AbsoluteB.com

This has got to be the most colorful brand and design I’ve ever created! But I like it and I’m happy how it finally turned out! Looking to launch within a month. Will post details about this project as they develop further.

One of my many functions here at Bonobos includes designing ads that find their way into the phone books. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t looked in a phone book, in like, ever! At least not till I started here. In any case, if you’ve ever seen the ads that are in there, they’re really, I mean, REALLY crap. It’s almost like the plumbers and electricians designed their own ads in MS Word. But then again, like many others out there, I believe that placing ads in the phone book is a dying business, what with the Internet and Google and what not. But apparently there’s still enough business being generated from this medium. So I’ve been attempting to take these ad designs to another level.

One thing I’ve noticed about most of the ad designs in the phone book is that they’re designed as if the reader (if you can call a person who’s looking through the phone book that) knows who they are, when question really is what they’re looking for. Which means that the company logo taking center stage isn’t the right way to go.

First of all, if the person knew who you were, they wouldn’t be looking through the phone book in the first place. Secondly, none of them stand out. They’re all the same, none of them shout anything out or entice me to call them for what it is I’m looking for. Full page ads have way too many bullet points with too much text talking about things I don’t know about or care about either.

In any case, I’ve been experimenting with various methods of print designs concerning ads aimed at the phone book. These are mostly full page ads so that does open up a lot of possibilities in terms of space. These ads are also placed towards the front of the category, so they’re more likely to get noticed. But on top of that, I’ve aimed my designs at grabbing the most attention, while retaining self respect and avoiding cheesiness and above all, they need to remain memorable in the few seconds that a “reader” browses the other pages. Kinda like web design, only static.

As the saying goes; “the customer is always right” and I believe that to a certain extent. Obviously in this line of work, we have to aim high in order to make the client happy when it comes to the projects they bestow upon us. I take a lot of pride in the websites that I design and build and when a client’s expectations are surpassed and when whatever they initially had in mind pales in comparison to the end result of my work, I feel a real sense of accomplishment. This week however, I experienced client intervention to an all new extreme! So much so in fact, that the website I had initially designed and built and was so proud of will unfortunately not be finding its way into my portfolio.

Before I go any further and get into it, I would like to share this link which I got from a Bonobos colleague which pretty much sums up my story, but in a much funnier and more graphical way. Check out How a web design goes straight to hell. …read the rest of this entry »

If you ask me, Google.com is one of the best and ugliest looking sites on the web at the same time. It’s bare and raw simplicity and functionality make it so pleasant to look at and use, while at the same time, I can’t help but think, WTF? I could do a better job… couldn’t I? Google just works and does what it does best very, very well, and yet, by design standards, or at least by my own, it’s far from bring the most awe inspiring design I’ve ever seen. And yet, even though there are so many ways I could imagine improving the overall look of the site (all IMO of course), it’s a design which cannot be improved. Even the bezel and shadow on the logo on the home screen could almost be considered too tacky!

I bring this up because these past few days I have been exploring designing a search site in a lot of depth. It’s not something I’ve done before and it’s a very interesting and tricky situation I find myself in, it’s certainly one that intrigues and motivates me. Google, as cliche as it may sound, has been the standard to go by of course, but purely from a functional stand point. I’ve been giving a lot of thought as to whether it would be possible or not to design a search site in my own way… in a different way. …read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been with Bonobos for over a month now and so I’ve only written about learning new stuff and stuff not really working so I thought it might be time to showcase some work I’ve been doing which I actually can show just to prove that I’m not sitting around merely admiring my Apple dominated work space; which has turned out pretty sweet I gotta say, though I’m finding it hard to justify €25 for an Apple iPhone doc.

Anywho, this isn’t the first nor the only project I’ve been working on since joining the company obviously, as there are many, many more, but seeing as this one has just gotten approval and the client is pretty psyched about the design, I figured this would be a good one to start off with.

I won’t go into the whole process I went through and the thinking behind it for now. Just that Van Kooten Wijnen came to Bonobos in need of a brand to represent itself and needed that image reflected in all aspects of it’s business, so I designed a logo and the usual letterhead/business card/etc/etc to go along with it… and that’s pretty much it.

One of my favorite design studios, FI, or Fantasy Interactive. has given their website a face lift, and though it can hardly be called a redesign at all, I have to say that its a huge improvement on a design that was pretty much near perfect to begin with. I remember when FI launched their previous site, which replaced a design that was, in comparison, very flashy and inspiring, it was met with quite some criticism that it didn’t quite represent the company as it should have. That design incorporated a lot of 3D, dynamic Flash components and video and it was a whole new standard on its own. With the previous iteration of the site, things calmed down and the idea was to let FI’s work speak for itself, rather than the website itself. Given how the trend of web design is towards clean, sensible usability, which everyone seems to be following, only a few agencies like FI could go with those trends and still come out with something unique and special, and this face lift is such a breath of fresh air! …read the rest of this entry »

I consider myself to be a versatile and flexible designer. Given the opportunity, I love designing from scratch and being allowed to create what I believe to be the most suitable, functional and most beautiful solution possible. On the other hand, I equally enjoy the challenge of taking strict project specifications and requirements and translating them into a product that a client and look at, experience and touch. I’ve been fortunate to have been able to work on both ends of the spectrum. While I had plenty of freedom designing for clients within NASCAR and Volvo Cars, I have had to follow strict guidelines while designing for clients including the Dutch Ministry of Justice and various Dutch municipal organizations. So when I’m asked about my style of design, I tend to find it difficult to convince people that I don’t really have a main style. Yesterday during my long drive back to Groningen from Den Haag, I gave this element of my skill base a lot of thought. …read the rest of this entry »