If you are not already aware, we here at Brio are proud supports of Hear and Say. It is an honour for all of us here to be sponsors of Rhylee, who last year through the help of our donation, was given the gift of a cochlear implant. This of course was all made possible by the wonderful organisation, Hear and Say.

Hear and Say is one of the leading non-profit Paediatric Auditory-Verbal and cochlear implant centres in the world. Since 1992 the Centre has taught children who are deaf or hearing impaired to listen and speak.

In this time they have seen incredible growth in the numbers of children and families that come through their programs. As the numbers grow each year, the current Hear and Say Centre location in Brisbane is reaching full capacity and the team want to help as many as they can. Looking to the future and thinking big are key ideas that Hear and Say live by. With this in mind they decided that to keep up with the growth, they needed a new premises to support them now, and into the future. Thus came about the ‘Project Possibility: Under Construction’. With new premises found and purchased, their aim now, is to raise the funds needed to build their dream Centre.

Through our relationship with Hear and Say it’s exciting to see their ideas for the future grow and become a reality. At the same time, it has been fun to work on the look and feel of this booklet which aims to inform who Hear and Say are, what they do, their dreams for the future and how you can help them reach their goals (see image samples above). Our aim was to develop the branding of Hear and Say to be fun and inspiring, because that is what the experience is to be a part of Hear and Say. Whether this experience is as a child and their family within the program, a team member of Hear and Say, or the experience of being a sponsor, it is inspiring and amazing.

So as we have done, we encourage you to help Hear and Say build a future that helps give the gift of speech and sound to so many, by donating here.

Yours in honour of giving,
Dawn

So here goes, my top ‘thinking outside the box’ inspired business cards.

Tam Cargo: A quirky play on a card that turns into a box. After all the cargo they transfer predominately goes in a box.

Poul Nielsen: Again, another quirky card that has you working out, to see that this card is from a personal trainer. He’s got you working before you even book a session.

DJ Mohit: An entertaining card you have fun with, by rotating the record, to read the info. A fun way of giving a client the thrill of being a DJ on paper, while demonstrating simply what the person does.

Ricky Richards: A UK Graphic Designer developed business cards that looked like £20 and left them lying on the streets, with a fun message on the fact that he was sorry it wasn’t £20, but if you hired him you may find some extra cash in your pockets. I love this concept of grabbing the attention of an unintended audience and having people you would probably never meet, pick up a card and become a potential client.

Another Bloomin’ Designer: Jamie Wieck treats its recipient to an extra feature you do not expect from business cards…life! Simply soak the bottom of the card, wait four days and you get cool green! The card works as a miniature house-plant, growing alfalfa or cress when dipped in water.

Broke Bike Alley: One way to grab peoples attention is to give them something for free. This card has been designed as a multifaceted tuning tool, and wouldn’t you be more likely to call up for any serious damage from these guys, if you had their card.

I think the lesson here is sometimes, trying to create something outside the box, instead of the plain 55mm x 90mm card can be more fun, show innovation and get you more attention. Maybe next time you’re thinking of getting a business card or promotional item done, it’s time to think how you can get noticed or in honour of shameless advertising you can meet up with our team here at Brio Group, to help with some inspired ideas.

Yours in thinking outside the box
Dawn

From over 15,000 submission from more than 190 countries, people have chosen a winner, Serbian designer Predrag Stakic. The first ever logo for Human Rights, is an open source product, free to be used by everyone, everywhere – for the purpose of promoting and protecting Human Rights.

As citizens around the world protest and make sacrifices for the ideals, they will have one new tool in their arsenal, a symbol that demands human rights for everyone, in every language.

To find out more: http://www.mail.com/cinema-for-peace/714052-human-rights-logo-unveiled-york.html#.684496-stage-teaser1-1
View the submissions here: http://humanrightslogo.net/ideas

Dislaimer: If the logo is used for commercial purposes the user has the responsibility to ensure that no rights of third parties are compromised.

