Amazing Demo Reel 12:31 PM

Check out this incredible demo reel from Polish animator, Robert Kaniszewski. Animation is such a separate realm in design. You're dealing with 3 dimensions in a 2-dimensional medium. wow.

I'll stick to websites and identity work, thanks.

New Business Cards 8:37 AM

Does your business wear a bow tie? Branding to remember 4:32 PM

I had a conversation with a friend the other night. We were trying to figure out which salesman had helped him at the wine store. You see, it was Raechel's birthday. We had an amazing evening of tasting wines, cheeses, desserts, and most importantly, great conversation (This is a whole different post, but I've found that most of the indulgences of life are not about the indulgences at all, but about the people with whom you enjoy them and the conversation that it instigates.). Clearly I have digressed, except I haven't really gotten on the topic yet at all...

..as I was saying, my friend and I were trying to place a name with a face of the great salesman who recommended the wine (another rabbit trail, but I just have to sing the praises of our wine store of choice. Amazing service, they remember your name and what you like/dislike. For those in the Franklin area, go here.) for the evening. Each of us attempted to describe him. Was he the young guy? With the short hair and beard? No, he was older. Always wears the t-shirt. Says 'delicious' alot. He's super friendly and knew what he was talking about.

Finally, we were able to figure out who he was talking about. But more importantly, it made me realize that these descriptions we were using we essentially brandings: The quickly-described, prominent features of a person that stuck with us. 

It's the same with your business. Which store was it? The one with the green door. They were incredible in helping me find exactly what I needed. Or I just love the music they play in that shop. It makes me want to go in all the time! Maybe its I can't bring myself to go in to that place. They do great work, but I just feel so uncomfortable.

What's your business brand? What are people saying about you in quick descriptions? Often times, its something other than your service that will stick in someone's mind. But they'll remember you. Make sure that you follow up that brand with quality service.

Walk the minimalist line 10:49 AM

This past week has proven to be quite diverse in the types of project I've been working on and their overall look. After analyzing my initial concepts, I began to notice a definitive line between the work being minimalist in nature, and being underdesigned. 

As I've eluded to many times over, I am more drawn to simplistic, clean minimalism than I am the art-heavy layouts and packaging. Not to say that I don't appreciate intricate, beautifully illustrated wine labels or the occasional rockstar-inspired t-shirt or album packaging. I just find much more beauty is the direct, thought-out transfer of information. I would choose sans-serif over serif, left-aligned over centered, etc, etc.

It's all-too-easy for a simplistic look to come across underdesigned and poorly thought through. I first became aware of this my senior year of college. The exhibition was entitled 'green', playing off of the diversity of the color, the conveyance of growth and freshness it represents. I was gearing up for my senior art show and presented my self-promo mailer invitation to my professor. I can't find the initial concept, but it looked pretty much like this:

In essence, she told me that this was underdesigned. I tried to explain that I was going for simple...clean; that I wanted there to be a crispness to the exhibition. I was not an artist, I was a designer. I work in clean edges and precise shapes.

She didn't give me any great direction, but she said that this was not 'simple and crisp' in a planned way. This simply looked tacky.

So, back to the drawing board I went and finally came up with something much better.

And, like I said before, not until very recently was I able to pinpoint what that threshold is. From my research, the difference between underdesigning and minimalism is based on 1 general principle and 3 specific aspects of the design (Type, Color, Secondary Intrigue).

First, the design (label, website, packaging, poster, card, anything) cannot rely on any one of the 3 aspects alone. If that occurs, you end up with a stale design. In my promo card above, my desire for simplicity completely disregarded all use of interesting typestyling or texture. Green is a great color, but without aid, it's only a color. Had it been paired with a more stylized typeface to act as a focal point, or if the type was bled off the edge, the card now has interest where it was otherwise words on paper. Although still not enough, even something as simple as this would be a step up.

Second, there needs to be some amount of intrigue that isn't the focal point of the design. This adds texture to the design. It doesn't necessarily have to be a pattern on the whole piece. In fact, generally it isn't. It can be an area of secondary information about the product, or the date time and location of the event. This chocolate bar packaging is a great example of that. They've used each of the 3 aspects together to create a simple label. The variation in type size and style (along with color!) is a bit of secondary intrigue. Without that, all you have is a logo on a brown wrapper.

Lastly, here's a case study of 2 different honey jars. Both of these are attempting the simple look, but only one uses all 3 of the design aspects from above. The jar on the right uses color (black) to create stark contrast against the golden honey. However, a lack of interest with any other design element causes this one to fall short. Other options would have been a small raised bee in the glass near the bottom of the jar. Or even a die cut label instead of just the circle.

