design.news

The trick to most design, is knowing when to stop. To rip-off a quote, Design is like morality - it consists of drawing the line somewhere.

I see it all the time when I’m out driving. It might be a pretty fancy car to begin with, and probably more than able to leave my family-approved mode of transportation in the proverbial dust with little effort, but the guy sitting next to me at the lights has probably gone a little too far. That little extra chrome, the further up the range rims and California beach approved tail fins may look cool, but they aren’t exactly going to improve performance too much. Not in proportion to what they all cost.

Sometimes I see it onstage or at a music store. A prettier piece of maple or shinier tuners may look cool on any guitar, but when the rubber hits the road (or pick hits the strings) what are you really gaining?

With design, I like to call it Design ROI, or Design Return On Investment. You could spend twice as much on a business card so that you have a little foil stamping on it, or spend the money trying out fourteen different typefaces, but what are you really gaining? Is that foil REALLY going to persuade business card holders to make that phone call? And is a typeface with 10% higher x-height really going to make you look 10% more professional?

Now, I don’t mind if someone wants to spend twice as long on a project if I’m getting paid for it, but I’m not about to rip off anybody or make them pay for their indecision. Sometimes, it comes down to trust.

Trust your designer to know what they are doing. When you get one or two choices, believe that these are the best choices available, and not the first two that popped into someone head. Make sure that the extra time and effort put into a design truly is an investment and the cost of which can be recovered by the added professionalism and functionality of the product.

I’m interested in efficient design, design that gets the job done and is accurate, exactly what the clients needs and wants, and is going to go out there and show off a business for what and who it truly is.

I just want your clients to notice when you’ve gone the extra mile. If it’s effective, they will. And they will be calling.

David Williams published a rather upsetting post on his blog, outlining how Markzware.com (get your own link, Mark!) ripped off his work - what were they thinking…

Well, it got me thinking. I wanted to make sure I hadn’t (inadvertently) robbed someone of credit. So I went to my favourite stock library to check their License Agreement.

I’m not ashamed to admit using stock photos. They save me a lot of time, and sometimes my clients a lot of money. For my blog, stocks pics serve my purposes perfectly.

Before reading the License agreement I was getting ready to track down the exact source of each picture I had used, and give credit where due. Thankfully, I had been good after all, and credits to individual artists weren’t necessary.

However, I would like to thank Woodsy for the beautiful window shot in my post on inspiration; Adam Ciesielski for the stunning x-ray image I used here; and Rachel Gilmore for the stunning Irish scene in ‘Dont be Afraid of the Distance’.

And if you clicked every link in this post, you get extra kudos too.

So from now on, I’ll try to acknowledge even when I’m not legally forced to do so. It’s just.. being nice!

And the picture in this post? It’s a Kodak No.1 Diomatic shot with a Pentax K100D Super. By me!

The title is a quote from a movie I probably shouldn’t admit to watching, let alone paying attention to. Hugh Grant said this, in ‘Music and Lyrics’, when his partner said that she wasn’t feeling inspired.

This got me thinking of a joke…

Q: Why didn’t the artist look out of the window in the morning?

A: So he had something to do in the afternoon !

I think the implication is that artists sit around, waiting for inspiration. Well, I suppose that as a fine artist that may be true, but as a commercial artist (graphic designer) who doesn’t want to starve or get kicked out of his house (ie. would rather make money), I can’t wait for inspiration!

I think I also have a hidden desire to make my job appear as technical and challenging as possible. The main reason for this is that my job is technical and challenging. More often than not, there is a lot more to design than meets the eye (literally!.

So it was quite refreshing to find this about.com post about logo design. Giving away trade secrets may backfire, but I wanted to share the complexity and length of such a job.

Ever since moving to Canada from England I have had to cope with distance. Keeping in touch with family, sending money, transporting all my worldly possessions, sending gifts - I’ve had to get creative! Over the years you get to figure out the most effective ways of doing things over thousands of miles.

Take sending gifts, for example. Many items are going to cost you more in shipping (if they even get there…)so you start thinking light and small - clothing, CDs. But once Christmas comes around, that’s a lot more shipping, all at once. The best way we have found is to use Amazon.ca (or Amazon.co.uk, depending on the direction). Not only does Amazon offer free shipping with grouped items, they also ship locally. So when I’m ordering from Canada to ship to England, they will ship all items from England, or somewhere a lot closer than Canada (thank you, EU!).

