. To successfully build a brand, it takes many visual touch points to support this invitation to the audience to give them the trust and desire to belong to this new "tribe". Only after this trust in the identity has been earned does the logo take on powerful symbolic meaning for its loyalists. Just as a holy cross or a star of David become powerful symbols for their particular brand of faith, so too a Tommy Hilfiger logo or Mercedes Benz icon takes on powerful meaning and serves to differentiate and define who its loyalists are as individuals. Wearing a yarmulke or turban on your head doesn't make you a better Jew or Sikh, but it does identify you as part of a specific tribe. In fact, it's safe to say that consumer brand choices, as with religious allegiances, are as much about belonging to a group or a community as they are about standing out as an individual. A recent ESPN sports poll found that 43% of American sports fans wear clothing branded by their favourite sports team logos. It not only identifies them as part of a committed group, but also sets them apart. They're not fans of your team! I'm not sure a Macintosh user gets the same satisfaction from not being a Windows PC user that a Jew gets from not being a Muslim, but you wouldn't mistake the two, would you? Though many modern faith followers look just like you and I and perhaps not distinguishable, devote followers often go well out of their way to identify themselves as independent and recognizable through outward appearance. The young student I mentioned in the introduction is a proud punk rocker. Her need to be "different" had manifested itself in the piercings, clothes, music and behaviour that made up the majority of her outward persona. She had gone well out of her way to purchase and wear the hat, the boots, the lumberjack jacket, and the spiked wristbands - all the paraphernalia that demonstrated she belonged to a group of like-minded individuals. This behaviour can easily be likened to the paraphernalia worn by extreme religious groups with unique garb such as headdresses, robes or jewelry. Unlike when an individual chooses a brand to wear or even a gang to belong to, many are born into a religious family and raised to subscribe to set of beliefs and behaviours. The way we are socialized leads to a predisposition for brand allegiance. A consumer brand loyalty parallel can actually be found for this too. Have you ever heard people arguing over the best automobile brand saying "I will only drive a Chevy because Ford sucks!" just because their family had a good Chevy once and they became 'a Chevy family'? It hardly makes sense or allows for tolerance, open-mindedness or rational thought, but it's very common. If you don't own an iPod, you're a heathen. Many children are raised to disregard the faith of others and end up regarding them as lesser citizens because their beliefs are different than their own. I wonder how many PC users feel like blasphemers when they buy an iPod? Exactly none. They're like devoted Catholics deriving sinful pleasure from admiring the beauty of a Buddhist temples and or secular idols. The Apple versus PC conflict has gone on so long it's become overused and cliché, rendered irrelevant these days with Apple having switched to Intel chips and allowing Windows to run on their hardware. However, the iPod is easily one of the greatest brand extension stories in the history of consumer products with sales of these little gadgets rising off the charts. Everyone in our studio owns at least one; some are on their third! Using your iPod in public has almost become a ubiquitous signal to those around you about the quality of your person. As soon as you're seen with little white ear buds and cables hanging from your ears, you've expressed certain qualities about yourself, your community and your identity, like wearing a cross around your neck or pasting a fish sticker on your car's bumper. The fish sticker is actually an interesting example of brand identity. Similar to the way Apple demonized IBM users in their famous 1984 advertisement to further differentiate themselves and their tribe as a brand, many people paste parody fish stickers with the Darwin symbol to communicate to the world their beliefs on religion and evolution. A contentious issue for sure, one that many people would get angry and argue over, but still something many people feel strongly enough about to make this statement a part of their identity, their personal brand. Tell me what your brand stands for. The battle for consumers' devotion rages on like a preacher's sermon on a Sunday morning, desperate to convert heathens to their faith. Religious converts will almost always say that a particular doctrine appealed to them, just as many consumers will claim that a company's ideology and values attracted them to their products more than features or price. You we often hear these conversations about a particular company, product or service and think little of it. When in fact, this is an important part of a brand cycle. People need to believe and trust those they align themselves with and will try to tell you about it too. They want to convert you, even if they don't realize they're doing it. They're doing the PR legwork! Some might say people are brainwashed and have been fooled by the marketers, but it's an important part of the brand's "story", such as American Apparel's use of "sweatshop-free" labour or Google's "Do No Harm" philosophy. These are good stories to tell. Much like the need to belong to a community, people make choices based on how they understand a brand itself and the reflection it will have on them. Eager believers will explain the values and benefits of their faith in a bid to win you over to their team just as a trusted friend's word of mouth endorsement for a product or company might serve as a powerful motivator for a consumer's brand choice. In his bestseller, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell discusses the various "Influencers" he calls Mavens, Connectors, Salesmen and Persuaders. These influencers are the types of people in social networks who spread the word with authentic personal communication, and in effect, act as evangelists spreading the message about companies, products, or services. Gladwell explores the notion of viral marketing and how a newsworthy product or service can take on a life of its own and spread quickly, causing a 'tipping point'. The whole thing smacks of religious fervor and some have gone so far as to claim the power of PR has usurped traditional advertising altogether, such as Al & Laura Ries's recent book The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR. The idea that authentic communication is an effective PR mechanism is not a new concept, yet many major brands spend millions on ineffective advertising campaigns instead of focusing on innovative PR opportunities where they can spread their message like religious teachings. Much like the modern day small town church meeting in a local gymnasium, community-based strategies such as blogging can lead to brand loyalty through the creation of authentic moments where consumers get to know the company; its ideology, vision, and purpose. You made my sneakers where? On the other hand, ideology can derail a power brand quickly if not kept in check. When Nike admitted that their shoes were manufactured in sweatshops in Southeast Asia, sales plummeted with many loyal Nike fans becoming agitated and reacting emotionally, not because the products weren't well made, but because the information revealed a breach in trust. It was about the ethics involved in taking advantage of poverty-stricken communities in order to increase corporate