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Wow, it's an adventure isn't it? Just when I think I'm beginning to figure out the 2011 design shifts, here comes 2012.
But that's what keeps it interesting. Graphic design and marketing is an ever-changing profession where the strong-of-heart and thick-of-skin learn to communicate in new and interesting ways. I look forward to it.
Here's hoping you have a productive, happy new year.
Be well, Chuck
Check out my Adobe InDesign Ideabook: 315 template files in 19 different categories Everything from brochures, newsletters, and direct mail to packaging, calendars, and books (one CD works with both Mac and PC). Use two or three files and you'll pay for the entire book and disc...
What's required of the next generation of designers?Today I want to point you to an article in Advertising Age titled, What's Required of the Next Generation of Marketers. I believe much of what its author, Maureen Morrison, is talking about also applies to designers. She points to one's ability learn, to understand digital and social-media tools, to think in terms of integrated marketing, and to apply it to specific industries.She lays out the premise with a quote by Tom Collinger, associate dean and department chair- Integrated Marketing Communications at the Medill School at Northwestern University who said, "Back in the day, if you were a direct or data marketer or PR specialist, that was enough." But today, "if you can't understand the breadth of the choices the consumer has and the context of where your strategy fits," then the marketer is at a loss."A designer needs a similarly broad focus. To me, generation has less to do with age, than it does with motivation. Designers of all ages, with all levels of experience need to identify and adjust to the rapid pace of change.What's Required of the Next Generation of Marketers...Here > http://adage.com/article/news/required-generation-marketers/230854/Follow Chuck on Facebook...Here > http://www.facebook.com/ideabookfbPlease comment here > http://www.pageplane.com/marketing_pr/whats_required_of_the_next_gen.html
One of the simplest websites in the world is one of the best designed on the webPolitical ideologies aside, I've got to agree with Jason Fried of 37signals.com that The Drudge Report is one of the best designed sites on the web. Among the reasons he gives is that the page is straightforward, unique, specific, "good cluttered," and concise.Perhaps his best argument is that if you were to pull the logo off most of the home pages of the competing news organizations (CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, ABC News, CBS News, and so on) you probably couldn't tell one from the next.In a recent The New York Times article, David Carr points to the numbers: "With no video, no search optimization, no slide shows, and a design that is right out of mid-'90s manual on HTML, The Drudge Report provides 7 percent of the inbound referrals to the top news sites in the country."Ty Fujimura for Huffington Post explains, "Beauty is merely one component of design, like usability, speed, cost, and time. Design is not decoration, it's a concerted effort to solve a particular problem. Some sites don't need to be fast. Some don't need to be cheap. Others, like Drudge, don't need to be pretty."It's certainly a design worth studying.Jason Fried's article from 2008 (and the 500-plus comments about it)...Here > http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1407-why-the-drudge-report-is-one-of-the-best-designed-sites-on-the-webThe wonderfully awful design of the Drudge Report...Here > http://drudgereport.com/The New York Times on How Drudge Has Stayed on Top...Here > http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/business/media/16carr.html?_r=1The Huffington Post talks about How ugly design can be good design...Here > http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ty-fujimura/when-is-ugly-design-good-_b_871585.htmlReady to take Drudge on? Here's a WordPress template...Here > http://wpdrudge.com/If you hadn't noticed, there has long been a link in the bottom-right column for the Drudge Reference Desk which is compiled and edited by Matt Drudge's father...Here > http://www.refdesk.com/Follow Chuck on Facebook...Here > http://www.facebook.com/ideabookfbPlease comment here > http://www.pageplane.com/web_design/drudge_report_layout.html
About this newsletter
I try to remain as objective as possible about the information I share here. Unless I tell you otherwise, I receive no compensation from the organizations and people mentioned except for occasional product samples. Comments? Suggestions? Write me at [email protected] -- Chuck
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