Working long distance is very similar. A business relationship is just that, a relationship, and can also be managed from afar. Once contact is made (through email via a business portal or networking site like LinkedIn), proofs and changes can be managed via email quite easily. Videoconferencing has been around since the sixties, believe it or not, and is a great way to put a face to the voice/email address. Instant messaging (MSN, Yahoo, iChat, etc) is not just for teenagers and loner adults living in their parents’ basements! Businesses can transfer files and links, hand over phone numbers or other information that used to be dropped off on your desk on a Post-it note, or have entire conversations without moving.

Think of the travel time that is saved. Green and ecological groups want us to cut down on emissions by car pooling and using more economical vehicles. What if we eliminated or reduced travel by making technology that is so easily available actually work for all of us?

All it takes is a wider adoption by businesses wishing to be more conscious of wasted resources, and I’m not just talking about fossil fuels. I save hundreds of hours a year by working from home and communicating with clients over IM, email and the phone. Then there are the savings in car maintenance, food (it’s always cheaper to eat at home), clothing (a website looks just as good if I wear a suit or David Bowie t-shirt and AE Boot Cuts!) and stress.

Yes, stress. If you say you enjoy commuting, you’re either lying or doing something that nobody else knows about. Driving is not a stress reliever. No, it isn’t. Unless you only drive on sunny days through the mountains in a convertible with no scheduled arrival time. But that isn’t a commute, is it?

Don’t be afraid of the distance. Using a designer that doesn’t work down the hall or down the street is not a detriment to work flow. Not only will you be saving resources by not traveling, so will the designer. Me!

There’s nothing quite like driving along a stretch of newly paved highway.

This is what your car is meant to sound like! The engine is purring along, the warm tires stick to the road, and you and your passengers enjoy a smooth journey.

Now, this may not be a surprise to you, especially if you like in a country like Canada that regularly gets it’s roads attacked by ravenous temperature changes, but not all roads are like that.

Potholes and other anomalies in the road surface can make your automotive journey less than perfect. You are watching the traffic, maybe enjoying the sunshine, singing along to the radio even, when suddenly and violently, your car jolts. Plunges. Just about makes you eat your tonsils!

What was that? How’s my car? Do I need an alignment now? Are my tires OK? How am I going to fix the hole in the ceiling? Why doesn’t someone fix that [bleep]ing canyon in the road?

Nobody likes having an otherwise enjoyable and meaningful experience interrupted by a potentially hazardous and disruptive oversight. Some potholes can be avoided by better road construction, but most can be fixed sooner or later (preferably sooner…).

You don’t have to look far - magazine, TV, the web - to find examples of design potholes. Spelling, grammar, colour palettes, image choice and overall layout can help or hinder the viewer. An otherwise perfect design can get kiboshed by one error, one omission, one poor decision. And when that happens, it doesn’t matter what the message is, or was. The viewer is too distracted by the faux pas to see anything else.

Good design is meant to be a conduit for the content and ideally wouldn’t be noticed unless it’s bad. Just like a pothole. Few people drive through the mountains commenting on the road surface and forgetting the beautiful scenery. Of course, some of us go out of our way to look at design, but at the end of the day it’s all about the content.

“Road? What road? Oooo.. what a beautiful sunset!”

Your customers are mobile. You are mobile. How about making your business just as mobile?

Think of all the wasted hours spent in line ups, at the bank, on the train…what if all that time could be salvaged and used to market your business and inform people of your services?

Most mobile (or cell) phones have a browser built in. I say ‘most’ just incase there are a few without, but as far as I know, all phones made in the last few years do have internet access. If you’re concerned about data, you will be glad to hear that service providers like Rogers are now offering unlimited data packages. You don’t have to worry about racking up visitors’ phone bills!

First of all, you can make it easier for people to phone you, email you from their phones or add you to their contact lists. Type in your mobile URL, click on a link - done!

Secondly, think of the most commonly asked questions you get asked, either on the phone, or by email. That’s perfect content for a mobile website.

Other content that people would want to access on the go might include price lists, a brief introduction to your business, your photo (particularly useful for industries like real estate, and great for remembering who you are!).

Putting your business in someone elses pocket gives them a chance to review information on their downtime. They no longer have to wait until they get back to the office - they can pull out a mobile device in the elevator, over lunch or while waiting for the traffic lights to change.

Take a look right now at http://nburmandesign.mobi and see how your business could look on a mobile device.

