If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

This adage has always stuck with me from the very first time I heard it. I try to live up to it though I sometimes fall short. Sometimes, “good enough” wins. I suspect that’s true for most of us.

When it comes to the things we buy, “good enough” often turns out to be not very good at all. In short order, the money we thought we were saving ourselves by purchasing the less expensive option turns into no savings at all. It can happen with virtual goods as well as material. We are then left with clutter that takes up more and more space over time.

In the last couple of weeks I have run across two instances of people who go that extra mile in their craft.

The first I found over at The Dieline, a package design showcase. The post was about a box designed by Brad Denboer for his Auditorium Toy Co., which holds the company’s Boattail Racer. The box is a work of art in itself and it’s creation is explained in the post along with shots on his Flickr page. The racer inside is a beautiful handmade wooden toy the likes of which you’ve probably never seen. The toy is made from 13-ply Baltic birch and 77.5 millimeter carnelian-core industrial grade wheels. I don’t know what a carnelian-core is but it looks awesome. It looks to be strong as a tank and fast as a sports car. You’ll pay $350 for that awesomeness. It’s more than what you might usually pay for a toy, but that’s what this post is all about.

The next I saw on CBS Sunday Morning and the segment told the story of Bob Kramer of Kramer Knives. With a 14-month wait list, you’ve got time to save up for Kramer’s amazing knives which sell for $300 an inch and will likely be in use long after you’re gone. I’ll let the video tell the story.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

It’s refreshing to see examples of people striving to go above and beyond the norm and produce a lasting product. I’ll be keeping that in mind as I do my own work and when I make that next purchase.

written by JM

It’s been too long, and a lot’s happened.

Since my last missive, the mystery tablet—the iPad, has been released, Apple has for the moment ceded the top spot in mobile OS market share to Android, and iPhone 4 is on the verge of release.

Steve Jobs told us this week that Apple has sold an iPad every 3 seconds since its release. The last week has also seen its release in 9 other countries. It will do well.

The iPhone OS’s first and only credible competitor, the Android OS, has gained ground in last few months and has taken the lead in the mobile OS race. Keep in mind that much of that growth is the result of free Android handsets finding their way into consumers hands. Also keep in mind that many of these consumers could give a crap about the so-called selling points of the Android OS as cried out often by its supporters.

The broadest of those selling points is that it is an “open” platform in comparison to Apple’s “closed” iPhone OS. The Android application space is sort of the wild, wild West. Any developer that wants to can be more or less guaranteed to get their app in the Android Marketplace and any consumer that wants to can get their hands on it. That also comes with all the potential pitfalls—buggy, unsecure apps that are at odds with the experience that Apple seeks to give its customers.

I think this is great. In many ways it’s everything the iPhone OS isn’t. It’s great that the iPhone platform now has a worthy competitor and consumers have more choices. Even if this looks like a repeat of the late 80′s/early 90′s as some are saying, when Microsoft found Apple asleep at the wheel, I don’t think the outcome will be the same. Apple can serve their customers and shareholders just fine while not being the lead in certain categories.

Humorously, we engage in a holy war where spar with our peers over which platform is best. Our team is better than your team. For me, the iPhone is the best device out there. I live in the Apple ecosystem and I’m happy there. I, nor anyone else in that camp, have anything to defend. Apple may not do everything perfectly but they make some of the best products around. As long as they continue to make those products, there is nothing to be upset about in my book. We should all realize that all the options we have before us are a good thing and the outlook only gets better from here.

written by JM \\ tags: Android, iPhone

With the recent spate of Verizon ads that have been attacking AT&T’s 3G network, and by extension the iPhone, I began wondering what life for iPhone users would be like on Verizon. Even among the iPhone faithful, there is a fairly decent amount of disdain for AT&T. Among the digerati, many of whom live in the San Francisco area & New York City, it is even greater. But such is the love for the iPhone, they put up with the sketchy service (Most of which is due to the dense concentration of iPhone users in these areas).

