Traditional graphic designers, endangered species of modern day

Yes, it has been a while, but believe me what I have been up to, was worth the wait!-I was mourning the dying(if not dead) of what I knew as graphic design.There comes a time when you swallow the pride and talk of the reality at hand!

Of recent, my interest has been heavily focusing on the existence of graphic design since its inception.

In the beginning business people created products and services, but unfortunately, on the seventh day they couldn't rest.

They had to find means to sell their products.

And at the core of the tools employed to move their products off the shelves,lied the expertise to;attract attention,present content and persuade,using visuals -the bread-and-the butter of graphic designer.

Amongst other disciplines, design was used and products moved!

As times progressed, the number of businesses competing for the same customers increased, immensely. Prior to that, a company would win a sale purely based on proximity or price. Until these two  lost their effectiveness, as more and more businesses got easily accessible and a lot cheaper.

It then became very hard for companies to preach a valid reason as to why a customer’s sale should fall on their side of the fence. Out of that inevitable business challenge was born a discipline that now rewards those that invest in it, branding.

Branding gives people reasons other than price and proximity, to buy from company x instead of company y and company z.

Graphic design played, and still do, a critical role in moving products off the shelves. Through their expertise, graphic designers created things like logos for products identification, packaging and marketing materials to help sell the products.

Before branding gained momentum as a discipline, graphic designers were only required to focus solely on layout, typography, colour reproduction etc. But things have changed and approaching graphic design with a mindset of yesteryear's prove futile.

Today,people’s purchasing and choice of brands are driven more by branding than design.

Though, thingss like a product’s packaging can attract a prospect buyer’s attention, it’s rare that the person would buy the product because of the great use and choice of typography and colour on the package.

Graphic design that is solely focused on the beauty of the layout is becoming more and more useless for businesses, especially those whose competitors have a sound branding strategy in place.

This only means one thing, the creators of such pretty pictures’ (designs) days are numbered. Not that I’m trying to play prophet, but, in this day and age markets dictates that graphic design be driven by a branding strategy.

Graphic design is not only required to communicate and present content, it is now also expected, through branding know-how, to articulate brands.

Without branding and a brand strategy at the core of a business/plan, graphic design is nothing but meaningless decoration.

In the context of consumer goods, graphic design that isn’t backed with a solid brand strategy is fruitless.
-By the way, rebranding goes way deeper than just redesigning a logo.

But again,once its in you,till you die,you will forever live a graphic designer!!BRAVO!

Till death do us apart_Graphic design

The overburden of design in pursuit of attention

This is Nairobi.I know it is a Monday! I know the characteristics of a Monday in Nairobi!!That's why I tried to be brief and strait on!

To start with,design is both a verb and noun, a process and a product. But in this writings I’ll be referring to the latter, whenever I mention the ‘d’ word.

In print, design regrettably exist in a static form. Which suggests that it does not enjoy the privilege of “moving pictures,” like animation and video do. Furthermore, It means that the very same static artwork must: attract attention and still get to present content to its intended audience.

With moving pictures its simple. Dedicate the first few frames to whatever you can use to grab attention, and then present what the motion was created to present, communicate or sell.

I find that a lot of graphic designers,  and the likes ,(most in River Road) overrate the need to use the most part of their canvas to attention seeking visual arrangements.

Designers sacrifice their artwork’s chance to communicate. All in the name of the consumers’ attention. While a message is useless without someone to consume it. The consumer’s attention too, is futile without a concise and meaningful message.

The one thing that is rarely discussed or taken advantage of, is the artwork’s surroundings.

Regardless of context, the most efficient way to attract attention is to break a pattern. For example, If you are in a very quite place, any sound will be sufficient to attract your attention by breaking the pattern of silence.

So when designing a poster for a rock band, and the poster will be placed on a white wall. Why not just have a dark background for your poster instead of squeezing a thousand guitars, eight drumsticks, and seven guys with skinny jeans within the poor poster?

The attention that a print ad has to supposedly ‘fight’ for is overrated.

Attention is usually confused with interest. And what the design/er should prioritize is evoking interest, though the design/er has very little control over. No amount of great design will make a fourteen year old interested in an ad promoting nappies.

The failure to consider the surroundings, or medium on which the design will be fed to its audience, is the root of this overuse of attention seeking and meaningless visuals.

Contrast should not only be limited to the design itself, as the contrast between the design, as a collective, and its surrounding can get the job done with less clutter.

So, yes!Simplicity works! 

Parting shot;As I always say,I welcome positive criticism as whatever I put down here,is not approved by anyone.I share what I dream,think of,see,read or even guess!Find me in Facebook,milele creations, if you are the kind who entertain fun and creative content.

 

Tips for managing your businesses reputation online:

 

1. Provide outstanding customer service
Ask 10 of your customers at random, on a scale of 1 to 10, how likely would they be to recommend your company to their friends and colleagues – and why.  Anything less than an average of 7 or 8 and you may have some work to do in improving your customer service

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2. Offer your clients and customers an easy way to give you feedback – good and bad.
Would you prefer to hear about problems first-hand, or learn about them in an anonymous posting ?  If you have a retail location, post a “suggestion” box or provide a survey with every transaction.  Allow a spot on your website for customers to leave you a note telling you how you are doing.  Provide easy access to contact information so that if there is a problem, a customer can get in touch with you directly. Participate in social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to give your customers another easy way to connect with you.  All of these methods are preferable to hearing about a problem via anonymous posting on a site you have no control over.

