When we first presented our proposed new identity design of Co-opportunity Natural Foods to Marketing Director Ricardo Chavira, he noted ‘this logo has legs.’ True to his predictions, we are thrilled to see that our design was painstakingly re-created for a video initiative using actual fruits and vegetables. If a logo has legs a brand can go a long way…

Over the past few months I have been back on Art Center College of Design’s campus in a role that was different from student, alumni or even adjunct professor. This time I was on the client’s side as I have connected Geyrhalter & Company’s client Goodwill of Orange County with Art Center’s amazing Design Matters Department handing the recently developed retail enhancement campaign over to five groups of talented students to take their lifestyle upcycle spin on it. You can now learn more about this creative collaboration on Art Center’s web site.

Catering to cats as well as dogs while entering a highly saturated market of lowbrow vans polluting the streets of Los Angeles (visually as well as figuratively), we knew the brand identity needed to shake things up with a dash of unexpected color and a fun, memorable and unique name. And of course it had to be damn cute, without that grooming kitsch with which we are all too familiar. G&Co also crafted the tongue-in-cheek tag line ‘Happiness is a pampered pet‘

Be the first to meet YelloUmbrello. No, you can’t take it home…yet.

For a great lesson on how to immediately connect with your audience (and audiences captured via immediate viral spread), watch this video. I took it with my iPhone at the concert of the legendary band James at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles last night. In a strategy that became a staple of the band’s entrance to their own concerts, the lead singer, sometimes accompanied by the band, starts the show in midst of the crowd (Figure A), slowly making his way onto the stage (Figure B, for your convenience), connecting with the non-die-hard fans in the back of the room, hence winning over the entire audience within the first 2 minutes of the show.

A simple move one might think, but it creates such an immediate and intimate connection with the audience that the beginning of their performance is met with such roaring response and high engagement levels, which most bands dare to enjoy during their second encore. For a large band, like James, to play incredibly tight and in perfect sync it takes effort and practice. They are a business and understand that their entrance can make the concert an immediate success, in the room as well as over the internet. Not a bad move for a band that is regarded as ’80′s’ to most non-followers. Watch the video and see how the lead singer, Tim Booth, connects with each person, how he takes time to look in their eyes and does not move on until he connects with the people who are standing in the very back of the large theater.

There is a lot a brand can learn from how James captures their target audience, but you should also keep it in mind when you prepare your next presentation to a larger audience.

All it takes is to form a deep, often personal and unconventional connection at the very beginning of the encounter. The band James knows that and it is one of the reasons they have been ‘in business’ for 30 years.

Enjoy the video and make sure to catch up with James’ music:

6 years ago Mike ‘Mouse’ McCoy approached us to create the brand identity for his production studio start up. Mouse had a very clear vision, and it was different from what Hollywood usually seeked from our firm. From day one Bandito Brothers was conceptualized to steer things up and not only to want to be different, but to actually do things differently.

Focusing solely on live action work, McCoy’s background as a motocross legend and stunt driver formed the base for Bandito Brothers to be all about action in an authentic way. No ‘Hollywood’ bogus, the Banditos set out to do the real deal and Geyrhalter’s branding work had to convey the no-gimmick aspect of the tongue-in-cheek name.

Yesterday I attended the world premiere of Act of Valor, Bandito Brothers’ unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original film making, which stars active-duty Navy SEALS. True to their brand vision from 6 years ago, Sunset Boulevard was closed with Navy SEALS falling from the sky on parachutes, while Arnold was rubbing shoulders with Keith Urban and the Navy SEALS.

The true highlight for us though was seeing this artist drawing of the 6 year old Geyrhalter designed identity opening the premiere on the vast 86′x34′ screen of the legendary Arclight Cinerama Dome.

In was the client’s unique vision, mixed with honesty, authenticity and lots of talent, which made our branding remain timeless. We did our part in it, for sure, but it reminds us once again how great branding is all about having a unique story and telling it well.

Great branding firms do not create for the past, they also just keep the present in mind when designing for the future.

Change is hard to give into, especially when it intrudes an era of historic connections with die-hard fans, but there is a larger chance that Landor’s work will in fact do what it promises to deliver, which is to turn DC Comics’ objectives into a lively, current and adjustable brand platform that is weathered for changes within DC Comics that outside spectators, like myself, can not be aware of.