As of Q1 of ’09, Verizon had about 86.5 million subscribers leaping ahead of AT&T’s 78.2 million as of the same period (Let it be noted that Verizon achieved this with the acquisition of Alltel which brought with it 13.2 million subscribers). Also as of Q1 of ’09, AT&T had activated about 8 million iPhones since 2007 (I haven’t found a hard number on how many iPhones are currently in use).

What is for certain is that no one uses wireless bandwidth like iPhone users. In creating mobile Safari, Apple made a mobile browser people actually want to use, not to mention the apps. My theory is that even with a wider 3G coverage map, iPhone users on Verizon’s network would face the congestion problems seen on AT&T. Like it or not, going with AT&T was the right thing for Apple to do. It allowed them to make one phone with a GSM radio that could be widely used around the world and therefore gain greater adoption. Now that they have a strong foothold, they can branch out to other carriers (once exclusivity ends). I’m just not so sure I’d abandon ship so fast.

written by JM \\ tags: iPhone

In social media circles and particularly stories written about social media, one of the favorite topics is customer service. There are some good examples of companies that exercise great customer service. There are many more who do not. The fact we will more quickly share a bad experience over a good one should make that no surprise.

Probably the most recent, bad example of note is that of musician Dave Carroll and the experience he had with United Airlines after his guitar was damaged by baggage handlers (YouTube video here). The YouTube video helped turn his bad experience into a better one. I could go on with more examples but the tone of indifference he and others experience in their customer service experiences seem to be the rule rather than the exception.

In the way of positive customer service, there is Frank Eliason who is @comcastcares on Twitter. Frank basically took it upon himself to use Twitter as a tool to reach out and help customers who were having problems or negative service experiences. Particularly those that were voicing their problems on Twitter. It is now his primary duty along with a growing team of people helping with the load.

While there are more stories like these on both sides, the point is sites like Twitter or Facebook are being used as tools/weapons to get results. In one sense I’m glad that consumers have a recourse to combat service problems. On the other hand, it’s sad that we have to resort to threats to achieve a positive outcome. Customer service is a war and social media has become the battlefield. Victories are won when companies are shamed into doing what they should have done in the first place.

The other piece to all of this is the praise that is heaped upon companies who “get it.” I love it that companies are out there using social media to communicate with their customers. However, I’m not so sure we should be throwing parades in their honor just because somebody had the common sense to see Twitter as an effective communication tool. For the big boys especially it’s simple, talk to your customers and you’ll likely keep them as customers.

A little effort can go a long way.

written by JM \\ tags: customer service, social media

I was just in the bookstore looking at the magazine rack and I again made notice of a sad trend. Magazines are looking downright thin these days. Being a designer, I naturally gravitate to the design related section of the newsstand and that is where I have seen it. In recent months,  my favorite design mags have dwindled in size while at the same time, increasing their prices.

The most desired issues of these magazines, for me, has always been their design annuals and I’m not the only one. For that reason, these have historically been more expensive than the average issue. One of the recent HOW magazine design annuals I picked up seemed thinner than an average issue would have been a few years ago. That even included a couple of advertisements for paper companies which always add a little girth to the book. They are typically printed on the heavier stock being advertised. Just holding it in your hand, you can’t help but realize the problem. Ads. While I have only the data gathered by my eyes and the feel of the book in my hand, undoubtedly ad revenues are down in a big way.

Another example was my latest trip to the newsstand. The Print Regional Design Annual is now on sale and it can be safely said that it is half the size it used to be and substantially more expensive at $39. As much as I value these particular issues that showcase the work of fellow designers, I find it hard to justify paying those prices.

Besides the economy, we’ve all heard about the dire straits of print journalism in the media in recent years. Falling circulations and ad sales have delivered a crushing blow that most can’t recover from. With the fast pace of the internet and the hunger for up-to-the-minute news, print publications can’t compete.

