OK, so I’ve been exaggerating. Not all of your readers are nuts… but they sure have a knack of tangling themselves up in knots when it comes to research. Read the rest of this entry »
help! can you solve this reader research riddle?
August 29th, 2008Jann fires his ad manager
August 28th, 2008
Jann Wenner, owner and publisher of Rolling Stone, has just fired his ad manager (they’re called publishers in the states) He’s obviously decided that the poor guy is solely responsible for the downturn in the American economy that has seen Rolling Stone shed 20% of its ad revenue this year. That said, with the move to a new, smaller format reported here several days ago, Jann may well know more than we think. As usual. (Thanks to Dave Langan for the link)http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=130586
Soft drink or soft porn?
August 28th, 2008
The latest television advert for Orangina is causing quite a stir. As to be expected the ASA have received a lot of complaints about this rather provocative London Zoo meets Spearmint Rhino creative. I guess they’re going for that old adage of sex sells. But is it doing it for you?
No, honestly, your readers really are nuts!
August 28th, 2008Subsequent to yesterday’s post about reader research, the black art of interpretation and the invention of the “hygiene factor”, I thought you might like to know that research companies have developed further species to explain the frankly inexplicable. Read the rest of this entry »
Font of the day… Johnny script
August 27th, 2008
Ever had the problem of finding that perfect ‘hand written font’? Trying to find one that is both legible and elegant ain’t easy - we have this problem everytime we develop a mag here at NPD. However, recently whilst developing Woman’s Weekly we discovered this little gem - Johnny Script - it’s got that wonderful handwritten look AND it’s legible. We stuck a slight stroke on it to fatten it up and skewed it a few degrees to hurry it up a bit. Check it out now on the pages of WW.
All readers are nuts!
August 27th, 2008One of the great things about working in NPD is that I am privileged to attend a great many research groups.
Now, granted, there is very little more rewarding or enjoyable than sitting down in a room listening to your readers/users discussing your brand, but there are odd occasions when the process can be… well, shall we say frustrating? Read the rest of this entry »
Behind the scenes at Rolling Stone
August 22nd, 2008
Here’s Rolling Stone’s LEGENDARY Photo Director Jodi Peckman, pictured with Obama, at their recent Rolling Stone cover shoot. The cover is amazing, and can be seen in the post just prior to this. I met with Jodi in New York recently, and she explained to me how the shoot came about Read the rest of this entry »
Rolling Stone to change size
August 21st, 2008
So, after 40 odd years The Rolling Stone is reducing to a ‘rack-friendly’ size. Read the full story here
Font of the day… Antenna
August 21st, 2008
…okay, so it’ll probably end up being font of the month due to lack of time, but I’ll do my best. Anyhow check out this baby - Antenna - from Fontbureau. It has that very trendy look about it, a bit like Gotham and Proxima. I don’t know which mag it could be used on here at IPC, but it’s ready and waiting. Do you like it? Comments please.
It’s ugly, but it gets you there.
August 21st, 2008
Its a web designer’s conundrum. That despite our best efforts some of the sites that are the most popular don’t appear to have a strong visual design. Some people might say they are ugly. It is a balancing act that is one of the great skills of visual design on the web. Usability, Information architecture and visual design all need to work together. Read the rest of this entry »