You’re special. You know that right? You have a voice, story, and message, and all you have to do is share it with us. Really! Be transparent and authentic, and put it out there. You’re a beautiful and unique snowflake… Now tell us more about that turd you took this morning.

I’ve uncovered a secret about working in design. At first glance, it may seem like another in a long line of posts moaning about clients. It is not. This is a simple observation, and I believe that it can change how you work—for the better.

You’ve got a problem. Maybe I’m wrong—perhaps you’re perfect. Could be, your company is doing brisk business and you hardly even have to think about marketing. If that’s the case, don’t read any further. No, really, I mean it. Stop reading right now. It’s beautiful outside—might as well go for an espresso instead.

Sorry for the lack of posts as of late. As we work to complete Speak Human, I find myself wrestling with footnotes, nitpicking over commas, and obsessing over every last detail. As a result, I’ve been a bad blogger. (Still, I think this is preferable to a bad bladder.) In the meanwhile, here are some random observations:

Dat’s rite. We’z all myxed-ups and I’s nots tawkin bouts the tweensz textn. Nope, there’s something increasingly problematic with the language we employ in marketing. If we don’t make some changes soon, no one will listen to any of our messages.

Branding is a funny subject—particularly for small companies. Although it’s commonly discussed, it’s still so vague that most are confused by what exactly it means. I’ll even go a step further: I think that most branding efforts are flawed from the outset because people are simply not asking the most important question.

Uh-oh… I feel a rant coming on, and it’s not one of those brief ones either. It’s long and full of my own custom brand of “bitchiness”. I typically don’t address the issue of “spec”. It’s a boring topic that has been debated on countless occasions. Something recently arose, however, that demanded a response.

This is my hundredth blog post. I’m sort of surprised that I’ve managed to write this many. I’m even more surprised that people like you read them and take the time to post such thorough and intelligent responses. I don’t think ideasonideas can be called a “new” blog any longer and this leaves me thinking.

It’s hot at smashLAB today, probably much like at your studio. We’ve finally pushed Speak Human through its first set of hard edits and it’s getting closer to release, even though it has been delayed somewhat. Additionally, we’re working on a few new projects that will launch this fall. In the meanwhile, here are a few more random observations.

I love music and have paid for it handsomely over the years. I now own some of the same recordings on MP3, CD, cassette, and even LP. These days I find myself in a bit of a dilemma. I want to pay those who make the music, but not the people in between. Unfortunately, the current system doesn’t support that.