profits. Consumers who cared about fairness and treating people with respect turned against Nike and protested. Nike has since spent millions on damage control to counter this perception and fixed many of these issues, but the negative impression will resonate with consumers for along time. The hypocrisy of the company's actions was a direct breach of the trust established with their tribe and damaged the brand. A faction of "The Church of Nike" left for good, either substituting their shoes with another brand name choice or perhaps even going so far as to purchase Adbusters' anti-logo Blackspot shoes made from organic hemp and recycled tires. People are attracted to confidence like moths to fire. The human animal tends to desire structure and leadership. To a fault many would argue. We can't help it. As a result we create heroes to follow and worship in religious communities. To maximize this effect, brand strategists carefully choose and elevate well-known heroes as spokespeople for a brand. With fans that already look up to and emulate them, they become the strongest form of influencer. They become like the preachers, or deacons of a congregation, spreading the word and serving as the living embodiment of the ideology and brand values. For a new or existing brand to make headway penetrating marketplaces, companies spend energy and resources training sales and service personnel to adopt a customer-attractive philosophy. This is really not much different than the way organized churches encourage, appoint and train members to become charismatic community leaders such as deacons or even senior spiritual advisors such as pastors or priests. Religious groups obviously each have their own version of deity, be it Jehovah, Allah, Buddha, etc., but all religious communities elevate their leaders to icon status such as The Pope, the Dalai Lama or cult leaders with incredible powers of persuasion over their followers. Power brands engage in this same behaviour, elevating cultural heroes like Michael Jordan as their spokespeople and manifestation of the brand. Thereby imbuing the Nike product with attributes and characteristics people are attracted to and wish to be defined by. People worship the Reverend Jordan. But does spending $130 on a pair of Air Jordans make you a better basketball player? Just because you like Jared on the TV commercials, will you lose weight and be healthier by eating at Subway? Of course not. One of Chrysler's best selling tools was the wildly popular Lee Iacocca. Consumer's like the cut of Lee Iacocca's jib and trust him. They've even brought him back for recent TV commercials to help boost lagging sales although he hasn't worked there for years He's one of their prophets! This is the aspirational aspect of branding: suggesting to the audience that if you chose their product, your game, health or life in general will improve. I don't care what Martha did - she's my Martha. Canadian neurologist Donald Calne points out "the essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions." As a result, brand loyalty often goes beyond reason and leads to seemingly blind faith followers. An interesting modern example of this can be seen with Martha Stewart and her international power brand that has survived the worst possible PR maelstrom imaginable with her absolute crucifixion in the media, conviction of a crime and prison sentence. In many ways, it seems she betrayed the trust of her followers that held her on a pedestal as one of their own - a beautiful, intelligent, kind, homemaker. Something they would strive for in their own lives. To discover that she is actually a filthy rich, manipulative elitist would surely cause her empire to crumble, right? Wrong! She's back on top of her game, stronger than ever with new TV programs, products and publications for consumers to buy. Perhaps her marketing team brilliantly used her incarceration and criminal activity to actually put her back on top. She's now a fallen, flawed Martha just like any of us. Now that's a powerful brand with parallels rivaling über cults of the 70's such as Jonestown. If Martha told her loyal tribe to drink the Kool-Aid, they'd ask what colour and drink up with a smile. As Martha Stewart might say "This is a good thing." For her anyway. On the other hand, most brands do not inspire the kind of loyalty often reserved for holy higher callings - many claim very little or no commitment at all. Loyalty is a measure of entrenched behaviour - not necessarily attitude. With exposure to thousands of brands daily (recent research suggests that North Americans see 6000+ logos each day) you may be a fan of a brand, but not committed to it. For instance, when standing in the cold beer and wine store, how much loyalty do you have to your favourite brand? What if the display of Stella Artois catches your attention first? Or Grolsch is on sale? Perhaps you worship at the church of European import beer rather than a particular brand? Some brands inspire fervent devotion, while others simple get switched on a whim? And then others again can lose followers in droves because of a bad PR moment that exposes and breach in the brand promise or unresolved ideological differences. There are powerful examples of ideological differences causing backlash from a group of followers. Take the recent debacle caused by popular American religious broadcaster Pat Robertson and mass exodus from his camp. The founder of a number of Christian organizations, including the 700 Club and Christian Broadcasting Network, he was at one time so popular he made a bid for the White House in 1988. Since making public comments claiming Hurricane Katrina was God's retribution on a sinful New Orleans, Ariel Sharon's health problems were punishment from God and Islam was satanic, he now has been dropped from many of the organizations and boards he served on and has been criticized and shunned by religious groups. Even George Bush has distanced himself from his friend and former religious advisor. We all just want to belong. I think the most significant similarity between brand loyalty and faith devotion is the sense of community both create. Brand allegiance can set you apart and make you feel like you belong to a special group. I have a friend who is an avid collector of classic Datsun 2000 roadsters. It doesn't matter where in the world the members of this group are physically; they regularly congregate online at websites, forums and blogs. He proudly belongs to a well defined community of car worshipers that will gladly go to great lengths, spend thousands of dollars and drive thousands of miles to gather together and show each other their pride and joy; 30-40 year old cars. He and a handful of his fellow Datsun lovers even recently traveled to Japan for a car show with the kind of focus and commitment a Muslim might apply to a pilgrimage to Mecca for The Hajj. If you doubt the loyalty of these "believers" of this obscure brand, consider that even faced with significant financial challenges in recent years, my friend never considered selling his "Pink Lady" as they are affectionately called amongst their tribe. Not a chance. That would be tantamount to a personal betrayal he's just not willing to accept. That car is a part of his brand, his identity and his community. It defines him. I belong to The Church of Motorcycles. I grew up around motorcycles and have belonged to this group most of my life. I was born into a Harley-Davidson family and used to take ribbing from my uncles whenever I owned a Honda or any other non-Harley. Apparently they weren't "real" bikes. For years I've ridden a bike called a Buell, which is a brand extension by Harley, a hybrid of