I recently inherited an antique Singer® sewing machine that was well…in need of some TLC. As I was rummaging through the tiny drawers of this ever so clever machine table, I found some interesting notes and patterns that were hand picked and tucked away by my great grandmother. Among all these quaint mid century artifacts was the original manual that came with the sewing machine. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t think I’ve held on to any instruction booklet for that long let alone thought it would be necessary for my great granddaughter. As I flipped through the yellowed pages, I couldn’t help but appreciate the simple typography and illustrations that graced the pages of this pocket manual.

What surprised me even more so was that (albeit I don’t know much about sewing yet), Singer® was a company I was well aware of and mainly because of their brand. This book from 60+ years ago was an older but still VERY similar image of the Singer® brand, and it got me thinking again about just what is the difference between a brand and an image?

To be precise, wikipedia defines a brand as “…labels of ownership: name, term, design, symbol…Powerful brands can drive success in competitive and financial markets, and indeed become the organization’s most valuable assets.” Using Singer® as an example, this is their brand:

An image, often less permanent, is how a company chooses to represent themselves. For Singer®, their image is shown in their store fronts, literature (such as catalogs, direct mail, instruction sheets, etc.) and even their website. What I love about Singer’s® brand (as shown in the images of the manual and their current logo) is that they have stayed true to the brand they had set in place over 150 years ago and yet have updated it to keep current with their target audience.

As a result, their brand displays company integrity, quality, loyalty, experience and positions Singer® as a leader in their industry. What does your brand do for you?

Have you watched the new show called Technology Jones? If not, let me fill you in.

Well, here is how they describe the show on MOJO’s Web site:

“No online, no cell phone, and no wireless…anything. You either just walked into 21st century hell or you’re the newest victim of Technology Jones. Gadget dependent addicts get unplugged and reconnected to the simple life when this new series brings them to the past and strips them of everything that makes modern life…modern. An easy task at first but the “electronically reliant” begin to buckle under the pressure of a life off easy street and without GPS dependency. Living in the past isn’t so easy in this series that has relapse written all over it.”

How long can one survive today without the internet, cell phones, email, gps and everything else that we depend on in our daily lives in the year 2008? It’s an interesting question. Unless you are stranded on an island, I doubt our survival lies in the hands of these gadgets. In episodes of Technology Jones, the biggest issue that arises is frustration on the person who has their gadgets taken away. Realtor’s having to use pay phones to reach clients when they are on the road, business people getting lost on their way to meetings, mom’s wanting to turn on a movie for their kids when there is no cable and only a Betamax in the house.

I challenge all of us to take a gadget free day. Not a Saturday or a Sunday. A weekday where we call our clients to catch up, spend some quality time with our children with no interruptions and spend the time we usually spend on the internet in brainstorming meetings and talks on how we can become better gadget users.

I think we all need to step back and go into “gadget rehab”. You may find out something about yourself that has been lost all of these years. Why not?

Each year, there seems to be a certain amount of repetition of ideas, colors, music, even buzz words can live and die on an annual basis. Is it possible that our animal furry friends could provide some insight into what the latest trends in design will be? It’s true. There is no scientific evidence that supports why an animal reigns supreme for one year over another but they are often the yearly indication of where design is headed and what will be dubbed with the “it” stamp.So who’s next and how do we even measure that kind of success? Surprisingly enough, the wine isle at your local grocery is a really good indicator of what’s popular this year. Wine labels, as classic as they appear, often change to incorporate the classic style of where they came from and the contemporary trend so it is not uncommon to see them adorned with creates above and below sea level. Despite the ever popular success of past animal celebs, sparrows, deer, unicorns, penguins, giant squid, and even big foot relinquish their crowns for the bear. I’m curious to know just how big this animal will be. To most (myself included) I wouldn’t associate the bear with a comforting wine and I might find it daunting as an icon in an insurance logo. None the less, companies like Coca-Cola and Smirnoff have used the bear to their advantage.   

I listen to a lot of music at work.  A WHOLE lot.  In fact most of the Q staff listens to music for the majority of the day.  It’s what keeps our design and production teams going.  It’s not all that uncommon to stop by the Q and find everyone plugging away with their earbuds in - or in my case, as set of  headphones so old the foam is falling out and the frame is broken.  What can I say, they’re like that pair of jeans you’ve had for years and are worn in just right.  Anyway, back on topic.  In a creative environment we need constant input and new sources of motivation.

With the advent of mp3s and digital music, I find myself purchasing fewer and fewer CDs in favor of going directly to an online source of music like artist websites, iTunes or the occasional file sharing with friends (a-la the old cassette exchanges from the ’80s).  The potential to discover new music has increased exponentially in the last few years.

What’s remarkable about today’s music industry is how many more artists are becoming less dependent on major labels in favor of lesser known labels like Anti (Tom Waits, Man Man and Neko Case) and Nonesuch (The Black Keys & Gypsy Kings).  In doing so, they are being allowed greater creative freedom.  Less emphasis is placed on where the recording will end up on the Billboard charts and more energy is focused on capturing the sound and emotion each artist really wants to portray.

Nine Inch Nails recently released a 2 disc instrumental album entitled “Ghosts I-IV” free of any label support through the NIN website under a Creative Commons License and made the release available in a wide variety of formats ranging from digital download to a a $300 Ultra-Deluxe limited edition package, which sold out all 2500 copies.  Obviously this is harder to do successfully if you are a band without 20 years of experience under your belt.  Within hours of the pre-release sale being announced, I had purchased my very own digital copy of the album complete with intriguing imagery, (a unique photo for each of the 36 tracks displays on my iPod), superb sound quality, and the anticipation of receiving the 2-disc set directly from the band a few weeks later.  Money well spent, I’d say.

Stay tuned for more music ramblings. In the mean time, feel free to check out what music has been driving my work days by visiting my profile at LastFM.

-AB

Jason recently sent out emails reminding me that my Blog needed updating. Although I’m usually not at a loss for words I just couldn’t decide on what to write about especially when I check out Blog’s from some of the other people here at the Q. they are total “brainieacks” and keeping up with them is totally impossible!

Awhile back I was contracted to do some Podcasting for the Goodwill/Dell Reconnect Program. Dell teamed up with Goodwill to provide a recycling program for all types of office equipment. As I did research for the Podcast I found it extremely interesting how the Reconnect Program was going to save thousands of electronics from going into landfills.

Dell was generous to allow any make or model of computer, monitor, mouse, keyboard, copy machine, printer, fax machine, etc. that could be dropped off at any Goodwill location to be recycled! How exciting is that? Goodwill Employees have been trained to sort, refurbish and de-manufacture the computers as well as the computer components for shipping to other recycling centers.

The buzz word for 2008 is “Green “and everyone is trying to do their part to be Green by recycling in some way or another. Computer sales are skyrocketing so that people can have the latest technology but many don’t think about what they will do with their old computers. Sometimes you can pass them along to a relative or friend but when that isn’t an option, take your old computer to Goodwill where you know it will be properly taken care of.

We all need to do our part with recycling and the Goodwill/Dell Reconnect Program has made things very easy for us. If you would like to learn more about the program you can go to their website: www.reconnectpartnership.com

Note: Some of you have been wondering if I have gotten my IPhone yet for my birthday………………….well it’s only hours away (as of 4-9-2008) and still no sign of getting one