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Web Trends in 2012

Vince Tardy — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:58:17 PST

Twelve Web design trends to look for in 2012

1. Responsive Design

What if online content responded to the way the user chooses to experience it (desktop, tablet, smartphone), instead of the user being forced to adapt to the way the content is rigidly presented? That’s the idea behind Responsive Design, and it’s more than just the biggest thing in web design for 2012: it’s quite simply the way forward.

2. Magazine-Style Layouts

Large, glossy images, smartly organized content, and an emphasis on art direction are all part of the DNA of magazine design. Instead of completely “reinventing the wheel,” designers quickly discovered that the lessons learned from magazine design translate quite nicely into the tablet form factor.

3. Rich Typography

Advances in browser technology have expanded the typographic tools in the Web designer’s toolbox. With dynamic font replacement, designs can safely utilize fonts outside of the standard Arial, Verdana, Georgia, or other “web safe” fonts. The era of art directed online content has arrived.

4. Greater Emphasis on Art Direction

Advances in browser technology, rich typography, and responsive design are all key developments that allow designers to craft a true online experience in ways that previously weren’t possible. Art direction is more than just text and images presented on a screen; it is the thought that goes into the artistic and design elements of a project, and how that project is ultimately executed. This is a key development in the continuing maturation of the Web design industry.

5. Infographics

Because of a greater emphasis on art direction in Web design, the presentation of information and data in a visual way will continue to be a growing design trend this year.

6. App-Inspired Design

Are apps the future of consuming online content, or will the Web continue to be the channel of choice? While the answer to this question is still up for debate, there is a trend toward designing sites that take UI elements from app design, and translate them for use on the Web.

7. An Explosion of Mobile Devices

From smartphones to tablets, mobile devices are a ubiquitous and ever-expending part of our daily lives. Expect to hear much more about “content shifting,” i.e., the idea of saving articles, videos and podcasts for later viewing on the device of your choice. Designers can no longer expect for their content to be viewed on a specific device of a specific resolution.

8. Illustration

With all of the emphasis on technological advancement, there’s a noticeable increase in the number of sites that utilize illustrations to add whimsy, warmth and personality to the user experience.

9. Large photos as background images

“Content is king” as the saying goes, but the impact of a full-screen image is undeniable. Javascript frameworks, media queries, and high-speed content delivery networks (a system of computers containing copies of data placed at various nodes of a network) now allow images to proportionally fill the entire browser window regardless of resolution, and with minimal image degradation and impact to loading time.

10. Fixed Navigation

Keeping the navigation links and/or logo locked in position while the content scrolls is a great way to enhance the user experience, and to eliminate any confusion when web content is viewed on different devices at different resolutions.

11. Breaking the Grid

Grid-based layouts are the foundation of successful web designs, both fixed-width and responsive. However, designers are continuing to experiment with ways to add unexpected design elements that don’t fit neatly into the grid/column structure. In the hands of a skillful designer, “breaking the grid” can elevate a passive design into an active, vibrant one.

12. Vertical Scrolling Effects

In my previous article, “The Myth of the Page Fold,” I recommended rewarding users for doing what comes naturally: scrolling. Continuing on an increasingly popular trend, 2012 will see a rise in websites that depend on scrolling actions to activate amazing visual effects and create beautifully immersive online experiences.

*BONUS* HTML5/CSS3 Standards

In April 2010, Steve Jobs wrote his famous “Thoughts on Flash” article, in which he championed open, modern web technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript over closed, proprietary technologies like Adobe Flash. Fast-forward to 2012, and its clear that HTML5/CSS standards have emerged as the web technology of choice for the mobile era. Almost all tablets, smartphones, and modern browsers support these open standards, and becoming well versed in building sites with these technologies is essential for Web designers in 2012.

http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/

The Myth of the Page Fold

Vince Tardy — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:07:53 PST

To scroll or not to scroll, thinking about website design “above the fold”

The origin of the “fold” concept in web design is a holdover from newspaper design patterns. Originally, important news headlines or visually appealing images were relegated to the upper half of the front page of a newspaper so information was still visible even when the newspaper was folded.