old-school rumble and sport bike glamour. Developing a powerful brand like Harley-Davidson is all about differentiating your product from your competitors, called positioning, so individuals identify with your product as their own - something they feel comfortable being associated with or defined by. Harley-Davidson became the longest surviving American motorcycle brand not by ingenious marketing efforts, but rather by embracing the "bad boy" rebellious behaviour of their consumers, creating one of the most powerful and recognizable brands in the world. In a similar way that Nike employs the star power of Jordan, movies such as Easy Rider and Harley-Davidson and the Marlboro Man with their "bad boy" heroes have served to solidify the brand's position in the American psyche. Recent statistics show that 90% of H-D owners are repeat buyers. Now that's brand loyalty that rivals even the best religious groups. I've never really been known as a "bad boy" necessarily, but as a Harley owner I do feel like I am part of a band of brothers who enjoy the idea of being associated with rebellion, freedom and adventure. I'm part of the tribe that defines itself by the kind of motorcycles we ride, and to some extent the clothes we wear. I think we've all seen the "brain bucket" beanies worn by Harley riders instead of the legally mandated, and far safer, full-face helmets. Don't tell my mother, but I wear a beanie most of the time. I know it's unsafe, but it's part of my tribe's uniform. Even in "The Church of Motorcycles" where riders treat each other like brethren, nodding and waving to strangers on the road like old friends, there exist factions and denominations like religion. And as is true with religious break out groups with ideological differences that vilify "the others" as non-believers, I often get different treatment from the "crotch rocket" crew and the ardent Harley boys because I ride a Buell. My bike looks and handles like a sport bike, yet it roars and rides like a Harley-Davidson. Which "congregation" of believers do I belong to? You see, sport bike riders don't ride Harleys, and Harley guys don't even talk to sport bike riders. Nope. Like a Protestant in a Catholic church, I'm not welcome. Different tribes man, different cults. I've even rolled into a Harley dealership for some service and had mechanics tell me "Sorry man, we only work on real Harleys here." I will not claim to understand the underpinnings of the conflicts between various religious sects willing to kill each other over seemingly minute differences in hindsight, but I certainly see the similarities with how some brand loyalists treat each other for their choices as consumers. My Volvo is safer than your Honda. Perhaps the most significant reason people dedicate themselves to a religious group is the promise of a better future, or the salvation concept. It is a universal component to all religions and surprisingly not dissimilar to promises made by brand strategists. Much work is dedicated to creating a promise of a better life if you choose this product or that service. The problem in both of these scenarios is when that promise falls flat on its face. Recently we were asked by management of a local franchisee of a large international restaurant chain to provide brand consultation services and create a campaign to drive increased traffic to their popular restaurant. Of course we jumped at the opportunity. Now this particular restaurant already has a well-known brand in the marketplace and makes grand claims about the experience one can expect in their dining room. It's certainly not as grandiose a promise as salvation per se, but they do guarantee fun times, great food, good value and fabulous service if you chose them over the competition. As one of the initial steps in the research phase, members of our team visited the restaurant to sample the food and experience the ambiance for ourselves before getting to work on their campaign. The experience was, shall we say, less than impressive. Having seen the parent organization's comprehensive brand platform and marketing field guide, we were expecting to see a warm, relaxed pub-style restaurant with huge portions and friendly service. Sounds like many restaurants, doesn't it? What we experienced was dazed wait staff, cluttered and noisy environment, overpriced menu, slow service and inadequately sized servings of cold, bland food. We weren't regulars loyal to the restaurant, but as consumers in their target audience, we were quite turned off and would never go back. The brand promise had failed. Remind you of religion? It does for me. I've met formerly religious people that now call themselves "recovered Catholics" or "reformed Krishna followers" who, like many deprogrammed cult members, eventually realized they had been misled or even brainwashed. Get them to open up and they'll share with you how their religious community let them down in some significant way. Many describe it as betrayal, vowing never to return to the church again. Viewed from a marketing perspective, this is a hard thing to overcome indeed. How do you convince someone you so badly let down to give you another chance? That you've changed and can offer them a promise you'll deliver on this time? Fat chance. Nobody owns customers, we only borrow them. Consumers appear to be increasingly fickle with both brands and religions these days. With celebrities serving as deacons endorsing "New Age" faiths such as L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology (rumoured to have been developed by the author as a bet with friend and fellow sci-fi writer Gene Roddenberry) or ancient faiths like Kabbalah , it's starting to seem like more people are casually trading in their religions like they upgrade their cars. This is an important trend to watch as communication and marketing strategists. We can work diligently to develop a product and carefully craft messaging to differentiate it from the myriad of competitors, only to watch it collapse in market with one failure to meet the brand promise or one negative customer experience. This should be a stern warning to any companies who treat consumers cavalierly. Be wary: you may be the brand of choice today with a fervent tribe of followers singing your praise, but just as a disappointed member of a church might leave in disgust never to return, so too might you lose critical market share with a mass exodus of customers for any number of reasons. Remember, a brand is not what you say it is. It's what THEY say it is. A serious of bad choices by the ownership and management of Harley-Davidson nearly destroyed the brand in the 1980s. Once ardent fans of the motorcycles were suddenly presented by terrible production quality and a series of product design choices like mini-bikes and scooters (insert better example/explanation). This weakened the brand so well known for big, strong expressions of freedom and adventure and buyers began more seriously considering the more reliable motorcycles coming from Japan. The juggernaut power-brand H-D very nearly went bankrupt with their followers making a beeline for the newly formed Church of Japanese Bikes. We're still developing a strategy with that restaurant mentioned above, but had to be honest with their management that bigger problems were at play than first presented. Merely running an advertising and DM campaign in their market was not going to solve their long-term problem of building their business through market share. While some immediate efforts might put bums in seats for the short term, we wouldn't be able to assure any long-term growth until they solved the environment, service and food itself. Otherwise, people would leave