Bernadette Jiwa asked us if we would like to contribute to her book ‘You Are The Mapmaker’.

So we did. If you want to find out a bit more about us, peek behind the curtain and find out why we do what we do, click here.

“What’s the formula for blog posts that will get the greatest number of retweets? Which new product or service will make you the most money? Do you know?

“So today I’m sharing a beautiful book with you that’s been six months in the making.”
— BERNADETTE JIWA

Bernadette has a couple of blogs which we often follow and are definitely worth reading:
ETCHD
and
The story of Telling

She has also written for David Airey’s blog (which also featured us).

http://www.davidairey.com/framing-your-design-brand/

Contributers include:
Lee Newham — @goodpeopletweet
Eric Karjaluoto — @karj
Nubby Twiglet — @nubbytwiglet
Chris Guillebeau — @chrisguillebeau
David Airey — @DavidAirey
Mark Bloom — @MashCreative
Reese Spykerman — @reese
Jessica Hische — @jessicahische
Derek Sivers — @sivers
Jonathan Woodward — @jonwoodward
Blair Thomson — @BlairThomson
Lea Woodward — @kinetiva
Tara Gentile — @taragentile

Design and art direction by the good people at Believe in (Good Stuff Blair!).

This video is from US Hypnotist John Pullum. We think it’s rather good. Have a look, do what he says. It’s fun (and it’s Friday).

Did it work? Please let us know if it did

John used the power of suggestion to influence you. Design is no different. The images and words used in advertising, branding, packaging, web, literature etc are incredibly powerful. They create desire beyond reason. We know something isn’t good for us, but we still buy it.

This doesn’t work on everyone (as John says in the video). But if you in a certain frame of mind, it probably will.

Often we designers influence in ways that we disagree with. Why don’t we use our powers of influence for good, create desire for things that are good, just, true, local, small, ethical and environmentally friendly.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Over the last 18 years we have worked for various design and advertising agencies. In that time we have amassed 30 design awards and nominations and worked for clients as diverse as:
The United Nations
Waitrose
Marks & Spencer
Tesco
Natwest
Unilever
Axa
Sainbury’s,
Loseley
Whittards of Chelsea
Travelex
Diaggio
Skype
J&B
Coca Cola
Asda
The UK Government
Berry Brothers & Rudd
Sacla
Knocando
Birds Eye Walls
Focus DIY
Seicomart
The National Trust
Liberation CIC
Dreams
San Pellegrino
The Refinery
Seat
Fresh & Easy
Fairtrade

We found that we enjoyed working for the smaller clients, the ones who were more ethical or shared the same values we had. We got to speak to the people who made the decisions. We had a relationship with them. We believed in them.

Best of all, we found we do better work when we believed in what we do.

So we decided to start “Designed by Good People’ to put our experience to good use for clients who share the same values we believe in.

‘We believe in ethics, environment & ideas, well crafted, Designed by Good People’

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We love Albert Einstein.

Not because he discovered some numbers and formulas, but because of how he thought and how he expressed himself. He dealt in serious subjects and yet he often expressed himself in a less than serious way. Einstein was a lovable, human, intelligent brand. We love how he thought.

Here are some wise words from a man named Albert:

“The environment is everything that isn’t me”.
Simple when you think about it. Shouldn’t we improve our environment, not just for us, but for everyone?

“The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.”
It’s about time we looked at a different way of evaluating success. Rather than being measured by how much stuff you collect, why not judge it by happiness?

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Sometimes you have to go away from the problem, attack it from a different angle, bounce silly ideas off people. But you have to know the problem in the first place in order to solve it. Good design relies on defined problems.

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.
We are always curious. Solutions to problems can come from the most unexpected places. That’s partially why our blog doesn’t just feature pretty pictures of other peoples design.

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.
While you still have to pay the mortgage, there is a sense of satisfaction to be gained from doing good work for good clients you believe in. As with our Christmas card, it’s even more fulfilling to give something back at the end of the day.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.
So true although we believe knowledge is something to be collected and shared.

You may be thinking what this has to do with design.

