You look like everyone else

I'm a huge fan of not using stock photography. For so many reasons. The first is that one way to set your brand apart from your competitors is by not using the same images. Sounds simple. But with so many stock agencies out there, as well as people not in design or marketing who are pulling images that they have not licensed off the web,  it's become a free for all. Not to mention companies selling logos for $5 (which really isn't an issue for my clients, but it degrades the entire design industry), I'm a huge advocate of working with a professional photographer and creating original work. Of course, anyone with an iphone also thinks they can shoot, but again, that's for another discussion.
This time, let's look at stock photography. Images that you can purchase without restrictions. It's an opportunity for stock agencies to make a lot of money. No restrictions on how an image is used and where it shows up. So let's say you want to do an ad campaign in print. You need a photo of a specific person. A specific gender. Age. Ethnicity. Maybe she needs to be dressed a certain way. She needs to look approachable. Smart. Well, maybe you found her. The problem is, so did 10 other businesses. Look at what can happen when you don't create original content. I suppose it's a lesson in buyer beware. Because you can't be unique if everyone looks the same.

When you don't work with a professional

I'm often asked about spec work, the $99 logos, and the "free websites" out there. It's a whole DIY level of design that I don't even like to address. The same way that looking up a condition on webmd.com doesn't make you a doctor, these sites don't make you a designer. And worse, it cheapens your brand. And I've gone into that on other posts, so I'm not going to do it here. What I am going to do is show you something. A sign I keep passing on my way up to Wisconsin. So full of information that I don't know what to read first. Or what the name of the business even is. So many colors, type, and sizes. There's no order or sense of visual hierarchy. I think the logo might be in the upper left corner. I don't know. Is the name New Economical or is it their key selling point? These are questions that I shouldn't even have. When you're driving down a highway and you have only a couple of seconds to process information, it shouldn't be this hard. Of course, keeping it simple is my motto. Obviously it's not theirs. And I googled them. It's called Asian Gourmet.

Infographics: mind blowing

I just wrapped up another semester in grad school. One of my courses was called Data Visualization. It's the fancy term for what many know as infographics. It's a way of breaking down data that can often be complicated to understand in different ways that can tell a story, create an experience for the user, and connect better to a brand. It's also a way to get your mind blown.

Mind blowing, from the designer's perspective in trying to organize the data. To be able to pull out (and also remove) what isn't necessary. It can feel almost like manipulation, but the reality is that designers are always pulling and adding information to support an idea.

As I studied, researched and learned first hand what made a good infographic, it was also mind blowing in a sense that it was clear that while some of the best ones visually were incredible to look at, I often couldn't understand the information. Over complicated designs, text to small, or to much data, and it felt like I needed someone next to me to explain what I was looking at.

As is the case with most work we do, we're rarely there to explain the rationales behind our work. Sure, we have to sell it, explain it, and sometimes defend it to our clients, but at the end of the day, it needs to work on its own. If you don't get it without us, than it doesn't work. Design is about solving problems, not creating new ones. Otherwise, it's art.


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