disappointed and spread a negative message that could sink the place. Thankfully they listened to us, agreed and are making changes. What does this have to do with my business or brand? I think it's important to recognize that people in the post-modern world, perhaps more in western nations, make choices in their secular lives as consumers for reasons very similar to those that might affect their loyalty to a church or faith group; community, belonging, identity, ideology, heroes and above all emotional reasons. This knowledge is important to recognize as we desperately try to understand our clients' audiences and elicit responses from them as communication and marketing professionals. On inspection, it appears religious groups encourage their followers to publicly display their allegiance using the group's iconography and symbols much like brands use logos, spokespeople or fashion trends. Group affiliation demonstrated visually, is an effective way of sending a message, a brand message, to the world about who we are and what we stand for - even if totally false. Similarly, every person creates a personal brand message using the choices we make as consumers, such as the car we drive or clothes we wear, which can lead to totally false perception of who we are. I live in a famously wealthy city where nearly everyone seems to drive a $100,000 car. However, I recently read a statistic that said that over 80% of the premium automobiles in Vancouver are leased. People are playing a game of show and tell, but what they're not telling is that they can't really afford the car in the first place. It's all about their image, their brand. They belong to the church of Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW. Will God punish me for being loyal to certain brands? Perhaps my wise old Dad was right. Many people do squirm uncomfortably when you openly discuss spiritual beliefs or political viewpoints, but why is it also upsetting for many when you criticize the brands they love or praise those that have failed them? It's as though you're taking a shot at them personally it seems. I am fascinated with the similarities between these two seemingly unrelated arenas. I believe lessons for both secular marketers and religious leaders can be gained by examining the issue objectively. These lessons can be learned without getting into heated, emotional debates about the existence of God or the evils of consumerism in the post modern age. If churches adopted some of the marketing strategies the way business build brands, they'd surely have higher numbers in their congregations. One website, churchmarketingsucks.com examines this very issue with a keen look at the marketing of churches like real businesses. I'm not passing judgments of any kind. I just think it's time to recognize and respect the human animal at the centre of these two activities: building consumer brand loyalty and spreading religious fervor. Both provide us with some semblance of meaning. Not so much about what we don't know empirically, but belief in something that helps us define the world. They provide us some structure. On one hand, many people are much more cavalier than they used to be regarding life choices like brands, leading to the rise of the anti-brands with their own form of loyalism. They just don't assign too much importance to the notion of loyalty to a particular company or product. In fact, they outright fear corporations and resist their influence. Let them down just once and you could lose them forever. Let's borrow a phrase from religion and call them the "agnostics of branding". Nick Wreden, author of FusionBranding, says that the idea that brands can actually dictate our behavior is nonsense. "If it was that easy then we wouldn't have so many failures," he says, noting that studies by accounting firm Ernst & Young show that over 90 percent of products try and fail to become brands. "US$ 1.4 trillion is spent worldwide on advertising and marketing. With that amount of money and such smart people in the industry, why is there such a high failure rate? If there was any element of control or influence there wouldn't be that kind of failure rate." Wreden argues that what people really fear is the power of the corporations behind the brands. "Government has pulled back on funding of arts and schools, etc. So how do these institutions get their money? They turn to corporations. Now business is everywhere, and people feel that it is intrusive." On the other, we still find examples of fundamentalism everywhere, in politics, religious and elsewhere. Fanatics seem to be commonplace today, and these audience are resistant to attempts at persuasion and will resist even the most sincere marketing messages. Either way, we must consider carefully who our target audiences are before applying old methods to build brands. So take head friends, designers and marketers: our audiences have changed and don't have the kind of loyalties we may think. Without authentic brands that truly demonstrate ethics, sustainability and integrity in their actions it doesn't matter how many parallels to religion or politics exist. People don't care. As a consumer myself, I find myself curiously turning away from many brands that use design and marketing ploys as a promise of quality and consistency, only to let me down. In the end, we're all just searching for something to fill the voids in our lives and to help give meaning to our existence. Something to help define our identity. Something to believe in. This could easily be a warning about the evils of consumerism unchecked. I'll leave that to publications like AdBusters with their contention that "advertising is mind-fucking" as they raise awareness of the media's role and help give a voice to the previously oft ignored culture jammers and detourners. Perhaps too this diatribe can serve as a reminder that religion too can be a dangerous device that makes people do drastic acts in the name of their faith. I suggest it's time we consider our role as communicators and designers more carefully as we create the current zeitgeist. That will become our legacy. We have an obligation to ourselves and our children to consider the need to fill the voids in our lives, either at the altar or in the check-out line. Couldn't we find a better way?
The other warning is this: the roots of religion and branding may both be intrinsically married to the human condition itself, sincere expressions of religious devotion runs much deeper with longer lasting implications than brand choices. There are few companies, product and services that truly make the world a better place and live up to the promise of a better tomorrow, so be careful making implications to the contrary. However, it leaves me wondering if there aren't more opportunities for us in this blood-thirsty business to find those authentic brands, those companies with integrity and those products that DO make the world a better place? I think a key real lesson here is that target audiences have changed. While some say a a cultural shift is occurring, I'd argue it has already happened. In this post-post-modern world of immediate information access, consumers are less interested in being human billboards with a product's logo emblazoned across their chest. Rather they are looking to commit to something that has the same values they do (or aspire to have) and they want to be rewarded and recognized for showing that commitment. In this regard, brands and religions are both founded on similar principles. SIDEBAR: A Design Manifesto
Perhaps this whole is issue put into clearest focus by Mr. Poynor himself in introductory comments to the reissue of Ken Garland's Design Manifesto:

"It is no exaggeration to say that designers are engaged in nothing less than the manufacture of contemporary reality. Today, we live and breathe design. Few of the experiences we value at home, at leisure, in the city or the mall are free of its alchemical touch. We have absorbed design so deeply into ourselves that we no longer recognise the myriad ways in which it prompts, cajoles, disturbs, and excites us. It's completely natural. It's just the way things are." We, the undersigned, are graphic designers, art directors and visual communicators who have been raised in a world in which the techniques and apparatus of advertising have persistently been presented to us as the most lucrative, effective and desirable use of our talents. Many design teachers and mentors promote this belief; the market rewards it; a tide of books and publications reinforces it. Encouraged in this direction, designers then apply their skill and imagination to sell dog biscuits, designer coffee, diamonds, detergents, hair gel, cigarettes, credit cards, sneakers, butt toners, light beer and heavy-duty recreational vehicles. Commercial work has always paid the bills, but many graphic designers have now let it become, in large measure, what graphic designers do. This, in turn, is how the world perceives design. The profession's time and energy is used up manufacturing demand for things that are inessential at best. Many of us have grown increasingly uncomfortable with this view of design. Designers who devote their efforts primarily to advertising, marketing and brand development are supporting, and implicitly endorsing, a mental environment so saturated with commercial messages that it is changing the very way citizen-consumers speak, think, feel, respond and interact. To some extent we are all helping draft a reductive and immeasurably harmful code of public discourse. There are pursuits more worthy of our problem-solving skills. Unprecedented environmental, social and cultural crises demand our attention. Many cultural interventions, social marketing campaigns, books, magazines, exhibitions, educational tools, television programs, films, charitable causes and other information design projects urgently require our expertise and help. We propose a reversal of priorities in favor of more useful, lasting and democratic forms of communication - a mindshift away from product marketing and toward the exploration and production of a new kind of meaning. The scope of debate is shrinking; it must expand. Consumerism is running uncontested; it must be challenged by other perspectives expressed, in part, through the visual languages and resources of design. In 1964, 22 visual communicators signed the original call for our skills to be put to worthwhile use. With the explosive growth of global commercial culture, their message has only grown more urgent. Today, we renew their manifesto in expectation that no more decades will pass before it is taken to heart.

