As I reflect on this phrase, I see it has a second, more important meaning, a set of instructions. They are: successful projects are those that have many stakeholders.  To create victory: find a thousand parents.  Become one of the thousand.

Shew Design’s role in the success of Power Past Coal and the Bellingham Home Fund has been small. I feel others have been doing the heavy lifting in terms of the deeper strategic work, the ongoing planning and communications, hitting the pavement in dozens of different ways. Yet, it is immensely gratifying to be involved to in successful efforts and to see people using our designs to speak to the issues of the day. It’s a big reason why we signed up to be what we do.

photo by Paul K. Anderson

photo by Paul K. Anderson

photo by Paul K. Anderson

photo by Paul K. Anderson

photo by Paul K. Anderson

Print has changed, though. It is now more an elective than a requirement, and like any choice it benefits from planning and thinking ahead. This can include details like a delivery strategy, or options for tailoring a message for a specific audience, and other special circumstances.

A recent project for the The Leopold retirement community brought some of this thinking into play. After talking with the client, we realized that the decision to enter a retirement community usually unfolds as part of a conversation with a family or group. We thought of the folder as a prop for facilitating these conversations, speaking to both the concerns and benefits of this choice.

The folder interior was never intended to be the primary message. Rather, it supports the brochures, calendars, and other informational pieces. It also supports the family member or sales person taking with the possible Leopold resident.

If we were thinking of this project working in isolation (e.g. without this social context) we would have opted for a more traditional approach – talking about the Leopold, its history, and amenities, etc. With thousands of the folder being printed in advance, the message would have to be carefully tailored so that any specifics mentioned would be accurate perhaps as long as five or six years.

As it turns out, this concept ensures that the folder will work for the long term, and that other elements (such as the brochures) can be revised as details change. As elements of a larger system, these pieces help create an organized, appealing marketing presence for The Leopold that can be used for years to come.

It’s the return of the Shew Design contest, this one featuring a cavalcade of the best, funniest, strangest Halloween ads we could find. Logos and other identifiers have been removed.

In the spirit of the season, we’ve embraced a wide range of styles and approaches – from the silly to the slightly shocking. Consider yourself duly warned, dear reader!  It’s Halloween for goodness sake!

Your task: take the following categories listed below and match them with the appropriate ad. To be extra tricksy, we’ve made some categories apply to multiple ads, where some categories apply to no ads.

You get 1 point for each product category you can correctly identify; 3 points for each specific product or company you can correctly identify. Send an email with your answers to info@shew-design.com.

There are two winners this time around: the person who gets the most points as described above, and the person who writes the funniest caption to one of the ads below – if they feel so inclined. Both receive a set of Chocolate Necessities chocolate bars and an official Shew Design idea book. Winners will be announced in November.

Have fun!

categories:

• automobile
• pizza
• beer
• fast food
• feminine care product
• power conservation
• hair remover
• toothpaste
• razors
• detergent
• antacid
• late night, “adult” programming
• recruitment
• garlic seasoning
• motor oil
• skin cream
• luggage
• home improvement

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You can fairly easily see what links people use on your website using traffic evaluation tools such as Google Analytics. More importantly, these tools can show you which links people don’t visit.

This can help you make informed decisions about revising your navigation, ideally creating the fewest possible meaningful choices for your audience. Making the right choices shows your audience you respect their time; making the wrong ones communicates the reverse. This is another case of “less is more.”

Here’s a fairly simple process that can help you make more informed decisions.

• If you haven’t already, install Google Analytics or another traffic evaluation tool.
• Wait at least a  few weeks to gather data about your site.
• From Analytics, pull up the Content menu and select In-Page Analytics. The page that appears lets you see how people interact with the site either as color (with hotter colors indicating more activity) or as a percentage of total clicks.

Our website makeover process begins with evaluating site traffic in this way. It is not uncommon to see that some links appearing on every single page of a website have been used only a handful of times in a year. A site revision begins with asking why this is the case and then correcting the problem. Let your audience show you the way!

First things first. One needs refreshment before embarking on Artwalk. Depending on our energy level, we might stop for a delicious caffeinated beverage at The Black Drop, checking out their feature art while waiting.

But often, winding down is more our mood. Many choices for this – including our office.

Last month we got a late start, and the sunset was the first piece of art we saw on our way to the Blue Horse Gallery.

We particularly liked the thick, chunky strokes in Willow Bader’s paintings, featured at the Blue Horse.

Then it’s down the hill to the Waterfront Artist Studios. This is a unique opportunity to see artist’s work, where they work.

Tyree Callahan’s studios is one of our favorite stops.

Lorna Libert had some large friendly works.

Along with a large friendly dog, not on canvas.

There is no shortage of interesting work at the Waterfront.

Another gallery always on our list is Make Shift Art Space (formerly the Jinx art space).

They were showing some amazing works by Joey Bates.

