"The consequence of specialization and success is that it hurts you. It hurts you because it basically doesn't aid in your development. The truth of the matter is that understanding development comes from failure." -Milton Glaser

via Swiss Miss

Enjoy this video of Milton Glaser, one of the founders of Graphic Design, on success and failure and the dynamic relationship between professionalism and personal development. Watch the video below, his words are truly an inspiration to us all...

Happy Success!!

The New Year always sparks a renewed interest in making changes! For a business, this should include taking a close look at your brand – both from your perspective and from that of your market. Questions to consider: How do your customers perceive your brand? Is it aligned with how you see yourself? Do people hear and understand exactly what your brand is saying?  

Yes, there’s always room for improvement. And, starting with these three strategies, you can help strengthen your brand in 2012.

Build a Consistent Brand

Consistency is the name of the game in brand identity. Do you think Coke and Apple became what they are by not showing the same face to everyone, everywhere? The more consistent your brand is across all customer touch points, the more likely it can create a powerful impression and be easily recognized by your market.

One of the most important (yet often overlooked) aspects of branding is that it MUST remain consistent through all communication channels. From business cards and collateral pieces to your online marketing tools, there should always be a clear, consistent look and feel to everything you present.

Innovate Your Brand and Image

Keeping your brand up-to-date doesn’t mean changing it to stay current with every trend or fad. But, being attuned to what is happening in your industry and what appeals to your target demographic should play an important part in the evolution of your brand! 

With 2012 upon us, it might just be the right time to consider modernizing the visual image of your brand in terms of logo, tagline, typography, color palette, and design. Small changes, tweaks, and updates can re-energize an existing customer and catch the eye of a new one! This is one step in the right direction towards staying ahead of your competition and becoming a category leader.

Be Social, Diversify Your Online Presence

Online today means much more than having a website. If you are not on Facebook and Twitter or don’t have a content rich blog - in the eyes of some consumers, you might as well not exist. Your online presence “speaks” volumes to those who will buy from you. A successful social media engagement model is not about spitting out corporate messages, but instead includes developing a two-way dialog with your audience. Of course, you’ll want to make sure your “voice”, through status updates, tweets, and blog posts, is aligned with your brand. Aim to be human in the social space.

Getting the right help to strengthen your brand is also pivotal to your success. STARMEN Design Group is here to help with a diverse team of brand professionals who are experts at making your business look and sound its absolute best.

As design professionals, we spend considerable time each and every day thinking about influence.

Of course, we’re continuously developing new strategies for how we can help our clients generate influence. Yet, we also devote much thought into how consumers influence others in an increasingly connected world.

In the short film, Influencers, written and directed by Paul Rojanathara and Davis Johnson, we get a snapshot of New York’s most influential and creative individuals who are defining today's pop culture. Influencers seeks to identify and explain not only who the influencers are, but also what makes them so compelling. Youthful, confident, fearless early-adopters are those who are now shaping our buying decisions, the music we listen to, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and even how we communicate with each other. These people can swiftly embrace something not mainstream (a drink, a brand, music) and make it wildly popular – all through the power of viral communications.

Unlike the celebrity-endorsed 1990’s, today’s influencers are not bought or paid by a brand to wear/drink/talk about their product.  Rather, influencers embrace a product that they believe in, and then the buzz begins. This profound change has dramatically shifted power back into the hands of consumers. Being able to express likes and dislikes to a global audience is transforming the very essence of marketing and brand strategy.

Who are the influencers in your industry?

Have you identified who is talking about your product, sharing details about their customer experience, or tweeting about your service? If not, you could be missing out on valuable opportunities to reach out to your market. Are you ready to learn more about leveraging the power of influencers? Creativity is contagious...

The inevitable as arrived... and with it, an end of an era too. As Apple's creative visionary, Steve Jobs steps down as "leader" a sense of loss is felt throughout the 'tech' world and more importantly the business world. The man who has pioneered so much innovation and ideation that fundamentally changed the way we live, has also been credited with rising a struggling computer company from near bankruptcy to become the world's most valuable company. Now it has come to end, and for that... we can't say anything more than Thank You.

Steve himself published the following letter:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

    -Steve

UPDATE: Gizmodo.com just published this awesome timeline of 'The Life of Steve Jobs - So Far' great read!

It’s time to clear up a common misconception, a logo and a brand are not interchangeable terms. In fact, they are not the same thing at all! 

