Artful Realist

Brand value is very much like an onion. It has layers and a core. The core is the user who will stick with you until the very end.

// Edwin Artzt

nevver:

Poorly drawn lines

nevver:

Ads of the World

I’ve been so uninspired by advertising … and then this came along.

Dollar Shave Club: Part III

When I was doing interviews for the release of Brand Real, I was frequently asked which brands are “doing it right?” It’s a tricky question. The response from most is “Apple.” I purposefully don’t say that. I look for great branding in unexpected places. And it was about this time last year that I started talking about Dollar Shave Club. Like many others, I was struck by the introductory video that went viral and made the company an instant sensation on YouTube. But I liked DSC for more reason than a clever video. I became a member and I was delighted by the consistency of branding at every touch point in the experience—from web to package.

Today I received the brand’s latest endeavor—a starter kit that includes a new product: Dr. Carver’s Shave Butter. Once again, the brand doesn’t disappoint. Here’s photos from the unboxing:

One year in, the brand keeps to its no-nonsense creative approach: cardboard and stickers. But it’s got personality.

Once inside the box, the confident voice and familiar artifacts surface. I love the concept of a “better bathroom” for men.

As I have come to expect every month, there’s the fortune cookie style message in a packing card. Agreed: starting a land war in Asia is unwise.

OK, brand storytellers, take note. At the end of last year I was asked to participate in a survey by DSC. It asked questions about how much of a fit a shaving cream product would be for DSC. Apparently members agreed with me and said it was a good idea. But the great branding bit here is a continuation of a thread in the YouTube video. Remember Pop-Pop? The “handsome-ass” grandfather who had one blade … and polio? He surfaces here with the introductory card on Dr. Carver’s Shave Butter.

On the flip side of the introductory card is an instruction set, and again that tone of voice that hooked me at the start is alive and well. “Let your face marinate in the butter for about 15 seconds. This is approximately enough time to remind yourself just how much ass you’re going to kick today.”

Cards out of the way, let’s see what’s inside. The sticker and tissue paper may be a bit much, but you’re a member so go with it.

Everything on the inside sticks to the script. It’s clean design that consistently makes you feel good about taking care of your face. It’s not frilly and it feels like products of high quality.

And the writer in me love’s the consistent tagline: Shave time. Shave money. This is a brand that exceeds expectations through product, through tonality, and through design.

Emptyage: Generation X Doesn't Want to Hear It

Earlier generations have weathered recessions, of course; this stall we’re in has the look of something nastier. Social Security and Medicare are going to be diminished, at best. Hours worked are up even as hiring staggers along: Blood from a stone looks to be the normal order of things “going…

A note from my generation.

(Source: New York Magazine)

A fascinating look back at brand identity design circa 1969 with the legendary Saul Bass on assignment for AT&T.

Scenes from a dinner

I received this Fuji X100S about 3 weeks ago for my birthday. All my photography friends have been raving about it. The phrase “the best camera ever” keeps surfacing. I have to say, the more I play with this little gem the more I love it. You can take it everywhere and the quality is beautiful.

It’s tough to be a pug.