Marketing and Management Thoughts

Michael Bierut is one of the partners at Pentagram (one of the most well known agencies in the design/advertising world). He spoke at the 99% conference and gave an insightful talk on how he has designed over the years. Not bad for a guy who says that he isn’t creative, but just loves solving problems.

“Remember who you’re doing it for, and why you’re doing it and you will not go wrong.” – Michael Bierut

The 5 Tips

1. Listen first, then design
2. Don’t Avoid the Obvious
3. The Problem Contains the Solution
4. Indulge your Obsession
5. Love is the Answer

(via 99%)

I have several friends who work in the advertising/design industry. Several work a few blocks form us at a firm called Space150. They redesign their entire brand every 150 days (a bit excessive for the church, but a really cool concept) and my friend Dan Jenstad documented much of the design process in this 4 minute video for a previous version. Check it out for sure. This video is from their v22 launch (they are now on v23). Check out the rest of the finished work.

If you have ever wondered all the work that goes into good design check out this video. There is so much attention to detail that really comes through when designers screen cast their creative process. While the ability to design well is a gift, it is also a long process that require hard work.

For many people the idea of social media seems to be a fad or something that is inconsequential in today’s society. For much of the last decade it was seen as the place for teens and unproductive young adults. Today it has become a force to recon with. This video pulls together some amazing statistics on just how social media is transforming our culture and our world.

This reality is on of the driving forces behind many NGO projects like the One Laptop Per Child program designed to decrease the digital divide between the haves and the have not’s. It is this same reality that makes the online presence of your church so important.

So, what is your church doing to be a part of the Social Media Revolution?

Let us know in the comments below.

Video by Socialnomics – Sources

This really is an awesome flash visualization (via NYT) that you just have to check out online. It has a number of demographic break downs to see the different in how people use their time. You can also click on a part of the stacked line graph to see how that activity breaks down for the selected demographics.

Below are some quotes from the project that are particularly relevant to the church. Remember, the better we understand how people are using their time the more likely they will be to make sacrifices for Jesus.

“On Sundays at 11 a.m., about 13 percent of Americans are at church or participating in other religious activities.”

Time spent on Religious Activity per day:

By Race:

• White people spent 7 minutes
• Black people spent 17 minutes
• Hispanic people spent 8 minutes

By Age:

• 15-24 spent 5 minutes
• 25-64 spent 8 minutes
• over 64 spent 15 minutes

By Gender:

• Men spend 7 minutes
• Women spend 10 minutes
• Everyone averaged 8 minutes

View the Visualization Online

(hat nod kottke)

There is something about being inspired by beautiful things that is just amazing, encouraging, and musing. Here are two videos that are visually stunning.

Kuroshio Sea – 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world

Niagara Falls in Motion

Little of us know the extent to which the work of men like Saul Bass (a personal hero of mine) have had on the visual language the world around us speaks. Saul was the first to use moving title sequences in film. Today these sequences have come light years from the early roots.

Title sequences can be great for video announcements or promotions, and for creating clean, simple, and easy to understand flash animations for a church website.

The top five title sequences of the year according to the NY Times are: (more…)

This video is inspiring and really well done. Each of the people were asked one question, “Where would you like to wake up tomorrow?” The answers varied with a few below and creative editing could provide a really dynamic sermon intro video.

“Today I’m actually feeling a little bit homesick, so to wake up there would be really nice.”

“I’d probably be in a graveyard looking at my fathers tombstone.”

It’s an example of something that could be easily done in the community surrounding your church. This is a great way to interact with your community, invite people you wouldn’t normally bump into, and give people a reason to come in the doors on sunday morning.  There are more 50 People, One Question videos on their vimeo profile page.

Check out their website at fiftypeopleonequestion.com

One of the things that I love about the beginning of every year is all the predictions that get made. Not that I believe almost any of them, but it gives a unique pulse of direction that certain people feel an industry is heading into. The design world is no different. Of all the lists that came out last month I felt like this was one of the better lists.

I’m not saying that we should abandon our current styles and designs to adhere to this list, but I always find it inspiring to see examples of other good work.

Smashing Magazine did a top ten list that is worth a look. Its full of great examples and descriptions.

1. Embossing
2. Rich user interfaces
3. PNG transparency
4. Big typography
5. Font replacement (sIFR, etc.)
6. Modal boxes
7. Media blocks
8. The magazine look
9. Carousels (slideshows)
10. Introduction blocks

This video has just astounded me by the brilliant colors and how well the kaleidoscope effect worked. If you have ever been to a fair/carnival after dark you gotta check out this video. It’s a bit long, but just visually stunning.

Imagine asking someone in your church to make a promo video for a church night out and getting this back. I love it (though I do realize it’s a bit abstract and flashy for some tastes/settings).

Visual by: Sai
Music by: Wanderlust -Björk (Ratatat Remix)

hat not (Fubiz)

It’s important in any line of work (professional or hobby) to keep tabs on what others are doing. I follow all these blogs (and then some) to keep my eyes sharp and my mind inspired in the realm of design. If you aren’t currently using a feed aggregator like Google Reader you should really start (lets you keep up with news/blog updates all in one place). Subscribe to our blog, and the blogs listed below.

6 Blogs You’ve Gotta Read

1. Swiss Miss – General Design (http://swissmiss.typepad.com/weblog/)
   Tina Roth Eisenberg keeps this blog packed full of great design work on a daily basis.
2. notcot – General Design (http://www.notcot.com/)
   Kept up by a teamof bloggers who post about all things design. Worth checking out (and they are doing christmas product give aways right now, and it’s free to enter!).
3. Brand New – Brand/Identity (http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/)
   A beautiful blog when it comes to brand identities. They focus mainly on re-branding of large brands (like Pepsi, Delta, banks, ect). The insights shared on the new brands are really helpful to start/continue forming an eye for identify/brand development.
4. Fubiz – Video/Motion Design (http://www.fubiz.net/blog/)
   Most of what they post at Fubiz involves motion art. These videos are really well done and an inspiration to the multi-media designer inside me. I do realize this site is in french, but they post such visually stunning work (much of which is actually in English).
5. TypeNEU – Type Design (http://www.typeneu.com/)
   Type faces are gorgeous. The right type face changes everything. The days of papyrus and comic sans are long gone. This blog will help you realize the current trends in fonts, and gain an appreciation for this, all to often, overlooked art of typeface design.
6. I Love Typography – Type Design (http://ilovetypography.com/)
   Similar to TypeNEU, focuses on typography and has a lot of stunning content for inspiration.

Still not enough designy goodness?

Below are even more blogs to check out.

• http://www.productdose.com/
• http://www.oberholtzer-creative.com/visualculture/
• http://www.designspotter.com/
• http://designnotes.info/
• http://mocoloco.com/