The new year represents a new start, a time to reflect back on the past with an eye towards the future. It’s a time to be thankful for the many people in your life. It’s a time to clean out the cubbards, for me I’ve been purging through 20 years of samples, mostly printed pieces. Going through the samples made me realize just how much change has occurred within the design industry over that span. For me, each piece had a person, a story attached to it. It made me realize the many blessings, the struggles, the achievements. It made me realize how CS Designworks has adapted to change and managed to pick itself up after each and every adversity.

So this leaves me with a heartfelt thought for the new year.

2010 = HOPE

I recently hooked up with an old college mate in LinkedIn who has his own design agency. His website was designed in Flash. The site was gorgeous, well designed, clean, simple, great typography and showcased his product offering elegantly. BUT, there was not a hint of optimization to be found.

I recently went to a well-known SEO guru’s website who must get a gazillion hits per month and was visually-offended by the lack of design on his site. Design was such an afterthought on this site that any respectable designer would puke. BUT, the content was amazing and is now bookmarked on my computer.

So who is more successful? The beautifully-designed website or the beautifully-optimized website? Can design and SEO co-exist?

It is in this designers opinion YES.

Content is king in this day and age. And good content is a balance between quantity and quality. Quantity is beneficial to robots (search engines) and Quality is beneficial to humans. And good design, especially good typography, assists the reader in reading your great content.

Good design orchestrates the entire process. It navigates the reader, it speaks. For example, if you we’re having a human conversation and spoke in a monotone manner how would you be perceived regardless of your content. On the other hand, if you ever listened to a dynamic speaker like Tony Robins, you will notice that his delivery is anything but monotone. The variations in his delivery reinforce his message. He raises his voice, he lowers his voice, he weaves and bobs, he pauses. This is all to reinforce his message. This does not mean the monotone guy has nothing important to say, it means that Tony Robins or a Tony Robins-like delivery resonates better.

So effective design and SEO are inextricably linked. And isn’t the point of great content to be read. Imagine the best of both worlds where you have great content, optimized with killer SEO married with great design. AWESOME.

In order to get your company noticed, it takes more than just handing out fliers, or posting an ad up to a local paper (although you could still do both). Before you go all ad crazy, figuring where and when to put up those ads can be more effective and can save you money. In order to figure that out, you have to come up with a marketing plan and do some research.

Research your own business, products and/or services, your location, and your prices. Then look into what your competition is doing in all the same aspects. And lastly, look into your target market, their demographic and shopping habits.

A good way to research is by going online. You can visit your competitors sites, read blogs related to your business, and check out your chamber of commerce or local economic development agencies for demographic information. Knowing all these things will put you in a better position to market your business effectively and with better results.

A company’s logo is like a person’s face. If you can’t remember a person’s face, it’s difficult to remember facts about them. Several big name companies including Wal-Mart, Sysco and Kraft Foods all decided to get a logo facelift. They went from a bold, block, corporate look on their logo, to a more inviting, brighter and friendlier look. Logotypes are rounder, lighter and lowercase and colors are brighter and cheerful.

Stars, smiles, and bursts also found there way into theses happier logos. Wal-Mart, trying to change its image after some attack over labor practices, changed its military style star, to a more cheerful twinkle. And what better way to say that your company is environmentally friendly than to add a leaf to the logo the way Superfresh, QuickChek, and Sysco have done.

Even sports teams looking for a change in fortunes decided that a logo upgrade might be the answer. This year, the Detroit Lions, who last year became the only team in NFL history to lose all of its regular season games, will follow the Arizona Cardinals in trying to reach success after changing their logo.

Design has long been influenced by what’s going on in the world. And when things don’t go as planned for a company, they often try to give themselves a logo upgrade first. This shows the consumer that they have changed, they’re better or upgraded, even though they didn’t touch any other part of their company. Kind of like a corporate nip and tuck. And they say I’d never make it in medical school.

