The Creative Instinct: new course

I'm really happy to introduce a new three-part course on creativity called The Creative Instinct.

The course has been developed over the last few years through working with clients and has been condensed into three main components:

 

Samurai, assassination, an iconic logo and the man behind Mitsubishi

When deciding to do a series on great minimalist logos from Japan - of which there are many - I couldn't leave out Yataro Iwasaki's iconic design for Mitsubishi which still looks good over 140 years after it was designed.

The thing is, there aren't many logo designers that have a samurai background, were great industrialists, were involved in political intrigue and were part of pivotal moments in their nation's history, so I thought I'd say a little bit more about the man behind Mitsubishi.

Born into a farming family in what is now Kochi prefecture (his grandfather sold the family's samurai status to pay off debts), Iwasaki moved to Edo - now Tokyo - when he was nineteen, determined to pursue an education. While there, he studied under the reformist Toyo Yoshida who influenced him with ideas about opening and developing what was at the time a closed nation.

5 PR mistakes that can cripple your reputation

PR is about much more than press releases, advertising and promotional events: it's an ongoing process that deserves attention at all stages. When done right, it can cement your reputation as a leader in your field. When neglected, however, it can seriously damage your reputation.

Hopefully you are avoiding these five PR mistakes. If not, it's time for a rethink.

1) Telling people they are wrong

I receive a fair amount of PR material and, most of the time, I'm more than happy to share it because it's interesting and comes from great people. Occasionally, however, there are mistakes in the media package (a mistyped date or url, for example) and they need to be corrected. There is most definitely a right way and a wrong way to go about this.

DO: Politely point out the mistake and ask for it to be corrected (even if you didn't make the mistake). This approach will be greatly appreciated and raise your PR profile.

DON'T: Tell people they're wrong and order them to fix the mistake. A curt "You got the date wrong on the press release. Please fix it at once." is not going to win you any fans.

50 Tips For Getting Press Releases Published

A year ago I wrote an article outling 30 dos and don'ts for press releases which had an accompanying podcast, both of which turned out to be very popular. Since then I've received over 100 emails all asking me for tips on how to write and/or improve press releases.

Common issues seem to be:

 

• Knowing which publications to approach and how to approach them
• Style and length
• Images
• Format
• What to do if the releases are not published
• Audience targeting

 

Don't overestimate design

As I said yesterday, some people can get a little precious and pompous about design, which is why a lot of people think designers are pompous tossers. Some are, of course, but not all.

Design is not the be all and end all of everything: aesthetics is only part of a great product or service.

Apple products are not popular just because of the considerable talents of Jonathan Ive and his team; they are backed by amazing technicians, business minds and marketing experts. If iPods didn't work, nobody would use them, regardless of how nice they look. If the adverts didn't catch your eye, you'd ignore them. If there weren't Mac stores everywhere with staff that know their products inside out, you'd just shop at your local electric shop. Apple go the extra mile, with design being a big step along the way.

Similarly, a Ferrari does not become a supercar just because they are designed to look sleek and sexy - each car is a culmination of the skills, experience and talents of a huge team of engineers, mechanics, designers, artisans and business leaders, backed by over half a century of history. The people who make them are proud of them, and so they should be.

Great design can make a good product or service outstanding, but it's unlikely to make a bad product or service great. Bad design, however, can make even great products look awful. Image is important, but it needs to be backed by a great product or service. And a great product or service deserves to be fronted by good design.

Whatever your take on design, it's an essential element of business and it's worth getting right.

Don't underestimate design

Some people can get a little precious and pompous when it comes to design but, without trying to sound like a tosser myself, I do think design is very important and often underestimated.

Good design can...

 

- Solve problems

- Create value

- Tell a story

- Create something memorable

- Change opinions

- Refresh

- Inspire

 

...and much more.

Well-designed products, logos, websites and promotional materials show that you care about how your clients or customers see you, which shows that you care about your customers and clients. It's worth the investment.

Is your logo too complex?

Can you describe your logo in three words?		What makes a good logo?   From David Airey: Describable Memorable Effective without colour Scalable Relevant to the industry   From Just Creative Design: Simple Memorable Timeless Versatile Appropriate
I'm not suggesting that if you can't describe your logo in three words it is useless or too complex, but trying this simple exercise may help you evaluate how effective it is. Think of some memorable, timeless logos and then think of what makes them memorable and timeless. They are usually simple, rarely using complex patterns, colours or effects. They rarely conform to trends or fads. Look at some of the words in the lists on the right: memorable, describable, simple, versatile, scalable, effective without colour. None of these would apply to a logo rich in detail that relies heavily on colour - details would be lost both when rescaling and reproducing it in monochrome. I find there is something distracting about using too much detail or too many colours. One's eyes don't really know where to settle and the whole gets lost in the details. It is hard to commit complicated logos to memory, and this is not something you want. As may be obvious from my work, I err on the side of minimalism. A minimal amount of colour and detail is more beautiful, and more memorable, than too many. Try describing your logo in three words. You may be surprised at what you find.