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This is Briefing 71: Ideas, links, and articles of interest to the design mind. Be sure to see Trademarkia--a new search engine for U.S. federally registered trademarks.
Enjoy! Chuck Green
P.S. Please check out my template collections:
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Web Design > A good recipe for web design
I ran a sitemap of GordonRamsay.com and it exceeded the 500-page limitation of the scan-a rather intimidating figure (much like its namesake).
But you wouldn't know it by looking at the home page. Simple, elegant images and a thoughtful user interface make the information easy to find and pleasant to look at. Interesting how well it mirrors Ramsay's own mantra of "classic" and "simple."
(For those who don't know him, Gordon Ramsay is a chef with what one might term an "acerbic" personality who stars in several reality television series.)
GordonRamsay.com...
Here > http://www.gordonramsay.com/
Example of the depth of pages--a profile of the Head Chef at one restaurant...
Here > http://gordonramsay.com/royalhospitalroad/chefs/headchef/
Comment?
Here > http://www.pageplane.com/web_design/gordon_ramsays_folks_know_how.html
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Tintbook CMYK Process Color Selector, on Coated or Uncoated Stock...
Here > http://www.ideabook.com/store_tintbook.html
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Basic design > Staying out of your client's way...
I like the way Pinch describes their work as designers, "We believe in clear, reductive thinking, and in helping our clients say what they mean, without pretense or artifice, and otherwise staying out of the way."
Watch how well that philosophy works.
A recent Pinch design for Smith & Fong...
Here > http://www.plyboo.com/environmental-control.html
A case study of the project on the Pinch site...
Here > http://pinch.nu/works/record/web_site_for_smith_and_fong_plyboo/
Pinch on Twitter...
Here > http://twitter.com/Pinch_Bespoke
Comment?
Here > http://www.pageplane.com/basic_design/staying_out_of_your_clients_wa.html
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Web Design > Inside look at a comprehensive web design proposal
Here is a 20-page web proposal shared by Rogue Element via HOW magazine. It is always interesting, often instructive to see how others conduct business. This (to me) is an excellent example.
The 20-page web design proposal (2.5MB PDF)...
Here > http://howdesign.com/upload/images/PDF/SampleProposal.pdf
Notes about the proposal on HOW...
Here > http://howdesign.com/article/proposal
Rogue Element's site...
Here > http://www.rogue-element.com/
Comment?
Here > http://www.pageplane.com/web_design/inside_look_at_a_comprehensive.html
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Color Harmony Guide...
Here > http://www.ideabook.com/store_color_harmony.html
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Marketing PR > Lessons in marketing from a wedding video
I can bloviate about design this and marketing that all day, but experience is almost always the best teacher. A recent episode of The Office made mention of a YouTube wedding video. Curious, I looked it up and quickly discovered why a top-rated network television program highlighted a five-minute video staged, choreographed, and filmed by amateurs. It is to me, for reasons I cannot explain, one of the most joyful pieces of video I have ever seen.
As of this writing, Jill and Kevin's Wedding video has been viewed 26,857,328 times. That's right, almost 27 MILLION times. Why? Because it embodies at least three elements of a good idea:
1. You've got to be willing to take a chance. These folks took a big risk--had they misjudged their audience they would have looked more than a little foolish. Obviously, part of the reason a good idea is good is because it's different. You've got to be confident enough in your own judgment to move forward.
2. A good idea needs a leader. Someone thought this up, convinced the others to participate, and motivated them to share the risks. Ideas are not exceptional until they are proven--someone has to believe in the purpose enough to be its advocate.
3. You've got to accept the fact that you can't please everyone. I'm guessing some won't find this as uplifting as others--they'll think it's silly or not befitting the ceremony--my point is, if you're going to be different, someone isn't going to like it.
Enjoy!
Jill & Kevin's Wedding...
Here > http://www.jkweddingdance.com/
Comment?
Here > http://www.pageplane.com/marketing_pr/lessons_in_marketing_from_a_we.html
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Print Design > For print designers who think that web technology has passed them by
Adobe has produced a very useful white paper titled Deciphering the Web, A resource for print designers. It speaks to traditional print designers who need a basic introduction to web and interactive design.
Who doesn't do web and interactive design in 2009? You'd be surprised, I know more than a few talented designers and art directors have little or no web knowledge and have resigned themselves to thinking that it's "too late" for them to catch up.
Well that is simply not the case--as they say in the white paper, "Good design is good design." As a matter of fact, if you count yourself among this group, you might even have a bit of an advantage. Today, with some clearly established ways of doing things online, you can skip much of the insanity the online community has had to navigate for the last decade or so.
It is not necessary to be a technical wizard--if you so choose, you don't need to learn to write code, you don't even need to learn how to use all of the programs involved. There are many talented developers and technicians who are more than happy to team with you to produce whatever you dream up. Like print, the key is in knowing what you want to say and show, how you want to say and show it, and in cultivating a network of experts to get the work done.
Deciphering the Web: A resource for print designers (2.79MB PDF)...
Here > http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/design/crossmedia_resources/pdf/decipherweb.pdf
This is an in depth presentation that introduced the white paper at the recent Adobe MAX 2009...
Here > http://tv.adobe.com/watch/max-2009-design/a-designers-guide-to-deciphering-the-web/
Comment?
Here > http://www.pageplane.com/print_design/for_print_designers_who_think.html
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Graphic Design, Referenced: A Visual Guide to the Language, Applications, and History of Graphic Design...
Here > http://www.ideabook.com/graphic_design_referenced.html
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Basic design > The ultimate research tool for logo designers
As they explain it, "Trademarkia is the largest, most accurate, and most complete free search engine for U.S. federally registered trademarks on the Internet. We provide up to the minute contextual information about the current use of interesting business names, slogans, and logos through pictures, commercials, and conversations from Flickr, Google, Youtube, and Twitter for each U.S. trademark filed in with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) since the year 1870."
This is not a "best of" or "how to," this is the work that is or has been in use in the real world. It is a resource I'm guessing every designer will want to link to.
Trademarkia...
Here > http://www.trademarkia.com/
As you might imagine you can search in lots of different ways, by theme, company, attorney, and category...
Here > http://www.trademarkia.com/trademark-category
Comment?
Here > http://www.pageplane.com/basic_design/the_ultimate_research_tool_for.html
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The Web Designer's Idea Book...
Here > http://www.ideabook.com/the_web_designers_idea_book_th.html
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I try to remain as objective as possible about the information I share here. Unless otherwise stated, I receive no compensation from the organizations and people mentioned except for occasional product samples.
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