I hate to see this happen to such a great medium. I don’t know where magazines fit into the equation, where design is such a crucial component of what they are. Like books, the experience doesn’t translate anywhere near the same when looking at a screen. I do hope they can survive, one way or another.

written by JM

Apple fans are a funny bunch. No sooner does a new toy show up and they start asking questions and prognosticating about the next one. I suppose that’s a testament to Apple’s ability make drool-worthy devices and their supernatural powers of persuasion.

For years, it was dreams of a PDA that filled our heads, nevermind a phone. In 2007, the iPhone was released and those dreams were realized and then some. Ever since, it has been talk of a tablet that would do who knows what. A couple of posts ago, I outlined the rumors before WWDC about this possibility and what might be wrong with it.

However, there has been something else that bothers me about an addition to the lineup. Whether it was another iPhone that might be smaller or a tablet, (I don’t think Apple will make a netbook) the thing that didn’t add up was which OS would it use. A smaller iPhone just couldn’t use the same OS as the current phone OS. The Human Interface Guidelines of the iPhone OS are such as to maximize the screen real estate of the phone. For instance, buttons are to be a certain size so your finger can accurately select it. A physically smaller phone would have to account for a smaller screen therefore limiting what can be on screen at one time. I suppose it could happen but it would be quite limited and would not run the crop of applications in the App Store.

Alternatively, a tablet would allow for precise touch input but you still have a problem with the difference in size. So if not the Touch OS then the current desktop OS or the upcoming Snow Leopard OS? It might make sense if it were to use a mouse and keyboard for input but that seems like an awkward setup for a tablet. Finger input might work but it doesn’t seem like the sweet spot and depending on the resolution could be a nightmare. The most likely and yet somewhat un-Apple like solution would be a third OS optimized for touch input on a device sized somewhere between an iPhone and the MacBook. Un-Apple-like because it flies in the face of their philosophy of simplicity.

There are many possibilities as to what this new toy can be and if it comes to fruition, will be innovative. As before, the rumor may linger long enough to become reality.

written by JM \\ tags: Apple, media tablet

News began buzzing over the weekend about Apple being in talks with Verizon about carrying the iPhone in the 2010-2011  time frame. A MacRumors story speaks of an “iPhone Lite” and the fabled “other device” that may or may not be a tablet. Specifically it’s referred to as a “Media Pad” that is overall smaller than a Kindle but with a larger screen.

The first question that comes to my mind is, “Why would Apple need to talk to Verizon about a tablet/media pad?” The answer is to have a device with a constant data connection for surfing the web and maybe downloading music and apps like the iPhone. That’s great, but who is going to have another device for which they have to pay a monthly fee especially when the iPhone does such an admirable job at doing the previously listed tasks. If Apple were to make such a device, they would of course want to sell them to iPhone owners. The answer to that may be an arrangement like the Kindle, where the access to the wireless network is subsidized in the purchase price of the device. There are problems with that scenario too, but it’s difficult to see another solution unless access was at a greatly reduced rate. Am I wrong here? Would you as an iPhone owner want a device like this, essentially an overgrown iPhone and then pay another monthly wireless fee? While I would like the device no doubt, I can’t see the justification in paying a monthly fee for wireless service.

One thing’s for sure. This is still just a rumor. If this device even exists, the possibilities are many. It may be just that, a media pad that only has wi-fi and controls other devices like your Apple TV or an extension of your computer screen. Maybe more like an overgrown iPod Touch than an iPhone.

The other thing we know… Apple is the best at making a device you’ve got to have and never knew you needed. 

Buy the above illustration from the Defy Creative Store for $0.99.

Updating...

written by JM \\ tags: Apple, media tablet

One of my favorite things is when the various graphic design magazines come out with their design annuals and showcases of promotional designs. The self-promotion annuals are particularly good because there are a lot of supporting articles dealing with the issue of promotion. As most any designer knows, self-promotion is the “red-headed step child” of your body of work and we need all the insight and inspiration we can get. If you’re like most, you either can’t reach a point at which you’re satisfied with what you’ve done or you flat out don’t take the time to do the project at all. 