SIDEBAR 2: Remember my student?
When I first mentioned that my student became so passionate about the topic of consumerism, brand loyalty and the similarities to the fanatical devotion of cult or religious followers, she based her graduation project film on branding, grilling me on camera for an interview. Called Branding and The Human Billboard, the film was an interesting exploration of consumerism and the role of brands relating to personal identity. For her first documentary, I think the film turned out well, but could have done without the chubby guy holding the Power Puff Girls mug. What does that say about his brand? [post_title] => The Church of Branding [post_category] => 0 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => the-church-of-branding [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2007-02-24 14:37:23 [post_modified_gmt] => 2007-02-24 22:37:23 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://industrialbrand.com/blog/the-church-of-branding [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 9 [filter] => raw ) -->

The Church of Branding

Some time last year I began considering about the similarities between branding loyalty and belonging to a church after an interesting conversation with Rick Poyner, the design critic and founder of Eye Magazine, who said “Religion is [...]

Posted by: Mark Busse on Saturday, February 24th, 2007

Categories: Articles | 9 Comments »

So why am I feeling so humble and morose? I've called myself a Communication Designer for a while now, but as I sat in that audience listening, I was more than slightly overwhelmed with the realization of how little I really know about the history of my own profession. Or perhaps more accurately how much I'd forgotten and failed to honour. Even with training and years in the graphic arts field, I felt like I had failed to properly remember and pay respect to the early innovators of graphic design that paved the way for me. I sometimes forget that I was a young typesetter and apprentice pressman once long ago. Hell, the truth of it is if my Graphic Arts teacher hadn't have shown me how to use the letterpress in my high school, I doubt I would have pursued any sort of career in graphic arts, eventually working as an junior pressman in the late eighties before training in the design field. It seems like a lifetime ago. So you can imagine how nostalgic I felt looking around this room full of dinosaurs and legends listening to their stories of "the old days". The room was filled with both balding, shaggy and bearded legends of typography, printing and graphic design, as well as wide-eyed students and young designers, from near and far. I met one gentleman who had gladly traveled from Colorado to be there for the event. These were real Rimmer fans. As with much of history, this event was steeped in the sad stories of the demise of the graphics arts and traditional printing trades. In a trade that has gone through so many rapid changes in the last few decades, many cratfsmen who were not willing to embrace change were rendered obsolete and got lost in the wake. But not Rimmer. The legendary Robert Bringhurst (author of the tome Elements of Typographic Style) gave a dark, yet stirring, speech about the legacy and demise of the Monotype Corporation and how so few protectors of the hot lead and hand cut type trade are left to defend its legacy. With Monotype Corporation gone and only Adobe and Lintoype left to really keep typography alive, the craft does appear to be fading into obscurity. Jim Rimmer is really one of the few survivors of a rare breed indeed. One of my own bearded mentors, Dick Kouwenhoven (owner of Hemlock Printers), spoke about the shared parallels as he and Jim came up from humble apprentice beginnings, with Dick's company eventually leading the print community into the digital print era by embracing modern technologies while Jim continued to master his custom type and traditional printing skills. It became abundantly clear that Jim Rimmer had affected innumerable young lives and careers by his patient instruction and mentorship, with many former students such as Charles Chadwyk espounding the generous and kind attributes of this legendary figure and paying homage to their mentor and teacher. One particularly memorable homage was presented by Denise Carson Wilde (artist, designer and co-owner of Paper-Ya) who gave a heart-wrenching account of how Jim showed her the ropes and allowed her to apprentice and grow her fledgling printing business in the corner of his studio. After many funny and nostalgic stories were told, the evening's formalities culminated with a presentation by the Alcuin Society of custom broadsides produced by various printers, each crediting him with a debt of gratitude for all his guidance over the years. As the evening continued I started feeling badly that my professional association GDC, celebrating a comparatively young 50th anniversary this year, wasn't giving him any kind of presentation to Mr. Rimmer. In fact, there were only two GDC representatives present, Linda Coe (BC Chapter Ethics Chair) and myself. Perhaps no one asked and it didn't occur to us to offer, but as the official national Society of Graphic Designers in Canada, we owe craftsmen like Jim Rimmer a huge debt of gratitude and a great deal of respect. It also seemed to be an occasion worthy of much more fanfare than there was. I saw no press at the event and saw no coverage in the media. The Mayor, or the Premier - hell, even the Governor General would not have been out of place presenting Rimmer with a shiny award worthy of his contributions to Canada as well as the global graphic arts, design and printing industries. The strange thing about these career celebration evenings is that they sort of feel like funerals. The irony is that I doubt Jim, who is now in his 70's officially retired, still works and teaches regularly. I bet he'd prefer to die happily working at his letterpress long before he hits the easy chair. He's a craftsman and always will be. I still haven't adequately explained why the event bummed me out, have I? Here's the deal: I have a quick tongue and often find myself berating colleagues for using the title "Graphic" Designer, arguing that there's so much more to our trade than the term graphic suggests. It's a valid argument, but what I often forget is where our trade came from: the GRAPHIC arts. Type! Illustrations! Ink on paper! Making an impression on paper to communicate a message. We may stare at our glowing electronic pallets most of the time now, but there's nothing like a well designed, masterfully typeset and expertly printed book. I will never be a master typographer. Hell, I doubt I will ever get the chance to publish a typeface in my lifetime and I'm OK with that. But I love type and printing. Those of us who do should share that knowledge with young designers - regardless of what we call ourselves. Our job descriptions and the tools we use will continue to change and there's little we can do about that. But we can remember our history and roots. And we can strive to preserve the memory of our craftsmen forebearers - graphic design elders like Jim Rimmer. In the many years I spent producing graphic design and printing, I had many opportunities to visit Rimmer's famously dark and cluttered print shop in New Westminster, but for some odd reason never did. Perhaps because I was exploring the digital print realm I felt slightly above the old school lead type and letterpress shops I had left behind me as a young man. Perhaps I forgot how magical the craft of making type impressions on paper was. Writing this article made me realize it was time I fixed that and I'm happy to report that I am bringing a small group of IBC designers to meet Mr. Rimmer in person and finally visit his print shop. Tune in again for our report on the experience. Here are some photos of SFU's Rimmerfest posted on Flickr from Rimmerfest. [post_title] => Remembering our Graphic Design Elders [post_category] => 0 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => remembering-our-graphic-design-elders [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2007-01-01 09:05:55 [post_modified_gmt] => 2007-01-01 17:05:55 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://industrialbrand.com/blog/remembering-our-graphic-design-elders [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 1 [filter] => raw ) -->

Remembering our Graphic Design Elders

I feel a rather humbled and a little bummed out since attending Rimmerfest at SFU downtown on November 25. It was both an inspiration and an honour to be among Canada’s Graphic Design elite to celebrate and honour one of Canada’ [...]

Posted by: Mark Busse on Monday, January 1st, 2007

Categories: Articles | 1 Comment »

Peace, freedom and joy

Happy holiday wishes from your friends at Industrial Brand Creative In the spirit of the holidays and from the perspective of somewhat disturbed people, we wish you all the best and a happy, free and peaceful new year. Enjoy…

Posted by: Mark Busse on Monday, December 25th, 2006

Categories: Articles | 32 Comments »

A Skeleton From Our Closet

Ok, we’ll be the first to admit that the title for this would have been much more suitable if we had actually managed to get this posted for Halloween. But regardless, the above phone call is a little gem that we recently revisited in [...]

Posted by: Kevin Broome on Friday, November 3rd, 2006

Categories: Articles | 2 Comments »

