Networking: Developing a Balanced Strategy

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 people you meet today can open a door for a job or project tomorrow. By giving them my card, I was offering myself as a connection and resource--knowing they will eventually graduate with the goal of finding a job.

After I left, I thought to myself whether I'd hear from any of those students. Unfortunately, I doubted it, and so far I've been correct in my assumption. This really made me think. What happened to the traditional rules of networking--to following up after a meeting, sticking your foot in the door, and creating a memorable connection? Are these rules obsolete in a society whose natural, everyday forms of communication, connecting, and maintaining relationships are online?

I don't think so. I think they're
more important than ever.

We talk with our clients about the importance of developing a solid strategy for marketing their businesses--both online and off. The same applies for marketing ourselves as individuals. Whether you're a student about to embark into the professional world, a professional looking for new business, or a seasoned business veteran, we each need a strong, balanced strategy for networking.

So, how do we strike a balance between online and in-person networking to create a well-rounded approach? The key is to realize that there's an appropriate place for both, and one or the other will be a better fit in certain instances. You can't discount the value of a face-to-face meeting when it comes to making a first impression, forming a new partnership, or presenting a new idea. Conversely, your online social networking is great for staying top of mind, staying in touch, or even for generating leads.

There's a lot of chaos in the online world these days, and it's important and necessary to separate yourself with more personal, memorable connections. Talking in-person or even over the phone can be necessary to stand out. Successful networkers have found a balance of both--utilizing the tools available online for convenience, speed, and efficiency but relying on personal, in-person contacts in those cases where an impression must be made.

Unsure where to start on either front? Here are a few tips for standing out both online and in-person:

In-person networking:
Aim for real connections. Form real, memorable connections by remembering details from past conversations and meetings.

Mind your P's and Q's. Always ere on the side of etiquette and politeness. You only get one first impression, so use it wisely.

Remember that it's a small world. Don't talk poorly about your colleagues or company. It only reflects poorly on you.

Be prompt with your actions. If information is exchanged, don't wait too long to respond with a "nice to meet you" email or phone call.

Be proactive. Unless it's specifically discussed, always aim to make the first contact after meeting someone new.

Online presence:
Carefully select your outlets. Online networking can take off quickly, so choose your tools and determine your strategy in advance.

Be proactive with your online presence. Stay top of mind with someone by following them on Twitter, commenting on their blog articles, etc.

Audit your content daily. Make sure your content is appropriate and relevant to your personal and professional image and goals you're trying to achieve.

Be dependable. Online networking tools are most effective when you actively maintain, respond, and post fresh content.

Use online tools to your advantage. Online tools are great for finding new connections and can provide an excellent transition to an in-person meeting.

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Charting a Fresh Perspective

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. As soon as we broke through the clouds, mountains appeared on both sides of the plane. They were a rich gray with brilliant white peaks. It wasn't until I spotted the airport that I could appreciate how immense the mountains were -- this sudden shift in scale was fascinating.

This shifting of scale occurred many times throughout the week and it continuously caught me off guard. Whether it was at the coast, driving past the trees and mounds of Oregon, or standing 520 feet above Seattle -- I felt incredibly smaller than I do in Indiana which was quite a refreshing experience.

My northwest traveling became a week of re-evaluating my own perspective and a reminder of the exciting role that scale and perspective can play in design. Working towards a fresh perspective can be unsettling, but there is much to gain in the process of re-evaluating the current perspectives -- and sometimes it takes going places you've never been to get there.

In an attempt to visually convey the shift in scale, I've designed a few charts that compare Indiana to Oregon. (Click the image below for more detail.)

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Designing a Unique Holiday Gift2nd Annual Adopt-A-Family

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 fifteen) and two boys (nine and seventeen). After talking with them, we learned that they lost their home to a fire last year at Christmas, and they've been working to rebuild their lives over the last year. Their lists had everything from pots and pans, dinnerware, and clothing to a basketball, games, and movie passes.

With lists in hand, the entire team took over Walmart on Friday morning, Dec. 4--dividing and conquering. Josh, Eric, Brian, and Cookie shopped for the boys' gifts and toys while April, Lauren, Meg, and I worked on the household items and girls' gifts. It was a great time, and I was impressed with our efficiency--although I'm positive we could have spent all morning putting together cute outfits and shopping for toys! When it was all said and done, we managed to get everything on our list in one stop, and we came out on budget!

