WATCH: Jonathan Ive talks about Mac design

In this clip from Gary Hustwit's docufilm "Objectified" we want to share with you one of our favorite clips, which features Apple's creative genius Jonathan Ive discussing the industrial design approach to creating the MacBookPro and iMac products. This is a great look inside the world of Apple's design 'process' and how that translates into the ideas which make up the Apple philosophy. Learn from this short clip just what makes Apple such a beloved brand and a great product.

Check out Gary Hustwit's other docufilm "Helvetica" which I'm sure all you graphic designers have seen. We're looking forward  to the 3rd installment of the design trilogy, "Urbanized".

The above list courtesy of AdAge/ OneRiot Brand Buzz Chart

In this new weekly chart -- a collaboration between Advertising Age and real-time buzz tracker OneRiot -- they monitor discussions on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and Digg, and present the good news and the bad news for big brands with current social-media buzz. Take a look at the top 7 for this week...

For more stats, data, research and analytics about marketing, advertising and consumer trends, please visit the Ad Age Stat blog 

STARMEN Executive Director Stars in Woodbury University MBA Alumni Promo Commerical.

Woodbury MBA Alumni and STARMEN's Executive Director Armen David, was recently asked to star in his own Alumni testimonial to air on local networks in the Los Angeles region, promoting Woodbury University's MBA program.

Woodbury has a great MBA program, it prepared me for the leadership skills needed to run a successful business" says David, who has been heading the talented and growing design firm for the past 5 years.

About Armen David

A Los Angeles native and MBA graduate, Armen has a strong desire to create meaningful connections between businesses and consumers. He launched nearly five years ago STARMEN. He cultivates a seamless dialogue among his clients while working closely with his multidisciplinary teams of designers and technologists to set strategy and create forward-thinking campaigns. Prior to STARMEN, Armen was Vice President of Business and Marketing for a global industrial design firm. There, he built business relationships in thirteen countries, which gave him perspective on the international business market. As a result, he is a frequent speaker at industry events and local universities. Armen holds a B.S. in Business Marketing and an M.B.A. in Business Management.

Not so fast...look before you throw that penny away!

Have you noticed? Check that shiny little bronze coin next you get it, look closely... notice something different? Rather generic? Yes well unfortunately the US Mint has decided to redesign the Lincoln one cent coin. Let's be honest: American money isn't pretty. Our bills and coins are jumbles of incomprehensible symbols--every spot of ink has meaning, down to the number of spikes around the treasury seal, but it'd be a stretch to say they all cohere into a worthy whole. Well-respected graphic designer, Michael Bierut calls our currency "a cake that has been decorated to within an inch of its life." What it lacks in aesthetics, though, U.S. currency makes up for in quirk. It feels old, authentic, a little mysterious, and therefore valuable. It's money, after all.

Abe falls victim to a series of bizarre redesigns.

In honor of Lincoln's 200th birthday, the penny fell victim to an image series of four cartoony tableaus of Lincoln's life: his famously non-descript log cabin; a hilariously buff, superhero Lincoln reading on a log; a disproportionately statuesque Lincoln standing in front of the Illinois Capitol Building (which everyone will mistake as the U.S. Capitol); and finally the U.S. Capitol Building itself, bizarrely under construction. As a set, the coins look nothing like each other--"United States of America" appears in different type sizes; "One Cent" in different sizes and arrangements--and individually, they make no sense as a timeline of Lincoln's life.

It gets worse. Last week, the mint unveiled 2010's penny--Lincoln on the front, as usual, and a simple shield on the back. Gone is the Lincoln Memorial, maybe the most emotionally and socially charged building in the country. Gone is the wonderful level of detail (remember when you first discovered the tiny Lincoln statue in between the columns?). Compare it to 27-year-old Matthew Dent's redesign of Britain's coins--the best use of a shield on currency I've seen. Dent's redesign is contemporary but still complex; the coins work alone and as a set. Ours is simplistic and fake-looking. The penny is valueless enough as it is, and a one-dimensional design like this only makes matters worse.

