1930′s Inspired Sofa

What’s old is new again. Bring back simple lines and compact design in a solid upholstery or textured bouclé. The color could be neutral or totally bold. The tufting and buttons are the only ornamentation this sofa needs. It’s contemporary and sophisticated.

Splurge: Bantom Sofa by DWR | $2138.00

Change Out the Headboard

Don’t have the dough to buy a whole new bedroom set? Freshen up your sleeping space by adding an interesting headboard. By keeping the box spring and mattress you already have you can save a bundle.

Save: Window Headboard by West Elm | $249.00 for Queen

Lighting is Everything

No kidding. Great lighting is the perfect accessory to any space. The lights you choose will set the tone for the room. For a more modern look select lighting that is simple and architectural. Pick one  or two pieces that add sparkle. This masculine pendant is perfect for an office or hanging over the night stands in a bedroom.

Save: Harmon Pendant by Restoration Hardware | $379.00

Decorate with Metal

Metal accents have never been more popular. Whether it be more rustic iron or pewter or refined stainless or chrome. Instead of the usual glass vases, try a trilogy of stainless steel flower vases on your dining table or coffee table.

Save: Cooper Vase Set by Crate & Barrel | $26.95 SALE

Add an Icon

You love great modern design right? So why not invest in one great piece that will never go out of style. There are so many great design icons from the organic Noguchi Table to the structured Barcelona Chair. Pick one you love and keep it forever. I’m a fan of the Egg Chair designed by Arne Jacobsen.

Splurge: Egg Chair by Arne Jacobsen, sold by DWR | $6548.00

The hottest trend in the 2012 fashion forecast is LEATHER so it’s no surprise that these haute hides are finding their way into every avenue of design from sheik interiors to designer pet products. The use of leather has come quite a ways from the overstuffed cigar chair for granddaddy’s study. Interior designers are finding new ways to incorporate leather in unexpected ways. Spinneybeck offers leather drawer pulls, handrails, throw rugs, and my personal favorite, hexagonal leather wall tiles. Leather hex tiles do double-duty in the trends department. (Hexagons are the new circle, but we’ll save that for another post.)  The greatest thing about this look is its new-found versatility. What used to be reserved for bachelor pads and stuffy offices is now finding its way into retail, restaurant, and healthcare interiors.

Of course, if you’re anything like me, the hardest part of specifying leather in your design project isn’t the cost or the maintenance… it’s coming to terms with the cowocide or all those sweet Bessie’s sacrificed in the name of fashion. For those of you, who like me, love the look of leather but can’t bare the guilty conscience I am happy to introduce some of the most realistic vinyls on the market. So close to the real thing that even a well-trained eye would be hard-pressed to tell the difference. For you, my fellow heffer-huggers, I share with you Brentano’s Faux-Leather line, Joseph Nobel’s Technology Leather, and Innovations Faux-Leather line of vinyl textiles. These pseudo-leathers have impressed me so much I don’t think I’ve had a project in the last three years that hasn’t had at least one of these manufacturers in the specs. Two words of advice… SHOP AROUND… Prices vary dramatically so if the first one you fall in love with is out of your budget… keep looking. They really run the gamut.

Need that leather look in a tough-as-nails material? Dal Tile (as well as just about every other tile manufacturer worth their salt) is offering leather-look porcelain tile. Dal Tile’s Couture d’ Leather line is suitable for walls and floors. Nothing warms up an interior like leather draped walls. Yum.

Got a bigger budget? The Matouche line from Walker Zanger made my heart stop when I saw the crocodile pattern on this bathroom floor. Leather… croc print… AND chocolate brown! That’s a trifecta that can’t go wrong.

Illustration by Anne Helmond

As a Gen Xer I am a member of the first generation to grow up plugged into a computer. In the 4^th grade I was gaming with my girlfriend on her family computer- granted the game was Oregon Trail and I could scarcely figure out the commands (I’m not even sure if it had a mouse). I had my first computer class in the 5^th grade. The lab consisted of two donated Macintosh 128K computers parked in the hallway outside my classroom.

