1. I already have an idea for my logo, on this bar napkin, and I shouldn’t have to pay someone just to stick it on a 3.5″ x 2″ piece of paper along with my name and phone number. Can’t you just make copies of it? Oh, but I want to make the letters nice and clean and maybe spruce up my drawing a bit.
2. I can download free fonts and a paint program to create an effective brochure for my upcoming trade show… Can’t I?
3. 4 Colors?! WTF?! There are billions of colors in the world and that !@$#@ designer only wanted to print with 4 of them?!?!?
4. That web designer had the nerve to suggest that I didn’t need the cool splash page with our famous spinning globe for our e-commerce site. How will people ever know that we are a “global” company?!?!
5. PANTONES?!?!? I don’t need no stinkin’ Pantones! I can print the red I want on my inkjet at home! Why can’t the expensive print shop just do it?
6. I already did this awesome layout in MS Word. It’s ready to go straight to press. What does the printer mean by resolution anyway? The photos look just fine on my monitor. Besides I want to be able to manipulate the document after the first print run of 75.
7. I used a graphic designer once and she made the logo so small on the letterhead that you couldn’t read it from 15 feet away. No way! Never again!
8. “We’ve got to cut money somewhere, so my uncle’s brother will print it, in his garage, for free. He wants the files in publisher since he doesn’t have those fancy programs.  He has a lot of lime green paper and a bottle of orange ink left over from a soccer team job, so can you change that photograph to something orange? Oh yeah, and he said to let you know that his Apple IIe doesn’t have a lot of RAM, so he couldn’t open the last file you sent!”
9. Those designers will charge me three hours of work for something that shouldn’t take more than half an hour. It’s a simple photo and a logo large enough to cover a 40’ wall. Screw that. I’ll do it myself. I just need to learn the programs.
10. I don’t need no expensive, artsy-fartsy, overly-trained freak with their fancy computer mumbo jumbo. I have the 128 color box of Crayolas… with a built-in sharpener! …“A Sharpie?!” . “No… a Shar-pen-er”. Why would I want a “Shar Pei”  Why does a dog need a marker anyways? Weirdo.

Here’s another of his keynotes. It’s a bit raunchy and in-your-face, but brilliant all the same.

Now go and get excited about what YOU do and CRUSH IT!

“Six Pixels of Separation” by Mitch Joel

If you have been putting off taking your business into the world of Social Media, hoping the silly time sucking craze will just go away, then you must read this book. Even if you have gotten your feet wet on Twitter, you still need to read this book. “Social media is not a fad,” says Mitch Joel. He guides you through the world of Wikis, Twitter and blogging and explains the necessity of getting involved in the conversations going on out there. Take control of your company’s messaging and branding through the great internet tools available now. READ THIS BOOK TODAY!

“Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

If want to learn how to make your ideas stand out amongst the barrage of information that is out there now, you have to read this book. After extensive research, Chip and Dan Heath discovered that ideas that “stick” share six basic principles. This book explains these principles and cites relevant examples from their studies. The authors explain why many people with important ideas can’t seem to get them across and yet urban legends and conspiracy theories spread like wild fire. The presentation of ideas was so fascinating that I ripped through this book like a kid opening presents at Christmas. The sure-fire methods for making your ideas “stickier” presented made me wish I could use a highlighter on Kindle! I recommend actually buying the book (not reading it on your Kindle or borrowing someone else’s marked up copy) because you will want to go back and reread many sections.

Read the Time Magazine article about the book here.

“Killer Brands: Create and Market a Brand That Will Annihilate the Competition” by Frank Lane

Frank Lane’s three basic principles to creating a “Killer Brand” are presented very simply in this fun, easy to read book. Through his years of experience he has narrowed the process down to three things: Focus, Alignment, and Linkage. While reading this book you will inspired to rethink your entire marketing process. I know I was. Don’t ask to borrow my copy though. It has been loaned out so many times I can’t remember who has it now.

NEXT ON MY LIST

Waiting patiently on the shelf are two more exciting books. “Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion” is written by one of my heroes, Gary Vaynerchuk. He is the brilliant, straight forward, although sometimes loony, creator of “Wine Library TV.” His personal story and “in your face” style will inspire you to go out and do whatever it is you do better, NOW.

I have heard wonderful things about “Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust” by Chris Brogan. So this one too, sits there on my shelf, staring at me, making me wish I had 4 or 5 more hours a day than everyone else so I could sit and read all day.

Feel free to add your comments on these books and/or add your recommendations. I look forward to hearing from everyone.

