The Dave Mark

I don't want to Art Direct, but...yes I do.

So the other day I came up with a logo for myself.

Using one symbol.

Flip it upside down, it's the same.

Turn it around backwards, it's sort of the same. But not really. Nevermind that.

Greater Than.

Up.

Down.

Less Than.

OK, enough trying to assign meaning to it. What I like is that it's my name spelled with no actual letters.


I present...the mark.

So, all you REAL Art Directors, Designers, Junior Designers, Associate Creative Directors and Production Artists, feel free to tell me where this falls short. I'm used to it. As I've always said, I know just enough Photoshop to completely frustrate a real designer.

What Business Is It of Yours?

I'm a little surprised by what has become a routine outcry among my friends in the design community. It's like every time a company comes out with a redesigned logo, they have to do it gingerly, carefully, calculatedly and nearly scared, knowing that a huge storm of criticism is about to be unleashed. Starbucks' CEO has to release a minute and a half video explaining the evolution of its iconic "siren" logo? Of course it didn't change the fact that designers the world over are up in arms. And I don't doubt for a second that Starbucks knew it was coming and welcome it. "This buzz is going to be great for us," someone said in Seattle.

Did The Gap suffer slumping sales after the online backlash that compelled them to drop their logo change? Did the people making all the noise even shop at The Gap? Gap showed extreme spinelessness during that uproar. I hope Starbucks doesn't yield.

If I had a company, I would change the logo overnight, without fanfare and without pandering. Not so much as a press release. Just send the sign crews out and get it done on the storefronts and swap out the in-store stuff as the old stuff runs out. Without focus-grouping and without crowd-sourcing. Starbucks is Starbucks. Your average Starbucks consumer might someday look at the cup and go, "Hmmm - they changed the cup a little," and then never give it a second thought.

(Click for bigger)

But we live in Insta-World^TM, in this consumer-driven, conversation-intense environment where the slightest misstep, or perceived misstep, is amplified and bounced around the world in seconds, where everyone's an expert and a company is nearly paralyzed with fear to make any move. And if they get criticized, they must hurry to the defense and engage a team of brand reputation management specialists to reply to negative tweets or blog posts or Facebook updates. Hurry! Scrub the wires for any negative mention that might hurt us.

You know what, big brands? They're just a bunch of noisemakers trying to make noise. For every whining baby out there making a stink about your products or service, there are likely a thousand loyal and satisfied customers you will never hear from. You go ahead and do what you can to alleviate legitimate gripes and resolve obvious issues. That's just smart business and wise customer service. Businesses were doing that long before social media came into relevance.

Brand loyalty is a wonderful thing. I'm not a Starbucks guy, but I know plenty of people in love with the stuff. They're not going anywhere. But if they want to chime in and tell you what to have as your company icon? That's when you tell them they might be happier with a cup of coffee from 7-Eleven.

Banners That Catch Your Eye

Not that you're likely to click on them, but they do half the job.

Lady in Red, Men in Black

I long ago vowed that I would never open a Cafe Press shop. Today, I break that vow. First two designs are up, with more to come. (And likely also an intrusively loud sidebar banner on this blog that tries to guilt you into shopping.)

Fictitious Punk Band's Fake Album Cover

The artwork of the indie album cover went through a phase that was as simple as the music. This took all of ten minutes. I'd listen to it based on the name of the band alone.

Tapewriter font and brown paper bag background mandatory.

No Two Alike

I like to dabble. Today I will be a T-shirt designer. I can see a day when we will all just advertise ourselves 24/7. You'll have your Twitter handle on the back of your car as a bumper sticker. And this will be called the Twit Shirt. You can wear your own customized Twit Shirt to that social media conference, around the office, or if you're very daring and don't mind stalkers, out on the town late at night. Aren't we all becoming branded anyway?

(If there's an entrepreneurial sort out there who wants to jump on this with me and make a few bucks selling Twit Shirts, my Twitter name is right there on my Twit Shirt. I hope you have a giant T-shirt factory that can print single-order T-shirts at a profit.)

Google's Cutesy Logo Whimsy Extended to Subsidiaries

But they are apparently putting the junior designers on the project. Or the interns. Or some child. But art and design being entirely subjective, I fully expect someone to come along and say "I love it!" That's fine. I'll "agree to disagree" as long as you agree that your opinion is stupid.

One Size Fits All and the Death of Creativity

(Click it for the big picture)

Friday is Just Like Any Other Day Lately

Life on the dole is a curious existence. On the one hand, you desperately search for gainful employment, while on the other, you have time to do things you didn't have time for when you were driving one hour one-way to sit in a generic office building in a cube, pumping out copy for taskmasters more suited to pushing a broom in a warehouse than making strategic marketing decisions. (And even then, I'm not sure I would trust them to sweep correctly.) Here's some of what I've been up to.

