Next year’s HOW Conference will be at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. To announce the location, the dancers and singer above gave a performance and ended the Conference on a high note.

There were plenty of photo opportunities at the 2005 HOW Conference. The gospel choir at Brian Collins session, the live bands, the Mandalay Bay dancers, Sagmeister, and for those lucky enough to make it out of the hotel: the wonderful city of Chicago. Now there is a place where you can share your photos from the conference or see what you missed. Check out the new 2005 HOW Conference Flickr group.

This session was a rare look into the process of two different designers on some very similar jobs with totally different outcomes. It is fascinating that both *Print* and *HOW* independently decided that they needed a redesign of their magazine and that they both chose a different Pentagram partner to do it. I guess that kind of proves that Pentagram is the designer’s design firm. I think the most interesting part of this session was not seeing the beginning and end result but to see the interaction between the designers and the respective magazine staff.

Both Abbott Miller and DJ Stout didn’t waltz in and get exactly what they wanted when they redesigned each magazine. In fact, they seemed to hold on to some design elements long after they should have let it go (they admitted this). Abbott wanted rounded corners on the right side of the cover, but it didn’t happen because of cost. DJ was set on having *HOW* in gigantic letters, going from top to bottom. I think this just ended up breaking too many rules for publication design. The main reason the vertical “HOW” didn’t fly was its appearance on the ever-important news stand. Even Pentagram partners have to compromise. When asked about budgets, neither editor, for obvious reasons, didn’t want to divulge much. The Pentagram duo seemed happy to share that it was very low for a magazine redesign.

Both editors stated that it had been about at least five years since they had a major redesign. They said that this was about the longest amount of time a design can stay fresh. Joyce Rutter Kaye, the editor of *Print,* stated that Print was in danger of becoming the “Cosby sweater” of design. Bryn Mooth, editor of *HOW,* stated that many of their design elements were web based and they needed to be updated. I don’t think either redesign is earth shattering in any way, but it wasn’t supposed to be. Both magazines’ design seemed to be too obtrusive as it was. The design needed to be more transparent and let the design that the magazine was highlighting show through. The true test of the redesigns will be evident in how they evolve and last after each partner is completely out of the picture. It was evident that the senior designers at these magazines were struggling with some of the changes that they had to implement. Hopefully they will stick to the templates that were set up with only minor necessary changes.

If you would like to read and see more on the redesign and this session head on over to Speak Up. Debbie Millman has done the research and she was the moderator of the session. A big thank you to Debbie for sending me the “before & after” cover shots.

In the final session of the 2005 HOW Conference, Andrew Zolli’s, “The Road Ahead: Forces Shaping the Next 25 Years,” gave an optimistic and exciting forecast for the future. He sees a future where designers move beyond brochures and logos, and move towards projects that make huge improvements to life on Earth. It might sound like a bold prediction, but Zolli is convinced that the skills of designers are going to be extremely valuable in the near future. I am not talking about the ability to put type on the page, I am talking about our ability to solve problems.

We are at the beginning of a revolution that is radically redefining many of the fundamental pillars of our society. The main reason for this is the power of a population that is increasingly connected and networked. As more and more people join the network, the power of the individual is increased. People are no longer seen as consumers. They are now participants. The masses can no longer be looked down upon as consumers. Every member of the population is now a co-participants with a strong role in the networks. This is revolutionary. Companies the fail to see this fundamental shift will fail. Some companies are recognizing this change but they see a threat rather than an opportunity. This results in destructive actions like the suing of the fans and customers that the companies depend on for revenue. The empowered consumer is no longer satisfied with just consuming. We are participating and we aren’t asking for permission. The suing of fans is more than a dangerous trend, it is a design problem. The challenge is to channel the power of your networked customers. Zoli used the example of Star Wars fans who create unapproved Star Wars movies. Rather than sue the fans for copyright infringement, LucasArts empowered the fans by teaching the fans how to improve their work. They harnessed the power of their fans rather than stifling them. Another similar case could be made for iTunes. ITunes is a well designed solution that is solving the problems of digital music without destroying the fans, artists, or music labels.

