You Can’t Build Upon Weakness

Your Logo is Your Foundation

YOU WOULDN'T BUILD A HOME ON A WEAK FOUNDATION, and neither should your brand identity. It all starts with your logo. More than 50% of customers don't quite understand the in-depth definition of branding so we often start by simply calling it the logo and identity development process.

Think about it. A logo appears on all forms of communications: business cards, letters, email correspondence, website, ad campaigns, social networking, direct mail, billboards, banner ads, sponsorships, clothing, and much more. Would you skimp on building a strong foundation for a home you wanted to last a long time? When customers realize they cut corners from the beginning, they often regret it after it's too late. Thousands of dollars have been spent on printed materials, merchandise, Internet marketing and so on.

We take this process seriously as if starting a company from scratch. How will others see this company, product or organization? What emotions should it evoke? Is it readable, scalable and will it need to stand the test of time? Our first presentation is often in black and white so our customer is not persuaded or turned off by a color palette they do/don't like. I can't tell you how many times in the past a customer has said something like "I went to the University of North Carolina and am not a Duke blue fan - that logo concept is out." Had they not seen it in color they may have selected the concept based on the design rather than influenced by the color.

If you'd like to learn more about our comprehensive process, please contact us at 919.845.6310.

Annual Survey of Professional Designers

Annual Survey of Professional Designers

Affirmation of the Value of Print Media

I HAVE CUSTOMERS AND VENDORS ASK ME "what kind of projects are you working on right now" and though web design and development are in constant demand, print projects are still a high priority as a form of visual communication. Whether driving traffic to a business or product, expressing an opinion, creating an emotion or building a brand - print is alive and well. 

With the economy constricting and digital media expanding, one might reasonably expect professional graphic and interactive designers to flee from print design. One would be wrong. A recent 2009 Graphic Design USA survey findings indicate that professional designers remain deeply committed to the medium as a practical, and a philosophical, matter. That said, the signals regarding the state and future of print are mixed: there are clouds, most notably less volume of print work, and silver linings, such as the steady growth of digital short run printing.

PRINT VALUED

The survey affirmed one thing, first and foremost: Even in a multimedia world, designers today still value print for its classic strengths as a medium — permanence, tangibility, physicality, sensuality, convenience, portability, authenticity, confidence. Indeed, many respondents report that these qualities and characteristics can be more important than ever in the ephemeral world of digital communications because they offer a human connection otherwise missing in our daily lives.

PUBLISHERS NOTE: LAST MAGAZINE STANDING

A fun note from the publisher of Graphic Design USA:

"We have a joke in our office that, pretty soon, we’ll be like an exhibit at Colonial Williamsburg — school kids will walk through the halls and get a lecture about the ancient art of magazine publishing, a lost craft like quilting, looming, blacksmithing and candlemaking. It’s not all that funny but, given the publishing economy, it’s hard to pay first class joke writers anymore. Seriously, though, I am more convinced than ever that ink-on-paper publishing has an enduring role to play in communications and design: our 46th Annual Print Survey, set for the June magazine, reasserts the classic power of print to touch people and to enhance any campaign; and a new study by Condé Nast and the well-regarded McPheters & Co. research company reports that full page four color magazine ads tower over internet ads in effectiveness and value on many levels. At GDUSA, our approach to this new era is to employ both print and online media in relevant ways to reach our audience. So far, so good. I am bemused that several industry magazines have recently given up the ghost including Step, Dynamic Graphics, Create, and Creativity. They’ll live online, I am told, and good luck with that. Which reminds me of another bit of dark office humor; in our small moments of triumph amidst the downturn, we pump our fists and repeat a mantra that amuses and affirms: “Last magazine standing.” Don’t bet against us and don't be booking any history tours for your kids just yet." 

— Gordon Kaye

Conserving Our Environment

Conserving Our Environment

Go Green At Work

PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT, ultimately benefits everyone and everything on our planet. And it doesn't mean just being considerate at home but at the work too.

Here are ways that we conserve at Generate Design that you can try:

1. Photocopy, fax, write or sketch on both sides of a sheet of paper.

2. Bring in your magazines, catalogs and newspaper from home and share. One copy can serve everyone.

3. Use staples or paper clips instead of toxic adhesive tape.

4. Round trip, use a courier, transfer files electronically instead of using FedEx.

5. Use real silverware, ceramic plates and glasses instead of disposable.

6. Bring lunch to work in a reusable container.

7. Walk, ride a bike, carpool or use shared public transportation to get to work.

8. Set up recycling bins and reinforce the purpose/use of them.

Pantone's 2009 Color of the Year

Seeds of Optimism in the Color of the Year!

WHAT BETTER HUE FOR A COLD, heartless economic crisis than a warm, sun-evoking, positive yellow, also called Mimosa and Pantone's Color of the Year for 2009. The global authority on universal color matching gave its annual honors to Pantone 14-0848 Mimosa "a warm engaging yellow." The color "exemplifies warmth and the nurturing quality of the sun, properties we are drawn to for reassurance," said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of The Pantone Color Institute. The 2009 color of the year represents hopeful and radiant characteristics of yellow, she said. 

As companies reposition them

selves in 2009-2010, tweak their style guide color palettes, or just update their web site and print materials, we encourage them to consider this color for it's enthusiastic and energetic warmth.