• The iPhone will be taller and thinner––the rumor that is getting thrown around the most is that it will have a 4-inch screen .

• The body of the new version will be made of “LiquidMetal,” a mix of metals that are lightweight like plastic yet still strong.

• The new iPhone may have the retina display that was introduced with the latest iPad.

Despite all these rumors floating around, the design for the iPhone 5 has not been finalized yet.

Author: Susan Hallinan

Patrick Fultz, President and CCO of DM Creative Group, claims to read––on average––three hours of industry-related material per day. I won’t question the veracity of his statement but instead extend my kudos for finding the time. As for the rest of us, it seems nearly impossible to keep up with day-to-day work and also find time to learn about the world outside our soul-sucking pod-o’-death cubicles.

If you’re lucky enough to work in a profession you have a passion for and yet rarely have time to keep up with what that industry is doing, you really are missing out. The operational mundanity of our daily tasks takes the wind right out of our creative sails. It’s sad if you think about it.

TEDTalks hope to inspire. And while it’s hard to find the time, if you can, I recommend you check out some of these amazing presentations. These talks help remind me why I’m in marketing. But more than that, you can find awe-inspiring talks about topics you never knew existed. It’s incredibly fascinating and impossible to describe here. Instead, here are a few must-watch marketing and advertising talks that may apply to those reading this post.

Wanna understand more clearly how Apple does what it does so well? Wanna know how to make your business generate more revenue and sell better products? “The Golden Circle” by Simon Sinek helps show why most people approach business the wrong way.

“Life Lessons From an Ad Man.” Need I say more?

Seth Godin and Malcolm Gladwell are two of the most influential voices of our era. Pioneers and just flat-out smart dudes. Be sure to listen to everything they have to say (and read their books!).

http://www.ted.com/speakers/seth_godin.html

http://www.ted.com/speakers/malcolm_gladwell.html

Author: Eric Swenson

As a leading communication and print solution provider, Vanguard Direct often fields unusual print requests. In recent years, two of our clients asked us to provide solutions that would prevent the counterfeiting of valuable mass-produced printed matter. Both clients had had bad experiences in the past and looked to Vanguard to provide solutions that would put an end to counterfeit documents. Each solution had to involve an easy check for authenticity, minimal training of client personnel with little or no technical printing background, and no sophisticated and expensive examination equipment.

We used our experience to understand the problems and to pick the best, cost-effective security solutions.

Technical methods and measures used in security printing include: special paper, watermarks, intaglio printing, geometric lathe work, micro-printing, optically variable color-changing inks, holograms, security threads, magnetic ink, serial numbers, anti-copying marks, prismatic coloration, halos, false-positive testing, fluorescent dyes, registration of features on both sides, electronic devices, thermochromatic ink, and latent images (Wikipedia).

Though the possible methods of preventing and deterring counterfeiting are many and varied, we’ll discuss only two of them here. In both cases, the documents we needed to produce and protect had a high monetary value. Our goal was to introduce visible, recognizable deterrents as well as invisible (to the untrained eye) elements to ward off any attempts at forgery, tampering, or counterfeiting.

Client Need 1 – Valuable Event Tickets

After meeting with our customer’s production and security staff to discuss previous problems and concerns with event tickets, we suggested solutions and their estimated costs. We discussed each option until a solution was chosen that included special shaped holograms and serial numbers. Besides these visible deterrents, the solution also included supervised steps along the manufacturing path. A log-in and sign-off book followed the work-flow process and noted the destruction of all printing files, plates, and print production waste as well as the inspection of specially sealed packages. A special courier delivered the completed ticket packages to the client along with a notarized affidavit outlining each step in the work-flow logbook.

Checkpoints for inspecting and collecting each ticket from each invited guest were manned by client personnel who had been trained to check by eye for the visible and not-so-visible deterrents. (Each year, modifications have been made to the technical methods that add to the security process.)

Client Need 2 –Valuable Application Forms

On this project our challenge was to ensure customer-outsourced care providers submit only one single-sheet application per candidate enrolled. Each enrolled candidate earns rewards for the care provider, so the greater the number of candidates enrolled, the greater the reward. (To help deliver adequate security and prevent fraud, we have added and varied security deterrents each year.)

• Techniques to limit the number of applications made available to each provider were introduced. Applications were distributed in carefully counted lots and packaged with an equal number of program guide booklets.
• We have varied the ways of matching program guide booklets to applications each year. Those looking to cheat the system were left challenged.