There are a constant barrage of business cards left on my front porch from tree trimmers, cleaning folks, landscapers, gardeners and others insinuating that I am not doing a very good  job of these things myself. I don’t take offense because I am busy and don’t put as much attention into my house as I probably should. Hopefully my friends and family get that and don’t think less of me. But, as I am sort of in the market for a cleaning person, I kept two cards in particular from last week. This first one wasn’t too horribly offensive design-wise. With a cute little cleaning girl and an easily legible typeface, I wasn’t tempted to throw it immediately into the trash. Monica and Lucio might be someone I would give a call regarding my need for help with the housecleaning though I am a bit worried about the “Chemical Included.”

But then the next day I found this treasure. I was blown away by the care and thought put into Jackeline & Dalinda’s marketing efforts. I really appreciate that they care enough about their image to create such an adorable business card. I truly believe that they will put that same care into the cleaning of my home.

So tell me, who would you call?

1. What services and/or products do you offer?
2. How would you describe your corporate culture?
3. What makes your company unique?
4. Where do you see your company in 5 years? 10 years?
5. Why do you want a new identity? How should it be different? How different do you want it to be?
6. Who are your target customers?
7. Who are your competitors? What are they doing right and wrong in your mind?
8. Do you have a slogan or tag line? Would you like it incorporated into the new identity?
9. Do you have specific imagery in mind? (Prosaic, abstract, concrete representation)
10. What are your existing brand colors and should they be maintained in the new look?
11. What feelings should your logo convey?
12. Do you have preferences for typefaces? (Script, Sans Serif, Bold, Thin)
13. What are the primary and secondary uses of the logo (website, signage, print, product graphics, etc). This will help designer determine if the logo should be horizontal, vertical, square, etc.
14. What is your deadline? (product launch, trade show, etc)

It has come to my attention, rather, it has been pointed out on more than one occasion, that I really need to work on my 60 second elevator pitch. Being the research hound that I am, I went online looking for that magical website that would write it for me. Surprisingly, not one site would put the words together into a magical combination that just sings out the joy of Pi Design. But I did discover this cool tool on the Harvard Business School site. It’s an Elevator Pitch Builder that helps you fine tune and test the effectiveness of your spiel. It has helped me craft my wording a bit. Now I just have to practice saying the darn thing so I don’t look like a bad actor trying to remember my next line.

HBS Elevator Pitch Builder

Before we begin, I feel it only appropriate to preface this article with a public service announcement, brought to you today by Pi Design:

Friends don’t let friends use comic sans.
Together we can overcome.

With that out of the way we can now proceed.

You might be thinking to yourself (at least I hope you are), “Who in their right mind would choose to use that typeface for a wanted poster?” This example is clearly a dramatization to illustrate a point, but I kid you not, the poster was based on a real life example.

Choosing typefaces to use for your project isn’t something that can be determined by answering a few predefined questions. There isn’t a set of rules that are written in stone that designers can refer to, but we instead rely on years of education and experience to lead us to the best choice. When faced with the task of choosing a typeface, many factors must be considered, but among these, content, media, and audience should be considered foremost.

Content

“Did you ever feel like the whole world was a tuxedo
and you were a pair of brown shoes?”

—George Gobel

When the wrong typeface is chosen, your reader might not be able to express what it is exactly that is wrong with your piece, but they can just feel it. In order to ensure that your intended message is communicated as strongly as possible, the chosen typeface should not contradict it, but instead should help to support the message. If your message is meant to be taken seriously, then a more conservative or traditional typeface should be used. If you’re creating an invitation for your nephew’s 4th birthday, then your choice should reflect the lightness and youthfulness of the event.

The use of the comic-sans typeface in a business and commercial setting, is an extreme, and sadly, common example of the wrong typeface in the wrong place. I’m not saying that there isn’t a place for comic-sans (there’s always some dark, forgotten corner of the closet under the stairs), but that there’s the correct situation to use it.

Media and Usage

When all is said and done, where is your message going to end up? Is it going to be read on a billboard, computer or television screen, t-shirt, or magazine? Is it the headline or intro to an article, or the article itself? How is it getting printed and what is it getting printed on? These are only a few of the variables that need to be addressed when choosing a typeface.

Audience

Often times people will choose a typeface from within their own personal vacuum, by which I mean, they pick a font because for some reason, they just like it. What they fail to take into consideration is that other people, besides themselves, are also going to be interacting with it. When designing for an audience, its age, sex, culture, and even physical health must be taken into account.

Without taking a look at all these factors, you risk the possibility of alienating a whole segment of the population. While in some cases this may be your intended goal, in the event that it is not, the efficacy of your efforts can be greatly reduced. If your intended audience is made up of senior citizens, most likely experiencing some level of vision impairment, using a small, light, and delicate typeface might not be the best choice.

