Curious about how other nonprofits are communicating? Want to see where the trends are? You can download your free copy of the Nonprofit Communications Trends Report now. The trends you’ll find in this report come from an online survey of 1,435 nonprofits. We asked a variety of marketing questions: In what shape is your marketing plan? Which communications tools do you see as very important, somewhat important, and least important to you? Which social media channel are you most likely to add or experiment with? Which types of content do you expect to spend most of your time producing? What are your biggest marketing challenges? How often do you plan to email the typical person on your email list? How often do you plan to send direct mail? What excites you about your work? What scares you about your work? We also break down the data by nonprofit size, mission, and region of the U.S.
Salvador Dalí, the wacky surrealist known for his signature pointy moustache and painting melting clocks, was also graphic designer behind the classic Chupa Chups lollipops—an enduringly sweet, bright rendition of a daisy.
The Catalan lollipop made its first appearance in 1958, when the company founder Enric Bernat hatched the idea of placing a bonbon on a stick. He called the product “GOL,” imagining the candy as a soccer ball and the open mouth a net. It didn’t go over well. So Bernat hired an ad agency that renamed his product “Chupa Chups” (from the Spanish chupar, meaning “to suck”). All that was left was the branding. In 1969, Bernat complained about what he had while having coffee with his artist friend—none other than Salvador Dalí.
According to lore, the painter went to work immediately, doodling for an hour on newspapers that were laying around. Dalí’s version masterfully integrated the wordmark into the daisy design, and has hardly changed since. And book publisher Phaidon points us to one subtle, extremely smart feature of the design:
Acutely aware of presentation, Dalí insisted that his design be placed on top of the lolly, rather than the side, so that it could always be viewed intact. It’s proved to be one of the most enduring pieces of branding ever and one that’s still used today, four billion sales later.
What would induce the famous artist to take on such a project? Dinero. The guy rarely turned it down, causing surrealist poet André Breton to nickname him “Avida Dollars”—an anagram of Dalí’s name that roughly translates to “eager for cash.”
Type designers are some of the hardest working people in design. They demonstrate a passion required to build a typeface and of necessity must be sticklers for detail.
Over the last few months, a trend toward basics, legibility, and elegance define the current state of type design.
Read on as we select some of the type trends that will inspire designers to think differently about typography.
01 Ligature discretion
Discretionary ligatures like Siruca enable you to create pictograms with type
OpenType has a feature called discretionary ligatures, making it possible to do some really interesting things when certain letters are typed in a certain order. Take Fabrizio Schiavi’s Siruca for instance; a font which, when you type the word ‘car’, a car pictogram appears.
02 Simplicity and legibility redefined
Trio Grotesk by Florian Schick is simple, elegant and modern
If you’ve seen the excellent iA Writer app for both Mac and iPad, you’ll no doubt have noticed its set-back, minimalist yet hugely legible monospaced typeface, Nitti. It’s a font from the foundry Bold Monday, a Dutch outfit that designs both commercial and custom fonts.
Bold Monday’s faces are leading the trend of simple, elegant yet modern typefaces; from Panno Sign, which was designed for the romanisation of street names in South Korea, to its newest release Trio Grotesk – Florian Schick’s personal interpretation of Kaart Antieke, an early 20th century sans serif used by Piet Zwart in his essay about modern typography, “Van oude tot nieuwe typografie”.
Another example is Dalton Maag’s excellent custom font for Nokia.
03 Slick stencils
Type Together created this slick, bespoke stencil font for Levi’s
Stencils are back with a vengeance, and a fantastic example of a slick, contemporary stencil is Levi’s, a font designed by Type Together for the jeans brand, commissioned by Wieden and Kennedy. Based on Paratype’s version of Bodoni, you could arguably group it into trend 05, but we feel stencils deserve their own entry.
04 Didone is back
Rick Banks’ F37 Bella is at the forefront of a revival in Didone typefaces
If there’s one font that sums up the revival of Didone typefaces, it’s Rick Banks’ F37 Bella. A useful and stylish font, Banks has just released a Heavy version for those wanting to use it a bit smaller (at smaller point sizes the original’s serifs could disappear).
These hyper-thin hairline serifs and strong contrasts between thick and thin lines, make it a modern classic in the Didot classification. It’s a stunningly elegant font for headlines; online and especially in print. A bargain at £35 per weight.
Other nice examples include Neutura’s Estrella typeface.
05 Classics revived
Garçon Grotesque is one of many classic fonts to be revived by modern designers
Type designers love reinterpreting classic fonts in new ways. There have been many examples over the past year, but one that stands out is the release of Garçon Grotesque.
A contemporary interpretation of Copperplate Gothic, Garçon Grotesque is a sophisticated typeface designed in a multitude of weights with extended Latin character set, small capitals and a working lowercase.
