My friend Brian Miller who is a great designer, and a professor of Graphic Design at the University of Bridgeport invited me to participate in student portfolio reviews. I really enjoyed looking at the work, talking to the students, as well as getting out of the studio. This mural/poster was painted on the wall in one of the classrooms. I love that Michael Bierut was quoted, and wondered if Mossimo Vignelli would approve of the choices of hand-drawn typefaces :)Thanks to Brian and all at the UBDesign program. I really enjoyed myself.

For the past four years we’ve worked with Brand® with Tagline™. We have probably spent 80+ hours proofing and making revisions in order to make certain that the register mark and trademark appear each time the name or tagline appear. It was my understanding that the symbol only needed to be used in the first instance (per page) of that name and/or tagline—and was not required subsequently. OK this makes sense.

But my frustration with countless hours of proofing and changes has led me to ask… Do these symbols actually mean anything? Or, are they just cluttering an already jam-packed visual environment? How does this protect a name, or a tagline? Is this really going to dissuade anyone from illegally using it? It has proven difficult to combat piracy (what we people call sharing) of music, movies, software, and games… do companies actually believe they can protect their brands with these annoying little symbols of overly-litigious capitalistic consumer culture? How’s that for some triple alliteration?.

My watch has a very distinguished logo right at high-noon… let me check to see if it is protected. Huh… there is no ® mark. Maybe… that’s why a cheap copy of it is sold on Canal Street for about $40… hmmmm. I think I’m starting to see how important it is to protect the value of a brand. I get it.

OK… now that I get it… let me apply my newfound understanding.
Apple… this idea is for free. Consider it a gift for creating so many beautifully designed products that we appreciate so much.

As found on Newstoday:

but seriously originality is always best. this is the law of the creative world.

it’s the job of marketeers to feed poo back to consumers quick enough to make them think they are eating food, don’t let that be our job too.

vespa
(Apr 4 07, 05:22)

As most designers, I have been doing a great deal of analysis and soul-searching with regard to the profession of graphic design and the challenges that face the “small design studio.” I formulated a new strategy for 2007, and felt confident that it was appropriate. Then… I fortuitously received a Christmas gift from my business partner Ryan. A book.

How To be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy. Perhaps this was some sort of hint? I received it yesterday… and read it over the course of the evening and into the midnight hour. The book was nothing short of transformational. So many of the issues that I had been struggling with were addressed.  This is a must-read for any graphic designer. So as far as the new plan… I now think it was pretty much all wrong. A design studio is not like a band… there is no shelf life… or opportunity to ride the crest of the latest trend… it is simply… a war of attrition. The deliberate decision to do what you do and if you are lucky enough… you can earn a living doing it. “Rock Stardom” is for Rock Stars. And just remember CC DeVille was a rock star. Enough said.

The “Reflection-technique” is everywhere. It’s the new “Dropshadow.” You’ve seen it in shiny new cars spinning in a clean room, to line-ups of sneakers, to containers of laundry detergent. While it can be a great way to create a glossy environment for your “Hero Shot” –  I’ve seen some pretty bad executions.

Including myself in that camp:

“Client loved the stage thing… just add the word to ‘Help’ to the reflective Nav?”
OK… Hmmm…. “Help” has a “p”… a damn descender… havoc below the baseline… and it’s much too late to tweak the design… it’s been coded. I’m not doing those rollovers again. Ugh… whatever.

Remember… reflect wisely.