PUBLISHERS NOTE: LOGO DESIGN AS PUBLIC SPORT
The popular LogoLounge.com report on the state of the logo is coming up in our April print edition. Among principal Bill Gardner's many provocative insights: "It is becoming disturbingly clear that logo design has become a public sport. As the public controls its media more and more — Tivo-ing this, blogging that, YouTube-ing and Googling everything else — people are no longer satisfied to consume what is placed for them. They have opinions they want to share. So, when a large corporation reveals a new identity, there are hundreds of internet sites flinging their opinions back at it. Even when the village board of Remote votes on a new logo for its two police cars, citizens take to the streets waving pitchforks and copies of their own designs. Committee-cide seems to be rampant." Look for the cover story in the next week or so.
— Gordon Kaye
HOUSEKEEPING: ADOBE IS EXCLUSIVE SPONSOR
GDUSA's 31st American Graphic Design Awards program, open to the entire creative community, is off and running. Once again, we are honored to have Adobe as the exclusive corporate sponsor for the awards program and the subsequent design annual. For more information or to download an entry form, please visit http://www.gdusa.com/contests/agda2.php
TRENDSPOTTING
Meat New People
As companies increasingly seek to include consumers in their advertising and graphic design, McDonald's has introduced new packaging that features 24 consumers selected from an online Global Casting Call. There were 13,000 entries from around the world. The new faces are featured on McDonald's most prominent packaging — cups and bags — and ultimately seen by 52 million people a day as the packaging rolls out worldwide. McDonald's Global Chief Marketing Officer Mary Dillon revealed the initiative with the help of three of the selected "stars": Ocean Smith, an 11- year-old trumpet player from Chicago; Lesley Dahl, a 50+-year-old hiker from Magrath, Alberta, Canada; and Xavier Cotto Bartolomei, a 20- year-old drummer from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Thousands of consumers submitted personal stories of what they love in 100 words or less along with a digital photo. www.mcdepk.com/globalcastingcall.
Obama Rising
To transcend the traditional campaign approach — stars and stripes around typographic treatment of the candidate names — two Chicago-based design firms are involved in creating a logo that visually underscores Barack Obama's promise of the dawning of a new day. The logo features the letter "O" and stripes leading to the horizon. Brand identity and experience studio, Sender, developed the logo; motion graphics and interactive specialists, mo/de (which has worked extensively with the candidate before) is executing web and video applications. www.senderllc.com
Tears Of A Clown
In the old days, screw-up CEOs would tough it out, deny their company's mistakes or remain silent so as not to risk an admission of guilt. Now they apologize and maybe even cry like babies. Among the recent apologistas: David Neeleman (trapped JetBlue passengers) Steve Jobs (backdated Apple stock options); Emil Brolick (rats at a KFC/Taco Bell), Phil Kent (terrorizing Bostonians with toy devices), Rupert Murdoch (the O.J. confessional novel), Frank Blake (understaffing The Home Depot), and even Robert Gates (poor conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital). And that's just the top-of-the-mind list of apologies in the last six months. The reasons for remorse: a post-Enron cultural climate and the internet, which makes it harder to hide or control the flow of information about big mistakes. Still, not everyone believes this is a permanent state of affairs. Says Kevin O'Donnell, a senior partner in the San Francisco office of Prophet, a consulting firm: "This is the tactic du jour but I don't think the shelf life will last very long ... We're already at the saturation point... Apologies aren't the point, actions are."
Not Playing Games
Nearly three-quarters of all baby boomers and mid-lifers (early 40s through mid-60s) have access to the internet from broadband in their homes, significantly more than the national average across all age groups. Sharon Whiteley, head of ThirdAge, which conducted a survey of along with JWT Boom, says that this group is "regularly stereotyped as being technophobes and slow to jump on the technology bandwagon. However... not only are they online, they're surprisingly a formidable presence on the Internet." Mostly they spend time seeking out information, staying in touch with friends and shopping or researching products to buy. But, interestingly, unlike the kids, they do not turn to the web for entertainment. Indeed, the survey shows that they are not watching videos, not writing blogs, not playing games and not downloading music.
No Collateral Damage
Print Collateral is the number one sales opportunity for Graphic Design firms in 2007. This provocative finding is one of many in the The Industry Measure's 2007 Graphic Arts Market Demographic Profiles report, which provides snapshots of the printing, prepress and creative markets. Oh, by the way, this is no technical victory or statistical quirk: print collateral was named a staggering 30% more often than the runners up. And, oh, by the way, even if you add in Ad Agency creatives and Corporate Designers, who are somewhat less print-oriented, print collateral still prevails overall. Go figure. www.theindustrymeasure.com
More Print Optimism
The first NPES Industry Summit, held recently in Chicago, provided an optimistic view of print's current and future prospects and a preview of the world's most promising growth markets for the years ahead. The Summit, presented by NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies, NPES President Ralph Nappi. A series of speakers concurred that sustained economic growth and smart adoption of technologies to create new value-added services have helped put the U.S. printing industry in its strongest position years. NPES Vice President William K. "Kip" Smythe commented, "I don't think I have been this optimistic in at least 15 years." Ronnie Davis, chief economist at PIA/GATF, agreed, noting that U.S. printers' sales reached $171 billion in 2006, a gain of 3.3% over the previous year and a major rebound from a low point of about $156 billion in 2002. Contact: npes@npes.org or 703.264.7200.
