Paul Rand’s essay on “The Politics of Design”.

Graphic designer Paul Rand created classic logos and striking book covers during his career. Steve Jobs talked about working with Paul Rand in 1993.

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One of the more common problems which tends to create doubt and confusion is caused by the inexperienced and anxious executive who innocently expects, or even demands, to see not one but many solutions to a problem. These may include a number of visual and/or verbal concepts, an assortment of layouts, a variety of pictures and color schemes, as well as a choice of type styles. He needs the reassurance of numbers and the opportunity to exercise his personal preferences. He is also most likely to be the one to insist on endless revisions with unrealistic deadlines, adding to an already wasteful and time-consuming ritual. Theoretically, a great number of ideas assures a great number of choices, but such choices are essentially quantitative. This practice is as bewildering as it is wasteful. It discourages spontaneity, encourages indifference, and more often than not produces results which are neither distinguished, interesting, nor effective. In short, good ideas rarely come in bunches.

The designer who voluntarily presents his client with a batch of layouts does so not out prolificacy, but out of uncertainty or fear. He thus encourages the client to assume the role of referee. In the event of genuine need, however, the skillful designer is able to produce a reasonable number of good ideas. But quantity by demand is quite different than quantity by choice. Design is a time-consuming occupation. Whatever his working habits, the designer fills many a wastebasket in order to produce one good idea. Advertising agencies can be especially guilty in this numbers game. Bent on impressing the client with their ardor, they present a welter of layouts, many of which are superficial interpretations of potentially good ideas, or slick renderings of trite ones…

Expertise in business administration, journalism, accounting, or selling, though necessary in its place, is not expertise in problems dealing with visual appearance. The salesman who can sell you the most sophisticated computer typesetting equipment is rarely one who appreciates fine typography or elegant proportions. Actually, the plethora of bad design that we see all around us can probably be attributed as much to good salesmanship as to bad taste.

Excerpt from A Designer’s Art, Paul Rand, Yale University Press (1985)

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The more design variations you show seems to be in direct correlation with the vagueness of the project brief/goals/objectives.

It’s usually a sign that things moved into the visual exploration stage too early in the process. Proper design requires properly defined objectives to design against. Once those are properly defined, the range of potential successful design solutions is narrowed significantly.

Thousands of Green Bay Packer fans became a part of something they believe in today.

In their first stock offering in 14 years, the Packers sold 1,600 shares of stock at $250 per share in the first 11 minutes of the sale.

As espn.go.com reports, “The stock isn’t an investment in the traditional sense: Its value doesn’t increase, there are no dividends, it has virtually no re-sale value and it won’t give buyers a leg up on the 93,000 people on the waiting list for season tickets.”

The Packers have been a publicly owned nonprofit since 1923. More than 112,000 Packers stockholders own a total of 4.75 million shares. No other NFL team is owned by its’ fans.

These lucky Packer fans bought shares to become a part of something they believe in.

Your prospective customers want to know how you fit into their life. They want to know how your brand’s meaning intersects their life and what it stands for. If your brand measures up, they’ll want to become a partner with you as well.

When you’re building your brand nation, test it against the Packer’s fans loyalty.  Offer compelling reasons to believe in your brand. Offer values to live by, ethics, a movement, and a reason to be that your customers will want to become a part of.

These are the brand evangelists who will spread the good news about you and your brand.
These are the people who will become your brand nation.

It brings to mind the 30 Rock episode when Jon Hamm—Liz Lemon’s (Tina Fey) boyfriend—doesn’t understand that the average looking aren’t treated the same as the abnormally beautiful.

However, in the fashion industry even the thin, young and beautiful are treated as commodities to be traded and bet upon.

Model agencies—or bookers as they’re known in the industry—toss hundreds of young faces at designers in hopes that one of them will catch on and become that singularly rare super model that provides glamor, prestige and substantial commissions for the booking agent.

In this interview on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, former model Ashley Mears talks about her new book Pricing Beauty: The Making of a Fashion Model, and we discover that finding this years’ It Girl is driven by belief, capriciousness and the subjectivity of a high stakes and fickle fashion industry.

Catching on is what the fashion industry is all about, and the industry shamelessly creates their own symbols of the moment—those beautiful and celebrated models who adorn and enhance their product on runways and in all sorts of media.

The rest of the thin, young and beautiful work in what a sociologist calls a structurally bad job—a non-standard job in an informal economy without a sure paycheck, health care or retirement benefits, and with forced retirement virtually guaranteed by age 25.

Catching on in fashion is subjective and mercurial at best, and only a few win. No amount of words can convince the fashion industry that yours is the new look.

Unlike the fashion industry, if we’re able to think strategically about just what it is we mean to our customers, we can build convincing brands that develop their own following of brand nation loyalists and evangelists.

For us, catching on means creating a compelling message that helps your customers understand that you “get them” and that you two make a perfect fit.

Making your blog social is easy. Just remember to include content that encourages discussion, comments and sharing. Make your blog post provocative. Offer insights that allow your viewer to think about the topic in interesting ways. Alert viewers to your blog posts through your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts.

Doing these things will encourage dialog, interaction and comments. In turn, you’ll increase traffic to your web site, your blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook accounts.

