We've all done it, we've all learned our lesson and now don't do it. The word "spec" should be added to the 7 dirty words list made famous by Howard Stern.

Speculation work is a huge design industry abomination where potential clients/buyers approach a firm or designer with an enticing project — often an RFP that request work be done BEFORE a contract has been signed or payment has been received. The kicker is the work you create is ONLY paid for if it makes the cut. Not only are you putting ... Continue Reading

For the second consecutive year, LogoLounge has recognized Effusion for brand design excellence.

OK so we're tooting our own horn, but we're proud of what we do here and being recognized in your industry to what a panel of international judges judging over 30,000 logo submissions and considering your work "solid design" is worth a mention. Below is one of the two logos that made it into the book.

You can say what you want about perfectionists. While Effusion has been accused of pixel paranoia and designs having to be perfect before they are sent to any client, Axel on the other hand has taken perfectionism to a whole new level.

Mrs. Butterworth has nothing on Axel who has taken his own sweet time (about 15 years) to produce his fabled album Chinese Democracy.

It was an industry joke, "yeah we'll see that album when Hell freezes over."

Dr Pepper banking on this joke bet in March of this year that ... Continue Reading

When you think streamlined/concise content, this trickles down to the very essence of your brand — yes your logo.

In the beginning when we first started our company, we were open to creating what we refer to as the "FrankinLogo" — meaning, we presented 4-6 logo concepts and let the client decide what they liked best, if that meant creating a hybrid of 2 or 3 logos then so be it. Well, what we came to find was that this method seemed to yield the ugliest logos that consistently never ... Continue Reading

What seems second nature to designers isn't all that intuitive for clients when it comes to creating the right type of content for a brochure, website or something as simple as a logo.

We refer to "content overload" as "Kitchen Sink Design."

Here's the scenario, a client comes in and is ecstatic about their rebranding ranging from their logo to a new website, brochure, the whole nine. When we discuss the project scope and what we're looking for in terms of content (this is before the design process actually starts) more often than ... Continue Reading

You can love 'em or hate 'em but when it comes down to marketing genius and pushing the right buttons to get a brand noticed, you don't have to look any further than Marilyn Manson. As the self proclaimed "Antichrist Superstar", Manson has been indisputably among the most notorious and controversial entertainers since the mid 1990s due to a strong realization that niche marketing his band was what would set him apart from all the wanna-bees.

Drawing upon artistic influences like Alice Cooper and KISS, Manson takes his image to ... Continue Reading

Sounds like something Arsenio Hall's announcer might have said back in the day (just dated myself 10 years by saying that).

I think House Ind is the typography equivalent to Apple and all that they do. If you've ever seen or purchased their House Ten Year Book: it's something to behold. Everything (and I do mean everything) about the book is over-the-top. The book is so over illustrated, so jam-packed with typefaces and designed in such a way that with any other company you'd say no way this will ... Continue Reading

Many clients are resistant to change.

When we have a client approach us for one type of project we often will suggest the idea of rebranding if a mark looks unprofessional or just isn't inline with today's standards of logo design. The first thing we hear is "oh no, can't do that — our logo is everywhere and. . .my wife created this years ago and everyone loves it."

Yes but is it effective? Does it do for you now what it did 5 or 10 years ago when your business was in its infancy?

Can your brand be carried through to every ... Continue Reading

These ads should all all be titled "Yeah Just Like That."

Yes, I'm a devote lamb following Apple every where they go, but aside from that, I have to share with you how creative I thought one of their most recent ads were for a product called Shazam. The last dozen or so TV ads have featured a theme song playing in the background just wallpaper music to accent the spot. Well Shazam is a very cool application (I can vouch for it — it works everywhere from the car to a Starbucks to a noisy restaurant — pretty amazing) ... Continue Reading

When Metallica set out to create a themed branded identity for their 1st album in 5 years they wanted a huge visual impact. Because the music industry is in a huge flux these days the band realized it needed to approach this album in a more creative way. Turner Duckworth (who've worked with giants such as Amazon.com and Coca-Cola) were tapped for the challenge and the end result was nothing less than spectacular. Using strong iconography and branding it across everything from t-shirts and cell phone screens ... Continue Reading