Posts Tagged ‘designers’

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June 28th, 2012

App Press: Designing UX for Designers

Miles Design was engaged by the team at App Press to help design and wireframe the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) for the latest version of their software.

App Press allows its users to create custom apps for Android and iOS without writing (or even understanding) a single line of code. It was developed with designers and creative agencies in mind and allows the designer to work from a blank slate, much like you would in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. It’s unique because, unlike some of its competitors, it’s not tied to Adobe Photoshop or InDesign. You can build your app from scratch and even preview it on your mobile device as you build it by using the App Press Preview App.

Dashboard Wireframe

We kicked off the project with a series of meetings with the App Press team to learn as much as we could about the goals and requirements for the software. Because App Press is specifically geared towards designers, it was extremely important that the software be both visually easy to navigate and simple to understand and manage. The user is able to dive right in, as they would in any other tool they work with on a regular basis. It’s familiar to them.
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Posted in UX Design | No Comments »

May 13th, 2012

JFK Poster Design for the Bigger Picture show

This was my second year to participate in the Bigger Picture Show. (Kudos to the International Film Festival and Lodge for a great show!) As usual, a crop of top Indianapolis designers were called on to contribute their reinterpretations of classic movie posters.

Bigger Picture Show 2012

Last year, I redesigned Psycho. This year, I was awarded the Oliver Stone film, JFK. The Kennedy conspiracy has always fascinated me, so it was a special treat to get to design a poster for this film.

Although JFK was released in 1991, it was obviously all about the sixties. So, in keeping with my self-imposed requirements from last year, I wanted to create something that felt like it might have been produced in the sixties as well: limited color palette, limited typography (Helvetica), and zero reliance on filters, drop shadows, or other effects. (more…)

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Posted in Branding, Design | 8 Comments »

February 4th, 2012

How the Porsche 911 Design Reminds me to Ship.

I’m addicted to the BBC TV series, Top Gear. I’m not sure if it’s the dry humor, the amazing cars, or simply the British accents that make the show so delightful. Whatever it is, I’m addicted.

Last week I watched a rerun of this 2007 episode, featuring the Porsche 911 GT3: a stripped down, no-frills, raw power, sports car.

Starting at 1:45 in this segment, host Richard Hammond explores what a “daft” idea it is to design a car with an engine in the back. Yet after 40+ years of designing 911s, German engineers and designers are showing no signs of moving the engine forward.”It’s like building a pyramid with the pointy bit at the bottom… that should be rubbish.” (more…)

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Posted in Branding, Design | 5 Comments »

December 21st, 2011

Miles Design Adopt-A-Family Holiday Tradition

The holiday spirit is in full swing here at Miles Design with Christmas less than a week away now. While each of us enjoys challenging branding and design projects all year, every December we look forward to dedicating our time to some extra-special holiday “projects.” You may be familiar with our custom-designed holiday cards, but one of the holiday traditions we’ve come to enjoy most is adopting a family in need for Christmas.

Gift Cookie Tin

This year we adopted a family through Dayspring Center—a center providing shelter, clothing and meals for homeless families with children in central Indiana. (more…)

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Posted in Miles Design Indianapolis | 1 Comment »

December 13th, 2011

All I Want for Christmas is…

Christmas is less than two weeks away now (yikes!), and the time remaining to purchase those all-important gifts is ticking away. No need to panic yet though. In the spirit of holiday giving, we’re sharing a few things from each of our Christmas (or every day) wish lists. Who knows, maybe we’ll spark an idea for that hard-to-buy-for person lingering on your shopping list. Happy holidays and happy shopping!

Brian Gray

Letterpress Calendar

Fabien Barral Letterpress Calendar
I bought the 2011 version of this and really liked it. The 2012 is available now.

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Posted in Miles Design Indianapolis | 2 Comments »

January 25th, 2011

weheartlogos (and books)

iheartlogos season one book

As a design and branding firm, we’re excited anytime our brand identity designs get published.

But we were more excited than usual to learn that 18 of our logo designs were going to be published in the first annual iheartlogos book, iheartlogos season one. This competition is cool because it’s very different than the typical design competition. In this competition, everyone who enters one or more logo submission gets to vote (heart or not heart) for every logo submitted. Entries came from a variety of international locations, with Antarctica being the only continent not represented. (more…)

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Posted in Miles Design Indianapolis | 10 Comments »

January 5th, 2011

Designer vocabulary. A suite of sweet homonyms.

Q: What is wrong with the following sentence?

We thought the new color palate was to blue and failed too compliment the stationary design.

A: It’s a train wreck of well-intentioned designer vocabulary gone wrong.

Ever since the early days of advertising, when art and copy were handled in separate departments, it’s been a long-running joke that graphic designers can’t spell. Well, like most jokes, there’s probably a little truth to that. And, of course, with the prevalence of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and blogging, the evidence of designer spelling deficiencies has expanded. In my opinion, in a world of auto-correct and spell-check, it’s not the traditional “typos” that designers struggle with today. It’s the homonyms (sometimes more correctly referred to as homophones). These are words that are pronounced the same but spelled differently. The issue isn’t typos, it’s the use of correctly spelled words in the wrong context.

So, just in time for the New Year, we’ve provided our top “designer vocabulary words” as a creative community service to help our fellow designers figure out which (or is that witch?) word they actually mean to use.
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Posted in Miles Design Indianapolis | 12 Comments »

May 11th, 2010

Marketing You: Putting Your Best Self Forward

It’s graduation time, and design students all over the country are putting their college days behind them. After countless hours logged in the studio, late nights, and a heck-of-a-lot of time spent preparing portfolios, the time has come to hit the pavement in search of that first design job. Or, perhaps you’re a seasoned pro in search of change. Whatever your circumstances, having a strong portfolio is just one piece of the puzzle. Before you step into your first meeting, take some time to prepare.

Rehearse, rework, and rehearse some more.
So, your portfolio is shiny and complete, and you’ve scheduled your first meeting! You’re all set, right? Perhaps, but more than likely, you need to do some prep on the presentation. When presenting your portfolio, be prepared to take the reins in the conversation. Assume that you’ll be in charge of talking through your work, and be prepared for a reviewer that might have little to say until you’re finished. It’s better to be over-prepared, and practice is key. Invest time in rehearsing your presentation, and you will begin to recognize areas that flow smoothly as well as others that could use some work. You might also come across a few projects that aren’t as strong as others. Practicing ahead of time allows you the opportunity to act on problems and weaknesses in advance.

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Posted in Online Marketing | 1 Comment »

March 2nd, 2010

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?

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Posted in Miles Design Indianapolis | 1 Comment »

December 17th, 2009

Designing a Unique Holiday Gift – 2nd 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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