Glimpses of Genius, Beauty and Novelty. Creativity Where You Least Expected It.

• Does your content suck? 20 Warning Signs you should look out for.

• Political ads drive you crazy? Find out why they work.

• People work from all over, but they’re still creative. A look at some non-traditional office spaces.

• Do you wear the hat of project manager? Are you any good?

• What do you do in your spare time? Check out these pop up books.

• Whether you like it or not, you’re a consumer.

• Make the moon anything you want. Creative creativity.

What Marketing is Not.

“Marketing is not a task.
Marketing is not a department.
Marketing is not a job.
Marketing happens every time you engage (or not) with your past, present, and potential customers.” – UnMarketing

When you stop trying to attract clients with all those conventional marketing techniques and start talking to them, you make something awesome happen.

Conversation.

We’ve done this through blogs, twitter, and e-mail. We like it because we get to see our clients (and they get to see us) through a friendly non-work lens. And UnMarketing is right- when we’re talking to other people who like the same things we do, it doesn’t feel like a job. At all.

So instead of shoving your product’s benefits down your clients’ throats like your next sale is the only flipping thing on your mind, just be yourself, and talk about stuff you like to talk about. See what kind of brand loyalty you build from that approach.

The New Century II Logo

We won’t be submitting anything to this:
http://www.century2point0.com/ [Update: This link has since been deactivated.]

Not because we think the logo can’t be improved, and not because we don’t respect the efforts of local designers to improve local design. We won’t be submitting because we think that design without project research, and proper study is ornamentation. Plus we hate spec work.

This link is worth noting though, because we really like some of the people who were passionate enough to sink some time into this effort. But even more-so because it underscores an endemic problem with local design initiatives that never see the light of a public RFP. It’s only fair that every tax paying company has a right to be weighed and measured against its peers for the privilege of doing local work.

“What’s the Best Process for Design?”

Wired: “In your experience, what’s the best process for design?”

Brooks: “Great design does not come from great processes; it comes from great designers.”

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/07/ff_fred_brooks/

ICE Website Launch!

We’d like to congratulate Integrated Consulting Engineers, Inc. on the launch of their brand new website! We worked with the team at ICE to reorganize/rewrite content and beef up their already impressive portfolio. With all this, and an updated design, we think they’ll be able to communicate much more effectively with their current and prospective clients. We’re really proud of the end result, and we wish the ICE team luck!

Find out details about jobs they’ve done, and check out their digital portfolio at www.iconengineers.net.