5 Tips to Choosing a Typeface

1. Limit your use to two (three at the most) typefaces for a single piece. Just because you have 638 fonts loaded doesn’t mean you have to try and use all of them at once. Having too many typefaces can cause your piece to appear fragmented, weakening your message and confusing your readers.
2. When choosing a combination of typefaces, don’t pick two typefaces that are too similar. A safe bet is to pair a serif typeface such as Garamond, Caslon, or Times with a sans-serif typeface like Helvetica, Frutiger, or Futura. Choosing two typefaces that are too similar may appear to be a mistake on your part.
3. Consider how much copy your audience is going to be reading in the typeface you choose. Is this a headline that needs to be read in a second or two, or a long passage of text? Choosing a light or thin typeface for either of these cases is probably not the right choice. Headlines need to be noticed and should be set in a strong and legible typeface. Choosing a light typeface for the body of a long article can strain your reader’s eyes to the point where they simply stop reading.
4. Think ahead and determine whether you’re going to need to reproduce the typeface at exteremely small or large scales. Not all fonts are created equal, which should be evident by their range in price. Cheaper fonts are generally not as well-drawn and detailed as the expensive, and while at normal point sizes this may not be too obvious, at larger scales, the imperfections can be glaring.
5. Choose a typeface to convey the type of personality you want your piece to have. It may seem like an oversimplification, but if you want it to be taken seriously, choose a typeface that looks serious; if you want your content to appear fun and bubbly, choose a fun, off-beat typeface. Look at it this way, if you were trying to get a job at the bank, would you show up dressed like a clown?
6. I couldn’t help but throw in a bonus tip: When you feel the urge to select comic sans from your list of fonts, let go of the mouse, step away from the computer, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and think twice about what you’re about to do.
   

Another post from the purposely silly “This Looks Awsome” Series (yes, we know it’s spelled wrong. It was done on purpose to be silly, you nit)

1. Create your project in any program with “Microsoft” in the name. You’d be better off finger-painting with mud on an old pizza box, dousing it with gasoline and throwing it briskly into a portal to hell.
2. OPTIMA OPTIMA OPTIMA. Did I forget to mention that use of COMIC SANS will also immediately discredit you as a designer?    
3. Forget to run spell check. This is the best way to show how disinterested you are in the subject matter. Typos also demonstrate that you’re too lazy to finish the job right. That gives the rest of designers an undeserved bad name. How could we be lazy with all of these extremely tight deadlines that we have worked so hard procrastinating for?
4. Add an exciting red starburst with the word “NEW!” in some lame block font doesn’t really make anyone want to buy your new product. It actually makes them want to spray it with bug killer and smack it with their shoe. Twice.
5. Add an outline to the lovely cursive font you have selected and watch the readability disappear.
6. Use really low resolution images taken from someone else’s website for your brochure. Please note that if you’re going to use stolen imagery for your brochure you have to decide if it’s worth spending time in jail as someone’s lover for copyright infringement. Seriously, if you’re going to go to jail anyway you should at least have a nice brochure from which you might possibly get some business to pay for your court fees.
7. Clip backgrounds from photos using the Magic Wand tool. The icon for the magic wand should be replaced with a sparkling crutch. Don’t use it to pull out background images from photos. Take that time that you’ll be ridiculed by all of your peers and put it to good use learning how to mask.
8. Accidentally outline all the text in your document and then stand by praying that the client doesn’t ask for any copy changes. Come on, we have all been there, furiously trying to move around the big block of blue boxes created by the outlined paragraph instead of having to re-type the whole gosh darned thing.
9. Fill the white space by cramming all the copy you can onto the page thereby eliminating any sense of focus to the overall message. This is one of the easiest ways to confuse the audience and remove any chance of successfully gaining new customers for your client. This often results in no more paying gigs for you.
10. Stretch and squish your photos just to make them fit into that little space you have backed yourself into by filling the rest of the document with needless copy. Don’t worry, no one will notice.
11. Show your masterpiece to the client and ask, “Would you like to see any changes?” (If you’re a client and you’re reading this, we’re just kidding…really)

I recently did a bit of internet research with her to discover some new shapes she could fold and found the following design inspirations. These people have taken their fetish for paper to a new level. Please enjoy these amazing sites and videos.

Peter Callesen is a Danish designer who magically transforms flat sheets of paper into figures that expand into the space surrounding them. Please enjoy all the wonderful creations pictured on his website at http://www.petercallesen.com/index/index2.html

My Paper Mind: An experimental animation in a technique being called “stratastencil” devised by Javan Ivey. Each frame is one piece of 4×6 card stock

High Heel Paper Lanterns: Carlos N. Molina, Paper Genius, has been working with paper since his early childhood in Puerto Rico. His miniature origami shoes have long amazed me. He was recently featured on HGTV’s That’s Clever with his mermaid paper doll. Check out his website for more colorful paper designs: www.carlosnmolina.com