LGK Creative Blog

Psychology and Design

2011-10-10T23:35:00.017-04:00

Left brainer? Right brainer? No brainer???

Many people don’t realize that the brain isn’t just one singular entity. It's two very different halves (known as the left and right hemispheres), they communicate with each other to the totality of 1,000 trillion synaptic connections, but, think very differently from one another. When we understand how the two hemispheres of our brain think – the very distinct brain function – we better understand how we process events in our lives and the technology around us.

Our left hemisphere acts as our memory bank. It thinks in structured, analytical fashion, putting together the past and imagining the future to form methodical thoughts. Left hemisphere is the weight of the world on us, with our past and future concerns flying around in trillions of stress-filled synaptic connections. Picture a stressed out laboratory mouse running in place on the same wheel year after year.

Our right hemisphere doesn’t bother much with the past or the future, it sticks to the present, the here and now, the inspired moments in our lives. When we are caught up in a moment, where our focus is what’s happening in the present, our right hemisphere is in full swing. Picture a stoned field mouse frolicking through a field, happy as can be without a care in the world.

To add, right brain thinkers are innovative and creative. They are "think outside the box" visionaries and approach situations with an open mind. Usually taking a holistic approach to many situations they try and synthesize their environments and resources to gain a complete experience. They work well in teams because they can appreciate all the team members and what they are able to contribute to the team. Right brain thinkers value many of the small things that can be overlooked when it comes to detail conceptualizing.

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

( list info courtesy of Herald Sun )

So, this leads me to Cognitive psychology... a sub-discipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes. It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.

As any seasoned creative knows, many life experiences need to mentally accumulate in order for a great idea to come to mind. This is the main reason why a kid fresh out of design school might be capable of executing design layout and typography, but rarely lacks the life experience to deliver on meaningful concept and campaign substance.

When tasked with a mission to brand a new product, create a marketing campaign or design a new website, the very first thoughts that spring up are... Initial feelings, Who's this intended for? How are other people going to feel about it? How are people going to use it? What will make it stand out? Where can i learn more about it? Benefits, downside, market trends, etc.

I believe that in order for creatives to have the capacity to generate an original creative concept, they MUST use both the left and right sides of the brain. Scratching up meaningful ideas by dipping into your memory bank of life experiences. Somewhere down the line of career, life lessons, learning how to deal with various personalities, retaining knowledge, calculating risk, analyzing behavior, observing human nature, utilizing powerful imagination, tasting good food, smelling fresh coffee, painting your dreams on canvas, dancing til sunrise, being exposed to big city life, walking through an open country pasture, planting seeds and watching them grow, first traumatic experiences, feeling love, passion, happiness, frustration, humiliation, you will hit upon a key note that connects your ideas together. Forming the very beginnings of what will soon be your design masterpiece. The connection between the two sides of your brain is pure magic and very rare. There is a reason why most people are branded either left or right brain thinkers. You are tasked with creating something that has never existed before. Where do you turn to first? Google? Books? Magazines?

You turn to yourself. You hold the imagination that will make this new idea come to life.

There are no boundaries when it comes to digital marketing

2011-09-18T14:04:00.009-04:00

So, I haven't blogged in a while and would like to talk about my industry of chaotic, digital madness...

[ CHAOS ]

Imagine a beetle preserved in amber, the practice of advertising has sat virtually unchanged for the last half-century. Before 1960, ad making was a solitary practice. Copywriters toiled away on words to pitch a product, then handed them off to an art director who translated them into an illustration or photograph. Creative director Bill Bernbach (the B in DDB) changed all that when he recognized that pairing wordsmith and artist could spark genius. That simple move ignited the industry's creative revolution, raising the practice of advertising from sleazy salesmanship to some permutation of art.

