Brand Design Blog, News and Ideas

SXSW is a yearly conference in Austin Texas that says it covers, music, film and interactive topics.

In reality, it covers a whole lot more.

Literally hundreds of speakers getting together to speak about all things creative, innovative and ground breaking.

Unfortunately, like many people, I find myself on the other side of the world and over committed to my work to take a trip over to the U.S. and soak up 10 days of thoughts and ideas from brilliant speakers. There is also the issue of it being finished for this year (March 7-16).

So what’s an information junkie to do…?

There is a solution. Many of the panels have been recorded as audio podcasts which you can download for free.

So far I’ve listen to panels on time management, web design, branding, digital effects on a budget, industrial design, business start-ups and game theory.

There are more to come, so make sure you subscribe to the rss feeds which can be found here at feedburner or by doing a search for SXSW in the podcast section of itunes.

I hope you find them as useful and thought provoking as I have.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcasts before they take them down otherwise you may miss the chance to download them.

Don’t be afraid to post your comments on this blog, I’d be interested to read your thoughts.

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design and a is conference that brings together great speakers from around the world.

The TED web site houses a gold mine of presentations given on topics ranging from Business to the Environment, from Culture to Innovation.

With talks by guests such as Jane Goodall, Al Gore and Brian Greene each FREE video presentation is packed with insightful and interesting information.

Each speaker is given (approx) 18 minutes to give the talk of a life time on their chosen subject.

There is some really great stuff on the site and I would highly recommend that you take some time to check it out.

I’ve also selected a category on design which I think you’ll interesting – “Design like you give a Damn” features a range of great speakers talking about all aspects of design.

If you found this interesting, leave me a comment and let me know.

I’ve just finished reading a great book that you might be interested in.
‘Made to Stick - Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die…’

Written by Chip & Dan Heath, Made to Stick deals with why some ideas, stories and products become world famous and why most don’t. Why some things are ’sticky’ and why others are not.

I found the topic particularly interesting from a marketing and advertising point of view.

Not only does the book direct us to examples of the ’stickiness’ factor. But it then breaks them down and describes why they work. Then best of all, how we can replicate them.

Of course, with all great things, many elements have to align for our ideas to become hugely successful.

But by following methods described in the book, you will certainly place yourself closer to the mark. Giving you every chance to make sure that your next thing - is the ‘Next Big Thing’.

I’d definitely recommend reading the book if only to freshen your ideas about marketing and presentation.

To read more about the book including excerpts, you can visit the Made to Stick web site here.

In the design industry you often hear the phrase ‘Keep it simple, stupid’ or ‘Keep it simple, son’.

Both amount to the same acronym ‘K.I.S.S.’

Keep those 4 letters in your head and you’ll do alright.

So, why keep it simple? What does keeping it simple mean?

Well, the reality behind the idea of ‘keeping it simple’ is pretty straight forward.

The simpler you make a design, the less chances you have to make a mistake.

Each element that is added to a design (of any sort) ’should’ have a purpose. It should perform a task or fulfill a need. It should target a purpose.

‘Purpose targets’ can involve everything from function to communication to efficiency.

By adding unnecessary elements to a design, your design requires more power to perform its function, the message you wish to communicate is diluted, and your design performs at a lower efficiency.

Here are some examples:

• Logos designed with fine line work. Viewed at a small size the line work becomes jumbled or disappears. The same when large logos are viewed from a distance.
• Television ads. Too much background noise, music or sound effects. Causes the message spoken by the voice over to be hard to hear. You miss the message.
• Magazine advertising. Too many messages or too much text dilute the most important idea. The messages fight for attention. You end up with the reader not receiving enough impact from any one message. They fail to be called to act on your idea.

So with each element you add, you have another chance of missing the purpose target and ultimately causing the overall design to miss it’s full potential.

By keeping the elements involved in a design to a bare minimum, you have less chance to miss your purpose targets and you allow your design to become efficient.

I see examples of over complicated design every day.

Have you seen design that could be simplified to become more efficient?

Can you simplify your own designs?

There is more to this topic, including Keeping it simple for customers. Which I may discuss in another post.

But for now, I’d be interested in your feedback.

I’m a big subscriber to podcasts. The quality of information and levels of entertainment far exceed most main stream media.

Why?…Because podcasts are niché media broadcasts. You’ll find something for everyone, something targeted on just about every subject.

For those new to the subject. Podcasts are (according to wikipedia) a collection of digital media files which is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers.

Below are 10 great podcasts worth watching or listening to, with a brief description of each.

The list is alphabetical (so there is no favoritism).

1. Boagworld

This audio podcast, hosted by Paul Boag and co-hosted by Marcus Lillington, covers the subject of web design and accessibility. Boagworld is based in the U.K, but it’s subject matter is very universal. They often have great guests from the web design celebrity set, such as, Andy Budd and Jeremy Keith. If you have anything to do with web design, running a website or online development, this is a must listen to.

2. Cranky Geeks

Great little weekly video podcast. This program runs as a panel format and features loads of web celeb’s. It’s hosted by tech’ journalist John C. Dvorak and has a funny tongue in cheek approach to topical tech’ news and online issues. Some interesting points of view here from people in the know.

3. Diggnation

If you haven’t heard of Digg.com you need to go check it out. Diggnation covers the top weekly stories from Digg.com. It’s a weekly video program hosted by Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht. It’s two guys, a few drinks, a couch and a whole lot of laughs. It can be childish as times and has some pretty explicit language, but who said news had to be serious. Definitely worth a look.

4. Duct Tape Marketing

Small Business Marketing Expert, John Jantsch, hosts this weekly audio podcast. It covers subjects such as online marketing and business management while interviewing experts in the weeks subject. Great interviews, that have some really informative information.

