providing graphic design, branding, photography and marketing expertise to denver and the world

Quote of the Week:

All solitary dreamers know that they hear differently when they close their eyes.
-Gaston Bachelard

Notes from Notchcode

6.29.2006

Casual is the new formal


Now, creatives can always get away with a slightly more casual mode of dress. But only if you can deliver the goods. This attitude has been taken to a new level in Hollywood, where apparently everyone from studio execs to camera operators are wearing flip-flops. Now, I have a pair of $3 Old Navy flip-flops (in black, of course), and they're great in the summer. But I wouldn't think of wearing them to a client meeting. Unless it was also a beach party.

I am emboldened by the fact that the president of the William Morris Agency wore my exact wardrobe from today to a movie premiere:

At the "Superman" premiere, David Wirtschafter, the president of the William Morris Agency, was wearing sneakers with Velcro fastenings, jeans and a long-sleeved black T-shirt.

Coming straight from the office? "Yes," he said. "This is dressed up, for me."


Now, my jeans are straight from the Gap. No crime there, although a set of Diesels might be more appropos. However, the long-sleeve t-shirt is a lovely synthetic number from Kavu, the kayaker-friendly clothing company, and the shoes are Tsubos (also with velcro closures, natch). It's a good look for me, and I'm glad people like talent agency execs are coming 'round to my way of thinking on dressing up for work.

posted at 1:36 PM Leave your comments here: 0 comments

Once Tried Always Used

Once Tried Always Used
I was at a press check this morning, and my friend, David Biondi--who also happens to be a very good printer's rep--brought me a can of something while I was looking over a press sheet.

The can read:

INK CORRECTIVE

A Pressroom Necessity

Once Tried Always Used



Nowhere on the can, as far as I could tell, did it mention exactly what it did. It just said it was a "corrective". This means that printers who use it once, indeed, probably always use it, because it serves some useful purpose (I found out it basically acts as a drying agent, and keeps ink from "picking", or lifting up onto the press blanket in areas of high coverage). So you don't need to say, specifically, what it is. It is just something essential that you keep around for when you need it. This is a ballsy way to brand something, and effective, especially with the language they use ("necessity", "...always used"). Worth thinking about in an age of trying to set your brand apart from the rest even as more competition fills ever more specific demographic niches.

And the date that this particular product first hit the shelves? 1939. Those ad men knew what they were doing.

posted at 9:03 AM Leave your comments here: 0 comments

6.26.2006

Print Washer

Well, th edarkroom is slowly being unearthed from its tomb of upstairs construction dust (long story), adn the Dunwright & Vogel Print washer got cleaned up this weekend. One bit of advice for anyone cleaning a print washer: SoftScrub works great, and be careful of all the sharp edges on the plexiglass dividers--I sliced both my thumbs open over the course of cleaning the 32 dividers. ouch.

posted at 10:08 PM Leave your comments here: 0 comments

6.11.2006

Why Good Design Matters: LiveBlogging Portland street flyers

...well, not really. How can you Live-Blog something that you pass by? But I am out on the road and checking in with projects that are in-process, etc., even with me out of the office, and have the opportunity to see some excellent design wherever I turn.

Out on the northwest Coast (Portland, Oregon, to be precise), there is a lot of good graphic design out on the street. Vacations are always a great opportunity to see street design, and Portland never disappoints. We're staying near the hip up-and-coming Alberta Street area of NE Portland, and there's a lot of commerce going on, and a lot of posters, flyers, etc. everywhere you walk (or in the case of Portland, bike. Biking is a bit of a cause here, not just a mode of transit). Nice use of hand-lettering, good sense of white space, and even a few hi-end etched and silkscreened bits here and there.

Denver could learn a lot from Portland, in a lot of areas (greenbelt, anyone? Growth limits, anyone? Better bike accessibility, anyone?) And in the case of street-intended graphic design, Portland definitely has Denver beat. One of the reasons for this is probably that Portland is generally more progressive than Denver, and that Portland has more local business districts, with more opportunities for small merchants/bands/political organizations/yoga studios to publicize via the street. More pedestrians, spread over more business areas, means more competition for peds' eyeballs. And that means the good designs survive, and the bad ones just go away, because they aren't effective.

For any CEO who doesn't think that good design matters, this is a case study in why it does. It's simple: be great, or someone who is great will paste right over your sorry-ass flyer. And they'll get your business.

We're heading south tomorrow, down the coast. Less urbane, but more restful, in some ways. And then we'll head over to Eugene to see some good friends (and fellow designers/photographers) and I'll see how their street design stacks up to the Portland scene. Stay tuned.

posted at 3:24 PM Leave your comments here: 0 comments

6.02.2006

busy busy

Usually I am one for laid-back summers.

Well, not really. For some reason, summertime is the biggest season for Notchcode. Everyone seems to finally be in gear for the year (or just wrapping up business before the July 1 fiscal year ends) and has projects to do.

We're working on a lot of different things at the moment, including:
  • a "save the date" card for a non-profit foundation's fundraiser,

  • a rebranding campaign for a state agency,

  • print advertising for an industry-leading corporation,

  • a new trio of websites for a regional manufacturers' representative,

  • a CD package design for a consultant,

  • and exhibit displays for a govenrment client.


So, lots to do. And that's always fun. All of these projects will wrap up in the next month, and new ones will come online, and thus the summer passes quickly. Now if I could only fit in a vacation (without bringing the laptop along), it'd be perfect.

posted at 8:28 AM Leave your comments here: 0 comments


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