Celebration of Regional Typology in a Context of Contemporary Advertising

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How Do Innovators Think?

“How Do Innovators Think?” September 28, 2009
by Bronwyn Fryer

I agree with  Dyer saying that “associating, questioning, ability to closely observe details, ability to experiment, networking” are qualities that distinguish innovators. Dyer says that “associating is the key skill.” Sounds right for me, though I would say that innovative process starts with the questioning first of all.  I liked the words Dyer about “problem is that even the most creative people are often careful about asking questions for fear of looking stupid, or because they know the organization won’t value it.” I think it is true. Ability to look on things from other side, turn everything upside down and came up with fresh innovative idea starts with questioning “why this is like that   but not another way?” “What’s going to happens if we change the order?” Very often we think but afraid to think “loudly” being scared look stupid; and then idea stays only idea”.

I totally agree with the part of the article than Gregersen says about atmosphere that helps to develop innovative abilities in children “entrepreneurs were very lucky to have been raised in an atmosphere where inquisitiveness was encouraged”. We know that there are some factors helps to develop creativity: passion, good mentor or teacher, a lot of practice. Let’s remember Mozart who had his father making him practice a lot. I think we can think about developing inquisitiveness in the same way. How to help kids do not loose this questioning in the childhood? How to make people to believe that asking stupid questions is the first step to innovation? This is pretty difficult question. Some people are so passionate about their fields that do not afraid look stupid, sometimes we call them “weird or strange.”  It seems that a lot of companies now would be happy to hire people like that.

 

 

book review

The Graphic Designer’s and Illustrator’s Guide to Marketing and Promotion

Allworth Press
10 East 23rd St. #510, NY, NY 10010
1-800-491-2808 www.allworth.com

“This book will show you how to use the other side of your brain so you can become as successful commercially as you are creatively.”
—Michael Tanimura, Director, Silver Image Creative, Inc.

 

 

It is not a secret that to achieve success is not enough to be a talented designer. Necessary be able promote or sell your work. Not everybody who starts work as creative professional understands that self promotion is really important step in becoming successful designer or illustrator.

Maria Piscopo’s Graphic Designer’s And Illustrator’s Guide to Marketing and Promotion is a absolutely useful guide to the field, that help understand how to create impressive portfolios and marketing tools like networking, find clients, learn sales strategies. Graphic Designer’s And Illustrator’s Guide to Marketing and Promotion provides us the instructions for setting up the creative business. The Author who is actually expert in marketing and promotion describes business secrets for designers and illustrators. In her book Maria pays a lot of attention to understanding the market of clients and how to reach that market through creating a marketing database; presenting an inspiring portfolio; distributing effective promotional material; utilizing valuable networking opportunities; developing profitable pricing and negotiating techniques; creating efficient advertising, direct mail, and public relations campaigns; making the most of the Internet and e-mail marketing.

 

All the steps to achieving client’s market are very understandable. She gives detailed explanation for all the steps.

 

Reading this book helps to create your own marketing plan, starting with defining of the target audience. Author makes us think about “target your market”. I really like this chapter because it is just excellent starting point for a creative’s career beginning.

So we start with questioning ourselves about “what sort of creative work do you like the most now? “Do I want to do a lot of money? “What do I want to do more of? “ Asking those questions makes us project ourselves to ten years. Now than we defined area where we going to work we define target audience, we ready to write marketing message and find new clients trade directories, industry trade shows, trade associations.

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In Chapter 3 Setting up Client Databases she describes how to manage the information about the clients which is really important for the business. Organize all the data is critically important.

 

 

For me as for recent graduate was especially interesting to read chapter about Effective Promotion Materials and Portfolio presentations- Chapters 5 and 6. Now, when we defined our market audience we can “first, create self assigned material, and second, clean out pieces in your portfolio that do not support your marketing message.” Maria explains not only types of portfolios but tells how to present them better to the clients: “Design and Illustration clients are hiring you for what you can do for them, not for what may look good in your portfolio.”

 

 

Chapter 7 “Pricing and negotiation” is very important topic for designers though many designers do not feel comfortable with that. Author tells us about the industry standards, pricing and negotiation the price, contract.

 

I glad that author included the chapter 8 about time and stress management where she talks about rules that help to organize the time fight with the stress, and “how to find the balance between business and creative issues”. I like that she included case studies and success stories.

One of my favorite chapters is “Marketing with your Web Site”.  It helps to understand common designers’ and illustrators’ mistakes with creating web sites, special tips for designers and illustrators.

 

I like this book a lot. This is a great guide that helps basically to create marketing plan. It is written on easy language, has very good structure and has a lot of helpful information and tips for creative professionals. She uses professional terms and provides explanations to them. Reading book you not only get the information about the industry but get some ideas where to find new sources of information.

The that I liked most about this book is that it inspires to start the career. It makes you think that everything is possible if you will have clear understanding the industry and create plan of your career.

