Last fall we worked with The Mary Louis Academy, a private, Catholic school for young women in Jamaica Estates, New York. Enrollment at the school was dropping, girls were not listing TMLA as their first choice, and nearby co-ed schools were competing for and attracting girls who no longer seemed to want an all-girls education. We began in the admissions office to see what was working and what needed to change. We suggested how to approach new markets, how to increase campus visits, how to improve attendance at open house events, and more. With a vigorous admissions plan in hand, we then created a new website, print brochure, and graphic standards manual to ensure that all communications stayed on message.

Results as of February 2016 are remarkable. Students who selected TMLA as first choice rose by 50%. Second choice rose 11%.  The story is ongoing but we can clearly see things are looking up at TMLA. Smart marketing really works!

When designing a logo, we keep several things in mind:
1. Keep it simple.
2. Make it reflect the organization.
3. Keep it fresh.
4. Give the client options.
5. Be at peace if the client does not pick your favorite option.

As wonderful as our clients are, they may not always pick our favorite design. That’s why we need to be sure that everything we present will make them—and us—proud. We presented four different logo concepts for the Center for the Study of Federalism, an organization dedicated to advancing understanding of the principles of federalism. Option one (our favorite) shows a circle of books (study) forming a star (federalism) in the negative space. Option 2 pulls the book shapes away from the center to de-emphasize the star shape. Even though the client chose our least favorite option, we are at peace since either version says something meaningful about the organization.

Vivian Maier was an intensely private street photographer whose work was discovered by accident in 2007, two years before her death. Since her discovery, writers, historians, art collectors, and the public have fallen in love with her work and are burning to learn more about the enigmatic person behind the Rolleiflex. Although she shot over 150,000 images, only a few were ever printed. In fact, over 2,000 rolls of film were left unprocessed in the canister. In spite of that, her work matured in concept and quality over the course of her life. How does a photographer improve without seeing the photos? How does a full-time nanny find time to become such a masterful observer? Those are the kinds of questions I and thousands of other admirers have about Maier. I think our fascination is rooted in Maier’s authenticity. She had a genuine passion for photography—a passion that she followed without the need for critique by others or audience approval. Her creative drive was an end in in itself. That authenticity is enormously appealing. That is the quality we all should aspire to in our work for education. The closer we come to authentically capturing the essence of a place, the better we will communicate to our audience. Do the photos feel real or staged? Are the words honest or are they institution-speak? These things matter a great deal if you want to be seen and remembered.

I noticed this eye-catching display outside of a restaurant in Rome. What a great idea! Too bad the cigarette butt and ashtray were left carelessly in the scene. Suddenly the idea of dinner here is much less appetizing. What a great reminder about the importance of minding the details when we reach out to our audiences. Happy marketing and buon appetito!

Brush script calligraphy on book covers is having quite a surge of popularity these days. I’m not sure where the trend started, but I now imagine book cover designers being held captive until they agree to pick up the brush tool and swirl out letterforms. The irony is that all those handwritten covers are trying to project attributes like “unique,” “quirky,” and  “personal.”

Although design conformity can feel delightfully comfortable, you give up the opportunity to carve out your own distinctive brand position. Looking like our competitors will also be a major stumbling block if we hope to attract new prospects.

Do neighborhoods have brands? Of course they do. And, thanks to area businesses and community associations, many neighborhoods in Baltimore have murals that represent their brands.

Baltimore’s neighborhood murals never fail to grab my attention. Each mural is different; one focuses on a historical event, one celebrates a cityscape, while another makes an economic or social point. Who creates these murals, who funds them, to what extent is each neighborhood involved?

I learned that over 250 murals have been produced in Baltimore City as a result of the Baltimore Mural Program. The process begins when a Baltimore resident wants to host a mural that displays an idea specific to his or her neighborhood. Once the community association approves the painting, a location is picked and approved by the property owner. Although the Baltimore Mural Program does not have state or city funding, most funding comes from local Baltimore businesses or fundraising within the community. The mural program coordinator works with the community members to select a topic and artist for the painting. Once completed, there is a party to celebrate the artist and artwork. See more here.

Baltimore Murals are more than paintings on a wall; they brand an area of people with a name, symbol, or design that identifies and differentiates one neighborhood. It’s a great way to show community pride to everyone who passes by. -Contributed by GCF intern Cat Lee

If you can watch this video without wincing in recognition at least once, you don’t work in communications. Sure, we all work hard to make brilliant, powerful, enduring work. But there are times when we are forced to compromise. Perhaps there are budget restrictions, or impossible deadlines, or bosses who won’t listen to reason. Reality happens. But seeing this video reminded me how important it is to stay focused on fresh ideas. It’s the only real tool we have to get the attention of our audience. After all, safe marketing is as meaningless as it is ineffective.

