Christina Gonzalez's Blog

Revisions

2007-10-25T14:55:00Z

~~Revisions: How much is too much?~~
~~Revisions: How much is too many?~~
~~Revisions: How many is too many? This many!~~
~~Revisions: They're not just for cows anymore.~~
~~Revisions: How to know when to stop.~~

Revisions: How many is too many?

Collaborating Collaboratively

Here in the marketing world, we creative folk work as part of a team. We interact with account managers, project managers, department directors and contractors as well as the clients and everyone has an opinion. So naturally with more people comes more ideas to be integrated and with that comes revisions. Collaboration is a critical element and it's crucial to lay down the law about what is to be expected from the project and set boundaries. If in the event boundaries absolutely must be broken for further revising and for the greater good of all the project and mankind then you regroup as a team. Otherwise…. stick to the game plan.

Time, Budget and Scope...oh my!

Nothing burns hours faster than revisions. Nothing blows budget faster than revisions. Nothing ruins a design like revisions...or a blown budget.

There will always be new ways of improving any design. The more you, the designer guy (or gal), look at it the more you spin one idea off the other and the more likely it is you'll be revising. Similarly the client or your co-workers will discover news ways of improving the design once it's physically in the works. What if we did this? Or how about that? If time, budget and scope are not kept in mind it's likely to go overboard pretty fast. This is where collaborating effectively from the get go comes in pretty dang handy.

Handling a revision explosion

It's easy to get caught up in revision mode. So how do we do it? How do we prevent revisions from taking over the project?

A. Keep the goals in mind from start to finish and know when to stop?
B. Decide which revisions are and are not necessary to aid in the success of the project?
C. Use a Louisville Slugger to threaten all members not willing to bend?
D. Barring time and budget chalk it up to a job well done or consider it intermission until the next round of revisions are proven worthy of your time?
(Note: If you chose C as an acceptable solution it may affect your next performance review, as we do not condone violence)

Revising the revised revisions

"Have no fear of perfection - you’ll never reach it". -Salvador Dali

Perfection is an unattainable goal. While I don't know anyone who actually has this as a set goal in life, I think it surfaces from time to time in all areas of our lives. Work, family, exercise, cooking (note: cooking doesn't apply to me personally). In the creative world o web design it seems almost silly to spend hours on end perfecting a design...but it happens.

In school you have all the time and budget in the world to do as you please and take as long as you want. Due dates can be extended or ignored and no one spends any money on the time it took you to create and revise. Even with the freedom to revise as much as your little heart desires it is never complete because the truth is a project is never done it's just due. There will always be something about a design that you have to learn to live with and accept...whether it's as large as a concept or as small as a graphic off by 1/8." Here in the real world there are deadlines and goals internally and externally. Projects are due, delivered, expectations are made and deliverables are a must. The key to your sanity is managing scope from start to finish.

Prepping the Project

A few handy hints to keep in mind BEFORE you start designing a project:

A good designer knows when to accommodate collaboration and revisions and when to stop and convince others that the design is done. They also know that dressing up means a jacket with their jeans and t-shirt and fun socks.
Time and budget. Budget and time.
Stick to SCOOOOOOOPE!!!!
Don’t get attached. View your design as temporary because it is. It’s the web...and it will get changed. Remember sites from 1992? Retro isn’t always cool.
Explore design ideas first. Polish the approved ones next. This means making strong statements about your goals early on in the project and spending as little time as possible on the initial design...just enough to generate the brain waves and get the ideas flowing. Save the refinement for the approved direction.
Make sure everything that needs to be there is there. Like a home page, buttons, content probably, related project goals….stuff like that.
Design for the client’s client. They will be using this site, so make sure you take real good care of them.
Explain your decisions.... make them thoughtful decisions. How do [insert designer’s name] ‘s ideas on direction apply to the client’s goals? How will it work for them?
Listen to your Creative Director. He's (or She) not just your supervisor. He's (or She) also your friend.
Last but certainly not least always remember the first rule of design: It doesn't matter if you don't like it.

