Brand Dictionary “B” (part 3)

Brand Police

BRANDMARK
An icon, avatar, wordmark, or other symbol for a brand; a trademark.

BRAND METRICS
Measurements for monitoring changes in brand equity.

BRAND NAME
The verbal or written component of a brand icon; the name of a product, service, experience, or organization.

BRAND PERSONALITY
The character of a brand as defined in human terms, for example, Virgin = irreverent, or Chanel = refined.

BRAND POLICE
Manager or team responsible for strict compliance with the guidelines in the brand manual.

BRAND PORTFOLIO
A suite of related brands; a collection of brands owned by one company.

BRAND PUSHBACK
Marketplace resistance to brand messages or brand extensions, often leading to changes in brand strategy.

BRAND STEWARD
The person responsible for developing and protecting a brand.

BRAND STORY
The articulation of a brand as a narrative; a coherent set of messages that articulate the meaning of a brand.

BRAND STRATEGY
A plan for the systematic development of a brand in order to meet business objectives.

BRAND VALUATION
The process of measuring the monetary equity of a brand.

BUZZ
The current public opinion about a product, service, experience or organization. (see The Anatomy of Buzz, Emanuel Rosen)

RED Update: Road Blocks and Delays

Road blocks and delays… it’s like a bad traffic report when you are trying to get somewhere for vacation. Anyways, that’s how we feel right now. We have been trying to launch RED for the past few months and we keep running into issues. There’s nothing more frustrating when you are excited about something that will help others and have gotten them excited about it as well only to have more delays. That’s where we’re at with with RED. More delays… from tech issues to vendor issues. The good news is we keep tackling them one by one and keep pushing forward. I guess that’s all one can hope for… progress.

As we learn more we will keep everyone posted here on the blog (we don’t want keep filling up your inbox). Thanks for your continued patience.

If you are reading this and saying, “what’s RED?,” then you should know! RED is template-based branding service geared specifically for photographers who are most likely 0-3 years in the business and need their visual communication pieces to be as good as their photography.

Does that sound like you? Then sign up for our mailing list where we will keep you in the loop and offer tips and discounts when we launch.

SIGN UP HERE >

Brand Dictionary: “B” (part 2)

BRAND AUDIT
A formal assessment of a brand’s strengths and weaknesses across all of its touchpoints.

BRAND CHAMPION
Anyone who evangelizes or protects a brand; a brand steward.

BRAND COMMUNITY
The network of people who contribute to building a brand, including internal departments, external firms, industry partners, customers, users and the media.

BRAND CONSULTANT
An external adviser who contributes to the brand-building process, often in a strategic or advisory role.

BRAND COUNCIL
A committee formed to assess and guide a company’s brand-building process; sometimes called a creative council.

BRAND DESIGNER
Any person who helps shape a brand, including graphic designers, strategists, marketing directors, researchers, ad planners, web developers, PR specialists, copy writers and others.

BRAND EARNINGS
The share of a business’ cash flow that can be attributed to the brand alone.

BRAND ESSENCE
The distillation of a brand’s promise into the simplest possible terms. For example:

Chrysler: Nostalgic American Cars
Hewlett-Packard: Inventive Technology
Ikea: Cheap Modular Furniture
Kodak: Family Memories
Porsche: Performance Sports Cars
Oil of Olay: Younger Skin
Wells Fargo: Historic Bank

BRAND EXPERIENCE
All the interactions people have with a product, service, or organization; the raw material of a brand. Go ahead, get lost in this concept map explaining the brand experience, it is super thorough and informative (via Dubberly Design Office):

Click image to download hi-res PDF.

BRAND GAP
The gulf between business strategy and customer experience. (see The Brand Gap, Marty Neumeir)

BRAND IDENTITY
The outward expression of a brand, including its name, trademark, communications, and the visual appearance. (see Designing Brand Identity, Alina Wheeler)

BRAND IMAGE
A customer’s mental picture of a product, service or organization.

BRAND LOYALTY
The strength of preference for a brand compared to competing brands, sometimes measured in repeat purchases.

BRAND MANUAL
A document that articulates the parameters of the brand for members of the brand community; a standardized set of brand-building tools.

