Strategy - Friday, February 5, 2010 8:50 - 0 Comments
Redesign Process Decision: In-house or Outside Contractor?
How to determine which redesign process your magazine should take

The Big Decision
You have finally come to grips with the fact that your magazine needs an overhaul and a redesign is eminent. You have done the market research and received everyone’s buy-in on both the editorial staff and the design team. Great. Now what? This is often decision-making time for many publications. This is the point where the team needs to decide whether they want to handle the redesign in-house or contact an outside contractor to take on the job. Ok… Now, how do you decide which is the right redesign process for you, your team and your publication? First and foremost, ask yourself: Does your team have the talent and time to pull this off? It’s a no-brainer but it has to be asked. Do you feel like your in-house creative team has the knowledge, talent and time to pull off a successful redesign at the quality level you expect? If the answer is yes, continue reading. If the answer is no (or you had to think about it way too long), go directly to the Outside Contractor section.
Staying In-House
Starting an in-house redesign allows the team an obvious high level of control over the entire process. Since it’s an in-house project, it can be controlled like an in-house project. The redesign can happen immediately and everyone on the team is there through every step of the process. Critiques can happen often and the redesign can be massaged on a regular basis as needed to get it to where it needs to be. Continue![]()
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Inspiration - Jan 21, 2010 13:40 - 0 Comments
Sustainable Cleaning Products Maximize Design and Marketing
Clorox®, makers of Green Works®, a line of cleaning products that uses plant-based and biodegradable cleaning ingredients, conducted extensive research on what motivates a consumer’s interest in the environment and found that four key areas emerged: personal protection, cost, status, and altruism.
Brand Identity that Integrates Customer Values with Company Values
Using this research and strong support from women scientists in the organization, Clorox successfully established the Green Works natural cleaning product line with a clear brand identity that integrates customer values with company values, slightly disengages the company from it bleach reputation, and takes into account the impact on customer lifestyle. Clorox positioned itself to understand how customers use products and to translate that understanding into actionable insights (e.g., design and marketing) that would drive greater revenue.
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Trends - Jan 26, 2010 10:00 - 0 Comments
What Can Red Do For You?
A Color Trend With Traction
In the past few years, a keen observer might say that green has made its way to the top of the color power list. Anyone keeping up with the news will find green philosophers waxing poetic about the environment, corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability communication, greenwashing, and green tea. The combination of new environmental mindsets and corporations positioning social responsibility efforts under a green label has raised the profile of the color green.
In a recent corporate social responsibility and sustainability Google alert, I saw a listing titled, “RED is the new green.”1 Intrigued by the possibility that red may be scooping the trendiness of green, I did a Google search on the phrase—45,000 hits.
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Creative Process - Nov 16, 2009 14:10 - 0 Comments
Design Strategy for your Magazine – Part IV
Consistency in Implementation is the Key
With a fresh, well-targeted design for your publication now in place you are ready to take the steps to make the ongoing implementation consistent and streamlined. If you have been following my four-phased process for developing the design strategy for your magazine, don’t stop yet. The fourth phase is critical to the ongoing success of your publication.
Many organizations skip the development and documentation of the style guide. Don’t do it. I promise you, you will regret it later. It may be when a new designer has to take over or when your boss tells you to make the type smaller to fit in more content. At any rate, take the time to build the style guide and use it as your manual, road-map, bible, or whatever you would like to call it. Continue![]()
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