Now this

DOUG by Double D Ranch

2011-11-09T05:38:00.004-06:00

For our long time client and friend Double D Ranch, we branded their new menswear collection, named for their father Doug McMullen. Take a look at the LOOKBOOK we created as part of the identity program.

Trade Secret’s newest worst kept secret

2011-08-13T12:14:00.007-05:00

Trade Secret Auto was awarded Audi Certification for the repair of aluminum frame and body for the A-8, R-8 and R-10. Repairing aluminum is like the difference between having your tonsils removed and brain surgery. It’s a whole different ball game.

Lidji Design Office prepared this announcement for Audi’s 5 state dealer network. An 18x24 poster hand delivered to Audi dealerships in an aluminum tube.

Ralph Lauren’s L’art de l’automobile

2011-07-16T13:19:00.004-05:00

If you love cars, this site is not to be missed. Ralph Lauren’s collection has assembled the most precious automobiles of all time. The site offers a magnificent photo of each auto, interesting info plus a soundtrack of the engine. Be sure to listen to the engine as you read.

The Miami Heat logo: a hot mess!

2011-06-13T12:13:00.008-05:00

Is it me or does the Miami Heat’s logo look like a flaming, amputated testicle going down the drain? Come to think of it, after last night’s NBA Final loss to the Dallas Mavericks, it’s the perfect logo for the Heat!

Passion and craft

2011-06-12T09:00:00.007-05:00

My friend and client Mark Albert, owner of ArtHouse Homes, is passionate about good design and craft and builds beautiful homes. Lidji Design Office created their new website with this clear directive; make it simple, elegant and charming. Like the homes.

Outlaws & Outposts

2011-05-28T16:58:00.005-05:00

Just a sneak peak at the new Double D Ranch 2011 Fall ad campaign and catalog done by Lidji Design Office. We shot it in Marathon, Texas, the Davis mountains and in and around the historic Gage Hotel. Alan Foreman was the photographer.

Thinking in parallel across the decades

2011-05-23T18:32:00.004-05:00

This recent cover of the New Yorker brought to mind how ideas can transcend time and space. I’m just glad mine has the earliest date on it.

Oy vay, AIGA! Wake me when it’s over.

2011-04-01T11:15:00.007-05:00

Those of you who know me, know that I am no fan of the AIGA. Their recent announcement to do a digital talk show called “A Day For Design” where designers talk to designers about design via twitter seemed to be the ultimate act of design self-mutilation. I did this poster to express my feelings about this organization.

Needless to say, I will not be attending.

A model for peaceful revolt

2011-02-11T10:00:00.006-06:00

“Be careful for what you wish for, you may get it.” Now we wait and see what will happen.

Unrest in Egypt, again

2011-02-09T05:40:00.003-06:00

Having parents from Egypt makes this subject a bit more meaningful for me. On the other hand, if it weren’t for corrupt Egyptian politicians during the early 50’s, I wouldn’t be an American today.

40 years of New York Times Op-Ed Illustration

2010-09-27T20:17:00.002-05:00

A great retrospective of illustration from the pages of the New York Times. The Op-Ed page is 40 years old and with it this look back at some of the best political illustration ever done.

What if you could print a 3D object. Amazing!

2010-09-15T18:58:00.004-05:00

Maybe one day we will be able to print an actual pair of shoes. Why not?

Throwing good money after bad

2010-09-13T14:48:00.011-05:00

In an earlier post, I had written about the careless re-design of the quarter. I’ve, since, found these interesting pieces of U.S. currency designed by Dowling Duncan merely as an exploration. I think they’re terrific, even though they tend to be a bit like the Swiss notes that were done back in the nineties.

What do you think?