The success of these programs has been measured by the absence of breaches in security over the years. Being mostly invisible has been utterly successful!

Author: Paul Grieco

RIM
From execs going nuts on international flights to just poor long-term planning, the struggling Canadian former tech giant has had it rough. For a seemingly stagnant company that once paved the way with mobile email, calendars, and contact functionality from a mobile device (the BlackBerry), recent news of a well-received new device might be the fair-weather forecast RIM has been waiting for. Before you slam RIM and its loyal hoard of CrackBerry zombies, remember that the company was once innovative––that innovation in the marketplace can lead to better devices for us, the consumers. During the BlackBerry developers conference, alpha-stage BlackBerry 10 devices were distributed to developers to kick-start app development. Check out the video below:

Mobile Interactions: Change Your View
Change how you view your mobile customers (if you even know they exist). Custora, a mobile-commerce analytics start-up, posted an interesting infographic showing the different purchasing habits of mobile customers. From device stats to analysis of mobile versus non-mobile customers, the message is clear: Know your customers and study their habits based on their mobile identifiers. Those identifiers will lead you either to enhance their experience or to fine-tune your strategy.

Wireless Whining
Rumblings (think “wahhhhhhhhhh!”) from the mobile carriers and their Washington lobbyists about the future of our airwaves and the portions that wireless carriers claim they need in order to support our new and growing thirst for mobile data are creating a controversy. It’s a battle between developing new technology and the “easy way out,” snatching up more spectrum to protect revenues and control the marketplace. The New York Times reports that the now dead-in-the-water deal between AT&T and T-Mobile was purely about access to spectrum, or more of the radio frequencies that we use to pass voice and mobile data through our smartphones. All in all, technology seems to be a logical solution––one in which the use of spectrum-neutral techniques could make the spectrum-licensing and -dividing model obsolete––but it would require the big mobile carriers to reconfigure their networks.

Author: John Carew

So what is nanography, and why is it so cool? Well, let’s start with the roots: “nano” is derived from the Greek word νaνος [ná:nos], which means “dwarf,” so we know it is small. “Graphic” comes from the ancient Greek word γραφικός [graphikos], meaning “belonging to a painting or drawing.” Now we know that we are talking about very small graphics. This is where nanography changes everything. The pigment size these new presses use is about 100,000 times smaller than a human hair! The color precision that Landa machines can achieve is remarkable. The printing process is very similar to that of digital printing. Billions of nano-ink droplets adhere to water droplets on a belt, and as they spin around the belt, the water evaporates, leaving the nano-ink on an ultra-thin polymeric film that can be transferred to virtually any substrate––coated, uncoated, paper, plastic, or even metal.

Landa has debuted six presses at Drupa, three sheet-fed and three web-fed––all with speeds comparable to traditional offset presses and with outstanding industrial design and very small footprints. In the sheet-fed arena, you have B1, B2, and B3 sizes. In web, you have 22″, 40″, and 22″ perfecting presses. More in-depth details can be found at WhatTheyThink.

Nanotechnology has been around for years, but this is the first time we have seen it introduced in printing. Landa has taken into account every aspect of printing on these new machines: quality, efficiency, sustainability, and even interface and workflow. I urge you to read more about Landa because you will be using its technology in the future!

Are you excited yet?

Author: John Mehl

I am a longtime user of LinkedIn. My number is 210,856, meaning that I joined when there were only a couple of hundred thousand users. (According to Wikipedia, there are now over 150 million users.) With its new iPad app, I am a bigger advocate of LinkedIn than ever. For me, LinkedIn is steadily becoming a morning must-read along with the Wall Street Journal, The Daily, and Flipboard (which aggregates social-network content in a magazine-like format).

The elegance of the Flipboard experience has transformed how we consume content on the iPad. The LinkedIn Updates section provides an experience similar to Flipboard in that it allows you to view content from your connections. I still use LinkedIn through Flipboard, but now I get better Profile and Inbox sections in the LinkedIn app.

There should never be complacency in the digital space, so I look forward to more enhancements to the LinkedIn app that help me to stay on top of my business game.

Author: Dana Farbo

In this past week, two graphene-like materials have hit the news. A research team from the University of Exeter’s Centre for Graphene Science has invented a new material called GraphExeter. It is not only very conductive but also lightweight, flexible, and transparent. GraphExeter can possibly be used to make solar panels up to 30% more efficient or to make low-cost electronic clothing.

