new address!

Hi Everyone!

After much thought and a strong urge to talk more design, I've decided to move the blog here.

Enjoy!
-A

Coding

Web coding = intimidating.


It's always been on my list of things to learn, it just always...drifted mysteriously to the bottom of the list. It was too complicated, too time consuming, too... boring.


As it turns out, coding is none of these things! Over the past few weeks, I've kind of fallen in love with coding (no, I have not gone mad). It's the perfect balance of right-brain and left-brain functionality and totally satisfies my OCD tendencies. It's a complex puzzle that magically produces interactive artwork. Crazy.


So how did I go about learning code? And for free, no less? I asked friends and colleagues the best way to learn, thinking I'd get answers like "take class XYZ at ABC and you'll be set"... not the case. Most people that learn coding teach themselves. They read tutorials online, look at code from different websites, and try to understand and recreate it. Total trial and error. Not my cup of tea. I wanted to learn code and I wanted to learn it now. 


Begrudgingly, I went through tutorial after tutorial, making notes, copying code. At first it was (literally) another language; but after awhile, I noticed patterns and the designs these patterns produced. I learned how layout works on a website (hint: not at all like InDesign). I'm no Google developer, but I managed to lay (what I consider) to be a pretty solid foundation for my portfolio site (once I master Java and Flash it'll be outta site--pun intended).


So where did I find all of this coding knowledge? A bunch of places:
- To get warmed up, I highly recommend Jessica Hische's and Russ Maschmeyer's video tutorial: Don't Fear The Internet. This gives a great overall context of coding and is guaranteed to make you laugh.
- The World Wide Web Consortium is the golden standard. They literally write the rules of web coding. Their tutorials are dry, but informative.
- HTML Dog was my favorite. Both the HTML and CSS tutorials were explained in a no-nonsense, informal tone that made the concepts easy to process.
- Finally, I recommend downloading Firefox (if you don't have it already) and it's plugin, Firebug. This allows you to inspect code on any website. Once you've completed the first three tutorials, Firebug is the best tool to help demystify websites and their methods of coding.


Note: There is such a thing as bad code. Read up on the rules (make sure all tutorials are dated recently) or chances are your website won't work, or worse--fellow coders will identify you as a messy coder (gasp). I made it through Jeffrey Zeldman's Designing With Web Standards and am all the better for it (just try to ignore his smart ass sarcasm).


After completing all these steps, you can start building your own website. Speaking from experience, this is really the best way to learn code. I only understood 'containers' and 'padding' when my logo ended up in the bottom left corner of my site rather than top left. The growing pains might be frustrating at times, but it's certainly worth it. I used Dreamweaver, but there are a ton of free programs out there (some are on your computer already--Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac)).


How have you learned web coding? Are there any other good (free) tutorials out there? 

c/o marketingprofs.com 

c/o don't fear the internet

c/o don't fear the internet

georgetown tobacco

I love it when I find well-designed things in DC.

I'm always complaining that there aren't enough creative people or design resources here, so when I stumble upon an aesthetically pleasing gem, I'm beyond thrilled. After spending some quality time at this place in Georgetown for a fantastic happy hour, we wandered into Georgetown Tobacco just down the street. I immediately made for the back of the room to smell all the different jars of tobacco flavors. In most stores, the tobacco is kept in aluminum tins with tape labels--not much creativity. Not so at Georgetown Tobacco! They had the most lovely, vintage-y tobacco labels. They reminded me of those old Absinthe ads that college students plaster all over their dorm rooms (but a bit more original, obviously). I asked the sales guy where they came from, and he said some previous employee had drawn them. Incredible! Wouldn't that be a fun bonus to working in a tobacco shop. Anywho, I thought it would make for a nice blog post, especially since many of my posts thus far have been on larger projects.

What do you think of the labels? What feelings or memories come to mind when you look at these?

URBN

Like every other 20-something female, I am head over heels for Anthropologie.

The feminine clothing, the seemingly-vintage home goods, the stellar store design and installations. Every time I walk into a store, I'm greeted by wafts of lavender-lilac-something goodness, distressed driftwood, and high ceilings. I almost feel more at home in an Anthropologie store than I do in my own apartment (still a work in progress). 


