There are some really great event names out there. Green Living Show. The Cottage Life Show. The Home Show. They all share three things in common: 1) Simple. 2) Memorable. 3) Easily transferrable to all kinds of marketing materials, including signage, apparel, brochures, etc.
For comparison sake, take a look at the fictitious event name here. Rural Tech & Innovation Systems Lifestyle Exchange. It’s awkward. Period.
What are the key problems with event names like this?
One of my pet peeves is bad design.
I cringe when I see a web design company forget to change a default favicon to the client’s custom favicon. (A favicon is that little symbol that shows up next to the url in your web browser.) Companies, organizations and people like to create and use their own favicons. But many open source web software systems, like WordPress and Joomla, come with their own default favicon.
I cringe when I see amateurish newspaper ads that recycle the same cartoonish clipart characters through many different client ads.
And I cringe when I see websites that are dreadful, because in this age of the Internet, a website does create the first impression in many, many instances.
Here are three sources to view bad design. Enjoy! Or, should I say, weep?
25 worst alternate jerseys in hockey history (via Bleacher Report)
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/707810-nhl-fashion-faux-pas-the-25-worst-alternate-jerseys-in-hockey-history
Worst websites of 2010 (via Web Pages That Suck)
http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/worst-websites-of-2010.html
Really, really bad logo designs (via the How Low Can Your Logo Go contest website)
http://howlowcanyourlogo.com/gallery/
I spotted a company van driving around town the other day. It was a van all decked out in slick graphics to advertise the business. It was impressive and eye-catching. Somebody obviously invested in great design work to promote their services. While stopped at a red light, my eyes travelled along the side of the van. All of a sudden the perception of branding savvy instantly came to a deadening thud.
There it was in big graphic lettering. An email address that went something like this (I’ve changed the actual email address soas not to blatantly promote the company’s services): thebestairconditioningandductcleaning@hotmail.com.
Why do I enjoy being a communications consultant? I can think of hundreds of reasons, but I’ll begin with 10.
1. Demand: No organizations or business is perfect. There are problems that always need solving.
2. Career joy: I only work for clients I respect and projects that I care about.
It’s probably one of the most overlooked components of personal branding: the head & shoulder photo.
When you think about it, headshots should be one of the most essential components of your branding toolbox. Your head & shoulder photo delivers the image of YOUR personal brand. If you have a great photo, use it consistently across multiple platforms. Make it your signature photo.
I’m sure you’ve heard that phrase, a picture is worth a thousand words. Take a look at the photo you use in your personal branding materials, including social media and Facebook. Does your photo complement what you do? You should be able to look at your image and immediately come up with five or more words that come to mind (hopefully, dufus, goofy and comatose aren’t choices!).
A media story about a new campaign to recruit doctors to a rural Ontario county caught my eye this week.
The county and a hospital have partnered on a project that will try to lure young doctors. A retired hospital employee has been hired on a six-month contract to lead the project. A website is now in development.
[Read more...]
One of the best ways to get inspiration for doing good work is to observe good work. That’s how we learn. So, how about getting inspiration from horrendously bad work? I do think it’s possible. Although, I wouldn’t necessarily call it inspirational. Maybe inspiration to avoid is a better phrase. Regardless, you be the judge over the merits of a unique design contest that aims to solicit the very worst of the worst in logo designs.
If nothing else, it’ll give you something to think about the next time you decide to doodle a logo, or pay someone 25 bucks online to create one for you.
