This is quite funny… only if you don’t see or hear your charity in this – that is…
Fundraiser vs. Donor
September 14th, 2009Charities and RibFest
September 8th, 2009I know this analogy sounds like a stretch but bear with me.
Just Go Font Yourself
September 2nd, 2009
Oh – maybe that sounds worse than it was I meant it to. Wouldn’t be the first time I suppose.
I wanted to tell you about a great guy who does great things and has helped charities like yours likely raise some serious money. And you’ve probably never heard of him.
His name is: CHANK. Chank Diesel. (#24 on the coolest name ever list.)
Years ago when I was working at Stephen Thomas, we encountered a problem over and over. We wanted the direct mail packs we were doing to look more homemade and handwritten without having to hire or find a bunch of volunteers to spend countless hours getting wrist cramps and writing out donors addresses on outer envelopes.
ENTER CHANK.
Chank creates fonts for a living. Not only that, but Chank has helped me create a number of fonts to use for clients like you!
Check these out:
Having your handwriting turned into a font allows me to create art that looks like it has really come from the hand of the ED or whoever you want.
I’m sure you are starting to get a sense of the possibilities.
And Chank has been gracious enough to make a special deal (only $149 US) for my readers and followers right here: https://www.chank.com/gofontyourself/
Thanks a ton Chank! And keep up the amazing work.
Hopefully once you have your font in hand, you’ll come to me to show you how to use it most effectively!
(And by the way, check out the rest of his font design too!)
Does design matter?
August 31st, 2009I’ve been reading with great interest for the past few days about all the brouhaha surrounding IKEA. In case you missed it, you can read it all here. But allow me to nutshell.
IKEA, famed makers of cheap Swedish furniture change font on their catalogue from Futura to Verdana. Thousands of designers moan everywhere. IKEA basically tells them to shut the hell up and stop being such babies because most “normal” people, aka non-designers could give a rat’s butt about what font they use.
Hm.
So who cares right? I’ve argued this point before – no one really cares what size your logo is, what font you use, that you are rebranding your business (did I mention I am doing that?) or that you have a brand new website.
Do you know what your donors, clients, customers care about? How are you better for me today then yesterday. How are you better, cheaper, faster, more relevant than before?
Hm.
So the designers – why are “we” getting all worked up in a sweat? Because we like to think stuff like fonts matter. Futura is sleek and elegant – Verdana is 100% PC ugliness… no class, no nothing. How could a worldwide company like IKEA who obviously see the importance of clean, elegant and – sometimes cheap – design, not see why so many would be up in arms.
So – the question remains – does design matter?
I say yes, of course it does. But it only matters SO much. And it matters when it is relevant and appropriate.
Case in point. Direct Mail: Designers HATE direct mail. Especially for charities. Why? We know that more often than not, boring, white #10’s with a logo and maybe a return address work. We know that courier will still whup some serious butt when in a letter. We often know that using two colours over four is just as good. I remember being chastised at a gathering of “art directors” when I mentioned I designed direct mail for charities. Like I was lesser of designer than they were.
It’s HARD to be this good -if I may… By understanding the rules of what makes the medium of direct mail successful makes me a good designer. And it makes the design I do matter. It makes the pack do better. But it only plays part of the role as we know.
Design matters – but only when it’s done with your audience in mind. And how many designers can say they design with the end user in mind? I hope you can.
My heartfelt thanks to Seth Godin
August 24th, 2009
I was touched to open my email this morning and have a heartfelt thanks from none other than Seth Godin. He writes: I want to thank those that have supported my book Tribes. It’s been the #1 bestselling leadership book on Amazon for the last 300 days, mostly because the people who like it, talk about it and spread the word.
Seth: you are so welcome.
As I mentioned in a post recently, I enjoyed this shortish book so much because it really is a call to arms for us all to step up and lead. It challenges to revolt against the status quo. Most importantly, as he points out in his blog post: Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead.
This book has been a major driver and inspiration for changes here at Idea Design.
I am ready to lead. I think I see a few ways that I can do that most effectively and hope to explain those soon in the weeks to come but let me give you some hints.
The biggest issue for me is that you see Idea Design as a small design studio that does (hopefully) great graphic design for charities. And really, up until late last year, that was mostly what we did. And we still do it.
In the past year I’ve had two really important people join me in the journey to do things differently. Two people who help me challenge the status quo.
Mark Haak has been working in the commercial and charitable sector for about fifteen years learning the tools of the online trade, creating web sites, micro sites, e-campaigns and a whole lot more. He is also a talented art director, photographer and designer and the guy knows how to problem solve, communicate with his clients, have a fun time and appreciate his family and life. A true inspiration and wonderful to work next to. In the projects that we have worked together, we have grown to admire each others strengths and weaknesses and would both admit, we are better for it.
Jen Love. Impossible to sum up in a paragraph. Jen and I cut our teeth together at Stephen Thomas, a direct response agency in Toronto. We worked with some of the best (still do) and with each other on and off through the years. She is a dedicated student of fundraising, a talented creative writer and a passionate friend and colleague. There is no grey area with Jen. Ever. Together, we bring over twenty-five years, combined experience in working with charities.
As Jen says, you tell us your fundraising problem and we work with you to find a solution.
Simple.
So as the three of us work together, we acknowledge Idea Design does not represent the amazing work we are being asked to do by our clients. We realize that now is the time for change.
Idea Design is not going away. There will always be a need for a small creative design studio who understands the needs of charities and how to help communicate in a clear and concise manner. But the all encompassing ‘container’ will be.
I guess now is my chance to send Seth an email thanking him profusely for writing “Tribes”. I strongly urge you to read this book – heck I’ll even loan you mine. It’s time to challenge and change the way we are doing the things we do everyday. Why?
Because as I’ve said, “Vanilla Sucks” and more than enough people are doing it.
Thanks Seth.
Love, John