Yours in human rights,
Tanya Heading

“There have always existed disputes among the competing parties, divergent opinions, while the fans of each brand were convinced that theirs was the best product. Last, but not least, the rivals have even conducted ad campaigns against the competing brands. This project mostly approaches the visual ‘conversations’ between the company logos and the ways that they influence each other, hence the name of the project, Brandversations. It is a parallel between the modern and the old, some of the slogans dating back to the 40s and 50s.” – STEFAN ASAFTI

More Brandversations on Stefan’s Behance profile.

Yours in Brandversations,
Tanya

When building a successful brand, it’s important to understand the impact your logo will have on how you are perceived within the market, its ability to communicate, and its appeal to your target market. This doesn’t necessarily mean it has to say or look like the product or service you are marketing.

Looking at the major brands like Pepsi, Ford, Nike and Canon, it seems the common saying still rings true: keep it simple. Apple learnt this the hard way when they first launched in 1976. Their intricate logo failed to impress their target market, and failed to communicate clearly. So they employed Rob Janoff to simplify it to the iconic apple symbol we know and love today. This symbol has evolved to not only represent the company, but the style and quality of their products. That’s why it’s so important to do the ground work in the beginning, to make sure you hit the mark! After all, first impressions count, and can last a long time!

That’s why we love branding here at Brio Group, we get to be apart of it from the beginning, to see your brand grow into something truly special! To read more about the evolution of some famous brands, click here

Yours in branding,

Tara

It’s no surprise then, that effective cut-through communication relies on the mutual understanding of those words and their intended meaning by both sides in the communication equation – sender and receiver. We often forgot that with the rise of social media it’s not enough to simply send your message out into the world; it needs to be understood quickly so it can be processed and acted upon even quicker.

I saw a video recently of a homeless man on the street, his sign saying “PLEASE HELP, I’M BLIND”. He had a few people stopping by and giving money, but nothing that would greatly ease his suffering. He had the right message, but the wrong words to create action in his audience.  His message wasn’t cutting through all the other market place noise.

The clip continues as a professional woman comes into shot. She pauses, picks up his sign. You see her hastily writing something, but you’re unsure what. The homeless man touches her shoes as she puts the sign back into position beside him. The scene changes and more donations are being given to help, the homeless man scrambling to capture all coins in his tin. The professional woman returns after some time and the homeless man recognises her by her shoes, which he’s felt again. He asks with genuine sincerity and appreciation, what did she do to his sign and her reply? “I wrote the same, with different words”.

She used the right words, in the right context to create cut-through communication and connection between sender and receiver, and the effect in this demonstration was profound. Imagine if all your communication was received this way.

Brio Group can help you find the right words to achieve cut-through communication in the busiest of marketplaces. We also offer helpful hints on writing better Press Releases, creating copy for your ads and understanding the rapidly growing business benefits of social media.

Yours in 355 specifically chosen words,

Sheri

When I do attend, I often gaze with so much admiration you could be forgiven for thinking I’d just met the love of my life and couldn’t take my eyes off them. I watch patiently, carefully putting together next season’s wardrobe in my mind, vowing to track down the items as soon as they’re released for public consumption. I’m pretty sure I even think at some point while in my fashion trance “I should design clothing for a living”, but then the lights come on and I’m awoken to the fact that I may never find, let alone own some of the beautiful designs I’d just witness sashaying before me. What I do own, however is the experience created by the brand, and that brand memory will be mine forever.

My most recent brand “memory acquisition” is from Burberry. Burberry is a historically British luxury brand whose clothing is unsuitable to the harsh Australian climate (for me) and is too much at odds with my current clothing cycle. However they delivered such an unforgettable brand experience with their recent Beijing Fashion show that I’m now looking at their website, “Liking” them on Facebook and finding them on Twitter – I’m a fan with a huge crush on their April Showers showcase.

So how did they blow my brandless cotton socks off?

Like Lynx who stepped outside the box with their technology-born vixens who fell to earth in London’s Victoria Station, Burberry elevated the catwalk experience with their most fashionably dressed catwalk models bursting into snowflakes (amongst other things) at the Beijing Fashion show, adding a touch of magic, personality and interactivity through new technology to their fashion show experience.

