Wild Illustrations

My co-worker and designer extraordinaire Ryan Clark has posted this sneak peek at a some of his sick illustrations of animals. Keep your eyes open for a new line of products and apps using these gorgeous works of art.

Olympic Thoughts

I confess. I am a winter sports junkie. For some reason though, there’s something about the snowboarders that intrigues me. Maybe it’s because most of the competitors are teenagers pulling off incredible tricks and pretty much all of the events are exciting. But I think the main thing that sets them apart is that there is a comraderie among the competitors that you don’t see anywhere else. They’re always pulling for one another, and genuinely pumped when one of their opponents pulls off a sick new trick. It’s common to see someone finish a perfect run that clinches a medal, and the rest of the field is there at the bottom of the hill ready to celebrate. I love it.

And what about this kid, Shaun White? I know that everyone is talking about him and how good he is, but man. He’s IS good. I thought one of the commentator’s lines summed it up well when they said something to the effect of, “Shaun White is loved in the snowboard world, and your mom likes him too.” While this statement may sound odd out of context, it communicated to me how big of a “brand” this kid has become. When I think of top sports figures who I would consider to be big brands, I think of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods* (you know what the asterisk means). While White’s estimated net worth ($90 mil) is nowhere near that of Woods and Jordan, it is amazing to think of where he’s at while in a sport that isn’t as mainstream as the NBA or PGA. He is the greatest snowboarder of all time. His sponsorships include Burton Snowboards, AC Retro, as well as Oakley, Birdhouse, Park City Resort, Target, Red Bull, Adio, and HP. Not to mention he has his own video game. His signature red flowing hair adds to the aura of who he is. If a brand is defined by perception, Shaun White’s brand continues to grow.

The Purpose of a Brand Analysis

This week one of my business partners presented a FORGE brand analysis to a client of ours. Our analysis in this case consisted of 2 internal surveys (for both company divisions) and an external survey (of the company’s customers). Then, based on the responses received, we summarized problem areas, noted areas where they were succeeding, and offered a strategy to solve the problems they were having.

It was quite interesting to sit in the meeting and try to process the data from our client’s perspective. Presentations of these kind sometimes seem to produce some uneasy feelings from the client because in most cases you’re telling them where their brand is failing.

What’s in a brand?

At FORGE, our approach to branding involves several steps, but on a high level it involves gathering as much information and research as possible about a company (mission, core values, competitors, industry, etc.), and crafting a way to communicate the core message successfully. Sounds simple right? But I’m surprised sometimes about how flippantly brands are created. I’m certainly guilty of this in the past, but often it seems the goal of a branding effort (from a designer’s perspective) is to make something that works visually and not enough thought is put into how the brand will be received by the consumer. Because really, that’s what a brand is ? as we say on the FORGE website, “It is a person?s perception of a product, service, company, organization or experience.” On occasion we communicate to our clients that the goal of working with us shouldn’t be to create a brandmark or website that they like, rather it should focus on their clients or consumer ? how will they receive it? If our client dislikes the color orange, but there is a strong case that it will positively impact the audience they are trying to reach, we’ll make a case for it.

We explain to our clients that brand’s communication components involve a brandmark (or logo) as the foundation, and a series of touchpoints. A touchpoint is any way that a potential consumer could interact with the brand, whether it be a business card, website, signage or brochure. We tend to take a holistic view when we discuss a project with a client. For example, if a client asks us to build them a new website and the current brandmark does not effectively communicate the desired message, a new website is not going to solve this problem and in most cases is a waste of resources. However, if a client has a beautifully crafted brandmark and successful touchpoints, but the product or service they offer is poor, the brand will still suffer. Our strength is seeing the bigger picture, developing a plan and delivering exceptional execution of the plan.

At FORGE, we strive to work with companies that offer exceptional products and services, because there are no limits to how the work we do can help to advance the brand.

RE-C Family

Here’s an interesting new typeface created by Emil Olsson called RE-C.

Downloadable WWII posters

Great collection of WWII posters, available for download in pdf form.

Handmade kids decor

Beautiful handmade poster teaching kids the alphabet and spanish. Available here.