Sent from Ben’s iPhone

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Really Great Ideas

2007-07-21T05:03:00Z

Better solutions and better decisions about a particular problem at hand are best done in brainstorming sessions. What is brainstorming you ask? Well, it’s an individual or group problem-solving technique that requires the spontaneous, random, quirky, and sometimes outrageous contribution of ideas from a group…or from yourself.

One is the loneliest number
Individual brainstorming doesn’t always produce a wider range of ideas. On the upside, there are no worries about what other people think or possibly being criticized about an idea so you are completely free to create any way you please. However, in the long run it’s simply not an effective way to develop ideas. It’s one sided, It’s not nearly as fun and what happens when your idea has reached it’s limit and you alone have exhausted all avenues? You don’t have anyone to help you take it to the next level.

It’s A Family Affair
Group brainstorming uses the experience, discipline and creativity of all group members. Ideas are easily developed in more depth and there is more opportunity for expanding ideas in more than one direction. Good sessions come from people who have experience exploring and developing ideas on their own and enjoy the experience of idea making with others. Teams that get the most out of brainstorming are the ones that have the best team culture around ideas and a process for going about finding, refining and harvesting ideas.

Brainstorming 101
Want an effective session? Follow these simple rules:

1. What the heck is our problem?
Understand the project goals before you begin and keep the session focused on those goals. Make sure no one idea or train of thought is followed for too long.

2. Know how to facilitate
A good facilitator knows how to run a session. Not only is it their job to prevent interruptions and fist fights over the last peanut M & M, they also have to be able to: Listen and help people express ideas. Limit the number of ideas so people have a chance to share. Encourage people to develop other people’s ideas or use other ideas to make new ones. Make the sure the brainstorm doesn’t get off track

3. You really ARE more creative with your socks on!
Comfort is the most important way to get great ideas. Work in an atmosphere that isn’t the norm. Coffee shop, meeting room, lobby, someone’s house, restaurant, zoo. Start out with small ideas, encourage the quiet folks to participate, throw out some crazy ideas to lighten the mood and have fun. Great ideas can come from some of the most random thoughts.

4. Establish ground rules
How are you going to run your session? Free for all? Formal hand raising? Freeze tag? Dodgeball? Assign tasks and reward play with positive reactions…or candy.

5. Postpone criticism
This isn’t the time or place to shoot anyone’s ideas down regardless of what you think of them. It not only stifles creativity and interrupts free flow of ideas, but it’s just not nice.

The Aftermath
Great ideas are created, brought to life, invented. So what happens to them after the session is over?

A. You should review and refine the ideas?

B. You should define goal-related criteria to evaluate ideas?

C. You should assign further investigation into potential avenues?

D. You should bail?

The only way to make ideas useful is to refine and narrow them down. Come up with simple criteria for evaluating the ideas and go through them. Pass them around for further feedback if you must but don’t let it sit for another time.

Information brought to you by:

The Step by Step Guide to Brainstorming

Brainstorming

How to Run a Brianstorming Meeeting

Branding: It’s not just for cows anymore

2007-04-25T04:58:00Z

I remember taking a corporate identity class my last term of college. Though it was mentioned that branding was a company’s “identity,” it was never explained that branding was more than just a logo. We spent a majority of the class designing a new logo for a company of our choosing and ways to use the logo in the environment. After 11 weeks, the only thing I walked away from that class with was the idea that you have to have a nice enough looking logo to make an impact on your target audience. Also, maybe it should look good on a billboard or a water bottle or something.

I got an A in the class. My point? (Besides the fact that I’m slightly unhappy with my Alma Mater). People talk about brands all the time, but very few people actually understand their purpose or how to manage one.

Who are you? What do you do? Why does anyone care?

A brand is not a logo. It’s not a company. It’s not the solution to any algebra problem and it’s not a product. A brand is a feeling that a consumer has about a company or a product or maybe even a service. It’s also a great Jeopardy question. In short, a brand should say: “This is who we are. This is how we’re different from our competitors.”