I just received my new passport in the mail. I was horrified—not over my photo, for once—but over the document’s overblown redesign. Gone are the flexible covers that allowed me to flip easily through the pages to admire all my entry and exit stamps and gone are the understated backgrounds that allowed clear legibility of those stamps, my personal data, and my photo. A passport is an official record of our travels to other lands and cultures. It seems contradictory to me that the redesigned pages are so obsessively focused on our own country’s culture and landmarks, as if our government is afraid we’ll forget where we come from.

I am surprised to write this, but not everything needs to be redesigned or rebranded. I like some things to remain unchanged by the whims and trivialities of the real world. Don’t redesign my passport, my license plates, or my money. But, if you must redesign them, please hire a professional who understands the importance of legibility, aesthetics, audience, and concept to do it.

Grace Weitman is a retired entrepreneur, mother, grandmother, friend, and most recently a photographer whose photos reflect her inquisitive, upbeat nature.

Grace’s interest in photography coincided quite inadvertently with her increasing loss of vision. She has 40-45% vision in one eye only. I asked her if the title of her blog, “Sight Unseen,” was a reference to her own difficulties with sight. Her answer took me by surprise. “I thought it would make a great title for a mystery novel but come to think of it, it also refers to the way I shoot my pictures. I can’t see very well through the viewfinder, so I just point the camera at a scene I think will look interesting and shoot.” Her technique has remarkable results. She has captured spontaneous moments between her daughter and grandson, the incongruity in a Palermo storefront, a warm connection inside a high-tech store, and much more. What inspires her? “I like to take pictures of things that are quirky, or beautiful, or different,” she says. “I carry my camera with me wherever I go.” I for one look forward to seeing more of Grace’s delightful world.

I was browsing in a bookstore recently and was struck by the similarities between these two covers. Jobs and Lennon look like twins or at the very least they go to the same hair stylist. The black and white portraits on a white background add to the uncanny resemblance. Perhaps Jobs is subconsciously emulating one of the people who inspired his own creativity. According to biographer, Walter Isaacson, Jobs was fascinated with Lennon’s dogged reworking of a chord in “Strawberry Fields,” asking the band to revise and revise until the sound was perfected. Sounds like strawberries to apples to me.

Did you hear about the recent controversy spurred by a Webster University billboard (shown above) touting their successful chess team? Webster athletes who felt slighted by the tongue-in-cheek statement unleashed a flurry of tweets expressing their dismay. How did a playful ad calling attention to Webster’s academic prowess turn into an insult to the institution’s jocks? Obviously, that wasn’t the intention, but communications can be a tricky game—especially when you add humor to the mix. Sometimes no matter how well-planned your messages are, they can be misunderstood. So what’s a communicator to do? Conduct your research, know your audience and what you’re trying to say, and then make your move.

Cruise down any avenue in Baltimore and you will inevitably run across a scene like the one above. These solitary townhomes are sometimes all that remain of formerly vibrant neighborhoods. According to the Census Bureau, in 2010 one in nine housing units in Baltimore lay vacant. The city has aggressively razed abandoned properties to remove fire and health hazards, but the result is a street that looks empty and forgotten.

The row house is an unlikely Baltimore icon. It’s been depicted on everything from local beer labels to crafty painted window screens, and even abstracted into the background of indie band stage shows. Every house I lived in over the past 11 years was a row home. The icon is engrained into the psyche of nearly every Baltimorean, so it’s no wonder that Ben Marcin began photographing the city’s stand-alone buildings. What sets his photo series apart is his ability to speak about the idiosyncrasies of our city and its social and political climate. Every photograph in the series shares the same composition: one row house, front and center. In a recent interview with The Atlantic, Marcin discusses what compelled him to photograph these scenes. For me, the series is a reminder that you can use one very small thing to describe one very big problem.

