Tip #1  ::  Tweet Deck

TweetDeck has been the source of all my social networking and interaction. With platforms like twitter, facebook, and skype at our fingertips we have the opportunity to take on almost any project. The luxury of being able to take on other designers/developers for projects has never been as accessible as now.

Tip #2  ::  ProtoShare

ProtoShare has been the lifeblood of my freelance business. The ability to layout quick and dynamic wireframes with the ease that ProtoShare provides allows me to make my development process extremely more efficient. I encourage anyone in web development to check out this service and try out the 30 Day Trial.

Tip #3  ::  Turn it off

The ability to turn off and unplug is essential in our industry. Setting healthy boundaries and client expectations has been progressively harder the more accessible we get with mobile technology. I know that the more I have let my work consume me, the more I have had design block and stress about projects. Getting away from the screen is essential in approaching our work with a fresh and creative perspective.

Hey Guys,

Here are just some quick thoughts and updates on what I have been up to and experiencing the past month. Thanks for coming by. Dont forget to check out @BeingGringo bellow.

Twitter  ::  @BeingGringo

Blog (soon to be)  ::  beinggringo.com

To see the video from @aaroni268 I am responding to go here.

Hello Everybody,

First I want to thank everyone who commented on last weeks post about Branding and Big Whigs. Nicho, Jason, and Jason Lerke all had really good input & perspective on the issue. I had realized that my posed question could really take two directions.

1. One would be from the perspective of branding being a perspective of the consumer and/or demographic. I this arena, no matter whether you are a huge corporation or a mom & pop shop, you have a brand. You exists therefore people have a perspective about you whether it is positive or negative. Obviously graphics & branding can help influence this perspective but it exists for all companies.

2. The second direction would focus more on the aesthetics and strategy behind a branding campaign, not so much on the consumers perspective. In this arena, I think we are talking about the plans and strategy behind swaying and influencing their perspective. This is more where my mind when this question was posed. I have come to 3 conclusions on how this unravels in my mind

1. You have a brand whether you like it or not. Big or small. People can chose to tend to it or can ignore it and let it manage itself.
2. Materials can be made in a small business area, even if the client doesn’t fully understand the strategy. However, this to me can be some what lost in application due to loss of direction and vision
3. To achieve a legitimate STRATEGY and plan towards a brand and how it will be interpreted, it must be executed in a big whig arena. I dont think the small business world understands it and/or is willing to pay for it. A real branding strategy takes much research and really gets into marking and out of the design spectrum. I think there are ideas and concepts that we can incorporate on a small scale with the small businesses, but when its all said ands done . . . I do think that Branding (Strategy that is) is for Big Whigs!

Tell me if I’m wrong.

The Question

Dear Joel,

In my fabled free time I volunteer my services for a local, small town non-profit. They have a handful of corporate sponsors but are definitely feeling the economic crunch. They are deploying an integrated PR, marketing and advertising campaign on a nil budget. Kudos to them to have the guts (and guys) to do it in-house. Branding is a recurring theme in our discussions. I feel that they have not reached critical mass to effectively deploy a branding strategy. They have an incredibly niche demographic and have a lot of refining to do before tackling those larger issues. So, my question to you is this—Is branding only for the big whigs?

Respectfully, Branding for the ‘burbs

The Mentions

Specialty Etching

Kyle Steed

Garth Humbert

Being Less of a Designer

Drum roll please . . . it’s the last week of my series “5 things I would do differently” and I’m super excited about this weeks post. This week I wanted to talk about being less of a designer. When I say “Less of a Designer,” Im mainly talking about two things.

1. Waiting for the question before answering.

I have found that in the last year, I started to solve client problems before they had presented the problem. I find that with the title of designer, we tend to let our confidence go to our head and get a little cocky. I think there is a great value to listening before speaking, and I think we can be much more productive in solving out clients problems when we do listen.

2. Humility.

I have also found that being a full time designer has had the tendency to envelope every facet of my life. This also strikes on the topic of being a little over confident/cocky. I have found that separating my career mentality (creatively solving problems) from my personal life has helped me maintained sanity. Realizing that I don’t have an answer for everyones issue is something I constantly find myself realizing. Even as I’m writing this, I realize how lame this sounds, but I think that this is a common issue for people in professions where they are in a position of authority. Not sure if all of this is making complete sense, but if you think I’m completely off…please leave a comment.

Being on top of your game

Hello everybody! This week has been a crazy one. I found out last Wednesday that I am no longer going to have my job at my current employer. We are still servicing our current clients and I will be working by contract for the remaining work, but I am back on the market. I am excited for new opportunities and am seeking out new direction for my career.

That being said, the third thing I would have done differently is stayed on top of my game. Staying on top of your game can be a vague concept, but for designers I think it applies in many ways. Having your updated portfolio up online (and in print), having an updated and designed resume, and being active in the community as much as possible is so important guys. I had to scramble once I had caught wind that things were slowing down, but even in a secure job, it’s still important to have all your ducks in a row. You never know what opporuntity is in the future. We need to be constantly refining our skills, our work, and our personal brand. If we aren’t moving forward we are definitely moving backwards… especially with the rate of progress & change in our industry.