Paper is meticulously cut out by hand with an exacto knife to create some of his layered paper works.

Downstairs at Make Shift, the studios open up and show some of their work. The below mural greets you as you make your way down the stairs.

A variety of work can be seen in the basement studios.

The Bellingham Alternative Library has relocated to this space. If you have never been, it’s definitely worth going to browse their shelves.

Always keeping our eyes open, sometimes we find art where we wouldn’t expect it. It appears the Granary Building was requesting some help from The Caped Crusader.

We might wind down the evening with a nightcap at our office, where we have started a small collection of local artist’s work. These paintings by Andrea Heimer were some of the first things we hung in our office when we moved in.

James Mey created this layered Frankenstein.

And we recently purchased these screen prints by Jen Dranttel.

Perhaps we’ll run into you one of these first Fridays.

While developing a packaging concept for a high end manufacturer, we encountered some feedback from a friend of the client who recommended we take an alternate approach. His advice was, literally, “dumb it down.” The product was a gourmet food item (chocolate) for a discriminating, college-educated audience. The argument was based on a perception of the across the board, ever-dwindling intelligence of the American public — the same argument we’ve all heard for years.

I didn’t buy the argument or the conclusion, and, thankfully, neither did the client.  The interaction left me thinking how people think about their audiences and the impacts — known and unknown – that ‘dumbing it down’ has on communications.

Obviously, ‘dumbing it down’ doesn’t emerge out of a place of respect. What happens when an organization thinking of their audience in this way becomes habit?   Is there a point where trying to think as a dim bulb becomes indistinguishable from being a dim bulb?

I think you are what you eat. The choice of respecting your audience’s intelligence brings with it a choice to be authentic, meaningful, and relevant. It burdens you with the increasingly non-trivial task of cutting through the deluge of competing messages confronting your audience’s ever diminishing attention. Organizations that rise up to ask and answer those challenging questions enjoy a significant advantage over those that don’t.

While a strategy of requiring serious thought from your audience is not obviously not always viable, I don’t really want to live in a world where it’s never an option.

As any company would, we’ve encountered successes and setbacks in our ten year evolution. Perhaps our biggest lasting success has emerged from being picky about the jobs and partnerships we’ve taken on, with our best work happening when we form a partnership with our client and continually challenge ourselves to do better. ‘Dumbing it down’ will never really be a part of this equation.

Without giving away the details, here is the situation: the client is an inventor who developed a product that we  believe will change the world in a small but important way.

In creating materials that foster credibility for this man and his idea, we have many choices before us – an infinity of them. For discussion’s sake, let’s imagine there are just two.

Behind door number one is the man’s illustrious backstory – a cavalcade of glowingly important technical achievements that relate obliquely to a few well known innovations. It is hugely impressive, but arcane – the details a blazingly brilliant maze of terminology to all but a few.

Behind door number two is his family – specifically his son who is afflicted with a serious condition interfering with his ability to lead a full life. The man’s idea came to him as he watched his son respond to therapy, his invention is a form of replicating that therapy.

Which is the right way to go? Both, of course, but if you had to pick one, which would it be?

• In my twenties, I would have picked door number one, the brilliant as proven by authority route.
• In my thirties, I would have probably eventually found myself to door number two but it would be a winding route with lots of conditions, and research, and other forms of high mindedness. The final expression of this would be something like “it depends on your audience.” When marketing people say this, settle in. It’s going to be a long meeting.
• In my forties, my heart and my gut tells me that door number two is the way to go. When I heard the man’s story, I felt I understood the product, the man, and his idea. It made the little boy I used to be, a fragile little voice that sometimes manifests itself in creative work, wake up, take notice, and want to believe. It’s taken me two decades to learn to take that voice seriously.

The first stage is about being clever, complicated and “standing out;” the second stage is about being thoughtful and researched; the third stage is about being meaningful.

Sometimes there is a profound and deeply human quality in what a company does and the goods and services it creates. When we are fortunate enough to be associated with such an effort, is the process of translating their work into marketing strategy an act of crass, garden variety commercialism or high minded idealism?

The answer is both, of course, but if you had to pick, the second door is the better way to go.

“Don’t” had been added to the sign, and at one point someone had handwritten “believing” below this. Later, for whatever reason, “believing” was removed, while “don’t” was left there. An ugly sign along a beautiful interurban trail.

As long as I can remember I was aware of my surroundings in an aesthetic way. My Dad is an architect, and my Mom has always had a hands on creative design sense. The first surroundings I can remember involved things like a handmade couch that was comprised of a simple large plank of wood sitting at toddler height with rectangular cushions sitting atop it. A clean white stylish pendant hanging lamp, that was designed and assembled  by my Dad, who very patiently glued styrofoam cups together to form a perfect globe. The list goes on, but the thing these things had in common was that they were a very intentional way of making an environment just what they wanted it to be. It was not okay to settle for an inexpensive store bought overstuffed couch or standing lamp when what you wanted was so simple and elegant, yet perhaps slightly out of budget.

