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:

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.

9/11/11 is past us, and I am sure we are all a bit relieved as it is not a joyful day in any means, and it comes with many hurtful memories atop of fears of repeat attacks. When flipping through the great New York Times memorial issue, I paused to reflect on the way brands chose to walk the very delicate line of mixing honest sympathy with a hint of marketing message – all the way to a blunt in-your-face sales message hidden inside the memorial post. Here is a selection of the ones that grabbed my attention the most:

conEdison hit the mark. A beautiful image that speaks a thousand words without adding one single word to the design. Most remarkably though, it shows the power of conEdison’s work, providing NYC with electricity.

Lockheed Martin plays it safe, which is not a bad idea given the context. Kudos for not including a logo, it makes the insertion less of an ad and more of an honest and heartfelt statement.

Beautiful in its simplicity, yet it can be seen as taking a political side, which makes it edgier than at first glance and might evoke emotions past the fine line other brands are willing to walk.

We remember…to set up an appointment. The rock bottom. One of the times were no exposure might have been a better exposure.

Google Docs snuck up on me like Rickey Henderson on speed skates. There was no getting-to-know-you period, it was like, “Pleased to make your acquaintance, now will you marry me?” I said “yes.”

Here are 3 reasons why Google Docs. makes my work day a breeze:

1. Unassailable amounts of feedback

One of our clients has about sixty people giving us feedback on a website project. That’s right, I said sixty. No project manager I know of wants to aggregate that kind of feedback into one cohesive voice so a developer can take action. So we use Google Forms.

Every time we release a URL for our client to provide feedback, I create a new form that is skewed to the kind of feedback we need to receive. If we’re not taking any copy edits at this stage in the project, I make sure to use short text fields. If we only want functionality feedback, but no design feedback, I ask them to qualify their comments with a drop-down menu that only offers choices pertinent to functionality.

Then I watch my spreadsheet fill up with targeted, useful feedback all in one spot. To avoid getting duplicate feedback from different reviewers, I assign sections of the website to separate people. They feel like their workload is minimized, and everyone still gets a voice. The project manager on the client side thinks I am a genius because he has to do exactly nothing. Thanks Google Docs.

How does this affect the end product with so many cooks in the kitchen? You might think the site is “built by committee”, but we’ve found that using a form addresses this particular client’s need that each voice be heard. The finished product includes each reviewer’s thoughts and this reflects perfectly on their culture and ultimately their brand.

2.Unruly and elusive content

Maybe I baby our clients too much, but when left to their own devices, they wreak havoc on content organization. I get emails that refer me to other emails that refer me to people who refer me to where to locate assets. This I cannot abide. So I use Google Spreadsheets.

When we’re building a site with lots of assets, like downloads or webinars, I create a spreadsheet for the client that lists the assets we’ll need. I add columns for them to plug in the name of the page or the url where the assets should go, a column for them to link to where the asset can be downloaded, and a notes column. Then I sling the spreadsheet over to them via a link or a share and let them populate it. They love it. They can share the spreadsheet with other departments and pretty soon all my assets are in one place. I then make a few little notes and loop in the developers, and off they go.

What do we do when the client has an asset that has to be delivered as a file? I dunno yet. The day my clients can upload files to a Google Form or Spreadsheet, I’ll crack a beer at lunch.

3. No one deserves an email inbox that is in constant motion because new messages keep booping in

Google Spreadsheets keep the noise turned down to a sufferable level. Our clients and our development team can stay in touch with what’s coming next in our project by looking at the spreadsheet. No query email needed, no reply from me needed. They can tap into the latest project news online and stay just as updated as I am. I can also see if a developer is logged into the sheet and send a quick  IM to give them bits of info. Keeps my inbox quiet, keeps the project managed.

So far, the marriage is going swimmingly. Since all my stuff is online, if I get all OCD I can even check on my projects from home in the middle of the night. And in the end, that’s why I married my project management practice to Google Docs in the first place, I just wanted a project management tool that would be there for me always.

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.

I spent 3 days in Orlando last week, at the annual celebration of ‘Champions’, a program that honors remarkable children who have triumphed despite severe medical challenges. G&Co client, CO-OP Financial Services, invited me to learn about the cause that CO-OP is so heavily backing through various generous programs (CO-OP donates almost $2 million annually), and to start the conversation of Geyrhalter & Co doing pro-bono work for this special cause.

Sam (2010 Texas Champion, Age 15) gave us an insight into his fight against Hereditary Dystonia during one of our Credit Unions For Kids meetings.