FTC Gets Feisty
Over time, the FTC's approach to false and misleading advertising claims has had a schizophrenic quality about it. Laissez faire to rigorous regulation. And back again. And back again. And back again. Now, we may well be seeing the combative personality emerging again. One high profile example: the Commission is closely scrutinizing the claims of celebrities in advertising, which could affect everything from endorsement of brands on talk shows to fact-checking assertions of health benefits or weight loss in ads. The current guidelines, now under review, broadly state that endorsements must reflect the "honest opinions" of the endorser, may not be in any way deceptive, and must either be a typical experience or disclosed as not typical. The FTC's recent crackdown on weight-loss marketers, which resulted in a $25 million settlement from TrimSpa and Bayer, among others, is additional evidence of a more feisty FTC.
Red Will Not Be Ignored
Chili Pepper (Pantone 19-1557) is color of the year, at least according to the color expers at Pantone. The deep spicy red is said to "connote an outgoing, confident, design-savvy attitude." Pantone Color Institute director Leatrice Eiseman comments: "Whether expressing danger, celebration, love or passion, red will not be ignored. In 2007, there is an awareness of the melding of diverse cultural influences, and Chili Pepper is a reflection of the exotic tastes both on the tongue and to the eye. Nothing reflects the spirit of adventure more than the color red." www.pantone.com
Neither Will Pink
Yamamoto Moss Mackenzie partnered with appliance maker Rowenta to design packaging for its "Iron For Pink" fundraiser to create awareness of Rowenta's role in supporting the fight against breast cancer. The watercolor painting for the packaging was created by Miranda Moss, principal at the design firm — and a breast cancer survivor here self. The irons were sold at Macy's Linen 'n' Things, Sears and JCPenney. Amanda Baggenstoss was the designer. http://www.rowentausa-ironforpink.com/info_mirandamoss.cfm
Not To Mention Green
With the advent of "green" living, Washington-based design firm, Eason Associates, has kicked off a business-to-business grassroots campaign to encourage companies to examine their printed marketing materials in light of the principals of sustainability. Describing her awakening after a meeting with Derek Smith, author of EnviroPal and green paper guru, Becky Eason says: "It was clear that we could no longer keep our heads in the sand when it came to the tons of paper that we specify every year for our clients." www.easonassociates.com
Nature's Inspiration
Speaking of being inspired by nature, winners of the Surtex 2007 International Student Design Competition — themed "Nature's Inspiration" — have been selected in four categories: Home Interior, Hospitality, Housewares/Tabletop and Stationery/Paper Products. Says Gina DeLuca, manager of the SURTEX trade show: "It is exciting to see the energy, creativity and innovative concepts that this competition inspires in art and design students from around the world." The Grand Prize went to Ya-Ling Hou, Academy of Art University, San Francisco for Lovely Garden, inspired by the soothing "sunny and breezy feeling" and "flower wave" that she experiences during afternoons in her garden. Hou's designs include gift boxes and bags, wrapping paper, photo albums, journals and notecards. First place winners were: JeeSun Won, Philadelphia University (Home Interiors); Lenna Salbashian, Syracuse University (Hospitality); and Kara Phillips, Savannah College of Art and Design (Stationery/Paper Products). The judges were Britt Bivins, Promostyl Americas; Dorothy Cosonas, Knoll Textiles; Bingka Leung, Dwell; Jane Wicks, Designtex; and GDUSA publisher Gordon Kaye. http://www.surtex.com/isdc/ (See also Upcoming Events below.)
 TAKE FIVE! CAREER TIPS FROM THE CREATIVE GROUP
While many creatives dress pretty casually on the job, it's possible to take the concept of "business casual" too far. Following are the strangest items creative professionals have worn to work (and not on Halloween!) according to advertising and marketing executives:
1. Yoga clothing
2. Pajamas
3. A disco dress
4. Sumo wrestling gear
5. A chicken suit
While you probably don't need to be told to leave your chicken suit home, it pays to look neat and professional. In fact, the vast majority of executives polled said an employee's attire affects his or her promotion prospects.
The Creative Group is a specialized staffing service providing creative, advertising, marketing and web professionals on a project basis.
www.creativegroup.com
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Now-April 28: The Society of Illustrator 49th Annual exhibition, showing winners of the juried competition, at the organization's Manhattan digs. www.societyillustators.org.