Here are some photos from our shopping adventure:













The afternoon of Dec. 10th was dedicated to wrapping all of the gifts (and Eric's cell phone). The finished stack of presents was an awesome sight and took up most of the conference room table--very impressive!







Now, what to do with all that leftover paper? Any ideas? Hmm…



The entire office made the trip to deliver the gifts, and the family was very kind (and probably overwhelmed) as we all piled in their living room! It was such a rewarding experience to participate in this program during the holidays. It can be such an overwhelming season, and it feels really good knowing that we were able to ease the burden of providing for a family of five at Christmas. And, most importantly, we worked together and had fun doing it!

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#PKindy

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, network, and show their work in public. This concept has expanded globally and PK20x20 events are held in more than 230 cities. The format of the event is that each presenter must share their work in 20 images with 20 seconds of presentation time per image.

As I sat listening, I noticed some distinct correlations between the12 presentations and the struggle to create impactful brands.

1. If it isn't strategic branding, it's noise.

In the book The Brand Gap, a "brand" is described as being a person's gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It's an emotional process implying first impressions are crucial. Let me explain.

In any given presentation, it took about 20 seconds (1 image) before the audience began to create their own perception of the proposed project. As the presentation continued it became more challenging to listen because other audience members were 'chit-chat'-ing with their neighbors due to confusion, skepticism, or event complete disinterest in the project.

The room was a microcosm of our branding world, – and brands were being established. Voices were struggling to be heard, but only the best broke through.

2. Know your next move – and get there before the audience does.

The presenters that struggled the most weren't keeping up with the audience. It was easy to see where the presentation was headed and to choose whether or not it was interesting enough to stay seated. As soon as a few members of the audience starting chit chatting, it became a chain reaction. It was clear that if the presenter wasn't compelling, the audience decided amongst themselves if it was a worthy enough cause. A few presenters, including the winner, received vocal cheering, standing ovations and even support via twitter. It's safe to say they probably left with a stronger brand than when they arrived. So what was the difference? Guidance.

First impressions are crucial but it doesn't end there. If you make a good first impression, excellent -- but know your next move and when to make it.

--------------

Hooked on Pecha Kucha 20x20

The event was a blast and the concept is brilliant. Several of us at Miles Design fully expect to attend the next Pecha Kucha 20x20 event and would highly recommend going to anyone interested in seeing design's influence in your community. More details for upcoming events can be found at Pechakucha.com.

Related Information:
PKindy
Laura Henderson - $10,000 winner.

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Give the gift of Viral:A New Twist on the Holiday Card

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 re-gift.

So this year instead of designing just one card, we had everyone from our office design their own card. We committed to a color palette, size, paper, and production restrictions (just like a client project) and had everyone work on their own concepts. We then packaged the final set of seven designs up with instructions to "share the love this Holiday." We even created a custom rubber stamping system to embellish the corrugated mailing envelope.


Here's a sample press sheet. All seven designs were printed using the same set of five inks, on one sheet of paper.


Here's what the set looked like together.


We created our own custom stamp to embellish the corrugated envelopes.




And here's another view of the complete set.

And finally, we created a website under our infamous microsite, HolidayCow.com - wherein visitors can gain further insights behind each unique design. We also have a few other pics up on our Miles Design Facebook page.

If you've not received a set, we still have a few left. Just send us your mailing info. In the spirit of "viral season", pass this along to everyone you come into contact with. Happy Holidays!

We welcome your feedback...

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Desiging for Impact: Citizen Effect

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 endorsements here - Citizen Philanthropists are everyday people making serious impact in third world countries.

Here's how it works. A Citizen Philanthropist becomes the project's fund-raising quarterback, organizing anything from Facebook fundraisers, to garage sales or even dance-a-thons, all to raise money for a project of their choosing. Visitors can search for projects by global location, project type, or population impacted.

From their website citizeneffect.org you can search from projects like this one in Zambia in need of a "Women's Centre." What's really cool about Citizen Effect is how intricately it's tied to various social networks as well. Citizen Philanthropists can blog about their project right on the website, and as a project grows, various photos, videos, and other media will be posted.

So if you're looking for a way to design a little impact this holiday season, check out citizeneffect.org and see if you find a project that speaks to your heart.