My mentor and brand guru, Marty Neumeier 'dispelled the myth' in his book The Brand Gap, "A brand is not a logo, an identity or a product". A brand, is a gut feeling, a consumers emotions about a particular company or product. The logo is a visual representation of that a company or product. However, it’s isn’t the brand itself. In contrast, a brand has a much broader definition. Your brand comprises everything that defines your company – who you are, what you do, where you want to be, and what you believe in. It’s the emotions people feel when they think of your products or services (back to Neumeier). This is far more than a creative image. And, an expertly designed logo is worthless if your brand is terrible.

Think of one of the world’s most recognized logo icons – the Apple. Would the logo be as powerful for the company Apple if the products they produced weren’t so spectacular? If they didn’t continually push the technology envelope and bring cutting edge products to market, the Apple logo would have little recognition.  The fact that Apple is wildly popular with consumers, their products are easy to use and understand, and they have incredible marketing has created their powerful brand. The logo is just a visual representation of this message.

So, if you’ve been considering getting a new logo developed, you may actually want to start with a review of your brand and what is truly saying about your business. From there, you can start looking at the elements that support what you’re trying to project, including that pretty image on your website.

If you're hungry for more on this topic check out one of my favorite books, Your Brand Is Not Your Logo: It Is an Experience that Lives in Your Customer's Gut by Robert Brunner, Stewart Emery & Russ Hall

In celebration of Independence Day, here's a look at how the 2012 GOP candidates are treating their brand like a business.  

Could you imagine if George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or Abraham Lincoln had a campaign logo? They ran for political office in the early age of marketing, when a good campaign slogan would literally make or break a candidate.  It would certainly be hard to create a logo that matched Lincoln’s catchy slogan “Don’t swap horses in the middle of a stream.” 

The end-goal for any politician or business, for that matter, is to build awareness and ultimately win – whether it’s a vote or a sale.  And to accomplish that goal, voters and customers alike must be able to quickly and effectively communicate their brand offering.  These days, a great logo may be the first, last, or only thing someone remembers.

A recent CNN article provided some great insight into the importance for political candidates to choose a memorable logo.  This reality also holds true for any business.  To be effective, it is critical that a logo resonates without offending.  It should make a statement without turning off potential clients. A thoughtful, expertly-designed logo can set a business apart from the rest of the playing field.  Accomplishing this strategically and creatively is the most difficult part.

Interestingly enough, it may have been Obama’s creative but risky 2008 campaign logo that helped him with the election.  His eschewing the use of his entire name was a bold statement.  Early on, many joked that the “O” logo was a nod to his friend and supporter Oprah.  Surely, the association with Oprah didn’t hurt him either.

You certainly don’t have to be a politician to hire a professional team to design a logo.  In fact, because this vital component of your brand identity may be your first or only interaction with a customer, it’s simply a smart decision to make sure it’s both memorable and impactful.  By working with experts to create a logo that represents your brand in the best possible way, you will make your brand “pop” and get it working for you. To learn more about how a logo can help take your business to the next level, contact STARMEN Design Group today!

Don't worry you're not alone, most small business websites are out of date or in need of a refresher.

Believe it or not, beautiful web design can change the way people judge your business. Today we are proud to demonstrate a perfect example of what we mean, with launch of the new Wallace & Associates brand redesign.

Engaging content that includes, emotional imagery, movement, and color all create a walking, talking interactive company experience that brings the brand personality to life on the web. Your small business website is the most valuable tool in your arsenal to sell your companies’ services. If it is too complex, disorganized or inarticulate, and most of all out of date, it communicates those perceptions about your business to your customers. Still there are hundreds of small businesses with websites that have broken links, no identity, no clear contact information and do not effectively communicate who they are and what they do.

After.

Click the image above to view the current site.

Before.

Click the image above to view the previous site.

Taking your website and business to the next level.

It's obvious from looking at the (above) before and after screenshots what a difference a beautiful website can have on your business. It's the difference between boring and imformative, or lifeless and memorable. For our latest project, we worked closely with our client, Wallace & Associates, a Los Angeles-based accounting firm and determined they needed much more than 'just a website'. Like most clients who call us, ask "Do you do websites?" or "I need a new website, can you help?" it's important to understand what they're really asking. In fact most of them should be asking the more important questions such as, "Can you help us improve our company experience?" or my favorite, "Can you help us provide value to our customers, so they don't go somewhere else?" Our answer is simple, YES! YES! and YES!

As a brand marketing agency which prides ourselves on designing a better overall experience, the answers usually consist of more aspects than what one would typically consider when 'designing a new website'. Considerations that include logos, key message points, aesthetics, imagery and most of all usability are needed to formulate beautiful web design. Remember the best websites that are more efficient, more user-friendly usually provide a better experience to today's customer which will lead them to making the right choice because at the click of a mouse, a competitor is waiting.

So, are you ready to take your business to the next level?

Give us a call 323.472.8600 or email us today!