Forget Design Thinking and Try Hybrid Thinking

After reading the article” Forget Design thinking and Try Hybrid Thinking” by Dev Patnaik I have to say that I absolutely agree with the author that “The secret isn’t design thinking, it’s “hybrid thinking”: the conscious blending of different fields of thought to discover and develop opportunities that were previously unseen by the status quo.” Design is idea first of all, problem solving. Another question is how we designers can solve a problem efficiently. Certainly we can apply design knowledges of Design field  and an industry, though  it seems for me now that it is not enough.  The way of solving a problem should be a multidisciplinary: “Hybrid thinking is much more than gathering together a multidisciplinary team. Hybrid thinking is about multidisciplinary people”. The bright sample of this statement in my opinion is “IDEO” team people that build their work according this principle.

My question is why? Why do we need people with experience in different fields to get success in Design problem solving? Can we came up with successful solutions if only people  from one field participate? Sure we can if those people have fresh and innovative ideas. Though only hybrid thinkersl basically came up with newest, fresh and shocking ideas because they have different points of view and different experience. Applying their experience working on a project their do not lock their “thinking” in the box of  “field experience”, do not afraid broke rules.

I like what Lou Lenzi says about hybrid thinking: “You need to be one part humanist, one part technologist, and one part capitalist.” This is the point. Do not think like a designer, think as innovator, do not afraid come out of the “box” and innovate, solve the problems as a hybrid thinker.

 

The state of the art: A panel discussion on illustration in a changing market

The state of the art: A panel discussion on illustration in a changing marke…
Cathy Fishel
Print; Jan/Feb 2001; 55, 1; Research Library
pg. 50
Discussion about place of Illustration is not new. It is going since digital replaced print. What is the place of stock illustration in modern world?
James McMullan says:”…stock is not going to exist in a couple of years.” This talk about dying print seems to me pretty logical thou the article was written in 2001 and print as well as illustration still alife. Probably I should say that the way which Graphic Deign and print Illustration are going is pretty obvious.
Thou I hope that Illustration is not deing it is just changing. I totally agree with James McMullan who says that:”I don’t think there is going as much in the world of five or ten years from now.But what is going to be is a new vitality, a new connection to the culture.”
Illustration should find new place in a new digital world. This is the only way when Illustration can survive-it should be changed by it self, find the way of outcome in internet, digital and web world.
Michael Shapiro is very optimistic about graphic age:”I’m very optimistic because we live in a graphic age and an age of an almost unbounded creativity.The internet is unlocking for the individual creator. It’s opening new markets.”
I agree with that opinion.
Certainly Illustration does not mean so much now unfortunately. Many schools stopped the programs of teaching the illustrators because after graduations they can not be successfully employed or do not make enough money for surviving.
Niemann says:”The idea of teaching illustration in school is wrong. It should be taught in the context of design.”
Chwast agree with that opinion saying that “it’s a way of survival of illustration.”
So, thinking about Illustration in the Digital age to survive Illustration should be changed as well as Illustrators. Illustration should find new connection to the world though the Web and Internet and illustrators should be taught designers.

Cathy Fishel. (2001, January). The state of the art: A panel discussion on illustration in a changing marketplace. Print, 55(1), 50-55. Retrieved October 11, 2009, from Research Library. (Document ID: 69909934).

“…the content of communication (the message)”

“…the content of communication (the message) is determined more by the way it is sent (the medium) than by the intentions of the sender; and that rather than being two strictly separated functions, the medium is the message.”
I think that Communication and message are very close functions. When I think about the communication I start think about the message’s content and than the way that delivered was send and or delivered (Computers technologies, Music, Fashion).

Lunenfeld, Peter (Editor). Digital Dialectic : New Essays on New Media.
Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press, 2000. p 153.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/lwtclearningcommons/Doc?id=10225301&ppg=153
Copyright © 2000. MIT Press. All rights reserved.

Examples of Mass Communication

Team’s name is “fab 4″
Examples of Mass Communication
1.Fashion: Design, Style, Trends.
2.Computers technologies: Computers, programs, Video games, Banner Ads
3.Politics: Law, War, Politics, Campaigns

I think that Mass Communication is a message from source to target audience that:
– has goal;
– function: it can to inform, warn, entertain and regulate communication (LAW) ;
– causes reaction (or has an effect): can be positive/ negative (WAR), passive/ active (POLITICS CAMPAIGNS);
– delivers by different ways: visual part (Fashion, Computers technologies), audio part);

I want to explain why I use WAR here as an example of the negative reaction. Obviously War is an active communication between social layers, politic systems, ethnic and politic groups of people that caused by confrontation of interests, has negative content and effects negatively on society.

