A no nonsense discussion about the changing business landscape and challenges AEC firms face when it comes to branding and marketing, what it takes to properly implement a great brand, ways to identify and improve brand health, and strategies to ignite your workforce so they’re living your brand.
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Long heralded as heroes of innovation, many firms and agencies are typically afraid to tackle a challenge that may well be the secret to their success. In this webinar, we discuss why specialization for your firm may be the way forward, not something to be feared or avoided. Many successful firms may not yet realize […]
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Every once in a while, we get to take a five minute break from our workdays to marvel at social media catastrophes that happen to really, really big players. Last week, it was Burger King and HMV’s turn to be ridiculed online. Burger King’s Twitter feed got hacked, entertaining Internet users everywhere (they now have […]
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Ethics. We all have them, whether we are directly in tune with them or not. Naturally, our ethics translate into our work, sometimes before we even realize it. That’s why it’s important to maintain awareness of the ethics we exercise in communication design, whether we’re the designers or the client. If we don’t pay attention, […]
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As communication designers, creating ethical websites is a huge part of our responsibility at Industrial Brand. Designing websites that safely, respectfully and innovatively enrich the lives of our users is what we do. So when we see loopholes and mistakes on the web that carry serious and life-threatening consequences for its users, it hits us […]
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Let’s admit it: marketers are in an online rat race. As all of us with an internet connection and a functioning pair of eyes know, marketers are stumbling over each other to get 100,000 more views on their videos than their competitor, to engage more fans on facebook, to get more twitter followers retweeting their posts. Is social media marketing worth the time that marketers are putting into it? Well, we don’t know for sure yet (it’s all too new), but the logical answer still remains: the platform you’re marketing on doesn’t matter—your marketing ingenuity makes or breaks your campaign. It’s rare that we as consumers see a marketing campaign that truly connects with us and wins us over. Amongst all the bland, cheeseball marketing we see, it’s rare to find something special—so when something like Innocent comes along, we fall in love.
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Let’s face it: if you want a job after you’re done school that doesn’t involve writing down pasta orders or spilling Americanos all over yourself (been there), you have to do an internship. No ifs, ands, or buts. Our generation is not our parents’ generation. A formal education doesn’t guarantee you a job—or even a […]
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There’s no denying it. There’s no hiding from it. There’s no escaping it. Social media is everywhere. And in some cases, social media can make or break a business. When was the last time you went to the little bar around the corner from your office? Not since an army of Yelp reviewers made sure […]
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A couple of months ago, I stumbled onto a surprisingly impressive, tongue-in-cheek blog called Hipster Branding. Although the concept is old hat (aren’t people tired of the word ‘hipster’ yet?), the point behind the blog is articulated skillfully. The designer, Dave Spengeler, took famous, bloated corporations such as McDonald’s, Nike, and Fedex, and redesigned their logos in a way that would appeal to a supposedly frame-wearing, cocktail-drinking, Kafka-reading subculture. The results are astounding: every single logo feels smarter, classier, boutique, and appealing to that type of person – all because of a few new typefaces and shapes.
Why is it that appearance makes such an immediate impact? Why is it that it can make or break so many of our decisions, create or destroy brand loyalties, and tap into our strongest instincts? A few theories and some wise words by Don Norman begin to explain the reasons behind it all – and even prove just how far appearance can go.
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You don’t need to join a design association. What’s the point? Your time is tight as it is—you have Mad Menepisodes to catch up on—and money is even tighter, so why give any of it to a club of stodgy old designers who don’t get it anymore anyway?
You don’t need to join a design association. I suppose it demonstrates the level to which you are committed to your career and community, but so does that tweet you sent to@JessicaHische last week. I’m sure she hasn’t responded because she’s super busy right now. #pleasenoticeme
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The following article by Mark Busse was published in June 2012 in Design Edge Canada Magazine. Most of you won’t make it in the graphic design industry. Sorry if that stings, but it’s time someone told you the truth. The odds are stacked against you. Colleges and universities are churning out more design program […]
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Mark Busse’s June article for Design Edge magazine was about how to effectively communicate inside a design studio like ours: Ever heard a creative director say, “But that’s not what I asked for!” Or a designer explaining the reason they’ve produced a certain solution is because that’s what they thought you told them to do? […]
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