The jar on the left creates secondary intrigue in a couple different ways: jar shape, and using the texture of the honeycomb in the jar. This allows the label to be a little more understated. However, the small logo and even distance between the type is laid out with purpose.

Graphic Designers are snobs 1:49 PM

(click to view full size)

Ragamuffin 2:52 PM

I'm not sure you all are aware of this, but I'm pretty sure I married the most talented woman in the world.

I met her in 2nd grade. Since that time, I've watched her perform in school productions, dive headfirst after a volleyball, design incredible interior spaces, graduate with honors as probably the best in her department, organize a wonderful home, reupholster furniture, write beautifully, become a birth doula, assist 2 births in one day (!!!), crochet scarves and hats, braid a rag rug, and if that's not enough, she's teaching 'The Art of Homemaking' next year at a local high school.

But wait, there's more! She decided to open an etsy shop to feature her newest accomplishment, sewing. Raechel's new store, Ragamuffin, showcases her skill through (for now) the Original Ragamuffin skirt. I must say, it's adorable. Go check it out...

Like I said in so many words, I am a very lucky guy and so proud of my multi-talented wife. Way to go, Babe.

Great TV spot for Benadryl produced by JWT London, Rattling Stick’s Steve Cope and Cut + Run’s Tim Hardy.

Click here to view video.

To we, or not to we 8:46 AM

The song and dance of marketing a design studio is a mysterious one. The online web presence built to impress, the business cards, the tweeting...it all exists to gain new business.

I get a lot of questions, especially from my personal friends, about one in particular word I use quite a bit in my marketing: 'We'. We created this, or that...or...we're not this, we are that.

You see, for those that know me have seen my office (a mighty fine office I might add), there's only one desk. In fact, I rarely work from my desk. I love to sit at the kitchen table and have incredible productive days watching my son play in the sandbox outside.

So, who is this 'we'? Am I being deceitful in my marketing? Am I putting on heirs to trick my client?

Let me give you some background information first. I started UD+M in response to the level of service and quality I observed while working here. Their clients received the most amazing service and attention to detail. For the hourly rate they were paying (and could afford, I might add), they should have! My goal was to bring this format and quality down to a reachable shelf for the small businesses  without the million-dollar budgets.

It's obvious that GS&Fs quality of service was attainable with a staff of 70: designers, account executives, art directors, copywriters, etc. So, how in the world do I expect to take this model and make it affordable??? Ah, that's where the 'we' comes in...Collaboration.

I know where my strengths lie. They're in creative conceptualization and design. They are NOT in programming. They are NOT in photography. With that understanding, I've surrounded myself with a network of incredibly talented folks in their own areas of expertise, allowing me to offer many different services under UD+M . We work as a team, because I know I can't do it alone. WE truly do create branding solutions. WE make them pretty. WE make them work. 

The benefit of this collaborative format is that it keeps me from having to pay employees for work they aren't doing, or renting office space, or paying health insurance, which would essentially all be transferred to my clients in the form of higher rates. To break it down for you, remember that ad agency I talked about earlier? My rates work out to about 35%-40% less. Granted, you're not working with a staff of 70. You're only working with the staff that you need.

WE would love to hear about your business, whether it's just you working out of your garage or working with a staff of 70. We are more than a design studio. And you are more than a business. You are an experience that you offer your customers. Send us (me) an e-mail and tell us more about you and your branding needs. Don't know what branding is? We'll be glad to explain.

(Design industry-speak below. Enter at your own creative risk)

I had been back and forth on even creating UD+M in the first place. The other option was to begin branding Ryan Myers as a designer. I'd heard recommendations both ways. Ultimately I came to this conclusion, the one that nearly every choice in design and marketing comes down to: Know your target market.

UD+M desires to work with small to medium businesses to establish branding and collateral marketing. While I know that I am fully capable of creating amazing branding solutions, my potential clients need the peace of mind to trust in me. 

If I had a narrower style or a specific niche market, then marketing Ryan Myers may have been the better option. But, I'm no Eric Natzke. It's clear why he's marketing himself. He creates a very specific thing.

The second reason I went with UD+M was because of my vision for the future. Freelancers tend to flounder, taking work as it comes, without any real consistency or growth. My desire is to build UD+M to a point where I may be forced to bring someone on full-time. So it is beneficial to begin to create UD+Ms brand awareness now.