I have to wonder, how much does the actual store affect my purchases? Would that Cherimoya caftan look just as enticing in--gasp--a mall? Would I pay $168 for it under florescent bulbs? I'm prone to say probably not. I'm the first to admit that I'm more or less hypnotized by this place from the minute I step through the vintage looking doors. I imagine myself looking effortlessly chic on every imaginable occasion, inviting friends over for afternoon tea and using my french countryside vintage-esque plateware, and then curling up in my hand-dyed, original comforter for the night (reading first-edition classic novels, no less). Like the Kooples in my last post, Anthropologie has defined its target market to a T, enabling them to sell not only their products, but the lifestyle that these products may (or may not) promise.


It's no coincidence. I stumbled upon the company that owns and manages Anthropologie, a firm called URBAN, headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Predictably enough, the also own Free People, Urban Outfitters, Terrain (nature & gardening goodies), and the new wedding line, BHLDN (notice any patterns forming?). On their website, URBN explains that "our established ability to understand our customers and connect with them on an emotional level is the reason for our success". I would say this more or less nails it. Almost every company is begging for the means to make an emotional connection with a customer. This ensures they keep coming back, for the feeling. URBN even goes so far as to say "The emphasis is on creativity. Our goal is to offer a product assortment and an environment so compelling and distinctive that the customer feels an empathetic connection to the brand and is persuaded to buy". Again, I have to agree. This is exactly what happens when I step into an Anthropologie (shopping at Urban Outfitters leaves me with panic attacks). This is how URBN's brand of stores have become successful- because they sell a particular feeling with their products, and because people actually enjoy spending time in their stores. In recent years, this phenomenon has become more commonplace (even Wal-Mart is changing its store layout and design). URBN has been practiced this from the company's inception and has obviously reaped the benefits.


Although I've discovered URBN's sneaky branding tricks,  you can be certain I'll be drooling over their Fall 2011 catalog and budgeting appropriately for fall must-haves from their stock. Because honestly, I'm willing to pay the extra money for the experience. I want to be mesmerized by the store installations made out of clothespins and I want to feel like a character out of an 18th-century novel. And that is successful branding.


What other stores compel you to come in and shop? Can this same feeling be translated to online stores? How does this affect the American concept of malls? Are there any stores that should in fact avoid this branding tactic?

photos courtesy of URBN, Terrain, and ohhellofriend

the kooples

a fashionable friend of mine working abroad in london tipped me off to this trés chic french clothing company that just debuted in the uk. oddly enough, the koople's clothing is actually british-inspired, citing "military elegance, 'crombie' coats, and tailored three-piece suits" as some of their key collection pieces.

the really neat thing, however, is how the company has marketed and aligned itself to consumers. they use real-life (and insanely gorgeous) couples as models. they've recorded short films of the couples describing how they met, what they love about the other person, etc. that are so simple and genuine they make your heart melt. especially when spoken in a faint french accent. usually these candid videos seem contrived and uncomfortable but before i knew it, i had watched all eight couple features before my morning cup of tea. my guess is that the brand began with this theme in mind--after all, 'the kooples' sounds mysteriously similar to 'the couples'. on the company's website, they even feature an editorial that showcases various couples throughout history: john and yoko, kate moss and pete doherty, elvis and priscilla.

not surprisingly, the brand emphasizes genuineness and quality (isn't that what we all search for, in clothing and in relationships? ;). they evoke memories of savile row, david bowie, the age of rock--and aim to capture and recreate the feelings of britain's past. they've even gone so far as to establish a record label to round out this genuine rocker image. they include lists of their favorite local events and artists so that you too, can not only wear these insanely hip clothes but also have the edgy musical tastes to back them up. if only the model-esque boyfriend/girlfriend was provided as well!

overall, the kooples has made their brand a lifestyle that extends beyond trendy clothing. the kooples main mission is obviously to generate profits, but they've made customers feel as though they are each individual, important members of something bigger than just a fashion label. when we're bombarded with commercials, advertisements, and new trends daily--how do you set your company apart? many companies, similar to the kooples, are pushing this element of buying more than just a product. you shop and purchase for the experience, the lifestyle. when you buy from the kooples, you are part of a unique group. you share their musical and artistic interests, their fashion sense, their outlook on life, even their social values. the experience lasts longer than just grabbing a jacket off of a hanger and swiping your credit card. 


