GDUSA NewsletterMARCH 2011

PALATABLE PAYWALL?

Ian Adelman joins the The New York Times this week to oversee the look and feel of the newspaper’s website. Mr. Adelman is a brilliant designer who has made New York magazine online and before that, Slate, a pleasure. (He was also a popular 2010 GDUSA Person-To-Watch.) He takes the helm as the Times prepares to introduce a paywall around the site. If anyone can help make a paywall palatable, it is he. But if I were a betting person, I would bet heavily against success, because even Mr. Adelman’s magic isn’t strong enough to put the free genie back in the bottle. – Gordon Kaye

Graphic Design News

RYAN JOINS OLSON MASHUP
Dennis Ryan has been hired as Chief Creative Officer, a new position, at OLSON. The oft-awarded Ryan joins the 400-person agency from Chicago’s Element 79, where he was partner and creative head. During his illustrious career, he has also served as Executive Creative Director at JWT, working on Dell, Blockbuster “and every last variety of Kraft cheese,” along with heading JWT’s international creative council. Before that, he spent more than a dozen working years at DDB, leading major clients like Budweiser, Bud Light, Frito-Lay and Discover Card. “I can’t think of a more exciting creative job right now than mashing up really smart marketing specialties into new brand ideas at OLSON,” says Ryan.

SLIM SOFIA SIPS SKINNY CAN
The Pepsi “Skinny Can,” introduced at Fashion Week last month and rolling out now, is supported by striking print advertising. That includes this portrait of “Modern Family” star Sofia Vergara sipping from the new look can. Pepsi promoted the packaging as a celebration of confident women; feminist critics note that the fashion-related launch links “slim” to “successful,” and point the possible Photoshopping of the voluptuous Vergara down to a sleeker version for the ad.

COLOR SEMINARS SET
X-Rite and Pantone have prepared a new educational color management seminar. Targeted at printing, packaging, prepress, and graphic design professionals the two-day, modular seminar will open in Chicago on March 29 and 30, followed by New York City on May 17 and 18. Topics covered will address all aspects of color management, from process control and pressroom workflow, to color control for designers, spot color management and how to improve display to print matching. States X-Rite’s Murphy Keeley: “Print buyers and brand owners are becoming more demanding in their color requirements. With tighter margins, wasted time and materials are not acceptable. Improving turn-around speeds with better color and less waste is more important now than ever, and mastering the tools andmethods to manage color is critical in all areas of production, from file creation all the way to the pressroom.” LEARN MORE >

LOGO GOES LOWERCASE
J.C. Penney Company unveiled a new logo on Oscar night, the first meaningful update of the symbol in four decades. The logo puts greater visual emphasis on a lowercase “jcp” by positioning it slightly off-centered in a box while still featuring the company's signature red color and Helvetica font. To choose the design and stave off the crowdsourcing criticism that befell The Gap, the company sought submissions that reflect a wide range of perspectives.The winning design was provided by Luke Langhus, a third-year graphic design student at the University of Cincinnati.

DOYALD YOUNG REMEMBERED
AIGA medalist Doyald Young has passed away. He was a legendary calligrapher, logo and type designer, educator and author. Young’s enormous client roster included Hilton, Prudential, Max Factor, Sony. His letters have also graced many famous entertainment award shows – the Grammys, Golden Globe, the Tonys – and celebrity “brands” like Elvis Presley, Liza Minnelli, Frank Sinatra, Bette Midler and Prince. Young also taught thousands of students at Art Center College of Design, was considered a generous mentor by many of today’s top designers, and wrote three influential books: Logotypes & Letterforms, Fonts & Logos, and Dangerous Curves. He has also created a promotional book of his work, The Art of the Letter, for SMART Papers, which reintroduce him to a new generation.
LEARN MORE >

PARAMSKI TO EISENBERG
Eisenberg And Associates adds Scott Paramski to the team as Creative Director, bringing more than 30 years of acumen to the creative services department. After graduating from Brigham Young University, where he studied under Mac Magleby, Paramski’s career started at Jonson Pederson Hinricks and Shakery in New York, which became Pentagram/New York. Subsequently, he was hired by Stan Richards for Richards Sullivan Brock & Associate, then went to work with friend Bryan Peterson of Peterson & Company. Later, Paramski moved to the mountains of Colorado to partner with Sean Patrick at Impact Group, designing for a broad spectrum of real estate products.

DUFFY NATURALLY
Duffy & Partners is responsible for creating new packaging for Natural Inspirations, a line of bath and body products launching this October. The Natural Inspirations line was created “to comfort the body and soothe the soul” while offering a new way to support Susan G. Komen for the Cure in its mission to end breast cancer.The packaging features beautifully layered botanical illustrations sweeping over pale pink backgrounds, each designed to represent a specific aromatherapy blends.

IT’S POSSIBLE AT WPP
WPP Digital presents Possible Worldwide, an interactive marketing agency. Formed by combining of four WPP Digital agencies – Schematic, Bridge Worldwide, BLUE and Quasar – the mission is to create “meaningful and measurable interactive marketing for the world’s largest brands.” The new firm counts 18 offices and 1,000 staffers. Clients at launch include AT&T, Barclay’s, BBC, Comcast, Dell, Dow Corning, General Mills, Luxottica, Mazda, Microsoft, Nokia, Orange, P&G, Samsung, SAP, Starwood.

Take Five! Career Tips

From The Creative Group

Tech Etiquette Offenders

Three out of four HR managers polled by our company said tech etiquette breaches can affect a person’s career prospects. Following are five types of tech etiquette offenders and advice to help avoid these labels:

1. The Venter. This person never misses an opportunity to document a bad work situation. Job-related gripes get splashed across Facebook and Twitter, and e-mails take a decidedly negative tone. To avoid this label, keep the information that you post online positive and discuss sticky or unpleasant situations offline, in private.

2. The Noise Polluter. This person’s phone seems to lack a silent mode or an off button. Whether in a meeting or at a colleague’s desk, he freely takes and makes calls. To keep office noise at a minimum, set your phone to silent mode at the office and hold personal conversations behind closed doors.

3. The Cryptic Communicator. This individual relies on texting shorthand for every type of correspondence. Odd or informal abbreviations, poor punctuation, and spelling and grammatical goofs leave people scratching their heads. Make it easier for coworkers to decipher your messages by spending ample time crafting your communications.

4. The Pop-Up Artist. This chat fanatic insists on sending you a flurry of instant messages throughout the day. While IMs are fine for quick volleys of conversation, don’t go overboard or expect that everyone will want to “chat’ with you. For many, e-mail is immediate enough.

5. The Conference Call Con. This multitasker pretends to pay attention during teleconferences but is so busy checking e-mail she has no clue what’s being discussed. Although we all multitask from time to time, pay attention to relevant conversations when on conference calls. It can help to turn away from your monitor so you’re not distracted by e-mail.

The Creative Group is a specialized staffing service placing creative, advertising, marketing and interactive professionals on a project basis. For more information, please visit creativegroup.com. Connect with The Creative Group at facebook.com/thecreativegroup or twitter.com/creativegroup.