My friend Bliss Prema is an in-home massage therapist who practices both Reiki and Indian Head Massage. Recently interviewed by Yvonne Zacharias for a feature article in a Vancouver Sun article [pg. D16, Westcoast Life, Thursday, October 19, 2006], Bliss is in high demand these days indeed. And her treatments are worth every penny. I'll tell you why. A convenient and custom-tailored experience, Bliss comes to your work or home and treats you in a familiar and comfortable environment. From the moment you meet the soft-spoken Bliss, who is strikingly beautiful, you'll realize you are in the hands of someone special. I'll let Bliss tell you her story herself, but I'd like to just describe what it's like to have a treatment from her. It's an inspirational experience. She brings along her own special chair, fragrant scented oils, towels and some special charms to make the place her own. With some incense and ambient music, suddenly my living room is transformed into a warm, relaxing place of healing. For the uninitiated, she take a moment to explain the treatment and then does of a prayer of intent to the goddess of love and quietly begins. This is an interesting and key part of her treatment: intent. Her treatment, though physical, is also very much about aligning your energy centres (chakras) and purging the negative energy that we build up and hold in our back, neck, shoulders and head. This is not New Age hokus pokus. Her name "Prema", which means "universal love", was given to her by a Swami in India as she travelled and learned this 4,000 year old trade from the masters. And she is now a master herself, able to use her hands and energy to cover you with warmth and tenderness as she releases tension and moves energy down and away from your head. She begins by rubbing your back, shoulders and arms and does this for what seems an eternity before moving to your neck and head. As her hands follow the structures in your back and up to your shoulders, you can feel tension you may not even have realized was there just melt away. As my hour long treatment progresses, the distractions of reality begin to drift, leaving a dreamy state of mind. I feet like I am in a different place. A place where I can be quiet and reflect. As Bliss taps, scratches and rubs your scalp, the sounds inside your own head merge with the rhythms of the soft music. The tapping she does with the fingers of both hands simultaneously begins to sound like galloping horses and visions of a group of stallions running floats through my imagination. The strength of that image and power of the situation becomes a little intoxicating as I drifted deeper yet into something near a trance state. Later, as Bliss supports my head from behind and applies pressure to key energy points on my forehead and face, I almost imagine harmonic tones inside my head as connections were being made and reactions were occuring. Many times during the treatment, Bliss very softly circles my head with her hands, gently tousling my hair or caressing my face. This really reminds me of the loving touch of my mother when I was a young boy lying on her lap falling asleep as she played with my hair. And isn't everyone's mother the embodiment of the goddess of love? It's a special feeling - the feeling of being safe and loved. To this day, if someone I trust touches my head I quickly become soothed and eventually fall asleep. Thankfully I didn't fall out of the chair in my near slumber. There's another aspect of a visit to Bliss that I enjoy very much. She is so humble and grateful. And it's contagious. Humility is intoxicating and a rare trait indeed in the world of creative professionals. To plug into that and sit quietly for an hour and reflect gratefully on what you have, where you've come from and where you're headed feels very therapeutic and inspirational. After the session slowly ends and you emerge from this almost meditative state (and I'll admit, it's hard to come out of) it feels like something has been reset - both physically and mentally. Like you have purged some negative energy and thoughts and replaced them with good ones. And that is exactly what has happened thanks to Bliss Prema's gifted hands. I think the bottom line is this: life as a creative person can certainly be difficult and filled with distractions. Sure, there are may ways and places we can turn to recharge and find the fuel to drive our creativity. But inspiration can also be found by just taking a quiet time out, focussing inward and letting go of negative energy. I have friends who claim they don't have the time, can't afford it or don't buy into the whole massage thing, but I say hogwash. It's an investment in yourself and your health. Do it now. Call her or email her and book yourself and appointment. You won't regret it. In fact, I invite any who visit Bliss to come back and share their experiences here. Hopefully others will discover inspiration in something as simple as a head massage. If you are in the Vancouver area and would like to try Indian Head Massage for yourself, Bliss Prema can be reached at [email protected] or you can read more at her website: www.blissprema.com [post_title] => Inspiration in a head massage [post_category] => 0 [post_excerpt] => Bliss Prema claims her Indian head massage will relieve stress, but it can also inspire. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => inspiration-in-a-head-massage [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2006-10-22 13:16:28 [post_modified_gmt] => 2006-10-22 21:16:28 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://industrialbrand.com/blog/inspiration-in-a-head-massage [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 2 [filter] => raw ) -->

Inspiration in a head massage

Bliss Prema claims her Indian head massage will relieve stress, but it can also inspire.

Posted by: Mark Busse on Sunday, October 22nd, 2006

Categories: Articles | 2 Comments »

IBC: What was the major factor that led you to the work that you are now doing with Work Worth Doing?

WWD: We want to be active players in making positive change. And by starting Work Worth Doing, we could collaborate with other people and projects that are trying to do that, but also initiate projects that we care about. When we worked on the Massive Change project with Bruce Mau, we realized many individuals around the world are doing things to improve others’ lives. From entrepreneurs to non-governmental organizations to corporations, people are either designing new ways to transport people, better water purification systems, empowering entrepreneurial women in villages in Bangladesh, and so on. When we saw that the common denominator in all these projects was design in the broad sense, we got excited about doing something similar as designers and communicators.

IBC: How did working with Bruce Mau on the Massive Change project affect you?

WWD: Bruce Mau is a very optimistic person and the Massive Change project is really an expression of that optimism. So when you work with an optimist on a project in which you’re mapping all the new ideas, inventions and practical design solutions that are changing the world you begin to see things that way too. We’re not blind to some of the major problems in the world, but we were encouraged to find so many people working on solutions. We also learned the importance of iteration. Bruce likes to keep the creative process open as long as possible. So as we worked on the exhibition and book content and design for Massive Change we created hundreds of approaches. Sometimes your best ideas are the first ones, but most of the time they’re not.

IBC:The clients and projects you work with tend to be those already existing within the social responsibility camp. What is your advice for designers working with clients who are perhaps not as keen on such practices? Is it our responsibility to educate them?

WWD:Most companies are looking for better, more efficient ways of doing things. Patagonia, for example, doesn’t recycle your old hiking underwear because it’s good PR, although it is that too, they recycle it because they can reduce energy use by 76% by not using new materials and reduce CO2 emissions by 71% and save money to boot. If you want to nudge a company toward more social and environmental responsibility think of ways for them to do that that make good business sense. Is it a designer’s responsibility to do this? Not necessarily. But as a human being, it’s probably worth thinking about.