Moving forward into the Internet era, the idea that essential website content needed to be “above the fold” of a website persisted and it was believed that users would not scan/read all the way to the bottom.

Today we know that this concept does not apply to the Web for a number of reasons:

Scrolling is the primary mechanism for reading pages within websites and everyone who is familiar with the web knows how this works – its’ standard, maybe even instinctive.

Each medium, print or interactive, utilizes a navigation method specific to that medium.

Putting all of your best content in the top half of your site is wasteful; reward your visitors for scrolling. Good content should be a payoff for doing what comes naturally – scrolling.

You want to create a sense of balance – both from a content strategy standpoint and a design standpoint.

Make it easy for visitors to discover “below the fold” content by avoiding heavy, horizontal design elements that don’t have some sort of “teaser” or lead-in to additional content below (this mentally creates a barrier to scrolling). Also, try adding additional visual cues to subtly indicate that there is additional content below.

Breaking away from the concept of page folds in Web design is not to suggest that your best content should be hidden at the bottom of your site – the main takeaway is that if your best content doesn’t fit at the top of your site, there’s no need for concern. By all means, lead off with your strongest content, but finish strong, too.

Example site: www.thereisnopagefold.com

Inside the Media Revolution

Emily Randisi — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:10:03 PST

Highlights from the 2011 FOLIO: Show

Times Square, NYC was a perfect backdrop for this year’s FOLIO: Show, as it is the epicenter of all things contemporary, high tech, and digitally engaging. Coincidentally, that was exactly the theme of the show.

Workshops and keynote sessions touched on print and digital strategies, mobile apps, social media strategies, digital development, creative idea execution, business growth and audience engagement.

As sponsors and speakers at the event, Bates Creative was able to hear first-hand what many of the media savvy, publishing pros in attendance were buzzing about.

Discussions ranged from lack of resources and wearing too many hats, to creating digital publications “just because” and considering if the mobile apps space is right for them.

We learned that publishers are busy becoming more relevant to their audiences and advertisers and meeting them where they want to be met: print, web, and mobile apps spaces.

And just in case you haven’t heard, print isn’t dead. What is dead is the brand that doesn’t provide unique content across the right media platforms.

The Power of Print:

Average paid subscriptions reached nearly 300 million in 2009.
(Source: MPA estimates based on ABC first and second half 2009 data)
The average reader spends 43 minutes reading each issue.
Magazines are the No. 1 medium of engagement and continue to score significantly higher than TV or the Internet in ad receptivity and all of the other engagement dimensions, including “trustworthy” and “inspirational.” (Source: Simmons Multi-Media Engagement Study)

The FOLIO: Show also emphasized new tools and techniques to succeed during the changing landscape of the publishing world, and dubbed our current technologically advanced state as a “Media Revolution.” To harp upon this timely motif of success in a demanding evolutionary phase, Bates Creative joined the show as exhibitors.

Because we want to be relevant to our audience too, our Creative Director, Jeff Caporizzo, had the great idea to use one of our own brand mantras as the backdrop of our booth. Perhaps you’ve already heard…but we do kickass work for our clients, so while exploring the idea of it’s unlimited unique definitions, or kickassology if you will, we asked booth visitors to draw or write what it means to them and post to our board.

Music, marathons, retirement, companies, kids, and tropical locations were all creatively displayed as definitions of kickass. (Check out our photomontage to see how our mantra turned into and interactive booth experience and a great representation of kickassology in motion.)

Thanks to all those who participated, visited or spent some time chatting with us while at FOLIO: Show. YOU definitely kickass.

Because we’re always looking for creative inspiration, we’re curious…how do you define kickass?