As good as some of these articles are, the thing that really irks me about others is how cynical the authors or those they interview are about the efforts of some promotions. These art directors and marketing managers say they are so inundated with such things that they usually end up in the trash. The disdain is palpable. 

What I would like to say to fellow designers and creatives everywhere is, don’t listen to the negativity and do that which you are able to do and do it well. Established firms and individuals probably don’t need my encouragement but instead it’s for those striking out on their own for the first time. In tough times, you do what you can to promote yourself. If that means sending out postcards, then that’s what you do. If you don’t have money for that, get out and go to local professional events and other networking opportunities. If none exist, start one. 

Promotion is not so much a mystery as it is a call for us to stretch ourselves professionally beyond what we thought we could do. A friend recently wrote a note on her Facebook wall that was apparently a quote from Jennifer Aniston, “Everything you want in the world is just right outside your comfort zone.” That totally hit home for me. Much of what I have to share with you is usually also a call to action for myself. It’s my hope that as I work through these things, they can benefit anyone who reads what I have to say.

written by JM \\ tags: graphic design, marketing, self promotion

Everywhere I look there is consternation surrounding social networks. Recently Facebook made changes to the user interface of the site and those changes have been met with a resounding “say what?”. Twitter is hitting the mainstream and the newbs or the uninitiated don’t seem to get it. It got me thinking again about what these social networking sites mean to those who have or should have a broader identity online. For some, Facebook, MySpace and others are the sole place they reside online. They may have no desire to express themselves beyond the confines of their profile page, and that’s OK.

However, entrepreneurs, creatives, and others typically make use of personal sites to exercise greater control over their content and have a place online that is truly theirs. That makes Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn outposts (as Chris Brogan put it) on the web that ultimately drive traffic back to your own site. Each of these places can be extremely important to your brand but they are there to attract the eyes of those that may never have seen you otherwise or to engage in conversations that might have never happened.

Remember that you get out of these outposts what you put into them. For those serious about building a brand or expressing their creativity, they are just tools, not the be-all end-all.

written by JM

Over a year ago I wrote my thoughts on the first Kindle and now Amazon has its successor. From all the reviews it sounds as though it’s an improvement, although slight, over the original. My first “review” was pretty critical and admittedly made without ever actually having held a Kindle. Not much has changed in that regard especially since you can’t jump in your car and head over to Best Buy to check one out and I don’t personally know anyone who owns one.

I REALLY want to like the Kindle. However, my criticisms remain. On the other hand the Kindle does a lot of things right. I won’t rehash the specs here but instead I want to focus on what I think this means for books in general.

What’s Next

I said in my original article that the Kindle 1 wouldn’t be a runaway hit or even a modest success. So far, I think I’m right on the first and maybe not so much on the second. Amazon doesn’t release figures on Kindle sales but estimates put the number around half a million for the first model. This number seems high to me but even if it’s relatively close, I suppose you could call it a success. When you read the tech press as I do it’s hard to know when something has penetrated the tech echo chamber. I believe e-book readers will become more and more popular as time goes by, but they have a tough road ahead.

Perhaps selfishly, as a graphic designer I want to see more control over what’s possible in terms of design. The reason for not having that control comes down to smaller file sizes no doubt. It’s virtual portability is one of it’s greatest strengths and perhaps among it’s greatest weaknesses when it comes to graphics. It’s absolutely convenient but potentially closes a segment of the book market where designers are needed.

The Revolution

For publishers, the Kindle and even other e-book readers are an opportunity to stay current in the ever-changing digital landscape. Where the Kindle bests others lies in the Amazon infrastructure. They made an Apple-like move in creating the hardware and developing the format of the content. It’s not a win for open standards but the best solution doesn’t always rest there. For now, they have the best solution out there.

As I write this, Amazon has released Kindle for iPhone. This is an interesting move (a move they mentioned was coming when the Kindle 2 was announced) and one that I’m going to have to think on. I have downloaded and tested it and my gut reaction is that it doesn’t increase the chances of me buying a Kindle for the time being. Perhaps the device itself isn’t the revolution they’re after.

written by JM