Identify the market, Market the identity

Design observations dealing with the new technology-based
corporate identities popping up.


thanks Ludwig Gatzke’s

Truth be told, back in 97' ( that just sounds weird ) every text mark
I worked on looked like a technology-based identity utilizing screened
color values and beveled-rounded type faces. I perceived it as a positive
move. Design was proving to be viable and a demonstrate-able part of advertising.
It was also working towards diminishing societies antiquated fears of technology.
I spent a great deal of time training clients on the importance of design.
In some cases I was even creating splash screens and desktop icons
for their respective software suites.

Designers were free to create and convey any abstract thought or idea without question.
Technology was the new religion and no one was questioning the gods.
With subtle curves and muted tones these design atheistisc/styles helped
make technology companies commercial entities with a personality,
intelligence and charm. Unlike the early eighties where the design atheistic for
technology was ominous and geared towards acquiring Corporate America's business.
In some cases i would describe some identities as stoic. However that is a design emotion,
not a design function.

I'm not sure how these new logos have come to be scrutinized however, it comes
as no surprise to me that we've moved from the solid functionality of a 2-color logo
to beveled-embossed-with a drop shadow-and a three-color-gradient,
which looks great on a monitor or screen. Only well designed this time around.

Most of the great design that came from 98'-02' was certainly inspired by the interface of the very software we where using. A lot of designers were directly influenced by their computer's interface. Keylines and cross-hairs where the kweelest back then as it is today with shiny-glazed-and embossed text marks and their corresponding icons and graphics, with a drop shadow.

These logos referenced on FontShop represent the maturity of those few designers as well as their influence as mentors in my opinion.

Just a few thoughts.

"Viral-Blah, Blah"

I'm about to lose my job.
Original Post

This is letter from Adobe in response to a blog that critques a banner advertisement for Adobe's FLEX 2 program. Adobe's comparative for AJAX.

Below you will find a response posted on the blog from Jeff Whatcott,
Sr. Director, Produt Marketing Enterprise & Developer Busines Unit


" Thanks for the feedback. We hear you. We're pulling the plug on this creative execution for the Flex 2 online advertising campaign. Please pardon our dust while we regroup. Please read on, because we're going to need your help to make this better.

It's great to have a product that everybody loves so deeply that they fuss about every factor contributing to it's market success, including the creative direction of the online advertising. Our community rocks. Thank you!

In the spirit of openness and transparency, let me provide a little backstory on this campaign. The short version is that it ended up being a bad execution on some solid original concepts that came directly from developers just like you. Our agency actually did roll up their sleeves and get out there and interview (and film) real Flex and non-Flex developers to get inside their head and to test some concepts. The original concepts for this campaign tested really well with the developers, but we somehow lost our way as the creative progressed from concept to actual banners injected into a page. Oops. Our internal review processes certainly should have stopped it earlier, and I'm going to be looking into that, but we are where we are.

So where do we go from here? I think it might be useful to apply some collaborative community feedback approaches to the development of Flex developer marketing. It's clear that you guys have a lot of passion about this, and I would love to harness that as long as it ends up producing marketing that works. We all have a stake in that.

So here's the invitation: please jump on this thread with your specific suggestions for what the Flex online advertising should say and what is should look like. What should the tone be (sophisticated, edgy, friendly, in your face, or what have you)? What should the catchy tag line be? What should the short product description be? What benefits, if any, should we mention right in the ad and what should be on the jump page? Should we bang directly on the competition (think Oracle ads) or should we focus on our own strengths? What creative concepts should we consider (code puzzles that convey a message, movies of Flex coding/results, what else)?

This is your chance to tell us how it should be done. Let us have it. We'll parse it and see what we can come up with. We may even come back to you to test some stuff before we throw it up on TechCrunch again.

Thanks,

Jeff Whatcott
Sr. Director, Produt Marketing
Enterprise & Developer Busines Unit
Adobe Systems
jeff.whatcott@adobe.com "

I have a hard time believing a design powerhouse such as Adobe would let a banner ad like the one referenced above, slip through their creative department. And since when do CD's, ( or whomever approves the creative ) use their staff as a focus group. And then openly admit it.

On Experience The Message( and it's respective links ) there is a lot of information regarding experiential marketing. I consider it viable a resource both on that specific subject as well as the generall insights and innovative thinking it offers.

Like any good scholastic education, a controlled environment is geared towards communicating an idea, product or service. Some of the best advertising allows the prospect to comprehend a message or meaning on their own. Cognizance if you will.

Messages resonate with longevity when you've allowed the prospect to put the pieces together for themselves. They combined elements together which were previously considered unrelated. Experiential marketing is visual, audio and tactile. What resonates? What do we leave behind? How did it happen?

This response from Adobe reads like a creative brief.

One could certainly claim that Adobe is attempting to utilize user-generated content/feedback, which is great.
But someone should remind them that the best content had no initial direction for this as an end result. Users were motivated and inspired on their own. Baby boomers.

This environment is transparent. And only hurts communication overall.

hmm, I've just blogged the whole incident. 8)

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ADS

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WAS

thanks Why Advertising Sucks

"What came before, the asshole exec, or the asshole account?
Some people might write this off as an easy question to answer but you know what? I don’t want to give the benefit of the doubt to the exec this time. I don’t want to give the easy answer that a good person got tainted by a shitty account and I want to put things in perspective to see if I can get one valid explanation of how an account gets so hard to deal with.

" Regardless, asshole execs and asshole accounts shall forever be part of the equation. And Just like the chicken and the egg existential debate, I don’t really give a fuck who came first or who goes last, I just wish shit a bit more friendly. "

Besides the point that I’m faced with working an account that makes cleaning and shoveling generous amounts of poo look like a glorious job, I’m faced with a dilemma over to accept that the account is incorrigible or if the exec is. I’ve always given the benefit of the doubt to execs because as much of a creative asshole as I can be, I actually worked briefly assisting an exec. I also worked briefly in media, traffic, and have even dome some production lackeying. I lived for a brief portion of my life what an exec lives and that’s why I always do my best to be responsible, keep to due dates, try to not let job details slip by me and give 110% even if I hate the job, because hey, just like shoveling shit, it pays the bills o I’m not one to bitch.

Accounts are a tricky thing and the reasons for making it so difficult to handle could stem from the company itself, specific members from the client crew, or you guessed it, your own company’s exec who handles the account. Worst of all is when you have all three things to deal with. But think about this now, what if the company was ok, the client a cool cat, and the product or brand something you’d enjoy working on. Could it still be possible that the work would make you crazy? The answer of course is… well of course. If you have a dick exec or an inefficient person dealing with the account, you can definitely count on three headaches a week thanks to said account.

It’s frustrating really. I want to be part of a team but people insist on making things even more difficult and from an initial buddy, buddy position, relations quickly sour, and a once friendly exec turns to the dark side of the advertising debate and you become a nemesis. Regardless, asshole execs and asshole accounts shall forever be part of the equation. And Just like the chicken and the egg existential debate, I don’t really give a fuck who came first or who goes last, I just wish shit a bit more friendly."

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Outdoor

McDonalds


Sprite can redesign




Knife




Design yourself to death

thanks DesignObserver

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