IBC: How significant do you feel the designer's role can be in shaping a client's view on socially responsible actions?

WWD: What designers have that most other consultants can’t bring to the table is the power to visualize. If you have a good idea, show them what you’re talking about. We were trying to show a client the benefits to their brand that greening their building would achieve. So we took pictures of their building, blew them up to 8’ x 4’ ($19 at Kinko’s) then cut out pictures of solar panels, wind turbines, green roofs and applied them to the building. It was simply a large sketch, nothing too polished. But they got very excited by the image. Because they could see their now green building, they could imagine the impact it would have on how they are perceived. If you work inside a large corporation, you’ll probably find employee groups who are working on social causes in the community or who are looking for ways to improve the company’s environmental practices so signing on to one of these teams is a good way to help make things happen.

IBC: In your opinion what is the most pressing issue confronting the world today?

WWD: The most pressing problems in the world are many and vary depending on each person’s perspective and location. However, our perspective is that various pressing problems in the world could be solved in a relatively short amount of time if the world’s key decision-makers and institutions wanted to. The money, technology, and knowledge are available to solve problems such as those defined by the United Nations in their UN Millennium Goals agenda -- eradicating extreme poverty, reducing child mortality, improving sanitation and water access, and so on. Addressing challenges such as those identified by the UN takes political commitment and commitment by NGOs and the likes of the Bill and Belinda Gates Foundation. This is where we are hopeful that designers and communicators can play a part by engaging multiple audiences around complex global challenges, visualizing possible solutions, and implementing part of those solutions and initiatives.

We have the benefit of looking at things from different locales and cultural perspectives. For the past year, one of us has worked in Toronto and one in Mexico City. Whether we’re working on sustainable housing in Toronto or illegal migration on the border of Mexico, we can see most problems are interconnected. The lack of water or the overuse of water, the lack of shelter or the over consumption of natural resources in building process, poverty, proper nutrition, environment, these are global issues but they’re also local issues. It’s hard to know which one is the most important. You just have to pick one and start working on it.

IBC: Do you see the current move by corporations toward social responsibility as trendy, something that can be spun as good PR? And if so, is doing good for the wrong reasons all that bad?

WWD: We don’t care what the motivation is, if a corporation is moving toward greater social and environmental responsibility it’s a positive thing. If it’s strictly a PR campaign it won’t take long for people to figure that out. Honda can play up Environmentology in their ads because they have the credibility of having designed, manufactured and sold the world’s first hybrid.

IBC: What do you hope will be the result of a project like The Now House? Do you see a proposal or communication to Wal-Mart or similar companies and possible relationship with them as a desired outcome?

WWD: Now House has been an online resource of green building materials and products. But starting this fall we plan to go live with a store, exhibition space and resource focused on sustainable innovations. Our ambition has been to help consumers find green products and information about sustainable products more easily. For about two years we’ve been encouraging Wal-Mart via “send an email to Rob Walton’ on our website to build more green stores and carry more green products. Enough people sent emails that Wal-Mart sent us an update on their intentions of greening their operation. Recently Wal-Mart hired the Rocky Mountain Institute to help them green their truck fleet. So, we think it’s unlikely they’ll hire us, but we take some credit for encouraging them to go green. Would we showcase green innovations from Wal-Mart in Now House? Definitely.

IBC: What are some of the projects that you have done that you are most proud of?

WWD: You can find these projects on our website: The exhibition: What if Greenland was Africa’s Water Fountain? done in collaboration with Bruce Mau and part of Too Perfect: Seven New Denmarks; The book: Hyperborder done in collaboration with LAR/Fernando Romero to be published in 2007 by Princeton Architectural Press, The upcoming launch of Now House™, the store, exhibition and resource centre featuring sustainable innovation. Recently, the Now House Team’s proposal was chosen by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) as one of twenty winning teams across Canada chosen to advance to Phase II Design Phase for their Net Zero Energy Healthy House project.

IBC: Do you collaborate with other designers?

WWD: Coming out of Massive Change we tend to view design in the broad sense. For example, on Hyperboarder we’ve collaborated with researchers, academics, politicians, social geographers and anthropologists. Recently, we met with a city councilor whose support we were after for a project we’re doing in her riding. Out of that discussion came a potential project to redesign a pedestrian route that feeds into a major subway station in her area of town. She’s a politician, but she understood the problem from a design point of view. So, we tend to see most of the people we work with as designers. And yes, we collaborate with industrial designers and architects a lot.

IBC: What is the ultimate goal of WWD? Where are you heading in the future?

WWD: We’d like to expand the articulation of “work worth doing” beyond the limitations that a two-person design studio entails. We are exploring the possibility of creating a network of like-minded individuals and engaging in collaborations with others who are, like us, using design as a tool for positive social and environmental change elsewhere in the world. We’d like to share tools and “know-how” with a larger group of individuals for the purpose of collectively designing the most effective methods for positive change. There are various similar models already in existence, such as World Changing, ThinkCycle, and INDEX, so a similar framework could work for us in the near future.

[post_title] => Work Worth Doing [post_category] => 0 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => work-worth-doing [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2006-09-20 14:22:59 [post_modified_gmt] => 2006-09-20 22:22:59 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://industrialbrand.com/blog/work-worth-doing [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 3 [filter] => raw ) -->

Work Worth Doing

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Greenland is melting!” This was how Lorraine Gauthier and Alex Quinto introduced themselves at this year’s ICOGRADA in Seattle. It was early in the conference and the first statement that truly made [...]

Posted by: Kevin Broome on Wednesday, September 20th, 2006

Categories: Articles | 3 Comments »