Design and Technology

Is technology driving design today? Do designers limit their creativity based on what their apps can do? Are the tools stamping an identity on their work? Is Photoshop's ability to simplify the complicated affecting their decisions on the creative process?

These are real questions designers often never give a second thought to. That's probably because there are other pressing worries. Like deadlines, cost restrictions, production limitations or worst yet, client's preference.

This is a far cry from how I started in the graphic industry. I never started as an Advertising man. My early discipline was design. We call it communications design, but in a nutshell it was just graphic design that works.

Back then, graphic designers had different tools, other worries and computers were only for scientists. The closest thing we had to a computer was the LED calculator or digital watch (a rave in the late seventies). Instead, we designers struggled with technical pens, NT Cutters, cow-gum, steel rule, set squares, T-squares, ruling pen, poster colours, acrylic, felt pens, french curves, tracing papers and later, the expensive air-brush and it's noisy compressor.

Then, there were those dry transfers, the famous Letraset and for any kind of text apart from large headlines, we turned to typesetters and their bromides.

I am sure all my graphic designers are scratching their heads reading all these foreign names. But these were our Photoshops and InDesigns back then. And we needed our hands. Skilled hands to use them. It took me 6 months in art school to learn how to skillfully use the NT Cutter, not to cut but to shape our typography, technical pen drawings and diecuts.

We knew exactly how our 0.1, 0.2, 0.35, 0.5 Rotrings would draw, and when they needed cleaning. We knew how to angle them so that the lines would be the correct thickness. We knew how to glide them over our art paper so that they don't scratch the paper and we could clean them out with our cutters without leaving a mark. Skills that took years.

Then there's our cow-gum. We pride ourselves on who has the biggest chunk of dirty cow-gum balls. And some may not admit it, are addicted to gum-sniffing. On leave and they go through withdrawals. And how can I go back in time and not mention the light tables. Every graphic designer must have one. And we needed them to see all those positive slides. There were no such thing as digital photos. Instead of Megapixels, we had 35mm or 120mm.

What am I driving at? Designers back then had to work with tools and their limitations. The work we produce had "a look" because of these tools. But creativity were never limited by them, only the expressions of creativity were.

Today, designers work on their Macs and Adobe's suite of software. They are still tools, like our technical pens and set squares. But they are much more efficient. The only difference apart from the speed of execution is that mistakes are very forgiving. There are the "undos" and "save as". We don't have that back then. Mistakes often mean starting all over from scratch.

When we take photos, we don't get to see what we took until it was developed. We needed to be sure of our exposures and depth-of-field. Our composition and focus. The one thing technology did for us was to allow cheap experiments. We can afford to "try and see". That actually allow designers today to explore possibilities better. And it's a positive.

I guess at the end of the day, when you have acquired competent skills in using your tools, the techniques and the methods no longer get in the way of your creativity. And that's what every designer should strive towards. Always remember, these are tools for you to create. The focus is in your creativity and the tools should deliver your ideas and not limit it.

That is why I admire young designers who still take out their pads and scamp, sketch and scribble before they launch their programme. They are exploring and looking at ideas and not allowing the process of creating affect their creativity. Ideas are intangible, and they must never loose that.

Essentials for Healthcare Advertising

Advertising is fundamentally the same for every industry, in creating positive awareness and generating response, but the approach is different because the target audience for every industry is different and more so in a multi-ethnic country like Malaysia.

I have deliberately looked at the healthcare industry and came out with the following essentials in generating positive response.

Branding: This is all about standing out from the crowd in a positive way, and it includes virtually everything you do. A powerful, differentiating brand for your healthcare business is part of your reputation. Meaningful and effective branding does not occur without a deliberate effort to shape and express the right message at the right time. This is a long term process and doesn’t just happen by chance.

