reactions

Voluspa

While at the New York International Gift Fair last week, I couldn’t help but notice how fabulously packaged the personal care and aroma-based products were. It seemed that almost every brand had a new line or new look for their packaging. Of course, it is the gift fair so the products must ideally be fabulous, on trend, and giftable, but gone are the days of just pretty packaging.  Many of these products also featured high-quality natural ingredients so that users could pamper themselves inside and out.

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Like many companies, our holiday card is our number one opportunity to connect with our busy clients on a more personal and emotional level. Traditionally, we like to create a design that is also a mini gift, something everyone can either use or hang on to. This year, we were invited by the non-for-profit group, Robin Hood Foundation, to create a customizable, limited edition design that companies and individuals can purchase online and use as their own holiday card. In the spirit of giving, 100% of the proceeds goes directly to fighting poverty in New York City.

The Challenge

The challenge for this year’s card was to create a simple, festive, non-denominational card that appealed to a wide target audience. Sounds easy, but for designers who are met with the same staid seasonal imagery and themes year after year, the trick is to stay inspired. See how our idea was informed by experimenting with simple shapes.

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I have been in the design profession for well over 13 years now, and can tell you with certainty that a great brand sets the foundation for any company. Without strategically developing its brand, a company fails to create a unique market presence and invigorate its corporate identity or its full brand potential.

I wanted to put down some thoughts about ways in which branding can be the best investment you’ll make in your company. It has the immediate ability to elevate your brand image without changing the product itself. As a brand development agency, specializing in Luxury branding, MSLK is able to provide you with smart, creative solutions that will positively impact your bottom line.

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It may be 85 degrees outside, but as designers know, August is prime time to get into the holiday spirit. Since designers have to plan and produce holiday promotions long in advance of the holiday rush, we’ve had the holidays on the brain here for the past few weeks. One great holiday promotion that we stumbled upon is this salami advent calendar. It’s a promotional design for a German sausage company. It has 24 marks to encourage a tasty countdown to Christmas.

I was just sent this by a friend — a real skeptic. Even he can’t deny the overwhelming facts contained in this amazing video (turn off your sound, the music is a bit awful). The typography is quite good.

Certainly there were tons of green and eco-friendly items at the 2009 NYIGF, but one project stands apart as perfect blend of necessity, innovation, sustainability, and simplicity. The stretch bag by Artenica is an amazing alternative to disposable plastic shopping bags. Designed by the same people who created the delicately etched garland light, which has since inspired an entire generation of product designers on the possibilities with laser cutting, the stretch bag is also laser cut — out of discarded vinyl previously used for billboards.

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I’ve been fascinated by Twitter recently. As a Blogger, avid Facebook user and moderate Linked In follower, until recently, I hadn’t been able to figure out where Twitter fell into the realm of social networking. With the ability to update my Facebook status countless times a day, even from my cell phone, I wondered what does Twitter provide? Doesn’t that 142-character limit cramp anyone else’s style? I set about to find out what companies are using Twitter and what are the top strategies for using it effectively.

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Sheri and I finally got a chance to view the High Line, the latest large-scale project from renowned architects Diller, Scofidio, and Renfro. If you haven’t heard about the High Line, it is NYC’s newest public park, although the story runs much deeper than just that.

Originally constructed in the 1930s to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan’s streets, the High Line is a 1.45-mile-long elevated, steel structure originally designed to carry freight trains. According to the High Line’s website, it currently runs from Gansevoort Street, in the Meatpacking District, through the West Chelsea gallery neighborhood, ending at 34th Street, next to the Jacob Javits Convention Center. The last train ran on it in 1980.

We went with members of Spark and arranged for a private tour led by our good friend, the insanely smart and talented Ben Mickus, an architect at DSR (who also was MSLK’s project manager for our studio’s renovation, and a prolific furniture designer). While Ben did not work specifically on the High Line, he arrived armed with more facts and figures than you ever could have hoped for.

Click below to see my photos, although they’re no substitute for the real thing.

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Instead of my usual bike ride to the beach, I decided to walk with some visiting cityfolk who were not as adept on two wheels. As a result, I was able to notice the gray Impala with a “C  LUVS F” license plate I always see from the road has a companion gray Impala, with a “F LUVS C” license plate.

Pretty cute, eh?

See folks, design opportunities are everywhere… yours for the taking. If only more people took these risks. Imagine how effective this can be for companies? All you need is an idea… and a little vanity.