On 28 and 29 February 2020, Martin Grödl from Process - Studio for Art and Design OG (Vienna, Austria) held an exciting workshop on generative design in the WEI SRAUM Designforum Tirol . As I’m a big fan of data visualization (in a private and business aspect!) and create great infographic designs for my clients , that workshop of course caught my interest within a second. WHAT IS GENERATIVE DESIGN? I personally would describe the term "generative design" most probably like this: Data is visualized systematically based on design parameters you define. Those definitions happen via programming in JavaScript or other coding languages. The data can be displayed in a static or interactive way, you can for example hover the mouse over an element or click an element. We learned some basics of P5 which belongs to the Processing coding language and created some simple designs. A few of my very first P5 sketches can be seen below. Please click on each image to open it in a separate window to see the interactive animation work. Hover over with your mouse and have fun! I’m most proud of my smilie that I came up with during a break (please click on the smilie) : Nothing compares to having some fun while programming, right? ;-) MY CONCLUSION The workshop was well received and fully booked. That once more shows how important data visualization has become. This is not surprising thinking of the amount of data being generated, stored and processed daily worldwide. Martin Grödl and WEI SRAUM gave us workshop participants some great and hands-on insights into generative design with P5. Thank you!

The ongoing Corona crisis is hitting the world incredibly hard - in terms of health, private and social life (#socialdistancing), emotions and economy. Even though all this is terrible, there are still some positive and interesting aspects worth mentioning. THE TREND INDICATOR FOR THE ECONOMY The economy is marching towards dark times. DAX and Dow Jones, for example, are suffering from massive losses. 9 March 2020 is called the "black Monday" among stock exchange traders . However, it’s interesting to see a very slow and hesitant recovery of the stock exchange market since many governments worldwide put drastic measurements like a ban on going out into place. Of course, the stock exchange is still miles away from looking positive again though. The commencing economic crisis is hitting particularly entrepreneurs, businesses and freelancers very hard. Ongoing projects are cancelled or being put on hold by clients, new business is breaking away altogether. Especially freelancers have it extremely hard these days , as they are often the first ones whose contracts get cancelled. Uncertainty is poison for the economy. And the longer the Corona crisis lasts, the worse. The mood among most entrepreneurs is somewhat like this: "If all this is over after three or four weeks, it’s no drama. If it lasts longer, however, we are running into a huge catastrophy." OSTRICHES, BUTTERFLIES AND BLINDERS What I find very interesting these days: I currently see three totally different moods among entrepreneurs. There are ostriches, butterflies and people with blinders - this is how I would call them. Let me try to describe this: THE OSTRICHES There are the ostriches. Of course they are suffering from their economic basis of existence partly or fully breaking away. For sure a massive problem. A solution? Ostriches don’t want to deal with that. They are too much into their habits and into the things they have always done. Ostriches rather moan and bathe in their self-pity. They bury their head in the sand, bury themselves and, probably, their own business - if only temporarily (in the very best case). Ostriches bury their hand in the sand and leave it like that. THE BUTTERFLIES Butterflies find themselves in the same severe situation like ostriches. However, they quickly learn how to fly and are flexible enough to adjust to wind flows. Butterflies are now investing even more into their own businesses and work on things that they might not have had time for in the past, in order to fully start back into business without (or with hardly any) losses after the Corona crisis. You want examples? Here we go: Where businesses used to have only personal contact with their clients, there are now coachings, consultings and meetings via video conference. Or look at fitness trainers live streaming their sport lessons via Facebook , Instagram etc. to the public or to existing online groups. They add dietary advice and offer recipes, put all that into a package and put a pay button on it for voluntary donations. This way, they are scaling up their business and offer their services to a wider range of potential customers for more profit in the long run - thanks to Corona. I see all this and more in my immediate surroundings. Butterflies are flexible, agile, innovative and keep their chin up. They will very much likely survive and be even stronger after the crisis. There is a word for this: evolution. PEOPLE WITH BLINDERS People with blinders are (currently) not really affected by the crisis. Work continues as always as if nothing has happened. They just work from home at the moment, that’s all. No business is breaking away, there might even be more new business coming in since Corona. Take a look at IT businesses offering WIFI solutions for home offices. Bingo! WHAT IS POSITIVE ABOUT THE CORONA CRISIS? Some entrepreneurs and freelancers who are usually super busy enjoy the imposed pause right now to relax a bit. I have the impression, the mood is "wait and see": Finally there is some time to do things that you normally don’t have time for. I think this is good for many people. New business opportunities will come up. Just think about the daily balcony concerts. They might continue even after the crisis. A creative head will think about a monetization model, I’m sure. I guess more people will start their own business. Now we are forced to have a break from our daily routines. Creative people that have been thinking about starting their own business now have the time capacities and - most of all - the economic necessities for a new start. Change! Awakening! Yes! HOW DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE? How will the world look like after Corona? Less CO2 emissions, less pollution, less toilet paper hoarding? More respect for each other, more satisfaction despite financial worries? I am convinced that companies will offer their employees even more likely to work from home after the Corona crisis. Simply because they see that it works - even though there is room for some adjustments and improvements here and there. This is good for the environment, saves money and it’s good for finding a better balance between work and family, as home office allows for a more flexible time management. The basic mood of many people is somewhat like: "The crisis will be short but fierce. Afterwards, it