I recently finished reading The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson, a gripping account of a deadly cholera outbreak that struck London in the summer of 1854. Scientists of the time were convinced that cholera was an air-born disease brought on by the appalling sanitary conditions of Victorian-era London. Yes, London was a squalid place and inadequate waste and garbage removal was responsible for the potent smell that permeated the city. However, the root of the problem was not in the air but in the water. The water-born theory was first proposed by Dr. John Snow, based on his observations of the number of victims who were clustered near a particular fresh water pump. Snow was convinced that the pump was infected with the cholera bacteria and that drinking water from the pump was responsible for so many deaths. To help visualize the theory, he drew a black line on a map to indicate where each victim resided at the time of death. The map also pointed out the location of all water pumps in the area. Clearly there was a correlation between the pump and the number of deaths near it. Superstitions die hard, but eventually the map helped sway opinion away from the air-born theory.

It’s thrilling to see how innovative thinking and good information graphics played a heroic role in solving a frightening medical mystery. Yes, good infographics can save lives.

This video was created to help promote interest in the remake of the movie, Carrie. We think it’s guerrilla marketing at its best. Enjoy!

I recently judged digital designs for the University & College Designers Association’s (UCDA) annual competition, and the experience was an eye-opener. Unlike print design competitions where judges meet on location and review entries together, the digital judging was done remotely from our office computers. I was surprised at the amount of time it took to evaluate each entry. Unlike a print piece that can be sized up fairly quickly, a digital entry may require several minutes of study before getting a well-rounded picture. All in all, it took me several hours a day for about three days to complete the judging. This meant hours of tedium that were occasionally interrupted by a few gloriously smart and moving experiences.

After all three judges submitted their results, UCDA provided us with a spreadsheet compilation of our votes. I was astonished to see how closely we agreed on the award-winning work even though we had no discussion with each other while voting.

What makes an entry an award-winner? For me, the exceptional work did one of two things—it had an emotional impact on me and/or it taught me something. When design fails to make us feel or learn, there is not much reason to pay attention. When we shine, the work we do in educational marketing stands up to the best out there. That’s quite an achievement when you consider that schools rarely have the extravagant budgets of the corporate world. It proves, once again, that throwing money at a problem doesn’t solve anything. Great ideas, however, can and do.

Here are links to several competition entries that inspired me:

Website
Vassar Admissions
University of California
Arts at Stanford

Online magazine
Brenau Window

Video
Chatham University
Oregon State University
Simon Fraser University

Here is a complete list of gold, silver, and merit award winners. The digital entries are on the last page of the list.

Photographer Jonathan Bjorklund took his camera and singular vision to the Arctic to record a place most of us will never see in person. These spectacular photos showed me that the Arctic is a more colorful place than I had imagined. Take a break from the clutter in the office and follow the link to the complete photo set.

We recently created a communications plan, tagline, brochure, and pocket folder to help define the DNP program at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. The bold type treatment and closely cropped photo help emphasize that UM’s DNP is a degree of difference.

A red-sky sunset, a gull over the water, and a bug on a flower are all subjects you should not shoot if you want to be considered a “serious photographer.” Each of these genres is wildly popular on photosharing sites like Flickr and “real” photographers love to heap scorn on them. Cliche` or not, there is something refreshing about so many people around the world enthusiastically recording these simple scenes. The photos may not be considered art, but they are evidence of our collective fascination with the natural world. I’m happy to share the planet with people who can’t resist shooting pictures of bugs on flowers. After all, these are the people who will be passionate about protecting bugs, flowers, trees, and the entire natural world from increasing environmental challenges.

I confess. I’m addicted to the lowest-rated cable series on earth: AMC’s The Pitch, a cringe-inducing reality show that pits two ad agencies against each other in a battle to win a juicy account. The first season’s ratings were so low that the Nielson score for the April 30, 2012, episode was 0.0% or a total of 45,000 adult viewers in the US.

Imagine my surprise to learn that The Pitch is back for another season! AMC is known for gutsiness. Perhaps the enormous successes of other AMC programs like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Walking Dead have given the network space to stick its neck out for a second year in a row.

Back again are the client de-briefings, the late night brainstorming sessions, the internal tensions, the snarky assessments of the competition, the shaping of the creative, and the panicked deadlines, all leading up to the big pitch to the client. You don’t need to be in advertising to feel the chill this show is designed to bring. Anyone who has ever had to create and present an idea understands the dread, the fear, the joy, and the sorrow of exposing ideas for judgement. What makes the show so enticing is that we viewers get to size up the work of the two agencies and decide who has the better idea and the better chance of being awarded the account. Interestingly, the best idea does not always win. Check out the show to see what I mean.

Do we know what daily life was like in the stone age? Is it possible to recreate that experience today? The answers are “yes,” and “yes,” according to Lynx Vilden, founder and head instructor of the Living Wild School.