My talented neighborhood

2010-09-09T08:13:00.013-05:00

Recently, my friend and neighbor Kenn Berry invited me into his wife Judy’s floral design studio, Sahana, to see a project that she was working on. It was a series of centerpieces for a young ladie’s Bat Mitzvah. Her assignment was to do something cool with shoes. I was stunned by the creations and struck that when the flowers died, so would these lovely pieces of art. I suggested that we shoot them quickly and do a poster or blurb book. So, Kenn, retired superstar photographer, rigged a make shift seamless set and soon we had the images. A little time in Photoshop and we had some very terrific images. Shortly after that, we had this poster.

But back to my talented neighborhood. In addition to a photographer, Kenn is an expert illustrator of historical objects, specifically WW2 fighters and weaponry. Across the street from Kenn and Judy lives Arie Van Selm, an internationally acclaimed painter and delightful human. His wife Jutta is a professor of languages and equally fascinating. A couple of doors down from Kenn lives Chris Thurman, collector and dealer of extraordinary mid-century modern furniture and objects. And, of course my very talented wife Shari who is a couture quilt designer and blogger extraordinaire. She lives really close to me.

And that’s just what’s going on two houses away from me. Lucky, don’t you think?

Blow the spots off the ball

2010-07-13T09:37:00.015-05:00

The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa introduced Americans to the vuvuzela, a noisy little plastic horn, that is traditionally blown continuously by fans throughout the game. The noise levels in the stadium were so loud it was said, that it was effecting the quality of play on the field. To the foreign fans the outcry against the vuvuzela was equally as loud. To me, it sounded like a good poster. You can check out all the posters at The Spirit of FIFA: poster design contest.

Quarter horsepower

2010-07-05T15:32:00.004-05:00

My friends, the McMullens, raise quarter horses. Those are the ones that run really fast. For a city boy like me, horses always meant how many fit under the hood of your car. Rule of thumb, you need at least 300 to get the job done.

This is a logo I did for their quarter horse farm.

Ultimate typography thrown to the curb

2010-06-22T11:44:00.006-05:00

Seeing Milton Glaser’s classic stencil typeface, Glaser Stencil, thrown to the curb makes me wonder if that is the ultimate achievement of the designer’s art or a death sentence for a great face.

Ask why five times

2010-06-02T20:28:00.009-05:00

My good friend, client and regular genius Roger Keyte says, if you really want to understand something “Ask why 5 times”. It’s an excellent idea, except if you have teenagers. Take out the trash should be understood after the first why. And only the first time they ask.

I thought it was worthy of a poster.

Bad money

2010-05-27T06:33:00.003-05:00

As with most badly designed things, the trash can becomes its final resting place. Not so with bad money. These truly ugly objects remain in your pocket everyday as a constant reminder of the lunacy of democratized design.

The design brief for each states quarter was to capture spirit or unique feature of the state in an image or series of images. Each state conducted a design contest for the image that would be used on that states coin. The result? 50 unrelated and badly organized images that are more suitable for tokens at Chuckie Cheese than monetary symbols of the greatest economic power in the world.

The problem is simple. The artist was removed from the process.

I’ve included the older quarter as a reminder of the elegance of the original design.

Virtual poster exhibits

2010-05-25T10:30:00.008-05:00

I used to do a lot of posters. The printed kind. Silkscreened, offset litho or whatever got ink on a big piece of paper. Much of them were done for worthy causes with a lot of creative freedom in trade for no pay. Some of them ended up in museums, and competitions and some even in The Library of Congress. It was a lot of fun.

But, I’m happy to say that the poster is back. And better than ever. This time it’s virtual and everyone can participate. Just search for your favorite cause and add the word poster and you will be deluged with posters to review. As always, there is a bunch of garbage. But, from time to time, you’ll see some real design brilliance. Most of these new works are coming from Italy, Spain and South America. Very few Americans seem to be participating in these exhibits.

Here’s a few links to poster exhibits I like.

The hurricane poster project

Comunidad Cartel

Design Vs. POVERTY

Check out my poster for the Design Vs. POVERTY exhibition and let me know what you think.