will go on even better." How this "better" will look like in particular? Futurologists like Horx or the Zukunftsinstitut are publishing their theses. And what about private life? The Corona crises (like any other existential crisis) sharpens our view on life. This is the good thing about the crisis for us as human beings. HOW MORE CREATIVITY CAN HELP US I work in the creative industry. Creative thinking is my bread and butter. This is why I simply know: creative thinking can help us all. Honestly. Beforehand: Creative thinking of course does not substitute a vaccine or other medicine, it does not fill up your bank account with fresh money and it does not take away your worries about your loved ones’ health. Still, creative thinking is the vitamin vaccine for the economy - especially for the time after the health crisis for which many experts are predicting a severe economic crisis. How about new business models? Can you sell my products and services online? Digitalization is massively helping us here. And who is falling behind in this aspect, has now even more valid reason to make up for it. As I said, there might be new business models, new products, new services coming up thanks to the Corona crisis. The current situation can bring as many great things. You just have to (want to) see them. There are certainly businesses that are not helped with digitalization or innovative and creative thinking because the economic basis of existence is really breaking away altogether. However, I’m convinced that this does not have to be the case for many businesses and many ostriches are making their lives only worse by moaning and not doing anything at the moment. I can’t hear all this moaning any more. Roll up your sleeves, actively inform yourself (Information is the best medicine against fear!), think thoroughly, make use of support programs your government might offer you - then many ostriches can become beautiful butterflies. This article is promoting creative thinking - and acting. Now more than ever before. Creative thinking allows for more flexible actions. This is an important ingredient for success in all areas of life, not only in the Corona crisis. And one last thing: Please stay at home. It can, and it will, save lives. Aaaand, I have something really useful for you: My 6 personal tips for making working from home a real pleasure.

I have been working in my home office for more than ten years. No matter if the Corona virus crisis (COVID-19) has forced to make you work from home or if you have other reasons to establish your home office > in this blog article I'll share my personal tips for making working from home enjoyable and successful. TIP #1: SEPARATE WORK AND PRIVATE SPACE The most important thing is to have a clear distinction between work mode and private mode. I live in a spacious 3 bedroom apartment and have no children. That means, that my 3rd room is my office. I’m aware that most people don’t have the luxury of having a separate spare room just for office use, but still: Have a determined work space that is reserved for your work only. If you have to work at your living room desk because you lack the space, clear your desk from everything private when you work and clear your desk from work stuff when you finish your home office day. TIP #2: PUR YOURSELF INTO (A MENTAL) WORK MODE In order to work efficiently and get stuff done, you must make sure that you can concentrate. Stay focused at work and put your smartphone aside. Put work clothes on. It might look weird to sit in your home office wearing a suit and a tie for example (or what else you would normally wear for work). So what? Who cares? Nobody sees you. But you will definitely sound different on the phone to clients and do your work more professionally, trust me. TIP #3: SET SPECIFIC WORK TIMES In order for yourself to be in a mental work mode and in order for your clients to know when they can reach you best, it’s good to set specific work times and stick to them. It helps to get a work routine into your daily business. This also includes getting up early in the morning. Get up as if you had to get up to drive to an office elsewhere. Don’t sleep in! I always get up at 7 am, also when no paid client work is booked in (which is not often, but still happens of course). Then I do administrative things like book-keeping, blog writing, calling clients I haven’t talked with for a while, marketing planning, content creation and so on: all the things that I don’t have time for when I’m really busy with paid client work. TIP #4: CREATE A HEALTHY WORKPLACE Computer screen: Make sure you look straight into your computer screen. In case you work with a laptop, put it on a specific laptop stand, so you don’t have to look down. If you constantly have to look down you will definitely run into painful neck problems that will lead to headaches in the long run. I had this problem in the beginning of my entrepreneurship and it made me nuts. I now work on an iMac that is straight in front of me. I look straight and never have any neck problems. Office chair: Sit up straight! What sounds like an order from back in the day at school, has a serious background. Having a good chair to sit on is very (yes, very!) important. I used to have a cheap chair which once caused me a huge back pain that forced me to call the emergency because I could not move any more, I was in so much back pain. In hospital, I was given an injection and I was sent to a physiotherapist for a few weeks who helped me get out of pain and told me to buy a better chair and move more during the day. I then spent 300 Euros on an office chair which is the minimum amount you should spend on a good chair, I think. Additionally, I spent another 20 Euros on a special seating cushion that I have been sitting on for a few hours every day ever since. Sitting on that cushion makes my back automatically work its muscles to sit up straight. I sit on it for an hour, put it away again for an hour, sit on it again for an hour and so on. This way, I make sure that I won’t get back problems any more. Watch this video at 4:00 to see my seating cushion: Daylight: Computer screens are back-lit, so they make your eyes tired easily. Make sure, you are surrounded by daylight. In the evenings or when it’s dark, switch a second light source on (the light from your computer screen is not enough), so you won’t get tired so easily. TIP #5: GIVE DISTRACTIONS NO CHANCE In order to work efficiently and get stuff done, you must make sure that you can concentrate. Hence, any distractions are bad and cost you time, nerves and energy. Studies have shown that every single distraction costs up to 20 minutes of concentration time to mentally get fully back into your project you’re currently working on. Stay focused. How to achieve this in times of WhatsApp? Make sure you get no notifications on your phone (no sound and no notification banner popping up on your