Einstein was unique. He communicated with clarity, a common touch, making the complex simple. He told stories, he made people smile, he had a complex but endearing personality. He wasn’t a robot. The problem with a lot of design today is that it’s more like a robot. There are too many clinical generic design systems. Good design isn’t just about making things simple, just as good architecture isn’t just about making buildings into light spaces. We need more personality. We need more fun. We need more difference. We need more Einsteins.

Let me put it this way. If you could invite anyone from history to a party, wouldn’t you put him on your guest list? Can you think of any other scientist that you would include?

Is your brand a little bit of quirky genius?

Lovely Talk. It’s only a couple of minutes.
“It’s not every day that you get a change to save someones life, but you do get the chance to affect one.”

“Save the shoes.”

If this leaves you baffled, then enrich your life with the few minutes it takes to watch the video below.

Make change good. Even if that chance is small, it’s still good change.

This is a TED talk by inspirational French Street artist JR.

We wont say too much as the actual talk is below and it’s well worth watching. It shows how art (or design, call it what you will, it’s just a name) can be engaging and bring about a change in the way things are perceived. If you need more persuasion to watch the film, look at these images. Please feel free to comment at the end.

"NOW GOD CAN SEEM ME": VINYL ROOFS (TO KEEP OUT THE RAIN!) PRINTED IN THE SLUMS OF KIBERA

THIS IS THE GRANDMOTHER OF ONE OF THE KIDS WHO WAS ARRESTED ON THESE STEPS IN A FAVELLA IN BRAZIL. THE KID WAS TAKEN TO ANOTHER FAVELLA WHERE THEY WERE KILLED BY A RIVAL GANG. MAKING MAKING THE IGNORED VISIBLE AND BEAUTIFUL.

ISN'T

THIS

LOVELY

PLEASE WATCH. YOU WON’T REGRET IT.

After we designed the Landfit logo we got a very nice call from Sustain asking us if we would do some work for them. They loved the Landfit logo. We were flattered. We took the carrot.

The new job was for a scheme called ‘Food Up Front’. It was very similar to Landfit, but was aimed towards encouraging people to use their front gardens to grow food.

Their current logo looked like this:

THE OLD LOGO

This didn’t work well when reduced in size, which it frequently was on various websites, it didn’t really describe what the scheme was about and we thought it looked a lot like clip art from Microsoft Office.

We redefined the problem to create the solution: “What image communicates growing your own vegetables”. The idea was planted. Literally.

It worked better when reduced in size compared to the old logo:

Like the vegetables it was trying to inspire people to plant, the identity could grow to any format :

We created business cards that had seeds in them so they would grow food when planted in the ground.

We created full brand guidelines. It was all very well received.

But then suddenly, Sustain called us and said they had an internal discussion and had decided to stay with their existing logo.

We created a presentation trying showing before and afters showing the new identity vrs the old one, to get them to change their minds.

We asked them ‘if you can say, hand on heart, that the old logo communicates what you do better, is more adaptable to any situation and is more memorable than the new one we have created, then you must stick with the old identity and we will not charge you a fee.’

They said they were very happy with the work we did and paid us in full. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make them change their minds.

Sometimes, that’s just the way it goes.

While we do work for paying clients, we are also active in our local community. We helped get funding for an outdoor gym in a local park by working with community groups and are working with other civic groups to help save local libraries.

The image above is a banner we designed that was used by library groups in Lewisham protesting against the cuts. We fully support them. We used libraries extensively growing up and the information we had access to there is part of the reason why we became designers in the first place.

People carried banners:

People wore stickers:

Thanks to Joyce Treasure for the images.

We created posters using the ‘do not cut here’ idea:

We collected over 20,000 signatures, more than any other protest in the borough.

We created a blog and logo for our local library (it’s based on the shape of the building):

Which lent itself nicely to a campaigning identity:

The campaign has gained a lot of coverage in the press and online and we are proud to be a small part of it. We will keep you updated about what happens. If you want to know more about the campaign, please visit sydlib.com (and sign the online petition to add to the 20,000).

If you want to build trust, say something trustworthy, say something true. Honestly, sometimes it’s best to just say it as it is.