Researchers in Germany and France have created silicene by condensing silicon vapor into a single layer of atoms. The biggest benefit of silicene is that it would be more compatible with silicon-based devices and chips.

Smart clothing anyone?

Author: Susan Hallinan

Typically, advertising or design agencies take away the coveted gold cubes, but this year Creative Artists Agency out of Los Angeles ran away with four golds and two silvers for its “Back to the Start” campaign for Chipotle. The agency’s incredibly minimalist website prevented me from learning more about it, but I gather that it is a talent agency that also offers creative services (and connections to a heck of an animation team!):

I was so happy to see one of my favorite spots from last year be awarded three golds and one silver. “The Bear,” an ad for CANAL+ (the HBO of France, I gather), is just flat-out brilliant. Kudos to mega-giant BETC Euro RSCG for still being able to crank out good work.

On May 9, the ads will be available for viewing by the public in NYC. I hope to swing by and check some out. Hope to see you there!

Author: Eric Swenson

Let’s talk about chocolate and muffins and chips and frozen yogurt and peanut butter! Hungry? Already have your jacket on and are on your way to the nearest supermarket? Let’s imagine you’re already there. So many brands, so much to look at, so much to think about … It’s overwhelming. How do you choose? Will an image on the packaging catch your attention? Its shape or color? Perhaps the words FAT FREE or LOW FAT screaming out at you have gotten your attention.

Brands are constantly introducing fat-free or low-fat versions of their products. And people are constantly seeking out these fat-free or low-fat versions in an attempt to stay healthy, lose weight, become satisfied with fewer calories, and/or indulge without the guilt. I’m sure you’ve done it at some point in your life: “Oh, I’ll have five cookies today––it’s OK, they’re fat-free,” or “Let me add another spoonful of peanut butter––it’s reduced-fat after all.” Have you ever thought about all the extra stuff that gets added to a low-fat product to make it as tasty as the regular version, whether it’s more sugar, artificial sweeteners, or just pure chemicals? Not everyone thinks beyond “fat-free.”

Check out the following chart:

Reduced-fat peanut butter has 187 calories, while the regular version has 191 calories. A difference of four full calories. Wow! There were times I’d eat three muffins (see photo) for breakfast because they were “fat-free” or finish the whole Häagen-Dazs quart in one sitting because––again––it was labeled low-fat! When love handles appeared out of nowhere, I realized that I’d never paid attention to the nutritional information––or even the ingredients––listed on the packaging. I then understood what had happened: marketers had tried to sell the product to me, and they had succeeded. But they had also fooled me and made me fat!

Marketers, don’t mislead your consumers! Who agrees with me?

Author: Marina Kaljaj

We’re still communicating in more ways than ever … what’s your message? What is the true value of the message you’re sending? The information age has definitely kicked the art of communication up a few notches. Supplying users with an array of devices and applications, the challenge lies in how best to deliver the message. The goal is connecting with your targeted audience at maximum speed and reach.

Social media is an equalizer! It levels the playing field, as each person––anyone––has the ability to be heard and seen. Whether it’s an individual or big business, we want to send and deliver a message that will be read. Again, the goal is the same, but the method can vary.

With so many vying for everyone’s attention, how does one stand out, stay relevant, rise above, shine brighter? By asking the right questions! We know businesses are cutting budgets. More than ever, it’s important to ask what brand benefits set us apart from the competition? How can we analyze an existing customer database to build brand loyalty, to expand into new markets, and perhaps reach deeper into multicultural consumer segments?

In our new global markets, businesses struggle to stand out from their competition. Competition––an old game, but the rules are continually changing. From the ever-increasing reality shows to the politicians running for office and the businessmen trying to increase their bottom lines … we’re all competing.

We can rise above the crowd today and tomorrow by reevaluating our customers, staying abreast of new ways of grabbing their attention, and reanalyzing, as there’s no one-time solution. Technologies and how we communicate are forever changing!!

Author: Velda Gardiner

On a related but not as new note: Nokia has filed for a patent on a magnetic vibrating tattoo. According to the patent, the tattoo (really more of a skin graft) could be set so that each time you get a call or email, you would feel a different vibration pattern.