Presented a series of logos to a Jacksonville-based company, which is funny, because I'm not a designer. They actually loved one and are already using it on their in-development, internal site. I didn't charge them, since they're friends. And yes, I impressed them with the much-maligned (and deservedly so) faded reflection feature. 

Went on a job interview down in Tampa. Met with the lead person, who said, "My team would like to sit with you and discuss some things." In walked 11 people, who proceeded to tell me about the company and pepper me with questions such as, "What superpower do you wish you had?" "What animal would you be?" and "Pirate or Ninja?" (I swear.)

Took delivery of a 50" Sanyo Plasma. (Long story, but it was a prize.) This thing is imposing. Our "old" TV is now in the bedroom, a 42" Sony Bravia. I am now Winston Smith from 1984, trying to escape the giant visages screaming at me about healthcare reform from every room.

Presented a very cool idea to my favorite grocery chain. It was received well and is now being passed up the ladder, where it will likely meet its death in committee. Currently it remains a secret, but if and when they adopt it, I will be its loudest and most constant promoter, to the point that you will say, "I wish he'd shut the hell up about that stupid f-ing grocery chain." I made the pitch in Powerpoint - and yes - I am ashamed of that.

Got an up-close, inside look into how homeowner's insurance works. Basically, you make a claim, based on the recommendation of a professional whose job it is to determine these things, and then you watch as the insurance company spends thousands of dollars to fight your claim. I understand the need on their part to guard against fraudulent claims, but when you approach a long-standing policy holder as someone trying to get one over on you, then you pretty much suck in the customer service area. Are you in good hands? Now there's a feel-good slogan that doesn't mean a damn thing. Fuck you, All-State.

Went to a home-brew party at the neighbors'. They're Americanized Brits, the husband being some sort of mad-scientist for a defense contractor. I think he makes lasers that shoot out of cats' eyes. He also makes a great beer, or three. I came up with about six names for his concoctions with accompanying label designs, which again is funny, because I'm not a designer. But to a physicist like my neighbor, if you're "in advertising," then you can do that thing with The Photoshop, right? And when a physicist tackles a hobby like home-brewing, the results are very impressive. I am pushing him to "Take it to the Next Level!"

Added actual ads to this site. Am I a sell out? Yes, but it doesn't pay off until you have actual traffic. 150 visitors a day is not going to fetch me any serious coin. Also added a "featured video" in the sidebar, which will rotate with stuff from my YouTube account when I get around to it.

I have been living like a European, riding my bike each day to the market and loading up an old child carrier / trailer I found on Craigslist with the day's groceries and the evening's dinner. So far, no stalks of celery or baguettes sticking up out of the bags in that grocery cliché seen in the movies. I'm even using those damned reusable canvas grocery bags. I justify this disgusting transformation in me as "exercise with a purpose." We need groceries and I need exercise. Ya know, two birds. I'm sure people think I'm being "green," when actually I'm just trying to get in shape for the Apocalypse.

It is estimated that as many as 75% of American homes have within them a guitar. Granted, that guitar may be stringless and in the attic, but it is still there. It is also estimated that as many as 80% of all American males have attempted at one time to learn to play the guitar*. I knew how not long ago, but life has a tendency to get in the way of such luxuries. Dusted off the dobro and greased the strings, trying to remember where to put my fingers to make it sing like it used to.

* Both estimates based on pure fantasy with no data to prove them.

The Convenience Store of Logos

I have long been of the opinion that many in our industry milk the hell out of their projects. We like to "ideate" and conceptualize. We like to sketch and brainstorm and talk. We like to strategize and pontificate. Then we actually pick up our tools and either write or design, and many of us do this with a thoroughness that is not only unnecessary, but ridiculous. A recent colleague, a client-side team leader who came from a big agency background, was a master of making mountains out of molehills. One of our tasks was to create a new logo for his organization. This took no less than 18 months. There were votes, meetings, double-elimination logo tournaments, logo jousting, and finally, a 3-way logo death-match, in which the employees (about 600) got to vote in a secret ballot on the winner. Their votes in, the guy mentioned above went against their wishes and fixed the vote. He told them that his favorite logo was the one they picked. It wasn't. Needless to say, I've never worked with a bigger (or fatter) douche in my life. And you know who you are, big CMO down in Miami who sucks ass. (He didn't like me either.)

Anyway, all that to introduce you once again to Dana Severson, who brought us all some laughs at the expense of bad real estate ads. Dana, along with some partners, has a new idea. He's going to create one logo a day for 365 days. That's more logos than some designers will make in a lifetime. And he's booking clients over at idesignyourlogo.com. The first logo was done for $2. The next one cost $4. They go up $2 per day until February 28th of next year, when a logo will cost $730, which is still a supreme bargain if you've shopped around for logos.

