& Home for Dinner!

Over the last year or so, I have been fortunate enough to work with another awesome brand. WebEx. I have worked with Amelia Bellows, Sara Perry, and Laura Vezzusi to create a new identity for the WebEx Connect platform, a series of international ads that ran in Australia, as well as helped to launch an online advertising campaign with Verizon. However, the most exciting bit of the year long series of projects, came with the opportunity to work with director Victor Solomon on a 60 second holiday video promo that went to WebEx's 3million plus users around the globe to say happy holidays in over 9 different languages. Additionally, we cut two 30 second spots that were used as online viral videos that were featured on Cisco.com.

Hello Wall

We are so excited to give birth to a long awaited dream. Hello Wall is our decorating solution for new parents or families who are looking to decorate the kids room...affordably. We invite you to explore HelloWall.com and give us your feedback.

Hot, Hotter, Hotbed

So when we were first blessed with the opportunity to redesign the brand for Hotbed Media, a San Francisco based film production company, we were excited to present the company with a mark that literally took the concept of a "hotbed" and translated that into a symbol that leveraged the equity found in the old symbol. Then we dropped a first rate flash based website on them that has been the rage for close to 10 years.

But times can and do change...for the better. And what a difference a redesign makes.

This week I spoke to Ed Reese, head of new business at Hotbed and he shared some very good news. "We have increased viewership to our videos on our site by close to 300% in 3 months."

A few months ago Stokes McIntyre, Co-Founder and longtime patron of Themilkfarm, asked for a redesign. With the new demands on SEO (search engine optimization) we had to refresh the site so they could be more competitive. As a film production company, Hotbed needs to be competitive online to generate sales leads globally and compete with great studios who already have a strong following.

We sat down with Stokes and Ed, hashed out the general structure over lunch, created a clean design that not only optimizes search, it is a breeze to maintain, and we went from concept to completion in a few short weeks.

Immediately the requests for their reel went up and overall traffic to the site has been steadily increasing. Not to mention the top level organic search rankings in Google. "We are even coming up before Steven Spielberg on certain searches." Ed shared.

From our side, we are excited that design has played a pivotal role in truly increasing visibility for our clients. And at the beginning, middle and end of the day...that is what it is all about.

Snip, Snip

I'm so excited to see new concepts succeed. When concepts come to life, employ people, fill a need, and simply verify that our ideas are in fact...good.

Today I decided to head into the city to get the standard 6 week haircut. After experiencing some disappointment from my usual barber shop, I decided to invest some time and money in a little personal pampering at a relatively new barber shop, "Mr." (Mister). The time investment was minimal. A simple drive across the Bay Bridge to the Financial district on a rainy day, high winds, and the pedestrian traffic created by the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco. And the financial investment was to be a 600% increase of the fee paid for a typical haircut.

"What!"

Well hold on. The haircut was indeed $65 +tip, but for me it was worth it. Why would I (or anyone else for that matter) pay this much for a "man's" haircut. Simple. The good people at Mr. (http://www.mrthebarbershop.com) know how to create a relaxing atmosphere for a man to grab a moment of serenity in a fast paced world. Those of us who are juggling success, family, and grooming, "Mr." helps to provide a little peace on mind in a man-centric environment.

"Here, guys can drink beer, wine, soju, coffee and tea while getting groomed...confident men also get massages, haircuts, shaves, and watch big games together." writes Melody Nazarian.

So yes the prices are a bit steep, but it is an awesome upgrade from the mom & pop shops, and a solid change of pace for those who are tired of standard barbershop rhetoric.

Great idea, followed by an excellent design aesthetic throughout, great people, and a great sales pitch that doesn't feel forced. Congratulations to "Mr." for an awesome concept execution.

Ps. The cut was solid. Special thanks to Emelio for the shape up.

Invest in Design

No this is not a financial investment, this is a human investment. Ask yourself when was the last time you aided the growth of those around you?

Maybe it is my passion for teaching and encouraging those new school designers to follow their passion? Maybe it is a way for me to live vicariously through a younger generation? Maybe it is a way for me to bite that new flavor to stay on top of my game? Maybe (and this is what I hope it to truly be) I am doing for someone, what one man did for me?

What is it that I’m doing? Passing on knowledge. Passing on enthusiasm. Passing on the “can do” attitude that everyone (especially creatives) needs to pursue their passion in spite of the world around them not understanding their drive.

So on the eve of Valentines Day, I found myself sharing the love with a young designer who, like me, needs someone to understand him. So in my understanding he inherited a computer with all the fixins’. Now my love is made tangible, my giving has real value, my focus is on helping others, and not only helping myself.

In a sense I turned my passion for design into a love movement. A movement that caused me to love someone else's dreams, and do my part in making them a reality.

Just Ask

My own personal business design guru. Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with a woman who has helped grow one of the world's most amazing design studios.

Joanne Chan from Turner Duckworth in San Francisco, took time out of her dense schedule to talk shop with yours truly. Joanne has been with Turner Duckworth for over 10 years. She is the business side of the San Francisco creative office managing every aspect of the business.

So at the beginning of the year when I decided to go deeper into building a strong design company, as opposed to just a series of great projects, I called Turner Duckworth. Joanne replied and was gracious enough to share some pointers on how Turner Duckworth builds successful brands, but more importantly, their own successful brand.

I had questions that ranged from cashflow to competitions–finding good talent to building trust. The take away is this. There are amazing people in your life that have the answers you are looking for. Simply ask, be considerate of their time, and you shall receive.

Do your best to learn at every turn. As I reflect on the last 13 years in design, I have come into the presence of many great people. Collegues and mentors. Often times I ponder the pearls they passed on, and the wisdom they shared. Seek wisdom and you will find that there is an entire world out there waiting to support your vision.

Blestek

Bless Technologies needed a revised logo.
Themilkfarm created a new system that not
only included the new word mark and symbol,
we also encouraged the client to consider
a slight name change to create a more
proprietary name.

La Sarenne

A new trend in vacation homes is fractional ownership.
La Sarenne is a new luxury brand and they asked
Themilkfarm to support their initial launch. We wanted
to help them establish a brand that said luxery and
value while placing an emphasis on family.




http://www.lasarenne.com