Author: Susan Hallinan

So it’s no surprise that with all this pressure, mistakes are bound to happen. I get it, art directors––it’s a lot. I’m an account guy with a big, bleeding heart who feels your pain—well, unless you muck my ish up. That is unacceptable.

The rest of the world is going to laugh at your mistakes. I’m sorry, unfortunately that’s just the life you’ve chosen. You’re in the public eye and your mistakes get seen by millions.

And now there’s a forum to see even more. I’d like to point you to a website that is doing its best to find your final art flaws: www.psdisasters.com, a collection of Photoshop mistakes made in years past and available for years to come.

Be sure to check out the Greatest Hits section and see brilliance like this:

Adweek has even gotten in on the fun. The headline from last week’s page read: “Ad in Target Circular Either Photoshopped or Features an Alien.” Love it.

Okay, okay, so there’s plenty to laugh at. Again, I recognize that you sometimes only have 25 minutes to whip something together. That being said, I leave you with a site from people who clearly have 25 minutes to spare:

www.onetinyhand.com

If you like the images below, you’ll definitely love this site. Check it out!

Author: Eric Swenson

Creative Suite 6 boasts a whole plethora of new features that will help designers and the like perform their daily job functions more efficiently. What makes this release better than its predecessor is how you can take a print layout in InDesign and transition it over to any tablet or smartphone––landscape or portrait! With previous versions of Adobe’s digital publishing suite, you had to design two separate files for portrait and landscape orientations. This led to a lot of duplicate work for designers and never allowed fluid translations to different devices.

Take a sneak peak at CS6 and some more interesting features!

http://www.youtube.com/user/Photoshop

Author: John Mehl

You got it right: she is chopping an onion with an extremely large knife, on a really big cutting board, on the unstable Queens-bound N train in New York City. And trust me––it’s a shaky train ride. I take it to work every day. It makes quite a few bumpy turns during my half-hour commute; when this happens, you’d better hold on. Using a knife on this rocky subway is definitely not the smartest idea. Plus, aren’t knifes forbidden in public?! Well, maybe that’s the reason she got my attention.

Living in NYC, I see a fair share of “performance art” on the subway. It does put a smile on my face for the most part, although I rarely talk about anything I saw once I go above ground. But this lady “dressed to impress” in a little black dress caught my eye.

Onions––really?

Take a look at the video:

and let’s get creative: How far would you go for attention?

Author: Marina Kaljaj

The projects were divided into five categories: Advertising, Information Design, Entertainment, Self-Promotion and Experimental.

There are some really amazing projects that are worth checking out. Visit the site here for more.

A few picks:

Experimental

Per Communication Arts: “Overview: When Forever 21 claimed the iconic Virgin Record store in Times Square as its new flagship location, its goal was to stop the 500,000 daily passersby dead in their tracks. The result is a digital display that’s the center of attention on pop culture’s biggest stage. The billboard is broken into multiple LED surfaces at the heart of which is a high-definition main display that features a rotating schedule of content and models that interact over a live video feed of pedestrians. A companion Web site served as a means to connect the Forever 21 community. The online hub allowed users to see the billboard live, real-time tweets and fashion/culture tips that match the brand’s youthful, fast-moving image.”

Advertising

Per Communication Arts: “Overview: During the holiday season, consumers are jaded by the glut of shallow and meaningless marketing tactics from corporations. Starbucks stood out from the clutter with this multimedia campaign that raised awareness and donations for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS in Africa. On December 7, 2009, musicians in 156 countries sang ‘All You Need Is Love’ at exactly the same time. The performances were streamed onto screens at an event and broadcast live at StarbucksLoveProject.com and a video featuring all the performances was posted on YouTube. The entire Internet audience was encouraged to get involved in multiple visitor-participation options, each resulting in a donation from Starbucks, including participating in the worldwide sing-along and contributing to a crowdsourced tapestry of Love Drawings.”

Entertainment

Per Communication Arts: “Overview: LEGO Photo, available free at the iTunes App Store, was a component of the 2010 LEGO Cl!ck campaign and the first official iPhone application for LEGO. The app works with saved images on the iPhone and iPod touch and lets consumers immortalize their favorite images in LEGO form. Users can simply choose a photo from an existing gallery or point the camera to snap a photo then touch the screen to watch their masterpiece build. Additional screen taps show each portrait in nine different color palettes. And, celebrating the portraits is easy; users can upload them to social networking pages, e-mail or print them and tweet them using #legoclick.”

Author: Eric Swenson