Christopher Roddy. Concierge–Guardian Building, Detroit

Sure, you can walk into the Guardian Building in Downtown Detroit and realize that you've just entered a impeccably preserved example of Art Deco architecture, but what you really need, if you want the inside scoop, is a personal tour from the building's concierge that most of the tenants know by name—Christopher Roddy.  For years he has been manning the revolving doors at the entrance to this "cathedral to finance" on the corner of Congress and Woodrow, and passing along his knowledge of the building.  

I had the opportunity to spend 30 minutes with Christopher on my recent trip to Detroit and was given a basement to rooftop tour that included the massive basement vault that once held most of Detroit's fortunes, the impressive original 1929 board room, and a skyline view from one of the vacated offices on one of the highest floors.  But if you only make it to the lobby, you'll stand there, like I did, in stunned silence as one of the most spectacular examples of Art Deco architecture surrounded me.  And if that didn't fill your need to experience Detroit's finest buildings, there is the Fischer Building and the Penobscot as well.  

Thanks Christopher for a great tour!

Seriously good food in the Fun Zone!

It happened early in the morning hours on Labor Day weekend.  While Shannon was preparing for another wonderful weekend of burgers, fries, caesar salads and minestrone soup, her new website was being uploaded to the server.  The launch of her new site was done in conjunction with James Klein + Associates, Clever Marketing and Ben May of Fresh Interactive.  The Bay Front Café promises "Seriously good food in the Fun Zone," and Shannon is taking her digital relationship to the community seriously as well.  Along with getting more information on the Bay Front Café website, you can also follow her on twitter, and join the restaurant's Facebook fan page.  In designing the site, we wanted to provide key information for this newly opened café while connecting people to the Fun Zone vibe in a playful way.  This was the first phase of a site that will continue to grow.

Here's another survey...

Marketing experts tell us we live in a service economy. Today, major corporations continue to hone their service skills just to make sure they will surprise and delight customers at every turn. Their aim is to make us brand-loyal while the maddening crowd of competition lurks just a mouse-click away. And what's the quickest way to gauge how they're doing?...customer satisfaction surveys!

After working for years in the marketing field as a writer and designer, I applaud companies who want feedback from their customers, and use it to improve their products and services. But when those surveys become barometers for bonuses and salary compensation, the customer loses. Especially when they feel harassed into filling out the survey with glowing scores. I always bristle when I pick up my car after servicing at the dealership and receive a sales pitch to complete my customer satisfaction survey when it arrives in the mail...along some not so subtle encouragement to give them a high rating.

So when it was my turn recently to write a similar script for a home builder (who will remain nameless to protect my cash flow) I felt compelled to create a more honest version. Although it never saw the light of day, it was good therapy!

Dear New Homeowner:

As you probably know from other major purchases you have made, the sales and production team's compensation package relies heavily on the answers to the customer survey you will soon receive. Please don't take this letter as our way of begging for great marks so that we can keep our jobs, but in fact we're screwed if you don't give us a passing grade. So please take a moment to fill out the survey when it does arrive and make sure you give us the highest marks available on the survey. Remember, we know where you live...because we built your house.

Open wide and say ahhh...

Here's a first for James Klein + Associates, a corporate identity program for a dental office.  We worked with Clever Marketing to develop a fun approach to this Newport Beach dental office.  Although settling on just the right mark was like pulling teeth (sorry...), the results were surprisingly very Tommy Bahama.  The pineapple, the Hawaiian symbol for friendship, hospitality and welcome, was added to provide a different twist to a place that for most people is not high on their list to visit.  We used an existing font, then customized it to give the dentist's name a unique and recognizable look.  Our ultimate goal was to make sure that Dr. McKinley's corporate image focused on how a welcoming environment can make one's visit to the dentist a more comfortable and pleasant experience.  Next up on the Dr's to-do list are business cards, name tags, forms and a website.

Here's something Clever.

I always thought of Jann Rowe as a marketing person who was always up to something clever.  Little did I know that would eventually be the inspiration for her new marketing company.  Clever Marketing, based in Tustin, California, is a metaphor for how I have always thought of Jann, a person who looks for solutions that tickle people's imagination.  And that is why I am excited about developing her new corporate identity.  Instead of looking stuffy, we took her love of the mid-century modern aesthetic and ran with it.   The result is this circular logo, a color palette plucked from the pages of Atomic Ranch Magazine and a font based on the whimsical style of Alexander Girard.

When a place feels right, even your toes know.

Driving north from Los Angeles my car started to beg for some sea air at the point where Highway 101 meets the coast in Pismo Beach.  The sand was smooth and peppered with sand dollars.  It was the perfect place to let my mind wander, and the sand tickle my toes.

A company focused on your back-end

Finally a company that is worried about your back end.  I'm referring, of course, to the back-end programming for sophisticated websites and business enterprise software platforms.  James Klein + Associates, a corporate communications firm located in Irvine, California just finished the copywriting for Taigle's new website.  Taigle not only provides cutting edge expertise on the tools that work behind the scenes for financial and e-commerce sites, they deal in the world of mission critical software solutions that are the backbone of a company's operations.  You know, the kind of software systems that make grown adults cry if they ever fail.  Taigle's primary focus is on the healthcare, financial services and entertainment media sectors, but they promised to deal with my low-tech site if I ever get a break to redesign things.