Click on the thumbnails to see a larger image. Production notes can be found at the bottom of the page.

In the field of advertising, when you find a means of connecting with people, you take advantage of it. So considering that my previous blog posting, “Thirty Years of Illustration,” got triple the readership of any of my former posts, I decided to write another article along the same lines—that is, looking back over my career as an illustrator. I promise not to repeat myself (the film Rocky was good and Rocky II was palatable, but then Sly made the disasters Rocky III, IV and V). Read the rest of this entry »

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to review design portfolios at our local community college. I’ve participated in this program for the past several years, where local agency staff and freelance creatives fill out forms offering feedback on the quality and creativity of the students’ work. The portfolios vary greatly in design quality and thoughtfulness, but there are usually a few standouts. This year I also had the opportunity to meet some of the students, and our firm even enlisted a recent graduate to help us with some production design. When I talk to the students, it is good for my ego since they manifest a reverence that borders on awe. It’s true that these neophytes have a lot to learn, but they also have a lot to give. They can even serve as role models for the creatives with decades of experience under their belts. Read the rest of this entry »

Back in late 1998 or early 1999 I got called by a marketing director from a newly launched search engine company named “Google” (founded in 1998). She asked me if I wanted to do an illustration that would be a playful takeoff on their logo for their homepage. If they liked it, she continued, there would be more assignments forthcoming, especially on holidays and other important dates. They had seen my illustration work in the Directory of Illustration and liked my style. Sure I’d heard of Google but I was far more familiar with their competitor Yahoo, which had been founded 4 years earlier and had a glitzy national advertising campaign (remember the hillbilly yelling, “Ya-hoo-oo-o!”).

At this point I should mention that I had recently pulled an all-nighter on a stressful advertising illustration for an unpleasant and demanding client. My energy level was running on empty and at that particular point in time my enthusiasm for my craft of illustration was negligible. Did I even want to be an illustrator? I wasn’t getting any younger and I didn’t know a lot of other people pulling all-nighters in their mid 40s. And then I did something I’ve only done a handful of times in my career. I passed on the project. Besides, the deadline was too tight and I was too tired. The company probably wouldn’t even be around in a year or two. Yahoo would probably buy them out or run them out of business.

Note to self: If Google ever calls again, take the gig.

P.S. After a good night’s sleep I was all about being an illustrator again!

I was just checking out the local summer concert schedule, which brought back fond memories of the humid night last summer when my husband and I went to see the Allman Brothers Band at Pine Knob (now lamely named the DTE Energy Music Theater). We paid a mere $10 for lawn tickets and arrived some minutes after Bob Weir and Ratdog had begun the opening act. Of course we all know that Bob Weir was a member of this band. And if you didn’t know it, the helpful man smoking a joint next to you at the concert would gladly explain Bob’s place in the history of rock and roll and his pivotal role in that very stoner’s life. “I mean he totally like … you know … changed me … cosmically … it’s not music, it’s more than music … it’s … wow … you know.” Yes, yes, my friend, I do know. The people-watching alone at this show was worth the Hamilton. I’ve never seen so much tie-dye.

After a lengthy 2-hour opening act, Bob and friends finally relinquished the stage to the incredible Allman Brothers Band. My husband, in an effort to get me pumped for this concert, emailed me the following factoids about the ABB:

1. The band was formed in 1969, and its original lineup had six members (2 guitarists, 2 drummers, one bassist and one organist/vocalist).

2. There have been many, many lineup changes over the years; the band has had 20 different members.

3. The current 7-man lineup actually has half of the original members (the lead singer Greg Allman and two of the three drummers).

4. Four of the band’s members have died, or one fifth of the total membership.

5. Two of the founding members of the band died in motorcycle accidents, roughly one year apart, both in Macon, Georgia.

6. Members of the Allman Brothers Band should avoid motorcycles, and maybe Macon, Georgia, as well.

7. One might reasonably expect there to be a hefty amount of marijuana at this concert.

Yes, we should have been prepared for the pot. An open-air amphitheater, hippy jam music (the band’s logo is a mushroom, for crying out loud), and absolutely no reinforcement of the “drug-free venue” policy. Mary Jane aside, the ABB was incredible, an awesome jam band. The guitarists were freakishly amazing, Greg played both organ and grand piano and still has an awesome voice, and all three drummers were incredible.

Still, I definitely prefer my music (and life) sans hallucinogens.