Thoughts on Flash: Steve Jobs

Back in February we had a post called Why No Flash? It contained some thoughts on why flash programming on mobile devices will never work. It focused on the element of touch and interactivity that flash requires. Well, the other day I was perusing Apple’s site to gawk at the iPad and I saw this little button in the lower left-hand corner. Pretty interesting read. It’s basically Apple’s (Steve Jobs) take on the future of flash. You can read the whole article here. Or continue reading below, where the article is included in it’s entirety.

THOUGHTS ON FLASH

Apple has a long relationship with Adobe. In fact, we met Adobe’s founders when they were in their proverbial garage. Apple was their first big customer, adopting their Postscript language for our new Laserwriter printer. Apple invested in Adobe and owned around 20% of the company for many years. The two companies worked closely together to pioneer desktop publishing and there were many good times. Since that golden era, the companies have grown apart. Apple went through its near death experience, and Adobe was drawn to the corporate market with their Acrobat products. Today the two companies still work together to serve their joint creative customers – Mac users buy around half of Adobe’s Creative Suite products – but beyond that there are few joint interests.

I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe’s Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven – they say we want to protect our App Store – but in reality it is based on technology issues. Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true. Let me explain.

First, there’s “Open”.

Adobe’s Flash products are 100% proprietary. They are only available from Adobe, and Adobe has sole authority as to their future enhancement, pricing, etc. While Adobe’s Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system.

Apple has many proprietary products too. Though the operating system for the iPhone, iPod and iPad is proprietary, we strongly believe that all standards pertaining to the web should be open. Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards. Apple’s mobile devices all ship with high performance, low power implementations of these open standards. HTML5, the new web standard that has been adopted by Apple, Google and many others, lets web developers create advanced graphics, typography, animations and transitions without relying on third party browser plug-ins (like Flash). HTML5 is completely open and controlled by a standards committee, of which Apple is a member.

Apple even creates open standards for the web. For example, Apple began with a small open source project and created WebKit, a complete open-source HTML5 rendering engine that is the heart of the Safari web browser used in all our products. WebKit has been widely adopted. Google uses it for Android’s browser, Palm uses it, Nokia uses it, and RIM (Blackberry) has announced they will use it too. Almost every smartphone web browser other than Microsoft’s uses WebKit. By making its WebKit technology open, Apple has set the standard for mobile web browsers.

Second, there’s the “full web”.

Adobe has repeatedly said that Apple mobile devices cannot access “the full web” because 75% of video on the web is in Flash. What they don’t say is that almost all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads. YouTube, with an estimated 40% of the web’s video, shines in an app bundled on all Apple mobile devices, with the iPad offering perhaps the best YouTube discovery and viewing experience ever. Add to this video from Vimeo, Netflix, Facebook, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ESPN, NPR, Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, People, National Geographic, and many, many others. iPhone, iPod and iPad users aren’t missing much video.

Another Adobe claim is that Apple devices cannot play Flash games. This is true. Fortunately, there are over 50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store, and many of them are free. There are more games and entertainment titles available for iPhone, iPod and iPad than for any other platform in the world.

Third, there’s reliability, security and performance.

Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash. We have been working with Adobe to fix these problems, but they have persisted for several years now. We don’t want to reduce the reliability and security of our iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash.

In addition, Flash has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it. Adobe publicly said that Flash would ship on a smartphone in early 2009, then the second half of 2009, then the first half of 2010, and now they say the second half of 2010. We think it will eventually ship, but we’re glad we didn’t hold our breath. Who knows how it will perform?

Fourth, there’s battery life.

To achieve long battery life when playing video, mobile devices must decode the video in hardware; decoding it in software uses too much power. Many of the chips used in modern mobile devices contain a decoder called H.264 – an industry standard that is used in every Blu-ray DVD player and has been adopted by Apple, Google (YouTube), Vimeo, Netflix and many other companies.

Although Flash has recently added support for H.264, the video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software. The difference is striking: on an iPhone, for example, H.264 videos play for up to 10 hours, while videos decoded in software play for less than 5 hours before the battery is fully drained.

When websites re-encode their videos using H.264, they can offer them without using Flash at all. They play perfectly in browsers like Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome without any plugins whatsoever, and look great on iPhones, iPods and iPads.

Fifth, there’s Touch.

Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on “rollovers”, which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot. Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch interface doesn’t use a mouse, and there is no concept of a rollover. Most Flash websites will need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices. If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?

Even if iPhones, iPods and iPads ran Flash, it would not solve the problem that most Flash websites need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices.

Sixth, the most important reason.