The ad business became an assembly line as predictable as Henry Ford's. The client (whose goal was to get the word out about a product) paid an agency's account executive (whose job was to lure the client and then keep him happy), who briefed the brand planner (whose research uncovered the big consumer insight), who briefed the media planner (who decided which channel -- radio, print, outdoor, direct mail, or TV -- to advertise in). Then the copywriter/art director team would pass on its work (a big idea typically represented by storyboards for a 30-second TV commercial) to the producer (who worked with a director and editors to film and edit the commercial). Thanks to the media buyer (whose job was to wine-and-dine media companies to lower the price of TV spots, print pages, or radio slots), the ad would get funneled, like relatively fresh sausage, into some combination of those five mass media, which were anything but equal. TV ruled the world. After all, it not only reached a mass audience but was also the most expensive medium -- and the more the client spent, the more money the ad agency made.

That was then. Over the past few years, because of a combination of Internet disintermediation, recession, and corporate blindness, the assembly line has been obliterated -- economically, organizationally, and culturally. In the ad business, the relatively good life of 2007 is as remote as the whiskey highs of 1962. "Here we go again," moans Andy Nibley, the former CEO of ad agency Marsteller who, over the past decade, has also been the CEO of the digital arms of both Reuters and Universal Music. "First the news business, then the music business, then advertising. Is there any industry I get involved in that doesn't get destroyed by digital technology?"

No Andy, it's not destroying other industries. Rather evolving into a new era of less resource consumption and higher productivity (for all industries). Who needs print when you can get it faster and cheaper in digital format, at a fraction of the cost?? Everything in this day and age is affected by digital technology and marketing actually needs to be useful -- "use-vertising" instead of advertising -- which means that you must think more like a product developer than an entertainer. Gone are the days of campaigns that once promised glossy anthemic concepts, perfected before being shipped off to the waiting client, digital is incremental, experimental, continually optimized -- "perpetual beta" -- and never, ever finished.

So either buckle up and enjoy the ride or step out of the burning vehicle, walk away and get left behind.

Organic Advertising

2011-01-31T23:22:00.007-05:00

It's 2011 and most businesses have realized the power of online marketing and are starting to focus their advertising dollar there, but with all the options... what is your best bet?

There are directories, listings, pay per click, sponsored links, bloggers, etc.... that claim to get you more business quicker than ever. Only a handful of the companies deliver what they promise. When reviewing a company to handle your marketing needs, it is important to see the exposure they can provide for you. Is it organic side exposure or sponsored link exposure? Let me explain the difference. The organic side of search engines is where the vast majority of us search, the ten links on the left hand side of the page. Sponsored links are the ones on the right hand side of the page that usually juggle around and never stay stable... you know, the ones you never look twice at. If you, as a business owner don't look twice or use those right hand side links, then why would you assume a consumer would use and click them? By focusing your adverting dollar on a company that focuses and provides organic side exposure, you are encompassing 100% of the search market. You will see your call volume rise and your sales numbers rise right along with it.

A few things to keep in mind when looking for organic based marketing firms

1) Do they give me an exclusive environment to separate me from competition?

2) Am I going to be in a directory with other qualified businesses that will help with my image?

3) cost vs. benefit.. make sure the keywords they use on the organic side of searches are RELEVANT to your field and a normal consumer would use them when searching for someone in your industry. Take this to heart, and you will see the benefits immediately within your business. Don't get fooled into thinking online marketing is a fad or a trend. Consumers are tired of using heavy phone books when they have the World Wide web at their finger tips... at all times!

Tips to Increase Your Organic Web Presence

2011-01-03T00:14:00.008-05:00

As any business owner knows, the more customers who know you exist is directly proportional to how much money you are going to make. Here are some simple tips that will help your business have more opportunities to be SEEN online. Isn't it about real estate? Isn't it about your web presence? There are things you can do, for free, that will make it so you are found when someone is looking for you or when someone is looking for your product or services.

1-Get a Fan Page on Facebook. It's free. Post often but don't forget that Facebook is a party and nobody wants to talk business at a party.

2-Claim all of your map listings, put link backs to your website, add photos and videos.

3-Convince happy customers to write a review for your business. If someone does write a bad review about you, DO NOT FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE. Apologize and let them know you will be happy to make everything better.

