In college, I studied fine art: Drawing, painting, and printmaking. I even traveled to Rome and Florence to study art history. As an aspiring illustrator, I had three significant influences at the time: Leonardo, Frazetta and Dean.

Today, while cleaning out my browser bookmarks, I found a link, that I saved as many as 10 years ago, to an artist I admired for the same reasons as the aforementioned trio. His works are, at the same time, fantastic, powerful and artistically sensitive.

Take a look! Pascal Blanche

P.S. As I acknowledge influences in this post, I must include Professor of Art and Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts, Emeritus, at State University of New York, James Mullen, (and more ) who taught all fortunate to be in his classes, “how to see,” the most valuable skill I have ever learned as an artist and creative thinker.

Late this evening, I made the time to review a presentation by Alessandro Finetto, Director Global Consumer Design, Whirlpool Europe, at DMI’s Realities conference 13 in Europe.

My big takeaway from Mr. Finetto’s presentation is this:

He knows, instinctively as a designer, that 250 new product introductions in one year is, plainly and simply, too much. Why? The costs are high for development, delivery and risk versus reward. Simple.

It is no longer reasonable to throw out every idea under the sun, because one of them will surely succeed. Venture capital firms know this, too, and they are much more particular about how they spread seed money today.

However, new product design and exploration is not less needed in such an economically challenged environment, but more important than ever. It must continue.

Design and innovation is an extremely efficient method. It involves fewer, and more specialized, team members that require relatively small budget percentages. The results, simultaneously, develop innovative opportunities and filter the results to rational, yet intuitive and discrete, resource commitments.

In other words, now is the time to expand innovative and creative explorations, rather than to contract or eliminate them.

Your thoughts, please.

Inspired by this article in the New York Times, I’m going to try some creative marketing and offer our book on package design, Patterns:The Book, at a special price every Tuesday!

According to author, Motoko Rich, Amazon (via the Kindle) has effectively set the bar for delivery of digital book content at just about $9.99. For many non-paper book buyers, that’s the limit.

Authors and publishers who differ claim that the reader is paying for content, not medium, and the price should be set accordingly.

As both author and publisher, I do agree and disagree with some features of each opinion. But, let’s see what happens in this real-world test! For a limited time, we will offer Patterns: The Book (PDF) for just $9.99 every Tuesday.

That’s:
* Less than $1 for every category report
* A little bit more than a nickel ($0.06) for each observation
* Or, about 5 cents per page!

$9.99 on Tuesday

I’ve always been fascinated with web site analytics.

My favorites, I rely on every day, are:
* Mint, and
* Google Analytics

Now, add to that list:
* Quantcast

Quantcast is very interesting, because its data analysis and presentation is more Marketer-focused (demographics, et cetera) versus the Webmaster (Time on page and so on).

Check it out. I’m going to be watching.

I was astounded to see, that when comparing our domain to that of a major competitor, our female audience was nearly doubled. Now, I must know why.

Lately, we’ve found ourselves looking, first, to digital or online publishing before anything else. Why? Practical reasons, really: faster, more portable, easily updated. My current favorite for R.BIRD publications is ISSUU. Publisher and user experience seems flawless and there are further options for embedding and customization of UI.

I like this platform so much that we used Issuu for first preview of our book, Patterns: about design in consumer packaging.

Wacky Packages, first introduced by Topps Chewing Gum nearly 40 years ago, are back in the form of a coffee-table-worthy book to be prized by casual curators everywhere.

Wacky Packages were a series of stickers and gum cards made in the late 60s and early 70s. I looked forward to my weekly trip to the local “five and dime” to collect the latest. And it probably did cost a nickel.

Ted Anthony of Associated Press put it this way, “Wacky Packages turned the supermarket into a buffet of obnoxious jokes, bad puns and skeevy illustrations.”

My bedroom headboard and high school notebooks were plastered with these wacky pack stickers when they first appeared. Schoolmates and I loved these irreverent blasts as pure comedy - completely unaware of their social context… or fateful prediction of career. (My bed was even covered with a Wacky Packages quilt - still in my possession!)

Imagine a time when commercial creativity was largely free from analysis… a time when reckless expression and social satire was encouraged and rewarded. (Thank you, Andy.)

Check out a complete collectors reference here:
Gregory Grant’s Wacky Packages Web Page

What’s your favorite?

There’s no mistaking the trend in brand and packaging design toward more streamlined brand identity and packaging. Suddenly, it seems, marketers are beginning to appreciate how simplicity and clarity go hand in hand to create more aesthetically pleasing presentations and more memorable communication.

Now, Maxwell House follows the lead of Pepsi (see Now Koke Smiling Too ) and many others with a revolutionary evolution of brand mark and packaging.

Most noteworthy in the new design is the absence of the trademark “good to the last drop!” slogan and cup. This is no small change. The overall look of the brand and package is a significant departure from tradition. Like Pepsi’s recent redesign, “departure from tradition” seems to be the mantra of the day.

While we may applaud openness to change - and we’re not talking incremental tweaks anymore - the consumer will quickly send a message to Maxwell House coffee bean counters: thumbs up or thumbs down ( see Caught Up In The Competition ).

