What do you need design to do?
Most people know when they have encountered something designed well. They may not realize the process that made it real. Well-trained designers can make all these things your reality. Create desire Imagine you need something or want something. How do you choose between two companies offering the same thing? Design can communicate instant trust between […]
Use one publishing tool well and watch your content multiply!
Recently I met with a couple of my colleagues and discovered that we shared the same professional challenge. Many of our clients put a ton of effort into writing and publishing e-newsletters, and None of this information is being archived on their websites Visitors not on their mailing list (or followers on social) never see it […]
Mysterious design secret no. 4: the most important ingredient in any recipe
Not sugar: font hierarchy! It sounds a tad jargony and not at all appetizing. What does it mean—and why is it so important? How can you use it to actually add flavor to your ideas? Hierarchy means structure I am certain most of my readers know what an organizational hierarchy is—from traditional top-down, to flat, […]
Mysterious design secrets no. 3: do first things first
Planning pays off There will always be people who fly by the seat of their pants. Some succeed through dumb luck or charm. I help my clients operate differently, through a groundbreaking method called planning. We do just enough to set a course, before paralysis by analysis can set in, so chaos and play can […]
Mysterious design secret no. 2: use icons meaningfully
The number of icons we encounter is staggering On our computer screens, our phones, in real life, we are inundated by icons. As with any trend that takes off—like neon colors in sportswear—I predict that we will look back on this icon habit as one we should have stepped away from. Why? Because there are so […]
Mysterious design secret no. 1: your brain likes margins
A simple action results in big benefits to the reader One of the biggest design mistakes I can think of—and one that I see all too frequently—is being stingy on margins or “white space” online or in print. I’ve cringed at crowded Word documents, cluttered PowerPoint presentations and crammed home pages. Cringing is not the reaction you want when people are looking […]
What is a brand identity?
The face customers see when you’re not face-to-face In other words, your brand is your customer’s gut feeling and memory about your company. So how exactly does your brand identity fit in? When you can’t be there in real life to guide and influence them, the brand identity reminds your customers who you are and […]
“Haunting the CEO” book design
John Hughes, author of Haunting the CEO, needed help preparing his inspirational leadership story for publishing. He wanted the first printing to be a hardcover, cloth-bound and hot-stamped book. Classy. This is from his website: In 2010, John wrote and published Haunting the CEO, a leadership book written in story format. The book has been a top […]
It took me two years to make this video!
You may think I’m slow I prefer thoughtful. If you’ve never met me, you haven’t yet learned that I like being well-informed about all available options. At a certain point during this video-making endeavor, discouragement set in. I became overwhelmed by the wide array of opinions and advice I received from well-meaning friends and peers […]
Pegasus Coffee brand identity
A resilient brand identity keeps on going David Dessinger, a relatively new transplant from California when I met him on the ferry, took to Bainbridge Island right away. He sought out the help of Alfred Peet, founder of Peets Coffee & Tea in Berkeley, before starting Pegasus Coffee in 1979. We drifted apart as our situations […]