4-Create a blog about your industry. Give ideas and tips on your business. Make sure you have a link back to your website. Publish often. Become a leading authority on your industry.

5-Claim all your listings on free online yellow pages like Dexknows.com, Insiderpages.com, Superpages.com, YP.com, citysearch.com and many more.

6-Twitter. Yes, you need a twitter account. Get people to follow you. Then you need to start and join conversations.

7-Youtube.com. You are going to need your own channel, but don't forget to tag your videos.

8-You need to post quality, relevant, keyword rich content in real-time about your business...often. This could be on twitter, youtube, facebook, blogs...etc.

9-If you are launching new content submit it to sites like Digg, Reddit and Now Public.

10-Google your "best" competition and find all the sites they are listed on and get yourself listed too.

11-Write articles related to your site and submit it to article sites.

12-Share your site with your friends and ask them to share your site with their friends.

13-Add a link to your site in the signature of any forums you post on.

14-Sydnicate your site's content by using an RSS feed.

15-Sumbit your RSS feeds to aggregator sites like FeedBurner, Squidoo, Feedboy, etc.

16-Add a link to your site on all emails you send, add it to your signature.

17-Create Facebook ads.

18-Find quality and relevant blogs and leave a relevant, thought provoking comments, and have a link back to your site.

19-Publicize your site on industry related forums but remember not to spam. The members DO NOT LIKE THIS.

20-Put your website on all of your print advertising, including your business cards.

21-Sign up for flickr and submit photos but make sure you tag the photos and have a link back to your website.

22-Pay Per Click Advertising gets you fast results and if it's handled correctly can very very profitable.

23-Display advertising ( web banners ), it's like an online billboard that you can interact with.

24- Email Lena Karalnik at lena@lgkcreative.com, because I can help you do everything I just suggested and more. Improve your Organic Search Engine ranking NOW!

Conciousness & The Advertising Industry

2010-09-28T14:10:00.009-04:00

Consumptionism is the name given to the new doctrine; and it is admitted today to be the greatest idea that America has to give to the world; the idea that workmen and masses be looked upon not simply as workers and producers, but as consumers. . . . Pay them more, sell them more, prosper more is the equation.

— MRS. CHRISTINE FREDERICK, Selling Mrs. Consumer (1929)

Pay them more, sell them more, prosper more is the equation.

So... to what extent do we go when it comes to selling selling selling an idea? In my 10 years of advertising experience, I have mulled over this question hundreds and hundreds of times. With each new invention, with each new marketing campaign, I have pondered the same thoughts. What can I do to make this big? What can i say to my clients who are all looking to turn a profit with there new startup or product?

My answer, is consciousness.

So what is this consciousness that keeps us so entrapped in our thoughts and buying habits?

Consciousness is variously defined as subjective experience, awareness, the ability to experience "feeling", wakefulness, or the executive control system of the mind. It is an umbrella term that may refer to a variety of mental phenomena.

There is the magic word. FEELING. Capture a consumers feelings and you have them for life. People are devoted to their favorite brands. To brands that make them feel good. Its a very personal experience. I would even go as far as to call it a religious experience. When consumers let themselves get overtaken by feelings, producers of the products prosper, obviously.

How Can Your Packaging become Disruptive?

2009-09-22T09:02:00.009-04:00

Faster than the speed of light commoditization of consumer products. Jaded consumers. A tough economy that has changed customers’ spending habits. Perhaps permanently. How can a consumer product company grow, or even survive in this new paradigm? I’ve been mulling this over for awhile and it seems to me that it’s time to become “disruptive”.

Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen coined the phrase “disruptive technology” in his 1997 best-seller: “The Innovator’s Dilemma”. The concept has been widely discussed ever since. Christensen’s argument states there are two kinds of companies: those that use sustaining technologies and those that employ disruptive ones.

Larger companies tend to work with sustaining technology. They utilize it to make incremental improvements to their products over time. Given their corporate framework and strategy, larger businesses often eschew new opportunities that come along if they arise from disruptive technologies. Reasons: they may offer lower, less attractive margins, or they don’t fit in with locked-in company strategies or company goals.

