Good Design Is a Process, Not Just Making Money

I heard an interview the other day with Saul Bass, a graphic designer and filmmaker who is best known for his animated motion picture title sequences working with directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese. He also created the sixth AT&T bell logo after the breakup of the Bell system, the Continental Airline logo, the Girl Scouts logo and the United Airlines logo among many others. Saul was insisting that putting a little effort into a design is worth it whether your client or the audience knows or cares at all. “I want to make beautiful things and I am willing to pay for it.” He goes on to say that it cost those designers money because of their care and time making their design more beautiful. He then makes a point that we as designers must not be under the illusion that anyone else cares.

It started me thinking about my own direction. I have always had respect for good design, and how the designer or painter reaches that conclusion. Whenever I am working with a client, we discuss how to solve the project, whether it is a website, corporate identity, or marketing materials – I try to think of the all angles of how the design will be portrayed, how it interacts with the audience, and how it represents the client.

This thinking process helps me to solve the client’s project. A good design is important to me and I find myself putting in time to make the project the best it can be. Rombs Design must represent the best design it can achieve for the client as a beautiful project.

As Saul Bass said, “Design is thinking made visual.” 

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it -- Not always true ….

The yellow page ad, catalogs, direct mail (not integrating with the Internet), and telemarketing are  marketing ideas that do not work any longer. Sometimes, we have to look at different methods to capture the customer’s attention. Customers are now saavy and want a two-way communication between you and them, quickly accessing you to determine whether you meet their needs. Creating and cultivating relationships using interactivity gives the consumer information and feel in control when making a decision to use your services.

Direct mail and web-based campaigns remind past customers and welcome new ones of your business developments. Postcards drive interested prospective clients to your website with a direct message. They deliver targeted information to invite the customer to visit your site. Loyalty marketing that delivers these message based on the purchasing habits of your target audience.

Updating your website by changing its look or adding a new component to your website allowing interaction from a prospective client is another venue in your marketing direction. Adding a form to capture interested visitors and then sending out a free newsletter, dvd, coupon or discount is another way to determine your audience.

Email marketing is still extremely popular but more detailed information from your target audience will push messages to the customers that are more apt to buy. Web analytic tools have become more powerful and can track marketing campaigns. Social media is a big boom started in 2009 and is now used to seamlessly integrate with email campaigns.

Blogging is another popular way to reach your client by offering advice, information, and updates. Somewhat like a newsletter produced before, this is a quick Internet message without the printing costs. A blog also allows interactivity from visitors and there are many favorite blogs in every industry that have many followers.

Companies that are paying attention to their marketing now will beat the competition that hasn’t when things start to pick up. Now is the time to update your website, implement new ideas on your website or brochure, or get a marketing campaign together. By the time you do this, you will find the market picking up and you, who have already started your marketing strong, will be way ahead of the pack.

Catch up on how to use social networking to market your business -- it's free and your audience is using it exclusively -- --next blog.

Are you Ready, Get Set, Go ........... NOW!

Economic soothsayers are saying that the recession is making a slow recovery. I think this is true by what I am seeing. Business is wary, making slow decisions, spending only when they absolutely have to. Housing sales are climbing, but at very slow rate and the unemployment rate is slowly falling. However, watch for some positive signs in the Fall. Healthcare companies have to start to implement reforms in September. As our two parties are wrestling back and forth for power, the November elections may cause a change in the House. Companies are certainly in a position to invest. The non-financial corporate sector is running a big surplus (ie, it is saving more than it is investing). If we see some business spending, with a combination of other factors, you may start to see an optimistic movement in our economic system.

Are you ready?

Reaching out to customers are the businesses that will have an edge when this recession softens. By capturing new clients, these businesses will need more staff to fulfill the orders, and will experience growth ahead of businesses that are not marketing now at all.

How will you attract new business? My next blog will give you some ideas.

branding yourself ...

It's all about you -- set yourself apart from the others -- what do your clients think about your product that they don't like about your competition?

Having a brand is important in business. A logo, a corporate identity, a symbol is a professional tool whereby your clientele can relate to you and recognize you quickly. When driving down the street trying to find McDonald's, Safeway, or Chevron, you are looking for their logo. We know Google, Yahoo, eBay or Coca Cola because of the way they have branded themselves. Coke's stylized script is so recognizable, that we would recognize the script whether the words are Coca Cola or not! We buy the product oftentimes because of the logo -- Nike's swoosh, Mercedes-Benz, or Guess jeans. Corporate identity portrays reliability, stability, and trust. You mean business.