We love the work we do (and our great clients) so it’s always a happy moment when we share projects with the world. Two new projects come with their own blood, sweat, and tears of accomplishment. They include our first issue of Open Road magazine for Kia Motors, as well as the Stardream digital printing swatchbook for Gruppo Cordenons. Check out our portfolio links above for more details on each. Voilà!
I (Tim) will be speaking next week at Robert Morris University in Chicago, as part of the Call To Action Design Symposium, presented by RMU’s Institute of Art and Design. My talk is titled “Yesterday’s Tomorrow: Preparing For the Future of Design,” and focuses on what designers and other creatives can do to face tomorrow’s challenges — both within design, and for the greater world. Also, it’s always nice to share the bill with another awesome designer and friend, Justin Ahrens. Both Hexanine partners are available for speaking engagements, and you can reach out to us with requests at connect@hexanine.com.
To wrap up 2012 and give a heartfelt thanks to supporters, Golden Apple Foundation asked us to create a holiday card for their donors and friends. To stay within the project’s modest budget, our team opted to use digital printing provided by our excellent partners at Elk Grove Graphics. But despite the small quantities and budget, our team still wanted to utilize premium production techniques of the piece, making it feel even more special for recipients.
Our short musings on design, branding, business and the human condition.
Super inspiring thoughts from Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and father of the video game industry:
We had the great opportunity to work with the Chicago chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design. This set of pieces served both as art prints, and also marketing pieces for AIGA Chicago. Take a look for more details on the project.
Our short musings on design, branding, business and the human condition.
“I often think that presentations are more difficult than the work itself. A presentation has to share just enough of the process so that someone who has not been a participant can understand the ‘inevitability’ of the solution, and that the solution is the culmination of a rigorous and systematic investigation of all reasonable possibilities. It’s surprising how hard that can be sometimes.”
-Saul Bass, from Saul Bass: A Life In Film And Design
(Hat tip from David Airey’s LogoDesignLove)
Alina Wheeler wrote the book on identity design. Literally. She is the author of Designing Brand Identity, which is just about to be released in its fourth edition. It’s an excellent resource and is arguably the textbook on the discipline of overarching identity design. Over the years, we’ve found Alina’s thoughts, insight, and process to be an invaluable roadmap in developing and shaping our own identity design process, leading to greater results for us, and our clients. The book is a great 50,000 foot view, allowing readers the ability to see the design journey from beginning to end, but also allowing them to zoom in on how each part of the process contributes to overall project success.
On the eve of the book launch, we wanted to chat with our friend and colleague about this latest version, and also pick her brain about the state of identity design today.
Our short musings on design, branding, business and the human condition.
Cynicism (and its practitioners) should be confined to the museum of your organization as a long-dead relic — helpful to study, but worthless in practice.
“No matter where you go, there you are.”
This is a photo, circa 1993-ish, of the Hexanine partners Tim and Jason (with sidekick Samantha Carrillo). Friends since 1986. Sometimes great things don’t come to an end.
It should be obvious, but style is not a strategy. Instead, style is just one tool in the marketer’s arsenal, brandished to help deliver a specific result, whether it is emotional, visual, or otherwise.
Or maybe style is more like a spice or seasoning. It tastes good, adds unique and distinctive flavor, but can’t stand alone as a meal. We need the red meats of strategy and goal-oriented design to deliver the goods, without being tricked into the idea that style can solve a problem on its own. In our lightning-fast culture, the speed of trends is increasing, and marketers, designers, and artists are often at risk of getting “over trended.”
Ephemeral trends and visual styles are at the highest levels — they’re the waves crashing and moving quickly over the top of the water, while the still waters of good design and communication ripple underneath. Great design and branding is knowing when to ride the crests, and when it’s best to dive deep.