Adapting to life online came easy and made sense. In middle school I took my first typing class and took pride in ranking high as a supersonic speed typer.  With high school came the internet and with that my first introduction to social media, the chat room. Chat rooms still exist today but have lost favor to better organized web forums. Back in the day we would chat with other teens about our favorite music or TV. Twenty to thirty people would all type at one time creating a list of multicolored text scrolling so fast you could hardly read it all as everyone tried to talk at once.

In college, I saw the birth of email and had no idea at the time how it would change the way we work, creating industries that thrive on instantaneous results and shrinking our perception of the world. I enjoyed the free music boom back before the industry had to convince people that downloading music from Napster was a crime. After college, social media sites took off, first Friendster, then Myspace and now Facebook, which admittedly I thought would only last a year or so before the next big thing came along. In 2004 I launched my first website, teaching myself HTML and in 2005 I started my first blog. When Twitter launched I, like so many others, went through some growing pains as we figured out exactly what it was and what it was capable of.

Plenty of folks have touted the benefits (and drawbacks) of using social media for business. It’s used for PR, marketing, networking and sharing news. It crosses all industries linking together people and businesses. I saw Twitter at its best just a couple of months ago when I was complaining (in 140 characters or less) about being over-charged for an oil change. Within minutes I had another offer from a business in my neighborhood guaranteeing me a better price. It was an ah-ha moment that motivated me to want to connect with others in MY industry. I was already an active member of LinkedIn with a well established network, but I wanted something more casual and far reaching. I searched for other designers in Healthcare, Architecture, Interiors, and Exhibit Design, first locally and then globally and came up with surprisingly few results. I went beyond Twitter and looked to subscribe to some professional design blogs but found only a handful. I hit up Coroflot too where I have met many amazingly talented young designers but found very few older established professionals represented there. My options for connecting with designers like me were running thin and I began to wonder what it was about social media that turns off designers.

First, I should say that not all design industries share this aversion to social media. I found industrial designers, graphic designers and fashion designers-a-plenty. For some reason there was a definite lack of architects and interior designers represented in social media platforms. Exhibit designers fell somewhere in the middle, being fairly well represented for the relatively small size of the industry.

Not being able to put my finger on any one answer, I decided to pose the question to my fellow designers using a platform I knew well, the web forum. Although I turned to designers who were already plugged-in, I did have a number of professionals speak out against social media, even though they were participating in it by answering my question. Here are a few responses from the question I posed to a group of Interior Designers and a separate group of Exhibit Designers.

The question was the same:

Why aren’t more designers taking advantage of Social Media Platforms?

Here are few of my favorite answers.

From the Exhibits Forum

“In French, you would say ‘Les cordonniers sont les plus mal chaussés.’ which translates loosely to ‘The cobbler’s children go barefoot’. Social media integration is not only important for our clients, but it is crucial for ourselves & our companies. Now.. to find the time to stay on top of it.” –Marketing Execution Specialist

“I agree with each of you concerning the need for designers to participate in the online social media dialog. I am a member of each of the sites you have mentioned but it comes down to taking the time to regularly read and participate when appropriate. It takes commitment that some have a hard time making. It’s also an investment I am learning that takes time to realize a return. –Designer

“Hopefully because they are getting too busy with projects? Speaking from this Architect’s point of view, I participate occasionally when a topic is one I’m interested in but I find some of the networks are filled with product reps or marketing folks, and few actual design discussions, project leads, political issues, or larger social issue discussions that better suit my own interests. Want to talk proactively about climate change (not a denier discussion please) and future long range adaptation planning? – I’m on board! Want to ‘shoot the breeze’ ? – sorry, not much interested!” – Architect

“I think there are SO MANY groups that there is a bit of overload. I also think there is very little really meaningful open discussion – and for good reason. How much of your private business or career affairs are you going to put out for all to see? Industry wide issues – yes, updates on new projects or an article you read- maybe – but real discussions about things that mean something to us? That is for the back of a darkened theater, ballroom, arena or exhibit floor.” –Creative Director