The School provides hands-on experience in making and using stone age tools and technologies. Students can enroll in 7-day intensive classes that focus on skills such as tool making, fire by friction, and edible and medicinal plants. There is a two-month immersive program that teaches students wilderness survival in the manner of prehistoric people.

I’m amazed that these ancient technologies are still being taught today. If you ever get the urge to drop off the grid for a week or two, here’s a good place to do it.

The launch of Nike’s Better World website in 2011 marked a turning point in the way we see and use the web. The site used parallax scrolling, single page navigation, and eye-catching visuals in a fresh and exciting way. The single page layout engaged the viewer with rich, interactive storytelling and encouraged deeper exploration. Soon, a number of look-alike websites appeared on the scene, all trying to cash in on this cool, new online experience.

You may not be familiar with the term parallax, as it’s fairly new to the web, but it’s actually a technique that has been around since the early days of cartoon animation. Simply put, the illusion of depth is created by having one layer move faster or slower than another layer above it. Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie is an early example. Later, side scrolling video games, like Nintendo’s Megaman, used the technique. 

Like all things web 2.0, there are some pitfalls to look out for, such as cross-browser compatibility issues and in some cases slower load times. Before using any technique, consider your audience and the purpose of your site. For example, single page navigation would be a nightmare on an entire college website, but an admissions page or fundraising microsite could use the technique amazingly well. This Bay State College online admission’s viewbook is one good example.

The parallax trend shows no sign of fading away. With the rise of tablets and other touch screens, it’s no wonder these techniques have been embraced by so many designers.

Here are a few more examples of some stunning and effective single page websites:

 “We aspire not just to be different from other schools, not even just to lead, but to show a new way.” This quote by Bernard T. Ferrari, dean of Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, introduces a new positioning concept we developed for the school’s Global MBA program. Lean copy and sumptuous photography emphasize Carey Business School’s commitment to educating business leaders who are prepared to tackle the most pressing issues of our time.

The Netflix show House of Cards has received high praise for being the first successful online-only drama series. Now, they’re turning heads again. The show made Emmy history for being the first online program to be nominated for Best Drama Series, a prestigious Emmy Award category.

Television networks battle to attract the most viewers. For decades, that race was limited to four major studios—ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX. The arrival of Netflix’s “House of Cards” is upsetting the status quo in spite of its comparatively limited production budgets. Netflix understands that it’s not the size of the budget but the quality of the creative concept that attracts viewers. The best way to deliver your message is simply to develop great ideas.

This fact applies not only to television. Businesses, organizations, and institutions should also take note. Instead of wasting precious dollars developing the glossiest brochure, the loudest commercial, or the flashiest website, pay more attention to finding creative solutions. You may think your luck could be better, but as Netflix shows, it’s all in how you play your hand.
David Thompson, GCF intern

The creators of the movie, Monsters University, have done their homework. To help promote the film, they built a Monsters University website with links to admission, academics, campus life, and faculty and student profiles. The site delivers familiar college marketing language with an amusing twist. Phrases such as “a history of excellence in shrieking,” “developing the whole monster,” and “a relentless pursuit of monster potential” abound. Here’s the introduction to the academic program:

As a renowned institution of multidisciplinary scholarship, Monsters University holds its faculty, staff, and students to high standard and ongoing commitment to discovery and learning. Students of every shape, size, color, and texture arrive from every corner of the world to take their places among the best and brightest students in the world. Whether your talent is causing screams or designing the canisters that capture them, MU is a place to find your truest calling and reach your highest potential.

How much does your college marketing resemble MU’s? I’m sure we will all see a similarity or two. The beauty of satire is that it makes us laugh at ourselves while pointing out the things we need to change to improve.

Millennials love being at the cutting edge and, for the most part, they are the ones pushing the technological envelope. However, when it comes to education, they have not abandoned the traditional classroom.  

Even though online classroom enrollment has increased by 25% in the past four years, a recent survey found that 78% of college students still value the in-class environment. Although 80% of students use technology while in class, only half of them felt that technology is essential to their education.

What does this all mean? As a millennial college student, I suspect it means that we love our technology, but even more, we value the up-close and personal interaction that you can only find in the traditional classroom.

David Thompson, GCF intern

Tommy Edison was born blind, but he hasn’t let that interfere with his ability to socialize with the world online, or for that matter, review movies. The following video demonstrates how Tommy uses Instagram to shoot and post photos for his followers. 

