Don't Panic!

Today I received the email blast from AIGA asking me, as a 'design leader,' to fill out this quarter's survey for the Confidence Index. I did not have very confident answers. At the end, the survey redirects the user to the AIGA Design Leaders Confidence Index. Turns out, design leaders have been rather un-confident since the last quarter: October 2007 was an all-time low (86.66 out of 100) since AIGA started the index in April 2005.

First, I started thinking about how bad the January 2008 numbers would be when they're finally posted (approximately February 1), and what my threshold would be before I started considering a different career. Then, I remembered my 'naive' question when I first joined a women's investment club in 2000 (right before the last recession): doesn't a recession only happen because everyone panics, and if everyone remained calm, wouldn't the recession be avoided? Then, I had a great idea for an analogy between the markets and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but someone beat me to it: the Hitchhiker's Guide to Markets.

You got a problem with that?

Self-Promotion. New Business Development. Not unlike the "War On Terror," the effort to promote oneself and generate new biz is never ending. It's a constant struggle because it touches so many aspects of your firm. Positioning, differentiation, product offering, what to charge, it all affects your success or lack there of.

AIGA has assembled some of the brightest minds in Jacksonville for a round table event tonight.

Hope to see you there.

Xerox - the copycat company

For a company that invented itself on making the perfect copy, Xerox has outdone itself with this new logo. I think we all remember the AT&T redesign, with their implementation of the "swirly globe" look that has been synonymous with everything from high-tech companies to Church logos. Just visit http://www.logolounge.com/ (membership required) and you'll see thousands of similar executions.

I often wonder how talented and creative Designers are reduced to "My secretary likes the AT&T logo. Can't we put our X there and make it red?" (Nothing against Secretaries) I know what you're thinking...haven't you ever had to compromise? Design something you weren't proud of? Yes, but I wouldn't crow about it.

Quoted from the Times: Maryann J. Stump, senior director of brand strategy for Interbrand says. “And you can do animation with a symbol that you just can’t do with a wordmark.” Brilliant.

We can make it spin, catch on fire, anything you like Mr. Xerox, so long as your check clears the bank...She can't possibly be serious.

My explanation would be something like, "The client had a strong vision for the redesign of this Identity and was very hands on with the design implemetation. After a thorough evaluation of over hundreds of options, the client's in-house committee felt this direction best represented the interests of the company."

Gotta run. I've got to go xerox a logo by tomorrow morning.

Xerox Hopes Its New Logo Doesn’t Say ‘Copier’ - New York Times