Design As a Franchise-able Commodity? or, Is a Logo Worth More Than an Inkjet Printer?
Filed under: "Whitestone Design Werks", Design, Logo Design
I recently had a book recommended to me by a friend that has evidently been must-reading for entrepreneurs for years called, The E-Myth Revisited, by Michael E. Gerber. I was aware of the book, but it had never been on my reading list. After my friend flat-out told me that, “You have to read this book” while simultaneously thrusting his well-worn copy into my hands I decided to take him up on his exhortation. While it has more of a Zen influence then I would like, I still found myself quite captivated with all of the business possibilities it stirred up in my mind (and heart). While there were many insightful sections that have stirred me to re-evaluate my own business model, I found myself in a bit of a frustrating quandary. For those who haven’t read the book, I won’t spoil too much (other than they all die in the end) by revealing that much of the business model is based upon developing a franchise-able vision for your company. My quandary was that I could not reconcile my appreciation for the franchise model which relies on developing systems that deliver quantifiable and repeatable, consistent results, with the reality of my business which at its very essence relies on uniqueness, abstract thought, subjective opinion and thinking “outside the box” as it were. How could a design business be modeled as a business that could be franchised?
JEB Commerce Upcoming Identity Design – Not Just a Logo
Filed under: "Whitestone Design Werks", Design, Identity, Logo Design, North Idaho
After experiencing tremendous growth and unparalleled success as a dynamic start-up in the affiliate marketing management industry, JEB Commerce – Affiliate Program Manangement realized their logo, while professional looking, was more fitting for a business in its infancy than the maturing powerhouse it was becoming and the respected leader in their industry they were aiming to attain. Even as a relatively new player, they had already amassed an impressive client list that included brands like: Elance, Ligonier Ministries, philosphy, OfficeFrog to name just a few as well as successful experience working with brands such as Dean & Deluca and Zappos.com.
After trying an online crowd-sourcing logo design solution and being less-than-impressed with the submissions, JEB Commerce decided to approach Whitestone Design Werks to come up with a design for a new logo in order to refresh and reposition their brand. What Jamie Birch, owner of JEB Commerce thought was a simple request to design a logo, turned into an education about the difference between “just a logo” and what a well-thought out and designed identity system was and how it was crucial for developing JEB Commerce’s position as not just a well-respected brand but an authoritative, leading brand in their space.
It’s Officially a Quad-Baked MacBook Pro (4 Times and Counting)
For those who are keeping track of how many times my MBP has been baked and come back to life, as it stands, the official count is now four. This time, it lasted over one and a half months since the last baking session. I won’t bore you with any new details other than to say, after four successful tries, I’m now committed (like I wasn’t before) to baking the board for as long as it will let me do it. I’m sure that at some point, it will finally give up the ghost, but until then…
Some points to note: it now only takes me about 15 minutes to tear apart the machine (disassemble is probably a gentler way of saying that). It takes a little longer putting it back together because after spending a great deal of time trying to reconnect the only connector that connects to the underside of the board (connecting with me on this?) and then position the board at an angle so that I can get the port side (the other side) to fit through the openings in the case and allow the board to seat properly. I invariably fail to remember that I didn’t connect the battery unit before I went through the convolutions necessary to seat the board. I then remove the board, affix the battery and then go through said convolutional placement of board once more. So, in all, the reassembly takes at least 10 minutes longer for me. However, I’m getting real good at it. Maybe next time, I will remember to affix the battery beforehand.
For those coming to this article for the first time, I have three other posts of the whole MacBook Pro logic board baking ordeals:
Cooking the Books (or Baking my MacBook Pro Logic Board)
Twice-Baked Mother Board (or Refried Logic of my MacBook Pro)
Ooops! I Baked It Again (3rd Time!)
AppleTV Changing Back To iTV? With Apps? Hmm…
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything about AppleTV. Or Boxee. When Boxee came out for OS X, it took the desire (or need) out of wanting to get a dedicated AppleTV for the purpose of using Boxee. And, to be honest, while the form-factor is intriguing, I can’t see it in my entertainment center and I have little desire to purchase a Boxee Box. We’ve settled into a comfortable routine with our Netflix queue and Netflix instant watch offerings for watching movies that we didn’t want to wait for in the queue and especially to catch up on past episodes of Lost or 24 without commercial interruption (which is essential when you’re trying to catch up on multiple seasons before series finales). Hulu and Boxee apps for OS X, or even surprisingly, the network sites like FOX and ABC, have been sufficient to watch any current season episodes of anything. Of course, now that Lost and 24 are finished, there’s only an occasional Lie To Me or Kitchen Nightmares that I care to watch. And if we really like something, like BBC’s Elizabeth Gaskell Collection box set (don’t look at me like that), we’ll invest in the DVDs. As for gaming, we’re still using our almost 10-year old GameCube! So, admittedly, we are not the ideal demographic in this space—or, are we? Now, with all the new rumors surrounding AppleTV’s change back to iTV and being brought over to the iOS platform with the promise of apps similar to iPad and iPhone—will the game be changed? Will we finally take the plunge? That all depends…
Ooops! I Baked It Again. (3rd Time!)
In the ongoing saga of trying to keep my MacBook Pro alive long enough to replace it, I just had to bake the logic board again. For those of you that are keeping score or just curious about how many times a MacBook Pro motherboard can be yanked out and baked and put back in and still work again—so far, we’re at three now. The bad news is, where the first bake lasted three months, this last re-bake (or re-fry or whatever) has lasted only one month and four days. So, replacement time is coming on quicker than I was hoping! For details of the logic board baking process I used, read about my first Cooking the Books article or the second, Twice-Baked Motherboard. For the differences I did this time, read on…