April 12: Picturehouse, which brings together buyers and sellers of stock visuals in an intimate setting, returns to the Chicago Cultural Center for a day of images, food and fun. www.picturehouse.org
April 12-May 25: Shopping in Tokyo reflects some of the major trends that are impacting the Japanese market, and the world. A must see exhibit at the AIGA National Design Gallery on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. www.aiga.org
April 13: AIGA Cleveland hosts its annual student portfolio review at the Forum at One Cleveland Center. www.aigacleveland.org
April 14: Its the Graveyard Shift at Historic Oakland Cemetary, where the AIGA Atlanta continues its role of archiving, photographing and creating a database of the cemetary's Victorian stained glass. www.aiga-atl.org
April 18: Belmont University Department of Art helps sponsor Bennett Peji as the famous urban design and branding specialist addresses the AIGA Nashville at the Civic Design Center. www.nashville.aiga.org
April 19: Three young Chicago designers, Nigel Dennis, Yann Legendre (a recent GDUSA Person To Watch) and Tnop Wangsillapakun, reflect on their work at the AGIA Chicago event, Fresh Talent. Its at Loyola University's Rubloff Auditorium. www.aigachicago.org
April 26: The AIGA San Francisco Design Lecture Series, Uncommon Thread, debuts. On the agenda this year, Bonnie Siegler, Emily Oberman, Davy Rothbart and Karim Rashid. don@aigasf.org
April 27-May 2: Maryland Institute College of Art highlights its Graphic Design MFA graduates and their work at the Fox Building's Meyerhoff Gallery. The MFA program launched in Fall 2003. www.mica.edu or 410.225.2300
April 28: The Connecticut Art Directors Club's Annual Student Conference, free to students with ID,with a morning of presentations about multiple disciplines followed by portfolio critiques. Location is the Ren&eaute;e Samuels Center at the Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, West Hartford. http://www.cadc.org/news_student-conference.asp
May 6-8: The outdoor industry will convene in sunny San Diego for the 2007 OAAA National Convention & Trade Show at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel. The convention theme is At A Crossroads. www.oaaa.org
May 7: WorldWideWebWashington is all about how to develop a website with a competitive edge. Sponsored by the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington and the Ad Club of DC, its an all day event at the Omni Shoreham. http://www.worldwidewebwashington.com/about.shtml
May 9-June 23: The Seven Sisters (the magazines, not the colleges) are the focus of this Society of Illustrators exhibition in Manhattan. Artistic legends like Austin Briggs, Bart Forbes and Mark English helped Redbook, McCall's, Ladies Home Journal et. al. rule the roost from the 50s to the 80s. www.societyofillustrators.org
May 15: The New York Chapter of AIGA hosts Small Talk, this time with Jason Fried of the influential Chicago-based web application design firm 37signals. aigany.org
May 17-20: The Association of Professional Design Firms hosts its annual exchange in Las Vegas at the Wynn. This year's theme: For Love or Money. www.apdf.org
May 20-22: SURTEX, the premier trade show geared exclusively toward the sale and license of art and design, at the Javits Center in New York. It takes place side-by-side with The Supply Side, a b-to-b showcase of resources for the social stationery, giftware and graphic arts industries. Winners of the prestigious Surtex student design contest will be exhibited in the River Pavillion on Level 4 of Javits. Contact: 1.800.272.Show or www.surtex.com.
May 22: PIA/GATF takes its popular Mission: Possible—A Mutual Strategy for Creatives and Printers on the road. The tour starts May 22 in Charlotte and continues to seven other cities. GDUSA is the design publication sponsor; Adobe, Apple, Kodak, Sun Chemical, Quark and ICS are corporate sponsors. www.missionpossible07.com
May 30-June 2: Society for Environmental Graphic Design 2007 Annual Conference & Expo at The World Trade Center in Boston. The theme is ReThink. http://www.segd.org/conference/conference.html
PRODUCT AND SERVICE NEWS
Akzidenz-Grotesk, one of most popular and versatile of all typefaces, has gone Greek and Cyrillic. Berthold's new release of Akidenz-Grotesk Pro+ with Cyrillic and Greek support for all 30 fonts in the collection also includes language support for Central European, Baltic and Turkish. More details at http://www.bertholdtypes.com.
Photos.com currently has a special offer of a one year subscription at a substantially reduced price. GDUSA readers can find out more at http://photos.com/promo/strap
Team Concept Printing promises 24 hour turnaround on most jobs and all jobs are supervised by an account executive/real person. The printer specializes in serving graphic designers, marketing and design agencies, photographers and print shops. www.tcpt.biz
Corel Painter X is the newest version of the legendary painting and illustration software for designers that features unique digital brushes, art materials and textures which mirror the look and feel of their traditional counterparts. GDUSA readers can get a terrific look at great art and artists profiles at www.corel.com/gdusa
Exclusive to GDUSA readers: a Free iPod Shuffle promotion, open to April 30, from Inmagine: For details call 1.800.810.3888 or www.inmagine.com
StockShop specializes in "Atypical" images and introduces the concept with a poster worth seeing and saving in the March issue of Graphic Design USA. Check out the poster or visit them online at http://www.stockshop.net.
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