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The Next Generation of Workers (the Flex Force)

"This generation is completely untethered. They have laptops in grade school," says Jody Thompson, a co-founder of Culture Rx, a consulting firm that promotes a completely flexible work style. Thompson says young people today are used to getting stuff done — on their laptops, cell phones, iPods — wherever they are, whenever they want.

"Then we bring them into the work environment and we say, 'Here's this 6x6 square you're going to work in, with a desktop computer,' which to them, by the way, is a gaming computer," Thompson says. "'And here's your phone with your cord. You come in at 8 and you leave at 5, and between 10 and noon, that's when we're creative.'"

Thompson says young workers simply can't relate to such a system.

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This article defines what we don't really envision what the workforce will become in the future years. Baby Boomers will also need a way to make ends meet and that will entail working from home. Very interesting. We have a chance to shape that vision now.

What can you OWN?

This graphic provided by Marty Neumeier.

Music Reports has a Shiny New Image

Music Reports provides rights licensing and royalty accounting services for music. We were hired to update their image into a recognizable trademark and to effectively communicate who they are and what they are about. First we solidified their name as Music Reports--only vs. MRI. Then we presented the emotional appeal of the company and its products as it compares to the BMW 750i series:

•    Performance & Efficiency
•    Safety & Security
•    Technological Innovations
•    High Performance
•    Low Maintenance
•    Excellent Handling
•    Exudes Confidence and Power
•    Surpasses the Competition
•    End-to-End Proficiency

Retaining Brand Equity: Change for Design ’s Sake?

I was just about to write about the art of knowing when to retain equity in a rebranding job and lo and behold I read this interesting article in Newsweek about Peter Arnell and his Tropicana Juice carton blunder. His firm, the Arnell Group, is the same firm that rebranded Pepsi. (Pepsico is Tropicana’s parent company also.)

Tropicana removed their new cartons after three months on the shelves due to consumer protest. The new carton design was heavily criticized for looking too much like a generic store brand. The distinctive logo is gone and a certain comfortable familiarity was removed. I, myself, realized I had pulled it off the shelf without realizing what brand it was.

There is something to be said for retaining equity. Change for design’s sake is not good for the product. Why would you destroy your brand equity that way?
Why fight convention? If you have trained the consumer, why re-train them? Knowing when to retain equity and how much to retain is an art. Keeping your focus on the consumer is key.

Losing brand equity with radical package changes is more about ego than playing to the appropriate audience. I am not saying it is bad design, I just think Arnell missed the mark by throwing the equity out the window. A little too much ego mixed with too much design? Maybe. Your thoughts?

Special Modern Design Designs ID for Casting Director

Finn/Hiller Casting is an award winning casting agency in Los Angeles. Together, Sarah Finn and Randi Hiller have cast a broad range of films spanning every genre from feature films like Crash and Terminator 3 to character-driven pieces such as Life as a House and Crazy/Beautiful. They recently decided to part ways, amicably I might add.

Special Modern Design was hired to give Randi Hiller a modern design for her new beginning. It's a little hard to research casting director's competition online because, I have learned, they do NOT want to be found. Strange twist on marketing.

Amsterdam Modern launches Web Site

The hidden secret in a 5000sf warehouse in Van Nuys industrial district is a super cool find for your authentic  mid-century modern furniture needs. This stuff comes from stores in Amsterdam that have gone out of business and arrives packaged in huge boxes. "The items are dusty and dirty" says Ellen LeComte, owner. Then she uncovers her gems piece by piece. It's like the past frozen in time. check out the identity and web site I designed for her.

Beware of the Blob! ...I mean Blog

I recently got an email from a client expressing his fear of the blog. What I was suggesting to him was for us to build a content management ability on the back-end of his site where he can update his events, shows, products, etc. instantly. But I get it, the fear of the blog...so trendy sounding... oh, the pressure...too many people expressing their opinions. On the other side of things-- Google loves them. If you want to be found on Google, you have to have fresh content. Fear not the high rankings.

Small Cakes make Blog News

More news on the upcoming mini-cake bakery, Cake Monkey. Betty Hallock of latimes.com's Daily Dish writes:

"I'm having a small-cake moment. In the past couple of days I've had a lot of little cakes, like the individual cakes that pastry chef Elizabeth Belkind (formerly of Grace and Campanile) has created for Cake Monkey, the bakery she launched with her partner, Lisa Olin, from a commercial kitchen (they're currently looking for a retail space)."

I am so excited to be the creative firm that branded and created the identity for Cake Monkey and can't wait until we see the retail version rumored to be on Fairfax Ave. I am overseeing the design of the web site which is going through a technical makeover right now on the back end. Looking forward to more news. De--lish.

special modern design launches new site

yay. The new company site features all the essentials: logo showcase, work section, blog, client area... We partnered with Judo Code, web site development company utilizing all the newest and best internet marketing techniques. The site shows thorough case studies and adds a lot of information about design. take a look and let us know how we are doing as the Identity Specialist that we claim to be. http://www.specialmoderndesign.com/