Let’s give case studies a rest

2010-05-21T12:28:00.009-05:00

In the communications design business, it is understood that a firm without a mountain of flawless case studies is missing a critical business development tool. But let’s be real. Even the most successful outcomes go through some ugly stuff that no one in their right mind would ever consider putting in a formal case study. The question is, do clients really believe a case study written by the creators of the case? I suspect not. No more than potential clients believe the recommendations on my LinkedIn page written by my friends at my request. So from now on, if a prospect asks me for a case study, I will send them to my clients for that information.

Eye to eye

2010-03-29T08:01:00.006-05:00

Just published “Eye to Eye”, a 30 year-retrospective of posters designed by the Lidji Design Office. Over the next few days, I will post some of the pieces from the book.

While I was working on a poster for a joint meeting of the Dallas Society of Visual Communications and the American Society of Magazine Photographers, photographer Steven Wilkes sent me this remarkable image looking down into the mouth of an angry volcano. The volcano is amazing, but more interesting to me was the secondary image of a fiery eye peering out from inside the earth. Dividing the poster in half and echoing that image in the text below revealed how the two clubs, one for photographers and the other for designers, were inherently interdependant and now coming together as one.

Hoping to uncover unintended connections, I ordered this book at random. But I couldn’t resist consciously placing this poster first. After all, the book is called “Eye to Eye.”

ArtHouse homes, Best builder in Dallas

2010-03-23T20:25:00.005-05:00

My friend Mark Albert designs and builds modern homes on spec. Courageous? I’d say so. And after only a few years in the business his homes have garnered D magazines “Best builder in Dallas” award. ArtHouse homes are lovingly crafted and meticulously detailed and really make the neighborhoods look great. Here’s the ad we did for him.

Bat guana and beautiful women

2010-03-23T16:31:00.006-05:00

Just completed the photo shoot for the Fall 2010 Collection for Double D Ranch. My rule of thumb is, give me beautiful women, great clothes and a great photographer and we can shoot it in the city dump and it will look great. In this case, we shot in a 100 year-old bat infested abandoned opera house in Yoakum, Texas. My rule holds. Alan Foreman was the photographer and did a great job under miserable conditions.

Should grown men draw silly pictures?

2009-08-09T15:57:00.009-05:00

In my college life drawing classes, my instructors favorite assignment was draw against the clock. “You have three minutes to complete this drawing. Go!”

When my brother-in-law, an accomplished musician and singer, created a new stage persona, I thought this might be a good time to do a poster, old school, with a pen and ink and a stopwatch.

Introducing Shay Thibideaux, a.k.a. Chaya Tinterow. Time from concept to pdf: 1 hour 24 minutes. Still a little rusty, I think.

Max Levy’s architecture speaks volumes with less

2009-07-05T15:51:00.000-05:00

Max Levy’s first website went live on July 4th, 2009. It is a site that demonstrates the power of less. Max’s determination to achieve clarity through simplicity is evident in everything he does. This site is no exception. Please take a moment and look through this amazing collection of architecture.

Bernbaum Magadini sounds the design alarm

2009-07-05T11:00:00.000-05:00

Our office created this logo as part of a program to leverage and expand the experience of Dallas architects Bernbaum Magadini into Fire Station Architecture. The program included micro website, trade show video and brand identity materials. Inspiration for the logo came from the rich history of fire house and fire engine graphics.

Synergy from Syniverse Technologies

2009-07-05T10:39:00.000-05:00

Our office has designed and produced Synergy for Syniverse Technologies in Tampa Florida for a number of years. Here are a few spreads from this elegant mini-magazine designed to inform clients and employees around the world of the technology innovations that Syniverse provides to the telecommunications industry.

Special thanks to Diane Rose, Cissy Wong and Bobby Eagle for their efforts in gathering, editing and producing this neat publication.

If you could live in art, why not?