Growing up surrounded by this intentional environment had a powerful effect on me. The idea that you create the space you want to live in is one that I’ve carried into my adulthood in both a personal and professional way. I’ve frustrated Eric by not wanting to eat in a particular restaurant because they used tennis balls as cushioned feet for their chair legs. I’ve also delighted him with the colors and design of our office. There is a room to view our work, a room where we are creative, and  a room for collaborative meetings. It was designed with intention. Being in this environment has a powerful affect on our creative work. It’s inspiring to work in a space that you love.

Our bike commute is also inspiring, and I didn’t want to keep biking past this sign with its ugly message.

I added one small word. Small enough that you have to get pretty close to read it. You have to pay attention to catch it. Yet it takes an ugly message and turns it into a positive one.  I’m sure it’s not caught by most, but seeing a high school aged girl stopping to take a picture of it with her phone while her friends continued walking made me smile. A like minded person, perhaps.

Thanks to those of you who attended  our presentation yesterday. Here are the documents Jackie referenced. Please use these as examples of the planning process she uses to help her clients engage in social media.

• Resources
• Sample brain dump
• Sample social media outline
• Sample social media calendar

We will be happy to meet with you individually if you are interested about collaborating.  You will only receive a bill once you have agreed to a contract. We never charge for an initial meeting.

Jackie Endsley - Endsley&Company -360.223.3683
Eric Shew – Shew Design – 360.733.2265

The beginnings of a periodic table of chocolate, this design concept aims to communicate a message of quality using minimal design and copywriting

That’s what I like to say as I help myself to a generous handful of research. My third. “That’s Callebaut, 54%,” Kevin informs me, and you know, that actually means something to me. It’s taken a while.

Becca and I have been talking with Kevin Buck from Chocolate Necessities about chocolate – the business of chocolate, the artistry of chocolate – for about three years now. What began as a series of sales meetings has since evolved into a series of friendly conversations about business and creativity over beer. And chocolate.

And what chocolate it has been. Chocolate so vast and dark it swallows you as you swallow it. “That was good,” you somehow say after emerging from the experience. Bright chocolate that seems as endlessly clear as a blue sky, a tuning fork in your mouth that goes and goes and goes. Chocolate covering these amazing candied lemon peels that can only be found from a specialty vendor in France. Chocolate with almonds that have been precisely chopped to an exact size. Chocolate with course black pepper. Chocolate in gelato. Chocolate with beer. Chocolate covering chocolate, dipped in chocolate.

Yes, this is research. For a creative strategy for talking about chocolate, and educating people about it in packaging, advertising, and the web. That education began with us looking seriously at our client, his values, products, and market.

First, we saw that Kevin was the real deal – a relentless force for improving through experimentation, curating and stockpiling rare and specialty ingredients, and endless research. Endless. Contributing to this perception was the gradual realization that the chocolate industry – by and large – cuts major corners and delivers a fundamentally compromised product. I knew Hershey’s was “a certain way” entering the process, but soon major high end, artisan, manufacturers fell under the same shadow.

Having this new understanding of how our client’s product fit in with the chocolate marketplace, we evaluated the universe of wrappers with a critical eye. There is no shortage of great work out there, brilliant and beautiful. But a beautiful design that covers a compromised product is the exact opposite of what Chocolate Necessities is all about. Though individual wrappers were often great, the marketplace collectively looked increasingly over designed. We had to find a new way.

First things first. We looked at the product – only a few high quality ingredients. Nothing extra. The design concept should have the same qualities. And with a romantic flavor predominating in most competitor’s designs, we opted for a more classical approach. We landed on Bodoni and Futura – two type families at home in the Italian tradition of high end chocolate and confectionery – and married that idea to the periodic table with the thought that this conceit would expand and adapt as it was incorporated into other products. This is, after all, a visual language about chocolate.

A specialty paper was selected because of its dense but soft quality – and the impression a letterpress plate would make on it.

In terms of production, we opted for letterpress printing on Mohawk Superfine paper stock, a high end, soft, dense paper that would beautifully accentuate the three dimensional impression of the plate. Letterpress production meant only a few colors could be used, but each would be distinctive.

The copy was also ultra minimalist – including just a description of the contents in as few words as possible. No pronouncements about “the finest ingredients”, as these claims are broken through overuse. Quality is communicated through production and design and the product delivers on that promise.

Though this is a modest product in terms of its reach, we are proud of it. It emerged out of a collaborative, trusting partnership with the client that grew from years of discussions. Had we not learned from these interactions, I think we would have been yet another design company making something that “stands out.” Instead, we created a simple concept that was in better alignment with the product and with the strategy of building an ever larger base of returning customers and believers. To those I offer this message: welcome to the club and enjoy the chocolate.