From the Interior Design Forum

“Being a designer and the one responsible for updating our company page I realize that although at first it does not seem so, it can actually be fairly time consuming. From writing status updates, searching for friends, promoting your page, most days it is difficult to fit into a busy schedule. I have been told from professional who are in the IT and Marketing fields that the key to your success is consistency, which means 3+ posts a day. Also, Facebook seems to be more widely used for friend connections and social interaction but does not appear to be as progressive or beneficial for every sector of the business market yet. In time Interior Design may create a place for itself on this media site but it may be better suited to Linked In or design specific areas of the web. Something else to consider, as the generations age and the younger workers who currently use Facebook to stay on top of anything and everything in their lives move up the ladder, do you think this may further increase the participation of all types of businesses in this type of media?” –Lead Designer

“As a hospitality design firm I can say that not one of our current clients are on Facebook. A couple of them are on LinkedIn but their participation is, so far, very limited. Most of these corporate clients are not into the technology even if their corporations are….others further down the chain are covering these areas. Until the actual decision makers are into the technology of social networking, I do not see this as been a strong marketing potential for the hours required to become a felt presence in social networking. Maintaining a close observation to the trends and keeping up to date is important as the hooked-in generation slowly starts to rise to the level of making the corporate decisions…..oh, such interesting times we do live in!” –Partner (Design Firm)

“I attended an all day workshop today on the benefits of using Facebook (FB) for business. With 450 million users and on average spending @ 6hrs a week using this platform that is growing primarily among 45 year olds and older, it is not a market to dismiss. As a new eCommerce business, with an unconventional product, we are finding many customers through interior design related blogs, FB and potentially LinkedIn. In conjunction with traditional marketing, social networking (Web 2.0) has become invaluable for businesses. It’s not going away and it’s all about adapting with the times. Like that Breck commercial (some of us may remember) word travels virally through the Internet across all social media.” –Design Professional

“I think if the economy was much better and we were all busy with clients we would not even be discussing this. The same goes for our clients, if they were busy working and making money so they could afford us, they would have less time for social media. Social media is time consuming, I would love to be busy enough with what I like to do to pay someone else to deal with it.” –Interior Designer

This is just a sampling of some of the more than 30 comments I received. As you can see the feelings, even among those who are plugged-in, are varied. I did notice a common theme; many designers viewed social media as a tool to connect with clients specifically. Few valued it for other types of connections like networking between other design professionals or connecting to vendors. If they felt their clients weren’t utilizing social media platforms they believed it wasn’t worth their time. There was also a large group of designers who commented on how time consuming it is to participate in blogs, Tweeting or other forums or who thought there were too many options available and were overwhelmed with the choices. On the other side of the debate, there were many participants who said that while designers may be slow to adapt to social media platforms today they would have to down the road to remain competitive as the younger tech-generation ages.

This dialogue took place on LinkedIn Group Discussions.

Visit Chris Mayer |

Share your thoughts about the topic of design and social media.

Speaking of professionals, I was perusing one of my favorite design blogs, McCulley Design Lab and my heart skipped a beat when I saw the works of New York based graphic designer and typography extraordinaire, Craig Ward. Craig has a gift for words that goes beyond speaking the Queen’s English. He is able to weave together often edgy images with type, that together, creates a complex and beautiful think-piece. I’m hard-pressed to call it graphic design at all, which implies it has an element of commercialism. While Craig is a commissioned designer his graphics are truly art. If you have a second, I recommend checking out his website, Words are Pictures to see the full range of his capabilities. Go ahead… check him out. It’s worth it.

]]> http://curiositymanifesto.com/index.php/2010/07/02/words-are-pictures-art-by-typographer-craig-ward/feed/ 0 http://curiositymanifesto.com/index.php/2010/06/22/designing-the-full-package-the-benefits-of-assembling-a-diverse-design-team/ http://curiositymanifesto.com/index.php/2010/06/22/designing-the-full-package-the-benefits-of-assembling-a-diverse-design-team/#comments Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:44:18 +0000 Chris Mayer http://curiositymanifesto.com/?p=304

Dining Area | Photo by: Public

At the 2010 Hospitality Design Conference in Las Vegas I had the pleasure of attending a lecture hosted by the 30-something principals of AvroKo, the award winning New York City design firm responsible for Public, a restaurant in New York where patrons can rent out a mailbox where the chef will leave them a monthly bottle of wine and a personal note with food paring suggestions, recipes, or tasting notes.

