Stirring the Wasp Nest: Dysfunctional Family Bingo

Dysfunctional Family Bingo by KNOCK KNOCKThe upcoming Martin Luther King Day weekend presents another opportunity excruciatingly prolonged and potentially dangerous family get-togethers.

As if family controversies requires a catalyst to get the ball rolling, the good folks at Knock Knock, have created Dysfunctional Family Bingo. As promised on the package’s back, Dysfunctional Family Bingo – promises to be more fun than therapy and cheaper too!

Recognize a well-known personality trait – mark the item!The interactive game can be played with 2 to 12 players. The package contains 12 cards, each displaying the same 25 items, located in different spots on the cards. Only one player for game will get five in a row to win.

A few of my items and scenarios presented on the card:

• Forced Snacking
• Awkward Silence
• Questionable Parenting

Yikes! Tell me that this doesn't hit home!In case your wondering who gave me this gift, well to be quite honest, it was my younger sister.

Hmmmm. – Doug.

When Personal & Organizational Branding Collides (part 1 of 3)

This past summer, I began working with marketing expert and thought-leader, Roberta Guise. Roberta’s company, Guise Marketing and Public Relations has been a fixture in the San Francisco bay area since the early 1980s. Roberta and her collaborating partners, specialize in helping entrepreneurs and small to mid-size organizations – plan and implement their marketing strategies. Roberta’s group also specializes in helping women navigate the world’s male-dominated business environment.

From a scheduling perspective, project work was efficiently streamlined so that we could meet deadlines for Guise Marketing’s upcoming Symposium for Thought-Leading Women.

As often happens with marketing organizations – Roberta and her company, while focussed on pushing other companies forward, found it difficult to maintain an objective perspective on their own brand. Roberta realized this and sought out the assistance of Eymer Design.

Below, you will see examples of Roberta’s pre-makeover corporate identity, as well as her new and refreshed corporate mark.

Pre-2012, the Guise Marketing + PR, website masthead

The newly designed Guise Marketing + PR, corporate mark | Eymer Design

 

Because Guise Marketing would not be what it is – without Roberta at the controls, our mission also included visually branding Roberta, herself. We accomplished this through our own top secret processes that converted Roberta’s photographic head-shot into an image that is more iconic and personal.

By creating iconic illustrations, we were able to keep Roberta "real" – and slightly larger than life.Over the next couple of days, I will show some more examples of how together, Roberta Guise and Eymer Design were able to refresh both her personal and corporate brands. – Doug.

eBook Project Allows for Some Playful Illustrations

Right before the holidays, I was hired by marketing strongman, Jeff Weiner, of JDW Marketing to design our second ebook for mobile app brand specialists, Fiksu. The eBook, entitled: Top 5 Mobile App Mistakes And How to Avoid Them, is currently available on the Fiksu site as a free download.

Not only was I responsible for the book design (Jeff did the writing) but I was responsible for creating the illustrations. The cover and interior pieces are featured below. As a special post-holiday bonus, I have also included the original cover – axed shortly before publication.

© Doug Eymer 2011© Doug Eymer 2011© Doug Eymer 2011© Doug Eymer 2011© Doug Eymer 2011© Doug Eymer 2011This was a great project to end the year with. It’s always nice when a client lets you have a little fun and do what you do best! – Doug.

A Glimpse Behind the Scenes at the Infographic Sausage Factory

For the past several years, I have been very fortunate to maintain both an extremely rewarding friendship and working relationship with David Meerman Scott, well-known marketing strategist and keynote speaker.

We have collaborated on several of his eBooks, the design of his hit hardcover book, World Wide Rave – as well as his bestselling and hip business book – Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History. I should also mention that my firm was responsible for the design of David’s first book – Eyeball Wars (2001).

For full-disclosure, our working relationship goes way, way back – to when David was working on the corporate side as Vice President of Marketing at NewsEdge Corporation. Eymer Design then developed NewsEdge’s corporate identity, printed collateral materials, annual reports (revolutionary online version, as well as printed piece), and several smaller online/offline marketing initiatives.

Recently, I helped David in the development of a multistage infographic for his commercially sold ebook – Newsjacking: How to Inject your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage – available for you Nook, Kindle or iPad.

For today’s post, I thought that it might be fun to demonstrate the process that we went through in the design of his new book’s primary graphic.


Original sketch provided by David Meerman Scott 10.04.11My refined version 10.05.11my next round, 10.07.11less "retro' direction 10.11.11the final version 10.12.11What I am not showing, is the productive back in forth conversation that took place between the two of us. As you can see, the concept did veer off in one direction and ended in another. This is all part of the collaborative process – that keeps this designer, heading to his desktop every morning.

– Happy New Year, Doug.

All Hat and No Santa: Tech Advances Wasted on Stupid Product

Philips LED USB Powered, Color Changing SantaThe Product: Philips LED USB Powered, Color Changing Santa

So – you plug this hunk of plastic into the USB port of your computer and it rotates through a number of colors – thanks to a color changing LED bulb, located at the base.

The Good News: It is energy efficient, safe and reliable.

The Bad News: It will reduce the power of other electronic devices that actually serve a purpose.

The Offer: I will gladly regift my LED Santa to anyone who will use it. Send me your address. I will pay the postage.

–Doug.