October 4th, 2011 // by Josh Miles

B2B Content Marketing Guide by Eloqua

What is Content Marketing, and why should your professional services firm care? Content Marketing, according to this guide “…is the art of creating, curating and distributing valuable content, combined with the science of measuring its impact on awareness, lead generation and customer acquisition.”
This ebook from Eloqua, written by Joe Pulizzi, Joe Chernov, CC Chapman and Ann Handley, is a great primer on Content Marketing, and will get you thinking about Content Marketing in a whole new way.
Sound like something you should be exploring in your business? Read on:

September 26th, 2011 // by Josh Miles

Infographic: BSA LifeStructures web analytics
Architecture Firm Website Redesign

After we redesigned the BSA LifeStructures website, we wrote a blog cataloging the architecture firm website redesign to show off some of the new features. And while it’s always fun and exciting to see the design before and after, sometimes the website analytics can be even more impressive.

Okay, so maybe you have to be a little geeky to care about web analytics. The real problem with any kind of statistics is getting them into a format that can be easily understood, especially at a quick glance.

So, we created a report to share with BSA Life Structures, full of infographics, highlighting some of the most statistically dramatic improvements. The following infographic is based on the activity on their website 72 days before the relaunch, as well as the 72 days following the relaunch.

Infographic - Architect Website Redesign - BSA LifeStructures

We had so much fun visualizing this data for BSA LifeStructures, that we’re going to have to create more of these for other projects. If you enjoyed this infographic, please feel free to share on your social networks, just please link back to these original files:

http://www.milesdesign.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/infographic-bsa-analytics-sm1.gif

http://www.milesdesign.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/infographic-bsa-analytics.gif

September 16th, 2011 // by Josh Miles

Brand New Conference: 27-hour adventure

Brand New Conference

If you didn’t hear, I was one of the lucky four people to win the Brand New Conference ticket give-away (video). Of course dropping everything and flying to San Francisco for the day isn’t always the most practical thing to do, but it’s tough to pass up the opportunity.

I’m just crazy (and busy) enough, that I decided to fly out and back the same day.

I’ll be chronicling my 27-hour adventure on this “live blog” – assuming my various devices will have enough charge to make it happen. Wish me luck. Continue reading…

September 3rd, 2011 // by Josh Miles

Doppelpager logo design – The Brand New Awards

Our recent branding work for Doppelpager, a software as a service (SaaS) solution for marketers, was recognized by the distinguished judges of The Brand New Awards. The Doppelpager logo design was entered in the “professional logo design” category. Among the entries of this category, only 13% of the entries were recognized as winning entries.

The Brand New Awards - Book Cover Continue reading…

August 2nd, 2011 // by Josh Miles

Meet Graham Parker Blackburn (It’s a boy)!

If you haven’t heard the exciting news, Amanda gave birth to a healthy baby boy on Friday, July 29th, just one day before her due date!

Graham Parker 2

Graham Parker weighed in at a nine pounds, six ounces! Continue reading…

July 18th, 2011 // by Josh Miles

Behind the Redesign: BSALifeStructures.com

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.

BSA LifeStructures website redesign before and after

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. Continue reading…

July 14th, 2011 // by Josh Miles

Heartland Partners with Miles Design for the 2011 Heartland Film Festival

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.

Heartland Truly Moving Pictures

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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July 14th, 2011 // by Josh Miles

Better Design Tools Don’t Guarantee Better Design.

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.

comic sans headline

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.

June 17th, 2011 // by Josh Miles

Lessons from Design Legend Stefan Sagmeister

This week I had the honor of representing AIGA Indianapolis (The Professional Association for Design) by introducing Stefan Sagmeister at the IMA (Indianapolis Museum of Art) for “Design & Happiness.”

Stefan Sagmeiser and Josh Miles at IMA

Aside from the pure thrill of sharing the stage with a design legend for three whole minutes, here are a few life lessons I was reminded of that night.

Continue reading…

May 31st, 2011 // by Josh Miles

Psycho Movie Poster Redesign

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in “The Bigger Picture Show,” a fundraiser for the Indianapolis International Film Festival and a chance for local designers to take a stab at redesigning classic movie posters.The Bigger Picture Show

Each designer had the opportunity to request a few of their top choices. I was awarded Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller, Psycho.

Continue reading…