According to some, a trend is a wave of popular ideas or products that is only seen for a short while. A trend is neither good nor bad.

If something is seen as ‘trendy’, then it could be considered trivial, trite, and lacking value.

What a difference one little ’y’ makes…

Graphic design, like any artform (and no matter whether the artform has anything to do with business) is fraughtwith trends.

Neon colours, vectors, low rent tv commercials, grunge… they all come, they all go.

While it’s important to look like you know what year it is, it’s not necessary to be jumping on every bandwagon you see on MTV, Oprah, or the nearest billboard.

NBurman Design likes to be on the edge, but not falling off. We can create a business image for you that is current but not trendy. Nobody wants to be reinventing their image every three months, unless of course, your industry moves that fast. Then we’d be glad to help you out! A new brand every Thursday? Sure why not!

But if you’re investing in your logo and brand, you shouldn’t have to do it repeatedly to keep up with trends. Your image should be stable and long lasting, just like your business.

What we can do, on the other hand, is come up with ideas for you to keep your brand fresh and exciting in the eyes/ears of your customers. New ideas that incorporate your image will go a long way to keep you at the front of people’s minds.

…and the New Year is here. Happy New Year!

Christmas was a quiet one. Thankfully. I like it like that. But I did manage to get some spring cleaning done.

Clean up the debris, file away the clutter and create a space that is more, well, creative.

Now, I’m not under impression that having a cleaner office will make me any better at my job, although spending less time fighting the junk will make me more efficient. It’s a good way to start off the new year. I made it to the end of ‘07, and now I’m raring to go.

So how about you and your business? How are you facing 2008?

Now would be a great time to put a new face on what you do. New business cards, a new letterhead, a new website announcing your new direction.

If your business doesn’t have a new direction, try announcing it in a new way. An online blog, or your own podcast can bring your message up to date and fit right in with your client’s fast paced lifestyle.

A podcast is basically your own radio show that you broadcast online, and let others know of the new one with either a link on their browser, or a media player like iTunes. Your client’s can listen to it on their computer or any mp3 player - it doesn’t have to be an iPod. They will hear you share your views on industry, news, updates, interviews - anything you would like to say. Maybe a banjo instrumental or two…

Technology is like an Escher drawing. In particular, the one of a hand drawing a hand drawing the hand drawing it.

As the pocket-protector Anoraks make more information and ways of fetching that information available to us, the more information and ways of fetching that information we need.

While it could be said that the gadgets we don’t need make our life more complicated, they also free us from being bound to it.

Once upon a time, when you wanted to check your inbox for an important, time-sensitive email, you had to be near a computer. Or at least bring your laptop with you. Now, you know when that bid approval/sale/order arrived because your belt is vibrating/beeping/playing a Beyonce tune. Even when you’re out living life - taking a coffee break, picking up a sick child from school, talking to other clients - you’re no longer bound to the office! If you want to find information on a client or product, it’s right there.

Not only is design.news going to be available on your mobile, but so is your website. Are you going to wait for everyone in the world to have an iPhone or at least be able to afford an unlimited data plan on their smartphone before you get your website in the hands of anyone with a mobile?

Instead of restricting your audience to those with a big screen, get your site, or just your newsletter, ordering information, price list or other info that people may need on the fly, available to anyone at anytime.

The day is barely two cups of coffee old, and you have a problem.

The publisher just called. Your ad is up for renewal.

That wouldn’t be a problem if you had a graphic designer on staff. One phone call/email/yell down the hall, and the scourge is off your desk and slapped onto someone else’s To Do list.

It also wouldn’t be a problem if you had someone on speed-dial who Accounting already knew about, and will take care of it right away, without any need for extra authorization or invoicing.

Wouldn’t that be nice…all the benefits of an in-house designer without actually having extra staff around…

Well, for only $495 you can buy ten (10) hours of design time. That’s a 10% saving on the hourly rate every time you pre-pay 10 hours at a time. Use the hours whenever you need them. One ad. Website updates. A monthly newsletter. Use it as a regular account or as a monthly emergency fund for quick changes. Just add to your account before 30 days is up and your existing balance carries forward to the next month. There’s no need to hire extra staff, or go through yet another consultation and ‘getting to know’ period with a designer every time you need something done. AND you can buy extra hours whenever you need them, you don’t have to wait a month.

What could be easier? You don’t have to fear deadlines, numerous invoices or the phone anymore.