Kids and Branding

I am the father of two young boys, ages 1 and 2, and am continually amazed at how their brains are like little sponges, soaking up all content (good and bad) that comes their way. I’ve found that if I tell my 2 year old something, he rarely forgets it. That information is in his head for good. It’s funny, I could tell him something completely off the wall, even incorrect (not that I do this) and he would accept the information and even argue if someone challenged the validity of it. My wife and I are finding that it’s pretty much impossible to keep anything we talk about private with him nearby. Sometimes he’ll be playing in the other room and we’ll talk about him and he’ll make a comment at that moment or later on that tells us he hears everything we were saying.

When you think about this from a branding perspective, kids are bombarded daily with so many messages. My two year old is just to the point where he’ll see a commercial on tv, say “I want that,” THEN see that product in a store and recognize it. He points out every McDonald’s (or, as he says it, McDongal’s) restaurant we drive by and knows that’s where he gets the coveted happy meal. He’ll even see a Nike swoosh, mention the nike golf ball I gave to him several months ago and say, “Tiger Woods uses Nike golf balls”. Okay, I’m the guilty party on that one…

Here’s some stats on kids and commercialism from newdream.org:

• Advertising directed at children is estimated at over $15 billion annually ? about 2.5 times more than what it was in 1992.
• Over the past two decades, the degree to which marketers have scaled up efforts to reach children is staggering. In 1983, they spent $100 million on television advertising to kids. Today, they pour roughly 150 times that amount into a variety of mediums that seek to infiltrate every corner of children?s worlds.
• A task force of the American Psychological Association (APA) has recommended restrictions on advertising that targets children under the age of eight, based on research showing that children under this age are unable to critically comprehend televised advertising messages and are prone to accept advertiser messages as truthful, accurate and unbiased.

The entire article can be viewed here.

It’s a bit scary to think about how much impact marketing has/can have on kids. It can affect their attitude, whether or not they’re accepted by their peers, and their self-esteem. I’m certainly more aware of the techniques being used now that I have kids of my own. And “McDongal’s” is getting a lot more of my money too!

Nice Type Animation

Great type animation by Gretel for Yahoo!

The Power of Brand Perception

I’ve been wanting to write this post since this past Spring. My 10 year-old lawn mower had finally had it and I was officially “in the market”, as they say, for a new one. As much as I hated spending the money, I was really looking forward to putting a new mower in my shed. I had been looking around for a while and really liked the new Honda HRC Series. The funny thing is, I really had no basis for “liking” the Honda mowers as I hadn’t yet really done the research and comparisons. My perception of Honda as a brand, however, was very favorable as my family and I have owned a couple Accords that were great cars.

After doing a little research, my choices were down to the Honda HRC Series and the Toro Recycler. They were both in the price range I was looking for and had the basic features that I needed. Consumer Reports rated both mowers pretty evenly, but gave the edge to the Toro because in testing it mulched much better than the Honda. Mulching was a big concern of mine as I didn’t want to have to bag the grass and dispose of it afterward. Even still, I was leaning toward the Honda mainly because of their reputation for building engines that last.

So the day came to go to the store and pick out a mower. I had pretty much decided to go with the Honda until I met a gentleman at the store who was comparing the exact same two mowers as I was. We talked breifly about the features of each and he mentioned that the Toro mulched better. So, long story short, he decided to go with the Toro and I went with the Honda. This is where I wish I could have hired a two camera crews to film us taking the mowers home, putting them together and firing them up for the first time. It would have been a fascinating comparison.

Of course, I can only speak for my new Honda HRC. It was a pretty machine indeed, and I felt good with my choice. That is, until I got to the mowing part. I had dismissed the suggested inferiority of the Honda to the notion that, “How bad can a brand new mower mulch?” Well, I found out. I was very displeased with how it cut and also with the drive control on the handle. The controls seemed to be designed for someone well under 6′ tall. It was disappointing to say the least. I quickly boxed it back up and took it back to the store to exchange it for the Toro.

When I look back at all of the information that I had to make a decision, it’s amazing to me to think about how much brand perception plays into a decision like this. I knew the Toro got better reviews, I was reminded of this fact by the gentleman I met at the store, and heck, the Toro was $50 cheaper! Looking back I ask myself, why wouldn’t I buy the comparible machine with the best reviews, cheaper price tag and built by a company that actually specializes in lawn equipment? Brand Perception!