The multidisciplinary trend spotting group, Trendincite Xchange, will be making a visit to MSLK’s studios this evening for a presentation and round table discussion on the future of social media. Trendincite Xchange is an independent group of professionals in the fashion and beauty industry who meet once a month to discuss trends they see emerging in product formulations, scents, colors, fabrics, materials, marketing, retail, and overall consumer behaviors. Participants include qualitative researchers, trend spotters, product developers, retailers, independent brands, and marketing professionals. If you’d like to join our round table group tonight, or in the future, please contact us at mslk@mslk.com.

Recently a friend posted a simple question on her Facebook status, “Over or Under?” The comments started flying and before she knew it, she had a full-on debate. The topic was as old as the product itself: Does your toilet paper roll come undone over the top, or under the bottom? The impetus for the question comes from the new “Roll Poll” campaign by Cottonelle.

In a move that is highly effective for today’s crowd-sourced market, Cottonelle is capitalizing on the enthusiasm consumers are experiencing over social media. Everyday users on social media websites like Facebook are completing questionnaires, quizzes and polls to share with their friends everything from what celebrity they look like, to movie knowledge, trivia questions, and beyond.

Last night’s Fashion Group International panel discussion was insightful and informative, with Sheri L Koetting successfully leading the panelists through a wide range of Social Media topics. Much light was shed on innovative techniques the panel used for their clients using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to turn strangers into fans, and fans into customers with a loyal following… and turning into sales.

Much like snowflakes, no two MSLK business cards are alike. The reason for this is simple: we use recycled paper as the base, and wrap pre-printed stickers around them. It’s all part of our firm’s environmental commitment, repurposing makereadies — the waste from offset printing — to use as business cards.

It’s an approach that caught the attention of Marc Praquin, designer, author, and publisher of the 288 page, full-color book, “MyOwnBusinessCard – VolumeOne”

I just read a fantastic article in Fast Company last night about creating systems within your organization which allow for spot-checking and quality control. All good stuff, and usually pretty dry stuff at that. I find that Chip & Dan Heath’s monthly articles are usually a good read, but whenever you can relate it back to David Lee Roth of Van Halen to illustrate your point, well… you’ll always have this reader’s attention.

Back in 2008 our friend and colleague Yves Behar worked with the New York City Health Department to bring a new look and attitude towards condoms. The result was smashing success. The distribution of condoms has more than doubled since before NYC introduced their own brand.

Despite the frigid cold after a giant snowstorm, a glimpse of spring was in the air today as I walked by the Anthropologie flagship in Rockefeller Center. Their store window displays were not only spring-themed, they also have a wonderful eco-theme, too. They’re made from plastic bottles collected from their customers.

One commercial during last weekend’s Superbowl quieted our rowdy group and made me reflect upon how much Google has changed my life. The simple text-based story showed a screen grab of one young boy’s journey through adolescence into adulthood  as seen by his queries on Google. It reminded me how much of my life and what I do next is determined by those queries for everything from a dinner recipe, to show times, to travel info. This is why it is essential that part of your marketing efforts ensure that your website, promotional materials, and digital marketing plan lead your company to showing up on the queries potential customers are using most often when they go looking for firms just like yours. To do nothing means Google will be leading them to someone else.

What exactly does a graphic designer do? Recently MSLK was joined by nine third- through fifth-graders looking to discover what it means to have a career in graphic design. Students at the Beginning with Children Foundation Senior Academy Program sign up for a field of study they are interested in each semester. As part of the BwCF program they  then visit a related professional office for a tour and presentation by a professional from that industry. MSLK was asked to host the children currently taking a course in Digital Art and discuss what goes into developing a design.

This weekend I finally got a closer look at Target’s relaunched private label brand, Up & Up. Private brands have a tricky task in distinguishing themselves from the national brand competition. One common approach is to design packaging that works cross-catagory, so the brand has a consistent look from the electronics section to the frozen food aisle. The downside to this approach is the design often appears generic. And while I like the look of Up & Up, it is admittedly generic. They’ve combatted this with smart copy lines on the front of each package. Boring paper towels become “puddle busters,” standard aloe vera gel is “after sun aaaaah,” and just like that the cheaper brand becomes the smarter brand.

While designers tend to focus on the look of the brand, the voice is just as important. It can elevate everyday brands and help clearly define a brand’s position in the market.

We just produced a short video about our environmental commitment. You can see it above, or on our fresh, new site: www.mslk.com.

Let us know what you think!

When times get tough, many businesses slash marketing budgets. In fact, a recent American Marketing Association poll revealed that 66% of their members are halting or reducing spending on key marketing campaigns.

However, studies show that business and customer loyalty is dramatically won (and lost) during a downturn.  A 1981-1982 study by McGraw-Hill Research and a more recent study in 2001 revealed that companies that continued to market aggressively during a recession increased their market share by approximately 250%, not only during the recession but for the 3 years following. The lean times are when brands have the ear of the customer  (after all there’s 66% less competition shouting for attention) and consumers will remember your loyalty and service to them when things pick up again as well.

