Archive for February, 2009
Three Ways to Motivate People
Today I had a conversation at work about motivation that was very enlightening. As I’m slowly learning how to become a good manager and leader, I was taught three fundamental ways to motivate people:
- Kick them in the butt
- Pat them on the butt
- Leave them alone
These make so much sense to me. Positive feedback inspires me to work harder and do better. On the other hand, one of our strategists likes to be challenged and pushed hard to be better. My wife fits into the third category and prefers to be left alone when her work is good. Both methods work, but you need to know which is appropriate for each individual. Does anyone have any more advice on how to motivate people? Any good books on motivation?
Design Wisdom From UTS Grads
When I was visiting Sydney last year, we stumbled by the University of Technology Sydney’s end of year show. All the work inside was good, perhaps a little better than I expected, having not heard of the school. I was struck most by their book and it’s list of ID mottos. Some of them make me laugh, some of them make me cringe, but they’re all pretty true.
- It’s called referencing, NOT copying!
- Whoever says being pretty is not a function?
- Good artists copy, great artists steal
- [Insert buzzword] is the new black
- If you can’t hide it, make a feature of it
- If you cannot use it, then call it art
- Simple is hard
- Power is nothing without ctrl-z
- Live trace is for cheaters
- Measure twice, cut once
- Form follow function
- Don’t try to be original, just try to be good
- Be brave enough to live creatively
- Design is in everything we make, but also between those things
My favorite piece of advice for students is number 12, “Don’t try to be original, just try to be good.” Which ones are the your favorite? Are there any good ones we should add to the list?
Mazda Kiyora brings concepts closer to production
If you haven’t been following Mazda design recently, they’ve been doing the most interesting and unique concept cars over the past few years. They’re getting close to some production vehicles that will reflect this approach with vehicles like the Kiyora. DownsideUpDesign provides great insight into Mazda’s design strategy:
Take a look at the section through the door…and it shows an ease of form that would have the guy that devised the old BMW Z4s front quarter panel laughing in your face. Thoroughly pressable and undeniably sexy.
What bodes well for Mazda is that the Kiyora is an alternative take on what a premium urban vehicle can be. Audi has the thoroughly orthodox A1, BMW the practical-looking (but highly impractical) Mini while Mercedes pursues the gussied-up MPV look in the form of the A Class.
Check out the whole article here. Mazda Kiyora images © Andrew Philip Artois Smith 2009.
Not Strategic: Dove Go Fresh Packaging
Dove typically has great strategic design. Their authentic message connects marketing and advertising through to the physical design of the products. I like how this 12 oz. bottle (left) subtly and purposefully matches their well known soap bar, but I was disappointed that we didn’t get the same great design when we upgraded to the 25 oz. size (center). Instead, we got a bottle that has been pushed and pulled into something that lacks any connection to the emotional quality. Not only is it kind of ugly, the design makes it hard to hold.
Dove's (poorly scaled) Go Fresh bottles
This poor execution of Dove’s design language could be for one of three reasons:
- The design managers didn’t create the bottles as a scalable family, resulting in a quick and dirty solution when it came time to create the larger size bottle. They probably created separate briefs for each product, which explains the nice, but different looking body wash bottle (right).
- Engineering and design teams weren’t on the same page. Design probably didn’t engage engineering properly to ensure their design would be scalable.
- No one anticipated the success of Go Fresh. Design, marketing, and engineering all happily created the 12 oz. bottles without considering that they’d need to do other sizes until it was too late.
My best guess is that Dove failed to write a brief that required a scalable family look. Instead, they probably designed the ideal package at the ergonomically ideal size, then struggled to execute the larger version under a tight deadline. This approach usually works fine, but the development process must be multi-disciplinary with team members who are challenging but also flexible and realistic. Given the current situation, my recommendation would be to use the attractive 3D design of the 25 oz. body wash bottle, saving on development and manufacturing costs while improving the ergonomic and aesthetic experience for consumers.
This may seem like a small detail, but I’m not trying to be overly critical. Rather, I’m trying to point out that a near-perfect brand like Dove still has room to improve. Details like this signal miscues inside the company’s culture, which potentially keep Dove from providing an ever better consumer experience.