3. Encourage positive reviews from your satisfied customers.
Most businesses that plan to stay in business have many more positive, happy customers than they do unhappy ones.  Encourage your satisfied customers to leave a review for you on their favorite review site.  When they tell you about a great experience they have had with your product, service or staff, ask them if they would do you the favor of going out to Google places or Yelp.com and telling others so they can benefit from your services as well.  Most happy customers are enthusiastic about telling others when they have received great service, and they like to help business owners who have helped them.

4.    Engage in an ongoing online marketing campaign to get the positive word out about your business.
Do not rely solely on your clients to leave good words about you online.  Proactively engaging in an ongoing online marketing campaign where you are consistently putting information out about all the good things you do creates a positive reputation online that will balance any negatives if they do occur.

This can include a regular blog, posting press releases with newsworthy events mentioned, uploading video of your services and products in action, writing and publishing articles about your expertise or participating in social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ etc.Safisana Home services  is a good example.

Make sure your program includes a systematic approach to “listening” online – that is, monitoring everywhere for mentions of your name, your company name, your products and services – so you are aware immediately when something is being said about you online.

5. If you do receive a negative comment or review – do not panic!
Treat the comment seriously and address it quickly.  Do not become defensive or respond to the comment in anger.  Investigate what happened, get the facts, and then post a response that explains what happened and what you are doing to fix the problem.
Oftentimes, the way you respond to a negative comment does more to help your business than all the positive accolades you achieve.  People know that everyone has a bad day, and by showing how you handle it when something does not go quite right demonstrates your character as a business and will help to build your reputation in the long run.

Online reviews can be very powerful, and you need to think carefully before reacting to them. Customer feedback is an excellent way to learn suggestions for improving your business. In order to improve, you have to be able to take both the good AND the bad reviews into careful consideration.

Thank you for passing by,and I appreciate critics as they help in growth as I put it earlier on.Though  I am not a professional social media strategist,being a brand,advertisement and social media  enthusiast, I feel free to share what I hear,see or dream...or either guess to outside me!

Visit Milele Creations and like,for more about visual graphics,and we all bring change to our Creative design world!Cheerz!

Graphic design as communication and art

the role and function of graphic design is, and always has been, communication

What is the point of graphic design? Is it advertising or is it art? What purpose does it serve in our society and culture?Why am I asking all these?Nairobi for instance,River road to be exact,is a street where, when you own a printing machine,you advertise Graphic Design to be one of your services.That is  a fail.First,the role and function of graphic design is, and always has been, communication.If you know this,I strongly believe  when choosing who is going to  communicate about your product,you will take all the necessary known measures to come up with a serious designer who will meet your expectations...This is  Graphic design as a tool to move the  stock out of those shelves.This is for advertising..They are driven by great team work,experience,good knowledge of target group and of course the creativity.

Again,I strongly believe you cannot be taught talent,it is nurtured in that case.Art is talent.Graphic design is an art!...The creations that appear in artworks are not generated by working too  hard or due to a pay,they are entirely as a result of passion and creativity.This is what am talking about,Graphic design as an art.This is the most useful aspect of a graphic design to the designer.He speaks his mind graphically,and a way that attracts  the targeted audience.These are the brains behind the billboards you spot everywhere,the T.V commercials,packaging,branding and generally all the print ads.

Therefore,Graphic Design is an art that helps marketers in advertisements just like those musicians who compose lyrics to promote products!

Watch this space as I  share what I think about the purpose it serves in our society and culture!

Why We Live as Long as We Do...

Welcome to the design world!!Today being the first post here,I strongly believe you need some knowledge about your life being.Just figure it out.....On the first day God created the cow. God said, "You must go to the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer I will give you a life span of sixty years."

The cow said, "That's a kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years.  Let me have twenty years and I'll give back the other forty."

And God agreed.

 On the second day, God created the dog. God said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past.  I will give you a life span of twenty years."

The dog said, "That's too long to be barking.  Give me ten years and I'll give back the other ten."

So God agreed (sigh).

 On the third day God created the monkey.  God said, "Entertain people, do monkey tricks, make them laugh.  I'll give you a twenty year life span."

The monkey said, "How boring, monkey tricks for twenty years?  I don't think so.  Dog gave you back ten, so that's what I'll do too, okay?"

And God agreed again.

On the fourth day God created man.  God said, "Eat, sleep, play.  Do nothing, just enjoy, enjoy.  I'll give you twenty years."

Man said, "What? Only twenty years?  No way! Tell you what, I'll take my twenty, and the forty cow gave back, and the ten dog gave back and the ten monkey gave back. That makes eighty, okay?"

"Okay," said God. "You've got a deal."

So this is why for the first twenty years we eat, sleep, play, enjoy, and do nothing;

for the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family;

for the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain our grandchildren;

and for the last ten years we sit in front of the house and bark at everybody.