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PRIME: Celebrating Design Excellence in Indianapolis

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 association for design, is the oldest and largest professional design organization consisting of more than 22,000 members and 64 local chapters across the country. Our local Indianapolis chapter represents design students, professionals, and educators all across Indiana--providing a mix of events, initiatives, outreach programs, and more.

This is the first year for PRIME, and it's been a long time coming! The pieces honored this year were selected for their visual excellence and demonstration of strong design processes and real-world, measurable results for the client. The judges, no doubt, had some very tough decisions to make, and I don't envy them one bit! Accepted work will be on display until Thanksgiving at Dean Johnson Gallery in downtown Indianapolis. After that, a book showcasing the work will be created and distributed both locally and to AIGA chapters across the country.

Miles Design is honored to be recognized among our peers, and we're even more excited that we can be a part of a show that celebrates the great design happening in and around Indy. There's a lot of talent here, and we're thrilled to be a part of it! If you're free Friday, November 6th, we hope you'll have a chance to mix and mingle with us at the show opening. And, if you find yourself downtown before Thanksgiving, take some time to stop by the gallery. We promise you won't be disappointed!

PRIME - First Friday Opening
Friday, November 6
5:00-9:00 pm
Dean Johnson Gallery - 646 Massachusetts Avenue

Accepted entries from Miles Design include:
1. Knozone - www.knozone.com
2. Miles Design - 2009 New Year's Card
3. Kevin Kennedy Associates - Identity System
4. BRAND PHOTODESIGN - Identity System

Congratulations to all the designers with work on display and to all of the companies, clients, and individuals being recognized along with them.

For more information on PRIME and AIGA Indy, visit www.indianapolis.aiga.org

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Design Inspirations in Nature

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 brightly lit sky left a little mark on my subconscious. I'm going to store that color-combination for a future design. As I merged onto the interstate I got an even fuller view of the sunset, with even more pinks and bright hues. It really was gorgeous.

Today I was catching up on a few blogs that I had wanted to review, and I came across a similar sentiment from master designer Joe Duffy, which inspired me to share my color inspirations from yesterday.

I'm still dialing this in, but I also built a little Adobe Kuler swatch palette to share with you. You can view and download them from the Kuler website: version one - version two.

Has nature ever inspired a design idea during your travels? Share your story...

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Designing your Mission:Simplifying the Rational, Emotional and Radical.

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 explain how so many corporate websites showcase their bland, forgettable mission statement prominently on their homepage. A website isn't helping anyone by telling the world "our team empowers life-long learners to achieve the utmost quality and customer satisfaction in every..." Zzzz... Does that sound like an excerpt from your corporate mission?

I have talked about the importance of niche positioning and how a mission statement often reflects poor positioning. Which should come first, the mission or the positioning? I'll be the first to admit it's a bit of a chicken/egg thing. We prefer to begin by developing a strong positioning and let the mission statement flow from that language. But to be fair, today we'll look at the mission statement as a starting point.

Ideally your mission statement should be the guiding light that directs the course of your business. If your mission is a little lackluster today, let's look at four ways to reconsider where you're going.

1. The Rational:
What do you do? What is your product or service, and who do you do it for? What is your market? How far is your reach? What are actions that your company uses to describe its services? This step should be pretty straight-forward. Once you've wrapped up, move on to step two.

2. The Emotional:
How does your organization make the world a better place? Who does your company benefit? Who would miss you if your organization disappeared? Why should anyone care? Make a list of some of the most emotionally charged benefits of your company. If the world reaped the utmost from your benefits, what would that look like? Once you've given this ample consideration, move on to step three. Still scratching your head? If you're stuck on this one, consider enlisting some professional support.

3. The Radical:
What is the one thing that you do better than anyone else? Are you the best at it in your market or region? Can you claim "only-ness?" Complete this sentence: We are the only (blank) in (blank) that does (blank). When you fill in the blanks, what do you get? If it sounds the same as your competition, you may need to dig deeper. Give this plenty of thought before moving on to step four.

4. Simplify:
Taking what may be several pages of notes from the above exercises, begin simplifying the message into statements. If you're really focused, you may be able to distill it down to a few succinct words. One of our clients has their corporate mission statement polished down to two words. "Inspire Hope." Here's a hint: Corporate senior leaders need to own this. Hiring a professional to help word-smith your mission statement is wise, but this is not a task meant for a committee. That's important. No mission statement committees. Got it?