screen when you get an email, a Facebook or WhatsApp message). It should be an extra effort for you to check WhatsApp on your phone so you don’t check it so often. The best thing would be to have times during the day where you force yourself not to check WhatsApp or social media. Example: no social media and WhatsApp from 9 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm. Believe me, you will get so much more done at work. You think that’s not possible? Think again. Are you an emergency doctor? Will the world end if you don’t reply to an email, WhatsApp or Facebook message straight away? Unless you are an emergency doctor, the answer is: no. So focus on your work and put your energy and time into what brings you food on the table and pays your rent: your work. TIP #6: BE CONSEQUENT Be consequent with yourself and people around you. After ten years of working from home I have come to the conclusion: Unfortunately, many people think that working from home means holiday or something like that. This compared with the (how I call it) WhatsApp mentality nowadays, can be a big problem for your business as you will lose a lot of valuable time and concentration what in the end causes you a lot of stress. Remember: Every single distraction costs up to 20 minutes of concentration time to mentally get fully back into your project you’re currently working on. If you give in and answer every private message or phone call during your set work times at home, you will find yourself in a position of not having finished your work by the time you are supposed to finish it, which then leads to working long evenings and having no free time any more to recover and clear your mind. Over time, this can become dangerous and even lead to a burnout scenario in the worst case. So be consequent with yourself and others. If people around you don’t understand you actually work from home, it’s their problem, not yours. They don’t have to understand it, but they have to accept it and you have to make them accept it by setting the right signals. Enjoy working from home! I’m curious to hear your experiences with working from home. Simply share them on my social media channels or in the comments box under this blog article.

Many years ago, when I used to work as a DJ, I toured through India three times within one year. In the course of my India tours, I met Shubham (alias DJ Arsenik ) from Dehli. We here and there worked together, became friends and stayed in touch over the last approx. ten years. In autumn 2019, I was happy to hear that he moved to Dublin. So I thought I’d visit him and he could show me around in the Irish capital. This is how I simply fell in love with Dublin in January 2020 - what a wonderful city! THE CITY TOUR At first, I wanted to get a rough overview of the city. So I jumped on the hop on hop off tourist bus . Dublin’s famous Samuel Beckett Bridge, that looks like a harp, "plays" many beautiful colours at night which makes it look even more spectacular! My city tour ended at the EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum . This is a place where storytelling is executed perfectly! A lot of multimedia and interactive features are offered to the visitors in order to learn more about the Irish identity and the reasons why they emigrated to the whole world. A great museum that you simply must see when you visit Dublin. MUSICIANS AMONG THEMSELVES We could scent some rock’n’roll air in the Irish Rock’n’Roll Museum Experience . The fact that many rooms in the museum are still being used as rehearsal rooms for bands today, inspirits this museum even more. And even my very personal music hero Michael Jackson recorded some songs here that are still unpublished. Michael Jackson even bought a house in the neighbourhood of this museum. By the way, the museum had to return the original sound recordings to the Jackson family. Until today, there are still discussions going on about who owns the sound recordings and if the songs will ever be published or not. Shubham and me > a DJ and a former DJane at the decks. Remembering the good old days! MY PERSONAL HIGHLIGHT My very personal sightseeing highlight was The Little Museum of Dublin . To be honest, I don’t even know where to start to describe this lovely museum. It’s small, cute and full of funny things that were donated by real Dubliners. It’s a museum to laugh in, to be amazed by and to leave with a grin on your face. You’ll discover the true Dublin from a very different perspective. Absolutely worth a visit! The photos speak for themselves. I’ve never seen such a cute museum before! Alfie Byrne (1882-1956) might have been Dublin’s most famous mayor ever. His nickname was "The Shaking Hand of Dublin". He was known for his hard work and willing to serve as many people as possible. For example, he wrote 15,000 letters within his first year in office. And as he shook so many hands, visitors of The Little Museum of Dublin could even shake Alfie’s hand themselves - only a plastic one, but still. Our guide Brenda did a fantastic job. "A pint of plain is your only man" is something like the Irish national quote in which a beer is referred to as your last, best friend when times are hard. SCIENCE Last but not least, I attended the scientific exhibition about plastic at the Science Gallery , Naughton Institute at the Trinity College Dublin . The exhibition was called "Can’t live with it, can’t live without it" - what a true statement. A very interesting piece was this tricycle: Thomas Hoogewerf (Netherlands, 2019) designed this tricycle made of recycled plastic that has already caused quite a stir in Mexico City too. The artist is aiming at demonstrating the potential of recycling, inspiring people to re-use plastic waste and exploring new business opportunities. The bike’s design and blueprints are open-source, making it accessible and rebuildable anywhere. The artist believes that access to affordable, environment-friendly and high-quality transportation is a human right. A pinboard in the exhibition invites visitors to contribute their ideas for future exhibition topics. FOOD AND DRINKS As I don’t drink alcohol, I simply skipped visiting the Guinness factory and the Irish Whiskey Museum. There was something else that much more caught my interest: scones! Scones are similar to muffins, I would say, but much more delicious in my opinion. They are served with butter, jam and sugared whipped cream. And that is how it came that I tried my very first raspberry scone at Queen of Tarts . Splendid! Later on, we went to Temple Bar where we had great live music, tasty burgers and drinks (alcohol-free for me of course, hehe). Apparently, Temple Bar was the first pub in Ireland. Well, I have no idea if that is true or not. However, it sounds good in the tourist guide. CONCLUSION To sum it up: For me, Dublin is an international (student) city with an extremely high level of cuteness. Definitely worth a visit!