Last week it was announced that our local paper, The Ann Arbor News, is going out of business in July 2009 after delivering the paper to local readers for nearly 175 years. Of course I was aware of the dire state of the newspaper industry, which has been in mortal decline for the past decade. But it never really hit home to me. Those were other newspapers going under—not mine!  The main reason for the decline of the newspaper industry is the loss of ad revenues. Advertisers aren’t placing newspaper ads like they used to, preferring instead to spend their precious ad dollars on online advertising as well as other new media. In response, most newspapers have developed online editions too, but it hasn’t helped them much because they can’t charge anywhere near the same fees for online advertising as for their paper editions.

The root cause: People under the age of 30 don’t typically rely on newspapers for their news the way people my age do. Readership has steadily declined and that is not good for papers trying to convince advertisers about the benefit of print advertising. Of course the state of Michigan’s economy with its dependency on Detroit’s desperate auto industry hasn’t helped. Those big splashy full- and half-page ads for this or that car model have gotten pretty scarce.  But one of my staff told me that the loss of revenue is due less to large splashy ads, and more to those small classified ads you see in the back of the paper. Why spend money on a classified when you can post your job opening or your “Used lawnmower for sale” on craigslist for free? I know a lot of companies that post all their job postings on craigslist, and we did too the last time we had an open position at our ad agency.

I think I was in denial. The truth is I could see it coming. A couple of months ago the paper announced its intent to focus on local news (since a daily can’t compete with the near real-time release of an online news service). That must have been a last-ditch effort to provide something unique, and it made sense, but it was too little, too late. Since then I saw the paper shrink precipitously in size. While I still received both the daily and weekend editions, I complained a lot to my wife about how skimpy the paper had become. Why were we still paying for this puny thing?

Truth be told, I’ll tell you why. Because after coming home from work and eating dinner, there is nothing quite so pleasant as settling in my easy chair, feet up, reading the daily paper. I don’t care if it dates me. I love it. But there is hope! The local news is not going away completely. A new web-based media company called AnnArbor.com will step in to provide online national and local news in lieu of the daily paper edition, and they will even produce a printed edition on Thursdays and Sundays.

I know that the way people access news and information will continue to evolve. And I realize that I may be one of the last people in my office to appreciate a printed paper, but I hope that newspapers like the Wall Street Journal and magazines like Time will stick around. My easy chair lends itself much better to reclining with printed materials as opposed to trying to read from a laptop balanced on my chest. It crimps my neck.

Read more on the passing of The Ann Arbor News.

Quantum physics is a branch of science that deals with discrete, indivisible units of energy called quanta as described by the Quantum Theory. And as we all know, graphic design is a branch of art that deals with discrete units of energy called designers. There are five main ideas represented in Quantum Theory:

1.  Energy is not continuous, but comes in small but discrete units.

2.  The elementary particles behave both like particles and like waves.

3.  The movement of these particles is inherently random.

4.  It is physically impossible to know both the position and the momentum of a particle at the same time. The more precisely one is known, the less precise the measurement of the other is.

5.  The atomic world is nothing like the world we live in.

And now the five key concepts of Graphic Design (in the context of a small design and advertising firm):

1.  Energy is not continuous, but comes in small but discrete units (layman’s term: coffee).

2.  The designers behave both like professionals and like creatives.

3.  The behavior of these designers is inherently random.

4.  It is physically impossible to know both the original bid and the boundless creativity of a designer at the same time. The more precisely one is known, the less precise the measurement of the other is.

5.  The artistic world is nothing like the world we live in.

To quote Niels Bohr: “Anyone who is not shocked by graphic design has not understood it.”

Discuss.

Every year Lake Superior State University publishes its “List of Words and Phrases to Be Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.” This year’s list included such phrases as “going green,” “iconic” and “desperate search,” among others.

As Hile Design’s copywriter, it’s my job to keep copy (both in-house and client-related) clean and lean, which  means, among other things, keeping it as free as possible of both industry-specific jargon and tired words and phrases.

Here’s my own list of overused or confusing language. While I won’t go so far as to say these words should be banished outright (jargon is useful when people within an industry are communicating with each other, and some words are just too good to discard entirely), I’ve heard them enough on TV and radio, and seen them pop up in unedited client copy and print ads, to make me think twice before using them.