The 8 Success Criteria For Facebook Page Marketing

Social media marketing has become a hot topic amongst brand marketers and businesses, now more than ever looking to establish themselves within a social network. As a means to advertise/promote their products and services at low cost, the biggest being, Facebook. But it's knowing how to use it and what to do with it, that counts. The proper use of Facebook goes beyond 'setting up an account' as the focus becomes more strategic in being 'interactive' with your audience by taking the right steps to increase engagement and promote word of mouth through advocacy and peer-to-peer interactions, or solicit business call to actions that result in transactions. Simply stated, if a brand makes their community happy by generating a vibrant place, then then have the option to start generating business impacts (revenue).

The Altimeter Group compiled data by analyzing companies posts, comments, 'likes' on Facebook and found a clear pattern. There was a consistent set of criteria they heard from the industries experts, and they found the following 8 criteria:

1. Set Community Expectations
2. Provide Cohesive Branding
3. Be Up To Date
4. Live Authenticity
5. Participate in Dialog
6. Enable Peer-To-Peer Interactions
7. Foster Advocacy
8. Solicit A Call To Action

Okay great, now you know the 'key points' to creating a social media presence on Facebook, but how is your business going to execute a plan that meets this criteria to capture an audience and build your business through the social media platform? Look no further, STARMEN Design Group can take your brand from Content To Commerce by using a unique approach that bridges "people stories" to "product stories" through social media and branded content. Get in touch with us and get current, we are social media experts, and are here to to help you achieve true consumer engagement.

'Write the Future' Has Arrived

The new 3-minute Nike advert was released earlier this week with much anticipation. To sum it up... it's an adventure that will take you on the field and into the lives of the world's most popular football stars and how their play has a global effect. The spot even has cameo's from some of Nike's other global stars like Kobe Bryant and Roger Federer.

Nike's VP-Brand and Category Management Trevor Edwards went so far to declare this ad "among the best we've ever done," no small statement from a company renowned as a master of the form.

This is just the beginning to the battle of the creative campaigns ignited by the enthusiasm building up to the World Cup in South Africa. From the looks of it, it's going to a wild ride... Enjoy!

When the official logo of the 2012 London Olympics was released three years ago, the odd puzzle-piece design was the object of so much scorn that organizers were desperate to avoid similar criticism when they unveiled the mascots for the Games on Wednesday. With the introduction of Wenlock and Mandeville (above), London 2012 organizers realized their goal. The criticism of the mascots won't be similar to the complaints about the logo. No, they'll be much, much worse. London went for a complicated design that seems a bit uninspired and fails to identify itself to the global community with its host city, culture, history and people. See if makes sense to you...

Check out the short film which details the weird origins of Wenlock and Mandeville:

Wenlock is named after Much Wenlock, a village in Shropshire which held an event in the 19th century which inspired the modern Games. Mandeville is named after the hospital at which the Paralympic Games were founded. Though both sound like Tolkein characters, the names are quite good and are the only thing that makes the mascots distinctly British.

It's an iconic landmark we at STARMEN see everyday outside our window, the Hollywood Sign is truly one of the most recognizeable symbols of the California dream. A symbol that coined the phrase, "The land of opportunity". Well today, thanks to Hugh Hefner, Playboy magazine founder and iconic Hollywood figure himself, the peak has been saved!

The sign is Hollywood’s Eiffel Tower, this sign represents the dreams and aspirations of people around the world. Mr. Hefner said on Monday."

The landmark Hollywood sign will stand, unobscured, on scrub-covered slopes overlooking production studios and palm trees here, thanks to a $900,000 donation by Hugh Hefner in the ninth inning of a yearlong effort by conservationists to protect the hilltop around the sign from developers. The gift from Mr. Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, closed the gap in donations to meet the $12.5 million price that the Trust for Public Land had agreed to pay for the 138-acre parcel on the hilltop, called Cahuenga Peak. Million-dollar donations came from the Tiffany & Company Foundation and Aileen Getty, and hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised online and at bake sales and lemonade stands. The deadline was the end of this month.

The Chicago Connection

Ironically enough the Hollywood sign you see today exists because Hugh Hefner raised the money in 1978 to re-build it. The land was originally bought in 1940 by industrialist Howard Hughes and after Hughes died, his estate sold the property in 2002 to a group of Chicago investors who intended to use the land to build luxury residences. Hugh Hefner is originally from Chicago, which is also home to the Playboy headquarters.

More info go to savehollywoodland.org

UPDATE: Gizmodo Editor Jason Chen Arrested, Home Searched And Computers Seized. The lost iPhone investigation begins...