In spring 2019, I created the new corporate design for A CASA , a 4 star group renting out holiday apartments in and around Sölden (Tirol). This re-branding should visually communicate the big shift from the middle class segment to the premium segment. The continuously rising success of A CASA luxury apartments is resulting in more and more holiday destinations for Tirol lovers. Consequently, I was hired to design the logo for a new apartment house half a year after the re-branding (in October 2019). As the A CASA logo system had been set up in a flexible way from the start, designing the logo for the new "Lakeside by A CASA" house was not a big deal. This is the beauty of a flexible logo system > visual harmony, less time effort, less financial effort. In addition to that, the "Restaurant Ischia" opened its doors in one of the A CASA houses, and I was asked to design the logo for this restaurant too. It was important to show that Restaurant Ischia belongs to the A CASA group. Fancy to get your own flexible logo? Click here . #logo #corporatedesign #branding #hotel

In spring 2018, the somewhat abstract "monster" named GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) kept entrepreneurs in the entire European Union busy - in an administrative and costy way. I am definitely FOR data protection, keeping one’s privacy (also when surfing the internet!) and the sensitisation for the topic as such. However, I have to say that I don’t know one entrepreneur who doesn’t roll his/her eyes when mentioning this topic. But it gets even worse: This abstract "monster" named GDPR (please excuse my fond language here) is reaching out its tentacles. WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT? On 1 October 2019, a delicate case of violation of data privacy by the German online gaming platform Planet49 led to a judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union which has a huge impact on websites in the EU. You can read the press release here . Since that judgement, placing cookies on a website visitor’s device is only legal AFTER explicit consent . Meaning: a simple banner informing about the usage of cookies that can be (but doesn’t have to be!) confirmed by clicking an OK button violates data privacy and is, hence, illegal. The CJEU judgement distinguishes between "technically required" and "technically not required" cookies. "Technically required" cookies can be placed also without the website visitor’s explicit consent (without those cookies, the website would not be functional). "Technically required" cookies make sure that a website runs smoothly (i.e. navigation, language selection, automatically displaying a website’s mobile version on a smartphone etc.). "Technically not required" cookies relate to Google Analytics (or other tracking tools), marketing related services (like Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn tokens, data for Google AdWords and Google Retargeting, Youtube, rating services, social media plugins …) etc. Interesting: On October 14, 2020, Google Analytics introduced a cookie-free service with GA4. The pressure on the internet giant was probably too big. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Every website that is made for EU citizens must display a banner to actively ask every website visitor for explicit (thus, manual) consent for technically not required cookies when entering the website. A standard pre-set consent (= all check boxes automatically ticked) to all cookies is illegal since the CJEU judgement. In addition to that, every website visitor must have the possibility to change his/her consent at any time. WHAT IS THE BEST SOLUTION? As you can maybe imagine, this situation causes quite a stir in the entire business as it leads to technical (and thus financial) challenges for every website owner/operator. After consultation with the Austrian trade association, in-depth information from Heinrich Partner lawyers in Germany and talks with other relevant entrepreneurs within the industry, I decided to use a specific cookie consent service. I thoroughly tested this service and ran several technical tests to make sure this is the ideal solution for my clients and me. That cookie consent service acts like this: No cookies, which are technically not required, are placed on my website visitor’s device unless he/she manually ticks the specific check boxes and clicks the OK button (no matter if desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone). I have already implemented this legally compliant cookie consent solution for the majority of my website clients. New website clients are offered this too. DO COOKIE CONSENT SERVICES AFFECT MY WEBSITE IN A NEGATIVE WAY? No matter what cookie consent service you use > If implemented correctly, a website visitor is only tracked in Google Analytics (or another tracking tool) after the website visitor explicitly (!) says "yes" to the statistic cookies in the cookie bar. If a website visitor does not grant consent or simply leaves the cookie consent banner open without saying "yes" or "no", he/she is not tracked in Google Analytics at all. Uff, that’s hard news. Some online marketing agencies even speak of the "death of Google Analytics" or the "death of online marketing". Well, I wouldn’t go that far for now. But time will tell. MY CONCLUSION As so often, the European Union affronts many people and many website owners feel forced to do something and invest money. Even though, there are not so many GDPR dissuasions yet, you should not neglect this topic. A dissuasion can cause severe financial damage to your business. This is why I highly recommend implementing a legally compliant cookie consent banner on your website.