With all of this going through my head, I got a message Sunday from @KKswebsTemecula, about an opening on a online radio show. The show is called Two Unemployed Guys Radio and they have a real progressive concept. They are featuring people who are unemployed and giving them a platform to share their resumes and gifts to seeking employers. Check them out… but just going to their website and browsing doesn’t do them justice. Listen to some of their podcasts… the production quality is on point. I thought I would record the session considering I was going in there on Monday and was going to be talking about some of the topics of “being on top of your game.” Its a longer video this week, but there is some good stuff in there. Let me know what you think. Much Love!

Two Unemployed Guys Radio

@2GUYSRADIOMIKE &  @MRRADIO

HELP!!!

Lastly, if any of you know of any openings or contract work, I love to hear about them. My portfolio and resume are lnked below.

Joel Beukelman’s Resume & Portfolio

#1   ::   More of the client, & less of me

Hello everyone! This is the first post of 5 based on the main things that have impacted me as a designer. On my vacation last month I had lots of time to reflect and I wanted to share with everyone some of my conclusions. I really want this to be as transparent as possible, so I hope it has some worth to you guys. This week, I really  wanted to talk about the value of getting know you client, and denying your own style and preference to achieve the most appropriate solution for the client.

Collekt

If your in the Southern California area….. COME! This one should be a dousie! If you dont follow Collekt (@collekt) already, DO IT! See links below!

Garth Humbert   ::   The man behind it all

Drifting Creatives   ::   Featured Guest

Collekt   ::   Official Site (Still being developed)

I won, I won !!!!!!

So I know I announced this last week too, but I wanted to say just one more time……Big shout out to Chris Wallace, Aaron I, Firehost, Designmoo. I was on my new display all weekend and I love it. I think it is so awesome that there are people in this community that are helping each other out. Much love guys!

So last week I talked about Las Vegas and it’s ability to position itself as a luxurious concept and lifestyle. I didn’t feel like completely explained myself on the topic of brand positioning, so I decided to do a follow up. I want to make a couple of key points I have observed in brand positioning, however I wanted to share an excerpt from a blog from Mashable that paralleled these topics. The blog post talked about Luxury brands and their relation to the internet, however I found their definition of luxury brand interesting.

“… When linked to brands, it (a luxury brand) is characterized by a recognizable style, strong identity, high awareness, and enhanced emotional and symbolic associations. It evokes uniqueness and exclusivity, and is interpreted in products through high quality, controlled distribution and premium pricing.“

I mention this quote, not because I want to talk about what defines a luxury brand, but because it has a strong relation to my discussion last week in Vegas. I have listed some of the main points that have been consuming my mind this week.

1) The quote above about luxury really sheds light on why Vegas has been able to position themselves as a luxury brand/lifestyle. Vegas is unique (random shows, lavish hotels, abnormal opportunities), has aspects of high quality (amazing architecture & quality food/drinks), requires premium pricing (yeah everything is expensive), yet lacks the idea of exclusivity. It may be considered exclusive because it is in the middle of nowhere, but is somewhat accessible by everyone (within a good drive or flight). But this is where I think Vegas has truly embraced positioning. They have made everyone there feel like they are in this exclusive environment. Wether it is getting a limo to the casino, or getting the bottle service in the club, they have been able to generate an idea of royalty for anyone and everyone who makes it out there.  That is the magic of positioning.

2) As designers, we have the opportunity (& responsibility) to guide a brand, not only in how it looks but in the message portrayed. Companies and clients are constantly changing their product/service which requires repositioning. Defining the demographic/consumer and the desired response is vital in the success of a brand. Just like we take into account the UX ad UI of a web site, we need to also consider the consumer and brand position. Great design is essential, but it must also be performing in the consumer fields, and demanding the wanted perception/reputation.

A lot of these ideas also parallel my other posts about equality in branding and logos, in that one of the main vehicles in positioning your company is through branding. I hope all of this is making sense…..I have a lot of ideas going through my head and its hard to put them all down in writing (thats why I went to art school  ). I would love to start up a discussion about this. I think it is also overlooked, just as branding is. Comment it up!!! Peace & Love!

I apologize for the video being a little short this week. After I reviewed the video I realized that I didn’t completely explain myself. Im calling this post “putting lipstick on a pig” because I really wanted to talk about brand positioning and its potential to portray a specific message/idea of a product/service to its audience/consumer (in some cases making the pig prettier than it really is…). Wikipedia has a pretty simple was of saying it.

In marketing, positioning has come to mean the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization”

My main point that I wanted to get across was the branding phenomena that Vegas has become. Call it wrong or right, but Vegas has managed to build a reputation and position their brand as a place of luxury and exclusivity. Obviously, we all know that there are some sleazy things that happen in Sin City, but people continue to buy into this idea of Vegas, that (in short) is a lie. It amazes me that branding is powerful enough to make a bunch of tacky building in the middle of the dessert a world wide destination for tourists and locals. This pig definitely got its makeover!

FYI…Another topic I didn’t talk about in this post is ethics in design. I will probably do a follow up post about this, but I mentioned the issue of branding and designing for clients that might not have the best product/service. I think we really have a responsibility to be as honest as possible in our designs and with our clients….I’ll get into more detail later, but I didn’t want this post to seem like I condone branding unethical products/services. Ill keep you posted.