Branding has a large visual component to it, but that is only a part of it. It is unfortunate though that the other parts are hidden from the public, only the client and the agency know those complex pieces of information. What is left for brand advocates (‘fans’), is to form an opinion about a visual, which is a highly objective exercise. If bundled with waving good-bye to a brand mark that is dear to their hearts, in exchange for a visual that they might not immediately connect with, it is a sure formula for fan outcry. It happens all the time. Read this fun post ‘The History of the DC Comic Logo, As Seen Through 70 Years of Internet Comments’ for some mainly fictional, yet very funny DC Comics history.

Rarely are large consumer facing re-branding projects greeted with solely smiling faces by advocates, but what is most important is that over time the majority of those brands succeed, strive and show the results that the agency is being paid for to deliver. And with Landor, who myself and my peers have a lot of respect for, given their track record, there is a more-than-good chance this will be the case for the evolution of the DC comics brand.

I am not sure if this heals the pain of disappointed fans like @jwojchi, but time surely will.

Geyrhalter & Co. has an ideal location on Main Street in Santa Monica. It’s close to the ocean which makes for a perfect lunch hour. Walk two sunny blocks to the beach, take your shoes off, and eat your lunch. A true “sandwich,” as it were.

The lunch choices in our neighborhood are plentiful. Within a few-block radius we can choose omusubi or seitan and pico de gallo or pancakes. But with too many choices comes indecision.

How to break out of the office-lunch doldrums? When my co-workers and I can’t decide where to eat, we leave the decision to a cavalier roll of the dice. This practice is aptly called, “Lunch Dice.” (The term works like the word “Google” does. Nothing sounds good today? You can “use” the Lunch Dice or, you can “lunch dice it.”)

As I am sure by now you are riveted, you’re asking, “so what happened next?” It’s pretty simple really: we posted our fave lunch places on the sides of some blank dice and around 11:45 we fish one out and let it ride.

The only rule is that you can’t overrule the dice. The dice is gospel.

Here’s how to make your own:

1. Pick up some blank dice
2. Write a different local lunch place on each side of the dice
3. Roll the dice and go

Lunch dice aren’t for everyday, though. Some days, we know we absolutely must have a carne asada burrito, and some days we just need some Me time and we don’t order lunch together. But let me tell you, some days those dice get us out of some sticky situations. We’ve even seen hilarity ensue.

It is interesting when you listen to the 80′s pop genre. The music you know, you think of as ‘amazing’ and then once you hear B-sides or tracks on full lengths that you have not been exposed to, they sound, well, dated. Or shall we say ‘cheesy’, and often plain embarrassing.

The same holds true for the record sleeve designs, as you can see in the examples below:

We see all the 80′s had to offer: The haircuts, the neon, the bad typography, the ‘wild’ angles and effects. Sadly, the same forgettable design is to be ‘heard’ on a lot of the tracks that are hidden behind those album covers.

Yet my  top two 80′s albums, Depeche Mode’s ‘Music For The Masses’ and U2′s ‘The Joshua Tree’ seem to be immune to what is going on around them, in sound as well as design sophistication.

There seems to be a formula. Timeless compositions equal timeless designs. Great artists, regardless of their background and genres know to stay away from styles and trends and like working with like minded individuals or firms. It seems that they create work solely with inspiration that comes from within, a gut instinct, driven by just one fundamental thing: a strong concept.

Looking through design annuals of the past years this thread holds true. Trends become a big wash and the only items that truly stand out are new concepts; fresh ideas that are followed through with a smart and appropriate design solution.

Designers, let’s live by this rule! And for those Entrepreneurs and Marketing Managers looking to hire an agency; this might be an important variable to consider when interviewing the agency that creates your brand atmosphere, so that come 2011, no one feels that your brand feels ‘oh so 2010′.

Now we all know how important brands are in our every day shopping routine. From chocolate to clothing, from cars to consumer electronics, in one way or another, we are all brand name oriented consumers, even if we often neglect it in public; it could be seen as being shallow.

When figuring out the taste of this wine, I was stunned on how it threw me off that I could not have the visual representation of the wine in front of me while doing so. I was at that important moment of forming an opinion and it seemed that an integral piece was not being communicated to me. It affected my emotional connection with the product. I do not know if the above average wine would have turned into a very good wine, but it did make me realize once again how life without brands and visual representations would be, it would be brand communism.

I say, indulge in consumerism, form your emotional connections, be seduced. Knowingly and with great pleasure, let that hint of lemon in your wine turn into a hint of lime.