It’s amazing to see how the web has become more accessible to visually impaired users. Special browsers and screen readers have enabled blind people to navigate the web via audio cues that explain what the webpage or app is displaying. But not all screen readers are user-friendly. Watching this video it’s painfully obvious that not all web developers have caught on.

Semantic coding is one way to ensure that content is accessible to everyone because it allows screen readers to correctly dictate the contents of a web page. In this type of coding, HTML mark up is used not for styling, but only for its intended purpose. For example, an <h1> header tag is only used for the most important page headline, and an <em> emphasis tag is only used to provide needed emphasis. In addition to semantic coding, alt properties that describe an image enable users to have a richer, more interactive experience. The American Foundation for the Blind also provides a set of guidelines for the designer/developer concerned with accessibility. 

This art installation at Dulles International Airport displays messages related to peace from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism. LED lights within the seven-foot-tall block form the words in a ticker-tape-like stream. It’s a thought-provoking island of tranquility within one of the nation’s busiest international airports.

The Mexican studio Y&R was tasked with developing a series of public service announcements about child abuse for the Spanish organization ANAR. The problem they faced: how do you reach out to abused children without alerting the adult abuser as well? Their solution seamlessly integrates two messages into one poster, each tailored to the intended viewer.

Lenticular printing is not a new technology; it’s been used in an array of products to simulate motion, depth, or animation. What is striking about this campaign piece is the conceptual use of the technology. From the adult’s perspective the child in the ad appears unharmed, juxtaposted with a simple message, “A veces el maltrato infantile solo es visible para el niño que lo sufre” (At times child abuse is only visible to the child receiving the abuse.) This double entendre reinforces one concept and serves as a subtle warning for aggressors. From the child’s point of view an altered photo and message are revealed; the same child is depicted showing signs of abuse with the message “Si alguien te hace daño llámanos y te ayudanermos” (If someone is hurting you call us and we’ll help). Watch the following video for an explanation of how this is done.

Powerful imagery and a highly flexible template provide a framework for a wide range of materials we designed for Johns Hopkins’ new capital campaign, “Rising to the Challenge.” Shown are a foil embossed pocket folder, the overall case statement, case statements that are specific to each school and division, and one-page insert sheets. Many of these items are designed for print-on-demand so that gift officers can order the right number of brochures with their own contact information printed on them.

Photographer Charlie Crane’s book, Welcome to Pyongyang, contains a series of stunning large format photos of one of the world’s most secretive countries. Visitors to North Korea are accompanied at all times by state-assigned guides who escort you on carefully planned tours. How can you create under such tight restrictions? Crane’s solution is straightforward: “If there is no possibility of getting underneath the surface then the answer is to photograph the surface itself.” Even though the state has carefully controlled what outsiders can see, these remarkable images speak for themselves about life in the Hermit Kingdom.

Late in 2012, the New York Times published a multi-media story called Snow Fall, The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek. If you have not yet seen/read the story, we are happy to introduce it to you here. Snow Fall is a ground-breaking moment in multimedia journalism, one of the first articles to illustrate the dynamic possibilities that occur when new media are thoughtfully integrated with the written word. As you scroll through the story, stunning animated graphics, slideshows, and video interviews add clarity to the unfolding drama. My favorite graphic is the vertigo-inducing flyover of the Cascade Mountains with ranges and ridges graphically delineated. What is particularly exciting is that the visuals enhance the story rather than overwhelm it. In fact, the story runs for a whopping 10,000 words, which is well over the copy count of most magazine articles.

I predict that Snow Fall will mark a change in the way we do multimedia storytelling. The possibilities are as vast as the northwestern mountains.

Who among us has not stared with despair at a blank page or screen as the Very Important Deadline approaches? That dreaded feeling is the price you’ll pay for working in the world of ideas. This telegram sent by Dorothy Parker—famed writer, critic and satirist—to her editor displays her characteristic wit as she describes her bout with writer’s block.

After we’re comforted to know that we are not alone, what can we do to get the creative juices flowing again? What works for me is taking a breather and getting away from the problem for awhile. In fact, I’ve noticed that my best ideas come early in the morning after a night’s rest. The solution will hit me and I can’t wait to get to the office to explore the solution. What works for you?

