Medals "Not" for Sale

I was never athletic in school and was always the artsy-head-prefect- (ie. student leaders appointed by teachers to enforce discipline in school) nerd who stood by the sideline thinking to myself, "Wonder how it feels to get one of those trophy or medal?"

Since 2003, I found that I enjoy jogging; especially if I joined an organized race (ie. training and running in a pack). Now, I am never a competitive-type when it comes to sports. Maybe that's why participating in marathons is appealing where everyone who finishes gets a medal.

While I do aim to improve my miles-per-minute (sounding like a different kind of nerd now), I sought the adrenaline (commonly known as a runner's high) more than coming in as the top finisher. I now know how it feels to receive a medal or two. More importantly, I discover the joy of simply enjoying something, and in this case a sport.

So what will I do with all these medals that I have and will continue to accumulate for as long as I have breath in me to run? I will probably give my kids as an award for riding a bike by themselves for the first time, for sharing the last piece of pie with someone, for helping a friend in need, etc.

So meanwhile, the medals will be a reminder that God gave me life and He intends for me to run the spiritual race well with other brothers and sisters in His kingdom.

Clever April Fool's Prank 2012 (to date)

MASHABLE'S CEO
http://mashable.com/2012/04/01/conan-obrien-replaces-pete-cashmore-as-ceo/

GOOGLE MAPS IN 8-BIT
http://mashable.com/2012/03/31/google-maps-8-bit/

Design Inspiration | The new love language ...

Are we expressing our love for someone as we "like", "re-tweet", "pin", or "plus 1" them?

Design Inspiration | Will the pin draw blood?

Design Review | "Looks like an American flag" - Jeff G

Corporate logo / company trade mark always interest me, especially when I start seeing revisions made to it. For example, before Walmart launched its "friendlier" logo in 2008, the yellow star burst was seen as a standalone element in most of their marketing materials. Anyway, this blog is not about them but another retailer.

"Fair and square" is the most recent campaign by jcp (better known as JCPenney) who started highlighting the first three letters 'j', 'c', & 'p' in its logo and TV commercials in 2011. 

Logo used from 1971 to 2010

Newer logo started in 2011

Newest logo in 2012

About a couple of weeks ago, I noticed their TV spot with another revamped logo. The first thought I had was, "here comes the red-white-and-blue ..."

More attention is definitely given to the letters "j-c-p" by setting it against a blue background, while using a thicker and more symmetrical font. The red square is now a red border framing the name, which immediately brings to mind an American flag as pointed out by my friend Jeff (who is, I believe, on the fringe of a typical jcp target consumer).

I don't usually say how nice (and I don't like to describe a design with that term) or tacky a logo is until I looked at how it ties in with the marketing message.

Having said that, here are some of my observations (referencing pages of their spring catalog I got in the mail Sunday):

" ... we're going to throw open the windows and let in some fresh air" is how jcp is celebrating 110 years in business. That imagery is translated (in my opinion) in the use of white space in the new logo. The catalog (see images above) is also laid out with generous amount of white spaces; making the publication cleaner - like a breathe of fresh air.

---

Part of the new logo (ie. the border) is also used as a design element in the catalog; bringing attention to the three kinds of pricing (eg. Everyday Prices, Month-long Values, and Best Prices) and product features / facts (eg. history behind Converse "In 1918, Chuck Taylor, a soon-to-be pro basketball player, was recruited to endorse all star shoes ...").

---

I also loved the cleverly placed phrases with the page numbers to convey jcp's new mission of becoming "your favorite store". On page 3 we read "your schedule is our schedule". Page 6 says "shop on your time". On page 13 "always plenty of parking" and "open even on snow days" on page 19. Last but not least, the catalog is shaped a perfect 10" by 10".

Verdict? I don't care for the new logo as much as I do the direction of the campaign as seen thus far.

Design News | Has Social Media Become A Measure of Self Worth?

I was recently frustrated with the speed of my cell phone service because my attempts to upload photos on Facebook failed due to bad connections. I caught myself considering the irony of what I was trying to do; have I lost the art of sharing my "life" with someone in person? Some might argue that we need to capture special moments so that we don't forget it and yes, I personally liked the ability to relive those memories via Facebook Timeline.

Nick Bilton wrote in a NY Times article about setting aside 30 minutes a day without his iPhone; quoting Mr. Mayer-Schönberger (a professor of Internet governance at Oxford University) who said that keeping a perpetual visual diary of everything could slow down our brains’ purging process. I can appreciate the need to detach oneself from technology occasionally and smell the roses (without telling the world about it or worrying about forgetting the distinct shade of red the roses have).

However, I also think that keeping a visual diary of our experiences, whether we tweet or post about it, has its value. I like the concept behind Timeline because being a big-picture person, I like to revisit the stages in life where I have added an album, posted a comment, attended an event, etc. I agree, however, that if I am living the moment through the lens of my cell phone (or a digital camera) with hopes to share it with the friends who are not with me, I will miss out on fully experiencing the moment itself (and with the people with me).

We are created to have relationships and we seek to share our experiences with family and friends. Along with the advancement of mobile technology, the instant gratification provided by social media tools to connect with people may have a crippling effect on our social skills.

I believe that social media is to many a tool in this day and age, for us to find acceptance. Doesn't it feel good to have several "likes", "comments", and "retweets", even if they are from people we don't really know? And yet, it's safe enough where we are not totally transparent and vulnerable. This is unhealthy.

If we ponder about what to eat for dinner in our Facebook status bar, why not call up a friend to share a meal with? After we create an album of a party we hosted, why not print and send "Thank you" cards using the photos taken (try Walgreen's Photo Card)? Beside playing "Words With Friends" with a friend, why not come together for Scrabble once a month?

Like Nick, I am not giving up technology entirely and will continue to use it, especially for archiving memories in the form of digital images. I hope to find balance in the depth I go with people (while tagging them occasionally).

Design Inspiration | I LIKE you. I LIKE you not.

I was driving home from work today when I heard two radio DJs talking about how some of their fans would "like" and "dislike" a page with hopes to become the 200,000th fan. I personally have been having fun learning & experimenting with social media while planning & implementing several campaigns. Fan loyalty on Facebook intrigues me.

Social media, not limited to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, is word-of-mouth in this present and digital age. Do you think the quantity of fans or followers defines how influential a person or business is?

Looking at businesses with facebook page, I often wonder how many of their fans are true advocate? Did they "like" the business at one point in time because of the possibility of winning a prize and have forgotten to "unlike" it? Or did they simply "hide all posts" by the business so that messages from the latter never appear on their wall?

So, how does a business truly engage its fans / followers on social media? I am watching and participating along with other marketing professionals as the power of social media unfolds.