“This group was particularly lively, and because there were so many questions the visit lasted four hours,” said Nick Chiechi, CSD President. Students also spent time in the conference room looking at a portfolio of the firms work. Details about some of the assignments were revealed and that sparked a lot of discussion.

From a technical standpoint there were many questions regarding what applications the firm uses to create websites, motion graphics and marketing communications. Examples of the firm’s promotional items were also displayed and why and how particular items were chosen was explained. There was also interest in how a particular project cycled through the creative and production stages and how much time the process takes.

Students were surprised to learn that while the designers were often responsible for specific aspects of an assignment -– there was still so much collaboration and teamwork at CSD. They asked what additional skills they should hone as they prepare to enter the workforce. The group was encouraged to focus on writing.

Designers explained that concepts rely on content to communicate a message and that writing is used to present ideas – even though professional writers are ultimately involved in most projects. They were reminded that the web is demanding writing for websites, search engine optimization, blogs and social media.

A quick poll established that while the students want to be employed to gain experience, many of them had the ultimate goal of starting their own business. Remembering their visit and energy, CSD staffers concluded that this group definitely has the motivation and enthusiasm to succeed in their future career choices.

1. Company name – check
2. Location – check
3. Stationery/business card – check
4. Website – check

But developing business collateral, one of the most important things every start up needs, often gets overlooked. When starting up a company, or as your company grows, you’ll want to provide updated information about your business to employees, investors, existing and potential clients, and especially the media. This is the idea behind collateral items. As a design firm, we find there plenty of ways to show this information.

1. Fact Sheets/Biographies – For learning important facts about your business.
2. Capabilities Brochure/Product Fact sheets - For highlighting your company’s services or products.
3. Mission Statement – Serves as a basis of the ideas that are at the core of your organization, or to motivate employees and lets new hires know what you value.
4. Press Kit – Press kits are very useful for the media, trade shows, events and other public relations purposes.

Although there are other ways to have business collateral, we find these are the most common used. With these items, you’re ready to show off your company properly to any potential client, or employee. They’re easy to update, and great for every company to have, whether you’re starting up, or in business for 50 years.

Last year, Tropicana decided to re-brand their struggling product. So they went out, changed their logo, changed their image (the clever orange with a stripped straw image), and changed their packaging. So what happened? They had to change it back. People where so turned down by the new look, they where questioning if it was the same orange juice. They where confused by the new labeling system and even the new round cap (which I kinda liked) got some back-lash. Another problem they had was that they didn’t advertise the new look to their customers, letting them know about the change. And a complete overhaul is never a good thing with a brand with so much history.

Interesting enough, Pepsi (who is run by the same people as Tropicana) decided it was time to re-brand as well. But instead of completely changing what worked so well for them over the years, they took what they had and updated it. They kept their look consistent with what was there before, but made it fresh to attract new younger customers. What also helped was that they put out an ad campaign, letting people know of the change. Their transition toward the new look went a lot more smoothly.

Design can make a big difference in the way a company is viewed. And by these examples, it can be the deciding factor in how a company moves forward (a little marketing doesn’t hurt either). Whether you’re starting up, or moving forward, building a brand can help your business succeed, as long as you remember to be consistent.

Because of my love for travel I find transit maps the most interesting and found the book, Transit Maps of the World, to be one of my greatest collections of transit maps out there. It includes New York City’s Subway Map, fourth on the list of most used metro systems in the world, and dates back original designs from 1905. (Speaking of the most used metro systems, it’s a good thing we are not #1 like Tokyo.)

Somehow I missed one of the greatest map releases last year. Massimo Vignelli has updated his original 1972 Map of New York City’s Subway and Men’s Vouge gave away a limited edition of 500. Vignelli thinks the current subway map is loaded with confusing information. Perhaps MTA should consider adapting and replacing the existing map?

See Massimo Vignelli explain his 1972 NYC Subway Map in an outtake from the film Helvetica.