Old and New Gap Logos (image courtesy of Huffington Post)

Twitter has been aflutter with 140-character (negative) reviews, major news outlets and blogs have picked up the story, and there's even a site that let's you make your own "Crap" logo. I'm sure that this story will only pick up steam tomorrow, so let me play the Devil's advocate:

I'm fairly sure that Gap, or the creative agency who handles Gap's marketing business, has just punked the entire Internet.

There. I said it. Why, Tyler, why? Fair question. Here's my list of reasons:

1. No self-respecting CMO would allow his world-recognized brand to be damaged in this way.
2. No self-respecting Art Director or Creative Director at an agency in charge of a rebrand of this magnitude would let that logo leave an agency.
3. When a company of this magnitude rebrands, they do it totally, not half-assed. Anyone notice the favicon? It's still the old Gap logo. Gap's facebook page? Old logo. What about the corporate website? Oh look! Old logo too. In fact, the new logo only appears on the gap.com home page.
   



Old Gap favicon



4. This is a fashion brand. Fashion brands love to party. If the Gap was really launching new branding, wouldn't they throw a huge unveiling party?

Cmon everyone, wake up! This one is too easy. This is a brilliant digital marketing campaign. Take a brand that has been in decline and probably hasn't had a lot of conversation lately, do something terribly shocking with it, and generate buzz to get people talking about it. To the Don Draper who thought up this campaign, cheers! Well done, chap, well done. Gap was a perfect match for a campaign like this. The fashion-conscious folks were sure to get bent out of shape over an ugly logo. Results? Gap gets more mentions in the next 3 days that they did in the past 3 months and I'm sure that we'll see a traffic report in the future indicating a 3-5 day spike in traffic to gap.com and probably increased sales to match.

What do you think? Is the new Gap logo for real, or marketers looking to generate some buzz? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Also, I realize that this blog theme was designed by someone else. Rest assured that I'm also working on that. The new blog design will be revealed with my new portfolio rollout sometime this summer! Stay tuned.

My prediction is that there are going to be a lot of dissatisfied iPad customers, and here's why:

In the mind of the general public, the iPad will be seen as desktop/laptop replacement. As such, users will expect their iPad web browsing experience to be the same as it would be otherwise. Without Flash, this isn't possible.

Let me back up a bit. In his presentation, Steve placed the iPad between the iPhone and a Macbook, and while that may be true for people who own those devices, I don't see them buying an iPad. Sure, you'll get the true fanboys and gadgeteers to pony up and get one just because they love Apple or gadgets. However, just like the iPhone, the success of the iPad will hinge on mass adoption by Apple neophytes; those people who have been considering switching, but have balked at the "Apple Tax". And they will see the iPad as a replacement for that aging Dell or HP box sitting under their desk.

For a lot of the people like my mother and grandmother, the iPad could easily serve as a PC replacement. It can do all of the computing tasks that they normally take up, like email and photos and music and video and word processing and web browsing... well, sort of. Until they try to read the news on CNN, or shop for a car on Ford, or go to Hulu to watch a video, or play games on AddictingGames, or go to Google finance. There are so many sites that employ Flash for useful and informative purposes (other than video and despite annoying banner ads) that will be only partially available or not available at all on the iPad. Because these people have replaced their PC with the iPad, they will expect the iPad browsing experience to be exactly the same. Chances are, this group of users are oblivious to the presence of Flash elements on a page. They know from time to time they're asked to update their Flash Player, which they do and all is right in their browsing world again. So you can be sure that they'll be confused/frustrated when all those little blue bricks start showing up on their iPads and the content they expected to view isn't available.

But what does this all mean for the designers/developers/strategists building sites? Shouldn't we recognize this problem and explain it away before clients decide to implement Flash? In theory, that's a great idea. But, clients are still going to want interactive elements on their websites, and why shouldn't they? If Flash or Silverlight can be used in a meaningful way to provide an experience or convey a message about their brand in a way that static content cannot, they should want to include the interactive element. We could wait for the savior, HTML5, which some have claimed will render Flash useless. While that may be true, it will take years for HTML5 to be fully complete and supported by all of the major browsers. Consider that we're still trying to kill IE6, which was released 9 years ago. What do we do in the meantime?

So what other choices do we have? SPOILER ALERT! None of the following are a good solution:

1. Explain to clients that their expensive full Flash microsite / Flash interactive element with their brand message will not be available to the 75 million+ people on the iPhone OS. (*NOTE: Depending on the audience for the site, this may be of little consequence. However, if your target consists of young, well-educated, wealthy, technically-savvy peer influencers, you're S.O.L.)
2. We can offer to create alternate versions that degrade the experience for the iPhone users at an additional cost to the client.
3. We can choose to forgo the Flash element altogether and fail to convey the intended message.
4. Cross your fingers and hope that the client doesn't want Flash. If they do, pee your pants and run away.