As a result, smaller companies are often able to see value in disruptive technologies and bring products to market that have the potential—with some tweaks and a certain maturation period—to become hits. Disruptive products have the potential to gain a large audience, significant marketshare and eventual market dominance, usually blindsiding category leaders in the process. Disrupters even give birth to entirely new categories in the marketplace. Think Apple’s iPod.

Disrupters come along and think of a better way. They offer simpler or better performing, problem-solving products for consumers and create excitement in the process. New vision and approaches applied to age-old problems can yield huge dividends.

Disruptive examples dot the marketscape. Digital cameras vs photographic film cameras. USB memory sticks vs discs for data storage. iPods vs radios and boom boxes. While great technology product innovations are numerous, many other consumer products result from disruptive thinking, as well. Think single serve beverages in aseptic packs. Broths and stocks in resealable cartons. Reusable cleaning products that require refills like Swiffer. Seasonal packaging: Kleenex “Perfect Slice of Summer” tissue in mouthwatering melon configurations.

Disruptive products require disruptive packaging, right? But what about further leveraging the potential of packaging to disrupt even in commodity categories where it’s unexpected? In fact, wouldn’t doing that deliver more punch to the most mundane products?

So what about disruptive packaging?

Here’s the thing: companies that have a culture and strategy that employ disruptive thinking to position unique, game-changing products and services have an edge. For those that don’t, this might just be the optimal time to step back and reassess. If sales are ailing, mightn’t the company benefit from a fresh new point of view? Tweaking products, packaging and the marketing approach might be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Products in every category are becoming commoditized at a faster rate than ever before. That brings us all back to the true role of marketing: that of providing clear differentiation and memorable experiences for the customer as job #1.

Packaging continues to grow in importance in the marketing mix. It brings branded products to consumers in a tangible manner, so it’s time to take a fresh, new and yes—disruptive—approach to it. Consider this: in a commodity category like snacks, Pringle’s dared put potato chips in a canister instead of a bag. POM Wonderful dared put its flagship pomegranate juice in a double-curved bottle rather than a typical juice bottle.

Method broke every mold and packaged its cleaning products in unconventional, sleek see-through bottles. Environmentally friendly cleaning products presented in highly visible, transparent packaging makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? When we look at all of these products, we see how commodity items can be packaged to elevate product and brand in a unique manner.

Package communications are extremely important. But in essence, the first line of communication entails engaging the consumer with visually exciting packaging. After all, why would consumers approach and read packaging that has no visual appeal? Disruptive packaging is highly differentiated. It attracts the eye when virtually every other category product seems to sit on the retail shelf in roughly the same size and shape of package.

Major disrupters.

Owners of pet dogs like to purchase special treats. But, what’s more blasé than dog treats? The products and packaging are pretty basic and unexciting. Enter Bit-O-Luv. This small company has taken a decidedly different point of view to an age-old product. A web site features three animated pooches that sell the product concept in a unique manner. The message is simple: good enough for humans, but “specially formulated for dogs”. . .exceeding USDA standards. www.bitoluv.com.

The packaging is especially engaging. The same dogs that appear on the web site grace the packages; their mouths open and treats visible inside thanks to a clever window. Three flavor choices are available in bright lime, turquoise and orange packages. The funky Bit-O-Luv brand identity is prominently featured above the artwork. This is disruptive packaging at its best.

Cute is one thing, of course, but does it have any distribution in this competitive marketplace? Wal-Mart, Albertson’s, Meijer, Food Lion, some Costco locations and Quality Food Centers stock the products. There’s no doubt that these dog treats stand out from every other player on the retail shelf.

When it comes to a packaging refresh, Mentos delivers with punch. While consumers are familiar with the mints in candy roll packaging reminiscent of Lifesavers, Mentos has parlayed its image created by disruptive advertising into equally disruptive packaging. Mentos sugar-free mints are packaged in an ingeniously designed cardboard box with a hinged lid that actually opens and closes with a click. The latch works so well that the contents remain inside the box even when shaking it upside down.