Build your Creative: Turn your ideas into the creative product that will support your plan. Keep referring to your vision and strategy to ensure that the creative concepts support your ultimate objectives. When outsourcing, give your agency as much information as you can gather. Always share your vision. Healthcare targets audience in an area that is need driven. And for potential patients, relief from pain and the alleviation of anxiety are the two key motivating factors.

Start Right: Introduce your campaign internally first. Tell physicians, employees, volunteers, board members and other stakeholders. They are often your best marketing support. Conversely, if they don’t “live the message,” your marketing efforts will be for naught. Work in partnership with your ad agency in delivering consistent exposures that are timed carefully to handle the increase in traffic. All creative tools must be consistent in identity for a holistic campaign that cross-sells each other. 

Campaign Launch: Timing is everything. Plan your rollout to maximize exposure. Avoid marketplace “clutter” and down times, such as holidays, when readership and viewers are less than normal. Once you have your media plan in place, stick to it. Great creative is only as good as the exposure it gets, so buy ample media space.

Professional Referral Marketing: A reliable and continuing stream of inbound patient referrals from other medical, dental or other professional sources is the lifeblood of many specialty providers. And whether it’s a primary or secondary channel, professional referral sources can’t be taken for granted. Doctor referrals do not happen by magic or simply because you are a good provider. Success requires a written plan and an unfailing system to preserve and grow the flow of professional referrals. (Internal exercise by Marketing Team)

Internet Marketing: From websites and social media tools, to patient portals and possibly mobile apps, online marketing is a mainstream channel for marketing, advertising and public relations. Build patient database and send email blasts to keep them connected to happenings, promotions and facility upgrades etc. Exactly how you use the muscle of the digital freeway can turn out to be highly effective and profitable, or a huge waste of time and money. This plays a supportive role to mainstream media in Malaysia. 

Internal Marketing: This heading includes all the ways and means that you communicate with people who already know you, primarily present and previous patients. Depending on the nature of your practice or situation, this influential audience can be a rich resource for referrals, additional services, testimonials and/or word-of-mouth advertising. (Internal exercise by Marketing Team)

External Marketing: These are the media that reach prospective patients who don’t know you. Advertising in newspapers, radio, television, billboards and the like target an audience that needs to know that you provide an answer for their healthcare need. There’s little margin for error in an external media budget that is expected to produce a measurable return-on-investment. (Planned and executed by your Ad Agency)

Public Relations: This heading includes, among other things, planning and generating healthcare publicity and free press exposure, such as newspaper articles or broadcast interviews. The end results look easy, and it can be a positive and powerful influence. However, “free press” is typically the result of careful planning, good timing, a clear message and a deliberate effort. (Handled by the Communications Department and aided by the appointed Ad Agency)

Malaysia is a potpourri of different races, language and customs. This is particularly challenging to any marketeer and if they are not familiar with these hurdles can create a negative impact in their marketing effort. To reduce customising your advertising message to these varied groups which can be costly and confusing, a creative strategy should be employed to avoid typecasting e.g., race, age, gender or race.

The above proposal by Ken Ray Communications Sdn Bhd needs input from the healthcare professionals that can better partner with their Ad Agency to create an effective campaign to generate traffic for the healthcare services provided. Part of the branding exercise will be to consolidate the various healthcare services in a cohesive manner so that the cross-sell is a complete exercise e.g., chiropractic, dental, Chinese Medicine etc are separate yet part of a total healthcare solution.

What are we worth?

We are looking at updating our pricing structure and I thought this article was timely and appropriate. Too often, we allow our client to dictate how much they think a piece of work is worth while having no idea what are hidden costs and man hours involved in an agency to get a job out. This article serve to remind us that when we quote a client, we are asking an amount we deserve. And we shouldn't budge because it only undermines the agency's value.

Thanks to Melinda Song for the link.

We could really do with £50k

The following story was written by John Scarrott of the London-based Design Business Association.

Photo by worldoflard

I was chatting to one of our ‘experts’ at the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards when he recounted the following story to me. I’ll tell it from the expert’s perspective.