All of these options lead to a segmented audience, which means a segmented message (marketer's nightmare).

While we're trying to come up with a mediocre-at-best solution to this serious problem, Apple and Adobe are busy being 5th graders, kicking dirt in each others eyes on the playground. Adobe: Perhaps instead of spending time having your execs write blog posts crying about Flash not being supported, or your previously well-respected Flash evangelists sending snarky tweets, you should invest their time in FIXING FLASH so that Apple will want to integrate it into their products. Apple, errrr umm Steve: I don't care how "lazy" Adobe is; I paid $300 for my iPhone and I want it to be able to run Flash (and so will lots of $500 iPad owners), even if that means security risks, battery drain and potential crashes. AKA- you don't know what I want better than I do.

I hope that two of America's finest innovators can find a way to play nicely. Otherwise, there are some serious hurdles ahead for users and designers alike.

RUMOR: Mac tablet to run on Unicorn Blood and Cure Cancer!

Well my colleague and friend @LenKendall asked a provoking question today: "Has anyone created a Bingo card for tomorrow's Tablet event yet?"

What a GREAT idea!

Several people (NYT, David Weiss) beat me to it, but I wanted to post mine anyway. Enjoy!

AppleBingo.pdf

When working on a file in nearly any program, CMD + Click on the icon in the title bar of the window and it will show you it's directory structure. Click on one of the folders below it to reveal it in Finder.

Similarly, CMD + R in iTunes will reveal the currently selected track in Finder.

To streamline the process as much as possible, I use a design template. @ChadEngle created a great template for designing backgrounds. But what if you need a mockup that includes tweets?

I've added to Chad's template to provide a fully customizable Twitter UI. You can edit the text as you like. Anything in pink, is a hyperlink and uses a Color Overlay. Change the style of one, copy the layer style and apply to all of the others. Duplicate the "Post" group to add more tweets to the timeline.

PSD Twitter Template

Hope this helps! Thanks Chad!

I recently read a post on the99percent (which is an outstanding site, by the way) titled "A New Kind of New Year's Resolution: Saying No", the crux of which is:

"...without understanding the importance of saying no ... [you will be] leading a busy life rather than disciplined life."

Which led me to think about the concept of "saying no" as a business practice. Applied in the broader context of the design/PR/marketing industry, this phrase translates to: "In failing to say no, we're doing busy work instead of providing value." In other words, we're doing a client a disservice by not saying no. Why, you ask?

We've all grown up with the mentality that, "The customer is always right". I love to play this card at retail stores (despite being a retail employee at a big-box electronics store in my not-too-distant-past). There are times when I am absolutely right (like the time that a certain home improvement store gouged my brand new hard wood floors while delivering a washer and dryer), and times when I am, ummm, less right (like the time what I thought was on sale for a too-good-to-be true price was on the wrong shelf).

Regardless, I always like to think I am right, and clients do too. They love to tell you that their ideas are paradigm-shifting, and which colors work and which do not, and where certain elements should be placed on a page. It's easy to fall into the trap of: "They're paying me, so they must be right. I have to give them what they want."  For this reason we're all-too-often afraid to say no to clients, when in fact:

Clients are paying you to tell them "no".

Huh? Now, I know that sounds contrary to everything we've ever learned, so let me explain. You are a the professional, and hopefully an expert, in your field [designer, developer, copy writer, social media expert] and they are a [lawfirm, retailer, restaurant, widget creator]. They have all of these great high-level ideas [new website, awesome brochure, twitter account, press release], but lack the expertise to execute the ideas. Thus, because you are the expert and possess a skill that they do not, the client hired you to bring their ideas to fruition. In doing so, you'll need to provide the parameters and constraints that allow the project to be realized within the budget and time frame provided. That process is the equivalent of saying "no".

When we fail to say no, we fail to do the job we've been hired to do. Furthermore, we may not be acting in the client's best interest, and the costs are high: time, budget, reputation.

An example:

I was recently re-designing a website for a client. After several revisions, the designs were nearing approval and final sign off. The client asked for an additional round of mockups that illustrated how links would appear throughout the site in their various states.

I had several options. I could cave and spend an extra 2-3 hours to give the client what they wanted -OR- I could point out that the step was unnecessary, and save me the time and the client the money.

I explained to the client that this was and unnecessary step, as I would provide the developer with detailed instructions for the links. I presented the client with an example of what those instructions look like. She was satisfied with my explanation.

In the end, I saved 3 hours of time and budget for the client and I was able to use that 3 hours for another project; a win for both of us.

I said no to the client, but notice I didn't actually "say no". The key to successfully (and artfully) saying no is being able to justify your actions.  Had I said, "No because it will take too much time," the client would likely have said "that's what I'm paying you for, do it anyway." However, because I explained why the step was unnecessary, the client was satisfied and I was able to save us both time.