On July 25th the Tru Beverage Company announced that they will be bringing the fictitious beverage Tru Blood to a store near you. The beverage has been made popular by HBO’s vampire soap opera “True Blood.” On the television series, vampires have been able to “come out of the closet” and assimilate with humans because they no longer need to feed on them as their source of sustenance; they can drink the synthetic blood alternative, Tru Blood.

The carbonated blood orange based beverage promises to feature the same intensely red-colored product fans see on the show; however, I can’t imagine the consistency will be nearly as thick! Either way it’s a great way for fans to take home a piece of the brand aura.

MSLK put our party and chef hats on to host the 3rd annual Spark BBQ. Spark, an organization made up of independent designers, holds a summer and winter event open to everyone, allowing for networking opportunities in addition to its monthly events specifically geared for creative professionals.

While I manned the grill for the most part, it was great seeing Old Guard members mingling with new members, who mingled with printers, copywriters, and business coaches.

One of the things which made this event so successful was the idea of name tags which had a pre-printed “Ask me about…” to spark conversations. A perfect fit for an organization named Spark.

Favorites “Ask me abouts…” included

“my new book”
“environmental graphics”
“learning to surf”
“Elvis” (which turned-out to be work-related)

and…

“California”

Maybe you’ll drop by for a veggie dog (or two) next year?

This poster series for the Bronx Zoo seems like a case of a great concept that probably never saw the light of day. The concept is so simple, yet captures the spirit of the Bronx Zoo so well. The designer simply uses the textures of the city to bring simple silhouetted die cuts of animals to life. The result creates a beautiful play between the city and the animal. It’s a great example of a designer considering context as part of the total design. Even better, it’s timeless and can be hung essentially anywhere.

My guess, however, is that these are only concept sketches and the design did not get produced. The downside to the concept is the cost of production. The design is deceptively costly, since a series of large die cuts can be very expensive.

Your chair is always there for you, day and night, 365 days a year. It never gives you any lip when you toss your coat over its back after a long day it without so much of a thanks. Think of all those times it’s supported you when you were feeling tired.

What about all the times you’ve strained it by forcing it to sit on its hind legs while you brag to your mom about how sweet your Facebook wall is looking these days? Nary a complaint from the stoic chair, the most loyal of  our four-legged friends.

So why do we make these poor things live out their days standing naked on a hardwood floor?

Every time I see the new Prius commerical, it make me instantly happy. It’s a far cry from the generic, sleek, celebrity-voiced-over car commercial. Instead of shooting the car in some dramatic, coastal landscape, they’ve created their own landscape with carefully choreographed people. In fact, every element of the landscape is a person. As the car drives through, the people transform into elements such as trees, clouds and water. The craft is so amazing that I almost didn’t realize they were people. The concept of integrating man with nature is fantastic, and the execution is flawless. My favorite touch is the subtle pulsation of movement that is created by each of the participants moving independently. It’s the perfect balance between focusing on the individual people and the larger scene unfolding. Pure magic.

Check out the behind the scenes clip showing the making of the commercial after the jump.

I’ve become HD-obsessed. I refuse to watch anything on television unless it’s at full 1080 resolution. I’ve also recently purchased a digital camera which shoots HD movies and have become so enamored with all the detail it captures, that can barely care what it is that I am shooting. (So much so, my hard drive is petitioning for an upgrade).

The flip side to seeing everything in crisp resolution is that you see, well, everything… especially the flaws. I’ve heard stories about famous actresses who cannot be cast because their bad acne now shows up clear as day on everyone’s living rooms due to the HD Revolution.

Naturally, there is a line of  make up to capitalize on this new reality and try to remedy it…

Since 1876 Anheuser-Busch products have been conceived and manufactured in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Recently after feeling pressure that sales were not growing enough or that commanding 50% of the US beer market wasn’t good enough, the Busch family turned over the reigns to the Belgium based company, InBev. The sale was intended to increase A-B’s foothold in stronger and emerging beer markets such as Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Eastern Europe.

With all this in mind, I’ve become increasingly more and more upset that A-B — now after 133 years of American ownership — has decided to market their American Heritage first with the switch of  Budweiser’s tagline from “The King of Beers” to “The Great American Lager,” and more recently with the introduction of the new product, “Budweiser American Ale.”

MSLK recently completed rebranding local, non-for-profit, arts festival, Figment. Held annually on Governors Island in New York City, the festival encourages people to find their inner artist and participate in any way imaginable.

The immediate task was to create a poster and supplementary materials for this year’s festival. In the process, we developed a simple yet flexible system for Figment to use in years to come that would help strengthen their identity and presence and still allow them to tap into a new creative theme each year. Read more about our process and see the results after the jump.