Building a Better Logo

Jeff Caporizzo — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:03:26 PDT

Identity design and what makes a successful logo

1. It’s a visual metaphor – Your logo (and possible tagline) is a doorway to a bigger idea. It invites the audience to learn more by telling a quick story through the mark. Nike’s famous swoosh is based on Nike, the winged goddess of victory, and the curve could be wings or the path of her flight. You see how that concept dovetails nicely into what Nike the company is all about. And remember how the Obama Campaign logo looked like a sunrise? Like Nike this logo used an illustration of a concept to introduce the big part of an overall brand – in this case, the idea of “hope”. Every logo should work this way.

2. Keep it simple - A logo is not a mission statement, a mission statement is not an ad, an ad is not a brochure, and a brochure is not a website. Oftentimes a company will try to cram its whole brand story and benefit statement into its identity – there’s a wordy tagline, lengthy name, and complex illustration. All this does is clutter up the mark and reduce its effectiveness across media. Try to keep the logo simple and clean so its “read” is immediate. Additionally, it will scale well (meaning it will work well small on a business card or large on a billboard) and it will compete better against other brand marks.

3. Best in black and white – A good litmus test for any brand mark is to see if it works in black and in white. If the logo loses its punch because it doesn’t have the right colors, or if the line quality or gradients don’t pop in black and in white, it needs to be retooled. The mark should work first as one color or “a knockout,” simply because sometime, somewhere, it will be used that way. Also, if it is strong monochromatically, it likely will be strong no matter what (whereas the reverse is not true).

4. Do your homework - This exercise should actually precede design development, continue during the name and tagline process, and be finalized through the design phase. The identity design process should always include formal trademark and copyright conflict research. You don’t want to go through all the work of developing a name, tagline and design, then fall in love with it and get buy in from your board of directors only to find that it conflicts with a registered mark for someone else. Just ask the former World Wrestling Federation. They marketed themselves as the WWF for several years until the World Wildlife Fund tapped them on the shoulder and said, “Umm…no.” Sure enough, WWF became WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) after a lengthy and expensive court battle. Avoid a mess like this by investing in conflict research before launch.

5. Works in all media – We touched on this in some of the examples above, but it should be underlined. The mark should work on all media. Of course this includes print and digital, but what about silk screening? Embroidery? Flexographic printing? Fax? (Yes, people still fax things.) Macaroni glued to a paper plate? Ok, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea. A successful logo needs to take all of these output forms into consideration.

Identity work is fascinating because we’re trying to tell so much with so little. When it works, it’s like a sculpture; it stands the test of time. For example, the Bass Ale brand mark has been around since 1777 and was the UK’s first registered trademark. Think about how much the logos for Coke, McDonalds, Ford, and General Electric inform our American visual landscape. Good stuff, and great identity design.

Navigating Open-Source Publishing

Emily Randisi — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:49:39 PDT

Lower the cost of publishing on the web by effectively using open-source software tools

Because there are a number of open-source software options available, figuring out which tool makes sense for your organization can be overwhelming. At the 2011 Association Media & Publishing Annual Meeting, Patrick Peak, chief technical officer at Brower Media, and Kwesi Agyeman, web/e-communication specialist at American Gastroenterological Association, explained the benefits open-source solutions can offer an association. They also outlined the best ways to take advantage of these tools, and how to overcome some of the unique challenges associations face when implementing these solutions.

Meaning of Open Source Software

Open-source software has freely available source code and may be redistributed with or without modification Even if you don’t see it, it’s everywhere. It’s storing and sending emails, Tweets, etc. Google uses Chrome and Android operating systems. Facebook, Apache, and Firefox all use open source software.

Open-source software advantages include:

Freely available source code.
Free to make changes, alterations.
No wait time for release from vendor.
Freedom to fire! If you have a bad relationship with the vendor, you can change without abandoning project due to the wide adoption generally enjoyed by open source products.
Widely supported.
A majority of web hosts support open source programming languages (e.g., PHP) and rely on open source hosting software, (e.g., Apache)
Changes software to bottom-up adoption.