By making your blog social, you’ll create community, improve your SEO—and build your brand nation.

Along with Google, the popular WordPress web site architecture and SEO plug-ins are helping search engines recognize relevant information and allowing users to create SEO-friendly content within their blog posts as well.

There are two other SEO-defining elements that might be overlooked. These two items will help search engines recognize your valuable content and improve your web site’s SEO.

1) Above the URL area is your web site title. Your title is one of the most important elements of SEO. It should be a concise ten-word description that both defines your product category and states your brands’ unique value proposition. Creating an effective title takes some skill, artistry and time.

2) Your h1 and h2 phrases are like topic sentences or subheads that summarize your value proposition. It’s likely that these will use some terms that are somewhat common and generic to your customer and your product category. The more difficult task here is to begin to incorporate language that differentiates your brand from all the others. And that’s the real art required for writing for the web.

SEO helps your customers find you. It also finds all your competitors as well.
By creating a strong brand, you help define why you, above all the others, are the better choice for you customers.

At first glance, the mysteries of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) seem insurmountable—so much so that it’s proven a gold mine for those who choose to call themselves social media consultants.

But there’s an easy way to think about SEO. Search Engine Optimization simply helps your prospects find you so that you can be part of their consideration set.

When a person makes an inquiry for your product category, you want to be found. You want to be ready with expert information and guidance when they’re in the mood to buy.

Fortunately Google’s search engine algorithms are constantly being refined to enable their users to find the most valuable and relevant content. This means that having valuable content on your website is the most important element in developing effective SEO.

Content is king. Effective SEO will follow naturally if you’re honestly thinking of your customer first, and it’s clear you care that they have all the information they need to make a fair market decision.

In part 2, we’ll talk more about SEO. But soon we’ll realize SEO only goes so far. Once your prospects find you, how do you become memorable? How do you stand out from the stiff competition on the web? That’s the difference between Branding and SEO, and it’s why we need both.

It’s a great transformative moment when a story captures our imagination so much so that we willingly allow ourselves to be taken on a grand, new adventure. We become invested. We enter the author’s world full of anticipation.

There are books that we immediately become absorbed in. Others we forget quickly. What causes us to become absorbed in a book rather than abandon it?

In his recent book, How to Write a Sentence, and How to Read One, Stanley Fish suggests one reason is a great first sentence.

Think of your brand message as the first sentence in your book.

It should be absorbing. It should be promising. It should convince your prospect to press on further.

Your brand message is the inspiring idea that gives your prospect a sense of what they will experience. It captures the essence of your brand, and as Stanley Fish describes, it gives it “lean”.

Your brand message gives your customers a way to think about your product in a different way. It tells your story. It gives your story promise for what is to come.

I try to use this phrase as a guide when I’m creating social media posts.
If I can honestly preface my post with this phrase, I feel I just might have created a post of some value.

Social Media is simply about conversation and creating community.
It’s generous. It encourages sharing thoughts and an openness in communication.

When you’re thinking about what to post in your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or blog, think about what posts you’ve found valuable. Ask yourself what kind of information you’ve found helpful and appealing.

Valuable information is generous and thoughtful.
It has a clear point of view.
It respects the viewer’s time by being concise and getting on with it.
It is provocative. It offers insights that makes one think about the topic in more interesting ways.
It encourages dialog, interaction and comments.

“Here’s something I thought you might be interested in.”
Be thoughtful, selfless and other-directed.
Create conversation. Comment. Re-tweet. Share links. Share others’ great ideas. Give them credit for those ideas.

And just what is the secret behind social media that is generous?
Your interest in others will create interest in you.

That’s it. I’ve tipped my hand. Sharing is good. It’s the basic principle of social media. And it’s a powerful one.

It’s the best way to think about the daunting topic of social media—a topic that some make more complicated than it needs to be.

There’s no voodoo or snake oil here, though I wish no ill will to those who mystify social media with customized SEO services, “tweet-ups”, and charge a premium for consultation services.

When it’s done well, social media is selfless and generous. It’s about helping people be their best, whether it’s guiding friends to an interesting story, or a new idea in a TED talk or launching a dream project with Kickstarter.

After all is said and done, it’s all based on the principle of sharing.

And sharing is good.

Intellectual arguments alone have rarely proven to be compelling communication strategy. Relying on them can be a complacent and (dare I say) lazy and ineffective tactic.

Now more than ever, you must create a brand that people can love.

That’s the powerful message of Lovemarks, The Future Beyond Brands and The  Lovemarks’ Effect, two books by Kevin Roberts CEO of Worldwide Saatchi and Saatchi. The first book appeared ten years ago and its’ principles have proven a relevant as ever. Lovemarks has become a website, a phenomenon, and a brand nation itself.

It’s about transforming a brand into something consumers love.
And that’s exactly how you build brand nations.

To do this, you must capture your customers imagination. You must engage your customer’s right brain with your brand. It’s the most effective way to build your brand.
And in fact, it’s what your customer expects.

A tall order? Yes. Does it take expertise? It takes thinking in highly creative and divergent ways to make a lovemark that inspires and intersects your brand with your customer’s world.

And whether your business is large or small, it’s this kind of creative thinking that will be your business’s true marketing advantage.