“One of my clients, a small design agency of five people, was asked to quote on a piece of work. They’d not worked for this client before. They took the time to carefully cost the project, based on their normal charge-out rates, and the time and level of commitment required. The price came to £100k.

“At this point the agency experienced what I would describe as a ‘slight degree of nervousness.’ It seemed like a big number to them; a lot of money. It was. In fact as a project it would be one of the biggest they had undertaken. But, they took a deep breath and sent the proposal off.

“The client came back the next day with the following news: “We’ve only got £50k in the budget.” The agency rang me. Their first reaction was, “There’s £50k we could have.” Mine was a little different — we couldn’t accept a £100k project for £50K. They were initially hesitant to accept my advice to turn away £50k. I reminded them that we had carefully worked out a financial plan for the business based on sound principles and we should stick to it.

“They contacted the client via email, thanked them but said that they couldn’t do the work for the budget, concluding that it would be lovely if they could stay in touch. No counter-offer. The end.

“Actually not, as it turned out. Things did go quiet for a couple of days. But then the client picked up the phone and said they’d found some budget for the project and could pay £95k if that was acceptable to the agency. Which, of course it was.”

Listening to this story, it struck me that that the agency’s relationship with the expert was key, and they’d built a positive and trusted relationship together. So I asked our expert what the key issues and turning points were. What gave the agency the confidence to know what they were doing was right?

1. The size of the number, it felt big!

A perfectly valid thought. But not a fact. The important point was that there were sound business principles behind the calculation of the price. It had been worked out. It was a genuine figure. There was no smoke and mirrors, no figure added on as fat (see 5.). They knew they’d done their numbers properly and this gave them a mindset of certainty and confidence in what they’d suggested.

2. They have a financial plan that underpins the business.

Sitting beneath the studio is a financial plan. This involves delivering income to cover overheads and make a profit. They know they need to bill at £X per hour to be profitable at the end of the year. If they have that plan and someone says “I won’t pay that” and they take what they offer, they’ll never achieve their plan. The more times they do this the further away they get from achieving their plan. They may actually lose money. I’ve heard tales of serial acceptors of these offers, eventually folding as businesses. This happened to one of the best creatives, a household name with books on shelves. No one wants to go the same way.

3. Imagine the atmosphere in the studio if they’d taken this job for £50k!

How are they going to feel? How will the team feel? That they’re working “£100k hard” for a £50k reward. They can’t pull their effort back to £50k because the client’s expecting a £100k job. So they’d be stuck working their backsides off on a job that takes them further away from where they want to be. The effect on team moral is going to be bad, and they want to enjoy what they do, not suffer for it.

4. They’re consistent.

They have a plan and they keep to it. They could add on some fat to the bill to negotiate but they choose not to. This instills a sense of self-worth that is important to them as an agency. It allows them to stay in rapport with their clients by being clear about where they stand.

5. They don’t add margin only to cut it later.

What if they add some money on top, say 20% and then let that slide in the negotiation? How does the client know that they’re supposed to stop there? If they give 20% what’s to stop the client chipping further?

6. They’re confident in their ability.

They know their ability and they stand by it. They know that what the client is paying for is better than they could get elsewhere. They’ve created a niche of expertise for themselves. This is another foundation stone for their confidence.

7. They understood the myth of “We’ll just do this one.”

It’s always a tempting thought. Could £50k now be better than nothing? What about up-selling the client in the future? These things get questioned, but what stops them is the knowledge of what could happen. A better opportunity could come through which they can’t accept because they’re doing the £50k job. They know getting the client to pay more next time will be an uphill battle that in all likelihood they won’t win.

Of course if you try this the next time you’re asked to cut the price you might send the email and never hear from the client again.

It might be the best thing that never happened to you.

—

John Scarrott is membership director of the Design Business Association. Catch him on Twitter.