citizenbay

Making Sense of a Digital World: The Visualisation of Data

I recently saw one of the IBM Smarter Planet ads that has the catchy title: Data Energy - Analysing Data from Energy Sources.

The core message of the ad was about harnessing data generated from energy sources to help increase organisational efficiency and seek alternative energy sources. All good stuff.

However, what particularly intrigued me was the beautiful opening shot of the ad, which showcase a feast of colour, with the voiceover announcing:

"This Is Data"

 

The ability to visualise data was a theme that I covered in a recent presentation. I was invited by those nice people at Hyper-Island to be a Guest Speaker at one of their Master Classes, and speak about 'The Anthropology of Digital'.

So after I had looked up the word anthropology, I decided to frame my talk around its four pillars - the Cultural, the Physical, Archaeology, and Linguistics. Next step was to take a swim amongst the inspirational stories, insights and threads that I could access digitally.

But where do I start? There is so much inspirational and insightful stuff out there, how can I process all the information and inspiration to help me shape my story?

Sometimes, it feels like a huge struggle to keep our heads above the deluge of data, rather than a relaxing swim. When jumping in, we soon realise it's the deep end we've jumped into, not the shallow end.

 

Which is where the visual superiority effect comes into play.

 

Visuals help convey complex issues rapidly, as this example from 1924 does:

 

One favourite of mine is the genius in the simplicity of the London Underground Map. Here is a little video I filmed at the London Transport Museum, of how the London Underground grew over the years. Fantastic.

 

 

So it makes sense that we are seeing a rise in utilisation of data visualisation to help us make sense of the world, thanks in part to the celebrated Edward Tufte and his book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.

 

 

One recent example that highlighted this trend towards Data Visualisation was the brilliant Sea Levels piece by the equally brilliant David McCandless (found in his engrossing book/blog: Information is Beautiful)

 

I am not suggesting that we give up the written word and just draw. It is that we are faced with a rising tide of data.

The visualisation of that data can be a powerful force to make us sit up and take notice...before we all drown.

 

2011 Brand Planning: An Architect's focus on the Space not the Bricks

Architects imagine, design and create buildings for society - housing, offices, public buildings and more.

Buildings take on an immense emotional importance for the individual - my flat, my house, my local school. Yet this emotional importance is equaled at a community level, where certain buildings become symbolic of the community. Such is the case with the phenomenal Casa Batllo of Barcelona, a building that tells the story of the dragon's battle with the patron saint of Catalunya, St George (Jordi).

(Source: laura padgett)

However, buildings are merely the framework within which human interaction takes place. It is the space within the building where the true experience occurs.

Hence my fascination with architecture and the architectural importance of space.

I am particularly intrigued by architects who design for the people who will inhabit the space and bring it alive, rather than architects who view the building as the end itself. Now I am sure that all architects will say they design for the people who will inhabit the space. Yet let's be serious here. I think we can all name buildings that have no soul. We know buildings that are cold. Or buildings that do not encourage positive human interaction. 

Yet we also pass through buildings that seem to do the opposite. Buildings that encourage smiles and joy. Buildings that people want to spend time in.

Buildings are like brands really.

And the architects of brands are faced with the same challenges that architects of buildings face.

Do the brand architects imagine, design and put into effect brand strategies with the product itself the focal point?

Or do they imagine, design and put into effect brand strategies that will resonate with the people who may use the product?

Brand architects need to think more about the space around the product, rather than the product itself. A focus on the people who may connect with the product rather than the product itself. Greater emphasis on the space will pay dividends

I came across a great example of a brand that is focusing on the 'Space' not the 'Bricks'.

(Thanks to Faris Jakob for this example)

A brand that responds to customer tweets with such energy and creativity is a brand that is considering the space, not the bricks. A brand that is willing to take risks to explore their relationship with their customers. 

So as I prepare to plan brand strategies for clients for next week/month/year, I am going to be thinking more about the space than ever before...within the space lies inspiration for me. Hope it does for you.

Welcome to the Sound of Fonts

When we describe the business value of Sonic Branding to clients, inevitably conversation gets round to comparing our approach to creating the sonic identity of a brand to the work involved in creating the VISUAL identity of a brand.

