Archives: Community

So I see AIGA (our design industry association) has just launched a new Web site http://www.aiga.org

They state the new features include:

Enhanced profile pages (exclusive to members)
Ability to share links and write short blog posts (exclusive to members)
Conversations, a place to bring up topics for discussion and ask questions
Tools & Resources, a section that collects all of AIGA’s advice—articles, case studies, publication and more—in one convenient spot
Why Design, an area devoted to design’s capacity to benefit society
Chapter spotlights and featured student portfolios
A more visual experience overall

Just wondering what others think of the new version.

Our clients are always looking at new ways to bring awareness of their business value and/or products to new customers. They hire us to think of out of the box ideas (and sometime in the box) to drive awareness and promote selection within their markets. So I love it when I see organic ideas like this one http://tinyurl.com/3pjrb7z pop up. The Greenwood-Phinney Chamber was working on a better way to market the neighborhood to bring customers into shops, restaurants and art galleries. So they are developing a website that is focused on promoting neighborhood businesses with a tag line "Do Phinneywood." In this day in age it's crucial for company's to be able to communicate who they are and why they matter in an effective and captivating way to their customers, online. It looks like the Greenwood-Phinney chamber gets that. Although the site is not live yet, I hope it will feature areas for people to post and make comments and potentially rate the businesses they frequent. At PBDH we've developed many organic sites (similar to what this one will hopefully be) that rely on realtime dynamic content from users/customers to promote the business they patron. It's paid off for our clients as I hope it will for this fabulous neighborhood!

Once a month, the Madrona neighborhood of Seattle gathers at St. Clouds Restaurant to cook for some less fortunate folks. I have the honor of doing all the dishes for the cooking process. We feed 450-500 people at 5 homeless shelters. As the head chef (and St. Clouds co-owner) John Platt says, "We invite any and all of you to join in. We hope by the act of creating a meal together, we can build more connections among ourselves and provide an hour of dignity and good food for those who find too little of both in their lives".

I am always amazed at the quality of the food we produce. People bring whatever they want and John decides what the menu will be on the spot. I asked him for the menu of this last cooking day...

Halibut, Brown Rice and Mint Summer Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce and Carrot-Cabbage Slaw

Wild Shrimp Skewers with Wasabi Mayo

Herbed Roasted Chicken

Vegetarian Stuffed Yellow Squash

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Herb Roasted Potato Skewers

Jalapeno Pepper Poppers

Spinach Salad with Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Garbanzo Beans and Balsamic Herb Vinaigrette

Spring Pasta Salad with Asparagus & Truffle Oil

Mixed Fruit Salad with Mint (apples, strawberries, apricots and pineapple)

Homemade Cookies

It is always a long day but always worth it. It's also fascinating how many dirty pots, pans, etc. can get produced by 40 cooks.

I led another workshop at School of Visual concepts on Wednesday, this time exclusively attended by 17 Starbucks marketers who came in from all around the country to attend (including: New York, Miami, Denver, San Diego, Indianapolis, Chicago), as well as a few from the Seattle HQ.

We were mainly talking about creative briefs, but there were some interesting discussions about how to set up great creative. And one of the themes that resonated throughout the day was about articulating key "tensions" that the creative work is then asked to reconcile. This is certainly true for the brand identity work we recently completed for Woodland Park Zoo, in which we had to create a mark that reconciles the tension between "conservation leader" (read: science-y) and "engaging experience" (read: fun). For us, the concept that reconciles that tension is wonder. And wonder is at the heart of the new identity. That sense of awe you get when you're allowed up-close access to a wild animal.

Here's another one we discussed in the workshop: the celebrated "Swagger Wagon" campaign for Toyota. The tension reconciled here, through humor, is between "embarrassing stigma" and "pure utility."

http://www.youtube.com/user/Sienna

Creative is the silver bullet that can solve what often seems to be unsolvable tensions. And a great creative brief can set that tension up, articulating it in a way that inspires killer ideas.

Thanks to my colleagues' generosity and matching funds from PBDH, we were able to make a substantial donation to the American Red Cross.

I share this, not to boast, but to point out that doing something, anything is greater help for the Japanese people—more than ONLY watching the news.

Let's not be shy about reaching out to everyone in our network/industry to help the people suffering in Japan.

It simply starts with, "What can we do to help." (Thanks, Leslie.) Then act upon it.

Here are some ways you can help, either on your own, or by banding together with a colleague, classmate or friend:

The American Red Cross
www.redcross.org

Students Rebuild
www.studentsrebuild.org/japan/

Last week PBDH’ers attended Woodland Park Zoo’s Thrive event — a major fundraising campaign for the zoo (attended by an estimated 600+ people). Inspiring presentations were given by Dr. Deborah Jensen, President and CEO of the zoo, and Dan Harris, Anchor of Weekend Good Morning America — who shared videos of his visits with zoo conservationists working with animals up close in the wild. A personalized video message from Betty White, as well as a delightful (and very well done) video featuring children enjoying their experiences at Woodland Park Zoo made the event outstanding. And to top things off, in addition to the $600,000 (and growing) donated at Thrive, the zoo received an anonymous gift of $4 million to be used towards building a new tiger and Asian bear exhibit complex!

PBDH recently completed work with the zoo, which was unveiled at Thrive – including a new logo and campaign theme More Wonder More Wild. It is an exciting time for the zoo as a leader in wildlife conservation and education — as well as a fun place to visit and enjoy. PBDH is proud to be a partner with such an incredible organization!

Watch the special message from Betty White:

On Friday, I led a workshop at School of Visual Concepts on writing effective creative briefs. Like previous sessions of this popular workshop, there was an all-star crew of participants, this time from Starbucks, WSECU, Garrigan Lyman, Casey Family Programs, and new advertising agency Hey,.

We covered a lot of ground, including what I regard as the five most critical elements to include in any creative brief.

— The Big Picture
— Business Objectives
— Creative Objectives
— Audience Insight
— Competitive Landscape

These five, plus a single-most important takeaway the creative should evoke, form the foundation for any successful brief.

Many thanks to Starbucks' global creative team for their willingness to share their creative brief process. What often gets me most excited about these workshops is bringing smart people from different organizations together to discuss, collaborate and learn from each other. We don't get enough opportunities like that, so a whole day to focus and think critically about such an essential component of the creative process is always welcomed!

Phinney Bischoff designer, David Cole (That's me, so please forgive the awkward third person writing here), will be showing some new art in Fremont during the month of April. The show opens Friday evening, during the Fremont Art Walk, at Portage Bay Goods. Portage Bay Goods is a wonderful little gift shop, full of local art and quirky nonsense - highly recommend for last-minute gift buyers, designers and anyone who appreciates stuff with a lot of visual appeal.

On display (and for sale) will be a collection of original paintings, drawings and prints. There is a sort of a theme: something to do with robots, bicycles and pets in formal wear - but there is also a fair share of randomness mixed in. The latest work includes some very recent, very limited edition, hand-printed greeting cards.

For anyone who hasn't been to an Art Walk event yet, you're missing out. You can see scads of work by a variety of artists (often highly purchasable), enjoy some free wine and spinach dip and meet people (frequently the same artists who are showing). It's a great way to get inspired or just have a fun night out.