On Friday November 5th, here in NYC, I attended the Brand New Conference, a superb “one day event focused on the development of corporate identity and brand identity projects”. The conference was brilliant. (Thanks Armin Vit and Bryony Gomez-Palacio for organising!)
Below are some of the more memorable quotes & lessons learned, tweeted out by viewers of the conference throughout the day.
If you missed the live event, you can get videos of the conference for a small price on their website or you can view the photo gallery (official or unofficial).
Update 9/11/10: In-depth review here.
The Speakers
Speakers included Michael Johnson of Johnson Banks / London; Michael Lejeune of the LA Metro Design Studio; Michael Bierut and Paula Scher of Pentagram / New York; Christian Helms Decoder Ring Design Concern / Austin; Tom Dorrestejin Studio Dumbar / Rotterdam; Connie Birdsall, Lippincott / New York; Jordan Crane and Karl Heiselman, Wolff Olins / New York; and the steal of the show, Erik Spiekermann of Edenspiekermann / Berlin.
Jordan Crane & Karl Heiselman (Wolff Olins)
“You’re probably not doing the best work of your life if everyone is ‘OK’ with it.”
via Jessie McGuire (@jessiemcguire)
“You don’t hire books, you don’t hire portfolios, you hire people.”
via kdigilio (@kdigilio)
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“People come to work already motivated. Our job is to not unmotivate them.”
via Josh Berta (@prttyshtty)
“If you’re not getting noticed, your clients aren’t either & everyone loses.”
via Paul Soulellis (@soulellis)
“As a whole, the corporate identity industry has a too small definition of ‘good’.”
via kdigilio (@kdigilio)
[Re AOL rebrandings] “Aol realized they would get criticized for any change, so why not go big?”
via kdigilio (@kdigilio)
“The goal with the Aol identity was to tell a new story. The new brand focus was on the creation of original content.”
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via Artifex (@whoisartifex)
“You can’t order people to do great things — you have to provide the conditions, inspire them, understand them.”
via Michelle Cormack (@freddygrl)
“Treat your client(s) with the respect they deserve.”
via Neenah Paper (@NeenahPaper)
Connie Birdsall (Lippincott)
[Re logos] “Q: If we have a symbol, how long until we can use it without our name? A: A really long time, if not forever… or if you have half a billion to spend on advertising per year.”
via Neenah Paper (@NeenahPaper)
“Color helps increase brand recognition up to 80%.”
via Xdesign (@XdesignInc)
“You cant create brand equity if you change it every year.”
via Debbie Millman (@debbiemillman)
“Brand-building is turning upside down. It’s not just about logos and awareness, it’s about creating advocates.”
via kdigilio (@kdigilio)
“Brands need authentic personality, the fight to change a relevant conflict, and a mission bigger than money.”
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via kdigilio (@kdigilio)
Tom Dorresteijn (Studio Dumbar)
[Re branding] “Don’t go for the brains, always go for the heart.”
via @justcreative
“Create things that attract, not push.”
via Brand New Conference (@bnconf)
“We share identity with others. Personality is unique. Should we be personality, not identity designers?”
via Josh Berta (@prttyshtty)
“Describe your brand as a human personality. Define his/hers most essential paradoxes.”
via Dave Jacob Hoffman (@DaveMakes)
“If design is the answer, who asks the questions?”
via Jeremy DiPaolo (@jeremydipaolo)
“A lot of what we do is protect clients from what they want.”
via Neenah Paper (@NeenahPaper)
Paula Scher + Michael Bierut (Pentagram)
“It never gets easy, with clients, even if your name is Pentagram.”
via @justcreative
“All of us are strategists, all designers are planners.”
via Matt Simpson (@dk_msimpson)
“Designing and selling a brand to client is like convincing them to wear clothes that they didn’t buy themselves.”
via Laura Powers (@LPPowers)
“It’s like dating. If you try to break up with a client, they want you. It’s all about relationships.”
via Icograda (@Icograda)
“Every design problem has an infinite amount of possible solutions.”
via @swissmiss
[On hammering out a brand, paraphrasing Seymour Chwast] “If you’re digging a hole in the wrong place, making it deeper doesn’t help.”
via @justcreative
“What makes you a good designer is when you work with people you like, on something you really care about.”
via Tina Roth Eisenberg (@swissmiss)
“You can tell how a client relationship will go, by the way you were hired.”
via Tina Roth Eisenberg (@swissmiss)
“What makes you a good designer is when you work with people you like, on something you really care about.”
via Tina Roth Eisenberg (@swissmiss)
“If you can fake your way through something 3 times, you’re an expert.”
via Paul Soulellis (@soulellis)
“Everyone is human. That’s the frustrating part.”
via @evanstremke
Eric Spiekermann (Edenspiekermann)
“Designing a typeface is like writing a pop song. Others are going to sing it. Naked in the shower or on the toilet, not in tune…”
via Michael Clayton (@ProfClayton)
“Using a typeface with some depth & character, plus a strong color, can sustain a corporate identity program.”
via Paul Soulellis (@soulellis)
“Typefaces are like your children, you let them go and they get out of your control.”
via Rachel Beser (@RayBeezDesign)
“To the young & hopeful, be prepared to do some un-fun stuff.”
via kdigilio (@kdigili)
“We don’t do free pitches cause clients don’t know what the fuck they want.”
via justcreative (@justcreative)
“This [our manifesto] separates the assholes from the lesser assholes.”
via kdigilio (@kdigili)
“Brand is just a typeface, it’s all you fucking need.”
via kdigilio (@kdigili)
“What’s a beige fucking bus?”
via Daniel Wiggins (@dcwdesign)
“They want us to design a brand so they can sell their shit for more money.”
“We do not do the unpaid pitch ever, ever, EVER.”
via JessiArrington (@jessiarrington)
“Same bloody [washing] machine, made in the same factory, but with a different price and different logo. It’s called branding.”
via Michael Mizrahi (@michaelmizrahi)
“Keynote is for real people, Powerpoint is for 99% of everyone else.”
via Paul Soulellis (@soulellis)
“I am a Photoshop loser.”
via Sam (@samkap)
“A diagram is not a map.”
via @justcreative
Michael Johnson (Johnson Banks)
“Don’t complain about constraints, embrace them.”
via Tina Roth Eisenberg (@swissmiss)
Christian Helms (DRDC)
“Don’t be afraid to jump into something you know nothing about. Promise big and work hard to deliver on that promise.”
via Ryan Fitzgibbon (@ryanfitzgibbon)
[Audience member to Christian] “You convinced chefs to use rats & skulls in their logo. I cant get my son to pick up his clothes. I’m pissed… that is all.”
via Debbie Millman (@debbiemillman)
and the most memorable quote from the day would have to have been…
[Re working for bands with low budgets] “It’s like getting somebody laid, on a handjob budget.”
Sorry for the lack of quotes from the first two speakers Michael Johnson and Michael Lejeune, I hadn’t started saving my favourite quotes that early in the morning.
Some really good quotes on here! very inspiring stuff, wish I was there to attend. 🙁
“Getting somebody laid on hand-job budget.”
Great collection of quotes! Thanks for share with those who were unable to attend.
Anthony,
Thanks for the quote correction! Just changed it.
The Bierut quote about digging a hole deeper:
He was quoting Seymour Chwast. Maybe add that to the attribution here so people know it’s not a Bierut quote 🙂
I love these, I’m going to take some of these and blow them up big and place them around the office for some moral support and reminders.Thanks for sharing. Anna