Next I want to say why I use the category POLITICS CAMPAIGNS saying about active/ wide reaction or passive/ unsuccessful reaction of message in Mass Communication. As we know all the politic Campaigns are build basis on the reaction of society. Every politic group tries to deliver a message to society that causes active reaction and leads this group to the top of the politic system. Than more wide society’s reaction than more successful campaign.
Team’s name is “fab 4″
Examples of Mass Communication
1.Fashion: Design, Style, Trends.
2.Computers technologies: Computers, programs, Video games, Banner Ads
3.Politics: Law, War, Politics, Campaigns

I think that Mass Communication is a message from source to target audience that:
– has goal;
– function: it can to inform, warn, entertain and regulate communication (LAW) ;
– causes reaction (or has an effect): can be positive/ negative (WAR), passive/ active (POLITICS CAMPAIGNS);
– delivers by different ways: visual part (Fashion, Computers technologies), audio part);

I want to explain why I use WAR here as an example of the negative reaction. Obviously War is an active communication between social layers, politic systems, ethnic and politic groups of people that caused by confrontation of interests, has negative content and effects negatively on society.

Next I want to say why I use the category POLITICS CAMPAIGNS saying about active/ wide reaction or passive/ unsuccessful reaction of message in Mass Communication. As we know all the politic Campaigns are build basis on the reaction of society. Every politic group tries to deliver a message to society that causes active reaction and leads this group to the top of the politic system. Than more wide society’s reaction than more successful campaign.
http://www.ehow.com/tag/masses/

Ten Usability Heuristics

I would like analyze my Nokia Express Music 5610 cell phone according the Nelson’s 10 usability Heuristics for User interface.

1. Does it have “Simple and natural dialog”? My answer is Yes, it does. The system should  “keep users informed about what is going on”.  I know always where I am, which part of menu is active at that time, what mode is active, what function is starting. For example if sending of a message was denied I can see that on the screen. To check my email I just need  go to the menu and choose email icon.  Every time when I choose any icon system displays description of this option like:”t-zones” allows you to access mobile internet browser”

2.Does it “Speak the user’s language”?. Yes, it does. All the function have understandable names like Gallery, Media, Organizer, Messaging, Settings.

3. Does it “Provide clearly marked exits”? Yes. It does provide a clearly marked “emergency exit” . If I do sending the massage to the wrong number I can always cancel the sending. The same if I changed the setting in the wrong order I can always cancel or reset them.

4. Consistency. I did not have the problem with my phone when “different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing”. For example Phone Settings defined as Setting in the phone’s menu when Massaging Setting are defined as Message settings. There is no confusion. Everything is pretty much clear and obvious. All the commands have different names and have different display appearance.

5.Good error messages. There is always confirmation option on my phone before I commit to the action which is provide by the system.

6.Recognition rather than recall. It does  “minimize user memory load by making all the objects, actions, and options visible” and makes my life easier. All the icons are pretty common and recognizable.

7. Flexibility and efficiency of  use. The phone provides shortcuts. After I got to used to my phone which did not take long time I can use shortcuts and efficiently it.

8.Aesthetic and Minimalist Design. The phone does have minimalist Design. Dialogues do not contain Extra information which is not necessary for me.

9.Prevent errors. Error messages  expressed in understandable language ,  indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution. I don’t see any error #…. All the problems are indicated with simple messages.

10.Documentation and Help is provided by Nokia. I took a look when I just got my phone and as I remember it was pretty simple to use and understand.

So I am pretty much happy with my cell phone. My previous choice was Sony Ericson. It was a little bit more complicated to use. At least many people who tried to make a call from my cell phone often asked my help. Nokia I believe is more simple to use.

Jacek Utko presentation

After watching Jacek Utko presentation about how design can save newspapers from death I was amazed. Design have incredibly strong power. Creativity can increase newspapers sales and even change this world . It can be applied to many mediums and fields. Jacek Utko is absolutely talented designer who applied his creativity, skills and passion to redesign newspapers. Those people who have that creativity and passion can change this world. Lets remember Vincent Van Gogh who did change art or Albert Einstein who did changes in scientific field. They are talented professionals who had passion in their field and used their skills and talent to create. Some of us who have that creativity and passion and who work hard can go the same way and save newspapers, explore new areas, invent new machines and just DESIGN THIS WORLD. What is Design? “Design is the planning that lays the basis for the making of every object or system, the process of originating and developing a plan for a product, structure, system, or component with intention.” It means that everything can be redesigned. Sounds like Renaissance statement for me. Human’s abilities are huge. I would agree with Jacek. No matter in which country do you live and what language you speak, you can change this world. I think that it does not matter in what area do you work. It can be Math or Art, if creativity is part of the process the result will be a successful product. Politics spend a lot of money to design their elective companies. Those creative professionals who participate in thiscompanies design this process and get the product- the win in electives. Talented teachers design their learning programs and help students to get knowledges faster and successfully. Design is power. It can save, kill and inspire.lcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!