The Prepared Mind Discussion about designing human interaction.

Thanks to digital buzz where I found this video.

@chris

People frequently ask me if Twitter will retain its current hold on our collective imaginations or if it will eventually fade, and go the way of CB radio. Truthfully, I don’t know. Who does? The one thing I know is that the phenomenon of quick micro blogging and spontaneous self-organizing is here to stay.

Ask yourself a question: if the brutal, repressive Iranian regime can’t stop citizens from using social networks like Twitter to communicate, collaborate and self-organize, what chance does a company or brand have???

@chrisgee

I’ve posted a comment I wrote over at the blog DesignNotes

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Wow! Debbie Millman is the new president of the AIGA! I’m hearing this for the first time right here, which is odd since I subscribe to the AIGA RSS feed, where there is no mention of her becoming president nor is there any mention of it on their home page (http://www.aiga.org).

This, in a way, sums up what we need to know about the slow-moving, far-from-digital organization. How many other organizations would appoint a new president and make no mention of it on their own home page?

I just saw this great use of augmented reality implemented by the USPS. I’m chomping at the bit here!

@chrisgee

I read a blog a couple of weeks ago entitled Is Social Media Making Corporate Websites Irrelevant? . In it the author, Adam Ostrow, questioned whether social media outlets like Twitter, MySpace and Facebook have become more important for corporations and their digital communications than the corporate web site. Initially I dismissed the idea out of hand. I’m still not sure that I agree with the Ostrow completely but I do believe that he is not completely off base.

The next-generation Jennie-O website was designed to have a clear mission that integrates all of the product lines in an enticing and fun way. The new Jennie-O website provides the opportunity to strategically communicate all of the brand messages through a creative, integrated sub-platform of it’s own. Results: increase in time spent on site, page views and unique visitors.

The Transitions Optical global global corporate site re-brand unified a disparate network of global sites that had previously spoken to the outside world with different messaging — both verbal and visual — in vastly different ways. The newly-redesigned site was created around a core set of unifying goals and translated into 15 different languages around the globe.

The new BNY ConvergEx Group web site tied together the various business units of the BNY ConvergEx Group brand — many of which were were acquired — and untied them under a unified brand, allowing them to each communicate to the outside world with the same language and voice.

Shaped the digital design effort on the part of Burson-Marsteller to help the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) unveil the new $5 bill online. This is the first time in history that U.S. paper money has ever been unveiled entirely online. Introducing the new bill online helped immediately and efficiently reach the broad, international audience of stakeholders interested in U.S. currency.

The re-designed George Foreman Cooking web site revitalized the brand by re-introducing the George Foreman Grill line to a new set of target customers who are more interested in features, technology and healthy living and eating. The new site greatly Increased awareness and engagement with the brand across all customer demographics. Web traffic on new web site has doubled and, at peak times, tripled vs. metrics from former site.

Utilized feedback from consumer testing to re-shape Hormel Foods’ corporate brand online in order to craft a more upscale identity. The re-designed site featured a clearer information hierarchy that more effectively drove the various constituent groups to the most relevant information.

Leveraged the online medium to reflect Hormel’s desired brand attributes in a comprehensive user experience. The site’s homepage contains an Interactive Kitchen serving as a gateway into Hormel. Users gain a sense of brand depth and variety by interacting with various product ‘carousels’ containing product information, recipe ideas, and appealing photography. Consumer testing of the Interactive Kitchen revealed an 80% success rate in broadening the consumer’s perception of brand variety, and a 65% success rate in conveying innovation and modernity as Hormel brand attributes.

3 years since SPAM.com was redesigned, the site was in need of a fresh, new look with stimulating content and features. The newly designed site positioned the iconic brand using bold creative and intuitive interactive features, which presented the brand as fun and interesting to a broad audience. The re-designed site launch was very successful, receiving nearly 53,000 hits during the week of the launch and over 210,000 visits during the first month.

I know, I know. It’s been a long time since I last blogged. OK, it’s been a loooooooong time since I blogged. That said, I felt this the right topic to wake me from my blogging slumber. And there’s even a PODCAST on the way!!!

The Designer of 2015

The AIGA and Adobe have teamed up and done research, conducted focus groups, and condensed their learnings into a report on the AIGA website that details what the designer of 2015 will look like. The competencies required, trends, etc. Here is the stated rationale:

For several years, it has been apparent that design studios and corporate departments have been looking for a new kind of designer, one that has traditional skills and yet a much broader perspective on problem solving. Because one of AIGA’s central responsibilities is to keep abreast of developments in the industry, we recognized that we needed to better understand the emerging role of designers and to enter into a deeper discussion with educators and design leaders on how to prepare designers for future changes.

A bold statement indeed. I was happy to see that this study had been initiated because frankly, I feel too many times the AIGA tends to look backwards, to the design industry’s past glory days, and rarely to the challenges that face designers in the future.

That reaction, however, is far from unanimous. I’ve seen other opinions that mock a survey that looks at the year 2015, since it is “only” 7 years from now. Of course, that notion ignores the obvious realities of today’s business landscape and the speed of light at which change occurs. The skills, knowledge and competencies required a mere two years from are likely to be very different. 7 years may very well seem like an eternity.

I’m interested to see what else comes out of this initiative. Stay tuned…

.chris{}

Wow! What an interesting week it has been. At Burson-Marsteller (B-M), we just completed the first Digital In Action program at our offices here in NYC. Just to provide a bit of context, Digital In Action is an intense, 2 day seminar aimed at helping B-M employees from disciplines across the company to be able to apply Digital to the way they help their current rosters of clients.

While the first phase of digital training that took place in early 2007, Digital Bootcamp, was designed to bring everyone in the company up to speed with the new digital landscape, Digital In Action took those efforts to the next logical step in showing them how to apply that knowledge to the way they help their clients. In other words, phase I was “this is a Wiki/blog/social network” while phase II was “here are the tools you need to go out and put all of this new knowledge in action.”

It was a great 2 days. I had the pleasure of being a faculty member and team leader for the 2 day session and the group I led was so inspired, they immediately began work on a digital action plan they hope to propose to an existing client within the next 2 weeks! What’s remarkable about this is that these individuals are not from our digital practice. They are traditional PR, advertising and communications professionals who work within B-M. Many of whom began their careers prior to the start of the Internet age.

This week’s program was the first of many to come. Eventually these sessions will be rolled-out globally within B-M. I’m excited about the change we can bring and the prospect of really helping to shape B-M so that the company can help define modern PR in the 20th century just as it did in the 20th century. Judging by the level of excitement generated this week within the company, I have no doubt that will happen.

.chris{}