Yolo. Totes. Awesomesauce. Cray. Are you cringing yet? Me too. Trendy things, from clothes to cars to food, all have a shelf life. We believe words have expiration dates too, especially when a perfectly innocent word transforms into a buzzword. The rise and fall of buzzwords are especially true in marketing and branding, where they have a distinct season of popularity before plummeting into the abyss. Harold Evans says in his book, Do I Make Myself Clear? Why Writing Well Matters, that “…clarity and wit, not trendiness, are the goals of quality writing.” Over time, buzzwords eventually lose not only READ MORE >>
“If you’re going to lead, lead with grace and compassion.” – Michelle Obama As a three-year user of HubSpot, I was thrilled to finally attend my first Inbound. And it was worth the wait! While I came back to work with a wealth of knowledge, several Word docs of notes and a notebook filled with chicken scratch revelations, I have condensed my learnings into seven key points. I hope they inspire you as much as they’ve inspired me! 1. Create the conditions for your creativity. Piera Gelardi, Refinery 29 My very first session was Piera’s insightful keynote. She READ MORE >>
Curious about what we’ve been working on lately? As always, our projects run the gamut. From web design to branding to signage and more, we’ve had a lot of fun with our clients so far this year (and ourselves!). Check out our project highlight reel featuring a few of our favorites from the last few months: ODEA Business Cards ODEA Office Signage Big River Steel’s Grand Opening Micro-Site WelComb’s Retail Packaging READ MORE >>
You may have noticed that at ODEA we live and breathe BOLD. But what does bold really mean? We’ve each picked out an example of marketing out in the world that we find bold. As you’ll see, bold can take on many forms. What does bold mean to you? JJ’s pick… Inside Abbey Road with Google Why is it BOLD? “For something to be BOLD, it needs to be big and to stand out from the rest. I can’t think of anything bolder than Abbey Road Studios. It is where many popular songs were recorded from The Beatles to the READ MORE >>
Consider this: Consumers create a first impression of a brand’s logo in just 10 seconds. It takes somewhere between 5 and 7 impressions before a consumer can recognize a logo. A “signature” color in a logo can increase brand recognition by 80%. So, what does your logo say about you? Is it easily recognized by your audience? Does it stand out from your competitors? It’s unrealistic to expect that you’ll have the next McDonald’s or Nike logo, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give attention to the design and presentation of your logo (and your brand as a whole, READ MORE >>
You may have noticed that at ODEA we live and breathe BOLD. But what does bold really mean? We’ve each picked out an example of marketing out in the world that we find bold. As you’ll see, bold can take on many forms – from web design, to messaging to technology. What does bold mean to you? Patty’s pick… General Electric Website Why is it BOLD? “Because it makes life simple for the user. Since GE sells everything from dishwashers to airplane engines to MRI machines, the amount of content on their website could quickly become overwhelming. GE lives the READ MORE >>
How do you get people excited about a commodity as tried and true as steel? Easy. Make it cool. Even better, make it badass. Are you ready for the ride? Big River Steel is truly a rebel in the steel industry. With so much steel in the world, people often question why they entered the market place. There is an answer to that – but we digress. This rebel brand was the perfect element of Big River’s identity to highlight for their Grand Opening events on March 1st. Thus, the rebel bikers of the steel industry put out READ MORE >>
Whether or not we’d like to admit it, it’s happened to the best of us. Countless hours spent executing a brilliant idea, only to have the project fall flat on its face and we are left asking ourselves, “Where did we go wrong?” Among the many successful projects at ODEA there are a few that have taught us our most valuable lessons on communication. Many times a bump in the road arises when there is a disconnect or miscommunication between the designer and client. Whether it’s your first time working with a designer or your 100th, here are some basic READ MORE >>
This area we call space allows us to breathe, reflect and experience life the way we should with design. Its value extends beyond the the blank solid color that separates elements. It is needed to pause the action, silence the voices and bring clarity to a thought. Consider how space is applied in different mediums, places and situations: Listening to Music Like music, design has rhythm and beats. When we listen to music, we tap our feet because we connect with the tune and lyrics. The breaks composed between lyrics help us reflect on what is being sung. These spaces READ MORE >>