Beyond great service

Last night I was fortunate to spend a great night with my husband at Nomi. We were at a preview night to relaunch the space. I love getting dressed up to go to one of my favorite places, and the night didn't disappoint. Not because of the food (which wasn't my cup of tea), but because of the service and elegance. From the time I got into the lovely hotel, were staff was waiting to check you in with ipads, to the beautiful space, with friendly and eager waitstaff, to the chefs preparing the food, it was service done to a whole new level. Sure it was a cocktail party, but every detail was thought of. It was packaging to a whole new level. And now when I think of the lounge, not just a name comes to mind. But the experience. Sights, sounds, tastes, even smells. A combination of the senses. And that's what great branding does. It goes beyond a logo and a name. It makes a connection. And boy, did I connect.

 

The "parting gift" was spices in a wood box, with the logo and messaging burned in. Rustic and elegant, it also contained spices and a recipe. Probably one of the few gifts I will actually keep.

Identity crisis

In a recent casual conversation I had I learned of a new yoga studio opening up. With lots of research into building the studio, they were doing the research. Sort of. The first flag was that they did not practice yoga. The second flag was that they purchased a logo online. A moment of cringing on my part I admit. As someone who takes the work of design seriously, a member of AIGA, and someone who does not believe in spec work, or contests where designers compete, I inquired how this happened. Apparently not understanding the value of marketing and design, it was purchased online. The problem was, what did they purchase? Perhaps a logo that will also be used at a studio in another state. A logo that could be sold to various individuals, with rights belonging to the company that sold it to them. No worries for them? What about if they want to expand? I'm going to take a leap that people who open a yoga studio that don't practice yoga are doing it to create a successful business. And with that, the opportunity for growth. And as you grow your business, your brand can/should evolve. It's really about finding the right words and pictures that will connect your potential new customers and clients. But you want to tell an accurate story. Like yoga, you should build from the ground up. Have a solid foundation on which to grow. And it starts with your name. And from there, an identity. Your own identity. Not the possibility of having someone elses. Which can be a problem as you grow and think about trademarking or copyrighting your logo and tagline. This is serious business. To learn more about building your brand see me at the Midwest Yoga Journal Conference

Pictured is my daughter Elli in her favorite pose, tree.

Your beauty is your hair.

Your beauty is your hair. That's a sign for a salon that I used to see in my old hood. And every time I drove past it with my husband we always laughed. Because A. I wear my hair very very short. And B. My husband is bald. So neither of us really believe much of that statement. But what I do find interesting is that in the last couple of days, appearance has been the topic of choice with two of my professional woman friends. It was in the context of how we present ourselves in our professions. And while I have to say that even though we were all in much more of the creative work sector, it's still an issue. I remember years ago when I was working at a design studio that had a rather lax dress code, that our account manager, who was always dressed to perfection, told me he didn't want to take one of the designers to a meeting because he looked like a meat head. (his choose of clothing to work was a baseball hat, tshirt and jeans. He always looked like he was about to go to a Cubs game.) I couldn't have agreed more. I think to a certain extent we all dress the part. I love the saying "dress for the job you want, not the one you have." Because it's all part of the packaging. No matter how you choose to wear your hair.

That's me sitting on a Knoll Barcelona Chair at Milwaukee Art Museum. A favorite chair of design studios and swanky hotels. My daughter took the picture and told me to look serious.