Archive for the 'Strategy' Category

Hi…er…What?

Published by Scott on April 14, 2011 in Design and Strategy. 0 Comments

As a graphic designer, it is my job to be a visual information manager, quickly communicating messages to a viewer in a way that is logical and predictable. Both are necessary in effective visual communication. One of the methods through which designers accomplish this is the development of a visual hierarchy, or order of importance.

People are visual thinkers. However, they don’t take in all visual information at once. Instead, they break it down into smaller, easier to process chunks, typically classifying visual elements in terms of relationships. The more complex the visual message, the more people tend to classify like elements. Size, color, contrast, alignment, repetition, proximity, space and texture are visual cues that help organize visual hierarchies for viewers.

Let’s get down to brass tacks: Why is hierarchy important? The answer is simple. People spend mere seconds, possibly even less, determining whether or not they are going to engage a visual message once it has caught their attention. If the hierarchy of the message is easily understood, the chances of the viewer engaging it increases exponentially. If not, the intended message is lost.

Many factors can lead to a failed hierarchy—client demands, designer inexperience, design-by-committee or a gross overabundance of content.

In an article on webdesign.tutsplus.com, Brandon Jones, Webdesigntuts+ Editor, describes an exercise to test for visual hierarchy success. Here are the steps:

  1. List the key information points that visitors are likely seeking.
  2. Assign values (1-10) according to their importance to the average visitor.
  3. Now, look at the actual design again.
  4. Assign values (1-10) according to the actual visual importance as you see it in the live design.
  5. Consider: Does the expected importance match up with the actual designed importance?

It’s a natural tendency to want every element to “jump off the page,” but it is our job to remember that hierarchy comes first and making every element bigger or flashier isn’t always most effective.

Stretch, elasticity, empty storage.

Published by Laurie on March 25, 2011 in Leadership and Strategy. 0 Comments

This is a capacity blog. It will read a bit feminine so I will disclaimer it by telling you that in a recent personality/communications test two of my three “types” are more common to men. (See PCM training, Next-Element.com. Way cool.) I have been struggling with finding professional capacity. I think everyone’s answer to this is different. My answer came in three parts. Part 1, slow down. Turn off the noise. For me that means to retreat and find my center. Part 2, edit. Find new lines, places and prescriptions for order. Part 3, a sabbatical view. We enjoyed dinner recently with a group of people and the conversation turned to a sabbatical one of the guests had taken. There is no way Jeffrey and I can take a sabbatical from our business at this time, but I recognized I’d benefit from that attitude. Bunny Williams’ Scrapbook for Living, a gift from my mother (who seeded my love for interior design and creating beauty), returned my focus to the importance of living beautifully, gracefully, artfully, orderly. This is a recommendation. I loved this book. I spent several hours putting objets d’art away at home and replacing them with seasonal interest. I bought potted hyacinths (for their long-lasting interest and scent) to bring the outdoors in. I looked for ways to bring more symmetry into our home’s interior because that feels good to me. All of these things refreshed me. They gave me capacity, a critical need for every leader. Capacity is stretch, elasticity, empty storage for creativity. Without it, I am numb, taciturn and, by definition, cluttered. Do you have it? If not, how will you rediscover it?

Gutting it out.

Published by Laurie on January 12, 2011 in Minding the Gap and Strategy. 0 Comments

Gail Derreberry, resource director for the Creel Institute, and I were invited several weeks ago by a friend/interior designer to tour a home scheduled to be gutted the next day for a major remodel. Walls would be moved, she explained, to accommodate the lifestyle needs and passions of the new owners.

A colleague is affectionately known for how many times he tells people that if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll be what you’ve always been.

It’s a new year, and I’m in trouble. I’ve forgotten how to dance through my day. I’ve lost my rhythm. In Minding the Gap, the book Jeffrey and I published last fall, we talk a lot about editing our lives to be fully alive in the person God made us to be and the purposes he invests in us.

I’ve edited about as tightly as I can. I’m realizing that to get out of this ungraceful place and move forward into new plans and activities, I need to gut walls. Old habits, disciplines, boundaries, maybe even expectations need to come down first to be raised in new places.

What’s cool

Published by Jeff on November 15, 2010 in Branding, Design, Leadership, Strategy and Teamwork. 0 Comments

Know what’s cool?

A favorite app on my new iPhone is iSamJackson. This helpful and informative app features wit and wisdom from the king of cool. Quips and quotes with the unmistakable delivery that can only be the one and only Samuel L. Jackson. When prompted Sam even let’s me know what’s cool—AM radio, cab drivers, Ninjas, BBQ chefs, sushi and flip flops just to name a few.

I recently read an article about creating “cool” workplaces in order to retain Gen Y (millennial) employees. The article spotlights a company that has even instituted “fun squads” to oversee fun, enjoyment and creative communication.

We don’t have a fun squad here at The Strategy Group but we do have an Olhausen pool table, an LG high-def TV (playing great concert films and golf when available) and of course the best coffee in the world (Old San Francisco from Spice Merchant). That’s cool, huh?

No.

Know what’s cool? When an organization’s board of directors comes together over a shared and well-articulated vision. When a client says it’s re-energized and its publics are really connecting with its re-brand. When a retail client says they planted a flag over the weekend. When a national organization boasts their event program is THE BEST EVER! That’s what’s cool!

What’s cool in the office, in my mind, should be the result of being focused on what’s cool outside the office. So don’t try so hard to be cool. Do, however, try harder to help those you serve experience what’s cool.

Cheers! And don’t forget to observe Talk Like a Pirate Day at your office next year (Sept. 19).

“Know what’s cool? Pirates. Pirates are coooool!” Samuel L. Jackson

iSamJackson app available at iTunes store.

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