IN THIS ISSUE:
Publishers Note
Graphic Design News
Inhouse Awards Forms
Graphic Design News
Special Print Promotion
Graphic Design News
Free Pass To On Demand Show
Interesting Links
I am feeling a bit more hopeful about the graphic design
economy. The wave of panic is receding, along with the misguided
fantasy that marketers can slide by forever without investing in
meaningful branding, advertising and promotion. It's a pendulum,
the graphic communications business, and the pendulum is swinging
back toward sanity and normalcy. Optimism is reflected in a
recent FunctionFox study of small creative businesses. The results
show that 93% of small creative businesses are expecting to grow
or remain stable through 2010. Other positive indications: the
vast majority of firms expect to increase revenues in 2010, more
than a third expect to add staff, and many are embracing new
forms of media and technology as new business
opportunities. "For creative professionals, 2009 was all
about survival and smart, safe growth," said Mary-Lynn
Bellamy-Willms, founder and CEO of FunctionFox. "2010 will
be all about capitalizing on the seeds planted in 2009."
— Gordon Kaye
New Host, New Logo
After weathering the departure of Conan O'Brien from The
Tonight Show, NBC is reinvigorating the brand with a new
logo. The logo is familiar, modern and a little metropolitan
without focusing on Leno's persona. It's dark and proper,
perhaps an attempt to play down the drama associated with
the host change, and a departure from Conan's graphic look.
Gellman Firm Turns 40
In honor of their 40th anniversary, Stan Gellman Graphic
Design launches a new website. Since 1969, the St. Louis
MO-based firm has provided marketing communications services
for a diverse range of clients, with specific emphasis on
corporate communications, business-to-business marketing and
corporate identity and branding. The new site, says President
Barry Tilson, was created to demonstrate the company's
design and marketing capabilities and showcase its portfolio
of work to current and potential clients.
NY Times Best Designed
The Society for News Design has selected three newspapers as
the World's Best-Designed in the "The Best of News
Design" Creative Competition. The judges described The
New York Times as having a timeless elegance and a visual
discipline that binds different sections together. Der
Freitag (Berlin) was lauded as bold and simple. Of Frankfurter
Allgemeine Sonntaszeitung (Germany), the judges said it
had a remarkable mix of visual elements.
Design For Social Change
To remain competitive, corporations are looking for
innovation and impact in the area of social change as
it relates to their business. And the non-profit world
is seeking new ways to support their constituencies
through design strategy. The School of Visual Arts
summer intensive, Impact! Design for Social Change,
will introduce participants to the growing field of
design for social advocacy. The faculty is composed
of leaders in the area of design for social change
and a series of ten lectures featuring leaders in
the areas of design and social change will be presented.
American Inhouse Design Awards is
the premier showcase and recognition program for outstanding
work by inhouse design / marketing / communications
departments. The deadline for entries is March 18. You can
request a printed from by emailing awards@gdusa.com. Or you
can download an entry form immediately at...
http://www.gdusa.com/contests/aida.php
Documenting Milton
For many, Milton Glaser is the personification of
American graphic design. Best know for co-founding
New York magazine and creating the I heart NY campaign,
the full breadth of Glaser's artistic output is
revealed in Wendy Keys' documentary portrait,
"Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight."
Artfully directed, the film glances into everyday
moments of Glaser's life and captures his warmth and
humanity, as well as his intelligence and
creativity. DVDs of this intimate portrait hit the
streets on April 27, but can be ordered starting
March 30 from New Video/Arthouse Films.
Getting To Werk
Werkshop Marketing of Nashville TN has announced a
new creative team. Werkshop's creative side is headed
by VP/Creative Director Jennifer Sheets, who has
previously worked for CGU Life, Nashville Predators
hockey club and Fresh Dirt Marketing. She is joined by
Art Director Matthew Wilson, formerly of Earnhart +
Friends Advertising. Senior Copywriter R. Justin
Shepherd and Digital Media Designer Bryce Hall round
out the team, supported by Production Assistant
Amanda Williams.
Food Play
Burger King has debuted a new Food Play campaign for
BK Kids Meals. The campaign uses an animation style
not unlike what is commonly seen on Cartoon Network's
[adult swim]. The spots combine photo-real food and
toys with two-dimensional characters and environments.
The result is a unique animation style that makes the
products pop visually, grabs the attention of both
kids and adults and stands out from other media clutter.
Food Play was developed exclusively for BK by
Minneapolis-based advertising agency Campbell
Mithun and animation firm MAKE.