The great minds at Pantone are at it again. Now you can eat, sleep, and breathe color at the Pantone Hotel in Brussels, Belgium. Created to appeal to itinerant designers and other creative professionals, this hotel takes picking your room to colorful new heights. Each floor displays a distinct color palette and walls are adorned with photos and oversize PMS chips. Contributed by GCF intern, Rebecca Madariaga

Seen any QR codes lately on higher ed materials? They seemed all the rage for the last few years, but now technology folks are saying the trend is fading. Research shows, however, that people all around the world are actively creating and scanning QR codes.

According to an August 2012 report by Nellymoser Inc., a mobile marketing company in Arlington, Massachusetts, the number of mobile action codes printed in the top 100 U.S. magazines more than doubled from 2011 to 2012. The study was limited to national titles readily available on newsstands that did not require membership, such as AARP. Nellymoser analyzed every page in each issue of the top 100 magazines. The result was a 61% increase in code use from Q1 2012 to Q2 2012. Seventeen’s September 2012 issue contained more than 250 activated images. GQ’s September issue activated every advertising page. Check out the research details here. 

What if you’re not a magazine editor? How else are QR tags being used in higher ed? At Washington and Lee University, IT Services members donned t-shirts imprinted with QR codes that when scanned led to web pages with helpful information like passwords and how to contact the help desk. Hamilton College in New York used a giant QR tag with the single word “Hamilton” underneath for a recruitment poster. Lebanon Valley College put up banners with QR tags to update students about campus construction progress.

Yes, QR codes have been overused, misused, and abused, and unhappy user experience has tarnished the brand. The technology is a bit clunky since you need to download a code reader to your phone, and not all are reliable. In spite of these negatives, I think QR tags are set for a comeback. The research shows the trends—and smart phone use is on the rise, big time. Perhaps with a new name, better technology, and new branding, we’ll see an increase in use. After all, QR codes are still the best link we have from print to web.

How not to use QR Codes

1. On a website. You wouldn’t think I’d have to mention this, but I’ve actually seen QR tags on college web pages. I won’t embarrass the schools by listing them here.

2. On banners. Ok, so this was mentioned above as a cool idea, but tags are difficult to scan if they are blowing around in the wind. 

3. To lead to complex forms. Think about this one. If you’re on a smart phone, how difficult is it going to be to fill out that college application form with your thumbs? 

4. In places where there is poor reception. Like subway platform ads. In the basement of Old Main. No reception, no link.

5. To lead to useless information. You’ll lose audience trust if you take them to something they already know, or don’t care about knowing. Give them something they can only get from the scan. And, give them an explanation of where the code will take them.

6. To lead to a miniature version of your college homepage. If you’re going to use a tag, also use responsive design. Once again, those big thumbs can’t aim that small. 

7. Tags created in rich black. Designers like to use black made from CMYK. It makes black and white photography look great. But this confuses most tag readers. When printing codes, specify black plate only.

Have you ever longed to see the Great Pyramids, St. Petersburg, Angor Wat, or the Vatican but just didn’t have the opportunity? Now there is a way to sit back, relax, and start traveling virtually. Airpano.com offers incredibly detailed aerial panoramic views of some of the most fascinating places on earth. The clarity is stunning, and the 360º angles show you details that you could not see even in person. Take a peek, but be forewarned, this website is addictive!

Before they were household names, these high-tech titans introduced themselves with the curiously homey business cards above. As their brands evolved, so did their marketing. Apple changed the entire look and feel of high-tech products. In 2012, Microsoft launched a sleek rebrand, its first overhaul in 25 years. Google dropped the exclamation point and has grown its wordmark into countless whimsical iterations. Perceptions change, especially in the technological realm. What was edgy in 1975 may look corny today. How does your brand hold up in today’s high-tech world?

GCF created a highly personalized, fabric-bound book with hand-stitched pages to honor Dean Edward D. Miller, M.D., upon his retirement after 40 years of leadership and service at Johns Hopkins. Dean Miller’s indelible legacy of both physical and cultural changes will impact the future of the institution, its students, and its patients for decades to come. The book’s first several spreads showcase photos and quotes about Dean Miller’s career. The remaining pages display personal messages from the dean’s close friends and colleagues, along with their signatures. Additional perfect-bound copies of the book were prepared for distribution.

Anyone who owns a touch screen device knows the difficulty of re-learning to type on a flat surface. We’ve resigned ourselves to the belief that tapping tiny buttons you can’t feel is the price we pay for the cool new technology parked in our pockets. The first week with my new phone had me convinced that my fingers were abnormally wide and would never be able to type a text message in less than five minutes.