Echoing a theme that Brian Collins hinted at in his Branding session the speaker emphasizes the importance of collaboration. He described 4 models of how designers work that he classified as Think, Play, Look, and Envision.

**Think**

This is the traditional model of having small teams of very talented people that are pushed very hard. In this model of isolated designers bas a breakthrough 20% of the time. Their solutions are innovative and have a large impact. This process pushes the designers very hard and leads to burnout and high stress.

**Look**

Teams of designers partner with industry experts. This model has an 80% success rate, but their breakthroughs aren’t very large.

**Play**

The third model consists of a team of external designers that play with the clients products. They have a small failure rate, but you get a redefinition of the problem and new solution.

**Envision**

In this model, designers partner with futurists. They prototype the future. Success is not an afterthought, but the result of a designed situation. This is the model of the future.

If you would like to learn more about the ideas of Andrew Zolli, be sure to check out www.zpluspartners.com

What is it that makes package design a unique discipline? In the words of Leslie Evans, “You are engaging the consumer at the point of puchase. You have a couple seconds for them to decide if they are going to buy your product.” Leslie’s company LEDA (Leslie Evans Design Associates) has created the packaging for some big companies including Timex and LL Bean as well as many smaller companies. The thing they all had in common was great packaging. She showed a great portfolio and gave some insight into her process. I was surprised that she feels that because packaging is very foreign to most clients, she finds that it is easier to sell. Unlike a brochure or logo, clients are more willing to take her advice without trying to change her designs.

There is so much of an investment in package design that identity makeovers often occur at the same time. Leslie’s advice is that because package designs often have high budgets, charge accordingly.
Although the following advice would make more sense in the context of Leslie’s slides, I wanted to share some of Leslie’s advice:

Design with merchandise in mind. Utililze unusual shapes. If a company has a history, take advantage of their heritage. Design with Merchandising in Mind. Ask yourself “how will it look on the shelf?” Sometimes a client’s logo is so bad that a package design is a huge opportunity to redesign the company’s identity. Utilize unique shapes to improve your design. Use the client’s mission statement as a starting point. Consider the competition’s products that will sit near your product on the shelf. Consider the product’s price point versus the competition before you design. Get involved with the printer before you start designing. If you can’t find a PMS color you like, order a special mix from the printer. Always request draw downs on special mixes or process matches.

Although this wasn’t my favorite session of the HOW conference, it was interesting to see a great portfolio.

I apologize to Mr. Truitt for the soap box that I am about to get on. It has nothing to do with him, except that it happened in his session. People of the world, i.e. the middle-aged women who I assume is a principle of her own firm by now, please do not talk during the session. Do not talk to your colleague or friend during a session. At least wisper. As quiet as your voice is and as important as you think you are, you are not quiet and not any more important than anyone else in the world. Please shut up and listen or leave the session. If you are not happy, don’t sit their and fill out your evaluation while others are trying to get as much out of a session as they can. Please don’t yawn and raise your hands like you just got out of bed. Don’t do distracting things the entire time and then grace us all by leaving ONLY ten minutes before it is all over. Leave much sooner next time. You maam are very rude and distracting and I would compare your manners to that of a naughty three-year-old who crawls under the church bench when the pastor starts speaking.

Now on to the session that I had such a hard time paying attention to. Richard Truitt was a story teller. He wasn’t a vibrant, vocal, inspirational speaker, but he told a good story. He wasn’t the most exciting (or excitable) person in the world, but he has experience and the content was there. I don’t have a ton of experience so this is all great information for me. Only implementing some of the ideas will tell how much good information I gained from this session. I am sure that even though this wasn’t the most exciting session (although he had some very funny stories) I will go away with some very tangible guidelines.

Here are a few things that I gathered from his presentation:

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