UPDATE: Yes, it has been confirmed by numerous sources in news and media including online that Apple lost the next iPhone, in a bar.

Is this real? Could it be, that one of Steve Jobs secret service agents was sleeping in Cupertino? How did this slip through the cracks? Easy. Disguise it with a Belkin 3GS case. Though it's unofficially unconfirmed, there's a strong chance this is the next iPhone. Gizmodo, a high-reputable online source and popular blog for all things technology, recently posted this discovery.

You have to see to believe! www.gizmodo.com

The recent debut of Apple's latest creation, the iPad had people running to their nearest Apple store (myself included) to check it out. In fact early sales numbers show that it did quite well, between 600,000 and 700,000 iPads (pre-orders included) according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. Unlike the iPhone, the iPad is an entirely new category of device leaving many of its potential owners and consumers with questions. Questions not so much regarding the technology of the device itself rather, how will I use this device? More importantly, do I even need this?

These consumer questions are the least of Apple's worries. HP's much anticipated "Slate" is set to be released in the not so distant future, with capabilities that could potentially make it an "iPad killer" or simply 'a better product'. Take a look at HP's latest 30-second teaser that makes a point of showing off all the features on the Slate that are missing on the iPad, such as a built-in camera, a USB port (a real one, not an adapter), and an SD card slot. Now we at STARMEN are Apple loyalists, our office (and industry) has been made possible by all of Apple's sophisticated tools that make our working environment lots of fun and much easier such as our iMac's, MacBook Pro's, iPod's and iPhone's. After reviewing the spec sheet and looking further into the features of the iPad vs. Slate, I have to give a strong second thought to purchasing an iPad. I think HP might have the upper hand in this battle..

Contrary to the iPhone the iPad won't be as easy this time around because at that time, the room for Apple's iPhone competition was slim. Largely due to the fact that the Apple's first attempt at a mobile device was such a rapidly surprising success which had support elements such as its App's Store, usuability, and attractiveness that rivaled virtually everyone. Here the race as tighten considerably, the Slate has more functions (including Flash support), is just as sexy and can be much more of an asset to its owner.

The iPad, for now, is a hit (an impluse buy), a novelty if anything. But when HP's Slate debuts, its sure to shake things up a bit. Stay tuned...

Microsoft debuts MSN's new logo and site design

During the late 90s internet boom MSN rose to the top, to become a popular and admired resource for finding information and news online. They seemed to have it all right, a brand identity that was familiar with its parent company, (Microsoft) an appealing television ad campaign and a whole lot of money to support their place in the online community. Fast forward 10 years lately, and the site, logo, marketing, consumer connection, virtually everything about the brand had evaporated. MSN quickly fell behind the emerging internet giants Google and Yahoo! and never seemed to catch up. It wasn't money or colors, the MSN brand simply lost its connection with its audience, which seemed to be outgrowing the company. The explosion of social media is where MSN failed to connect its audience with their new favorite networking tools. So with a new logo, added features, being too little too late for MSN remains to be seen. If it's similar to what AOL did last year, it might just be. AOL if you haven't noticed (recently gave themselves a much needed and highly criticized brand identity refresh.)

Will the new MSN re-energize today's online users back to its brand?

Microsoft lags behind Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. in search share despite efforts to turn the money-losing online business around. The software maker is saying goodbye to MSN.com's blue background and its blocks of text links. Instead, giving the site more white space, fewer categories and more organized navigation. Hoping to bring back MSN.com to what it once was (way back in 1997), a leading online search engine and news source. Microsoft Corp. hopes to get more Web surfers using its Bing search engine. Microsoft says Bing searches from MSN jumped during tests of the new design.

One highlight we can point out is the new MSN has a top news section that features photos more prominently. The addition of the Bing 'branded' search box stands out more, and people can scan lists of hot discussion topics and local posts on Twitter. What we did not like was that this facelift seemed to be just a new facade for its homepage. We discovered some of the interior pages still look cluttered and resemble too closely to the old version, leading us to believe this was done fairly quickly. We also noticed the MSN logo takes a backseat on the 'sports' page where, "FOX SPORTS" seems to dominate the page. This seems to be the case with most of its pages beign external link, making it confusing for some users who may think they've left the site.

Final Thoughts...

