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One pillar of effective marketing is consistency. Presenting a business or product in the same way serves two purposes: First, it repeats the image made on the viewer to increase brand recognition; secondly, it provides an impression that the business is established. 

How often have you seen a business card that doesn't match the corresponding website... or office signage... or ad content? This is a common problem when a business doesn't establish its image goals upfront, and/or when it grows too quickly and needs to fulfill media requirements without adequate support to do it right. On the other hand, can you imagine ever seeing a Pepsi, McDonald's, or Nike ad where the logo isn't correct or text is set in Microsoft Word default typefaces? Not likely. All of these mega-corps have had decades to work through their brand issues and regularly dedicate substantial portions of their budgets to address how to carry a theme throughout print, web, and television materials.

Last week, I was invited to go to a premiere event for Eat Pray Love. Unless you've been sleeping under a rock for the past few weeks, you've seen so many cross-promotions for the movie that you're probably sick of them. What do you think of? Maybe Julia Roberts eating gelato with a sideways glance? The filmmakers have carefully limited the printed images to variations of this. It won't spoil anything to mention that the movie is set in Italy, India, and Bali. The event I went to offered Italian appetizers and gelato, yoga demonstrations, and exotic perfumed candles. Without saying the title every two minutes, the parallels to the movie couldn't be missed--and this idea was expanded into tons of cross-promotional events, services, and products (all in-line with the movie's theme). The movie will make serious bank, not only because Julia Roberts sells tickets, but also because the overarching theme (and related merchandising) that sweeps up the romantic, sentimental, and spiritual desires of a demographic and compels them to spend money to have a small piece of it. 

I often say that I provide a "shortcut to professionalism" when I work with a new small business, because I help create the brand and know how to expand across several media. If you have a business and don't know what your image should be--or how you should execute something to fit within a current brand--contact me to discuss your requirements. I'm easy to talk to and happy to provide a free consultation.

Every once in awhile, design becomes a dreaded chore, because nothing seems to work or everything feels uninspired. Most people expect designers to be creative at all times, but just like any occupation, there are peaks and valleys to project navigation, skill level, and attitude about the work. Every designer (fashion, interior, graphic, and beyond...) goes through those valleys at times.

The bad part is not in having these moments of "un-designeriness;" rather, handling it well is the challenge. What are you supposed to do when you are in a design funk or feeling unmotivated to create? Assuming you do not want to stay in the Valley of Dullness:

Take a break. Getting stuck or becoming stagnant is often a byproduct of overworking the brain. A huge workload can be distracting enough to reduce the brainpower available for solving problems. Too many (poorly managed) demands and intimidating deadlines can cause enough stress to put the body in spaz-out mode, which is just no good for creativity. If you find yourself jetting between tons of projects but making little progress, drop everything and get away from the office. Take a walk, go for a swim, head to yoga, have a leisurely lunch with a friend, or meditate in a park. Tell yourself you will stay away from the office until you have noticed that you're no longer thinking about work.

Get inspired. Visit a museum, gallery, botanical garden... anything that will not only get your mind away from the work, but also serve as a garden of ideas. Colors and concepts may not register while you are observing them, but you are likely to see something that you will appreciate design-wise in the future--hopefully, in the immediate future when you return to work.

Ask for help. Lean on a trusted colleague to advise you about your current projects: What would he do? How would he manage his time? What would he tackle first? Is he seeing anything you are not? Consider hiring someone on a short-term basis to help with nagging tasks, such as phone calls and organization.

Get to work. In some cases, if motivation is high but creativity is low, simply going through the motions can help. If you have  projects that needs to be done but do not think you are designing anything worthwhile, do the basics, leaving the design out of it: For example, work on website wireframes and organization rather than visual comps; after that, start all the necessary files you will need for comps (leaving them empty and establishing asset organization), then add plain text to indicate what goes where. Making your brain process the structure of a project may naturally segue into adding design.

For the first three years we lived in Los Angeles, our home was on a hill in Los Feliz. Since we both worked from home, we often would go out to lunch or run errands during weekdays to avoid weekend congestion. (I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be hanging out in my pajamas on Saturday morning than navigating the loathsome parking situation at the Atwater Costco or Silver Lake Trader Joe's.)

One of the constants during our drives, walks, hikes, and jogs around the neighborhood was seeing "the walking man," a 50-something, skinny, tan walker (nearly always topless and wearing pink or light blue shorts) who seemed to be covering the neighborhood for hours everyday.

We learned over time that he was a local doctor credited with walking 10-30 miles per day, depending who you ask. Someone mentioned that he was crazy, but he sure seemed lucid while having Bluetooth conversations and reading a paper during his brisk pace. Someone else mentioned that he was a guy sickened by America's obesity problem and developed OCD, but I read an article that quoted him as saying he was a junk food junkie and walked to keep the weight off. (It worked.) Somewhere along the line, I found out he was Dr. Marc Abrams, a family-practice physician, husband, father, and Silver Lake resident for more than 20 years.

Time passed, and we moved to Thousand Oaks for a couple of years, then to our current home in Sherman Oaks. But whenever we went back to the old neighborhood--for Bo Bia at Gingergrass or chicken-and-mushroom crepes at Dusty's--we'd get a little kick out of seeing "the walking man" still at it, a reminder that Silver Lake remained Silver Lake despite the new crop of shops and building facades changing its look. Over the years, we have talked about this man who probably didn't even know we existed and have joked about the possibility of starting a walking group to shadow him--half as a gag, half as good exercise.

This week, Abrams was found dead in his Jacuzzi. There's a memorial walk planned for Sunday, during which attendees will retrace the steps most commonly trod by "the walking man." Maybe we'll get that half-gag, half-exercise experience after all.