They touched on everything from architecture to fine art and focused a lot on inspiration but what interested me most about their design approach is they insist on delivering a fully integrated design package. That is, if they are tasked with designing the hottest new NYC restaurant they may likely take on everything from the custom furniture and staff uniforms right on down to the design of the menu and wine labels.

This got me thinking about my own projects. It’s not unusual for designers to want control over multiple facets of design and yet so often project teams are fragmented. In healthcare design, for example, you may have an interior design firm, an architect, a signage or wayfinding consultant, and an art consultant all pulling for creative control. When design teams consist of numerous consultants great care must be taken to make sure everyone on board understands the themes carrying through the project. The lead design firm must set in place a variety of checks and balances favoring open dialog and regular design progress updates. Of course, there is no such thing is a true fail-safe.

Pencils | Photo by: Public

If project consultants are unwilling or unable to work toward the vision it can be difficult to guide their hand. Tight budgets and even tighter schedules add to the pressure and can affect coordination and the final outcome.

AvroKo’s answer to maintaining creative control is to remove the variables and do it themselves. I know what you’re thinking. Shouldn’t firms pick a specialty and stick with it? Business 101 tells you to do what you know… don’t be an expert in everything… find your niche. Perhaps this model is incomplete. Rather than do what you know, design firms can benefit from a hire those who know approach. Avroko’s executive staff is a varied quartet of architects, fine artists and graphic designers who merged allowing them to create award winning environments where details don’t have to be sacrificed due to the consultant structure. They have put together a creative team that spans all avenues of design so they can create the box and all the bits and pieces that go inside.

Assembling a design staff with truly diverse talents can be difficult and is probably more rare than we realize. Still, I imagine the possibilities are great. I wonder what could be achieved by marrying a branding and marketing firm with an architecture and interiors firm and maybe toss in a couple of Industrial Designers for fun.

Mailboxes | Photo by: Public

How exciting it must be to help a client achieve a fully integrated identity beyond its website, logo and letterhead but also to include its retail locations, corporate headquarters, conference booth and staff uniforms. I can imagine the creativity that would flow when furniture designers team up with fashion designers and web designers team up with architects. Just assembling such a team under one roof would be a real achievement but if it could be done the result could be a project perfectly coordinated and complete down to the very last detail. A perfect little package.

Photo by: Duet Weddings

Twenty-10 will go down in history as the year I was obsessed with birdcages. Oddly enough I don’t own a bird (though I know there is an African Grey out there somewhere waiting for me). I just love to gaze upon them as the unique works of art they are. Lately I have had a thing for miniatures. Even this blog was inspired by the idea of a curio cabinet, a place to keep a collection of interesting things. Birdcages are essentially just the skeletons of miniature buildings so it’s not exactly a big leap from interior designer to birdcage lover.  The mechanics of these cages appeal to me too. Doors and windows open, the roofs hinge and treys can be removed and replaced. All the parts are simple and often delicate and almost always beautiful. I guess in a way they are dollhouse-like and appeal to the little girl in me.

The best thing about decorating with bird cages is they come in a huge assortment of shapes, sizes and colors and can often be picked up cheap at a flea market or antique store. They can be displayed alone or in groups and can be filled with all sorts of interesting items transforming them into a curio themselves.

A few months ago I set out on the hunt for a bird cage with a hinged top that I could use to store cards and letters. I hit just two antique stores and stumbled across more birdcages then I knew what to do with. I found cages made of carved wood, sticks, metal, stone, plastic and straw. They came in every color in the rainbow and ranged in price from $10 to $300. I ended up settling on a small metal birdcage with a green patina, vine accents and a working door. The entire roof hinged open making it an ideal vintage storage bin for my collection of cards and decorative paper.

Photo by: The Stylish House

Here’s a few tips for selecting and displaying the perfect birdcage.

