Creating compelling magnificence and intrigue. Looking into the enchanting, elegant and grand world of escapism as it is encapsulated in art, design, fashion, creating a dream like hope for the future.

There has always been a place and a need for distraction in our lives, but today, in the face of anti-consumerism, the idea of escapism seems particularly relevant.

What if you treated your product/brand like a theater and users like the audience?

A great story has a tight plot and holds everyone spellbound. Thinking like a director during the design process is a great tool for helping guide the user’s attention. Give out the popcorn and raise the curtain!

So what’s your story?

“Narrative” becomes a key theme for the future; the creative art of storytelling is no longer window dressing, but a means of appealing to the consumer and supporting their cause, their  identity, and their values. Does this indicate a need to find a whole new brand identity or simply find a tale worth telling?

Consumer spending is at an all time low as the economic crisis continues, and so it seems that designers and producers are now looking towards fantasy and entertainment to inspire consumers...

…be it the decadent grandeur of the stage, the vivid kaleiscopic experience of the circus, or the timeless elegance of the ballet; and bringing fashion and design into the realms of fantasy and creativity, mystery and imagination. This need for narration, nostalgia and the exploration of intrigue is being felt in many artistic disciplines, ranging from music to art.

Fashion is certainly taking a leap into escapism. Retail and runway collections are beginning to absorb the influences of dance and circus.

Italian designer Salvadore Ferragamo has embraced the world of ballet, uniting primo ballerino Roberto Bolle with and super model Claudia Schiffer in a recent campaign.

Prestigious ballet companies are partnering with architects, encapsulating fluidity and movement, renowned fashion designers are taking a position at the heart off the theatrical arena.

Theater provides the audience with a window though which to escape the troubles of today focusing only on the enjoyment of the stage.

Micro-blogging service Twitter and London’s Royal Opera House may not be seen as birds of a feather. Founded hundreds of years apart, one represents a stronghold of traditional high culture, the other the fizzing surface of contemporary communication. But the tendency of culture to respond to new technology should never be underestimated—over the past three weeks the ROH has been using Twitter to crowdsource the libretto for a new “people’s opera”.

What story allows for the experiences and memories of the viewer, (as in a good mystery), to ‘fill in the blanks’? And what can Brands give to the consumers through their product personas/features as stimulus for the “discovery”? The challenge lies in that our society is saturated with ‘reality’ how can we take products and refresh them into an alternative reality? Maybe that magical capture is in the consumer becoming involved with the storytelling.

In the collective imagination, great ideas take flight.

The space between the Symbolic and the Concrete.

Browsing through a cooking magazine, overhearing a conversation about the latest design trend, spotting an ad for a new Hybrid; it is all too clear that those qualities we refer to as symbolic (those not literally part of product appearance), take on increased importance in today’s market. In design and marketing literature, this trend is often traced to the fact that many (or most) products appearing on the market are very similar in function and price, making it hard or simply irrelevant for people to differentiate products on such primary criteria.

As a result, products are ever more evaluated in terms of their experiential benefits: ‘What does this product say about me?’. ‘Is this really me?’…and so they need to have multiple solutions, each with its own revealing, value expressive quality.

A recent study by Creusen and Schoormans confirmed such speculations by revealing that consumers’ preferences for product appearance are by and large motivated by symbolic meaning. Many people will pay more to wear designer brand. Of course, a designer outfit doesn’t keep you any warmer or dryer than an unbranded one, but functionality is only part of the story. Designer products say something about you – you are a trendy, sexy or sophisticated person. Brands help us to express who we think we are and who we want to be. Whether its jeans, or phones, we know the brands we like. These are more than products; they are symbols, or in other words, they are objects carrying meaning.

Symbolic attributes of products affect their adoption and evolution. The idea that goods and services hold symbolic as well as functional value has been recognized for decades, but often, management practice tends to focus on business processes: the most efficient and economic way to deliver good quality, functional products. Branding is just one way of endowing products with meanings. But there are others, such as good product design or even process innovation, design that goes beyond ergonomics.

Redesigning, rethinking.

The mere redesign of the outer shells of hearing aids – introducing sleek lines, translucent plastics and a range of colors and patterns instead of the usual flesh color – helped Oticon, a Danish leader in the production of hearing aids, relieve hearing-impaired children from the psychological burden associated with carrying a hearing aid.

