We are looking for talent. High-caliber senior level design talent, and it is not an easy task. We spent over $500 on posting the job to some of the best industry sites and have received over 200 replies within 48 hours. I took on the task of reviewing the replies myself, I wanted to get a feel for the market. I taught a Portfolio class at Art Center College of Design last term, and I hold lectures to soon-to-be graduates about the ‘real world’, so I wanted to feel that world and also see if it has changed given the current economy crisis.

The shocking truth is that I had to delete 95% of all applicants based on everything BUT their talent. E-mails had crazy large attachments (28MB files anyone?), they started with the greeting of ‘Hey’, some did not have a url or any samples attached so there was not even a way to review work, but most had too many typos for comfort. One even managed to put in a ‘competitor’s’ company name in front of ours - he must have sent mass mailings out and screwed up when trying to personalize it.

How can professional designers who are in the market of creating corporate identities, not be aware that they themselves are a brand. And in these 95%, the brand loyalty has been lost even  before there was a chance given to gain it. Take a job market that is extremely competetive, an economy that is in the slump, a profession that seeks extreme perfectionists and pair it with the design generation that is applying and I start questioning not only the public school system, but some of the most respected, and pricey, private colleges. Change is needed, and I will be voicing it in every single class i will teach, and I will tell soon-to-be design graduates what they can NOT expect with such behaviour: A job.

I am sure by now everyone read about how Nine Inch Nails released their latest album/CD/MP3-set á la Radiohead. What really strikes me, and i have not seen that done so far, is that each of the 36 songs has its own ‘record cover’ assigned to it in iTunes. A creative photograph that matches the emotions triggered by the particular piece, which helps tremendously, especially since it is an instrumental album. It gives me hope after still mourning the days where the album or CD cover was a big part of the purchasing process, and together with the booklet, a big part of the all-around brand atmosphere that each artist created by releasing a new album.

About time you may say. Welcome to web 2.0 - Geyrhalter Design, where have you been? Well, to answer your question, and to bring my first message to the point, why say something when there is nothing to be said. That’s why we did not have a Geyrhalter Design blog. Now things have changed, with a re-packaging of my agency on its way, and with the official introduction of the term ‘Brand Atmospheres’, there is a lot to think about, even more to talk about and it’s definitely time to start a conversation with you.

So what does ‘Brand Atmospheres’ mean, and what is its relevance to Geyrhalter Design, or even more importantly, to you?

I came up with the term (although we found that there is a german architecture and media agency by the name ‘brand atmosphere’ as well as a portugese ‘brand atmosphere designer’ who uses the term to speak about an identity’s expansion into spacial projects) to bring the focus of Geyrhalter design to a point:

We create identities and transform them into brands. In the process we create everything surrounding the Identity, the design of all printed communications and the design and coding of an online presence. And anything that falls in between, or on top of it. May it be packaging, a trade show, an annual report, or just an online newsletter design, it all plays an important part in the overall success of a visual brand. That’s what we call designing brand atmospheres, and that’s what we follow closely by managing every part of a clients’ visual identity. Above is one of many Illustrations we created to visualize ‘Brand Atmospheres’. It will not be the final stop in that process, that’s for sure.

Since the term, as well as our focus on it, is new to you as well as ourselves, I will take this blog as a platform to showcase ‘brand atmospheres’ that we create as well as good and bad industry examples that fall into that sujet. I will also share inspirations and sometimes hand the mike over to members of my team and other thought leaders that we connect with.

Enjoy, participate and keep coming back as this is the substitute of the beloved ‘GD Newsletter’ and we hope that you will enjoy the change. We will add more features over time to make it easier for you to subscribe and to stay connected.

Best,

Fabian