According to a recent article titled “Unclaimed Facebook Pages Torment the Fortune 50,” by B.L. Olman, managing director of emerging media at Proof Integrated Communications, Fifty-eight percent or 29 of the Fortune 50 companies have an official Facebook page. Forty-two percent or 21 of the Fortune 50 have at least one unclaimed Facebook page – sometimes in addition to their official Facebook pages, and sometimes as their only representation on Facebook. Who is managing these unofficial pages on behalf of the brand?

Facebook actually created community pages using information found on Wikipedia. While the free exposure might initially be enticing – it’s actually highly detrimental to the brand’s reputation. Anyone in the Facebook universe can add photos, information, videos, negative reviews and spam, just to name a few, and there’s nothing your company can do about it – it’s a reputation management nightmare!

Don’t let someone else take control of your brand’s social presence. Be proactive rather than reactive – claim your company’s Facebook page today!

To stay up to date on all the new and innovative happenings at Gunn|Jerkens, check back often, follow us on Twitter (@GunnJerkens) and “Like” us on Facebook.

Creative academics Glenn Griffin and Deborah Morrison shared their insights and investigations into the creative process. They worked with top creative professionals and asked them to create a visual answer to the question “What does your creative process look like?” Here is one illustration (my favorite!) they shared with us:

[It may be hard to read, but this person's process is: 1. Input; 2. Blend; 3. Tickle (such an appropriate word!); 4. Output.]

The key message in their presentation was understand your process and you can be more efficient, effective and gain self-confidence. The last one hit home for me—if you know that you always doubt and agonize before getting your “big idea,” stop worrying, work through the anxiety and recognize that it’s part of your process. Here are some other points they shared:

– Process is personal. Embrace your idiosyncrasies. Identify your favorite pen, foods, etc. you use in your design process.

– Document your habits and routine. Does time of day, lighting or who’s around you have an effect on your creativity?

– Reflect upon your core creative values. Establish your own “manifesto” to determine what’s important to you.


Innovate and adapt.

Consumers are driven by changing technology. Gail Towey, chief creative and editorial director for Martha Stewart Living, shared how their magazine is taking advantage of apps for the iPad to create deeper experiences for their users. Stories are now told on different levels. In addition to the written (text) and visual (photography) story used by traditional print media, new technologies create the opportunity for video and audio storytelling, providing a more authentic experience.


Assess and reassess.

Consider the consumer at the point of engagement. Think about the consumer’s buying process and focus on what the consumer is interested in at each stage within it. Most users are researching today to buy tomorrow, so it’s important to educate and nurture consumers. A major part of design is establishing trust throughout that process.

Once “done” with your design, reassess. This most obviously applies to web design. Look at your web analytics. What platforms are your users using? What is the user’s navigational flow on your website? Unlike print media, once web design is live, we can reassess, improve and update the design. That’s part of the beauty of the web: if your design or message fails, you can change it.


Designing for the mass market is designing for one person.

Design for your sister, uncle, neighbor, etc. Think of a person you know who fits the demographic and target market you’re designing for. This is a simple (and seemingly obvious) message that stuck with me.


Designers love free swag.

Any down time between sessions was spent at the HOW Design Live Resource Center where various companies parked their booths for the weekend and gave out free swag. By the end of the conference, I had a suitcase full of brochures, swatch books, bags, posters, etc. to bring back to the office.

One of my favorite booths was that of Neenah Paper, which was decorated with bright colors and creative use of fonts. The brains behind the booth was Design Army, who creatively marketed the paper company by using clever, provocative lines like “Get in-between the sheets with Neenah in Chicago” and “Neenah is smooth, rough and available.”

Another notable booth was the Utopia paper booth. They invited two artists, Molly Z. and Chris Gliebe, and gave them blank mural canvases to create something beautiful. In addition to the larger murals, each artist also created a series of note cards and posters (printed, of course, on Utopia paper) that they gave out to attendees.

Chicago, home of the ferris wheel…and so much more.

This was also my first trip to Chicago. Coming from an architecture background, I was excited to finally visit this beautiful city. One of the things I enjoyed most about sightseeing in Chicago was the juxtaposition of Beaux-Arts classicism against modernist steel-glass construction. From Mies van der Rohe to Frank Gehry, it seems that every notable architect has in some way made a mark on this historical landscape. Of course I had to take the obligatory architectural photos. They’re documented here on my personal blog: styleandsyntax.com » chicago2011


HUGE THANKS to Linda and the entire Gunn | Jerkens team for making this possible. It was an amazing experience and I hope I was able to bring back some useful nuggets of information for everyone!

Charles Eames once said, “Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose.” With this in mind, we wanted to create a website capable of being used for two different purposes: 1) to promote the different O’Brien Homes neighborhoods available to potential homebuyers; and 2) to promote O’Brien Homes as a company that provides the valuable information its customers are searching for. In order to do so, we had to find the right combination of corporate formality and the neighborly warmth O’Brien Homes is committed to.

Here are a couple of our early concept designs…

Although this design clearly incorporates images to reinforce the concept of family living, there are too many things for the eyes to focus on, creating confusion and limiting easy navigation for the user.

The second design is much cleaner than the first, but the page lacks the inviting feeling that O’Brien Homes is known for.

We knew with the second design that we were getting close, but still needed to make a few tweaks. Here’s what the finished product looks like…

This version offers a clean design that is entirely user friendly and easy to navigate. A potential homebuyer can:

• Immediately see the cities that O’Brien Homes has neighborhoods in
• Conduct a quick search for available homes
• Get information on qualifying for a home loan
• Request special offer notifications and view updates from the O’Brien Homes team
• Contact the O’Brien Homes corporate office
• Learn more about the O’Brien Homes team
• Request repair service on purchased homes

The map on the homepage has been simplified to highlight only the locations O’Brien Homes has communities in. This design also makes better use of the space on the page and highlights key functions that are of interest to the user, such as the special offers & updates and “what’s new” sections. Also, notice the main image on the final design distinctly illustrates the comfort of O’Brien’s homes and is consistent with the company’s brand and slogan, “Building homes with character.”

We’re very pleased with the end result and want to give a big “thank you!” to the entire O’Brien Homes team for the opportunity to spearhead this project. It was a pleasure to work with you!

To stay up to date on all the new and innovative happenings at Gunn/Jerkens check back often, follow us on Twitter (@GunnJerkens) and “Like” us on Facebook.

Pretty cool, right? I mean, a wide-eyed gator hoisting a nondescript (but surely valuable) shipment over one scaly/burly arm? And did you notice his tattoo? Because he has a tattoo. Let’s face it, you’re not likely to find a sweeter corporate emblem…not on a semi truck, anyway.

Naturally, my first thought was, “there has to be a t-shirt of this somewhere.” A quick Google search (internet skillz!) was fruitless–not even an unauthorized Cafepress knockoff to be had. What I did find was a cool story on John Young’s blog about his own quest for an elusive MOL gator tee.

John went a little more all-out than I did, going so far as to get in touch with MOL’s manager of corporate communications, who was delighted to offer up hi-res art files for John’s personal use. It’s a nice reminder that not every company is as fiercely overprotective of its IP as, for instance, a certain mouse-eared company that I don’t have to name (but it’s Disney).

And if anybody sees an old MOL teamster’s shirt on eBay, please drop me a comment here.