• Solution. I suppose it could be argued that every company is some client’s “solution,” but I’ve become weary of hearing this ubiquitous word. It’s used in every industry from technology to health care. An old adage in writing is, “Show, don’t tell.” So don’t just say, “Kitty-bites: Your finicky cat’s food solution.” Tell me why and how, or paint me a word picture like Meow Mix does: “Tastes so good cats ask for it by name.” Exception: Use it when a word rhymes with it: “Easy-Clean: Your backyard pollution solution.”
• Cutting-edge and out-of-the-box. These come from Hile’s creative director Julie Tibus (thanks, Julie!). The two words mean pretty much the same thing, and using them is supposed to show that the company they describe is really “with it”— with it enough, in fact, to think of using the words cutting edge and out-of-the-box. Except that everyone is now using those words to describe themselves or their particular “solution,” which means that if you do too, you can’t claim the description. Exception: Use the words when talking about pizza: “Ricardo’s Pizza: We’re your cutting-edge, out-of-the box dinner solution.”
• Utilize, over-utilize, under-utilize, utilization. I admit this word (and its many variations) is one of my personal pet peeves, because it takes the perfectly good, solid word use and turns it into what we used to call a 75-cent word (which adjusted for inflation, makes it a ten-dollar word). I’ll grant you that sometimes you need a three-syllable word to make the sentence flow. Companies that use “utilize” in their copy also tend to create complex sentences filled with company jargon about “cutting-edge solutions.” So, use use, if you can. Exception: Use it in a tongue-in-cheek way: “We’re the guys who utilize.” And you might be able to get away with rhyming here, too: “Realize. Prioritize. Utilize. Yep–We Do It All.”
• Global. Most local businesses won’t try to get away with this one, realizing that it would sound ridiculous to say,”Bob’s Corner Market: Your Global Solution for Items You Forgot at the Grocery Store.” But big companies use it in an attempt to sound experienced and far-reaching, which they usually are. The downside to this word is that customers can think you’re too big to care or provide great customer service. Exception: Use it if you’re a company that sells globes: “We’re global. ‘Nuff said.”
• ROI and other acronyms (CEO, COO, CPU). Some companies throw these around  to show they are knowledgeable about marketing or whatever industry the acronym falls into. Think fast: Do you know what ROI stands for? I got into writing early but marketing came along later in my career, so I had the disadvantage of sitting in on staff and client meetings while advertising jargon dipped and soared over my head like so many bats on a summer evening. If you have a background in marketing or business, or even if you took a business-related class in college, you know that ROI stands for Return on Investment, and you may think, “But everybody knows what ROI means.” Not everybody does (confession: I didn’t), but even if they did, that fact wouldn’t justify using the word as a tag line or main selling point of a service. So, there are two points here: Avoid jargon, particularly acronyms, and avoid words that don’t lead to a concrete mental image that helps you sell a product or service (see Solution, above). Exception: Use a bunch of acronyms in a single sentence as a way of making fun of yourself or to make a point: “Is your ROI getting held back by your CEO’s lack of creativity or your computer’s slow CPU?”
• Arguably. This word is not specific to advertising, but I’ve been seeing it everywhere lately, and it always makes me pause: “Justin Verlander is arguably one of the best pitchers in the American League.” OK, Are you saying that you really think Verlander is a great pitcher, or are you saying that people will probably argue with you if you say he is, or are you saying, “One could argue that Justin Verlander is one of the best pitchers in the American League”? It’s supposed to be a positive statement about Verlander’s pitching ability, but I always imagine people arguing whenever I read that word, and it makes me wonder. So I’m not going to use it (but you may if you like). P.S. Justin Verlander is one of the best pitchers in the American League. He just had a bad year last year.

Am I saying I’ll never use any of these tired words when I write ad or website copy? No, and you’d probably be able to find copy I’ve written where I’ve used more than one, either by client request or because I feel it’s the best choice for the situation. As a Hile creative, though, I try to avoid sounding as if I missed my daily McCafe and just went into autopilot, spinning out the first words that come to mind.

Do you have words or phrases that you’re just tired of hearing? Let me know. I might utilize them in a future post!

In my four years at art school we had the usual assignments: book covers, magazine spreads, posters and so on. None of these projects ever came close to preparing me for the work I’ve done recently here at Hile. This latest project took patience, a careful attention to detail and incredible daring.

The other day I Photoshopped Julie’s head onto Lady Liberty. And this was not my first head transplant. I’ve gotten eerily good at taking someone’s head and putting it on someone else’s body. If you look at our staff biographies on the new hiledesign.com you’ll see my  work in the area of digital transplantation surgery:

• Art has been transformed into Fred Astaire
• Eric could easily be mistaken for a trail boss
• Monica is Miss Remington
• Mary pops out of a box to the tune of “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush”
• Beth is holding her own against canine opponents
• Katie is a face in the crowd (OK, that was an easy one)
• I’m the Hile Gothic
• Dave is moderating a Nixon-Kennedy debate

No, art school did not prepare me for having this much fun on the job.