November is not really my favourite month of the year. It gets cold, wet, grey and ugly outside. And as the year 2019 hadn’t allowed me to take some holiday time out for myself, I thought I simply needed to recharge my batteries with fresh energy again and get away from that typical Central-European November weather. So I thought: "Off to the land of pharaos, off to Egypt!" Let me invite you to day-dream a little and show you a few shots I took with my Nikon D5100 at TUI Magic Life Club Kalawy in Safaga (a good hour’s car drive southbound from Hurghada). As you see, it’s possible to chill and relax even in an All Inclusive club. Most of all, I enjoyed the delicious food, a splendid lagoon at the Red Sea and the diverse sports program. (Remark: I was not paid for this blog article. I wrote it simply for sharing positive vibes. / Copyright photos: Helene Clara Gamper). #holiday #photography

In this blog article, I’ll show you the A to Z of a graphic designer’s daily routine (or my routine). Enjoy ;-) A …. like Adobe . The US software giant has been setting the benchmark in the graphic design industry for years, with programs like Photoshop, Illustrator and more. B …. like briefing ; probably the most important and most detailed talk between the client and the designer/agency, which serves as the basis for any upcoming design work. C …. like copyright . Copying logos is an absolute no-go and can cost companies a lot of money. Here you find out more about a sincere case. D …. like digital publishing . Nowadays, it might be a really good idea to offer innovative rich media magazines as an app . I work with the Belgian software solution Twixl for this purpose. E …. like editorial design . Designing print products like brochures and magazines is part of my regular business. F …. like flat design , which can be seen everywhere since Windows 8. In this blog article from 2014, that was also featured on marketingfish.de , I talk about the flat design trend (even though it was five years ago, it’s still relevant today) > the article is available in German language only. G …. like gifographic . A gifographic is a gif-animated infographic and can be used in many different ways . H … like hand-lettering , the art of drawing letters by hand. In a typography workshop conducted by Vienna-based Typejockeys , organised by WEI SRAUM Innsbruck , I made my first steps in drafting and drawing letters of my own font. I …. like Indesign ; a software to design great print products (brochures, magazines, flyers, business cards etc.) - of course by Adobe. J …. like jpg ; the probably most common picture format for pixel-based images. If you don’t want to have pixels, please scroll down to the letter V. K …. like kerning ; a term in the world of micro-typography to visually balance out the gaps between letters (example: AV instead of A V). L …. like logo ; a symbol representing an organisation. By the way: Here you see 8 things that make a good logo. M …. like mindmap ; a great tool to sort thoughts and let your ideas flow into different directions. N …. like notepad . Every logo idea and logo draft gets brought down onto paper with a pencil. This allows for a maximum of flexibility and your creativity is really "flowing". O …. like opacity ; a term in the printing industry. A paper’s opacity indicates how much the printed backside of a page is visible through the front of the same page. You don’t see any of the text on the backside of a page shining through, when paper with good opacity is used. Here you can find more information on paper selection for magazines. P … like Pantone . Pantone color fans are crucial for a continuous color system across various communication materials. The Color Bridge fans in particular have really proven to be very handy when working for print and digital purposes (like I do). See more about it here . Q … like questionnaire . In the course of the briefing, a set of specific questions should be asked. To find out what kind of questions I ask my clients in the course of the briefing, head over to point 5 of this interview . R … like RGB . The RGB color mode consists of the colors red, green and blue (RGB). All three colors have a value range from 0 to 255, which means that there are maaaaany different color possibilities. The RGB color mode is used for everything digital, whereas the CMYK color mode (four cartridges) is used for everything printed. S … like start-up . All newly found companies need a corporate design in order to professionally communicate with the outside world. T … like typography , the world of fonts. Watch this video to see how powerful typography really is. U … like UX/UI or "user experience / user interface" design. This is all about a possibly high user friendliness in the digital world (on websites and within apps). V … like vector . A vector file ends with ai, eps or svg and does not have any pixels (unlike jpg files). Vectors are dots that are connected with lines. Thus, a vector file can never pixelate and can always be scaled up endlessly without any quality loss. This is one of the reasons why a logo must never be made in Photoshop . W … like web design . I have been creating websites with WIX for many years. A good decision! X … like Xcode . Xcode is a software to sign apps in order to deliver apps to app stores. When I work on app magazines , Xcode is an essential element in the background. Y … like yellow Cyberduck . The yellow duck is a handy tool to transmit data via FTP servers. Z … like Zoom . Zoom is a video conference software that I sometimes use for meetings with colleagues and business partners (a great alternative to Skype). #adobe #indesign #wix #ux #photoshop #logo #inspiration #infographic