In summary:

1. Learn to say "no" to your clients, it's what they're paying you to do.
2. Failure to recognize when to say no can cost you valuable time, and your client valuable time, money, and reputation.
3. Say no artfully. If you are going to say no, you better have a good reason why. "Because I don't feel like it" won't fly.

#6 iLife TuneUp

If you don't know about this website, http://dougscripts.com/itunes/, go there and bookmark it immediately. Doug's Applescripts for iTunes is a treasure trove of tools to help you whip your iTunes library into shape. Artist and track name flipped? No problem, use This Tag, That Tag to swap them. Need to add the album name to all of those Kings of Leon tracks? No problem, check out Albumize. Delete a bunch of tracks? Remove the dead links with Super Remove Dead Tracks. Rename your files from 03_the-clash_give-em-enough-rope_All%20The%20Young%20Folks.mp3 to something much more readable with Rename Files. All of these are super easy to use. Simply download and copy/paste into username/Library/iTunes/Scripts. You'll notice a new icon and menu next to "Help" in iTunes.

iTunes Script Menu

Instructions will vary from script to script, but the general process is: select the tracks you want to change, and click on the menu item that applies. I've included a .ZIP with my favorites (the ones you see above).

Two more of my favorite iTunes-related apps are ByteController and YouControl Tunes both of which do essentially the same thing. Both add a small remote control iTunes (changing tracks, pausing, etc) without having iTunes from and center. I prefer ByteController, as it takes up a bit less space in your menu bar, but YouControl Tunes is far more advanced and even allows track rating right from the menu.

ByteController toolbar in the menu bar

Play WMVs

So there's lots of  windows videos out there. But just because you have a Mac, doesn't mean you can't play them. Get Flip4Mac. It's a free plugin for Quicktime that will allow you to play WMV files on your Mac.

iPhoto

In iLife 2009, iPhoto can export photos directly to Facebook. See here. But if you don't have iLife 2009, you can still export photos directly to Facebook using the Facebook Exporter for iPhoto (clever name right?). This plugin allows you to tag and caption your photos directly from iPhoto and upload them to your account. This is a huge time saver over using facebook's web interface. Simply select your photos, go to File->Export. Click on the "Facebook tab". Tag and Caption, and click Export. Done.

Have a lot of photos to manage? Separate them into multiple libraries (by year?) for easier management and faster loading using iPhoto Buddy. This application is especially useful for my photographer friends who might be shooting large JPEGs or Raw and using iPhoto to manage.

#7 xScope

For my designer friends, xScope is an invaluable application. It provides you with full-screen designer tools such as rulers, guides, magnifier with color index, and browser frames that float over top of other windows, making it the perfect tool for inspecting and measuring layouts.

xScope rulers in action

#8 Adium

Adium is a fully customizable, multi-protocol instant messaging application for Mac that, in most aspects, blows the doors off of iChat. It supports AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google, ICQ, Facebook and many more instant messaging networks. It allows you to integrate all of your "buddy lists" into one window. In addition, Adium has tabbed conversations, fully integrates with OS X's address book, and has file transfer capabilities. However, the most powerful feature, in my opinion, is that it's interface is fully customizable. You can change the appearance of the buddy list and the conversations with various predetermined styles or create your own. It's only downsides when compared to iChat are that it does not yet support video chat and you cannot share your screen. However, if you are looking for a capable, customizable IM client, Adium is certainly it.

#9 Exposé, Spaces, Quick Look, Cover Flow

All four of these features are built into OS X and have been covered extensively on the web, but often go overlooked, so I'll touch on each briefly.

Exposé

This feature can be a real life saver. It allows you to quickly switch between windows, show your desktop, or show all open windows, among other things. You can set up each corner of your screen (or a keyboard key) to act as a hot spot for each function. Go to System Preferences-> Exposé and Spaces

Exposé and Spaces Setup

When you use Exposé to show all windows, it looks like this:

Exposé showing all windows

From here, click a window to quickly switch. To learn more about Exposé, read Apple's support article.

Spaces

Spaces allows your computer to have several "screens" without actually having your monitor attached. Because Mac applications each have a window (several) things can get cluttered quickly. Spaces helps you un-clutter. Go to System Preferences -> Exposé and Spaces. Click on the "Spaces" tab. Here you can declare the number of spaces you'd like to have,  specify which applications to open in each spaces, and hot keys to switch between them.

Spaces system preferences panel

To activate spaces, use your selected keyboard key or click on the spaces app in your dock. Your screen will now look like this:

Spaces activated

From this view, you can click and drag any window to any space. When you switch between applications, OS X will switch to the space your window is located in. To read more about spaces, check out the Apple support article.

