Design Thinking

DixonBaxi Designs Eurosport Home of the Olympics

I talk a lot about cohesive brand voice or cohesive visual voice across all touch points of a campaign. Many times I think I’m getting through to a client, and I’m not, so I end up looking up examples to show them. I usually track down digital and print components, static images, and PDF’s, then try and get them to wrap their head around how it also applies to video, motion graphics, audio, and all the other little bits and pieces that go into a full blown OMNI channel campaign. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. Today I found a great example that I think will help in the future.

The video below from DixonBaxi shows the campaign they have created to support Eurosport’s coverage of the Olympics for the next eight years. This is a huge project with hundreds of touchpoints that people will engage with. All of them need to have a look and feel that resonates the same way. From the editing of video all the way down to the static graphical content in print items. As you watch the video you will begin to see a very specific cadence that takes place in the way the clips are cut together. There is the establishment of a color pallet that gets picked up and used through out the campaign as well. About 15 seconds in they begin to hint at the graphics and animation, and then they roll out each component of the entire system showing how and where it will be used. From bus stop signs to tablet interfaces and everything in between. If you want to get a more in depth look, or just browse through the system at your own pace, they have it broken down on a really well-designed web page for you.

Design is Future

When I began my design career a few decades ago, the majority of the work I produced was passive, printed material. Design was broken into a few various genres, but almost all of it was passive in some form or another. I started my career as a graphic designer, but over the course of time, thanks to technology that was being defined and invented in the late 1980’s my function as a designer changed. By that I mean the work I did went from I created something, people looked at it and I had no real feedback loop to determine the overall impact or experience that was achieved by the final piece. As computer technology changed the toolset I used to create visual images, it also changed the way people interacted with design, and began to blur the definition of what a designer is and the roles they play in business, product development, brand interaction, and ultimately what we call user experiences today. I no longer define my career as “Graphic Design”. Graphic design is simply one element of a multi-faceted set of disciplines that I practice on a daily basis. “Designer” is a more realistic term, because like so many in the field today, you are called upon to wear so many different hats, and develop work that interacts directly with business, marketing, engineering, advertising and more.

As computer technology changed the toolset I used to create visual images, it also changed the way people interacted with design, and began to blur the definition of what a designer is and the roles they play in business, product development, brand interaction, and ultimately what we call user experiences today. I no longer define my career as “Graphic Design”. Graphic design is simply one element of a multi-faceted set of disciplines that I practice on a daily basis. “Designer” is a more realistic term, because like so many in the field today, you are called upon to wear so many different hats, and develop work that interacts directly with business, marketing, engineering, advertising and more.

The 30 minute film below is from the “Design is Future Congresstival” held at Disseny Hub Barcelona each year in June. It showcases the main highlights and strong ideas from the 15 speakers that took part in the Design is Future 2016, as well as from the presenter and curators of the event. These individuals speak directly to what the role of design is in today’s world, and the impact it has. Design is no longer the last mile. The point at which someone says “Make it look good”. It is no longer styling, it has evolved for the better as more people have become aware of its impact in the last 20 or so years. The video is really worth watching if you are involved in any aspect of design. As Doug Powel, Design Principal and Director of Design Education at IBM says, “This is an amazing time to be a designer”, and I couldn’t agree more.

Mike Monteiro at Webdagene 2015. “This is the golden age of design! …and we’re screwed.”

It’s Friday, and here is a little food for thought for all my designer friends. This is the keynote speech by Mike Monteiro at Webdange 2015. it’s worth watching. Seriously. Take 45 minutes of your day and listen to what this man has to say.

More Than Just Vodka.

Swedish Vodka maker Absolut has tapped into the “Maker” movement with a new mobile innovation lab built from shipping containers and other recycled materials. The Absolut Creative Space was designed by architects Astrid Skog and Charlotte Stuveback for Abslout earlier this year as a venue for creatives and innovators to produce unique with tools they might not have access to, in a collaborative environment. Inspiration was taken from Absolut’s production process and applied to each of the four individual spaces. The goal was to inspire and enable different types of work with limitless variations on the creative process.

Creative Space was first placed outside Färgfabriken in Stockholm Sweden. The containers occupy enough space to hold all four containers and create a common area in between. That space is a “Semi-Official Zone” according to the architects that designed the Creative Space, which is designed to welcome visitors and encourage them to come closer and get involved. In addition the area was softened with landscaping creating an even more relaxed and inviting space for the creatives using the space as well as guests.

I really hope Absolut brings this to the USA for a tour. I think it would be a blast to participate. The first link above takes you to the Absolut site with case studies of projects already completed.

An area of pallets with plants with meeting places surrounds the four containers.