tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-202436932010-03-09T09:38:01.286-05:00a discussion of design, branding, business, and culture...Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-92080872065717628862010-03-02T15:19:00.009-05:002010-03-02T17:17:48.112-05:00

Something happened a few weeks ago that really got me thinking about the importance of networking, and more importantly, developing a solid strategy for it. I was at an event, and I was introduced to a group of college students from a local design school. I talked with them for a while, and before I left, I gave them each my business card. In design, like many fields, connections are crucial. The

Amanda Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11044066668020182604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-83602552898168154562010-02-24T21:34:00.008-05:002010-02-24T22:34:37.327-05:00

Tuesday night, a bazillion viewers and I were watching American Idol. This was the first "live" episode of the season, which featured the show's top 12 female vocalists. Performance after performance, Simon Cowell and the rest of the show's judges shared with the contestants how they had simply failed to "stand out" among their peers. I was struck especially by the judges' recommendations. "

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-25884249314201113312010-02-17T16:10:00.007-05:002010-02-18T17:05:52.275-05:00

I recently spent a week traveling Oregon and Washington State while visiting a cousin in Corvallis. This was my first time visiting the west coast so I was excited to be visiting somewhere I'd never been. Discovering unfamiliar places can be enthralling, and my recent travels were no exception.My first discovery became apparent as my flight from Indianapolis began its decent into Salt Lake City.

Joshua Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01200639005148936744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-18025916083327833842010-02-09T13:43:00.011-05:002010-02-09T17:38:10.798-05:00

When creating a brand identity, it's not unusual for our internal process to take several weeks to a few months. It's not too often that we have to expedite that process, but every now and then, an opportunity arises...Last week we received a phone call from a potential client who was in need of a logo. Initially we assumed the project would follow our typical design process: we discuss general

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-27907706043304013892010-02-06T10:31:00.008-05:002010-02-06T12:01:34.031-05:00

Which 2010 Super Bowl commercials did the best to build an already strong brand? Which brands invested in commercials that best introduced a new brand? Which were the best uses of Social Media, after the commercial? Which brands would have done more good by just donating their cash to a cause?After they air, check here to vote for your favorite (and least favorite) Super Bowl commercials of 2010.

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-61200133803750774772010-01-29T14:57:00.004-05:002010-01-29T15:15:12.951-05:00

Our copies of the Logo Lounge Master Series books arrived this week. We were surprised to see that we actually had four logos selected for this edition, as originally we were only told there would be three of our recent brand identity designs included in their inaugural Master Library Series book. The official title of the book is Master Library - 3000 INITIAL & CREST LOGOS.The book itself is

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-54018188797810765982010-01-26T17:12:00.004-05:002010-01-30T13:18:19.966-05:00

What's the number one branding question we've been hearing from our professional services clients these days? "Should our firm be using Social Media?" Any guesses what my answer is?"Nope." That's right, nope. 5 Ways to Enhance Professional Expertise with Social Media.View more presentations from Miles Design, LLC.Not unless you have a strategy for how to make it work.In reality, Social Media can

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-68236621358073507662010-01-09T11:10:00.012-05:002010-01-10T18:38:33.325-05:00

It's just like I told one of our designers on Friday as we walked out to our cars, "One week down, 51 weeks to go."What are you going to do with the next 51 weeks? Are some of your New Year's Resolutions already a little out of focus? What were those again? Eat healthier. Exercise more. Make more money. Sound familiar?Last year, one of my clients said, "If you want something different, you have

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-3612116902947751582009-12-17T10:53:00.014-05:002009-12-17T13:54:22.350-05:00

Our second annual Miles Design adopt-a-family was a success, and we are so thankful for the opportunity to participate again this year. We learned quite a bit about the process and strategy from our experiences last year, and this year went off without a hitch--it was truly a team effort from start to finish.This year, we adopted a family of five. Besides mom, there were two girls (one and

Amanda Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11044066668020182604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-34772484219061092462009-12-07T09:00:00.005-05:002009-12-07T09:00:02.749-05:00

Last month I attended Pecha Kucha 20x20 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The theme was 'The Next Indianapolis' and the winning presenter would walk away with $10,000 to help jump start their proposed project. For those of you unfamiliar with Pecha Kucha, let me provide a basic context."Pecha Kucha" is Japanese for 'chit-chat' and was the name of a 2003 event in Tokyo for young designers to meet

Joshua Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01200639005148936744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-14539742338918235292009-11-30T21:01:00.010-05:002009-12-02T18:28:28.796-05:00

The Holiday Greeting card that encourages you to pass it on...Every year, even creative types like us enjoy a love-hate relationship with Holiday greeting card design. Although we've designed a few award-winners in the past, that only serves to push us to a higher standard for what to do for an encore. This year we wanted to create a greeting card that the recipient was encouraged to immediately

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-91778593092724122422009-11-30T20:05:00.006-05:002009-12-02T18:47:07.237-05:00

Miles Design had the pleasure of working with Citizen Effect (formerly 1WELL) to redesign their website and user experience, working closely with the team at ThriveSmart. These brilliant and dedicated folks are committed to impacting third world countries in the areas of food, water, energy, health, and education through people they call "Citizen Philanthropists." You won't find any celebrity

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-72097735966856400502009-11-25T10:54:00.008-05:002009-11-25T11:30:28.427-05:00

