Can happiness be visualized through design? How can design and creativity evoke happiness? And in the age of tongue-in-cheek visual media and mass advertising, do representations of happiness have to be so cynical?
I recently stumbled upon this interesting TED talk, in which graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister discusses the ways that design can portray happiness, and the distinct moments when design has brought unexpected happiness to his life.
Interestingly, Sagmeister cites a couple of urban guerilla projects that reframe the way that people normally interact with the city. (Examples? One project that replaced boring subway signage with graphically identical “life instructions”; another that placed blank voice bubble stickers over existing signage, inspiring passers-by to contribute their own dialogue to a given scene.) From a branding and creativity perspective, these are inspiring examples about how unexpected creativity and design can contribute to the happiness of a visually-savvy audience–on a deeply personal level.
February 17, 2010 • 8:20 pm • POSTED BY stephen penning
Make something memorable. Turn the category on its head. Be better than you were yesterday. Fail. Try Again. Collaborate. Brush up on your German. Take it on the road. Fight for the idea. Make up words. Go to the conference, then speak at it. Coax it out. Document it. Get on the birthday list. Push it. Cheer the Phils. Question presidents. Change minds. Make espresso. Learn the process. Dump beer on your boss. Start it up. Check out Billy Penn. Create brands. See all twelve toes. Put it on the crit wall. Find out why. Present it yourself. Ask for help. Assert your opinion. Share inspiration. Celebrate small victories. Do shots to big ones. Tell a story. Invent characters. Color outside the lines. Blog. Earn a nickname. Create a haiku. Debate. Turn your work space into a lodge. Get on the dance floor. Apply.
Something you may or may not know about us is that we have carved out a bit of a niche in University marketing. Essentially, we believe that if more universities took cues from how consumer brands market themselves (since in many ways they are), as opposed to thinking of themselves as strictly academic institutions (which they also are), they will be more successful. For us, higher education branding offers a myriad of challenges, considering the number of audiences a college or university must engage, the multitude of communications channels the brand can effect, and the unprecedented competition in the marketplace.
After all, if we are talking about recruiting potential undergraduate students who are 17 year-old seniors in high school—they are constantly bombarded with marketing messages and vehicles that are awesome, innovative, unheard of, crazy, and interactive strategies from all different types of companies and industries, many with monster budgets. Most universities are also situated within 50 miles of at least ten colleges, and are competing with hundreds of other universities on everything from academics to financial aid packages. How can a university position itself in this type of cultural landscape in a meaningful way? Something tells me sending a brochure with headlines such as “Our Campus-Your New Home” is not exactly going to send the kids a-running. These kids are committing at least four years of their lives, and student loan payments for significantly longer, to their college choice.
So, similar to consumer brands, one way a university can break through is by looking at its brand as a University-wide asset and ensuring its messaging and tone appeal to all of its key audiences (e.g. prospective undergraduate and graduate students, parents, guidance counselors, alumni, donors, etc.) and engage them with relevant and compelling content and imagery. This helps ensure they don’t let themselves off the hook with the same old “three in a tree” (infamous shot of three students on campus, with three distinctly different ethnicities), status quo.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, the most respected news publication in higher education, recently sat down with one of our favorite university presidents for a podcast. Dr. Daniel Curran, President of the University of Dayton, is a strong proponent of branding and shares a similar vision of branding universities as we do. To this end, Dr. Curran and the University have recognized the necessity of strong branding and marketing in the Strategic Plan, which sets forth a vision for the University.
“5.1: COMMUNICATE AND MARKET MORE EFFECTIVELY THE QUALITY OF THE UNIVERSITY’S DEGREE PROGRAMS, ITS RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP, ITS RESIDENTIAL LIFE, ITS DISTINCTIVE COMMITMENT TO INTEGRATING LEARNING AND LIVING AND LIVING IN COMMUNITY, THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MARIANIST EDUCATION, ITS ENGAGEMENT WITH THE REGION, THE NATION AND THE WORLD AND ITS FOCUS ON THE FUTURE.” (Strategic Plan: Five Common Goals)
When Trump trots out a CEO of some has-been company like Sears on Celebrity Apprentice, we don’t bat an eye as the suit launches into some canned speech about how Craftsman has always stood for quality and value and blah-blah-blah while Larry Wilcox and Dr. Ruth run off to write a commercial about crescent wrenches. I guess we just expect this sort of 80s gilt gaudiness from Trump. I mean, it’s his brand, and he’s totally being, as we say, on brand.
But when the Travel Channel’s Anthony Bourdain does the same thing for a credit card, oh man is it awkward—as witnessed here on the recent Istanbul episode (the clip in question comes at around the 3:15 mark):
For anyone who watches Bourdain’s show regularly, it just seems like something the guy would never sign off on—unless it’s an inside joke to his viewers, sort of a knowing wink of “you wouldn’t believe these guys dropped a six-figure check in my lap.”
FPO is a site devoted to showcasing new and innovative works in print – from books and annual reports to posters and business cards. We are thrilled to have our Loyola University School of Education Viewbook featured on FPO today – many thanks to Bryony for including our work!
February 5, 2010 • 2:08 pm • POSTED BY Dan Shepelavy
Check out that toaster! These are prime example of the work of a fab outfit called Plan Toys. Based in Thailand, they are the worlds largest manufacturer of recycled toys. Totally green, committed to sustainable wages, the outfit is a model of vision, conscience and aesthetics. Everything they make is made from rubber-wood trees to old to produce latex. The textured flat pop colors? – water based stains. And the stuff is built – practically carpentered, like in the olden days. But it’s more that quality materials, progressive ideals, and great design. We are talking a totally inspired aesthetic that borders on art. The world of Plan Toys is like magic dimension where everything is designed by Eero Saarinen, Alvar Aalto, Walter Gropius and overseen by the watchful eye of Chris Ware. Seriously – again – check out that toaster. (via shepelavy.com)
Bauhaus craft book,Aero Saarinen: TWA Terminal, Alvar Aalto:Paimio Chair, Chris Ware: excerpt
