Michael Melnick:

The Rules of Transparency

Unless you're living on a farm in the middle of no-where,  you probably know that one of the more common buzz words in today's busy marketing and business world is Transparency.  It seems that in the post Enron/Madoff/Domino's Pizza era,  more and more company's are realizing that sharing information pertaining to their business processes the better change they have at winning the hearts and minds of their stakeholders.  Obviously, this is a result of the technological advances in online sharing and content distribution as well as a growing sense of awareness and responsibility among empowered consumers.

So, with the massive amounts of information available to today and the fact that traditional marketing communication methods are limited in their ability to exclusively control the message, It would seem obvious that marketers and advertisers are trying to re-think and find new ways to share and disclose business methods with their constituents before they do it for them. However, it turns out this isn't as simple as it sounds. 

Here are two opposing examples:

A mind-blowing example of how difficult it is to shake of the old habit of "holding your hand close to your chest" is provided by Morgan Spurlock: The greatest TED Talk ever sold.  The man behind 'Super-Size Me' and the great TV series "30 Days" as well as other thought provoking documentaries is back with another brilliant film concept in which he exposes advertising's weak spot - Transparency. It's amazing to see the advertising executive's fear and distrust with Spurlock and his innovative concept. After all you could say that he single handedly caused a major earthquake and tsunami to one of the most powerful corporations in the world when he went on a strict diet of McDonald's only products. Yet, when you look at what happened to McDonalds' stock price since the release of "Super Size Me" in 2004 you see that it has only climbed. Today McDonald's is leading the quick service industry into new and healthier products. One could even argue that it was the best thing that could happen to McDonald's as it was a wake up call that caused the company to re-evaluate everything it did from the ground up.

The second example is not as entertaining as Spurlock TED talk but still, it is a very interesting presentation and valuable lesson for companies that are looking to really shake things up and do things differently.

In this video, Tom Hulme of IDEO shares his experience and insights from building one of the more innovative collaboration and design thinking models out there today called OpenIDEO.  A collaborative platform harnessing the knowledge of people worldwide who wish to activley contribute to the effort of solving tough problems.  It's a joy to see how open and how transparent Tom is regarding the process and it embodies the idea of transparency and how companies need to learn how to give up the need for ultimate control of process and outcome and start engaging consumers and their wisdom to create better, together. My guess is that if Suplock had pitched the people at IDEO he would have gotten a green light to sponsor at least some part of this film.

What do you think? do business and trancparency have a future together?

Designing Authority: President Obama on the One Dollar Bill

I'm intrigued by the radical design concept for the United States currency notes created by the SF-UK based Dowling Duncan. It's so radical because of how different it is from the current design. This design is meant no only to change and reinforce a positive perception of the American currency is viewed but ultimately to change the perception of how people view the United Stated of America.

Looking at the two notes side by side raises many questions about the relationship between design and the nation state. What is more important the past or the future? What inspires trust, unity and stability? How much of what we believe in as citizens is fabricated vs. grounded in truth and reality? What is the difference between leadership and authority?

I don't suppose there is a simple answer to such questions but maybe you can answer this simple one:

Which would you choose?

(via www.fastcodesign.com)

Bruce Mau: A Beautiful World With Oil

Bruce Mau is one of the most important and influential design thinkers of our time.  His book Massive Change is one of my all-time favorites.  In this inspiring presentation, Mau takes on one of the most difficult questions of our time, how can we live without Oil?

I remember when I first saw Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" back in 2006, I felt a very unpleasant feeling of of fear and frustration. There was a real sense of urgency to act but also helplessness in light of the scale of the problem and lack of a clear path to a solution. Gore did a good job by framing the crisis and its causes and communicating the shared responsibility that we all share as citizens of the world but he didn't offer any concrete solutions.

Bruce Mau brilliantly re-frames the question and turns it into a positive one. Instead of asking "how can we live without oil" which obviously is not going to happen and stands in the way of finding a viable solution, Mau asks
"Can we imagine a beautiful future WITH oil?".  Mau also offers a better way to motivate people to move towards a better solution not because "we should" but because "(yes), we can".

The new business model, according to Mau, is in the intersection between art and science.  He explains that designers play a critical role in creating things that are both intelligent and desirable.  This is the project of the 21st Century. This is where design thinking comes in.

So if you are asking yourself how can I become part of the solution and not be part of the problem the answer is: smart and sexy.

via vimeo.com

Subliminal Branding

via www.graphicology.com

Here's an interesting question: What's the benefit of being a major corporate sponsor of Formula 1 team Ferarri if you can't showcase your brand's logo on the racing car? It seems that Philip Moris found a creative way around this issue.