Simple, functional and unlike the packaging that’s prevalent in the rest of the category, Mentos mints stand out and stand alone with consumers. Mentos is a deliberately disruptive brand, and everything it does disrupts.

What about a staple like Kleenex facial tissues? Los Angeles designer Hiroko Sanders’ took the challenge to create artwork that would embody the spirit of summer, and still work with Kleenex’s carton design. What’s fresher than three stylized summer fruits? Unifying package design with brand and product in fresh, seasonal packaging is unexpected and totally delightful.

When packaging a new line or refreshing an existing one, think about what you can do to surprise, delight or deliver a commodity product in an unexpected manner. These are all emotive qualities that connect consumers to brands in a memorable way. Think: how can you disrupt your whole category, generate a lot of buzz, excitement and sales?

By Ted Mininni

Feng Shui Your Way

2009-04-16T09:35:00.010-04:00

It's important to manage the energy in your surroundings. From your office space to your outdoor garden, your health and happiness depends on what type of environment you place yourself in. Many people have very little understanding about this ancient Chinese philosophy. Feng Shui apparently relied on astronomy to find correlations between humans and the universe. Its my understanding that we are all human ( well, most of us ) and that we share the same universe. That's why I'm going to share a few ideas with you.

We all lead busy lives. Our advanced technologies have not helped us gain more hours during our day. We tend to lose hours for some reason. Maybe not getting around to calling the people we intend to call or finding ourselves overwhelmed with work that gobbles up all of our free time.

When do we get to relax? Sit outside near a garden and read a book. Go for a nature hike with the kids. Distractions are all around us and you as an individual need to take control. Sit back and ask yourself, what can i do to minimize the stress in my life? The answer is, change your environment.

I can only put this down as the energy of Feng Shui. Lets start with your kitchen.

The kitchen is the feng shui part of the home that nourishes and sustains life. Feng Shui-wise, it is the most important part of your home. The kitchen is also a feng shui symbol of wealth.

For good feng shui, do not have your kitchen close to the main door or to the back door, where the energy can easily escape. The food you eat gives you energy. For this energy to be of high and healing quality, the food needs to be prepared in a harmonious and well-organized kitchen with a balanced flow of Chi, or energy. As we constantly exchange energy with our surroundings, a good feng shui kitchen leads to a good spirited chef, which, in turn, leads to good energy meals for a happier family!

Good nutrition is good feng shui, so add healthy, organic foods to your diet, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. Besides the high nutritional value, organic fruits and vegetables carry strong healing vibrations from earth that your body dearly needs.

What about your office space? This applies for home or work. In the workplace, for example, money to you may seem like a material thing, but it has many spiritual and energetic repercussions that affect all aspects of your life. Money flows in and out of your life like the wind, touching everything as it passes by. That’s why it is important to make sure that this wind is a healing and strengthening force, not a destructive power that causes harm. It is equally important to ensure that the wind blows constantly, at least as a breeze, and that there is never stagnant, foul air. (According to Feng Shui, foul air would symbolize stagnant finances).

Remove clutter

Your office must be organized and arranged efficiently. Clutter according to Feng Shui stimulates negative Chi (energy) and should be kept to a minimum. Remove whatever materials are lying around in your office that don't belong. By clearing away the physical clutter that you have been confronting on a daily basis, you free up your mental, emotional burden and feel light, cheerful and optimistic in your reinvigorated working space.

Position of the desk

Keep your desk in the commanding position. The commanding position means a position of power, where you have a direct view of the door, a pleasant view out the window and a wall behind you for stability. This position of the desk according to the Feng Shui office offers you the maximum control.

Shape of your desk

Shape of your desk can affect your mood and level of productivity in the workplace. Rounded curves are flowing, encouraging the flow of creativity. A kidney-shaped desk follows the natural curves of the human body and is said to give you a subconscious feeling of inner alignment.