1. They come in a variety of styles from antique to modern, African inspired to Asian, natural materials to sleek synthetics. Shop for one that suites your décor.
2. There are lots of options for size. A large cage can be placed in front of a big picture window for a handsome focal piece. Small ones can be grouped together into a collection.
3. Hang a group of smaller birdcages over your dining table at varying heights. Place pillar candles or votives in each and wa-lah, you’ve got a funky chandelier. (Obviously use caution when playing with fire.)
4. Place potted plants or dried flowers inside your birdcage to make a beautiful planter.
5. Put one on a table near your front door as a spot to hold incoming or outgoing mail.
6. The whole point of the birdcage is to bring what belongs outside in… why not shake it up by bringing it back out. Use birdcages to decorate your porch or patio or as a feature in your garden.
7. A cute vintage birdcage can be just thing to breathe some life back into your office. Place it on your desk to hold photos or maybe even a ceramic bird. It may not be the real thing but sight of it is bound to put a smile on your face and your coworkers too.

Photo by: Good Housekeeping

Photo by: Velocity

Calibra Chair by Bernhardt Design

Since moving from the East Coast to California three years ago I have found myself privy to many-a-comment about East Coast vs. West Coast design. Oddly enough, while working as a designer on the East Coast I had never once heard anyone identify the style differences as they pertain to interior architecture.

Of course trends in the fashion industry vary widely from New York to L.A. Shortly after my arrival to San Diego I found myself commiserating with my fellow East Coast transplants about all the beautiful suits in varying shades of grey we used wear and had to trade in for pretty pastel sundresses. I tried to conform, I did, but 6 months after my move I looked at myself in the mirror and decided I couldn’t stand one more day as professional Easter egg. I stopped caring when people asked if I was going to a funeral. I was just more comfortable in black.

At work I am the resident East Coaster, a Bostonian to be specific, which loosely translates to being the one responsible for keeping the office thermostat down too low, overusing the word “wicked” and having a God-given, no-holds-barred knack for sarcasm. It also means that when someone says, “that design is so East Coast” everyone looks at me. The problem is I don’t actually know what it means, in terms of interior design, when someone describes a product or material as East or West Coast.

Dozens of times we have had product reps in to show us their new color-ways only to state during their presentation, “the colors have just been modified to be more West Coast appropriate,” or “we’ve hired some color experts to revamp our design to be more appealing to West Coast designers,” or “let us know if you think these are too ‘East Coast’ for you.” I stare at the products, whether it be carpet, tile, or wallcovering trying to decipher their hidden agenda but I could never figure it out. Eventually I was afraid I’d waiting too long to ask. After three years can you really raise your hand one day and say, “Hey guys, I have NO CLUE what you mean when you say it’s totally East Coast when referring to carpet fiber, upholstery or rubber flooring.”

My best clue came just a few days ago when reviewing the latest lobby furniture designs from one of our local healthcare furniture reps. He placed a brochure down that melted my heart. It was a sleek white leather chair, highly architectural, with a red pin-stripe running along the upper cushion. I squeaked when I saw it snatching it for a closer look. I felt compelled to offer an excuse for my glee, after all I’m a Bostonian, we’re not supposed to show any signs of weakness, like joy or happiness… unless it pertains to the Red Sox or a particularly delicious cup of clam chowder. Anyhow, my excuse was that I was an Industrial Designer by education and naturally had a fondness for interesting furniture. My coworker leaned over whispering, “That chair is totally ‘East Coast, that’s why you like it.” I turned back to the photo and searched it for signs that it WAS an East Coast chair. Perhaps this chair had an accent, preferred thin crust pizza or affiliated with a sports team actually worth caring about.

Nope, still just a chair.

I looked back at my coworker with a dumb expression on my face compelling her to explain, “It looks like a finely tailored suit.”

I looked back at the chair. It DID look like a finely tailored suit. The architecture of it was wide and masculine mirroring a broad-shouldered man. The deep cut “V” shape in the arm was like a perfectly pressed lapel and the red cording detail was like a fine pin-stripe. With just a few words my coworker tied our differences in interior design back to our differences in fashion, something I understood well after turning in my three-inch snakeskin stilettos for sandals and regular pedicures.