I am happy to say that help is on the way. Earlier this month at CES 2013 , the Consumer Electronic Association’s international trade show, the folks at Tactus Technology offered a solution to the touch screen problem: a tactile user interface. In the demonstration video above, keys magically pop from the touch screen when the keyboard is needed and again become flat when the keyboard is hidden. The company’s website also offers a number of examples in which this technology can be used such as remote controls, gaming devices, medical displays, automobile interfaces, and more. Expect to see this technology on the market by the end of the year or early 2014. 

Several years ago a friend and I visited the Case Western Reserve campus in Cleveland. We wanted an up-close look at the impossibly curvy Frank Gehry-designed building that houses the Weatherhead School of Management. We walked inside, outside, and all around the building taking photos and pointing out radical shapes and crazy angles to each other. The innovative structure thoroughly impressed us, and as it turns out, we are in good company. Recently the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an article on the building and its connection to the Weatherhead School’s brand of unconventional creativity. One student observed, “When you think business, you think uptight, corporate suits. This building is not uptight. This is where the business world is heading.” Fred Collopy, a professor at the school, notes, “This building says it’s all right to be unique, different, and special. It says to students, ‘You don’t have to be like the manager in the next cubicle.’”

In the 1950s, biologist and doctor Jonas Salk took a much-needed break from his lab in Pittsburgh and spent a few months in Italy. He was deeply inspired by the peace and serenity of the 13^th-century monastery that overlooks the town of Assisi. Refreshed, he returned to the US to continue his work and soon after developed a successful polio vaccine. He later built the Salk Institute so that it reflected the architectural rhythm of the monastery in Assisi.

A physical space effects how we think, feel, and create. What do your buildings say about you? Is your campus “on brand?”

We’ve all seen them—taglines that are stale, comical, or simply forgettable. I’ve talked to some college communicators who see taglines as a distraction and refuse to use them at all. Writing a great tagline is one of the toughest challenges we can tackle. Abraham Lincoln once wrote: “ I’m sorry I wrote such a long letter. I did not have time to write a shorter one.” Brevity is one of the challenges of tagline writing. Imagination, simplicity, and authenticity are others.

“Think different.” “It’s the real thing.” “Just do it.” “Pizza! Pizza!” Corporations have long used imaginative taglines to reinforce their brands. A well-written tagline can cut right to the essence of a company and create a lasting message of quality or benefit to the consumer. Like a haiku poem that derives its power from a few carefully chosen words, the tagline can distill a complex admissions program or capital campaign down to a strikingly powerful message.

Well-written taglines work. Poorly written taglines don’t. Unfortunately, clichés and corniness dominate the college tagline scene. Here are suggestions that will help you keep it fresh and make the most of your tagline opportunity.

1. Make it personal. Write a tagline that will make sense only for your institution. We created the tagline, “Success begins with CCSU” and a logotype, CCSUCCESS, for Central Connecticut State University. The tagline transforms a commonplace word into a personal and powerful message for the university.
2. Use short, punchy words. Choose a crisp Anglo-Saxon word over a longer, loftier Latinate word. Use ask instead of inquire; start instead of commence; build instead of construct; pick instead of select.
3. Give yourself time to do it right. Great taglines are the product of thorough understanding. Don’t create unrealistic deadlines that force a poorly conceived solution.
4. Reinforce your institution’s mission. Consistent messaging is vital in all we do as communicators, and taglines are no exception. If you find the tagline and your mission in conflict, it’s time to change one or the other.
5. Highlight a key benefit or attribute. “Think is for girls” is the tagline Sweetbriar College displayed in hot pink letters to appeal to Gen-Y students who might not have considered enrolling in a women’s college. The campaign was a hit and first-year enrollment increased by 40%.
6. Play with words. “The power of X” makes good use of the serendipitous letter X in Xavier University’s name to create a memorable tagline.

This scarf will help you proclaim your classic typographic taste. Keep warm while simultaneously earning credibility when you scorn the poor font choice in the Higgs Bosun document.

Nobody sees a flower—really—it is so small—we haven’t time—and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.
-Georgia O’Keeffe

In a few simple words, Georgia O’Keeffe gets to the heart of it. Truly seeing takes time, patience, and attention, yes. But the key to observation is the mental state of the observer. To see clearly, it helps to enjoy the act of observation. Just like the enjoyment of building a friendship over the years, seeing needs to happen when we love what we are doing. It’s helpful to keep this in mind on days when work feels like a struggle. It may be time to kick back, have a cup of coffee, or take a half hour walk across campus. A change of pace helps to clear away frustration so that you can return to the task refreshed and raring to go.

