The Designful Company: Another thought provoking book by Marty Neumeier
January 20, 2009 at 9:36 pm
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The Innovation Funnel
The Innovation Funnel
January 18, 2009 at 7:18 pm
The biggest hurdle to innovation is the corporate longing for certainty about costs, market size, revenues, profits, and other quantities, all of which can’t be known when an idea is new. Ironically, there seems to be no hurdle to investing in dying businesses, decaying strategies, and shrinking markets, all of which can be seen without a crystal ball. It seems we prefer the devil we know.+ Read More -
Business Resolutions
Business Resolutions
January 18, 2009 at 7:11 pm
If you’re just hoping to “get through” this year’s financial crisis, you may be missing the bigger picture. The financial crisis is merely the final score of a game we’ve been playing for over a century—it’s called Free-market Capitalism. The game is officially over, and a new game is beginning.+ Read More -
Brand Thinking
Brand Thinking
January 18, 2009 at 7:08 pm
The stock market is spiraling downwards. Large institutions are looking for handouts. Corporations are cutting head counts. Budgets are slashed to the bone. Time to huddle in the basement? Not if you want to thrive in the next economy.+ Read More -
B2B Branding
B2B Branding
January 18, 2009 at 6:58 pm
These days it’s easy to explain branding—just cite Apple or BMW and people get it. But what about companies that don’t sell sexy consumer products—what does good branding look like to them?+ Read More -
In-house Design Part 2
In-house Design Part 2
January 18, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Most corporations generate a steady stream of designed artifacts—products, print communications, websites, advertising, manuals, financial reports, signage, retail environments, packaging, trade show exhibits—the “posters and toasters” of 20th-century commerce. When you add the growing list of emerging opportunities—customer experience, service planning, decision design, strategy mapping, and culture development—you begin to appreciate the need for strong design management.+ Read More -
In-house Design Part 1
In-house Design Part 1
January 17, 2009 at 4:05 pm
As the drumbeat of innovation grows louder, corporate leaders are feeling the need for stronger internal design. But before a company can even think about building an in-house design capability, it will need to address the problem that has plagued in-house designers since the days of the cave painters. This can be reduced to seven letters: R—E—S—P—E—C—T. As soon as the department is established, its value starts to depreciate. Within months the new group is inundated with low-level tasks and excluded from high-level conversations.+ Read More -
Brand Collaboration
Brand Collaboration
January 16, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Brands don’t develop in isolation; they result from the interaction of thousands of people over a long period of time. Branding requires not only the work of executives and marketing people who manage the brand, but an ever-changing roster of strategy consultants, design firms, advertising agencies, research companies, PR firms, industrial designers, environmental designers, and so on. It also requires the valuable contributions of employees, suppliers, distributors, partners, stockholders, and customers—an entire branding community.+ Read More -
The 6 Naming Styles
The 6 Naming Styles
January 15, 2009 at 3:50 pm
What kind of name will work hardest for you? Should the name literally describe the offering, or should it suggest a benefit? Is it better to imply an idea, or to invoke a brand’s history? Getting the answer to these questions will help you choose the right name. But before you can do that, you have to know your options.+ Read More -
Brand Positioning
Brand Positioning
January 14, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Companies need positioning because customers have choices—and if you don’t stand out, you lose. Positioning is what differentiates a brand in the customer’s mind. To win the positioning game answer this simple question: What makes you the "only"?+ Read More