Here is a breakdown to grossly generalize my understanding of the differences in East Coast design vs. west coast design.

Legends Suite at Yankee Stadium - Bronx, NY

East Coast Design

• Sleek
• Cool
• Industrial,
• Sophisticated
• Masculine
• Emphasizes shape over color.
• Prefers simplicity over complexity.

Starbucks Coffee Co. - Seattle, WA

West Coast Design

• Textural
• Warm
• Natural
• Comfortable
• Feminine
• Emphasizes color over shape.
• Incorporates a blend of materials and patterns.

Well there you have it folks. I’m sure it’s not the end-all-be-all on the topic. I’d write more about it but the Sox are about to play and it’s gonna be a wicked good game.

Photo by: Mosesxan

I  removed the cast on my hand that I was fitted for just 24 hours ago. No I’m not some superhero with extraordinary healing powers although I do perform management miracles. I was diagnosed yesterday with a repetitive motion injury in my right hand from overusing my mouse. I have been battling pain and swelling for the last 9 months. I have purchased two new mice, reorganized my workstation, installed a keyboard trey and had my company purchase one of those mouse pads with the gel insert. Nothing has helped. Finally I made the trip to my doctor who explained to me what I already knew, “The thing about repetitive motion injuries is they don’t go away as long as you are repeating the motion.” He said the last three words slowly to overemphasize them, “re-peat-ing the mot-ion.”

As the Doc was fitting my cast, designed not to fix the problem directly but rather to annoy me out of working, he asked me what sort of work I did that required me to be mousing 10 to 12 hours per day. Assuming he’d understand immediately I boasted, “I’m a designer.”

I looked up so that I could see the “Ah Hah, of course” that he would undoubtedly say with his eyes. His eyes, however, made no such knowing expression. I continued, “an interior designer.”

Still there was no expression that convinced me he understood why I worked so much. “I’m on AutoCAD all day… Drawing… with my mouse.”

“What is AutoCAD?” he asked.

Really? I thought. “It’s software designers and architect-types use to document their work. It’s what construction plans are created with.”

“Oh,” he said, “Can you work less?”

I laughed out loud then and he laughed too although I quickly realized my laughter was genuine and he was confused-laughing just to be polite. ‘Uh, no. It’s my job.” I thought, didn’t you hear me, I’m a designer.

The conversation continued with him informing me that it will not get better. That my problem will continue until I reduce the use of my hand. He gave me a cast and some anti-inflammatory pills and told me to lay off the mousing and return in two weeks for an evaluation.

The next morning, after explaining to half the office why I was wearing a cast and hearing their stories of carpel tunnel and other similar injuries, I sat down at my desk to type an email. I got as far as, Dear Mrs. before I realized that the monotony of search-and-peck typing was far more painful than my hand. I removed the cast for the first time this morning. I’d remove it three more times today, once after realizing that left-handed mice are an abomination that never should have existed, once more when I got in my car to pick up my lunch and decided I was a danger to myself and others if I tried to drive without use of my right hand and finally just now to type this blog entry.

All day long I found myself replaying my doctor’s words, “Can’t you just work less?” It got me wondering why the design industry wears its long hours like a badge of honor. Late nights and weekends at work are surely not a sign of good time management or organizational skills. Architects and project managers are tasked with defining a set project schedule and maintaining that schedule and yet haven’t figured out a way to keep their work week down to 40 hours or even 50 hours.

Monday mornings start with design staff boasting who went the longest without sleep or who worked the most days in a row without a day off or who hasn’t taken a single vacation day in 15 years. When did we decide that working harder was more valuable than working smarter?

I went on a business trip with Principals and Designers from other local architectural firms a few months ago and over a glass of wine a Principal of a design firm in L.A. told me that he keeps a mental record of who goes home on time and who stays late. He said if they have to downsize in this tight economy the ones who go home on time will be replaced in a heartbeat. I told him about a woman I used to work with, who was so inefficient and overwhelmed by her work that she stayed late every night and worked every weekend. I told him far more capable designers were able to get their work done better and in less time. He said he knew who those people were too but if even the good designers weren’t interested in showing how dedicated they were by putting in the time, they would be replaced.