Besides the fact that Flash is closed and proprietary, has major technical drawbacks, and doesn’t support touch based devices, there is an even more important reason we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. We have discussed the downsides of using Flash to play video and interactive content from websites, but Adobe also wants developers to adopt Flash to create apps that run on our mobile devices.

We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform. If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. We cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers.

This becomes even worse if the third party is supplying a cross platform development tool. The third party may not adopt enhancements from one platform unless they are available on all of their supported platforms. Hence developers only have access to the lowest common denominator set of features. Again, we cannot accept an outcome where developers are blocked from using our innovations and enhancements because they are not available on our competitor’s platforms.

Flash is a cross platform development tool. It is not Adobe’s goal to help developers write the best iPhone, iPod and iPad apps. It is their goal to help developers write cross platform apps. And Adobe has been painfully slow to adopt enhancements to Apple’s platforms. For example, although Mac OS X has been shipping for almost 10 years now, Adobe just adopted it fully (Cocoa) two weeks ago when they shipped CS5. Adobe was the last major third party developer to fully adopt Mac OS X.

Our motivation is simple – we want to provide the most advanced and innovative platform to our developers, and we want them to stand directly on the shoulders of this platform and create the best apps the world has ever seen. We want to continually enhance the platform so developers can create even more amazing, powerful, fun and useful applications. Everyone wins – we sell more devices because we have the best apps, developers reach a wider and wider audience and customer base, and users are continually delighted by the best and broadest selection of apps on any platform.

Conclusions.

Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.

The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.

New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.

Steve Jobs
April, 2010

Client Spotlight: Emily Griffith

We’ve been working with Emily Griffith for some time now, and have been waiting to properly unveil her whole re-branding effort. Today our featured client is Emily Griffith and her beautiful photography.

The beginning of our involvement in Emily’s projects involved a name change from One Lime Photo to simply Emily Griffith. From there we created a new logo which is meant to be vibrant, original and friendly. Like many of the photographers we work with Emily was looking to make a move into a higher-end clientele, so we kept that idea in mind when creating all of her print pieces. We’ve maintained a sense of Emily’s joyful personality with the bright and bold color palette, but reinforced the idea of smart and sophiiticated with the ample white space and efficient logo.

Emily wanted a special touch on her print pieces, so we embossed the eg logo where appropriate.

Her business cards are some of our favorites in recent memory. Due to the geometric efficiency of her logo, we are able to re-create the e&g with one large and simple embossing. Brilliant!

Here’s the stationery “family photo.” Emily produced only the pieces she used most and made the best impression on potential and current clients.  Shown here are her business cards, thank you card with envelope, and recordable DVDs with cases. The following shots show those pieces in some detail.

As a follow-on to Emily’s identity system, we produced a custom website, with blog functionality and a Wordpress back-end management system. “Woo hoo” for Emily’s easy-to-use, SEO friendly site! Design by Reddoor and programmed masterfully by Thom Meredith Design.

Emily, you’ve been a delight to work with. Thank you for trusting us and being a terrific client.

Visit Emily Griffith:
Emily’s Web Site
Emily’s Twitter
Emily’s Facebook
———————
While you’re at it, follow us if you like:
Reddoor’s Facebook
Reddoor’s Twitter

Icons of Design: Milton Glaser

MILTON GLASER
Principal, Milton Glaser, Inc. New York

Milton Glaser has been a seminal figure in graphic design for over fifty years. He was one of the original founders of Pushpin Studio, which was instrumental in shaping the modern graphic design genre. Glaser currently heads the multi-disciplinary design firm, Milton Glaser, Inc. He draws on our entire visual history to create contemporary solutions applied to two and three-dimensional projects and web sites. His work has been exhibited worldwide. Glaser is a member of the New York Art Directors Hall of Fame and received the AIGA Medal in 1972. (source: Icons of Design, Sibley Peteet Design, Dallas)

On Feb 25th, 2010, Milton Glaser received the The National Medal of Arts. The award was presented by President Obama at The White House. Glaser was the first designer to ever receive the honor.

Here is a small sliver of some of the more recognizable pieces from his huge body of work.

Update, post 9.11

Brand Dictionary: “B” (part 1)

Here’s the second part of our on-going series sharing some brand-related definitions from The Dictionary of Brand. This is part one of the letter “B.” The second half will be up later this week.

