I saw this ad campaign last year ( 2007 ) and could not for the life of me remember the particulars.  I have since tracked it down and decided to blog about it selfishly so that I will always have a copy of it :).  The ad campaign ( below ) features “real-life” images pasted to the side of various convenience machines ( ie: ATM, Phone Booth, Washing Machine, etc. ).  The campaign was created by Scholz & Friends from Berlin.

“Life is too short for the wrong job.“ With this message, Scholz & Friends Berlin advertises for jobsintown.de and delivers surprising insights into the inner life of machines.

This campaign won a host of awards in 2006/2007.

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Looking for a Texas RV Dealer? Check out Motor Home Specialist.

I have recently become an avid Stumbler on Stumble Upon.  I’ve “had it” for a while but just started using it.  Maybe I’m the last person to find this site ( or saw it back in the day and just now watched it ) but this is a cool site: http://www.eightprinciples.com/ .  I like how the flash is done.  Simple and minimal with a nice use of color and typography.  I think you will enjoy!

Image from www.myflashresource.com

http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,2000562391b,00.htm

A recent article in the Rochest Democrat and Chronicle interviewed Luke Wroblewski, a former YAHOO designer and now founder of LukeW Interface Designs, a consulting firm.  Wroblewski had some interesting things to say about the role “design” takes in an increasingly focused functionality-centered Internet.  “It’s a combination. I’m not going to say technology isn’t a key driver of using Web sites. But there are more things than that. There’s the actual consumer experience. People go to things that resonate with them emotionally.” - Wroblewski

We totally agree with Wroblewski and have for years.  A website can set the stage for the entire website visit….positively or negatively.  If the user doesn’t get the “warm and fuzzy” then your technology better be through the roof.  The design helps sell what you are selling.  The design helps you lay the foundation.  The functionality ties it all in and gives it substance and the visitor a reason to return. 

“The whole 2.0 thing has this marketing buzzword context with it. But there are fundamental transitions in the technology that influence how you do design. In the initial stages of the Web, it was about moving from place to place. Now we’re seeing a lot of different ways of interacting with the world - manipulation, you can create access, you can upload videos, you can put your feedback within pages, you’re no longer just a passive consumer jumping from place to place. There’s this new capability you need to figure out how to take advantage of.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Below are 7 signs that it’s time to redesign your site:

7. Your Business Has Changed or Grown - Often the focus of the business must change in order to be competitive.  New service offerings or products are added resulting in a band-aid approach for the website.  A service is added to a site category that doesn’t really fit but it has to go somewhere, right? A redesign helps you reorganize your site to include added business offerings.

6. The Information on Your Site isn’t User-Friendly - This goes hand-in-hand with #7. When you stick items where they don’t belong it makes it difficult for people to find it…duh!  Adding a sitemap can help but usually a redesign/reorganization/restructure is in order when you discover that your site isn’t as “friendly” as it needs to be.

5. You aren’t getting good results in the search engines - “My site looks goooooooooood.  But, nobody can find me!” A redesign can help you fix that.  With SEO considered during the site design process, you can make sure the site is designed with SEO in mind and leave opportunities to maximize your SEO efforts.

4. It’s not bringing in inquiries and helping you to make sales - Isn’t this the whole reason you got a website in the first place?  “It’s like a 24 hour/7 day a week salesperson churning out lead after lead…blah, blah, blah.” A poorly designed website can actually hurt you more than a great website can help you.  Perception! Perception! Perception!  You get one change to make that good impression.  On the flip-side, a website that is designed to showcase your company in its best light can really add value and start off the engagement process on the right foot.

3. It’s costing you a fortune to update - “Johnson! I need the graphic with our old slogan removed and changed to our new mission statement!” If you are making alot of changes make sure this is brought up during the redesign.  Might be time to implement a CMS.

2. You apologize for the site when referencing it or handing out your business cards - Although this could easily be the #1 reason, and maybe it should be, I put it at #2.  This is usually what salespeople tell prospective clients.  Did you hear me?  This is what SALESPEOPLE ( who have no control over the website design ) tell prospective clients.  This is usually followed up with: “You’ll have to forgive us…..we are actually in the middle of redesigning our new website.”  Didn’t he tell you that last year?

1. It looks like it was designed in 1995 - This would look very similar to an upside down “L”.  Navigation will be on the left in a PLAIN box ( maybe gray ).  Logo will be at the top in a PLAIN box. Text will be in the middle in a PLAIN box.  Get the idea?  There will be no control over fonts, spacing, breaks, colors……  Hyperlinks will be blue, UNLESS you have already clicked it and then they will be purple….awesome!

Aspiring designers have a chance to win full graphic design scholarships worth more than $100,000 towards an online education at the International Academy of Design & Technology (IADT).

The IADT Online Design Your Future scholarship contest, co-sponsored by Adobe Systems Incorporated, a leading provider of creative software solutions, opens today at IADT Online’s new social networking community, VisualDiner (www.VisualDiner.com). Anyone interested in pursuing a design degree can enter the contest and try for the prizes which include a graphic design scholarship towards an Associate Degree, a scholarship towards a Bachelor’s Degree, and a variety of other great prizes from Adobe Systems, Wacom Technology, and lynda.com.

To be eligible for the design scholarship competition, entrants must submit a single image that showcases their design potential, as well as a brief essay explaining why they want to pursue a design education, by Friday, September 28, 2007. The top ten finalists will be announced on Friday, October 12, 2007 and the final winners will be announced on Friday, October 26, 2007 after two rounds of judging.

First place will receive a scholarship towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design at IADT Online that is worth nearly $70,000.

Second place will receive a scholarship towards an Associate of Science degree in Graphic Design at IADT Online that is worth nearly $35,000.

Other winners will receive prizes from among a group that includes Adobe’s CS3 suite of design and production software, digitizing tablets from Wacom, and subscriptions to the lynda.com Online Training Library, a leader in design tutorials.

A high demand for online education is what sparked IADT, well known as a degree-granting institution that specializes in providing high quality design education, to add a virtual campus to its on-ground operations. Students searching for IADT’s career-focused education now are able to pursue associate or bachelor’s level degrees in graphic design, an associate degree in web design, or a bachelor’s degree in web development – all at their own pace and with a flexible schedule. IADT Online will blend the school’s knowledge and expertise in design education with innovative methods developed at IADT’s two sister schools – major online universities that have extensive experience delivering advanced education through online delivery channels.

“IADT Online is equipped with the experience in design and technology education, a highly-dedicated faculty, and a student-friendly Virtual Campus,” said Sunny Sharma, Executive Director of IADT Online. “Tomorrow’s designers looking for a flexible way to acquire a great education have found a solution in IADT Online.”

“Raw design talent isn’t enough today – formal education and real-world training are essential components for success in the fields of design and, by giving the gift of education to winners of IADT’s Design Your Future contest, we hope to cultivate a new generation of leading designers,” said Mark Page, Managing Director of the International Academy of Design & Technology.

As a complementary resource to the IADT Online virtual campus, the school has also launched VisualDiner.com, a new social-gathering and networking Web space for artists and designers to gather, post their work, share their vision, and meet their peers. “The Diner” – home to the IADT Design your Future scholarship contest, co-sponsored by Adobe Systems – is open to design professionals, students, and anyone else interested in the world of design.

For information on IADT Online, please call 1-888-247-IADT (4238) or visit www.iadtonline.com. For additional information about the IADT Design Your Future scholarship contest, or on VisualDiner, please visit (www.VisualDiner.com).