After making the mental note never to work for that guy I realized this sort of managerial style is partly what got us into this mess. While this guy was off sipping French wine in a quaint Brasserie his employees were back at the office creating more work for themselves so they could rack up an impressive timesheet. Of course managers aren’t entirely to blame. In the design industry, suffering for your work is admirable. For a design to be appreciated it has to be agonized over. At least, the perception of agony has to be there. Competition is probably the biggest factor of all. Ever since the rules were established (work hard = good, work smart = bad) designers have mastered the art of one-upmanship.

Now I am at a crossroads where I have to work smarter. For the short term at least, I cannot work late and put the extra stress on my body. I have to rethink how I am designing altogether. I have to delegate work. I have to communicate with a quick sketch rather than a full blown rendering. I have to pick up the phone rather than type a lengthy email. I have to rethink how I work and what my priorities are. Most difficult of all, I have to convince my bosses that my work smarter approach is just as valuable or more so than the old way of work harder.

The Brightside- if this new approach backfires and someone questions my dedication I can always show them my cast. TAKE THAT, lady who hasn’t had a vacation day in 15 years!

Want a real shocker? Check out the Wiki list of Statutory Minimum Employment Leave by Country. There you’ll see that the U.S. is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t mandate a minimum vacation policy.

Last night I met with 25 San Diego graphic designers for a discussion group on relevance in design. The conversation was as much about marketing as it was graphics. As we ventured into the subject of company branding we looked at successful and unsuccessful branding, toting the successes of Apple and their consistently sleek product and marketing image. On the flip side we delved into why Microsoft’s latest Windows 7 ads,  foreign speaking PC users exclaiming “Window’s 7 was my idea”, has left viewers confused and unsure exactly what the commercial has to do with the operating system.

We also looked at company logos focusing on the biggest companies who have recently undergone a face lift. Walmart, for example, has been under siege in recent years for being too big for its britches and for leaving their customers (and employees) behind. They decided to literally soften their image by doing away with the weighty all-caps, two-word WAL MART logo with the sharp five pointed star in favor of a lighter blue, lower case, all-one-word Walmart with a sunburst/flowery icon instead. Whether you like the new logo or not, you have to admit that Walmart set a goal and followed it through with a new design that reflects the fresh image they want to portray.

Relevance in design extends beyond just creating a logo that reflects the purpose of the company. There needs to be a relevant reason to rebrand in general. We talked about Pepsi at last night’s meeting too. While Pepsi’s cola brand may have fallen behind Coke, they were doing great with their sales of non-cola products like their water and juices. As a group we couldn’t quite put our finger on why the new design didn’t work. The consensus was that it just wasn’t relevant. We speculated that instead of embracing their successes with their non-cola products they decided to revamp their look in an unnecessary attempt to sell more Pepsi Cola. The result made their old logo, which abstractly looked like a relaxed Mmmm-face, and twisted it into a confused smirk. One that left the consumers mirroring its bewilderment.

The discussion on relevance left me wondering what BP will do about their green and yellow flower logo if they survive this oil spill catastrophe. Pre Gulf-tragedy, BP’s logo told a story of an oil company that cared about the environment. With things as they are now the logo is insulting. That smiling green flower used to remind me that, “oh yeah, this is the gas company that is researching alternative fuels, they’re the good guys.” Now I see that logo and it makes me sick. It now says, “Liar liar, shame on you!” If BP is still standing after all is said and done it will face one of the greatest rebranding challenges of all time.

Last night’s Meetup was based in relevance in graphic design but the subject is appropriate for any avenue of design. Whenever you start a new project you can maintain relevance by asking yourself and your clients about their goals and their image. What are they trying to achieve? What do they want to portray? Are their goals in keeping with who they are? Having a few key words or ideas that you frequently go back to will help the project to stay on track. Go back to that theme/goal/idea often to avoid any disconnects. Whether it is in visual media, architecture, industrial design or fashion, developing a relevant design is one step toward a successful outcome.