BACK STORY
The story behind a brand, such as it’s origin, the meaning of its name, or the underpinnings of its authenticity or charisma.

BENEFIT
A perceived advantage derived from a product, service, feature, or attribute.

BHAG
A “Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal” designed to focus an organization. (from Built to Last, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras)

BOTTOM-UP MARKETING
Customer-driven marketing, as opposed to top-down or management-driven marketing. (from Bottom-Up Marketing, Al Ries and Jack Trout)

BRAND
A person’s perception of a product, service, experience or organization; the art and science of brand building.

BRAND AGENCY
A strategic firm that provides or manages a variety of brand-building services across a range of media.

BRAND ALIGNMENT
The practice of linking brand strategy to customer touch points.

BRAND AMBASSADOR
Anyone who promotes the brand through interactions with customers, prospects, partners, or the media; ideally, every company employee.

BRAND ARCHITECTURE
A hierarchy of related brands, often beginning with a master brand, describing its relationship to sub-brands and co-brands; a brand family tree.

All definitions taken from The Dictionary of Brand, edited by Marty Neumeier, published by AIGA
Design by Willoughby Design Group, info@willoughbydesign.com

Etched Leather Art

Who says leather is only for bikers chaps, and Adam Lambert?

Take a look at this incredible artist: Mark Evans. He uses leather on a grand scale to create massive and beautiful art. It looks like a pain-staking process, but the result is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I bet is smells nice too? Enjoy.

If I was a bachelor and needed to class up my high-ceiling, modern loft I’d consider the Planet of the Apes full wall leather carving… who wouldn’t?




What artist’s portfolio would be complete without the late, great rap legend Biggie?

Check out his site, his story and his art: www.markevansart.com

Hunting for Inspiration?

I recently read a great article that has gotten me to thinking about the way we find inspiration in our creative lines of work. I found the article through a Smashing Magazine link, but here’s my take-away:

• Everyone wants to stand out in their line of creative work (photographers, designers, businesses alike)
• Generally, when people begin a new creative project they sift through similar projects for inspiration
• Their “new” project will generally end up looking very similar to their sources of inspiration
• Instead of a fresh piece of creativity, the result is usually a repackaging of something earlier
• The author suggests taking notes on pieces you find inspiring, rather than mimicking the identical style

This article forced me to examine the creative process I go through when designing. In the early stages of research, I like to digest a ton of visual inspiration, and actually have a file of inspiring pieces of design, architecture, type, and otherwise. However, I really like the idea of taking notes on how and why particular pieces are inspiring or how they solve a problem in a particular way. It forces me to really examine what I like about something, and the excuse that it’s “just eye candy” doesn’t hold up when you have a commitment to communication via design. In our business, 99% of the time we’re concerned about how our design is communicating. Sure, there are many designers out there who are concerned purely with style, or trends. But, those are generally short-lived. A brand that is rooted in communicating a message will stand the test of time.

Next time you are tasked with a new creative assignment, rely on the talent you have within you to create the best possible solution. If you really put time and thought into it, you can probably come up with a better solution than most of what’s out there. Who knows, maybe it will be fresh idea you’re looking for to separate you from your competition? Happy creating.

Read the whole article here on the DRAWAR blog.

Brand Dictionary: “A”

We have a handy-dandy little resource in our possession that was created by the AIGA Center for Brand Excellence. It’s called The Dictionary of Brand, and it’s just too darn good not to share. We’ll regularly post subsequent letters of the alphabet to further your branding toolkit. So, without further ado allow me introduce you to the letter “A.”

ASPIRATIONAL POSITIONING
One or two words which declare what the brand aspires to be in relation to competing brands (also: mission statement or positioning)

ATMOSPHERICS
The identity of a brand environment, represented by its architecture, signage, textures, scents, sounds, colors, and employee behavior (also: experience design)

ATTITUDE STUDY
A survey of opinions about a brand, often used as a benchmark before and after making changes to it

AUDIENCE
The group to which a product, service, or message is aimed; also call the target audience

AUTHENTICITY
The quality of being genuine, often considered a powerful brand attribute

AVATAR
A brand icon designed to move, morph, or otherwise operate freely across various media (also: icon)

AWARENESS STUDY
A survey  that measures an audiences familiarity with a brand, often divided into “prompted” and “spontaneous” awareness

All definitions taken from The Dictionary of Brand, edited by Marty Neumeier, published by AIGA