On the other hand, open source does have its challenges. Just because it’s built on open source doesn’t mean it’s free. Hire professionals to build your website. In a majority of open source environments, chat communities and IT support are run by volunteers, so there may be significant wait time for replies.

Here are three open source options:

1. Wordpress

Simple blogging tools.
Easy to use admin interface.
Easy hosting with the option to self-host whenever desired.
Design is generally inexpensive for a theme, but customization options may be limited.

2. Drupal

More complex content management system (started as a discussion forum, now it runs very content heavy sites such as the White House Web page.)
Many features are readily available.
Custom content friendly.
Solid track record for complex sites, such as The Economist.
May not provide free support, however, companies who participate in the Drupal community usually provide support & general consulting for a fee.
High learning curve.
Is the middle ground between a blog and platform.

3. Ruby on Rails

Developer framework.
“Ruby” is the language it uses.
Currently powers popular applications for businesses such as Groupon, Twitter, Living Social.
Fastest growing, heavily adopted Dev framework.
Productivity, can build big websites with small number of people.
More responsibility, definitely a programmer’s tool. Suited for custom projects.

Advance Planning

The right team with the right tool can make a great website, the speakers say. The best way to determine what open-source platform will work for you is to start with a story, analyze how the content is produced, what needs to change to make it suitable for the web, and how you will make it happen. Then, think about what features each open-source platform has to offer.

Finally, the speakers told association publishers to treat their website like an ongoing investment because you’ll have more chances for refinement, and you won’t kill your staff with too much work at one time.

*Originally published in the Association Media & Publishing online newsletter, Final Proof, on August, 8, 2011.

Costs to Make a Magazine iPad App

Ernie Achenbach — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:29:02 PDT

So you’re curious: “How much does it cost to make a magazine iPad App?”

I’ve been getting that question a lot lately from our clients. After some phone calls, research, and direct involvement with projects, I’m able to provide a basic list of costs. There a lot of variables to consider in this endeavor and so I’m just going to keep it as simple as possible!

You will need to consider the pre-costs of the design/conversion of the existing issues into the layouts needed for the iPad. This is a highly variable amount, and will be based on the quality of design, the number of pages, the level of rich media (links, video, etc.), among other costs. You will need to have the designer or agency generate this estimate based on your needs. Let’s just say in this case we’re looking at $6-8K.

The layout/interactive program used to make the magazine iPad App, Adobe Digital Publishing Suite (DPS), incurs an annual fee of $6K for Professional Level, unless you are anticipating an excess of 500,000 downloads, in which case, there is a higher level and price point (Enterprise Level for $48K annually, for the big leaguers). Note that a design agency has the ability to purchase the DPS for themselves and use it for multiple clients. In this situation, the design agency absorbs the annual $6K fee, but will resell to you the per-download feesat whatever price point they determine.

The DPS annual fee includes a one-time 5000 download package that expires 1 year from purchase, and is not renewed with the annual subscription. The 5000 downloads will only apply if you are planning on having multiple issues – especially within a year timeframe – referred to as having a “library” of issues (hosted by Adobe servers) and the App acts only as “reader” that allows you access to the multiple issues. Once you approach or exceed 5000 downloads of issues pulled from the library, you will have to purchase more downloads. They start in packages of 10K at $3000.

However, if you think you may only do 1 issue a year, the issue can be self-contained within the App and the per-issue downloads do not apply, since there are not multiple issues housed in the library. You can then “update” the App or release a new App altogether and still not worry about the number of downloads from the library.

From Apple/iTunes, you would need to purchase a iOS Developers License for $99 to allow you to upload/distribute/sell Apps on iTunes. Note that it can take anywhere from 7 days to a few weeks to have an App “approved” by Apple before it is actually available on iTunes.

