May 13th, 2012 // by Josh Miles

JFK Poster Design for the Bigger Picture show

This was my second year to participate in the Bigger Picture Show. (Kudos to the International Film Festival and Lodge for a great show!) As usual, a crop of top Indianapolis designers were called on to contribute their reinterpretations of classic movie posters.

Bigger Picture Show 2012

Last year, I redesigned Psycho. This year, I was awarded the Oliver Stone film, JFK. The Kennedy conspiracy has always fascinated me, so it was a special treat to get to design a poster for this film.

Although JFK was released in 1991, it was obviously all about the sixties. So, in keeping with my self-imposed requirements from last year, I wanted to create something that felt like it might have been produced in the sixties as well: limited color palette, limited typography (Helvetica), and zero reliance on filters, drop shadows, or other effects. Continue reading…

May 4th, 2012 // by Jon McClure

Responsive Web Design

The future of the mobile web?
According to analytics firm StatCounter, users accessing the Web through mobile devices has almost doubled every year since 2009. In its latest report, StatCounter says that global Internet usage through mobile devices rose to 8.5%, nearly doubling the 2011 figure of 4.3%.

What is Responsive Web Design?
Responsive web design was defined by Ethan Marcotte, technical editor of A List Apart as, “the act of creating various forms of the same basic site design that are optimized for different ranges of browser widths.”

Simply put, responsive Web Design allows you to design and develop one website that adapts to any device such as an iPhone, iPad, desktop computer, laptop, and even mobile devices that are yet to be released.

The benefits seem pretty huge, but let’s look at some of the most common questions people have about responsive design.

Continue reading…

March 22nd, 2012 // by Josh Miles

Branding Firm Moves to Carmel City Center

In case you missed the exciting news, our branding and design firm has relocated to Carmel City Center.

Miles Design Office

People keep telling us, “We didn’t know you were moving!” And the funny thing is, we didn’t either. We had the opportunity (and a short window of time) to move to a new suite in our old building, or try something new.

So we opted for something really new. Continue reading…

February 29th, 2012 // by Amanda Blackburn

5 Tips to Spring Clean Your Brand.

Spring Clean Your Brand

Have you heard? Miles Design is on the move. In just a few (very short) weeks, we’ll be packing up our things and heading to a new, fresh space. We’re excited for this transition, although the thought of packing up our office is daunting.

We realize that this is the perfect opportunity (and the perfect time of year, ironically) for some serious spring cleaning around here. Who knows what we’ll find when we start digging around in the depths of our cabinets and closets, but chances are, much of it can likely be left behind.

Spring cleaning doesn’t only apply to our tangible possessions. It can also apply to your brand assets. When was the last time you took the time to “spring clean” your brand? Much like objects that accumulate over years of staying in the same place, your brand can accumulate baggage as it grows and transitions to accommodate new needs, audiences, and goals.

Could your brand use some purging? Here are five tips for simplifying, organizing, and streamlining your brand communications. Continue reading…

February 20th, 2012 // by Josh Miles

Award-winning logo designs: iheartlogos season two

Our design firm was pleased to learn that eight of our recent logo designs were selected as award-winning logo designs by our peers, which are featured in the new book, iheartlogos season two.

iheartlogos season two book cover

If you’re keeping score at home, you may recall that we had fifteen logos featured in the inaugural iheartlogos season one. In my opinion, season two boasts an even stronger batch of logos and identities from designers around the world.

iheartlogos inside cover design

Every book is hand stamped and signed. We got number 228 / 1000 this time around.

Without further ado, here are our eight award-winning logo design entries from season two:

Studio Thirteen

Studio Thirteen layout

Studio Thirteen logo

Montage

Montage Logo

Church Shield

Church Shield mark

Church Shield logo

Rebloom Uptown

Rebloom layout

 

Doppelpager

Doppelpager mark

Doppelpager Logo

 

If you’re interested, you can order the iheartlogos limited-edition season two book here.

February 4th, 2012 // by Josh Miles

How the Porsche 911 Design Reminds me to Ship.

I’m addicted to the BBC TV series, Top Gear. I’m not sure if it’s the dry humor, the amazing cars, or simply the British accents that make the show so delightful. Whatever it is, I’m addicted.

Last week I watched a rerun of this 2007 episode, featuring the Porsche 911 GT3: a stripped down, no-frills, raw power, sports car.

Starting at 1:45 in this segment, host Richard Hammond explores what a “daft” idea it is to design a car with an engine in the back. Yet after 40+ years of designing 911s, German engineers and designers are showing no signs of moving the engine forward.”It’s like building a pyramid with the pointy bit at the bottom… that should be rubbish.” Continue reading…

February 1st, 2012 // by Joshua Cook

How to Build a Super Bowl Brand.

With Super Bowl XLVI being hosted here in Indianapolis, we’ve had some unique insight into the time and energy it takes to plan and execute the Super Bowl experience. Similar to building a Bold and effective brand strategy, Super Bowl prep is no simple task. Here are a few similarities that the two share:

1. Planning Starts Early.
Indianapolis won the bid to host the 2012 Super Bowl in May 2008. That means it has taken roughly 45+ months of preparation. Although the game is being held in Lucas Oil Stadium, there is much more that comes into play such as hotel accommodations, way finding, parking, etc. which required the city to evaluate the impact of hosting beyond just the stadium.

Whether you’re in the early phases of hiring a branding firm, building a brand intentionally or you’re maintaining a strong, existing brand, it’s important to make time to evaluate the big picture. How is our web presence impacting our brand? Is our internal culture consistent with the brand we’re trying to establish? Every decision you make has an impact on the brand to some capacity. Continue reading…

January 18th, 2012 // by Jon McClure

Starla West International Website Redesign

Recently we were contracted by Starla West International to improve and enhance their overall messaging and brand identity. One piece of this included a full website redesign.

Continue reading…

January 5th, 2012 // by Brian K Gray

2011 Logo Review

Welcome to 2012. Thank goodness. 2011 was a horrible number to kern.

It’s easy to get caught up in the holiday hullabaloo and forget to reflect on what you accomplished. We’ve had the opportunity to work with some great clients in 2011 and 2012 is looking even better. Today we sat down and reviewed the logos we created for 10 companies in 2011. They include a wide range, from a civil engineering firm to a children’s app store resource for busy parents. Each is unique yet fits well into their respective marketplace.

So, take a gander through these works and then take a moment to reflect on what you accomplished last year. Continue reading…