I recently came across a website entitled ‘clients from hell’ which was posted on one of my favourite design blogs – Swiss Miss. The website is a forum for designers to post the stupid and sometimes impossible things their clients have said to them. After reading some of the posts (and having a bit of a chuckle) I noticed a common thread running through them all – the ‘stupidness’ of the client generally stemmed from a lack of understanding about what a designer does and more accurately a lack of clear communication between the client and designer.
Explore our historical blog articles for nuggets of wisdom (and random musings) from our crew.
I hate plastic bags! My green bags have a permanent home in my car boot, ready for the grocery shopping. I use my handbag or a back pack when possible instead of taking a plastic bag. I refuse the brown paper bags at the liquor store but when I buy new clothes or a gift I am at a bit of a loss. I don’t want the plastic bag but I also don’t want to stuff my new shirt into my handbag, next to my lunchbox.
Colour is an important and powerful mechanism, especially when it comes to packaging and branding. It can influence a consumer to buy one product over another or to spend more money on what is essentially the same item. Designers use colour, and colour combinations, to create a personality for a product or brand and affect your perception of it’s value.
In today’s digitally obsessed world it comes as no surprise that more and more of our clients are requesting electronic templates as an important part of their livery collection. With email the preferred communication tool for many, traditionally printed livery items like letterheads and brochures are often left on the office shelf in favour of electronic versions.
Recently I was out for dinner with some of my European friends who are in the middle of a world-wide tour. As we were leaving the restaurant one of them commented that they had noticed that a large number of Australian restaurants and attractions have a very polished look. More so than in a lot of other countries they had visited. Having travelled a lot myself I had to agree with this but it got me thinking about what is a polished look and why it is really important.
Imagine an interactive brochure that doesn’t have to be online, can provide a huge amount of information in a manageable context, is environmentally friendly and has the ability to be fully customised. Jack in the box have such a product and we have been using it for a range of different applications to help our clients provide information that wouldn’t have been possible with traditional media.
Last week my husband and I were lucky enough to escape the cold wet weather we have been experiencing and escape to sunny Bali. For the flight home we chose to fly Air Asia because of the great prices they were offering. Part way through the flight I had a good look around the cabin and noticed that the Air Asia brand was EVERYWHERE. There were adverts on every single overhead baggage compartment, the backs of the fold-up tables had adverts on, the logo was embossed on every head rest, there were branded magazines and information cards in the seat pockets. My eyes were bombarded with red and I couldn’t look anywhere without seeing the brand!