So how do you know when it's right? It should be clear, concise and inspirational. A two-word mission isn't the right fit for everyone, but if your mission is unclear, ambiguous or wordy, keep working. Are you inspired yet to get started? It's your business. Make it your mission.

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On Paper. On Purpose. 5 Steps to Designing your 2010 Marketing Budget.

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 host recommends creating a budget. Every dollar gets a name. Money is set aside for specific purposes and should be used for that purpose only. Surprisingly, most American families don't have a budget. Even more surprising, many businesses that I talk to don't have a marketing budget. If this sounds familiar, here are five steps to get you started in the right direction.

1. Set Goals. What are your business goals for 2010? Rank them in order of importance.

2. Commit To An Amount. What is your company willing to invest to hit those goals? A conservative budget is approximately 2-4% of gross sales. Using this example, a $10 million company will invest $200-400,000 to support their current level of sales. More aggressive, consumer-focused companies often spend 10% or more annually on marketing. If you're aggressive and looking to grow, consider these formulas from Fast Comapany. Scale these figures to best fit your goals.

3. Categorize Your Needs. Make a list of your current marketing initiatives and any new initiatives you wish to implement in 2010. Will this plan support all of your goals? Do you foresee any holes or wasted dollars?

4. On Paper. On Purpose. Now that you have established your goals, total budget, and marketing initiatives, it's time to start building your marketing plan. Allocate the appropriate funds to each category. Some items may be paid for in lump sums, and others will be paid for monthly. Design this into your budget.

5. Opportunity Fund. Finally, be sure to allocate a category in your budget for un-planned marketing opportunities. These funds could be used for a new interactive or social media opportunity, or maybe even an emergency reprint of your company brochure. Either way, you can usually expect new opportunities to present themselves in the coming year. Even Dave Ramsey recommends having a "blow money" category in your personal budget - it's kind of the same concept.

So in review: set goals, commit to an amount, categorize your needs, get it on paper, on purpose, and be sure to reserve a few bucks for opportunities that present themselves. Happy budgeting!

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A three step strategy for sharing expertise on Twitter: How professional firms can use Twitter to position expert brands.

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 breakfast, right? Easy there... let's take a step back first.

Let's pretend for a moment you don't need me to convince you why you should be tweeting and that you've already established a solid set of goals for utilizing Twitter with your branding and marketing team. Let's assume after a long, focused discussion with those teams, your vision looks something like this:

1. Expand your network online to create top of mind awareness of your firm
2. Establish or reinforce your firm's areas of expertise
3. Attract the top talent in your space by showcasing your firm's thinking

You'll want to spend some time designing a vision specifically for you, but that's a good direction to begin implementing your Twitter strategy. From here, nearly everything you'll need to get started can be included in one of the three following categories: Start, Share, and Expand.

1. Start - Basic recommendations to get you tweeting:

- Choose your handle. Visit Twitter.com to select your own unique handle. It will be your username, and your posts will show up with "@" in front of them. Pick something like your name or your company's name. I'm @joshmiles. You can also upload your own avatar or photo and customize your page.

- Explore different user interface options. You don't have to be on Twitter.com to use their service. Tweeting functionality is built into various websites, smart phones, and desktop applications. One of my favorites is a free desktop application, which has a companion iPhone app called TweetDeck. It allows you to manage tweets in groups, shorten links, post photos, and even allows for multi-account support.

- Make smart posts. In general, stick to what you know. This doesn't mean you have to be robotic, but if you're tweeting about sushi more that you tweet about your area of expertise, some followers may lose interest.

- Schedule your tweeting. Choose specific times in the day or specific days in the week to spend some quality time on Twitter. It could be 5 minutes or 5 hours a day, depending on how Twitter best fits into your overall communications strategy. Bottom line - decide how important it is to your own strategy, and get in the habit of making regular updates.

- Follow smart people, or anyone you like for that matter. But since we're talking about building up the reputation of your firm, be smart about who you choose to follow. Clients, vendors, coworkers, and even other experts are great people to follow.

2. Share - What to tweet:

- Share your firm's thought leadership content. One obvious use of Twitter is to share your firm's ideas, links, and articles. Just remember: share, don't "sell." Users follow people for various reasons, but few will continue to follow users who post blatant sales messages.