There is nothing more visual in the visual identity of a brand than the font. And I love fonts.

Be they the classics like:

ones used on album covers:

even a musician’s own hand-writing:

(found here if you want to contact them Morrissey) 

I recently came across this fantastic offering by those clever people at typeradio, a radio channel on type and design, based out of Den Haag. I recently listened to a insightful discussion they had with Phil Baines. Typeradio’s position is simple:

Type is speech on paper. Typeradio is speech on type.

The Sound of fonts. lovely. 

curious thought

Font, like marketing generally, is primarily filtered through the visual sense. How much of the marketing is filtered through the other senses?

Be inspired by Road Signs...

Fascinating interview on Top Gear with Margaret Calvert, the lady who designed the road signs of Britain along with Jock Kinneir. Her main aim was to focus on simplicity of design to ensure people can actually read them or interpret them without fuss. This little classic was modeled on how she saw herself when she was a kid.

Given that modern visual communication (be they posters, online ads or print) still often fails dismally with over-complex messages, a trip around the streets of the U.K. might help them realise the errors of their ways. It is not a new story, this 'keep it simple' message, but it is a story that doesn't seem to get read enough.

Margaret Calvert also mentioned the importance of the text on the road signs. Before she and Jock got to work, the order of the day was capital letters only when it came to place names (LONDON). They decided to go with Capital letter followed by lower case (London) instead, as this was found to be more speedily registered by drivers.

Simple. Yet inspiring. I like stuff like that.

A Lesson from Urban Planners for Brands and Agencies - Sensory Branding

I lived many years ago in Barcelona and was a huge fan of the city's commitment to urban planning. From the support of the Modernisme movement of Gaudí, Domènech i Montaner & Puig i Cadafalch to the structures for the Olympics, Barcelona always seems to be braver than most cities.

Whilst on a much smaller scale, I came across this fantastic example of how the city gets things right. It is a bus stop that is designed to help Blind and partially sighted people find a bus stop.The special path provides a tactile signal to blind folk that they have reached a bus stop, and helps direct them to the seats.

Saw this from the always excellent psfk site...

The sense of TOUCH is a powerful marketing tool. By considering the tactile strategy for a brand, companies and agencies alike might find powerfully engaging ideas that communities want.

citizenleaf

Found this leaf on holiday.

Close to my logo colouring, so thought I would put it up. Looks nice.

The power of the National Geographic yellow frame

National Geographic is one of the rare occurrences where ‘media brand’ status belittles the company or organisation. An institution maybe, a part of the fabric of many lives possibly, a standard bearer for others too...much like the BBC.

Even for those who rarely come in contact with National Geographic (in whatever format), there is an expectation of integrity and high standards. The yellow frame stands for something powerful. We are drawn into the yellow frame because of that.

As a result, consumer expectations of any element of the National Geographic portfolio will be seen through this frame of high quality and integrity.

On so many levels, the move by National Geographic into educational toys is a smart move.

Society is questioning their leaders more and more on environmental issues. The impact of our actions on other communities is also fuelling a growing interest in what actions are taken on our behalf. Many parents are keen to find alternatives to video shoot-em-up games that provide some grounding in the global realities. So, when I saw the National Geographic toys in my local store I immediately thought ‘smart move’ along with ‘This is what I want for my kid’. So I bought the scuba diving man.

The packaging was spot on. The poster with info about sea creatures too. Yet the toy itself was a complete disappointment. Pieces are flimsy. The plastic was of poor quality and will not last very long.

This is not what I expect within the yellow frame.

So often brands that extend into new areas outside their expertise stretch too far. This feels like Nat Geo have outsourced the management and production of the toys to an extent that they have let go of the yellow frame. Have they chased the royalties at the expense of the frame, or have they just lost control of these brand extensions?

Either way, it has eroded the power of the yellow frame for me

Iconic logo from Chupa Chups

Salvador Dali designed this in 1969. Try to fault it...then fail!

innocently Simple...

Simple & innocent, zagging when everyone else zigs...you get the idea...

Loyalty beyond Reason

Kevin Roberts said that brands should strive to build Loyalty Beyond Reason. Absolutely right.

Here is a favourite of mine. The Crayola crayons. Packaging, colour, product, childhood memories, and that famous smell...