Placing the plants

Place plants in your workspace. This will help you stay connected to the natural world. Since the green color spurs creativity and new ideas it helps you to have creative element in the office. In Feng Shui practice keeping plants helps to have positive Chi flow in corners which other wise are neglected spaces devoid of any energy. Green plants also act as a filtering system, reducing toxins and circulating stagnant air.

Choosing the correct light

The best light is natural daylight, so move your desk close to a window but never have your desk directly in front of window or fluorescent lights that cast a glare, causing eyestrain and exhaustion. You may improve your mood and energy dramatically by replacing fluorescent lights with warm lights that don’t cast a glare.

Use of Feng Shui Colors

Making use of Feng Shui Colors can help you achieve balance in your office. Different colors have different properties some colors can help people feel grounded and secure. Blues, purples or reds are supposed to enhance the wealth and prosperity area of your office.

The history of feng shui covers 3,500+ years before the invention of the magnetic compass. It originated in Chinese astronomy. Some current techniques can be traced to Neolithic China, while others were added later (most notably the Han dynasty, the Tang, the Song, and the Ming).

風水

Taking Creative Responsibility

2008-09-02T10:56:00.000-04:00

As Creative thinkers, it is our job to take responsibility for EVERYTHING we put out into the media. The messages we project into society play a major role in the way people think, live, sleep, eat, love, work etc. This blog is my way of establishing good karma between the ones responsible for advertising and the society that feeds into it.

When it comes to choosing a method of getting their advertising needs met, I try to inform my clients about what kind of impact printing has on our environment and our budgets. I try to educate my clients on the latest recources being used in pinting, such as:

Reduce resource use through the design process by asking...

Is printing the best tool possible?

Can we make it do more than one thing and fulfill more than one purpose—a pocket folder and a brochure, a brochure and a poster, a brochure and an envelope?

Is it of recycled content and recyclable?

Are we influencing the chain of production and requesting biodegradable glue, binding and other elements in the printing/production chain?

Are we looking at the big picture and are we balancing long shelf life with biodegradable, meaning, we might make an item with glue that is not biodegradable, but will it hold up longer on the shelf, thus, reducing the number of reruns in the future?

Can our design have more than one life? For example, can a long-lasting binder go on to be used for other projects in the future instead of contributing to the landfill?

Other Sustainable Design Tips

Think about the whole package in its entirety when reducing waste: A self-mailer brochure with an insert to be detached means one piece of paper instead of many.

Gone are the days of superfluous white space: Design that is beautiful from the inside out means making good use of the space you have. Pages of blank sheets at the beginning and end of annual reports, booklets, etc., unless they have a purpose, are a waste.

Also gone are "like water" brochures: Sending out mass mailings as numerous as Victoria's Secret catalogs is not a good strategiy. Target and connect with your audiences in a meaningful and qualitative way, not quantitative.

Stay on top of current trends in printing and production: They are constantly changing.

Look at vendors and their impact on the big picture: wind power, VOC emissions, recycling and reduction of make-ready. Work with them to learn together what you can do to make less impact on the environment.

Work with vendors to reduce waste: Use trim space for additional products, or adjust sizing of projects to reduce trim.

Reduce your shipping impact on the enviroment: Use locally produced paper and printers close to the end delivery location.

Don't forget about the prepress impact: Working with a printer that uses a synched and calibrated monitor for prepress review reduces the need for overnight and shipping of color proofs. While this option isn't available for everyone, it is in the works and for large corporations with long-term printer relationships, a great option that reduces project work time as well.

Be innovative when it comes to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle: Reuse can be ingenius. For example, menus or notebooks can be made from old books when bindings have been removed, most inner pages have been removed and replaced with recycled-content sketch pad paper, and new bindings are made with wire binding. Taking items with former lives and reinventing them can be unique and charming, and environmentally responsible.

Certainly the web is the best tool possible these days to meet most advertising objectives. People are gearing toward online marketing and this medium will get heavier and heavier as we move along. I dont think print will ever die off. It will just reinvent itself over and over again by becoming more earth friendly.