You can decide whether and what you want to charge for your App, or issues from your library. Apple will take a 30% cut of any sales you make. You will need to consider what people may be willing to pay, and how you will market the App to let people know it is available.

Based on all of the above, to create a single self-contained issue App using your own DPS account, you’re looking somewhere around $12K-$14K upfront costs, with some of that cost being recouped based on whether you charge for the App.

It’s no small potatoes, and you should definitely have a strategy for “why” you’re producing the App and a marketing plan for once you commit.

(*Article originally published on Earnest Media Blog)

Brand is About Balance

Jeff Caporizzo — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 08:00:58 PDT

Make sure to cover your audience’s short-term needs with a long-term idea

I’ve had a few conversations with clients of late about developing a “big idea” for their brand.

And one of the concerns I’ve heard to this thinking (and it’s a valid concern) from clients is that a large number of customers engage their company with a specific product or service in mind, and that their selection or deselection decision may be negatively influenced by a brand that doesn’t immediately deliver on this need, or communication that seems too conceptual.

My answer to this is threefold:

1. There’s a reason that global, wildly successful brands like McDonald’s and Coke don’t stand on “We make cheap, yummy, nutritionally-challenged food” or “We make the best sugar water on earth” respectively. Both these brands are built around an idea, something larger and inspirational, and it works. (McD – it’s about the experience as well as the food “I’m lovin’ it.” Coke – we sell happiness “Have a Coke and a smile” or “Open happiness.”)

2. Which is not to say that these brands don’t spotlight a particular product – they run promotions and develop new directions or products (McRib Sandwich, Diet Coke) but everything falls neatly under the overall brand idea, and when it doesn’t, it shows (hello New Coke).

3. If you don’t have a big idea, you may keep short term sales but you’re losing something else – long term growth. Each of us have an idea of what McDonalds or Coke is all about, and that idea encourages us to try something unexpected from each company – such as a line of fruit smoothies or gourmet coffee from McD’s, or a line of apparel from Coke. This kind of innovation is crucial to growth, and a solid brand is a big step toward making that happen.

This last point has to be underlined. Your customer may walk in the door with a particular need or product in mind and your company needs to answer that need. But where to go from there? A solid brand, a solid brand idea, opens the door to solving the customer’s problem, to educating them about your host of services, to changing the interaction from a simple in-and-out transaction to a relationship. It can take your company or organization out of the “drive thru window” space to a sit down restaurant – this is a good thing. A good thing that starts with an idea, a concept, that people remember, and more importantly, trade with peers.

The balance then is making sure your brand is flexible enough to address immediate, specific needs from your customer while introducing a memorable, guiding idea that can grow and evolve as your company grows and evolves.

Simple right? Ok then go do it. If you get stuck, call us.

Grooming the Best at Bates

Emily Randisi — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:22:22 PDT

Why weekly critiques help build a better business

It’s Thursday afternoon around four o’clock and the entire Bates Creative studio stops what they’re doing to gather around everyone’s current projects, printed out and pinned to the walls. We grab a beer or some snacks and take an hour to collectively critique everyone’s work.

More than just a weekly meeting, critiques have served as our time to visually strategize, question, share, brainstorm, and catch a glimpse of how all the current projects are coming along. Over the years we’ve realized that these weekly critiques have contributed largely to our company’s success.

Top Five Reasons Why Weekly Critiques are Good for Business:

1. It promotes a healthy student-like mentality.

During a critique employees are learning, teaching and getting better at their craft with every new assignment.

This may sound demanding to some, but keep in mind that our comments range from “that’s awesome, here’s why…,” to “this works, this doesn’t,” or “focus more here to take it up a notch,” and “I like where you’re going, but it needs work.”

Think of how many other professions would benefit from having their work publicly displayed to peers to be questioned, congratulated or critiqued. I can only assume the business world would be a better place.

2. Critiques instill and reinforce company culture, which incidentally is one of the most important factors to consider when growing a business or maintaining an efficient, successful company.

Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO, shares this enthusiasm for company culture stating, “We really wanted to build the company around culture, company culture being the number one priority. And it’s much easier to build a culture when it’s actually in person versus remotely by email.”

From president to intern, these weekly interactions with everyone in the office provide staff with a solid sense of direction, authentic empowerment and beneficial face-to-face engagement.

3. Critiques present team members with the opportunity to take a break from their computer screens.

Before getting down to the nuts and bolts of the critique, employees have some down time to grab bite to eat or chat with a co-worker. Either way, it provides a few minutes out of the day where employees can recharge and still be productive. It’s somewhat ironic, but we’ve found that relaxation is key to our productivity.

4. More feedback = better employees.

The recurring critiques build a safe environment for learning and discovery. In essence, they are grooming current employees for future success. Critiques allow newer staff to learn the tricks of the trade from the more seasoned team members, while also learning how to take criticism positively, not personally – an essential skill to master in any career field.

A comfortable environment where everyone feels safe to voice their opinion is key to a successful critique. This kind of trust is essential for the discussion to be honest and therefore beneficial.

“It’s only when we are free to abandon our need to measure up and instead simply trust our abilities that we will begin to see real creative brilliance,” says Todd Henry, author of The Accidental Creative.

5. Frequent critiques always ensure a better product and more client satisfaction.

It’s simple math that 10 brains are better than one, and 20 eyeballs are better than two. We can only benefit from having other people, all experts in their respective fields, checking our work not only for visual appeal, but strategic results and creative problem solving techniques.

A lot of companies or CEOs talk about the importance of employee engagement, satisfaction and retention – at Bates Creative Group we feel that there is no better way to accomplish all this and more, than through weekly critiques.

Breathe Life Into Your Brand Identity

Debra Bates-Schrott — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 07:56:19 PDT

Are you letting technology dictate your design?

I surf and surf and the waves of the Web never cease to pull me under. It’s clear that branding and marketing professionals must constantly be on the lookout for the latest trends, media platforms and communication technology.

Considering the plethora of options out there, I’m surprised to see so many brands stuck in the old days of print-only advertising and marketing campaigns, which clearly do not translate well to the Web or mobile media vehicles.

We’re reminded daily of the stronghold mobile platforms are taking in the lives of almost every consumer group. According to Pew Research Center, 87% of smartphone owners access the internet or email on their mobile device, including two-thirds (68%) who do so on a typical day. In addition, 25% of smartphone owners say that they mostly go online using their phone, rather than with a computer.

As for designers, how do we stay creative and relevant within these changing parameters? Does it mean that all of our brands will be simplified to a universal-type design and the power of uniqueness will be gone?

In few cases, yes, I think some companies might go the universal route purely because they lack creative strategy and, perhaps more commonly, because of budgetary concerns.

As the head of a creative and tech-savvy design studio, I think the latter option is, in fact, not an option. Accepting and embracing evolution, both creatively and in business operational aspects, is what keeps a brand relevant, at the top of its game and sets it up for future success.

When faced with creating a new brand identity, I like to think of the brand’s extensions as a family of siblings. To better adapt to these new cross-channel platforms, our studio builds more complex brand guidelines for logo usage and designs several variations of layouts to compliment numerous devices. For our work in the publishing industry, we create sub-brands for the online and mobile versions of the printed publication.

National Geographic magazine is a superb example of a powerful brand effectively spread throughout multiple platforms. According to an article in FOLIO: magazine, National Geographic is becoming the third-largest media brand on Facebook behind Disney and MTV. In addition to its award-winning print and digital publications, television channel, and numerous films and documentaries, National Geographic reaches its audiences in the following areas:

Web: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

Mobile Web: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/mobile/mobile-web

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/natgeo

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/NatGeo

Mobile Apps: http://on.natgeo.com/ns6wEg

Blogs: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/

Perhaps your brand doesn’t need to cover as much media territory as National Geographic, but it’s important to note that many of the strongest brands today are also the most deliberately malleable. And while print and marketing campaigns still get the job done, the best results arise from strategic design paired with your audience’s communications platform of choice.