In the course of creating the interactive and multimedia app magazine versions of "connecting comPETence" for PETnology/tecPET (Pielenhofen, Germany) three times a year (since 2015), I regularly face great advertisements from the print edition. In this blog post, I want to share advertisements of two companies with you, because I find them simply great! KHS This advertisement of KHS is about 50 % less packaging. You can spot the missing letters in "50 % less packaging". A very interesting fact that I already talked about in this article on my website, was used here: If you leave out all vowels and only keep the consonants as well as the starting and ending letters of a word, the human brain can still correctly read the word. I also made use of this trick in the logo design for G.R. Kostenmanagement GmbH. OTTO HOFSTETTER Otto Hofstetter is a Swiss company and consequently communicates the claim "Totally Swiss". The well-known quality image of Switzerland is communicated here excellently. Of course, some stereotypes also play a nice role here ;-) . "Connecting comPETence" is a leading international special interest magazine for the PET industry and is read in 128 countries worldwide. You can download the app "connecting comPETence" for free for your tablet from the Apple App Store (iOS) or the Google Play Store (Android). #advertisement #app #digitalpublishing #magazine

# 1 You have your logo only as jpg or png file ( uff ... ) and have no clue how your website shall look like (see also this video ). # 2 You don’t know your corporate colours. Of course not, you don’t have any. # 3 The colour on your business card is different than the colour on your letterhead. # 4 Your business card looks very different to your employee’s one. # 5 Your website is designed in a blue-grey tone, whereas your business cards are designed in a green-yellow tone. # 6 There is no way for you to find out what font to use on your new flyer. # 7 Your logo shows always the same icon, however different fonts on your business cards, website and flyer. # 8 There is no indication of how your new brochure shall look like. # 9 You don’t know what line spacing to use in Word when you write a letter. # 10 Your business is perceived as "unprofessional" or "not trustworthy". # 11 Your website looks cluttered. # 12 The copy in your brochure is difficult to read. Of course it is due to the lack of a good typography concept. # 13 You hire a designer to create a flyer and cannot answer his/her question "Can you please send me your style guide?". # 14 Different freelance designers work on different projects for you: one designer creates a flyer, whilst another one cares about the website, whilst another one illustrates an infographic. (A corporate design makes sure that everything has the exact same look and feel. Nobody from outside will see that you hired different designers.) # 15 Your business card shows another font than your website than your flyer than your brochure etc. # 16 Various materials are designed at different times: the website and business cards in 2015, a flyer in 2017, the car sticker design in 2018, an infographic in 2020 and an advertisement for a local newspaper in 2022. # 17 You are not successful finding a sponsor or investor. # 18 You don’t want to make yourself dependent on one designer or design agency. (A corporate design incl. style guide makes sure you stay independent so you can work with different designers and agencies. The design concept is documented in the style guide.) Take a look at some inspiring examples of brandings and send me an email . I’m looking forward to discussing your project! #logo #corporatedesign #webdesign #brochure #flyer #infographic

Your business has a logo for sure - a symbol that represents you and your vision and positively communicates with your target audience. You print it on your business cards, use it in your email signature, on your letterhead, on your website and so on. Have you ever asked yourself if your logo needs a refresh? Here you see nine facts that show you need a new logo. 1. TARGET GROUP SHIFT Businesses develop. That’s why your target group can shift. If you want to attract different people than you used to in the past, a logo relaunch is a good idea. Let me give you an example: The 4 star group A CASA rents out luxury holiday apartments in Tyrol. Years ago, they used to rent out to the middle-class. Now, A CASA arrived in the luxury segment and thus wants to attract the relevant audience. 2. COLOUR VS. BLACK-WHITE A logo must not only work in colour, but also in black and/or white. Just think of sponsor walls or other 1-coloured communication materials. Experience shows, there comes a point when you definitely need your logo in 1 colour only. For sure, trust me. If your logo is not clearly recognisable in 1 colour or important design elements are lost, your logo won’t be identified as your logo any more. Then you have a problem. 3. SMALL VS. BIG Your logo must survive also in a small size (in terms of readability too). Think of smartphone screens for example; mobile B2B website visits often exceed 25 %, mobile B2C website visits are even higher. Your logo must work also as a small social media profile picture on a phone display. This means, it must be clear that it’s your logo. 4. SEVERAL OLD LOGOS In my neighbourhood there is a hotel with several annexes. Every one of them shows a completely different logo with the same hotel name. That hotel counts most of its guests from Asia who might not be able to read the hotel name (due to the letters), so they might not understand that this is one and the same hotel. Remember: 1 new logo is better than 3 old logos, especially when they are all still being used in public. 