- Share great posts, blogs, etc. Anytime you read a great relevant article, post a link to it. You can also forward other users' posts to your own followers, called a "ReTweet."

- Don't limit your thinking to what you can fit in 140 characters or less. You can link to longer content such as websites, videos, blogs, etc.

- Company Blogs. Speaking of blogs, every posting at your firm would be greatly complemented by a Twitter mention.

- Email Newsletters. Do you have an e-newsletter? Provide occasional links for email newsletter sign-ups.

- News, Events, and Awards. Twitter is a great platform to make announcements, share news, awards, mentions, etc.

- Have Fun. If used in good balance, Twitter is a great way to showcase some of your firm's culture or some of your personal interests. But like we discussed earlier, don't get carried away on the personal stuff.

3. Expand - Don't stop there...

- #Hashtag Keywords. For some topics, you may want to "tag" your post the with the pound sign such as #branding or #followfriday - click here to learn more about #hashtags.

- Stay on top of your account. Keep an eye on who's following you, and choose who makes sense to follow in return. Find other users who talk about similar keywords, and consider following them as well.

- Hello my name is @joshmiles. Add your handle as another piece of contact info: email signature, email newsletter, blog, website. If it makes sense, consider even adding your handle to print materials (business cards, etc.) or sharing it in articles, presentations, or networking events.

Remember to commit some time to discussing your goals and strategies before jumping right in, but don't sit back for too long. Being an active Twitter user may be one of the best ways to position your brand as an expert firm.

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Miles Design Identities Selected for Logo Lounge "Master Library" Series

We were very excited to learn that Logo Lounge had selected three of our recent brand identities for their inaugural Master Library Series book, Initials & Crests.

What is the Master Library series? We had the same question. Here's what Logo Lounge had to say, "Like our existing (and continuing) LogoLounge book series, the new Master Library books will bring you plenty of exemplary logo design work from creatives around the world.

Unlike our original series, though, each book in the Master Library series will focus on a very specific logo design category..."

Sounds good to us. The book should be published "in the next year." Until then, to see what was selected, continue reading.



More on 12 Gauge.


Check out the wheeltags site. More Wheeltags.



Check out the new Brand Photodesign studio.

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Does Your Brand Have Any Competition?

Take a moment to think about your "competition". You probably immediately thought of one or two competitors. Your clients-to-be often ask you about them. They pitch all of the same accounts that you're pitching. Even the not-for-profit world has competition. You're kidding yourself if you don't see those other charities as competing for the same donation dollars.

What if you could make them go away? I don't mean out of business or even out of town. But what would it take to prevent them from being able to compete with your company altogether? You can't actually get them to "go anywhere", but there is a very simple solution.

Make your competition invisible by getting out of their business.

Okay, before you stop reading, listen to what I mean. If you're in the professional services field (which most of our clients are) then more than likely you're competing on the same platform, and selling a virtually identical service to the same audience as your competition.

How would you describe what's unique about your brand? Chances are, you'd offer a paraphrased version of your mission statement. "Our commitment to quality service, and dependable ...great products and fair pricing ...and the best people in the business." Sound familiar? Yes. That's because it's exactly how your competition talks about their brand and their services.

It's time to Get Truly Different.

It's all about positioning. If you're familiar with the concept of Blue Ocean Strategy, finding an untapped, wide-open market is awesome. The truth is, you may not have to be quite that radical. The truth is, if you take a page out of the Seth Godin playbook and just do something remarkable, you're halfway there.

A great first step is to define a niche. "But I don't want to pigeonhole our company with a niche!" Yep, think of all of those poor, under-performing niche brands: Crocks (just for kids), North Face (just for hikers), Geek Squad (just for home computer repairs), Apple Computer (just for creative types).

Niche positioning doesn't limit your market. Nice positioning expands it.

Why is that? When a consumer thinks, "Gee, I need an XYZ," whatever brand fulfills that niche positioning, will be the first brand the consumer will think of.

Okay, so how do we apply what we see in the consumer product market, to the professional services market?

First off, let's remember that the same "30-year-old dude" that's buying North Face and Apple, could be the same professional who's making the decision about which architects to consider for the building expansion, or which law firm would be best suited to handle their intellectual property needs. People are people. When they're at work, they're still people. You aren't selling to a "business." More than likely, you're selling to another person. Don't forget that.