(Pew Research Center statistics obtained from: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Smartphones.aspx)

(National Geographic statistics obtained from FOLIO: magazine, June 2011 issue, “National Treasure” article by Matt Kinsman, http://www.foliomag.com/2011/national-treasure)

Design and Dash

Emily Randisi — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:39:13 PDT

The art of redesigning publications then stepping aside

Flight Training magazine, the official publication of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, is one of our proudest portfolio pieces for magazine redesign. When redesigning then handing off to a new team, it’s often challenging to keep the magazine’s integrity consistent through future issues. Our experience working with Flight Training magazine is a great example of how to structure a redesign so the transition from one creative team to another is simple and smooth.

In the June 2011 issue of FOLIO: magazine, Stefanie Botelho talks with Flight Training Design Director, Mike Kline, to discuss the magazine’s recent redesign, and specifically the May 2011 cover.

According to Botelho’s article, “Kline says that the challenge of the redesign was to strike a balance that not only appealed to current readers, but to reach out to potential audiences as well.”

To address this challenge, Bates Creative Group designers pushed for a more modern treatment in everything from the masthead to the content hierarchy. To ensure this new design and structure did not turn off current readers and also engaged with future subscribers, the content strategy and organization was updated to match the more contemporary visuals.

Kline continues, “Aside from the streamlined cover art, fonts were chosen to have a more minimalist feel. Tweaks that rendered an increased readability were also a primary focus of the redesign. From the reader’s satisfaction standpoint, I think we’ve met and exceeded the objectives.”

Botelho also elicited feedback from a few seasoned designers to hear what the gurus of publication design had to say about the May 2011 issue:

The beauty of this cover lies within its simplicity. The all- black cover, with the touches of yellow, is gorgeous. The notches on the word ‘Flight’ are a cool tweak to what would have been a rather straight-forward typeface. The three dimensional yellow band in the roofline with the quote is a nice, colorful accent. – Chris Hercik, Creative Director for the Sports Illustrated Group

This is a cool, smart cover that is very stylish and attention-getting. I love the Flight Training logo, and the way the angle of the airplane wing mimics the slant of the italic type. – Robert Newman, Consulting Creative Director for Reader’s Digest and JCK magazine

Since the April 2010 redesign, Flight Training magazine has won multiple design awards including two 2011 EXCEL Awards, a silver for most improved magazine and a bronze for magazine redesign, presented by the Association Media & Publishing.

“This story proved Bates Creative Group can do impeccable magazine branding and redesign work that, with the right client team, is easy for editorial staff to keep it going and deliver exceptional publications,” says Debra Bates-Schrott, president of Bates Creative Group.

Tips for a successful “design and dash” experience:

Communication

From the launch meeting to the last hand-off, keeping open communication lines with decision makers on both sides is essential. Listening is a huge reason why Bates Creative Group has succeeded in this industry. Understanding the previous landscape and future goals are incredibly important to reaching a successful redesign transition.

Equal Voices

Creative teams on both ends need to have equal voices and respect for the process it takes to collaborate, create and then step back. Each party is in it for the same reason, to make the publication better, and it’s important to remember this throughout the process.

Think First, Design Later

Before defining hierarchy, transitional elements, or typographical settings, designers must remember that this is a template to be handed off to an entirely new team, with different methods and ideas of design. The publication is more likely to be successful in future issues if the template is easily transferable and has clearly communicated guidelines, as well as a certain amount of flexibility for customization and creative freedom.

To read the entire FOLIO: magazine blog post, visit: http://www.foliomag.com/2011/face-flight-training

To learn more about Flight Training magazine and AOPA, visit: http://flighttraining.aopa.org/