Remember when graffiti was all about mindlessly scribbling your handle on anything that did or didn’t move? We’ve entered a new age of clever street expression that is determined to bring humor, whimsy, and thoughtfulness into our lives. Put that one in the plus column for conceptual thinking!

I recently re-read Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth and became absorbed, once again, in the harrowing and moving world of peasant Wang Lung and his family. Banned in China for years, the book is now hailed by contemporary Chinese writers such as Anchee Min and Maxine Hong Kingston for its authentic portrayal of ordinary Chinese lives. Buck wrote with authority because she pulled from her observations as a missionary’s daughter in China and experienced first-hand the day-to-day lives of the Chinese people around her. Buck also spoke fluent Mandarin and was determined to capture the feel and flow of that language in English. She explained that she conceived the story first in Mandarin Chinese, which she then translated into English. It’s like reading the story in Chinese without the language barrier. That’s why every sentence rings with authenticity. What a wonderful reminder of the power of an authentic voice.

Take something familiar and give it a fresh, new spin. That’s the definition of a great idea, and that’s what the folks at Vintage Collections did with the nine planets plus the sun in our solar system. This sweet idea has created quite a stir, and demand for the pops is overwhelming. You’ll have to wait ’til 2013 to receive your own solar system.

Most colleges recognize the value of admissions videos and make a point to include them on their websites. The downside is that many of these videos are poorly conceived and produced so watching them is a chore.

I talked with Bill Denison, an amazingly talented educational photographer, about making great video. With his input, I’ve put together a list of things to do to make your videos stand out—in a good way.

1. Know what you want to accomplish. Don’t just shoot and pray that something will emerge. Outline your goals. Without a clear idea of what you want to say, you could wind up with a lot of footage that never gets to the point.

2. Keep it flexible. You need an idea about where you’re going, but you also need to be flexible enough to rethink it as the project proceeds.

3. It’s about story, not technology. A good story can deliver a powerful message. Be sure you are focused on telling that story, not showing off that you have the latest zoom camera with sliders and fill lights.

4. Don’t be literal. Use video to express the story rather than merely record action. Interpret rather than document. This is where shooting style comes in. A small detail can sometimes be more powerful than showing the entire scene. Different angles can add dramatic interest. For example, showing feet descending a set of steps can be more interesting than shooting the full staircase.

5. Shoot a variety of angles. Include a variety of low and high angles, long shots, medium shots, close-ups, etc. Don’t move to the next scene until you are sure you’ve covered the subject with multiple angles and ranges. It’s always better to shoot too much than not enough.

6. Know how to roll. Documentary videos are composed of A-roll and B-roll. A-roll is the footage of the interview. It can be shot in the studio or on location, and the focus is the person speaking to the camera. B-roll is everything else—like the video that plays during an audio voice over.

7. Know when to shoot B-roll. Shoot B-roll after the interview. Why? The conversation may inspire ideas on how to shoot the person in action.

8. This is video…move! Get your subjects walking, running, or going in or out of a room. If you’re in a lab, follow the student as she gets up from the table and walks to the specimen case. Record the organic sounds around you. This adds a sense of realism to the action on camera.

9. To make great video you need to watch video. If you want to learn to draw, you study the old masters. The same is true for video. Take the time to critically assess the work of exemplary videographers.

Here are a few links to get you started:

Great concept.

Narrated by Werner Herzog, this video uses humor to tell an important story.

A simple idea that gives a glimpse into the thinking of a number of people.

From Bill Denison’s portfolio, photographic stills with voiceovers create a dynamic experience.

In March, Brenda Foster will be speaking at the UCDA Design Summit. Interaction between designers and clients can be frustrating, unproductive, strained, at times even antagonistic. Clearly, it doesn’t need to be this way. Clients and designers are both focused on creating success, but they approach the problem from two different corners. Brenda’s workshop, Dangerous liaisons: Improving designer/client relationships, will provide insights into the client/designer dynamic and ways to create a smoother path to a shared goal. Topics include gaining respect, getting the attention of the gatekeepers, building trust across the generation gap, appreciating differences, and working with difficult people. Brenda has more than 23 years’ experience on the front lines with both clients and designers and has learned how to successfully mediate between the two. Registration is now open.

Welcome to Cram Now, our new monthly newsletter that will replace Cram Quarterly. This new format allows us to publish articles more frequently while giving our readers an opportunity to comment on or share stories. Enjoy!