Month of Design in Ljubljana

Here in Ljubljana (Slovenia) autumn means cold, rain (and sometimes snow), beautiful colors and inspiration. A lot of events about design, theater, cinema are happening and the new light invites to see things as if it were the first time. Perhaps one of the most popular events is the Month of Design, the capital becomes a traveling museum, with exhibitions, pop-up stores, conferences, performances, parties…

Darma visited the core of the celebration just the day it opened and we were fortunate to attend the conference about Helsinki World Design Capital 2012.

Here more information about the event in the words of the organizers:

Month of Design is an annual festival of know-how and creativity in design. It offers platform for a discourse focused on exploring the role of design in creative industries, business, culture and social practices. The main aim of Month of Design is to increase the competitiveness of businesses and society, establish knowledge transfers between developed and less developed economies, and emphasise the strategic, economic and cultural advantages of design.

This unique month-long design event is held in and around the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana. This year it is dedicated to a specific topic of global relevance – Thinking the Future.

Brand’s brain-wash

Fortunately or unfortunately, the brands are part of our life and, even more, are set in our brain in an almost alarming way. We are able to identify more logos than featured works of art and to sing more jingles than songs that have sold thousands of albums around the world. Advertising is almost universal, timeless and, in some cases, when that advertising gets old, it becomes “art” (see Coca-Cola or Pepsi vintage posters).
Don’t you believe it? Well let’s do a test, how many brands can you  identify in the following pictures?

By the way is an initiative of Dorothy, a design studio in New York.

Creative challenge completed: the non traditional solution for a traditional print media

Sonera express the speed concept of its 4G technology through a mobile game in a traditional and static media. Great!
Agency: DDBHelsinky

The art of logo design, tips and tricks

We are back from our short vacation in Vienna with a very interesting video about how to design successful logos. Enjoy it!

The ten commandments of creativity

Even if you are an experienced creative, sometimes it’s good to look back and remember these sacred rules that all  trainees know by heart. Recall will give a bit of fresh air to your ideas and get you out of a mechanical method of work. I love going over and over again my books from college and challenge myself, looking for different creative techniques. I would say that, almost always, this helps me when I’m blank.

1. Stay engaged with the objectives

2. Open your mind, use the five senses

3. Separate the creation phase of the evaluation

4. Avoid the spoilers of ideas, surround yourself with a proactive team

5. Use sketches

6. Bring the product to the limit: do not stop picking up new ideas even if you have found a good one

7. Mistakes are good, can lead you to better ideas

8. The quantity (of ideas) leads to quality

9. Develop your sense of humor

10. When the brainstorming is finished do not test the ideas immediately, keep a safe distance, more objective.

Top 10 best slogans ever

Do these slogans sound familiar to you?

#10

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#1

The (almost creepy) power of the color in our purchase decisions.

Though there are many factors that influence how and what consumers buy, color is one of the most powerful weapons to persuade people. When launching new products it’s important to consider that consumers place visual appearance and color above other factors such as sound, smell and texture.

Whether you’re a consumer or if you work for “the dark side”, after reading this post, your visit to the retail store will never be the same.

85% of the shoppers place color as a primary reason for why the buy a particular product. Other factors as smell or texture are insignificant. It’s also very important to take care about brand color, using the corporative chromatic range increase brand recognition by 80%. Did you know that brand recognition is directly connected with customer confidence?

Pychology of color is used in design to empower the message. It’s true that cultures understand colors in different ways, but generally, colors arouse the same feelings. Here a basic diagram:

Color also attracts different typology of customers and changes shopper behauvior. Red, orange, black or royal blue are more pregnant for impulsive shoppers. These colors are able to “speed” the buying decision, that’s why are used in outlets, fast food or clearance sales.

Tradicional buyers sympathize with pastel tones (rose, sky blue, pink, aquamarine, lavender, peach…) and mostly are used in clothing stores, boutiques, etc. These color shades slow down and calm the shoppers, making them feel more comfortable in the store.

The navy blue, teal and, in general, all the “cold” colors suit the shoppers on a budget, inspire confidence and loyalty, so they’re used in banks and shopping malls.

But is color the only difference between a consumer purchasing an identical item at one retail shop over the other? Definitelly not, the power of the words, or the evironment of a store, the behavior of the employers, etc. make some brands more customer friendly than others.