Change always invites critique. So, assuming we endorse “change,” since without it designers would have little to do, I have some comments on the execution of this particular example:

The Logo - Pro: I think the strategically rounded Optima-like font selection is right on. Con: The off-center stack and poor kerning creates a train-wreck effect for me. I can’t stop looking.

The Yellow - Pro: Once again, great ®evolution. The introduction of warmer colors is a big plus and creates a sense of sunny, greet-the-day warmth that was surely lacking in predecessors.

The Cup - Pro: The oversized blue mug and its shadow preserves the presence of Maxwell House Blue. Con: Where’s the coffee!? The brobdingnagian cup, though serving a purpose, seems too much in my face and contributes nothing to appetite appeal or sense of coffee-drinking experience ( see Research in Package Design for Coffee ).

The Beans - R.BIRD did some work for Yuban many years ago and much attention was given to presentation of the bean. After dozens of illustrative and iconic iterations, we were still unimpressed even by our own work. The same goes here. If the bean is obligatory and given focus, there must be a better way. These beans, enlarged and in a ringed spotlight, don’t sing either.

The Brew Strength - The before package wins hands down with a highlighted color bar that was easy to understand. The new “triangle->medium” solution lacks context and seems more appropriate to an interactive environment (a web page, for example) where active involvement reveals additional meaning and relationship.

The Last Drop - Absence of the heritage coffee cup drip, the “good to the last drop” slogan and the steaming coffee image leaves no clear communicator of flavor or experience, which I feel is lacking in the new design.

Balance - Nothing in this layout is on center. Everything is off balance - as an element or even line by line. I’m not sure what the rationale might have been, but to my mind it creates a sense of instability that undermines confidence.

Kraft and the Maxwell House brand teams deserve credit for their courage to champion such a broad change in presentation of the brand and packaging on shelf.

Designers and coffee drinkers out there, what do you think?

Edition #3 for Separated at Birth
(Yes, it’s been way too long.) Yet, due with this post.

During a recent client commissioned Patterns report we came across this astounding matchup:

On the left is Diet Pepsi MAX. On the right, Gillette Series Gel. The coloring (structural and graphic), typography and electrified arcs are remarkably similar. Great minds think alike?

Desktop Eutopia!

I’ve been longing for pre-OSX and pre-Vista days, when customizing my desktop and UI (Mac or PC) was a pleasurable distraction that I devoted a certain amount of time to every day, like reading a good book on the train.

Since modern (read: less open) operating systems like OS X Leopard and Windows Vista have been introduced, such a pursuit has become more complicated while sitting atop shifting technological sands.

So, my attention moves toward what I can more easily do to tweak my daily user experience at the desktop. And the simplest thing is: changing my desktop wallpaper.

I’m pretty picky about such things, being a designer, mind you. So, finding a fresh collection required some diligence. I’d rather go with basic gray when there’s so much bad wallpaper out there, people. And, there is.

Hallelujah, today, I found desktop wallpaper euphoria when I discovered the works of artist, Vlad Gerasimov at Vladstudio.

Vlad’s works are rich with emotion, depth and detail. There is variety in color and feel enough to satisfy just about any ephemeral desire. The wallpapers are available in aspect ratios and resolutions to fit a wide range of resolutions, including dual monitor setups.

I highly recommend - and encourage - everyone to visit and support Vlad’s work with a lifetime subscription to Vlad’s daily desktop pleasures.

Thank you, Vlad.

Enjoy!

Mike Rohde takes note-taking to a higher level with his fantastic and engaging sketch notes.

I first became aware of Mike’s sketchnotes from the first, and surely not last, Seed Conference featuring Jason Fried 37signals, Jim Coudal Coudal Partners and Carlos Segura T26 in Chicago.

JF confirms that, indeed, Mike’s furious scribblings on Moleskine happen in real time. Amazing. Sitting next to Mike Rohde anytime, anywhere for anything must surely be an exhilarating experience.

Renewing an interest in music listening is prompting a restoration in-progress for my long-neglected, uninformed, audiophile-wannabe, hi-fi.

I’m sure many of us have found ourselves awkwardly bent over the backs of stacked players, preamps and amplifiers in dark, cramped quarters, struggling to see which connector gazinta what.

While adding a nice, entry-level, dedicated CD player, this week, there was an “ah-ha!” moment. Take a look at the image above. Notice anything unexpected?

Wow. What a simple idea that should become a standard. The silkscreened labels for the primary interconnects on this CD player are inverted for easy reading when your world is upside-down. Notice, too, how the same connection points are given plenty of breathing room and are not crammed into a “wall of connectors.”

Cambridge Audio gets credit for this personal event. Now, let’s see how it all sounds.

PROCEDE® is the R.BIRD method for exploring creative strategies and greater possibilities. Its principles are drawn from more than a quarter century of experience and, not, merely invented for the sake of marketing. Our work at R.BIRD respects our Procede principles on every project.

