My seven year old googles and doesn't have a land line

Last week there was a fantastic article about nostalgia in marketing. However, it was about recreating nostalgia. Which has a market, but for how long? My daughter is growing up in a completely different time. She understands and knows how to use google. She's never had a land line phone. She doesn't know what a fax machine is, let alone a beeper. It makes me wonder what will be considered nostalgic when she's my age? What will going back to her roots mean? (a 2012 ipad?)

As someone who loves antiques, I see the value of something older. Worn. With a history and a story. Maybe that's why we live in a brick bungalow. And I love to garden. Because I want her to have something real and lasting. Not made to look real.

Follow up

As many who know me personally and professionally, I'm a mix of traditional and modern. Not just in my design work, but also in the way I approach life. And like many professionals, the computer is a tool that we can't live without. But it's not our only tool.

I often discuss the importance of making a connection, in a traditional way. That we're bombarded with constant contact and the ability to reach someone in a fraction of a second. A phone call doesn't go through in a second and we think there's something wrong. An email goes unanswered for a few hours, HOURS! and we go nuts.

To center myself and disconnect/reconnect I took up yoga a few years ago. And before long, I found myself working with a variety of health and wellness companies as well as Yoga Studios.

And while I love being connected to a virtual yoga world through facebook, I was pleasantly surprised when after taking one class from a new studio, I received a hand written letter. ON STATIONARY. And with a card. And I thought, now that's a way to make a connection.

Here's hoping that 2012 brings you some great connections.

New ways to reinforce your brand

I've noticed a trend that companies are use some less than traditional ways to market. Using humor, personality, and a sense of community, traditional print and now even traditional online marketing are not the only options. And while my own personal design philosophy is not the in your face style of guerilla marketing (check out some amazing ideas), I love an opportunity to reinforce a company's presence in ways that really reflect the business and people who work with them.

Take for example these laptop skins, recently designed for SWC Technology Partners. Instead of just plastering a logo and web address, which so many companies do, they wanted to focus on the individual who uses them. We came up with a list of some fun questions that each employee would answer, as well as supplying three photos. We converted the pictures to black and white, for a more uniform look, knowing that the quality and style of images would vary from person to person. We also played with the tagline, adding people to the front. Putting people before business, technology, success says a lot about the company. And they company they keep.