So back to the question, how can we go about applying what we know in the consumer market to the professional services market? Here are my top five suggestions:

1. Find a price niche.
What would your customers be willing to pay a premium price for? Within your market, what can you offer at the top end of the price spectrum? Or how can you bill differently. If your industry bills by the hour, consider a monthly retainer or flat package or project fees. On the flip side, what can you systematize and charge a miniscule amount for? What if you became known as the giant law firm who filed Trademark Applications as fast as the online guys, but with the clout and service that you're known for in the community?

2. Light Blue Ocean.
What do our customers want that we (and our competitors) don't currently offer? How could we take our service to the next level? Daily personal telephone updates? On-site service? Online project status monitoring? A project manager with an iPhone could easily post progress photos of your new building, and status updates via Twitter. (Hint: This may be the thing from #1 that allows you to charge a premium.)

At our office, the dry cleaner picks up our laundry from our suite and delivers it right back to our coat closet. My credit card is on file, and I seldom even see our trusty delivery guy. It's like magic. And guess what? It costs pretty much the same as the strip-mall dry cleaner. Remarkable.

3. Before you try to look different, figure out how to be different.
Design and marketing professionals are experts in the art of creating something new and interesting. This works out great when you ARE new and interesting. However if you're really more of the same old, same old, it tends to backfire. (See also: JetBlue, etc.) Arguably one of the best "brands" in history for doing something different: Barack Obama. He sounded different, he exploited his differences, and he did an amazing job of looking different. Now we get to see if he lives up to his brand promise of Hope and Change.

4. Now that you're doing something different, it's time to be sure you look and sound different.

5. Let someone else look in the mirror for you.
Chances are, you're so close to your own brand that you're still a little confused. You may have even convinced yourself that you're well-niched, doing unique things, have made your company truly different, and do in fact you look different too. Strangely, your competition is still there, buzzing in your ear. Now would be a good time to get a second opinion. Try consulting a mentor, a colleague from another department, or try enlisting the help of a marketing professional.

Here's one final suggestion: when you're looking for a professional firm to help you with positioning, branding or marketing, ask them why they are unique. And then ask them who their competition is. If their answers sound similar to yours, keep looking.

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Update #2 - Designing a Unique Holiday Gift

We've been holding off to share our latest updates... mostly because a few of the details were still up in the air. So as of this week, Miles Design is officially adopting two families this Christmas. And today is our shopping day!

Both families appear to be single mothers. Our first family listed the mother and two boys (eight and twelve). Our second family listed the mother, two girls (eight and fourteen) and a twelve-year-old son.

Their Christmas lists are mostly just the basics: warm clothes, undergarments, school clothes, and a few toys. It's yet another reminder of how blessed we all are.

We're still working on the strategy for shopping this afternoon. There has been talk of splitting into teams for each family - or even splitting up the lists into categories and dividing and conquering in that fashion. Either way, I think we'll figure it out.

We'll be hitting some combination of Old Navy, Kohl's, Meijer, Target, and maybe even Castleton Mall after lunch today. And as requested, we'll take photos of our shopping trip to share with everyone here on the MD News blog. Watch out Castelton!

Our plan is still to keep the afternoon of December 12th as our wrapping day, and December 18th is when we plan to make our deliveries. And as before, if anyone is interested in joining in on the holiday cheer, drop us a line.

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Designing a Unique Holiday Gift

For those of you who have enjoyed our past holiday cards and fun little excursions like HolidayCow.com, we're excited to let you in on a little secret. This year, we're taking a different spin on holiday gifts. We're giving your gift to someone else.

With the roller coaster news from Wall Street this season, we thought this would be a great year to share with those less fortunate. We're still working out the details, but we've decided to use the money we would have spent on you this Christmas to adopt a family in need. And don't worry. We're so excited about what's ahead in this process, we're planning to document our excursion and share in the fun here on our blog.

So stay tuned. There are more good things ahead. And in spite of what the media might have many of us thinking, we're blessed to say, "business is good." And we're lucky to have friends and clients like you. If you have any ideas for our adopt-a-family project, we'd love to hear them.

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Who thinks up that stuff?

Did you by chance see the opening ceremonies of the Olympics? Did you sit there in amazement and awe as the pageantry of events unfolded. The music, the costumes, the choreography. How it all blended together seamlessly bringing traditions of old into the world of new. Spectacular.