Your logo is just one part of your brand. Like a name is just one part of a person. There are many attributes that make someone a unique individual and it works the same for a company’s brand. It takes high quality work, dedication as individuals and team members, shared goals and hard work to create an effective and lasting brand identity. Good brand identity is not just a great logo; it’s a reputation and a level of quality that is associated with the visual “marker.”

When explaining what services they specialized most in, I heard a former employer tell a client once that their company was the “Old Navy” of web design. Let’s face it, people, if you want a great pair of running shoes to last, chances are you’re not going to get them at Payless Shoe Source. Don’t advertise what you are not or what you don’t want people to assume about you. The quality people feel about your product or your work is your company.

Rome wasn’t built in a day – so don’t expect your brand to be.

It takes a lot of: time, people, planning, experience, energy, focus, research, money, ideas, mistakes [deep breath goes here], chances, success, expertise, trials, patience and a lot of hard work to be the next Nike or Coca Cola [whew!].

How to get over the roadblock of logic vs. creativity

Q: How do you know when an idea is innovative?
A: When it scares the hell out of everybody
(Neumeier, 80)

If it were all logic we “right-brainers” would be out of jobs. No one wants logical explanations; no one wants to listen to reason. We want magic! Magic is fun and exciting and…well, magical. Unfortunately you can’t really remove logic from the equation and you can’t remove creativity. People don’t trust pure creativity because it’s not always the most practical to do that but people don’t really want rational thinking ALL the time because our best thinking depends on intuition and insight (Neumeier, 73) and also people want magic. So you have to find that happy medium of both execution and strategy that makes everyone feel warm and fuzzy. Once that is accomplished. then you can play.

Why yes! That is exactly what I want!

“Get the right idea and then get the idea right” (Neumeier, 120-121). Create your message. Send that message to your target audience. Require your audience to give you feedback. Find out what works and what doesn’t. Find out what your people want and then give it to them.

Badger! Badger! Badger!

World just passing you by?

Madonna did it. Michael Jackson didn’t. Madonna experienced musical success throughout the 80’s and 90’s because she reinvented herself and her music continually adapted to what was most popular. The last song Michael Jackson released a few years back sounded the same as the music he was making in the early 80’s. Of course I’m positive there are other “factors” that hindered his success but that is an entirely different blog post.

Success embraces change and fosters growth with the marketplace. Just like with people, brands aren’t always perfect. They have good times and bad times. They change and they grow but as long as their core attributes never change then it’s all good. If you as a person want to experience success you have to make mistakes. You have to bust tail and you have to try different avenues. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. In the end you take what you learn, apply it to your next run and eventually with enough persistence, hard work, and dedication, you will inevitably find success. Through your journey you are still the same person with the same qualities and you’ve adopted new experiences. Brands work the same way.

Does your company’s behavior match your brand? Ours does!

Alongside the business and work aspect of creating a good brand are the people who represent it. A friend told me once “Pop Art is where you hope to end up in your career as a designer.” And although I know he appreciates and admires the work we do here, it’s the people that create the company’s reputation as a whole that makes it such a desirable place to work. Our clients love us! We make business an enjoyable experience, and, as an added bonus, we create beautiful and pleasing work for them, and we love every minute of it.

A company’s atmosphere and culture are just as important as the quality of work they deliver. Pop Art has achieved success on so many levels: from acquiring prominent clients to a knowledgeable staff with a passion to educate and be educated. A collection of intelligent, creative, happy and enjoyable personalities are all part of delivering the high quality work we are becoming reputable for. This is helping shape and define Pop Art’s unique brand and indeed separates us from our competitors.

Where did I get all that info?

Neumeier, Marty. The Brand Gap: How to bridge the distance between business strategy and design. New Riders Press; 1ST edition, 2003.
Pop Art’s Annual Company Retreat
My Brain