2009-07-05T09:38:00.000-05:00

It takes courage to build spec modern homes in Dallas in this economy. But Mark Albert succeeds where other would fail. His company, ArtHouse Homes debuted a beautiful new home by Domiteaux Architects recently. The logo and yard sign we created for him, gave a unique opportunity for the open house invitation (shown in the center).

Follow the money

2009-07-05T09:30:00.000-05:00

Financial benchmarking for the healthcare industry is not the most fascinating subject one could imagine. These Intellimarker book covers turned a dry and lifeless subject into intelligent word /picture puzzles. Chad Coben’s InforMed Healthcare Media company always let a good idea live.

Hot Dog!

2009-07-04T16:01:00.000-05:00

Our office just completed this identity for El Cayote Rojo, a new Mexican Cantina and Grill coming soon to the Dallas area. Program includes logo, menu, website, and promotional materials. Expected opening September 2009.

80 years in the corner

2009-03-31T06:21:00.000-05:00

For more than 80 years, Tiffany & Co. has occupied the page 3, upper right hand corner ad position in the New York Times. A commitment that has paid a handsome brand equity for the 172 year old company. Tiffany has become a commonly used word for the best quality that a product can attain and they own a unique shade of the color turquoise.

So, when I read recently that Tiffany profits were down 75% in the fourth quarter and luxury shoppers were more and more hesitant to carry high-end retail packaging on the street, I thought it wouldn’t be long before Tiffany canceled their coveted position in the Times and join the ranks of other marketers willing to throw their brand in the trash while the economy languishes.

They have not.

Tell the whole story in 5 words or less.

2009-03-26T08:21:00.000-05:00

For 30 years my neighborhood garage, Merriman Park Automotive, had been completely hidden from customer view, set back nearly 100 yards from the street. After many invisible years, they decided to construct a major 14'x48' billboard at the entrance in hopes that their awareness would increase. The board had excellent visibility from as far as a half mile away in two directions. After a year of the billboard’s presence (see example above left), I stopped in one day and casually asked if their business had increased as a result of the billboard. In unison, the entire crew exclaimed, “Not at all!”

I suggested that we do something that might attract a bit more attention (see example above right). They were baffled as to what could be more attractive than what they had done but reluctantly agreed to put up my sign anyway.

After a few months I stopped in to see if anything had changed in their business as a result of my idea. They said that “nothing had changed for the past three months.” My heart sank. “But, they continued, last week 8 new customers came in because they said they saw the sign and never knew they were there before.”

Disaster averted.

Cheerios introduces unique barber school promotion

2009-03-24T18:28:00.000-05:00

Let me begin by saying I did not make this up. It really is a free haircut promotion on the front of the Cheerios box.

What the *%$#&* were they thinking! Maybe, make the most of your cereal bowl. Who knows? But, I’ve been in enough ridiculous marketing planning meetings to know that any idea can become genius if enough morons start nodding their heads.

Here’s to hair in your cereal bowl!

One more thing before we put this to bed.

2009-03-24T07:24:00.000-05:00

In todays New York Times comes yet another story about Shepard Fairey’s Obama Hope poster. In this account, the reference photo that was the starting point for Fairey’s poster is now, itself, elevated to fine art status. Hanging next to the now infamous Hope poster in the Chelsea Gallery is Mannie Garcia’s photo that started it all. And for $1200, a print could be yours.

As a graphic designer, the Hope poster phenom is fascinating. We human beings are unique organisms able to abstract complex ideas into visual symbols that can be imbued with great value. Sometimes it’s social value, sometimes political, sometimes religious, ad nauseum. When that symbol connects with its audience, its power can be titanic.

In the mid-80’s, instead of heading off to Wall Street, Obama began his political career as a community organizer in Chicago rallying students against President Reagan’s then attempt to reduce government aid to disadvantaged college students. It was hard work based in the streets. An experience that clearly shaped our new president’s political values.

