The Design Symphony Experience

The Best Creative Money Can't Buy

The interesting thing about the the video from will.i.am in my recent post is that it was created without any input, direction, or request from the Obama campaign.

As will.i.am tells it:

"I was sitting in my recording studio watching the debates...
Torn between the candidates...I was never really big on politics...
and actually I’m still not big on politics...

And then came New Hampshire... And i was captivated... Inspired...

I began making this song...
I came up with the idea to turn his speech into a song...
I wanted the inspiration that was bubbling inside me to take over...

so I called my friends...
and they called their friends...
in a matter of 2 days...
We made the song and video...

Usually this process would take months...
a bunch of record company people figuring out strategies and release dates...
interviews...
all that stuff...
but this time i took it in my own hands...
so i called my friends sarah pantera, mike jurkovac, fred goldring, and jesse dylan to help make it happen...
and they called their friends..
and we did it together in 48 hours...
and instead of putting it in the hands of profit we put it in the hands of inspiration...

You know you're delivering an impressive brand experience when your fans start creating their own ways to refer more business to you and promote your goals/dream/agenda.

After I sent out the video, my good friend and work colleague Berit sent me the following images created by Shepard Fairey - a well known artists of "Obey Giant" fame who specializes in the prolific stickering and flyposting of propaganda-style images.

Not only are these beautiful posters with powerful imagery, but once again, they were created by a "fan" who wanted to lend his own creativity to the cause. As he tells it:

"I first became interested in him [Obama] in 2004, after his speech at the Democratic convention and have been impressed with him ever since. I think I'm a pretty good judge of character and my feeling about Barack is he stuck his neck out by being against the war, he always seems to speak his mind whether it's the popular position or not and he just seems like he follows what he believes in, which impresses me. So I decided I'd support him and put up my own money to do so. Some people asked me why I don't wait until he's got the Democratic nomination, but if you want a candidate to win, why not try your best to ensure he actually gets the nomination? "

So here's the ultimate question: How many of your customers, supporters, donors, etc. would put their own time and money into creating amazingly creative campaigns to promote your cause?

If you struggle to answer that question, maybe you should start by thinking about how much you inspire them? Just a thought...

P.S. While the posters are sold out and there are no plans to print more, you can download a B/W version from Obey Giant here.

Elevation Using Color

A good friend recently told me about a webinar presented by laga and Sun Chemical on the power of color in branding.

Since I use color every day to help clients create amazing experiences for their customers, I thought I would check it out.

The webinar, Elevating Strategy Using Color is this Thursday (I know - really short notice) but rest assured that I will report back on what I learn...

If you can't make the session or want to see some additional presentations by the same people, check out the following YouTube videos:

Color Innovation - Part 1/5
Color Innovation - Part 2/5
Color Innovation - Part 3/5
Color Innovation - Part 4/5
Color Innovation - Part 5/5

See how you can put color to work for your brand!

Dark Day for Design - London Edition!

The London 2012 Olympic Committee unveiled the official logo of the games today. It comes in a variety of colors including pink, blue, green, and orange.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said:

"When people see the new brand, we want them to be inspired to make a positive change in their life."

Organizing Committee Chairman Seb Coe said:

"It's not a logo, it's a brand that will take us forward for the next five years."

The cost of this logo? £400,000

Wow...

I work with companies and organizations to design logos and brand identities every day and I'm sorry, but this new logo just doesn't work.

* It's busy.
* It's confusing.
* It's cluttered.
* The "2012" numerals are hard to identify.
* The color combinations reflect some sort of Skittles binge-eating.

Not good.

With all due respect to Mr. Blair and Mr. Coe, I don't think it inspires "positive change" nor do I feel it is a brand that can take 2012 London forward.

The worst thing of all - the excuse that it's "all about the young people."

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said:

"This is a truly innovative brand logo that graphically captures the essence of the London 2012 Olympic Games - namely to inspire young people around the world through sport and the Olympic values."

Okay - let's be clear - young people around the world appreciate quality design and imagery more than any other generation living. And maybe more than any other generation in history. Just saying "it inspires young people" won't make it happen.

P.S. According to the BBC, the Committee plans to create a different logo for grassroots projects backing the Games.

Ouch.

Message to London 2012: If you're trying to build a brand from scratch - just create one logo folks. Don't complicate issues more than they already are with this original design.

It's all about Mii

The new Nintendo Wii was the Christmas gift of the season. While the buzz on this product tended to focus primarily on the wireless controllers (and the "accidents" they were causing), an overlooked aspect of the gaming system was Mii.

Mii (pronounced "me") is the character you create for playing games on the system - your very own avatar. For all the non-gamers reading this, think of it as being able to watch yourself onscreen, playing inside a video game. Pretty cool stuff...

What I find fascinating about this is how personal identity is now invading the video game space. People have been able to create avatars in Second Life and other online worlds for years, but the Mii is the first to bring it truly mainstream, make is simple to create, and give it a funny and clever name. Not to mention that you can create characters for all of your friends so when they come over to play, they can use characters that look like the players look in real life...

In fact, if you check out Flickr you can see thousands of people posting their personal "Mii" and even creating celebrity Mii.

The possibilities are limitless...