I’d like to share some thoughts with you on the fourth principle of Procede:

There are no wrong answers It’s better to consider an option than to presume an objection.

This week, we are beginning a large-scale redesign for the corporate information and branded websites for a growing, multi-national, consumer product company. Like most website design projects, particularly at this scale, it’s not easy. Suddenly, every division at every level in every location, worldwide, is a stakeholder and has an unique opinion.

This is exactly why it’s important, as designers in the process, to have a 360-degree perspective.

[flashback]

Two examples.

One of our most professionally-rewarding programs in the design of corporate brands and communication was the “ME” program for Mercer. ME & Mercer The stated need was, “We need a PowerPoint template for a new employee welcoming event.” That seems simple enough. Many designers might move right to the drawing board and start cranking. Instead, we asked questions. Why is this meeting being held? How is this event different from those in the past? What is prompting a change? It soon became apparent that what was really needed was a cohesive employee communications program to support specific, organizational change goals. In the end, we delivered a highly visible and wide-reaching, branded communications platform to be applauded by leadership and employees alike.

Oversimplified explanation, yes, but, not just a PowerPoint template. Why did R.BIRD ask questions that might seem, at first, to be irrelevant to the tactical assignment?

Procede Principle #4.

Second example: Tempur-Pedic is a well-known brand, yes? We associate its name with best in quality and highest in price for its product category.

Just before IPO, management recognized that presentation at retail was less than best. R.BIRD was engaged to raise the bar. We were given a brief, of course, with very specific requirements and well-documented parameters. We always include existing background in our work.

Then, we consider options - greater possibilities - we prefer. Our findings suggested that a “health, mind, body, spirit” positioning was where the opportunity for growth would come. “Objection!” The client ruled, “We’ve considered this idea and rejected it.” We continued to explore the option and others. The evidence was overwhelmingly convincing. Today, the objectionable option is endorsed as overarching brand language for Tempur-Pedic throughout the marketing, advertising, and packaging of the Tempur-Pedic brand.

Procede Principle #4.

By the way, stock ticker TPX is up 150%.

[Return to Present]

Our multi-national, website redesign client has made it clear that the strategic focus is brand-building with consumers. The strategy is appropriate, assumed and currently ubiquitous.

However, two-thirds of revenue comes from retail buyers and wholesale distributors and the rest from consumer purchases at retail.

R.BIRD Procede Principle #4 says, “There are no wrong answers.” Then, of course, there must be no wrong questions.

What right questions would you ask? What options should be considered? And, what objections will need to be answered?

Bottom line: Assume Nothing. Consider Everything.

Patterns, our series of reports on observations in package design for consumer products is quite popular. In fact, the most popular report we’ve published is about Energy Drinks. The Energy Drinks report has been downloaded thousands of times and viewed online many thousands more.

Our report on Energy Drinks documents our experienced observations on how the makers, marketers and designers of these drinks use visual cues to communicate and attract buyers.

The Patterns reports online also allow comments to be posted by viewers. The vast majority of such comments on Energy Drinks are not much about design and more to do with health concerns over abuse, misuse and risks associated with consumption of such beverages.

There’s no doubt that the energy drink market is building a high. As every week passes, our web server logs prove so. Search keywords on “energy drinks” grow ever larger and larger.

Imagine our surprise to see the energy drink bonanza taken to a new high with the introduction of Blow Energy Drink.

According to story on Fox 5 New York:

It’s a powdered energy drink that looks like cocaine and is even marketed and packaged that way. It even comes with a mirror and a fake credit card. The company says it’s all in good fun and is supposed to be provocative but harmless. Some people, including a former DEA agent, that Fox 5 talked to think it is pretty outrageous.

This is a new, low-blow for marketing ethics. How will the marketplace at-large respond to such an approach?

Skipping through a recent issue of Real Simple magazine over lunch with R.BIRD creative director, Joseph Favata, our page-flipping was unavoidably interrupted by the stiffness - and thickness - of an “yellow tail” advertising insert (top-left-inset).

Pulling on a tab embedded in the insert set off a series of yellow blinking lights on the tails of what might be lightning bugs. Curious, as always, we decided to tear this insert apart to find out what’s ticking inside.

Our findings were disconcerting, to say the least. Not Simple at all, this tip-in extravaganza includes membrane switches, wires, light sources, circuit board and batteries.

What you see in this photograph is just ONE of 1.9 MILLION of these things (based on Real Simple published circulation numbers) casually and stealthily cast into the eco-system and, perhaps, wrongly destined for a community recycling program.

You might say that this example is akin to readily-available, musical greeting cards. The difference is: Choice was not involved in its delivery.

I’m going to send this specimen off to my son, a junior studying engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, for further fun and dissection. I’m imagining there might be several varieties of non-recyclable and even hazardous elements in its construction.

Sure, the effort was rewarded with our attention, but not in the way I think it was imagined by its creator and patron.

This all seems to be an obvious disconnect between wine and gizmos. And, certainly, not in line with the clean and simple image of Real Simple magazine. On the other hand, it could be right in tune with the profile of a target consumer for a sparkling wine named, Yellow Tail.