Insights discovered about my professional passions: Branding, Marketing and Communications
Here’s a really cool infographic by Businesscards.com developed with the main intention to address the common disconnects in branding projects between less technical small business owners and the graphic designers that they hire.
This really helpful guide is meant to walk business owners through the points in the creative process where they are likely to struggle the most.
Click here for the original link to the infographic.
(Here’s a light, fun one for Friday)
Okay… this may only appeal to the comic book geek in me. Comics creator Kerry Callen created four GIFs of classic comic book covers, injecting them with animation.
Apart from the sheer act of design love, it certainly revisits the concept of rich media and how it has impacted the publishing industry.
My favorite (and not just because Batman is my favorite comic book character):
This was making its rounds on my Facebook timeline several times before I finally decided to take the time to watch the video… and wow, was I blown away!!! The ingenuity and the intent behind this innovation is truly inspiring!
Without spoiling too much, the video shows how a man nicknamed “Solar Demi” from Sitio Maligaya, Philippines brings light to many with a simple contraption involving a plastic bottle, water and some bleach. Like many commentators, I also initially thought it was going to be a Pepsi ad – but then again, even if it isn’t, if I were Pepsi, I would definitely go do something about it!
(How is this not on a TED talk already?!)
The video is as below:
Here’s a news report on the innovation and the movement:
Finally, and most importantly, please check out their site and see if you can help support a great cause. You can also find them on Facebook here or follow them on Twitter here (@aliteroflight):
Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light) – http://isanglitrongliwanag.org/
Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light), is a sustainable lighting project which aims to bring the eco-friendly Solar Bottle Bulb to disprivileged communities nationwide. Designed and developed by students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Solar Bottle Bulb is based on the principles of Appropriate Technologies – a concept that provides simple and easily replicable technologies that address basic needs in developing communities.
Businesscards.org is turning out to be a great resource for all things related to business cards! Check out this infographic of a Periodic table of Business Cards! Clever and fun to look around at some great business card ideas out there!
Click here to go to the actual, interactive infographic
I stumbled across this via my Twitter feed, which led me to the original post here at www.businesscards.org.
It’s a great way to explain to laypersons how offset printing works and may be of interest to anyone who has ever wondered how business cards are produced this way. This, by the way, underscores why it is always better to explain things using graphics rather than wall after wall of words!
The original file was a single JPEG file making it somewhat unwieldy to view – so I converted it into a slideshow for myself and for easier viewing.
Over at Noupe.com, I found a great showcase of type-based logo designs. I like their little blurb describing what logos are about:
A logo is the visual representation of the company that reflects the company’s business or products, all the while building up the credibility of the company. An effective logo design is one that aesthetically satisfies the target audience and possesses the potential to penetrate customers’ minds as a selling agent. It should also be simple and memorable.
For the brand logo designs, these are my favourite ones:
(This one is quite possibly my favourite – a word entirely made out of numbers!)
I like the clever use of negative space to accentuate the brand here!
This one clearly and cleverly depicts the brand name.
My only complaint about all the ones above is that none of them really indicate exactly what the brand is about. It’s a pretty name cleverly depicted – there is no chance to turn the viewer’s initial impressions (i.e. “Wow, so clever!”) into action (i.e. raised brand awareness, equity, etc.).
Even so, which are your favourite ones?
An ambigram is a typographical design or art form that may be read as one or more words not only in its form as presented, but also from another viewpoint, direction, or orientation. The words readable in the other viewpoint, direction or orientation may be the same or different from the original words. Here are some of my favourite ambigram logos via a post on StockLogos (click here for the full listing).
Similar to Death By Powerpoint, this billboard above is a great example of what NOT to do when it comes to designing information that is intended for quick impact. The key message, which I thought was very well phrased, was lost amidst the jumble of text at the top and the bottom:
You have no more right to pollute with tobacco smoke the atmosphere which clean people have to breathe, than you have to spit in the water which they have to drink.
Here’s a great Slideshare presentation on how best to avoid Death by Powerpoint:
I would also highly recommend the work of Presentation Zen as a great place to learn better design for communications.