You can buy it at Myfonts, starting at $50. An example of a face being revived by a modern foundry is Commercial Type’s revival of Max Miedinger’s Neue Haas Grotesk (the font that became Helvetica).
Metromedia Technologies, Inc (MMT) announced today an exclusive partnership with PosterProps, the developer of a patented lightweight, digitally-printed material that clips over posters to create a spectacular 3D prop. PosterProps can be fashioned into any shape or size, and unlike traditional hard props, require no special equipment or crews to install, reducing both time and expense. The billboard or poster inflates on-site and installs by using existing installation crews without specialist equipment in under 30 minutes.
The best news for outdoor marketers is that this translates into lower costs than traditional outdoor “spectaculars.”
Tony Gearty, CEO of PosterProps said: “We are delighted to have found a partner of MMT’s caliber who share our vision of growing a market using our innovative and affordable props, which means so many more billboard locations can now justify a 3D offering.”
Two magazines got a facelift in March—Newsweek and The New York Times Magazine. Jack Shafer reported on Slate that Newsweek editor Tina Brown initiated a complete design and content overhaul. At first glance, the cover line above the nameplate contains the usual list (“150 Women Who Shake the World”), with a cover story featuring Hillary Clinton rife with plaudits for the Secretary of State. Shafer opines Newsweek foolishly squanders pages that rave about Melinda Gates and her attempts to eradicate polio. He feels her efforts would have been impossible without clout from her husband, Bill. Tina Brown’s Newsweek draws the wrong lessons from the decline of print and the rise of the Web. In her introductory note, Brown attempts to build a case that Newsweek will “sift out what’s important, [and] pause to learn things that the Web has no time to explain.” Shafer feels the paper magazine failed to add anything apart from the web content, and feels underwhelmed by Newsweek‘s overall redesign, and disappointment by Brown’s efforts.
On the other hand, the first redesigned issue of The New York Times Magazine appears to be a triumph. Design director Arem Duplessis had the difficult task of taking an iconic weekly, already known for its fine design, and elevating it further. Duplessis raided the NYT archives and found inspiration in issues from the 1960s and ’70s—I liken them to Woody Allen’s timeless scrolling film titles. The design team chose a monochromatic color palette, and loaded its pages with typographic detail. My only complaint would be with its cover, which insists on cluttering with cover lines. (Remember, the magazine is distributed with issues of the New York Times, not as a stand-alone on the newsstand.) The cover layout feels tabloid-like, rather than the sharp and sophisticated cover we are accustomed to.
It is no doubt a work in progress and we shall anticipate each new issue with interest.
The How Stuff Works website recently posted an interesting article about automaker logos and the stories behind them. Many of the histories I was already familiar with, but many of them were surprising. For instance, I got that the Acura “A” is a caliper, a tool that suggests “precision engineering.” And that several badges feature coats of arms (Alfa, Buick, Cadillac, and Porsche). I was also aware that BMW’s center represents airplane propellers. But I was pleased to discover that the Chevrolet “bowtie” was inspired by French wallpaper.
Browse the article to find your favorites, though some—Ford and VW, in particular—chose not to participate. However, I can reliably report that Ford uses a variation of the hand-lettered script developed in 1912 for use on its Model “T” badge.
“But will they have free drinks?” That cry will be heard throughout Austin during the SXSW festival, from March 11 through 20. But of course we all have our different reasons for attending. Filmmakers, technology geeks, and live music enthusiasts alike can get their mojo on.
Wednesday through Saturday, the Austin Convention Center will house the 29th annual Flatstock poster show and the Texas Guitar Show. Flatstock has the latest in screen-printed poster designs, and promises to have a “portable” printer on-hand to show you how it’s done. Both shows are free to the public.
Interactive design firm Frog Design will host its annual SXSW kickoff party March 8. Industry peers will gather for a night of revelry and conversation.
