Miles Design was engaged by BSA LifeStructures, the largest architecture firm in Indiana and one of the top ten healthcare architects in the country, to redesign the BSA LifeStructures website.
Beyond the shift away from the previously mustard-themed design, this architecture firm’s website redesign is loaded with far more functionality. Below are the seven new elements we’re most excited about. (more…)
Heartland Truly Moving Pictures announced a new partnership with Indianapolis-based branding firm Miles Design today. As Heartland’s branding agency, Miles Design will lead efforts to increase awareness of Heartland events, as well as its overall mission.
Founded in 1991, Heartland is a non-profit arts organization that honors and promotes films that inspire, educate and engage. The organization also works to bring recognition to the filmmakers behind these films.
“We are looking forward to having Miles Design as a part of our team,” said Jeffrey L. Sparks, President and CEO of Heartland. “Our new relationship with them is the next natural step as we continue to expand our image and develop our audience.”
Josh Miles, founder and principal of Miles Design, was excited about the relationship, as well. “It’s always very rewarding for us to work with people who understand the importance of developing a clear, consistent message. But as this is an organization whose purpose is close to our hearts, the opportunity is particularly special.”
Miles Design and Heartland are currently developing a branding and advertising campaign for the 2011 Heartland Film Festival, which takes place this year from October 13-22 in selected Indianapolis theatres.
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Heartland Truly Moving Pictures, a non-profit organization, seeks to recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by expressing hope and emphasizing the best of the human spirit. Its flagship event, the Heartland Film Festival®, launched in 1991 and runs each October in Indianapolis, screening independent films from around the world. Each year, the Festival awards more than $150,000 in cash prizes and presents its Crystal Heart Awards to the top-judged submissions. Heartland has awarded more than $2.3 million to support filmmakers during the last 19 years. The organization’s Truly Moving Picture Award was created to honor films released theatrically that align with Heartland’s mission. By bestowing this award seal to honored films, the award allows studios and distributors to inform audiences of a film’s transformative power and appeal. Heartland is also dedicated to cultivating youth, and thus created the Heartland Institute to provide innovative educational and outreach programs that enrich the minds and lives of youth and aspiring filmmakers. For more information, visit TrulyMovingPictures.org.
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Have you ever driven past a billboard for an insurance company?
You know the one. A headline set in comic sans about protecting you for the things you care about. A badge-like logo. A photo of two aging guys in suits, smiling grimly, over-layed with a stock photo of a typical family, or summertime activity. Boating. Baseball. Fishing. Family time.
While vacationing in Florida I saw a really “nice” insurance billboard. I was amazed at how professional and vibrant the photo of the surfer in the background was, and how well the two guys in suits really stood out. (I know, only a designer would notice that stuff.)
Yet immediately after driving past, I didn’t know what the billboard said specifically, or why this company was different. Come to think of it, it may have been for a law practice after all.
The problem with these billboards in the past wasn’t only that their photos were goofy. It was a lack of differentiation, messaging, and reliance on an over-used concept that rendered them billboards as “visual noise” along the highway.
As digital cameras, software, and even just having an iPad makes it easy for just about anyone to design, advertising may be getting better looking, but unfortunately, no less cliché.
So a word to aspiring designers: as you’ve upgraded to better design tools, take a moment to improve your messaging. Be different. Keep the concept simple. Keep the imagery simple. Use as few words as possible for those highway drivers. And be sure it’s easy to read.
Because in the end, design tools are still just tools.
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