Google

Advertising

Google Says “Hey Mom, Thank You”

By Delphine Hirasuna |

What’s a good analogy to describe how people talk to their Google Home Hub?  The way kids talk to their mothers and always expect her to be there and respond.  No “please” or “thank you’ or “when you finish what you’re doing,” but simply “hey, Mom.” Released in time for Mother’s Day, this commercial by Wieden & Kennedy for Google’s Home Hub draws a parallel with how people talk to their Home Hub and other Google support devices. No prefaced niceties, but just “hey Google, call my office,” “hey Google, where’s the nearest Starbucks,” “hey Google, tell me how to get to the bridge from here.” That’s okay, don’t feel sheepish. Google, afterall, is internet technology designed to do your bidding. Moms, on the other hand, occasionally like hearing how much she is appreciated. 

Design Quizzes

Quiz: Brand or Generic?

By Delphine Hirasuna |

How familiar are you with brand and generic names? Probably less than you realize. Some revolutionary trademarked products have achieved such market dominance that their name has become synonymous with an entire category of product or service. Particularly for breakthrough products, consumers spontaneously use the pioneer brand name generically, even when referring to later entrants in the field. Occasionally companies lose their proprietary rights to a trademark if they let competitors use the name as a common “descriptor” of a category of products and not linked to any one brand. At that point, the word can no longer be registered, a phenomenon known as “genericide.” In other instances, the trademark owner decides not to renew registration and simply lets the trade name expire.

This quiz challenges you to identify whether the name is: 1) trademarked (registered to a specific company), 2) generic (never trademarked), 3) genericized (once trademarked but now a common noun) or 4) former TM (trademark allowed to expire). Answers after the jump.

Generic_Quiz
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Design Education

“30 Weeks” To Teach Designers to Lead

By Delphine Hirasuna |

Name one major company founded or headed by a designer? (Apple doesn’t count since Steve Jobs wasn’t actually trained as a designer.) If you can’t come up with one, you’re not alone. Designers create, they invent, they innovate, they make products and brands more successful, more visible, more desirable, but other than running their own design studios, they typically don’t lead businesses. “30 Weeks: A Founders Program for Designers” in New York City is determined to change that. Operated by Hyper Island, a Swedish educational company, and supported by Google in partnership with the SVA, Parsons, Pratt, and The Cooper Union, the experimental program wants to transform designers into founders through a 30-week course in start-up mentorship, discussions with industry leaders, group critiques, tools, hands-on help, and an environment where participants can focus on their own products. Enrollment for the 2014 program, which starts in September, is closed, but it is worth following nonetheless to see if designers can be trained to take the lead.

Advertising

A Big Hand for Honda “Hands”

By Delphine Hirasuna |

Clocking in at two minutes, this Honda commercial would be a very expensive ad buy on prime-time TV, but thanks to the accessibility of YouTube and Vimeo, audiences are seeking it out online. The Honda “Hands” ad starts with a cog, just like its award-winning Cog commercial (see July 24 post below). This time Honda teamed with Wieden + Kennedy London to “celebrate the curiosity of Honda engineers” who have made Honda the world’s largest engine manufacturer and racing company since it was founded in 1948. Through “slight of hand” and brilliant animation, the cog morphs into a dazzling array of products, from motorcycles and jet planes to solar-powered cars and robots. The making of this video, directed by Smith & Foulkes and Nexus Productions, is a technological feat in itself. For brands that think they don’t have the budget for such an ambitious production, consider this: Is it better to do something middle-of-the-road and run it on prime time TV or to create something awesomely original that people will “google” to see on their own. If it is good, it will go viral.