I'm no designer, but I play a design critic here on my blog, and I'm seeing Dana is currently going through his "Fading Reflection" phase. That's what the people want these days, I guess.

Dana also writes a column for Fast Company.

It's a good idea, and it gets the guy's work out there. Best of all, he does it quickly and at a decent price. And it takes a certain amount of what-the-hell balls to just build up your portfolio right out in the open for all the world to see, day after day for a solid year. Sure beats the designers who keep a "Please check back later! This section of our site is currently undergoing redesign" message on their Portfolio pages.

I'm guessing redos and edits on these one-day logos will cost extra. Or at least I hope so.

Put Your Ass in The Air Like You Just Don't Care

Reminiscent of the Casare Paciotti ad from a few years back, we have a passed out woman, martini glass on the floor, face down on a white leather couch in a short dress. She is but the next local model in a series of ads for Scan Design, a trendy Florida furniture store known for provocative, odd ads.

She is in love with her couch. Why is that so wrong? So she's a potential victim of date-rape by her lusty couch. Why is THAT so wrong? She is in love, and the couch knows it can have its way with her, because it respects her in the morning.

Scan Design excuse themselves in the copy of this ad, explaining that the idea came from a painter who was simply trying to win their competition, the theme of which was "Fall in Furniture Love." The painting is the template for this ad. It's an ad within an ad. So clever.  Rustin Robinson painted a woman passed out face down on her knees, bent over a couch with her ass in the air. And he won. (Click image for the big.)

Art Works

That's the mission that the new National Endowment for the Arts chairman chose. And now he wants a logo that "represents the three meanings of the phrase: the creations of artists, the effect of art on audiences and the contribution of artists to the economy." So, as usual, the client wants a logo that says way too much. To help get you started, I've created a sure contender in Microsoft Word.

But that might be a little too sophisticated. Maybe you can create some sort of figure that represents a sculptor, and the sculptor is making an appreciative audience. Out of money.

Proposals for the design must be submitted by e-mail to the endowment by 5 p.m. Eastern time on Feb. 26. Find all the guidelines at the Endowment's site. Winner gets a $25,000 grant.

Old Art Director: Special Holiday Edition

Enlarge

Previously:

Old AD #3
Old AD #2
Old AD - Pilot

Old Art Director

Clickimus Maximus

Two Point Owning Some Dead Designs

The State of Florida's flag design was approved by a popular referendum in 1900. I assume that means white men, since only they could vote then*. And these men were not concerned with the aesthetics of design. They were fighting snakes and Seminoles and wondering when someone would hurry up and invent air-conditioning. And they were likely only given one design to review. In 1900, no less.

"You like it or not?" the Florida government asked the white guys, and they were all, "Sure. Whatever. Got to have a flag, right?"

Supersize me

State flags are generally composed of uninspired variations on the state seal, maybe a Latin word or two, the date of statehood. Blah, boilerplate crap. Or they go with some goofy take on the American flag. (Talkin' to you Texas, Ohio, Hawaii, Mississippi.) I think California scores well, even if the image is kind of, oh, communist all around. My other favorites, only because they didn't do what you'd expect, are the flags of Tennessee, Arizona, Alaska, South Carolina and New Mexico. Honorable mentions go to Colorado, Rhode Island, Arkansas and Indiana for the extra effort. For sheer balls and against-the-grain rebelliousness, Alabama gets good marks for their punk rock flag that isn't even properly shaped. Or maybe that's a Confederate X, in which case, nevermind.

I get the feeling that the cool ones were designed by one person and the crappy ones were designed by a few committees reaching a compromise that satisfied no one. Then they ran it by the Governor's wife and her best friend, who used to work for the high school yearbook and knows a thing or two about "the proper placement of elements so as to draw the viewer into an experience with the piece." She said, "Make that green a little greener. And does the guy in the coonskin cap have his fly open?" Once the Governor's wife's best friend was done adjusting the design, they put it to a referendum of the white menfolk. In 1900.

I think State governments should overhaul their images once in a while. They do it with their license plates all the time. Hey, Maryland! What the fuck is going on in that seizure-inducing, nightmare illusion? Oregon. Really? A cartoon beaver? C'mon, Idaho. You're not even trying.

Isn't it time we 2.0'd some of these ugly old relics?




* Yes, I know Blacks were given the vote post-Civil War, but the quickly adopted Poll Tax in the Southern states sort of prevented a lot of Blacks from voting.

Expect it To Sell

A couple of teaser screen-grabs from a video teasing the new MINI coupe and convertible. The styling is faithful to the original, but infinitely cooler. Must be nice to work on this account. Unveiling soon at the Frankfurt Motor Show.


