Uh-oh, Starbucks simplified their logo. Will the consumer be able to handle rush hour? Aren’t folks’ Monday mornings hard enough? It’s rough out there for those fond of “their brands;” from the new Pepsi “smiles” and the Gap logo revamp fiasco to Starbucks bringing its little mermaid to the forefront. As we grow old and change, so do the products and services all around us. Even I remember a dark day in ‘03 when I saw that UPS was retiring Paul Rand’s “box tie” logo.
People tend to not agree with what they are not familiar, and may get p.o.’d when a brand they’re close to changes its appearance. And, as with most things in life, change can be great or it can bite you in the butt. Companies will continue to look into the mirror from time-to-time with or without the consumers blessing… but watch-out: social media has created an immediate response-vehicle from the masses.
My personal opinion matters not in response to these recent identity face lifts; for the most part I look upon others’ creative with a “glass half full” eye and I do like when companies throw a curve ball to shock the system. But I’ll end by saying as far as mega-corporations logos go, there have been the bad & good, but I sit here and think the last really clever rebrands seem as long ago as ‘94 (FedEx) and ’98 (Citi).
Compared to 2010, 2011 looks promising with a projected 13.5% increase in job opportunities for graduates with a bachelor’s degree, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employees.
In other words, the job market is a smidge better, but it still sucks.
If there weren’t countless unemployed graduates looking for jobs, this news might provide some comfort to students staring down graduation.
The question is: How do you get noticed in a sea of Pulitzer Prize-worthy resumes? Answer: Experience.
The better question: How do you get experience when no one’s hiring?
The career counselors at any college will say that a smart student should be pounding the pavement for months. What the counselor doesn’t say: Hope like hell that your previous POS job will be there when the internship fairytale ends, so you can resume work-to-live status.
As for me, I’m one of the lucky ones. Hired on as an intern at Keathley Advertising in fall 2010, I’ve gained more experience in four months than I thought humanly possible. I’ve even been given the opportunity to continue my internship until graduation. I can’t help but feel fortunate as I watch my friends struggle with finding an internship or even a simple POS part-time job.
Here’s some good news: Keathley is helping UA and KSU design students get a leg-up in landing a job by offering four chances to win a weeklong portfolio workshop. There’s even an opportunity to land a summer internship. And all it takes is one awesome Facebook post. Check out the details on Facebook!
There are many people out there who have no idea what a QR code is, but they would probably recognize them. Most of them look something like this:
Over the past few years, QR codes have migrated from a purely Japanese phenomenon to one that is making headway into mainstream worldwide advertising.
QR codes are most commonly used to put URLs into physical advertising media such as magazines, signs, business cards, busses, etc. Mobile users with a camera-equipped smart phone are able to scan a QR code to display text, contact information, connect to a wireless network, or open a web page in the phone’s browser.
So why is it cool that bit.ly is offering them now?
One of the great features about bit.ly is it allows registered users to quickly create links that generate trackable user metrics.
Presto, instant trackable QR code! Advertisers can quickly get all sorts of useful statistics on campaigns, even if they’re linked to places where you don’t have direct access to the analytics data.
Over the past few years, QR codes have migrated from a purely Japanese phenomenon to one that is making headway into mainstream worldwide advertising.