MSN is definitely taking a step in the right direction, unfortunately we think it's too late in this rapidly evolving technology market. They just seem to be pressing the emergency button on their re-branding efforts rather than taking a strategic approach, especially coming off the heels of competitors AOL's new launch and Yahoo's new "My Yahoo" updates. Still MSN has a lot of work to do before they can successfully recapture their audience. They need to assess what the brand stands for and how they are different and how to they can effectively communicate it.

Overall we think the site has been greatly simplified but still needs work, and we wish they would have been more creative with the logo! The site doesn't seem finished or complete and lacks in areas where others are stronger. The logo looks as if it has taken taken a step back, with the butterfly closely resembling a more generic icon which doesn't have the right balance or proportions of colors and shape it predecessor so recognizeably had. Regarding the type treatment, underconsideration.com said it best...

The new one suffers from Bing syndrome: It wants to be cool and modern but it suffers from complete lack of typographic decency. In this case, the whole is not so bad, but the parts are."

Tell us what you think? About the web site? The logo?

This week we are so excited to share with you this excellent example of a successful web site re-design for the city of Philadelphia. Philly's very own Happy Cog Studios were commissioned by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation about refreshing the outdated site, located at gophila.com (now available as an archive). The original site launched back in 1997, and over a decade it had become one of the organization’s most important marketing vehicles.

VisitPhilly.com

With the newly designed UI, the creatives at Happy Cog have really set the bar for how a city looking to establish a web prescense for itself with the online community, especially among users in this social media and technology influenced generation. What once was a large, confusing, outdated site, turned into a beautiful, accessible, functional and inviting user experience that conveys the enjoyment behind visiting the great city of Philadelphia. We won't go into lenghty breakdown of this site, since our buddy Walter over at webdesignerdepot.com already posted a great detailed critique on his site. But we will go ahead and single out a few good points, in what makes this an exlempary model of cutting-edge web design.

• Great expression of design
• Using identity elements that define the city of Philadelphia (history)
• Simplification of navigation and eye direction (compared to gophila.com)
• High-resolution scenic images, capturing the audience
• Excellent use of white space, not crowding the page
• Content organization, and page structure
• Eloquent and effective typography
• Fresh color choices
• Improved use of technology such as Java, Ajax, truly compatible cross platform site (non-flash)
• Adding Social Meida tools, that initiate social networking
• Overall, the site successfully generates excitement and buzz towards the benefits of travelling to Philadelphia.

What do you think? We want to hear your comments...

PepsiCo's first big company meeting since 2006, CEO Indra Nooyi admitted the company learned it's lessons from some of the recent controversies regarding the sudden design overhaul of it's key brands.  She stated, "2009 was not a good year for North American beverages. We didn't like the North American beverage results" Really? You didn't, oh we're glad because we thought it was just us. I mean who really liked the so called, "refresh everything" campaign? I found myself asking, why fix a problem that wasn't broken? Was this iconic brand really in need of such a drastic change, but I'll save the design critique for another time, but the fact that Ms. Nooyi has acknowledge that the company made a mistake and quite frankly realized it's too late to "sweat the details" thus moving forward, is an even bigger letdown than it is "refreshing."

What's the rush?

Ms. Nooyi said the first lesson learned from the beverage portfolio overhaul is that the organization has to buy into the program. Realizing that it couldn't overhaul only two brands or drag out the revamp for several years, the company made a lot of changes in a short period of time. A task that was too big for itself... let's look at the key failures.

Remember Tropicana

Arnell Group's dramatic Tropicana rebrand at the beginning of 2009 was immediately scrutinized by consumers, media and the advertising industry, resulting in a replacement of the old product packaging and positioning. The "squeeze" campaign all together was a failure, including Arnell's advertising campaign which was missing essential clarity. But how cute was that squeeze cap at the top.

What's G?

Most Gatorade loyals only drink the popular 3 or 4 flavors that Gatorade has been known for. For years they've remained the No. 1 brand in their category of sport beverages, but recently they embarked on a massive rebrand during the economic recession of 09. The rebrand included redesign of more than a thousand packages, national advertising campaign and an increase in product line. As a result, Gatorade saw a decline in shares and criticism among media and analysts who have decried the brand's decline. Just ask yourself, how many flavors can you name? They've become overcomplicated and over saturated, forgetting their "core values" and simplicity that made them a success.

