 |
We like to look back at this time of year and review the highlights of
the past 12 months. At the beginning of the year, we completed the final
piece in the Owell Precast marketing makeover, with the launch of their
Web site. The online version of the company’s precast concrete products
and services reinforce the brand position we established with the
identity and literature created last year.
“The experience behind eGovernment” became the theme for the fifth
annual report we've created for NIC, who manages more eGovernment
services than any provider in the world. Through a series of six case
studies, the report demonstrates how online services like license
renewal for pharmacists in Kentucky, or collection of property taxes in
Iowa are easier, faster and more cost-effective, than their offline
equivalents.
For the last three years, we have created the Neumont University
brochure that is sent out to potential students inquiring about the
school. The brand position of the school differentiates it from a
traditional university education, with an accelerated, project-based
program, emphasized throughout the brochure. Known as a viewbook within
the educational industry, we designed and directed the photography and
printing of the 12-page publication.
We produced two issues of the Yescozette for Young Electric Sign Company
this year. The sign for the Wynn, the newest Las Vegas mega hotel, was
shot for the cover of the first issue. The second issue was all about
color and explained the intricacies of how we perceive color in different
signage mediums, from historic neon to modern LED displays. The oversized
10 x 14 publication showcases the newest signs from across the western
U.S. We create and direct the design, writing, photography and printing
of the publication and have done so since 1997.
|
|
Sometimes the most obvious solutions are right in
front of you. Why do you stay in a hotel? You need a bed. I heard Starwood
Hotels Chief Creative Officer, Scott Williams, speak at the AIGA Gain
Conference in New York this month. He said, “We asked our customers what
they wanted. And we did it.”
One thing customers wanted was an incredible
sleeping experience. Most hotel beds are uninviting and certainly don’t
offer an experience that one is going to talk about the next day. That
is until Starwood Hotels introduced the “Heavenly Bed.” The bed is made
up of a custom designed pillow-top mattress set, a down blanket, three
sheets ranging in thread count from 180 to 250, a comforter, duvet and
five plush pillows. The concept is so popular you can now buy the bed at
Nordstrom. Starwood Hotel founder, Barry Sternlicht, attributes the bed
and other design innovations to the reason why their hotel chain earns
$14 more per room than Marriott.
An outside point of view may help you see the
obvious. After Marriott Hotels starting copying the “Heavenly Bed,” Bill
Marriott said, “I can’t believe it took a designer to teach me how to
make a bed.”
I’ve worked with clients whose name nor tagline tell
nothing about the business they’re in. In fact sometimes they’re
misleading. Maybe the problem is too obvious. Seeing the obvious may be
helped by ethnographic research, a growing influence in the world of
design and marketing. Ethnography is the direct, first-hand observation
of daily behavior. We use it to test whether the Web sites we design
answer the most obvious questions that users want to know.
Don’t be indifferent to the obvious, whether you’re
a beaver who needs a tree or a traveler who needs a bed.
The modern8 Gallery features a new exhibition by Justin Smith and Seth Calder,
“Drawings and Collages,” beginning December 15 through February 14.
/ Our office, down the street from Gateway, has room available for shared
office space with all the equipment, connections and conveniences in place. Please email or call 801-355-9541 to make
an appointment to take a look around.
If you are having trouble viewing this email, visit http://www.modern8.com/newsletters/nov06.html
modern8 eNews is a free, monthly email publication
www.modern8.com
801.355.9541
561 West 200 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84101
Subscribe | Unsubscribe
Copyright©2006
modern8 Corporation.
All Rights Reserved
|
|