5. Extralife Radio

One of the most fun weekly audio podcasts online today. Hosted by Scott Johnson, ELR covers everything Geek. From comic books to computer games, movies to toilet humor. Scott Johnson also hosts a number of other podcasts which can be found here. But I thought it would be unfair to name more than one in this post, even though they are all great quality.

6. Mind Your Own Business

Mind your Own Business is an audio Podcast hosted by Guy Kingston and covers all topics regarding business and entrepreneurship. This is another U.K. program, but certainly has information that will satisfy a global audience. It seems to be a fortnightly effort, but you’ll often get a weekly show.

7. TWIT – This Week In Tech

Hosted by Leo Laporte, this weekly audio podcast is one of the big ones. All your weekly tech information in one place, with great guests that provide both information and entertainment. Leo Laporte has a network of podcasts which you can subscribe to and you can check them out at twit.tv. This is a staple ingredient for any online or tech junkie.

8. Sarcastic Gamer Podcast

This weekly audio podcast is all about gaming (that’s computer gaming for anyone thinking chess or monopoly). The guys at Sarcastic Gamer made their fame by doing online Parody Songs about subjects such as the PS3, microsoft and jack thompson (the activist, not the actor). They’ve now got a great little podcast that’s entertaining, while providing some great gaming news and information. If computer games are on your radar, this one may be for you.

9. SmallBizPod

This is a business related audio podcast that shows up twice a month. It follows an interview format and has guests from around the globe speaking about their business history and current business activities. Some insightful information and a great host in Alex Bellinger, who has a love all things business and for techno music which he plays at the end of each show.

10. Tiki Bar TV

Each episode of Tiki Bar is like it’s very own stage show. Pure entertainment and a whole lot of laughs. This video podcast, unfortunately, only comes out once a month. But it’s definitely worth the wait. Two guys, a girl and a tiki bar. What more do you need? …Oh yeh, alcohol. Well they have that too. This one probably isn’t for the kids, but if it’s to your taste, make sure you look through the back catalogue.

Well…That’s it!

Again, I just want to say that these are in alphabetical order. I’m not telling my favourite. Which you think is the best is for you to decide.

If you don’t find anything in this list. You can check out itunes or another podcast aggregator and do a search on your favourite subject. There is bound to be a podcast about it. If not, why not start your own.

Now I know there are more I could mention, but this is my top 10 not top 12 or 14. These are the podcasts I listen to on a regular basis, while I work or in the car.

If you have more you want to mention, then feel free to do so in the comments. I’d love to hear what are your favourites and I’d also love to hear what you think of the podcasts listed above.

Enjoy.

I recently sent a question regarding Effective Business Promotion to the Mind Your Own Business Podcast and was fortunate enough to have it featured as the topic for the day.

Mind Your Own Business is a great Podcast which talks about business issues relating to the entrepreneur. The podcast is paneled by Guy Kingston and John Richards, two successful business entrepreneurs from the UK.

My question to them was to discuss what are the most effective forms of business promotion.

It’s a broad question and being in promotion myself, I expected the same old answers.

Answers such as, it depends on your unique business area and your unique target market.

Which of course it does.

But the question was asked to prompt some discussion on the subject, which may reveal a few different ideas on the topic. Which it certainly did.

So make sure to have a listen to their podcast on effective promotion which you can find here.

It’s definitely worth a listen to hear their perspective.You’ll find some great information on general marketing topics, but also some real nuggets of information about topics such as strategic alliances.

Thanks to Guy and John for featuring Crimson Fox on their show.

If you have anything to do with web design or the internet, here’s a website that you really must bookmark.

Click here to view the Web Developer’s Handbook

The Smart Business Brief is a great resource website which I’ve been frequenting over the last year.

I’ve also just become a moderator on their forum so I thought I’d give everyone a heads up as to what you can find there.

If you are thinking of starting or are currently running a small business you’ll find the articles and networking opportunities on the site to be invaluable. While the quality of articles varies greatly from one writer to the next, I find that having a broad range of ideas and topics really helps to keep up to date with todays small business issues.

The Small Business Brief Forum is a great place to meet other business people, share ideas and ask questions about small business issues. The friendly atmosphere makes for a really accessible community. Even if you’re a novice to the business world you won’t feel excluded here.

While there if often some great heated debates on the forum, you’ll rarely find any nasty response or verbal bashing which makes for some really interesting discussions that cut to the heart of an issue.

The website has just implemented a digg like ranking system on articles which makes finding the great new business articles much easier. Articles including everything from SEO to through to tips on running a business franchise. No matter what small business you run, you’ll find something useful here.

So, if you have a business idea, have just started in the small business world, or have been a business person for years – whether you’re running an online business or a traditional brick and mortar, you’ll find something useful at the Small Business Brief Forums.

I may even see you there.

On Saturday the College of Creative Arts and Technology (CCAT) had a fantastic open day which I was privileged to be a part of. I’ll be helping to head up the new Graphic Design course for 2008, including Certificate IV and Diplomas in Graphic design.

The great thing about this new college is the participation of real industry representatives.

Almost all the lecturers and tutors are working professionally in the Creative arts. They’re putting their time into the college because they believe that the course structures will actually benefit their industry.

Each course is styled to produce industry ready students. The college is created to get students work and make they industry relevant in their preparation. Many Arts colleges like to think of themselves this way, but CCAT is actually doing it.

The College, which is located on Glenferrie Road in Melbourne, Australia, hosts a number of creative arts courses including:

• Audio Engineering
• Digital Television & Film Production
• Music Performance
• Entertainment Music Management
• Drama
• Dance & Movement
• Graphic Design

I really think this college is something different and definitely worth some attention.

You can find out more at their website:
CCAT: College of Creative Arts & Technology.