This unique twist on the standard catwalk show has created a fresh perception of the brand, in my eyes at least, and inspired my thinking on ways to use technology to create greater interactivity between brands and potential consumers in upcoming campaigns.

Yours in all forms of intertwining design,

Sheri

PS. As it’s ANZAC day please take a moment to pause and reflect on those who sacrificed so much to give us the lives we have now.

With this in mind I’d like to introduce Gary Vaynerchuk, who is a perfect example of how engaging consumers (or simply those who share your passions) can lead to brand success.

In 2006, Gary Vaynerchuk created WineLibrary.com, and as part of that The Thunder Show was born – which is part wine advice, part sport commentary and all exuberant personality and passion. He also began searching for ways to engage with people who shared his passions, but  this was all outside of his role running a million dollar wine business. What set him apart was that instead of simply communicating to his audiences, he engaged with them by answering questions and providing instant information. These people in turn began following his online programs, comments and posts, all without prompting by Gary.

So what did he do differently to gain this organic following? Gary cared. He cared enough to cultivate relationships the old fashioned way – by listening, responding and not plugging his services to get something back. He communicated in a real and meaningful way – not simply dictating information to yield a sales result.

Through sharing his passion, Gary has morphed into a social media guru, dispersing priceless advice on the significance of online engagement and more importantly the power of The Thank You Economy. Now, I could explain what it’s all about, but part of Gary’s brilliance is the passion he exudes when discussing the topic.

Viewer advisory: This program contains explicit language

Yours in social media for business,

Sheri

So when I came across Illamasqua’s Autumn 2011 collection called Toxic Nature, on a blog today (make-up lovers can read about the collection here), and saw the amazing collection’s accompanying advertising campaign, I sat up … and squealed with delight!

Not only is the makeup collection great, but the new ad campaign is TO DIE FOR! Finally! A make-up campaign that makes you think about what else you can do with makeup other than a nude lip and a smokey eye! Yes, unlike the stock-standard makeup advertisement would have you believe, the possibilities to makeup are endless, and it excites me that Illamasqua (a relatively new brand on Australian shores) has decided to showcase its amazing products in and amazing way that allows each product in the collection to shine … oh and the ads are just beautifully art directed; feast your eyes on these:

(Images via The Lip Print)

The campaign reminds me of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, however a much grittier and grown up Alice, and suits the name of the collection, Toxic Nature, and Illamasqua’s tagline “make-up for your alter-ego” perfectly. I am impressed. It’s about time make-up advertising got interesting! Now let’s see if the other leading brands take note!

Yours in advertising,

…Paul

Influenced by Lee’s original blog about fractals, I started to think about how fractals can be used for brands. I came to the conclusion that fractals are a good paradigm / framework to model your brand.

The definition of a fractal according to Hyperdictionary is:

A rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a smaller copy of the whole. Fractals are generally self-similar (bits look like the whole) and independent of scale (they look similar, no matter how close you zoom in).

If a brand is the total experience you get from interacting with a product or company, then a good brand will emanate a consistent message or culture both internally and externally. By taking a fractal point of view when creating a brand, we can design total experiences where all aspects, large and small, reinforce each other.

If your brand is a fractal, then any interaction with part of the brand will reflect the interaction with every other part of the brand, as well as the complete brand itself.

An example of a fractal brand is Apple.

As a whole, the Apple brand exudes a culture of lifestyle, imagination, innovation, quality, aspirations and empowerment through technology. Apple is a successful brand because they maintain this culture at all contact points. Their TVCs stimulate the imagination and promote the liberation found in their innovative products; the interior design of their stores give the feeling of quality and usability, as does their website; the staff are knowledgable and continue the theme of empowerment as they cheer for you when you’ve bought a product.

Is your brand a fractal? Look at ways to integrate all aspects of your brand, from your logo design through to how the phone is answered.

Yours in fractals,
Anya

(Image courtesy of Julia Map)