Febreze Sport
I’m really happy to have been involved with Febreze Sport. From start to finish, it was honestly a great experience working with everyone involved. If you’ve worked in the competitive world of consulting, you know how hard it can be to get agencies to play nicely together. From the Kaleidoscope website:
We are excited to see that Febreze Sport, the latest addition to Procter & Gamble’s mega-brand, is now live on the web. Aside from a full lineup of odor elimination products, they’ve created partnerships with key players in the athletic world (such as Map My Run) that will make Sport a part of any athlete’s gear. Kaleidoscope was fortunate enough to play a large role in the design and strategy development, and we’ll have a full case study up soon. In the meantime, take a look at the products on the Febreze site, and keep an eye out for it at selected retailers.
Verbal Vampirism
The man behind Bored Sketchbooks is a talented and observant graphic designer with an awesome and unusual sense of humor. I appreciate the overlap of good design and a sense of humor and Gabe Shultz often nails this combination. His IDEATRON blog features a section called No: Things That Are Not Good. Check out this post on Verbal Vampirism:
If you say an idea and someone kills it, then resurrects it to serve their own dark purposes a couple of days later, they’re a verbal vampire. Once an idea turns vampiric, there is almost no way to re-kill it. Ironically, vampire ideas are the ONLY ideas that see the light of day.
Because immortality is truly a curse, verbal vampirism = no.
Gabe has been away from his blog working on some other projects, but hopefully he’ll be back soon!
See also: Not Designed By Me
Christoph Niemann’s I Lego N.Y.
Via Adam Richardson’s blog, I discovered this New York Times piece on artist Christoph Niemann. His work is stripped down to only the necessary elements but at the same time it is surprising and humorous. This is what I look for in good design and it’s great to see Niemann create these rich stories out of only a few pieces of lego.
Red Tree Gallery Exhibition
This weekend Cincinnati’s Red Tree Gallery will host their latest exhibition, Evoke II. The show features three of my paintings and three pieces from my friend and colleague Demetrius Romanos. Evoke II’s theme is to create anew, especially by means of the imagination. The opening reception is this Friday, February 13th from 6-9 and will stay up until March 7th.
New Page: Strategic Aesthetics Top Ten
Since we all love blog posts with lists, I decided to put together a list of my favorite brands using aesthetics strategically. It’s not just a list of businesses who make cool stuff, they’ve also figured out how to make design in a purposeful and differentiated way that helps them be successful.
The only problem is that I could only come up with 7 out of 10! Help me out and tell me who I should add to the list.
Three Ways Saab Can Be Like Apple
Autocar recently reported that Saab will try to become the ‘Apple of car brands’ after they become independent from General Motors. I think this is a great idea, for two reasons. First, I don’t see a clear leader in terms of a holistic differentiation strategy in the auto industry. Sure, there are plenty of high quality products, but no brands truly differentiate across every touchpoint. Second, Saab has always had that je ne sais quoi that I think it will take to get there. But let’s be honest, this is an extremely lofty goal that won’t be achieved without some solid strategic thinking. Because I’m such a big fan of Saab, I offer up this advice:
#1 Brands like Apple need people like Steve Jobs
Solid brands require consistent, high quality interactions from top to bottom. The best brand leaves no room for error and then delivers on it. Execution of every Saab touchpoint will require a visionary who can stare in the face of naysayers (both internally and externally) and demand only the best from his team. Jobs’ ability to do these things is infamously captured, and Saab will need a leader who can provide this direction.
#2 Saab will need more than great products
It’s easy for designers to get caught up in Apple’s ability to create great products. We can then make the inaccurate correlation between simple, easy to use products and strong love for a brand. Design is only one of Apple’s strengths. Besides great products, Apple has a great business strategy, great marketing, and great human resource management to name a few other strengths. Without the handcuff of GM’s platforms, Saab can probably make some great products, but they’ll need to do much more to become a one of a kind brand.
#3 Independent thinking also needs to be relevant thinking
Don’t confuse Apple’s stream of recent innovations for novel ideas wrapped in cool styling. Each of Apple’s recent successes was carefully conceived to grow the brand in a specific direction that furthers their vertical integration. The iPod, iTunes, and iPhone weren’t just cool new products, they offered real benefits that users didn’t see coming but immediately understood. Especially in our current economy, Saab will need to aim their independent energy at the future needs of their audience.
On Twitter
- It's cute when people get on board with social media and start sending you articles about it. 1 week ago
- It's cute when people get on board with social media and start sending you articles about it. 1 week ago
- Skin crudo with raspberry coulis! 1 week ago
- Skin crudo with raspberry coulis 1 week ago
- Like! RT @Behance: Dotted with kaleidoscope images, this flexible planner allows you to "create your own week." http://cot.ag/bzAkW6 1 week ago
- More updates...
Posting tweet...