There are thousands of resources online and in print purporting to hold the secret to success in business. It’s a vast and profitable industry, and books continue to fly off the shelves. From a service industry perspective, to me it seems to boil down to a single, simple ideal: The best way to attract and keep clients is to create a service experience that is second to none.

Providing exceptional design is not the full picture of what our company does. For a professional firm, quality of design should be a given. What keeps people coming back is the combination of high quality work product, and excellent customer service. And the same is true with any business.

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I missed the seventies. Well, nearly – I arrived in the decade’s final year. And while I’m not terribly upset about having missed the heyday of sideburns, bell-bottoms and psychedelia, I do hold a special appreciation for the spirit of the decade’s designers.

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I’ll admit it. I’ve always loved glass packaging. Whether it be the nostalgic glass Coke bottles I remember buying at the corner store as a kid, or some of the supremely creative bottles at the local liquor store, I figure I’ll always be subject to the glass bias.

Solid yet fragile, simple yet versatile, and clean yet primitively natural – the feel of glass gives an instant impression of quality.

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When a prospect approaches me outright with the statement, “We’re looking for the lowest bidder”, I’m tempted to just let them carry along on their merry way. They’ll find their bargain, because with every other twelve year old hanging out their digital shingle, added to the increasing encroachment of slave-labour rates from developing nations, unqualified people calling themselves designers are a dime a dozen these days.

However, before bidding a polite but firm “goodbye and good luck”, I do try to impart a little knowledge and foresight. Because in the end, these people actually end up paying more for a vastly inferior product – and that’s not good for anyone.

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The Green movement is in full swing, and in most ways it’s a very good thing. Marketing hype issues aside, many have worried aloud about the future of the printed word/image. With digital alternatives becoming increasingly pervasive, and former print industry leaders abandoning the page in favor of the screen, what’s to become of our beloved magazines and photo albums? » More

From the brilliant mind of industrial designer Charles Kalpakian comes this fab group of book stands. Named simply ‘dog’, the black faces light up when the ‘tail’ cord is pulled, reversing the dark-on-light design. These adorable pieces would be just as much at home in a child’s bedroom as in any hip living room, study or studio. Frankly, I want one for myself. » More

A couple years ago, I put out a short article advising on the projected importance of sustainable and environmentally friendly packaging in the coming years. That was December 2006, and now nearing the close of 2008, with oil prices soaring and just about every third ad on TV touting their own green spin, I can smugly say, “called it”. » More

I love design. I love graphic design, industrial design, interior design, architectural design… all of it. Push the envelope and bring a big smile to my face. But eventually, everybody has their own point at which they say “Ok, you’ve gone far enough… dial it back a notch”. » More

A catalog is a highly specialized marketing collateral piece that, when designed and produced correctly, will drive customers to complete their purchase with your company over other alternatives. By presenting a tempting display of appealing products in a clear, carefully considered fashion, your catalog can become one of the most powerful calls to action in your sales arsenal – particularly when paired with a niche marketing strategy. » More

A niche market is a focused, targetable portion of a market… or a narrowly defined group of potential customers. In general, if your business focuses on a niche market, you should be addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers.

Unless you are in the community being targeted, it can be hard to tell upfront whether the design of your creative is going to be effective. But when you’re part of the targeted community, you get the message loud and clear. The trick comes in when you want to target a niche market to which you yourself do not belong. Bridging this gap between business and niche markets thus often requires a thoughtful cultural conversion campaign » More