A facinating post in Graphicology that raises deep questions about branding, logos and how design always finds a way to push the limits.

A Design Diary from Tel Aviv: Lucy Brown

jotta magazine: A Design Diary from Tel Aviv: Lucy Brown.

A fascinating diary by Lucy Brown, a British graphic designer who came to Tel Aviv to work and learn from Oded Ezer at his studio. Oded was my teacher in art school and his passion for design is contagious. I can't wait to read the next post.

The Client Is Always The Client

Michael Bierut of Pentagram, shares his personal experience as a designer about client relationships.  Bierut tackles this issue with a great deal of honesty and humility and I think there are some very important lessons to be learned about how to become a better design professional and how to help advance design as a service industry.

The advice given in this presentation is usually not taught in design schools and yet, it is just as important as mastering the craft itself.  I used to hate my clients and blame them for whatever wasn't going well on a project.  But over the years, I've come to realize that understanding the client is the most critical key to the success of a project and the business as a whole.

There's been a lot of talk in recent years about how a design driven approach can push business towards a more human centric way of thinking and thus reach greater success.  This presentation is about how design businesses should do the same by practicing what they preach.

As the old saying goes: "the client isn't always right, but he's always the client."

2010 Trends in Design - Comments

Jason Little, creative director in the Paris office of Landor Associates, presents an interesting and somewhat shocking analysis of design trends for 2010 and how they will impact brands. Little asserts that technology and globalization have led to chaos and encourages designers and marketers to let go of any attempt to organize or control this chaos and to embrace it instead.  This outlook poses quite a big challenge for companies with tight design and brand management policies and a great opportunity for companies that have the ability to release their grip and live in exploration mode. Here are the three trends that Little outlines and a few of my own observations that reinforce or question these assertions.

Homogenization

"So many designers are viewing the same sources of inspiration that they inevitably develop similar styles, whether deliberately or unconsciously."

This might be true but it's nothing new. I am as guilty as any other designer of being exposed and inspired by whatever experience I encounter and some of these experiences are not exclusive, especially not in a world that is so heavily influenced by commercial and non-commercial content.  However, I am not convinced that this fact is anymore true today as before. It's is also clear that there are some overall design principles that are shared by many (think: simplicity) and can lead to similar methods and sometimes similar results. I believe that the symbiotic relationship between culture and design have and will always exist. And the key to a thriving brand was and always will be differentiation. 

Niche aesthetics

"We’re seeing the emergence of “ugly” design as a means of grabbing attention. What was once considered less than pleasing to the eye has now become a credible way to define brand identity."

Well, that explains the London 2012 brand identity. But as a trend for 2010 I think it also is a reflection of a much larger phenomenon. Sub culture is always in risk of becoming main stream if too many people begin to appreciate it. It's just how people adopt new ideas and accept change. This trend is somewhat in contradiction of the previous one and that is no coincidence, but I believe that designers and marketers need to be less concerned with the question "does it look good?" and more focused on "does it work?".

Generative design

"Computers have given rise to a means of creating visual graphics without direct human involvement; designers can set general conceptual parameters and then let the program do the rest."

Once again, this is not something new and we are probably in the very early stages of this trend. It all started with Gutenberg's printing press and the end is nowhere in sight. The film Avatar is the latest manifestation of this trend but it wouldn't be a huge risk if I said that two years from now Avatar will seem a bit...old. I guess as long as designers can set the "general conceptual parameters" then we're okay. But if and when computers start doing that too then we'll have something real to worry about.

In conclusion, Little writes: "Flexibility is the wave of the future. Restrictive color palettes will yield to complete spectrums. Photography will shun the staged look and veer toward user-generated content from sites like Flickr. The challenge will be to maintain a cohesive brand presence without reverting to strict rules."

I'd like to conclude with my own trend prediction and advice that should and will go beyond next year into the future of branding and marketing. What will make or break brands is the element of Authenticity. Designers must be able to create and re-create authentic experiences that express value while walking the elusive line separating illusion and truth without compromising trust. Wow, did I just write that?

Happy New Decade

R. Crumb’s Illustrated Book of Genesis

Sex, scandal, and subtle satire abound, but with each carefully rendered detail — and the inclusion of every word from the five opening chapters — Crumb has given a new frame to one of the most widely known stories in history. Sure, he’s been under fire since the book’s release, but when has Crumb not been under fire for something or other?

via flavorwire.com

So this is what the Big Bang looked like.  This would actually make quite a nice holiday gift.

Good Stuff.

Tim Brown urges designers to think big

via www.youtube.com