Quick Look

Quick Look allows you to view a file without opening it. This is most helpful when looking for a document or a photo, but also works with PDFs, video, PowerPoint presentations, and most other types of files on your Mac. It's super easy to use. Simply select a file in the finder and press your space bar. A small window will pop open, like this:

Quick Look window

Press the spacebar again, and it's gone. With the window open, press the up and down arrows to cycle through the items in the folder you are in.

Cover Flow

Finder has Cover Flow just like iTunes. Click the Cover Flow icon highlighted below.

A finder window with cover flow

#10 Dock Management

So Spaces is great because it gives you more than one workspace to use, but what about the dock? I have tons of applications that I use on a regular basis, more than my dock can accommodate. Fortunately, there is an app for that. Dock Spaces allows you to set up multiple docks and assign them to different spaces.

One of the features of Leopard that I disliked most was the dock's color. It was difficult to see what was open. Enter, Dock Color. It allows you to select whatever color of dock you'd like.

#11 smcFanControl

This one is more advanced, and for laptop owners only. I don't recommend you get this app unless you know what you are doing. If you've used a Macbook or a Macbook Pro on your lap, you've undoubtedly noticed how hot they get. smcFanControl allows you to control the speed of the fans in your Mac to help it stay cooler than it might otherwise. By default, the fans inside of a Macbook Pro spin at 1000 RPMs. With this application, you can set them as high as 6000 RPMs. I don't recommend you leave them on high for extended periods of time, but for short clips, it's fine.

smcFanControl menu and preferences

#1 Growl

Download and install Growl. Growl is a universal notification system for your Mac that keeps you informed about what is going on on your system. Suppose you are listening to iTunes, and the song changes. You get a notification that looks like this:

Growl song change

It provides you with the track info for your song. The notification stays on the screen for X seconds and then disappears.

Growl supports a number of applications, but I find it most useful for Mail, iTunes, IM and Twitter. Is the mail that is coming into your inbox really important? You'll know with Growl. It shows the sender's name and email address, the subject and the first X number of characters from the mail itself. The best part about Growl is that you can customize everything about it, from the info that is displayed, to the way the notification looks, to it's duration on the screen.

If you're feeling really advanced, combine this with FMenu to get notifications about things happening on Facebook.

#2 Keyboard shortcuts

In my line of work, keyboard shortcuts are a MUST. Using shortcuts saves so much time. Here are a few that you should definitely know:

CMD + Shift + 4: Your cursor will change. Click and drag, let go, and you have a screenshot. You'll find it on your desktop.
CMD + Tab: Cycle through your open applications.
Option + G = ©
In finder, CMD + Shift + D, will open a new window and take you directly to your desktop.
OPT + Shift + D, will show turn on and off dock hiding.
CMD + Space, Starts a Spotlight search

For more shortcuts, check out Apple's support page. There's really no good way to learn shortcuts other than repetition. That said, there is a great dashboard widget called xCuts that gives you a quick place for referencing a shortcut if you forget.

#3 Quicksilver

Quicksilver goes hand in hand with keyboard shortcuts. Don't spend time opening finder to locate an application or that Word document from two weeks ago... you know PitchProposal_12.13.09_(draft)_final_Final.doc. Just press OPT + Space and start typing the name of what you're looking for. When you find it, press Return. It opens in whatever program it's supposed to and you're off and running. You can also perform other common tasks directly from this app, like sending files to the trash,  showing them in the finder, going directly to a website, etc.

A Quicksilver search

#4 Witch

Another one related to keyboard shortcuts... get Witch. While CMD + Tab is great for cycling between your open applications, it doesn't let you get to specific windows within those applications. If you're like me, chances are you have three or four documents open in the same program at any given time. This lets you quickly get to the window you're looking for.

A Witch window... cycle between all windows, not just applications

#5 Tame your Desktop

I work off of the "Desktop" folder of my Mac quite a bit. One of the things I... gulp... miss most about Windows, is that little "Show Desktop" button in the Quick Launch toolbar. Thankfully, Everyday Software did too. They created a Mac application to duplicate the functionality. It does exactly what its name says, shows your desktop.

Another Windows [7] feature that I thought would be pretty useful is Snap. After some searching, I found out Irridated Software has me covered with their app 2up. Select the window, use the menu to specify left or right, and 2up gives you a 2 windows that each take up half of your screen.

For those of you who do a lot of presentations, Camoflauge is an uber useful app. It lets you hide that cluttered desktop, showing only your wallpaper.

Desktop without Camoflauge enabled

Desktop with Camoflauge enabled

Summary

That's all for today's post... I hope you find these apps useful. Installing a few of these applications will really increase your productivity, but if I had to recommend one over all the others, it's definitely Quicksilver. I use it countless times a day. Please check back for Part 2. I'll cover iTunes, iPhoto, Adium and a host of other really great tips to increase your productivity.