Hip, Hip, Design!

Glad someone else is saying it too...

"Innovation is no longer just about new technology per se. It is about new models of organization. Design is no longer just about form anymore but is a method of thinking that can let you to see around corners. And the high tech breakthroughs that do count today are not about speed and performance but about collaboration, conversation and co-creation. If you are in the co-creation business today—and you’d better be in this age of social networking—then you have to think of design. Indeed, your brand is increasingly shaped and defined by network communities, not your ad agency. Brand manager? Forget about it. Brand curator maybe."

"Design and design thinking—or innovation if you like--are the fresh, new variables that can bring advantage and fat profit margins to global corporations. In today’s global marketplace, being able to understand the consumer, prototype possible new products, services and experiences, quickly filter the good, the bad and the ugly and deliver them to people who want them—well, that is an attractive management methodology."

And that's just what agencies with a new-type of model are doing. Thank you Anomaly. Thank you Mother. Thank you Undercurrent. And many more are getting closer to the real issue between consumers and companies: that of disconnection & distrust.

Consumers demand more honesty in the commercial realm, and the internet puts accountability at the front and center of conversations nowadays. Think smart. Think consumer. Listen to them. Innovate as needed. Proceed with confidence and conversation. Design/planning/strategy, whatever you want to call it, it's a necessary component if you want to be a smart company and make smart decisions. My philosophy is that it's about making ALL of the elements make sense and fit together in a seamless, authentic, honest way.

here comes the packaging...

or actually, there goes the packaging > into the trash. I just cut three large tags (about 2 and a half inches of un-necessary cloth) off some new underwear.

Why do we have tags? And why do they have to be so big (and ugly?). They seem to be the least-evolving characteristic of clothing products and I cut them off when I see them, so what good are they?!

I have bought some clothing over the past year that has chosen to print their label onto the inside of the actual clothing. And if you want to discuss this issue with more people, you can go to the T-shirt Forum. yeah, there's a whole forum to discuss it.

This seems like a new trend in product design but also maybe can be clumped with packaging design. I can't remember where I found it (maybe in Miami) but I bought...let's say some cookies, and each one was individually wrapped inside plastic inside a larger plastic package and then had an outer package that the shopper actually sees > three f'n layers of material to get through Useless! right?

anyway, i'm going to start posting more on packaging. It's something that interests me. I'd be interested to learn about the packaging campaigns that have emerged in direct correlation with their advertising. For starters (and interested readers) here are 13 trends for packaging reported for 2006. How did they do?

smart design

In an article titled Design for the unwealthiest 90%, so named because of an exhibit opening up at the Cooper-Hewitt in NYC, Alice Rawsthorn asks "Why are designers so focussed on designing for the wealthiest 10 percent? ...because that's where the money is. dar!

• "It's a call to action," Cynthia Smith, the show's curator, explained. "There's a big interest among design students and design professionals in finding socially responsible design solutions to the underpinnings of poverty.
• "I was stunned by how simple, simple solutions could have a direct impact on people's lives," said Smith.

here are some category names of design movements happening worldwide:

• humanitarian design
• socially responsible design - pioneer touted as Victor Papanek
  
• sustainable design

spread the word: sustainable is here to stay. be smart about it.

design matters

The WaMu Center in Seattle was designed with purpose. This info comes from the The Seattle Times (3.10.06)

"The idea was, if we could have most of the employees in one location, I could drive the culture I wanted — a common culture,"
said chief executive Kerry Killinger.

The building is grouped into clusters, with every three floors tied together by large staircases, a common color scheme and a shared eating area with more space, nicer furniture and better views than many employees now have in their break rooms.

For an even more inviting lunch experience, the 16th and 17th floors will have a buffet-style dining room and a lounge with indoor and outdoor fireplaces. A 20,000-square-foot rooftop patio is large enough for people to take short walks along footpaths.

Callison Architecture designed WaMu Center's interior, and its partners said the building's mix of open and closed spaces has become popular with companies looking to improve employees' productivity.

Executive spaces are dubbed "villas." Pink noise airs in the halls and are short bursts tuned to a frequency that fills in the gaps around the human voice. Three-story clusters where groups work together are "neighborhoods."

sounds pretty cool to me. :)

Anomaly - Enviga

cool packaging AGAIN - and it tastes pretty good.

ink from ABCnews:

• Enviga gets its calorie-burning power from the combination of caffeine and EGCG, an antioxidant naturally found in green tea.
• It would be great if the product was inspirational, but it's not a weight loss product.
  

The product wants to inspire you. Isn't that nice? I think so.

Check out more from the agency responsible for this awesome product - Anomaly. They are doing some incredible things with products/services.

• Instead of just ad campaigns, Anomaly is selling an all-in-one package of services for advertising, product design, strategic consulting, and technology licensing.
• Forget lines (above and below). To truly move forward, models will have to be torn down and rebuilt.
• The agency is "executionally agnostic" and is very conscientious of hjow the visual language plays into it. Creative and media are inseparable. (think design)
• Traditional solutions are becoming less and less effective.

Case Study - Camel No. 9

Some of you know that I'm fascinated with product/packaging design. And some of you have also heard me lobby for the new Camel No. 9 packaging. I am not a smoker BUT this packaging says "cool" without words.

My hypothesis is that design affects purchase as much as messaging does. If the two work together you've got a shoe-in for increasing consumption.

I could be wrong, but I think the new packaging is going to tip the scale in favor of at least having a pack of cigarettes on your person. It's like a designer label (hmmm, wonder why they call it that)--it's just cool to have.

Camel got some ink in the NYTimes (2.15.07):

• The introduction of Camel No. 9 is part of plans to “focus on products that are ‘wow,’ ” she added, “that add fun and excitement to the category.”
• “very good at innovation” — bringing out variations of existing brands with new packages, flavors, styles and other twists on familiar offerings.