We all know that the holidays can be a particularly stressful time of year--especially when the pressure to provide everyday necessities can be overwhelming or even impossible. Miles Design has been blessed with a year of growth, and our focus this holiday season is on sharing and giving back. And, we have a hunch that many of you, our clients and friends, will want to join us in our efforts. "

Amanda Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11044066668020182604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-54841934773715746942009-11-05T13:33:00.012-05:002009-11-05T15:09:01.589-05:00

Good things are happening for the Indianapolis design community and Miles Design! PRIME--the first annual AIGA Indy Design Awards Show--is opening to the public this Friday, and we're excited to share that four of our entries were chosen to be included in the show.For those of you not familiar with PRIME, or AIGA Indy for that matter, here's a quick background on both. AIGA, the professional

Amanda Blackburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11044066668020182604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-29453883179269402562009-10-24T12:18:00.005-04:002009-10-24T12:54:31.253-04:00

When I was driving home Friday evening, the sun began to peek through the rain clouds that had hung around all day and reflected pink highlights across the gray-blue sky. It was the lone stretch of 96th street that still has corn growing along the street, in-between the Fishers airport and the giant Sam's Club parking lot. The dry, khaki corn stalks contrasting with the green grass and the

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-14156647398566918842009-10-20T15:43:00.006-04:002009-10-20T16:19:52.917-04:00

This past weekend I was reading an article in Fast Company that reminded me of a speaking engagement I had a few years ago. I was asked to discuss corporate website basics--what websites need and where most go astray. If I remember correctly, the first words out of my mouth were, "Take your mission statement off of your homepage, because nobody cares." I think I had their attention.I went on to

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-56568720031748724962009-10-09T11:42:00.006-04:002009-12-06T13:14:13.437-05:00

My wife and I are taking a class called "Financial Peace University" which is Dave Ramsey's 12-week course that teaches families to shed debt and save money. Last week was the "budget" lesson. Although Dave's suggestions are geared specifically for home life, I saw immediate applications for designing a more efficient marketing budget."On paper. On purpose." That's how the popular radio talk show

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-76874470623538729932009-10-01T09:01:00.006-04:002009-10-01T12:48:11.984-04:00

I took a course my senior year in college titled 'Making Meaning and The Design of Everyday Objects'. A typical session consisted of about 20 students of various majors working through the form and functionality of objects.The first thing we would do is arrange our desks in a circle and place an object in the center. For 90 minutes we would work through a process that required us to remove all

Joshua Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01200639005148936744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-929238612579806492009-09-17T10:13:00.002-04:002009-09-17T10:27:04.192-04:00

Be on the look-out for the Knozone-wrapped bus, The Clean Air Express. This bus will be traversing Indianapolis for the next twelve months. For more information on Knozone, visit knozone.com

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-5432101824284155302009-07-30T08:34:00.009-04:002009-07-30T16:55:14.428-04:00

Is your company considering a website redesign in the coming months? If you're like most companies, you're trying to figure out how to get the most out of every dollar spent. Marketing budgets are no exception. Because it's usually the first place potential customers will go to learn more about your service, even relatively strapped businesses grasp the importance of their website.Many

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-90062618983614234662009-07-28T15:51:00.006-04:002009-07-28T17:28:31.137-04:00

I wanted to note a few announcements, links and other things you may not have seen this summer (unless you're following us on Twitter). In fact, I didn't catch a few of these links until earlier this week. (Thanks Melissa!) Miles Design launched a few website designs this past month. We've also found a few articles posted online about our clients and our Indianapolis design firm. So check out the

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-3957155601234599682009-07-11T17:50:00.010-04:002009-07-14T09:52:30.387-04:00

Are you a little leery of jumping into Twitter? I think that's a common feeling among many high-end attorneys, accountants, architects, engineers, and technical consultants that we've spoken to over the past few months. It's not that these professionals don't have anything valuable to say, they're just not sure how best to get started.All you need to do is jump online and post what you had for

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-37533501494127541982009-05-10T15:18:00.006-04:002009-05-20T11:21:22.129-04:00

Last night I was at a major grocery store outside of San Diego. Most of the aisles looked like what you see above... After experiencing this, I'm considering writing a series on visual hierarchy. This same problem applies to branding, website design, and marketing in general. My premise: if all of the products on the shelf are red, bold and tagged, then is anything actually important? If

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-78145601116215114772009-05-10T14:54:00.004-04:002009-06-08T10:56:17.314-04:00

I stumbled upon this pirate-themed hostel (Pirate Haus Inn & Hostel) a few weeks ago during a weekend trip to Saint Augustine, Florida. I don't know much about their business, but we did meet a young guy who was staying there for the week. He said group rooms were about twenty bucks a night. Unlike traditional western hotels, hostels generally have room for more people who share a group room.

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20243693.post-4598184139051352402009-04-19T15:02:00.003-04:002009-05-20T11:19:55.180-04:00

Miles Design was proud to participate in "The Public and the Personal Design Views" show at The Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Gallery at the University of Indianapolis. Here's a little background on the show:"Visual Communication Design professionals work in the public milieu producing work for clients, solving problems and creating solutions and strategies for an array of projects. In addition,

Josh Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12656922854856945638noreply@blogger.com3