Design Differences

While doing research for a client project, I came across so many poorly designed logos. Don't people care about their business? Why would they really trust such an important thing to the neighbor kid down the street with a Mac, or even worse a logo mill on the web? Design is a process. It's not a push the button on the computer and out it comes kind of deal.

It takes time, research and critical thinking about your business, your audience and your goals (simplifying here) before a thumbnail sketch even enters the picture. If you believe in what you do, you should be willing to invest in it.

Treating your identity as a commodity is the biggest mistake a business can make.

These are just some of the files, temporarily placed here, for the new enewsletter I'm working on.

The astute, and somewhat absent, author of this blog will be appearing tomorrow at the First Annual Portfolio Workshop/Student Professional Day at the offices of Gannet/USA Today in McClean, Virginia. Besides lending his own views on the profession that is design, he will be moderating the morning photography breakout session. More information about the event can be found at the Focus on Design web site.

If you are in the neighborhood, and really want to know what's happening in the world of color, don't miss this event. Sponsored by none other than AIGA-Baltimore.

The ideas took root from some research on poster design I did while looking for inspiration. Here are the two concepts sent to the client for approval. This first one takes a more 'old school' approach...

and this one, takes a modern approach contrasted with a classic serif typeface.

Now, we'll wait and see which way the client wants to go.

One always wonders about identity redesigns, and this one I'm not convinced is for the better. Though it was driven by changes at the parent corporation whose logo for their 'dairy' division also encompasses the new smile. But is this a really happy change?

Above is the old Dannon packaging. And below is the new 'yogurt' package, next to the old one which had more blue and less brightness.

While it may be hard to judge here, I honestly believe the original packaging was stronger on the shelf. I find the packaging with more white seems to get lost, hard to find, even if I know exactly where to look.

Now with any identity change, it's really difficult to critique accurately without the creative brief. I've got no idea what research, if any, drove these changes. And in some ways, while I prefer a smily face to a overdone swoosh, this smile comes with questions. And it's positioning with the white space above it is a bit visually disconcerting. And I'm not even sure the new type treatment is much better than the old. But maybe it's just that smiles are becoming the next design trend and we should all keep an eye out.

It's about what's right, and if you haven't heard, just go to Tom Watson's site for the specifics about the plight of Mukhtaran Bibi and the women of Pakistan.

In his NYT Op-Ed today, Nicholas Kristof expands beyond this one story to really reach to the heart of the matter. A matter that should be on the agenda of next month's meeting between Mr. Bush and General Musharraf of Pakistan. (You know him, he leads our so-called partner against terrorism. )

So rather than spend more time reading about the everyday mundane workings of middle-class America, take a look at what's going on outside our borders. Add your voice to the cause and hope that maybe, just maybe, the chorus will be loud enough to make change happen.

So, I've been busy looking for full-time and freelance opportunities. While the need for free design never seems to cease. But it's all about networking and getting your name and work out there. So, here's a little flyer I just did. It's simple but it works.

And it is a great cause, if you are in the neighborhood.