and this is what companies--both fashion and non-fashion alike--strive to do: connect directly with consumers and create a loyal following that lasts beyond that initial purchase. you not only buy the pants/shirt/coat, you buy the vibe, the feeling. and the odds are, you'll come back--again, and again. because you feel like you are supporting this kooples vision of individuality and genuineness.


what brands are you loyal to? why? how have other companies employed techniques similar to those of the kooples?

photos and video c/o the kooples

design thinking

after a fantastic happy hour with social media savvy colleagues last week, two of which gave a brief intro to design thinking, i decided it was finally time to include the concept here.

i've been following design thinking ever since a friend of mine that i took architecture classes with told me that she was a) not going back to architecture grad school b) working at a design research firm instead and c) was thinking about earning...her mba?! certainly she had gone mad.

in fact, my friend was under the spell of design thinking. design thinking, as fast company describes it, is "a proven and repeatable problem-solving protocol that any business or profession can employ to achieve extraordinary results". there are four, seemingly obvious, key steps involved: defining the problem, brainstorm all options, refine results, and pick the best. while these steps seem obvious in the problem-solving process, the details in each are a bit different from your everyday problem solving.

design thinking emphasizes being an active agent in the problem solving process; to think so far outside of the box that at first, people may think you've gone a little crazy. when defining the issue, design thinking focuses on identifying the true challenges at hand rather than what others (namely, clients) perceive to be the problem. this defining step is heavy on the observation (hence, active problem-solving) and also stresses the importance of constructing an accurate problem statement. fast company's mark dziersk describes the goal of the definition stage: "to target the right problem to solve, and then to frame the problem in a way that invites creative solutions." crucial for moving onto step 2.

next comes the brainstorming. many companies are routinely stuck in tunnel vision and fall into the trap of solving challenges the same way, every time. design thinking curbs this habit and encourages new and creative ideas. collaboration is key in this step to identify the most promising opportunities.

step 3 is developing those promising opportunities. in this stage, it's essential that participants keep an open mind and forget historical precedents. mistakes are encouraged (with of course, the hopes that an extraordinary answer is found as a result). ideas that seemed absolutely impossible yesterday can suddenly become feasible after a few hours of discussion and detail.

next of course, is stage 4: pick the favorite, and implement it!

so there you have it, design thinking in a nutshell. i recommend googling design thinking...there are some awesome articles out there that outline concepts and give great examples. ideo is a well-known firm headquartered in palo alto, california that is an enthusiastic advocate of design thinking, and napkin labs just created an app that helps clients manage their social marketing venues using ideo's design thinking. tim brown, ceo and president of ideo, gives a great talk on design thinking, on TED here. not surprisingly, this method of problem solving is used commonly in the design world--and it could definitely be applied to branding challenges.


have you used design thinking? how? do you find it realistic and practical?

photo courtesy of red hat

photo courtesy of ideo

photo courtesy of ideo

photo courtesy of napkin labs

photo courtesy of napkin labs

ok go: branding a band

ok go has built a reputation for making unbelievably creative music videos.


their here it goes again video makes creative use of treadmills and the contraption from this too shall pass is something every child in the world dreams of constructing in their living rooms.


these unique and elaborate videos have become a part of their brand that conveys quirkiness and humor, as well as a certain uniqueness that is nearly extinct in the world of music videos (britney, i love you, but all your videos are the same. even ten years later).


a friend sent me ok go's latest video today (a collaboration with google, best viewed with google chrome), for "all is not lost". i was blown away.

how do they think of this stuff?! while the creative theme throughout the video is mezmerizingly good, one of the most intriguing things about this video is how it incorporates viewers. viewers type in a word at the beginning of the video--and ta da! ok go forms your words at the end of their video with elaborate dance moves. being a tech/marketing/design/social media junkie, i go crazy for this kind of stuff. by including viewers and fans in their video, ok go creates a personal relationship by reaching every viewer in a unique way. in some ways, this interactive method reminds me of the post i did on interactive logos...is there anywhere social media hasn't reached yet?


what do you think of the video? are there any other interactive music videos out there?