As I was sitting there with friends watching this, I overheard one of them say, "Who thinks of this kinda of stuff anyway? It's just mind-boggling."

Who thinks of stuff like this? We do. Isn't it amazing to see what happens when designers are allowed to see their vision through? How they understand the importance of conveying a message to the masses with style and grace. We might be weird at times, but trust us. We know how to push the boundaries and make things well, emotional and best of all memorable.

What was your favorite part of the opening ceremonies? Do share.

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Hand-illustrated typography design in Mexico

I had the privilege of accompanying Oasnet on a recent mission trip this past June. Our group traveled to Tampico, Mexico to meet with local pastors, and help pour concrete floors the old-fashioned way. Among the many amazing thing I was able to experience in Mexico, I was intrigued by the hand-illustrated Typography that was present in some of the smaller towns. In a time when "contemporary" designers are interested in bringing a human element back into our digital work, these local artisans are still doing things 100% by hand. Here's a few of my favorites from a small town, Just West of Tampico, Mexico.

Long before the Photoshop drop shadow, painters were adding depth by hand.

I'm assuming this was a Doctor's office - next to the taco stand.

This illustrator didn't go out of his way to hide the recent price hike on these tacos.

This is a different type of "hand-illustrated type" - I'm guessing this was carved from a mold, and then poured into shape. But you can definitely see the hand-made qualities of these letterforms. Very cool indeed.

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MD Helps Kahn's Rebrand as Vine & Table

It's always fun when a client you've been working closely with gets great press coverage. Especially when they're deserving of it!We'll be writing more about this project soon, but for now, see what Inside Indiana Business had to say about Vine & Table. Click here for the full story. And there's also a nice article this morning on IndyStar.com .

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Why blog?

It's funny. It's been over a year since we added our first (albeit brief) entry to the Miles Design blog. Although my original vision for our blog was to have a venue to talk about branding and share all of the interesting things around me, here we sat nearly 15 months later, with just one entry.

Ironically, as I have been procrastinating over writing new entries, I've had several clients asking me about blogs. Among our clients, there are those who are considering starting blogs, those who are a little slow to add content to existing blogs, and of course the clients who seem to be getting the hang of it. Just the other day at lunch, blogging came up again. This time it was a potential client who asked us a very straightforward question, "Why would our business even want a blog?"

Our group all chimed in to share their perspectives... A blog is an opportunity for an organization to show it's personal side. If a brand is the total perception of a company, what a great way to build "personality." It's a great chance to express opinions, discuss trends, dig deeper into the details of a project, or have the ability to go deeper than the company's 'capabilities' or 'client list.' It's an opportunity to showcase their best team members as thought leaders, or even express the CEO's sense of humor. It's a place to link to interesting sites or stories. And some business leaders find blogs less intimidating to add to, versus updating the "about us" page on their website.

Thankfully, I'm taking our table's advice. As a part of our impending re-launch of MilesDesign.com, we're re-committing to maintaining our blog, not just updating our samples and client list.

So why would Miles Design want a blog? First of all, our previous website was launched in February of 2006. Our single "news" page listed our all of our "newsworthy" items over the past few months. While that seemed adequate at the time, it forced our "news" to be reduced down to headlines, such as:

08.06 - MD launches smart new ad campaign for The Heart Center of Indiana.
07.06 - MD begins work with Sensory Technologies.
07.06 - MD (and team) win Telly Awards for The Heart Center TV commercials.

You get the idea...

So for us, a blog is a great opportunity to expand our "news" into full stories. It's a chance for us to share more about what is happening in our office, as well as outside. And let's face it... I like to talk about us, almost as much as I like the BBQ chips from Jimmy John's.

Secondly, our blog allows Miles Design to be a better example for our clients. If branding experts can't demonstrate the marketing benefits of a blog, why would their clients show interest?

Finally, let's not downplay the fun factor. It's a chance for us to share the cool things we experience all around us. Our shop maintains strong ties to culture, and it's something our principals encourage. As design thinkers, we're constantly looking at the trends going on around us: in business, music, fashion, all types of design, and (of course) branding... all topics we'll likely be exploring. And when you have a such a simple, fun, brand-building forum as a blog, who wouldn't want to share?

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