Millennials Shop Less Buy More
Women, ages 20 to 30, represent a $54 billion marketing
opportunity for packaged goods companies, but their needs
are vastly different from the generation before them, a
new report from Information Resources finds. "Winning
With Millennial Women Shoppers" outlines this growing
consumer demographics' key behaviors. Compared to the
proceeding generation, women born between 1979 and 1989
tend to shop less, buy more during each trip and frequent
supercenters and Wal-Mart more. The economy has also forced
these shoppers to cut back on indulgent food categories
like frozen poultry, chewing gum, salty snacks and frozen
pizza, the report said.
TAKE FIVE CAREER TIPSFROM THE CREATIVE GROUP
NEW JOB JITTERS
You've landed a new job after a lengthy search —
congratulations! Now, how do you make the best impression
once you start? The Creative Group offers five tips for
easing your way back into the workplace:
1. Get Back In The Swing. Adjust your daily
schedule a week before your start date so you're comfortable
with the routine by your first day.
2. Make The Rounds. Once you've started a new
job, immediately introduce yourself to those you will be working
with — including those outside of the creative department. To
break the ice, invite colleagues to join you for lunch or coffee.
3. Hone Your Observation Skills. Pay attention to
how others behave in the workplace. Many unwritten rules, such as how
and when people communicate, can only be learned through observation.
4. Play It Cool. While it takes time to gain trust
in a new environment, try to project confidence in everything you
do. If you believe in yourself, others will, too.
5. Avoid the phrase, "At my last job ..." Although
confidence is a virtue, being viewed as a know-it-all is a career liability. Sure,
you may prefer to do things the way you did them at a previous jobs, but
don't try to impress those ideas on others. You can make recommendations
once you've established yourself.
The Creative Group is a specialized staffing service placing creative, advertising, marketing and web professionals on a project basis. For more information, please visit www.creativegroup.com. You also can follow us on Twitter @CreativeGroup and Facebook www.facebook.com/thecreativegroup
48 Hour Print, the online printing service, is offering a 20 percent
discount for GDUSA readers. This includes all products, including business
cards, postcards, brochures, folders, posters, newsletters and more.
48 Hour Print - 20% Off For GDUSA Readers Expires 6/2/2010
Fly Uruguay
Airbranding, a Steinbranding company, developed the new branding
of Carrasco International Airport in Montevideo, Uruguay. The point
of departure is the reinterpretation of the sun in the logotype. This
icon embodies great visual recognition in Uruguay. It goal is a
harmonious coexistence with the new architecture of the terminal.
Wayfinding blends inside and outside the terminal, giving it
greater international projection.
Book Content Morphing
According to a PRIMIR study entitled Trends in Books: 2008-2012,
the health of the economy and the emerging e-book will clearly
have a negative impact on total printed book volume. The report
indicates three clear-cut conclusions. Book content in its present
paper form will continue to be a mainstay product through the
2009-2012 forecast period, but at reduced volume levels. Book
content will morph from being primarily an ink-on-paper product
to a multiple media product distributed through a variety of
channels. And, finally, paper books and bookstores may have
reached the pinnacle of their product life cycle and will
emerge from the forecast period on the downside slope of the cycle.
Class-y Logo
On the first day of spring semester classes, Roosevelt University,
Chicago IL, unveiled a modern logo, updated seal and redesigned
website that presents the university in a fresh and authentic
manner. Designed by Studio Blue, the new logo speaks to the ideas
of diversity and community, important components of what the
university stands for. In addition, Roosevelt's website is being
completely redone by mStoner to include a rotating gallery of
student stories and photos.
Mothership Launches
A new creative studio, Mothership, has launched in Los Angeles
to create original transmedia content for advertising agencies
and brands. A sister company to Digital Domain, Mothership
represents global creative talent and develops the content,
strategies and campaigns across multiple media platforms.
Guiding Mothership is Digital Domain Commercials Division
President/Executive Producer Ed Ulbrich, Executive Creative
Director Alejandro Lopez, and Executive Producer Tanya Cohen.
Attend On Demand Conference & Expo, April 20-22, at
the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia! Register
with code 346H for a Free Expo Pass or by March 12th for
Early Bird Rates. For complete details, visit...
http://www.ondemandexpo.com
FunctionFox Small Creative Businesses Survey...
www.functionfox.com/Creative-Industry-Outlook-2010
New Stan Gellman Design Website...
www.sggdesign.com
Register For SVA's Design For Social Change...
www.sva.edu/impact
GDUSA Web Design Awards...
www.gdusa.com/contests/awda.php