5. TOO LITTLE DIFFERENCE TO YOUR COMPETITOR Does your logo look too much like your competitor’s logo? Then you probably give off the impression of wanting to copy your competitor which doesn’t demonstrate self-esteem at all. Why would your target audience go to you to buy a copy? They probably prefer the original. However, it also works the other way around. In the photo above you see a snapshot from my Colombia holiday back in 2018 (Medellín). The logo of this coffee shop looks very similar to the Starbucks logo. At first glance, clients probably think they are buying coffee at Starbucks’ - this attracts people. In this case, the logo looking like the "big US competitor" is for sure welcome. 6. RETRO IN A NEGATIVE WAY Do you keep hearing "Your logo looks like from the 90s"? Then there’s probably some truth in it. A new logo would be a good idea - unless you prefer to live with a negative retro image. 7. YOUR LOGO CONFUSES PEOPLE Does your logo transport a message that has nothing to do with the reality? In order to eliminate even more misunderstandings and possible profit losses resulting from that, you should hire a designer to create a new logo for you - with a message that you really want to transport. Let me give you an example: The old cubile logo was often mis-interpreted by the target audience. Speaking with the client, it turned out that cubile was understood as a wi-fi solution at first glance (= seeing the logo). However, the product has nothing to do with wi-fi. In order to eliminate any more confusion, a new logo had to be designed. 8. SELF-MADE A self-made logo unfortunately often looks - well - self-made. Don’t forget: You save money now, but you might also save profits in the middle and long run. 9. COPYRIGHT LAWSUIT If you receive a letter from a lawyer with a copyright infringement notice, you should take this serious. Obviously, your logo (or important parts of it) was copied. You can read more about a sad case from real life in my blog . Should one (or even more) of these nine facts be true for you, it’s time for a new logo. Here I show you eight things that make a good logo. I’ll be happy to help you in this matter. Simply drop me a message . I’m looking forward to you! #logo #copyright

Have you ever heard of BNI? BNI stands for "Business Network International" and is the world’s biggest network for entrepreneurs. Once a week, the same group of entrepreneurs meets up for a breakfast at 7 am (networking starts at 6:30 am). Yes, in the morning! Every group - so-called "chapter" - meets up on the same weekday which generates continuity. Always followed by a pre-defined agenda, the event is over at 8:30 am. And yes, besides networking, people are having a delicious breakfast. ;-) This might sound a bit odd at first glance as networking events usually take place in the evening, without a strict agenda. But BNI is different. I was member of a BNI chapter for almost two years in which I also built up a group with my colleagues. In this blog article, I want to share my experiences and talk about the pros and cons of BNI as they are usually questions coming up when people are invited to a BNI breakfast. WHAT MAKES BNI SPECIAL 1. REGULARITY The weekly breakfast’s regularity generates trust among each other and allows for really getting to know each other well in the group, so that members can be recommended more easily. This is what BNI is all about - generating business recommendations. Every BNI member knows other people in private and business life who need something. May it be a new bath in the parents’ home, an independent insurance check for the husband/wife, a printing company offering special papers for me as a graphic designer or an experienced divorce lawyer in case my best friend wants to get rid of her husband. 2. CONCRETE BUSINESS RECOMMENDATIONS INSTEAD OF "BLA BLA" Recommendations are mostly generated when there is a concrete request from somebody. My best friend wants to file for divorce - I know a lawyer who is specialised on divorces and I'm certain he knows his business well as I meet up with him every week for a business breakfast. 3. 100 % FREE OF COMMISSION It’s important to mention that all business recommendations are 100 % free of commission. (In case you might ask yourself now how the hell BNI finance themselves, you will find the answer further down in this article.) All profits generated by members are documented in writing (of course without looking into the members’ bookkeeping). Recommendations and 1-2-1 meetings are documented in writing too. (1-2-1 meetings are meetings of two BNI members to better get to know each others' businesses.) 4. STRUCTURE Everything within BNI is very structured and a lot gets documented as this is the best way to make successes visible. "My" chapter reached nearly 1 million Euros of commission-free turnover for the members within the first year. A great success! However, it has to be noted that there are entrepreneurs who had been working together before BNI. These turnovers would have also been generated without BNI, but they are still included in the BNI statistics. This is why BNI turnover statistics, that are forwarded to the press of course, have to be taken with a pinch of salt. 5. EXCLUSIVITY Another major aspect of BNI’s philosophy is that only one (!) member per industry is allowed. Hence: there is only 1 lawyer, 1 roofer, 1 physiotherapist, 1 graphic designer etc. This eliminates competition - in theory. The practice can look a bit different depending on the members. Read more about it further down in this article. MY BIGGEST BENEFIT FROM BNI My biggest benefit from BNI was the fact that I really learned how to present myself in front of others - face to face and short and snappy within 60 seconds (keyword "elevator pitch"). I had dealt with the elevator pitch before BNI, however, the weekly BNI breakfast forced me to present myself again and again. This "positive pressure" was really helpful. As an entrepreneur