Seen at AdRants.

It's a Cookie and a Cracker - You Can Figure it Out

The design world is (was) buzzing about what Baker Associates did for a couple of iconic junk food products for Target. At one discussion, a dissenter says, "When you mess with classic brands like this it looks more like they were robbed, not cleaned."

I wholeheartedly disagree. I see these packages and I say, "Nice." A few others see it the same.

But my opinion is likely suspect. My ideal kitchen would be all stainless steel with a drain in the floor and coiled hoses coming down from the ceiling to rinse the whole place off after I make a mess. The pantry would be filled with easy-to-identify items like these packages. Those comparing this to Tropicana's much-hissed-at repackaging failure are missing a key point: Tropicana's redesign made the product look generic. These are still very clearly Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers.

I see Target as understanding a good chunk of their clientele; the person who appreciates style but can't afford it. This seems a nod to the whole Michael Graves side of the business. Those with their boxers in a bind, their panties in a wad, their knickers in a twist can take comfort in the fact that Target is calling this an "in and out" for the summer only. That's too bad.

Avant-Retarde

"Cube is the new Black" says a loading message on Nissan's site for their new "mobile device." Nice start, Nissan. You've just employed the most stolen and overused slogan since "Got [blank]?" Hey, I know! Let's turn Cube into a verb! "Do you Cube?" "Let's Cube!" Another loading message says "Symmetry is so last year." And getting high school girls with a C average to write your messaging is so, I dunno, like retarded?

But enough about their failures in marketing. Let's instead look at the car and what Nissan is trying to push onto the American car buyer. I saw one of these ugly little beasts on the way to work this morning. The asymmetrical rear window made me do a double-take, then I sped up to get a look at the logo on the rear door. It had temporary tags on it and I have no doubt it was being delivered to some clinically narcissistic style princess in South Beach.

A great review of the car is here.

Aside from the rear window, there is no asymmetry, and yet note the license plate in this picture. Nissan intends to hang its Cube hat on the rear window, and on the goofy stupidity of a car that is less a car and more a "mobile device." This car is all about being extraordinarily cool, or "groovy" as the caption to this "Shag Dash Topper" says. Why one needs a Shag Dash Topper is a mystery to me, but I'm not groovy like that.


The car comes with mood lighting and other funky features that will make you the envy of all your friends at the community college.

I need a word for how this car makes me feel. But there is no word. Only sounds.

"Gah!"

Is it Raygun Gothic or Streamline Moderne?

Does it matter? It's cool, that's all I know.


New readers may not remember the Design Within Reach Airstream I posted about long ago, but I've found a blog by a couple who own one. I think they are tired of their Airstream. I think they want to give me their Airstream. (Jedi mind trick.)

Meet Martin and Kate. He's a Mac computer consultant, website/blog designer and digital photographer. She's a writer, website/blog designer and SEO/marketing specialist. (Don't hold it against Mrs. Thomas that she dabbles in the SEO magic, but there is a recovery program for that I'd recommend.) Kate and Martin make their home in Minneapolis, "Where the Beer is Warm and the People are Warmer." OK, that's not really Minneapolis' slogan. Hold please while I look that up.....(hold music)...thank you for waiting...(hold music)...Well, the CVB wants you to "Meet Minneapolis" while the official city website greets visitors with "Minneapolis: A Premier Destination." I'd go with my suggestion, City Fathers (and Mothers).

As more and more of us get kicked out of our homes, this cool little trailer may be the way to go.

Incidentally, Mini is trying to get in on the Airstream act with this completely dysfunctional model that has been gutted by some furniture designer who wears black every day and always crosses his legs in that weird way while saying "ummmmhmmmmm" and never smiling, his hand on his chin. His Airstream for Mini is now just a giant living room, no bath, bed or galley. Stylish. And lame.


The happy couple from Minnesota with the awesome trailer took it for a long haul back in March. They need to post more often.

Two Traffic School Direct Mails - Which To Choose?

Click for jumbo, scroll-around size.

I have to hand it to both of these businesses, they are on their game. A couple of weeks ago I was ticketed on I-4 for exceeding the speed limit (and another $96 violation I won't go into, lest I draw the ire and scorn of a certain portion of the audience). Not long after that, these two pieces of direct mail arrive on the same day. Smart marketers, grabbing the "who got ticketed today" lists from the various law enforcement agencies and promptly hitting up the bad drivers for business.

Same "Approved by the State of Florida" notifications, and even the same cost. It now comes down to choosing a traffic school based on design, copy points and the ability to "grab" the audience. Direct mail is tough. Some people love creating it, but I personally hate it as I am always at odds with the AE or client, who want it louder and nastier than should be lawful.

I'm probably going with the lady on the laptop and not the greasy-haired smiley boy.