And, oh, the music! I will be attending mostly day shows. Wednesday the 16th… Neo soul boys Fitz & The Tantrums will play a free show in the Waterloo Records parking lot. Texas’ own Bad Sports will play a day show at Trailer Space Records. Two interesting bands feature at Red River Street goth club Elysium: tough and tight garage rockers The Woggles, and Japanese punk crazies Peelander-Z. San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees will be at Spiderhouse on the drag. Draft beer emporium The Ginger Man will have three great Texas bands: Ugly Beats, Thunderchiefs, and Eve & the Exiles. On the east side, newly-opened pub The Grackle will host “Gracklefest”—four days of free shows. Do not miss Flesh Lights, an Austin trio led by that young bolt of lightning Max Vandever. Two more must-see Austin bands OBN IIIs and my soccer mate Alfonso’s band, Manikin, will be at Beerland. Thursday the 17h… Poet, survivor, lover Kacy Crowley will open for The Sour Notes at Betsy’s Bar downtown. Soul shouters Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears will dominate another free parking lot show at Waterloo, and then later at the Mohawk. I love the twee-ness that is The Carrots, and they’ll appear at the east side’s Baby Blue Studios. For $10 you can see former 13th Floor Elevators legend Roky Erickson and pals including Peter Buck from R.E.M. at Threadgills. For me a SXSW highlight will be UK band Pete And The Pirates at British pub Dog & Duck. On the same stage are The Minus Five, featuring former members of R.E.M. and The Dream Syndicate. Friday the 18th… Last year I spent some time on the beautiful grounds of the French Legation Museum. This year electroclash hell-raisers !!!, Cults, and tUnE-yArDs are my picks. The Shangri-la is a cherished east side neighborhood spot, and local boys done good The Hex Dispensers will be a good reason to stop by. Two festivals ago, I witnessed Gentlemen Jesse And His Men perform a scorching set in a record store parking lot. This time, the men will be outside at the Mohawk—not to be missed. South Congress Avenue shouldn’t be left out, and tiny outsider art gallery Yard Dog will somehow manage to find space for former X frontwoman Exene Cervenka to perform. Two excellent indie rock bands—Okkervil River, and Surfer Blood—perform at Flamingo Cantina. If you remember 1980s punk rockers ALL, their former singer is now fronting a band called Drag The River, and will be performing a few shows around town: at Hole in the Wall, Liberty, and Barbarella. Saturday the 19th… “Gracklefest” continues with Peelander-Z, 8-bit electro nerds Anamanaguchi, and my friends Cody, Zach, Nick, and Weston from Austin punk rockers Lost Controls. Rainey Street is fast becoming an alternative for dining and entertainment, and Okkervil River and Tapes ‘n Tapes will grace Lustre Pearl’s patio stage. Sunday the 20th… The last day of the festival goes out with a bang at the Side Bar. Flesh Lights, former Guided By Voices guitarist Doug Gillard, and two garage bands, Austin’s Ugly Beats and Pittsburgh’s Cynics will bring the house down.
For the most accurate, complete, and up-to-date SXSW music listings, I urge you to visit Showlist Austin.
Graphic designers and printers have used the Pantone Matching System for ages. But many people don’t often realize how vital Pantone is to the fashion industry. To coincide with New York’s Fashion Week, Pantone released its top 10 color report for spring 2011 women’s fashion. Designers and fashion houses such as Badgley Mischka, Tommy Hilfiger, Adrienne Vittadini, Betsey Johnson, and Project Runway winner Christian Siriano read the report and chimed in with their take on the colors.
One notes at first glance the absence of primary colors. And many of the designers latched on to “Honeysuckle,” a bright red-pink hue dubbed color of the year. But who are the people who select these colors? Answer: as most things are decided—by committee. A top secret committee of 10 people meet in Europe twice a year at the invitation of Pantone, a company based in Carlstadt, New Jersey.
Pantone designer David Shah, who presides over the meeting, said he seeks opinions from a broad range of industries. “I have people who work in the car business, who work with big store groups,” Shah said. “I can’t tell you the names. They’re involved with everything from furniture through to clothing and knitwear.”
Pantone’s main business is color standards. There are 1,925 colors in Pantone’s library of textile colors, each with a unique identifying number, and the familiar swatches. This number is used to communicate color standards so that graphic designers and their printers, or fashion designers and their textile manufacturers, are on the same page.
There is no need to type two spaces following a period. Why? Simply put, typefaces used by modern computers are proportionally spaced rather than monospaced. Double spacing after periods was acceptable for typewriters, because the spacing between each character was of equal space. However, today if you type two spaces following a period, or any sentence-ending punctuation, a wide gulf of visually unappealing negative space is created. It looks amateurish.
Since the time described in the book of Genesis, those raised on primary school typewriting classes have been well-drilled to type two spaces.When designing for clients, I am often delivered text that was composed in a word processor rife with extra spaces. It is no bother for me to search and replace these with a single space—it is ingrained into my design process. However, experienced typographers know, for elegant copy in published work, single spaces are mandatory.
In March Starbucks will celebrate its 40th anniversary and rollout a “new” logo (not actually new—a stripping away of the word ring, leaving the familiar siren unchanged but now in green).
Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ chairman and CEO, writes in an announcement on the company’s website, “we’ve given her a small but meaningful update to ensure that the Starbucks brand continues to embrace our heritage in ways that are true to our core values and that also ensure we remain relevant and poised for future growth.” By removing text from the logo, “international ubiquity” and an exploration into non-coffee business ventures must have been listed on the team’s creative brief. But overall, reaction from the rank and file has not been positive. A typical comment on the site reads, “This gold card user isn’t impressed!”
Mike Peck, senior creative manager at Starbucks and his creative team admitted modifying the brand identity “was the project of a lifetime.” The logo was broken down into four main parts—color, shape, typeface and the siren. Peck and his team found the answer in simplicity.
In 1971, the company began selling coffee beans and spices in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. By 1992, the company became publicly traded.