it’s really important to present yourself properly, BNI gives you the perfect training here. Another fantastic aspect of BNI is getting to know so many different entrepreneurs with so many different business backgrounds. Still now, I’m in contact with some BNI members - in private and business life. This is really nice. LET’S TALK ABOUT BUSINESS LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS How much did I benefit from the business network BNI in an economic way? When I calculate my hours spent for breakfasts, 1-2-1 meetings and booked jobs (recommendations to me that were converted into actual jobs) against the money earned, and then deduct my member fee (nearly 1,000 Euros per year) as well as the breakfast money (breakfast has to be paid separately every week), I have a positive balance bottom line. However, the hourly rate is only 23 Euro net. My regular hourly rate is 90 Euro net. You can certainly not compare this 1 to 1, but it’s still the most significant key figure and the comparison is fair after nearly two years of BNI membership. So from an economic/financial point of view, BNI was only little profitable for me. Speaking with other BNI members, I know that BNI is profitable for some and for some not. Precise questions like "what’s your financial benefit from BNI" were often followed by pondering silence and an answer like "well, you shouldn’t only see the money side of it, it’s also about the community". POWER TEAMS A BNI power team consists of BNI members within the same chapter that work in similar industries or have the same clients. A plumber, electrician and constructor would be a power team for instance. Or a graphic designer, online marketer, copywriter and PR consultant would be another great power team. Positive syngeries and a good collaboration is an ideal win-win situation for all. This is the theory. The practice unfortunately looks a little different sometimes. Like in every relationship, a win-win situation can only happen when everybody involved wants it. As soon as envy, jealousy or other negativities of the human character come into play, a power team is nipped in the bud. This then leads to valuable BNI members leaving the chapter, according to experienced BNI members. Understandable. For me, this was the decisive motivation to leave BNI. Several industries similar to my business and - thus - great for a power team were blocked by 1 person, false statements - disprovable with facts - being made by that 1 person, targeted manipulation of specific people by that 1 person, and several BNI members complaining about that 1 person had a negative influence on my positive attitude towards BNI. Investing energy and time in a dead end does neither reflect my entrepreneurial thinking nor my style. Enough is enough. WHO BNI IS BEST SUITED FOR BUSINESSES WITH A STRONG REGIONAL FOCUS It’s obvious that BNI members profit a lot from regionality. If you can offer your products or services mainly in your region only, BNI is perfect for you. To give you an example: A massage parlour based in Dublin targets people living in Dublin. A BNI chapter in Dublin is ideal here. A producer for digital fair stand solutions, whose clients are spread across the globe, might find hardly any new clients via his/her BNI chapter. Not only BNI members themselves are prospective clients, but also their contacts and their network. The possibility that a Dublin based massage parlour boss knows the marketing manager of a New York based real estate agency planning for a huge appearance on an international fair, is very limited (to stay with the example mentioned above). I’m not only talking about my own experiences here. I invited entrepreneurs who I’m friends with or who I’m well connected with, to BNI breakfasts and received feedbacks that were very similar. "Too little fish", "too much international focus", "too much time investment for too little business opportunities" were the responses I often got from entrepreneurs acting less regionally (CEO of a Europe-wide charter airline, international marketing agency with domestic offices and abroad etc.). START-UPS For start-ups, BNI might be the best place beneath the sun in order to build up a wide network of contacts > nothing superficial, but with substance due to the timely constant of a weekly breakfast. GROWTH VS. QUALITY Naturally, a BNI chapter aims to grow and acquire new members in order to fulfill industry gaps within the chapter. Every member pays an annual member fee, this is how BNI is financed. However, chapter growth also massively contributes to the chapter’s success. The more members, the more turnover. On the other hand, there is the quality of the chapter. Is it primarily about the amount of members? Or is it primarily about the quality of members, how much they contribute to the group and how professionally they work in their industry? This is for sure a balance act that is solved well in most cases, in my opinion. Every now and then I (and other members) recommended bad quality without knowing. This falls back on the person who recommended, of course. But in general, chapter growth vs. chapter quality works quite well, I think. CONCLUSION BNI is intense. I’m not talking about the money you have to invest, I’m talking about the time you have to invest. For the breakfast, networking before and afterwards and other meetings you have to calculate at least four hours per week (forget 1.5 to 2 hours per week, it will definitely be more, trust me). Every week. You have to think thoroughly about that. From an economic point of view, it’s worth a try - mostly for local/regional businesses and start-ups I would say. From a personal point of view, you’ll really learn how to present yourself much better than ever before. #bni #entrepreneurship #business #networking