It was during this event that I saw men cry; a presenter on stage in the spot light stopped talking for a minute, fighting tears, guys in suits leaving the room, my Young Leaders For Kids colleague who sat next to me, and last but not least, myself. During the awards ceremony for the kids champions, you start associating faces and families with the stories you hear, and all the fund raising business suddenly becomes very personal. And when the mother of MacKenzie walks out to accept the award on MacKenzie’s behalf as you learn that she has passed away October 19th, there is absolutely no reason to hold your tears. And you start to question your priorities, to say the least.

Since 1996, the Credit Unions For Kids program has generated more than $75 million for children’s hospitals, and we are thrilled to have offered our services to create a web site for this important program in order to create visibility and to make it easier for Credit Unions, and their members, to make donations so that more funds can be raised, and more kids’ lives can be saved. Miraculously.

You can learn more about Sam, pictured above, via his blog. And if you, just like us, feel moved by this cause, please take this moment and make a donation.

Why is it that the more prestigious the design competition, the more it costs to enter?

Prices for a single entry can be around $120. But once you are selected to either receive an award, or be published in the awards annual, which after all is part of the exercise, there will be an additional fee of $280 – $400. And that is for just one single entry.

Sure, we play along. Sometimes. As we see fit, and for projects we feel deserve to be honored. But we too draw the line.

Let’s not forget that we are an agency, we have a PR budget and cash flow. How about all the students, freelancers, micro design firms, nonprofits and other entities that may have the big, creative, genius ideas that we should all be drooling over? The ideas that really look different because they come from folks that may not have ‘corporate’ breathing down their necks, or they do it for free, out of passion and just for fun? Isn’t that often when truly great ideas happen? They will never be in any of the ‘big’ award books showcasing the best, the brightest and most amazing ideas. The books that design students get for christmas, that turn into their text books of what they ought to measure their own creativity with, are lacking to showcase just that, the unconditionally best creative endeavours.

Like with any business, a contest revolves around having a budget. The more prestigious, the more funding it requires to produce the top quality books and award statues, to get the great judges, to do the office work and drum up the necessary PR. Fully understood. But in my eyes these contests should not be limiting creative entries based on an individual’s, or a small firm’s, cash on hand. Instead they should find a corporate sponsor that wants to be seen as a forward-thinking-creative-problem-solving-type (Hmmm, not sure I can name a single one of those?) and eliminate the entry fees.

May the true talent win…and give the sponsor a shot at creative bliss while you’re at it.

Glued to the book, I intuitively used the ticket stub as my bookmark and as Mr. Jarrett started playing, I thought of the emotional connection that bookmarks have with the time, the space, the moment in ones life when a specific book was being read. But once the book is put to sleep on the book shelf, that memory is buried, indefinitely. Quite different to a piece of music which can reach your ears unsuspectedly at a gas station, a bar, a restaurant, the car radio, yet it has the same power of almost instantly catapulting you back to a particular scene of your life. The book on the other hand is simply ‘filed away’. I thought it would be great to create a simple web site for anyone to upload their otherwise ‘bookshelved’ bookmarks. Great to have them archived, fun to share and even more fun to peruse other people’s books with their unique or fun bookmarks. Who knows, if a good number of people start using it, we might want to add social components to the site in the future.

The book I was reading, ‘Rework’, has a chapter in it that talks about not trying to produce a finished product, but rather launch it in a bare bones state. If people like it then change the good product to a perfect one (‘Launch now’, Pg 93). Good is good enough. It also declares death to procrastination (‘Start Making Something’, Pg 38). Funny as I run my company in many of the ways described in the book, and many of the others are big aspirations for this year. So here I was at an inspirational concert, an inspirational setting, reading an inspirational book and I had a quick idea.

The next day I showed a napkin sketch of the site to my team and I asked them if they felt it was a good idea. They agreed. I handed it over to our new developer, Tyler, to develop such site in a couple of days time. Sure it took a month, but he was busy on client work and becoming a dad in between, so we estimate his time on the project was less then 4 business days, combined with my input. Technical specs were communicated via IM on the fly until it felt right, and the design did not involve any of our designers (both approaches are usually against our company process when working with clients). It was quick, easy and most importantly fun and very fulfilling for everyone at Geyrhalter Design.

So if you get a chance, read Rework. If you have 5 minutes, look for your hidden bookmarks and add to the collection. And if you have an idea, just go for it. You don’t want to be like everybody else that says ‘I had that idea years ago, I can’t believe these guys did it before me’, because having an idea or transforming a thought into an action are two very different things.