Shoelaces Not Needed.A more perfect fit, designed for runners but this simple concept could easily translate into any footwear. This shoe uses a single strap that wraps around the entire width of your foot’s arch. By simply tightening or loosening a velcro strap, you achieve the perfect fit.

Cultural Captital. Infusing products with symbolic meaning.

In food and beauty, the products’ origin and specifically local origin (“teroir”) has become  a factor of differentiation and added value for companies. The so-called “terroir” indication can enhance the perceived quality and the inferences from the regional image on the product’s image. Perfect examples  are the Ahava products from the Dead Sea in Israel. The reference to a special “know-how”, “tradition” and “recipe” is important. A terroir product must not be produced elsewhere because it is linked to the history and culture of the region: something that needs time, experience, tradition that cannot be produced everywhere. Consumers try to find out products with a special origin, because they think the origin gives sense to the products.

The Dead Sea region is shrouded in mystique and is a study in contrasts. Far from reflecting its name, the Dead Sea thrives with life-enhancing ingredients with proven regenerative properties.

The role of “cultural capital” (a special knowledge that some companies have about how goods are embedded in cultural conventions and expressions, and how they relate to consumers’ lifestyles.) seems to play a critical role in how businesses can understand the connections between objects and their meanings. You can encode meaning into products through careful design that will elicit certain interpretations in people.

Some questions to think about:

What are the business processes that could enable this encoding to happen? And how can we increase the likelihood that certain forms will be decoded in particular ways? Can cultural capital be accumulated or deployed in organizations when designing new products?

What do you think?

Strong visibility and passion are the dictating themes in logo trends.
2009 trends usher in something new, something experimental, something outrageous.

‘09 is proving to be a very interesting year, design-wise with effective and strong concept based logos. We’re witnessing a fading out of minimalism, and this is paving the way for spectacular remixes to take over.

We’re also going to see a few designers becoming far more aware and sensitive to design history movements and styles than they were in previous years. They are discovering ways to make logos reflect their roots. To stand out, and be refreshingly different and bold– that’s the message we’re getting from today’s logos.

Here are some direction examples to serve as traction in moving you forward in identity design:

Words:

Type and text is clearly more critical. Words carry a more concise message. They convey specific rather than generic information. People are busy; money is tight. Logos must be interpreted, and interpretation takes time. Words deliver their message immediately.

Increased Chroma:

Logos have a vibrancy of color and energy that in past years might have not been considered proper corporate behavior. They are setting a very optimistic course. Everywhere, there is a bold use of hue, even in the most unexpected places, such as in the identities of very large and conservative clients.

Apps:

There’s a very small item on the horizon that may has gigantic effect on logo design. When Google introduced its new favicon at the start of 2009, it was a very visible reminder of how powerful that tiny piece of real estate really is. The favicon may turn out to be a measuring stick against which the success of any new logo design might be measured – as in, can this logo be made to fit in a 15 x 15-pixel square?

Speedy reflection and the blending of elements:

Economies, governments, and individuals continue to call for “greater transparency” in society. Though this is not a literal request for visual transparency, for several years, designers have taken liberties with the concept to deliver metaphoric solutions that consumers understand.

Depicting motion in sequential steps combined with transparency is the latest iteration to branch out from this trend family .The introduction of sequential color steps help to further define the concept by demonstrating movement: time passage through seasons, temperature shifts, or just a rainbow-colored transition that demonstrates order and harmony, not chaos.

Mosaic:

These logos look like a roomful of diverse pixels pushed together to make a visual shape.

Shaped:

The symbolic texture of these logos does not let consumer’s vision wander. Often illustrated with a unique visual message that gives context and dimension to the shape.

Typographic:

A logo seems to be incomplete without a good type face, the “Nike” logo is exceptional. An excellent logo emerges when text and icon are packed up in a strong way.

A particular style can’t emerge and expect to stay at the top indefinitely. Developments in logo design indicate that these trends have a short lifespan, going through a “now-you-see-it now-you-don’t” kind of roller coaster. Consumers react to the messages they hear via the media and then make “educated” decisions on how they should react which obviously effects how designers work and operate. As designers we must allow for these new considerations and this is where the so called trend comes in.
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