Fairey began his career in much the same way. Instead of heading off to a prestigious international design firm, for which he could have done based on his raw talent, Fairey headed for the streets. He created a character based on Andre the giant, called it “Obey’ and proceeded to tag the earth with variations on the “Obey” theme. Each of his executions imbued with the spirit and symbolism that makes quality grass roots movements so exciting.

Fast forward to the election of 2008. You know the story. Obama did not commission the original poster. In an almost mystical and, I think, coincidental way, his people saw it and re-commissioned another version of the same poster. Ultimately, Obama makes the phone call personally to Fairey thanking him for his work and expressing how accurately it portrayed the arc of his campaign. From one community organizer to another.

Image created. Enduring symbol established. Artist, subject and audience connected. Case closed.

All graphic design should work so well.

When print outperforms the web

2009-03-21T17:12:00.000-05:00

If you are an art director, this will not be news. So, bear with me.

Let’s say you need a photo of chimp directing traffic. With a click of a button, I can unleash a torrent of images all conforming to the search attributes “monkey directing traffic“. Some good some, well, not so much. Probably none of them that cost more than $300, royalty-free. Photographer: anonymous. Job done.

But try doing a search for “beautiful photographer’s images with their names exquisitely printed in a lovely little book” and you will not get what I just got in the mail.

atedge microview22

I think I’ll keep it.

Kick tires, not ads

2009-03-21T13:45:00.000-05:00

My dear friend and adman extraordinaire Allan Rosenberg, may he rest in peace, used to ask his unsuspecting clients, “Did you notice how many tire ads were in the paper today?” “Of course not”, they would always say. “That’s because you’re not shopping for tires today”, would be his standard reply.

The wisdom of that remark is simple and profound. If you sell tires for a living, you better have an ad for tires somewhere everyday. Because everyday someone, somewhere blows a tire then immediately starts looking for good deals on tires.

Of course today, finding the right place for your tire ad becomes a daunting task. web, radio, newspaper, cable TV, tire spam. But the truth remains. If your tire customer doesn’t know you are there with tires to sell, you are probably not going to sell any tires.

Walk. On Us.

2009-03-20T17:17:00.000-05:00

This is the kind of brilliant marketing thinking that happens when your life is at stake. Johnston & Murphy’s recent promotion offers those men who have always wished they could wear a new pair of shoes for a few days before they buy them, the chance to do so. That’s right! Wear these shoes for 10 days, if you don’t like them, bring them back!

I love the idea. But not the ad. It’s too slow and doesn’t express this great promotional idea simply or quickly enough.

So I slightly re-wrote it.

Better?

Marketing has always meant dinnertime

2009-03-19T12:28:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, my mom never went grocery shopping. She went marketing. At the market. To buy stuff to eat. So we would grow up strong and take care of ourselves.

But today it seems like the eating part of the business of marketing has gone out the window. Now it means unnecessary corporate spending, flash, sizzle and endless meetings about how little to spend to achieve impossible objectives. And its always the first place to cut when sales go down.

The job would be more accurately named CGO-Chief Grocery Officer rather than CMO-Chief Marketing Officer. Then, when top management slashes the marketing budget, they may remember that they’re cutting out the corporate groceries.

What do you think?

What now?

2009-03-19T09:51:00.000-05:00

Recently, a good friend and client started a new business under the unusual name, What Now?. She is a talented designer with many successful ventures under her belt. It was not as though she was just starting out on her own for the first time. But the name struck me, at first, to be quite strange. As a branding professional, I immediately went into analysis mode. I asked myself, “What is she trying to say and to who is she trying to say it to.” It seemed a bit defeatist. Maybe too dark. But clearly, it was a response to the surreal business environment we all find ourselves in today.

But then it occurred to me, what if “What Now?” did not have a question mark at the end. Suddenly, the name presented a totally new set of options for its potential meaning. It was hopeful and innovative, while at the same time, acknowledging this reality of economic uncertainty.

The more I thought about it, the more I liked what it meant. And how I could use it as a way to re-think my own business and WHAT I was going to do NOW.