May 8th, 2013 // by Josh Miles

Ocean’s Eleven Design Process: From Back of the Napkin to Movie Poster

Are you ready for this year’s Bigger Picture Show? This is my third year to be included in the annual fund-raiser for the Indianapolis International Film Festival, and this year I was lucky enough to get to re-imagine one of my favorite movie posters, Ocean’s Eleven.

If you’re in Indianpolis on May 10, be sure to check out the hanging show at Big Car.

bps-header

Designing a poster isn’t as easy as it may appear. Much like designing a logo, we always aim to simplify an idea down to it’s most pure form, removing anything that doesn’t belong. And one of the best ways to do that is to start with a sketch.

So, in what seemed very fitting for the film, my poster design began with a few sketches by Brian K Gray and I, on the back of a few hotel napkins. When I’m sketching, the number one thing I’m trying to flesh out is the visual concept. In this particular case, using the olive spears in a martini glass to spell “11″ was at the heart of the concept.

cocktail-napkin-sketch

At this point I was ready to bring the concept into Illustrator, to begin work on the scale and shape of the graphic elements. In this phase, you may notice I’m not too concerned about style yet. This is more of an extension of the sketch. Does it work on screen as well as it did on paper? How might the colors work together?

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Posted in Design, Design Process, Miles Design Indianapolis | 1 Comment »

March 14th, 2013 // by Rob Williams

5 Easy Methods to Identify Your Brand Niche

 

At Miles Design, we approach B2B marketing a bit differently than most. We like to consider what works in the consumer market, and do our best to apply those principles to B2B marketing. What do the best B2C marketers do best? Sell their niche. How do B2B marketers go about doing that? Here are our top 5 suggestions:

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Posted in Bold Brand, Brand Strategy, Branding, Design | No Comments »

March 4th, 2013 // by Rob Williams

3 Approaches to Rebranding

Professional services firms and other businesses choose to rebrand for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s a merger or acquisition of another company. Sometimes it’s a shift in their approach or business model. Sometimes companies rebrand to shed excess baggage or negative PR. And sometimes it’s just time to dust-off a dated look and refresh their position in the market.

Recently we published a blog discussing brand awareness problems and how they’re the most common reason for rebranding. Rebranding efforts most commonly fall under one of three approaches. We could explore other approaches, but in the end, those could probably be classified as a variation of one of the following:

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February 13th, 2013 // by Josh Miles

One Bird leaves the nest to join another

Clocking in at an impressive seven years of service, Amanda Blackburn has been the longest-standing member of the Miles Design team.

Amanda has seen us through many milestones, and a few changes here and there. Little did we know, the next big change would have to do with her… Continue reading…

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February 11th, 2013 // by Rob Williams

Bold Brand: Josh Miles on Content Marketing 360 Radio Show

Content Marketing 360 - Josh Miles, Bold Brand

Our very own Josh Miles was featured on Next Stage Media Group’s Content Marketing 360 Radio Show! The host, Pamela Muldoon, invited Josh on the show to discuss his latest book, Bold Brand. Listen to the recording here, or read the transcript provided below!

Interested in the book? Check out the link in our sidebar on the left side of this page to get your very own copy!

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Posted in Bold Brand, Brand Strategy, Miles Design News | No Comments »

February 8th, 2013 // by Rob Williams

Josh Made the IBJ Forty Under 40!

IBJ Forty Under 40 2013

Yes, the rumors are true – Josh has made the IBJ Forty Under 40 2013 list! We’re not sure if many of you have heard the story of how Miles Design was founded. On the heels of the IBJ announcement, we thought it might be a good time to recap this story for our readers, clients, and friends. Continue reading…

Posted in Miles Design Indianapolis, Miles Design News | No Comments »

February 4th, 2013 // by Rob Williams

Oreo’s Superbowl Tweet

The Oreo tweet that sweeped the nation.

No question. Oreo nailed it.

First and foremost, they nailed the timing. This day in age, with how fast news becomes news – timing is everything. In the middle of the Super Bowl, the worlds’ most watched television event, as thousands of fans inside New Orleans Mercedes Benz Superdome, and the millions watching on TV wailed as half of the lights in the stadium went out, Oreo designed, developed and tweeted an ad that won the attention and hearts of millions. While the rest of the world was still trying to figure out what was going on – creating fake twitter accounts, and trying to come up a witty 40 character response to one of the most embarrassing moments in professional sports history – Oreo was designing and creating this masterpiece of design, branding and utter simplicity: Continue reading…

Posted in Brand Strategy, Branding, Design, Online Marketing | No Comments »

January 31st, 2013 // by Rob Williams

Brand Audit

 

What is the purpose of a brand audit?

The purpose behind a brand audit is plain and simple: to gain a fundamental understanding of where your brand stands in its current state. 

DIY Brand Audit

When and why should we audit our brand?

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Posted in Bold Brand, Brand Strategy, Branding | No Comments »

January 21st, 2013 // by Marco Boulais

Miles Design Welcomes New Design Intern, Marco Boulais

What’s  up guys – I’m Marco, Miles Design’s newest intern. I wanted to give you a little bit of insight into myself, as well as my career aspirations within this post. I’d love it if you’d leave me a quick comment below, or a shout out on Twitter (@mrboulais) once you’ve read my post.

Marco Boulais - Miles Design Intern

What really drew me to wanting to intern at Miles Design was their reputation for consistently producing the very best work in branding and marketing. From brand strategies and corporate identities to well-crafted responsive websites, an internship at Miles Design offers insight and expertise to the business, as well as the art of professional branding and marketing.

I know my time at Miles Design will be well spent as I work closely with the team of designers and developers on a variety of projects. I plan to build upon a strong foundation in design for print, as well as expand my understanding of designing for the web. It takes a smart and skilled designer with a conditioned eye to see what a brand has the potential to become. The team at Miles Design is known for turning those possibilities into real results and it is my goal to continue in that tradition.

This post arrives a little over a week into the start of my internship with Miles Design. I was given a brief amount of time to get settled in before we had our big move up to the new permanent office. I’m excited to see the new space fill up with all the great work that will be produced there in the weeks and months to come. I’m excited to encounter new challenges there, and to grow under the guidance of one of the most talented marketing and branding firms in Indianapolis.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to end my final semester studying visual communication at Miles Design this spring, and I’m eager to see what my career as a designer has in store!

Be sure to check out some of the great work produced by Miles Design. And for those interested in seeing some of my past projects, those can be viewed here.

Posted in Miles Design News | 2 Comments »

January 3rd, 2013 // by Rob Williams

Branding Resolutions for 2013

Calvin & Hobbes Branding Resolutions

I know you’ve probably already read 12 other New Year’s resolution posts already, but I’m willing to bet that none of them had to do with branding!

So read up, take notes and don’t be afraid to submit your questions and comments below or via social media. We’re always here and ready to engage!

#1: Simplify

If you can’t sum up your brand into a :30 second elevator pitch or demonstrate your visual identity on a business card, you’re in trouble. In 2013, work to simplify and strengthen your brand by eliminating the distracting visual clutter and confusing buzzwords. Remember, it’s always quality over quantity.

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Posted in Bold Brand, Brand Strategy, Branding, Online Marketing | 2 Comments »

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