In preparation for the April comeback of Tiger Woods to the Masters I want to take the time point out how a key brand mishap, caused a deep wound in his legacy, which could have been avoided. What Tiger really needed was not a caddy, or a publicist, but a brand manager.

This is not to jump on the media barrage of articles streaming the web related to his "incident" or "incidents" (excuse me), but merely I feel this is the perfect opportunity explain how the success and downfall of the Tiger Woods relates to branding 101. I can't help but make a point of how it a key fundamental of branding was neglected and how it using the Tiger Woods 'case study' as an example for all brands, products or services.

Breaking the "Core Values"

I couldn't help but hear a loud undertone in this recent exclusive interview on ESPN with Tiger Woods when Tiger said, "I gotten away from my core values" and let me tell you, we're not just talking about Buddhism here. More importantly he forgot his "core values" were what drove his successful "brand". Like it or not, Tiger Woods is brand, a 'personal brand' which focuses on the individual, in this case a 'performance brand'. The Tiger Woods 'performance brand' can be interpreted by his success as a dominant golfer (athlete), his role as charasmatic family man, and more so, a marketable global figure. Like all branding, the 'brand' must be authentic, trusted, and faithful. These are the 'core' traits of which all brands must personify, it's the core ideas or values that drive the organization.

Up until this past November, the Tiger Woods brand had outward consistency, power and most of all loyalty. But internally, he was about to collapse. As he said himself, he became removed from his "core values" as a person, husband, and father. We won't get into his embarrassing "transgressions" and the details of his pathetic saga but it's important to note that because Tiger had abandoned his core values and ideas is how he got himself into this mess in the first place. The same way many companies and other brands become victim of their own success and become unmanaged. As brand expert Wally Olins states in his Brand Handbook,

"There always comes a time, however, in a successful organization when the informal, intuitive, perhaps muddled, but shared vision or core idea has to uncovered or rediscovered; when it has to be recreated, formalized, clarified and made coherent".

The steps to recovery is what Tiger is doing right now, but is it too late? Has he permantly damaged his 'brand image'? Will he ever be able to win over the hearts and minds of his loyal fans and followers he once had? Theses are the challenges that make for a great case study and with a brand manager in place, he should be able to overcome his woes and ultimately regain brand success.

You may have caught it already as today’s CREATIVITY Pick of the Day, but here’s another stellar outdoor idea for McDonald’s out the ad agency Leo Burnett, Chicago.

This installation was placed on the banks of the Chicago River, which is dyed green each year in celebration of  St. Patrick’s Day.  A perfect way to promote McDonald’s seasonal Shamrock Shake! See more pics of this annual tradition here.

Happy St. Patty’s Day! Be Safe! Now, time to get ourselves a Shamrock Shake!

Now you can get all the latest, up-to-the moment happenings from STARMEN and around the design world. No matter if it’s thirty seconds or 140 characters, we create ideas that don’t just talk, but get talked about.

Follow us now! @starmendesign

As an award-winning creative agency specializing brand design, we are proud to announce the redesign of the STARMEN web site. But "redesign" doesn't really cover it. This more than a aesthetic adjustment or surface-level change. This is more of a "refresh" both internally and externally. The new starmenusa.com reflects our new ideas, new thinking, and new outlook for our clients, and their brands. For those of you familiar with us, you'll find a lot of new and exciting information, about us, the services we offer and see new design work!

Our LA headquarters is buzzing with excitement! This site has been a labor of love, created with synchronized hard work, absolute enthusiasm, and meticulous attention to how effective design can be. The new STARMEN believes happy users means happy business. One goal of ours that hasn't changed is this: We are here to produce solid, valuable results for you! Now, we just look even better!

Visit our new virtual home and experience the new STARMEN!

In response to the devastating January 12th earthquake in Haiti, the team at STARMEN Design Group rallied to spread the word to support the American Red Cross’s relief efforts. Creating this support-site is our way of communicating to the web community that urgency is needed to assist those affected by this disaster; especially the thousands of abandoned children who are now without homes. The best way to provide immediate aid is through financial donations. Join us and show your support by donating to the Haitians during these tragic times. Be a part of the solution and provide help for the relief effort through the American Red Cross today!

View the microsite & donate at www.WeSupportHaiti.org