Design can be used to enhance the visual appeal of a product or service. It can be used to organize complex information or give meaning to abstract concepts. Sometimes design is used to make a bold statement or to evoke a specific emotion.

Design can do all of those things and more, but the underlying quality always remains the same — to strengthen clear communication.

When USA Cycling approached us with the opportunity to design their High Performance Plan (HPP) presentation, clear communication was the driving force behind the entire project. The HPP weighs in at around 135 pages of information ranging from high-level to technical, broken into 15 sections. We were told that the bulk of the content had changed little from year to year. Our challenge? To make it easy for the reader to digest and quickly grasp the key concepts within the plan. Past attempts had been too busy and not consistent with the USA Cycling brand.

Our first step was to ensure that the base content provided a solid foundation for the design. We had our talented copywriter Tammy Oler collaborate with USAC to edit the existing plan. Throughout the process, Tammy kept the visuals in mind, suggesting modifications that would allow for better communication.

While the copy was being developed, Design Rangers worked to create a high-impact cover design and an interior layout built to let readers find information quickly. The idea was to illustrate the power and passion behind the athletes and their goals.

With final content and the base design in place, we got down to business – creating common visual cues in each section along with a variety of text styles to create consistency and to increase readability. Graphics and charts in each section were re-designed using icons and stylized elements.

The physical appearance of the piece makes just as much of an impact as the contents contained within it. We worked with a local printer to develop a package that would stand out from the rest. Custom 3-ring binders with the new cover and spine graphics were produced to allow for content additions as needed. The binder was constructed with a lay-flat design, a business card window and a pocket in the back to house additional materials. The tabs feature an easy-to-browse design and are reinforced at the hole locations and tabs themselves. The interior is was printed in full digital color on a premium stock. Design rangers also provided a matching PowerPoint template to help ensure consistency.

The final result? A clean, comprehensive guide built to inform and educate. Every aspect of the design and content were refined to make the communication stronger, and USAC is poised to present their plan with confidence.

What an amazing message and a big, bold statement. We often push our clients to make the big, bold statements. It takes guts though and not all clients are willing to put it all on the line. I’m proud of Coleman and their marketing guts. Errr… I was proud until I did some research.

Strike #1 –Web Site. This morning, after I had decided to write a blog on Coleman and the awesomeness of  “The Original Social Networking Site” campaign, I was super excited to go to coleman.com and see how their web site integrated the messaging of the campaign. You should have seen my sad face when the site loaded and… nope. Nothing. After some digging around I finally found mention of the social networking press release and a page titled “Social Networking” which shows the advertisements.

Strike #2 – Print Ads. According to a Coleman press release, the T.V. spots began running in May 2009. They are/were also running print ads, but until I did a little bit of research on Coleman, I wasn’t aware of them. We subscribe to Outside magazine and are exposed to several other “outdoorsy” publications – seems like I would have seen one in there (Chris says he *thinks* he may have seen one in Outside, maybe I missed that page… in that one issue?). My family is their market. They have definitely not reached us.

Strike #3 – Consistency. As designers, one of our favorite things is consistency. In our dream world, the ads, the web site, and the marketing materials all have a similar look-and-feel, similar messaging. Coleman could have really taken this campaign and ran with it. Instead, they are just left with a disappointed consumer.

What we can learn from Coleman’s mistakes. Don’t disappoint your market with an inconsistent message. As much as you may think your customers won’t notice that your web site uses a different logo than your business cards, you are using several different color palettes, inconsistent fonts, etc – they will. You want current and potential customers to see your company’s marketing materials and recognize them as yours – every time, everywhere. This is especially important now that there are so many ways for consumers to find you out in the world ie: Facebook, Twitter, Google search.

Final thoughts. Be bold, be brave, be consistent!

Such was the case when USA Cycling asked us to create a new look for their National Championships race series. These premier events cover 18 cities and 5 cycling disciplines – road, mountain, track, cyclo-cross and BMX. The races and locations are diverse and full of personality, and the graphics that defined each race had become so too. USAC was worried that their image had become too segmented and that people often didn’t know that the events were part of the series, or held by USA Cycling at all!

To date, the marketing team had been using a combination of different logos, text and images at each race year-to-year. To make things more complicated, each venue had been developing their own signage and materials to promote their events. In addition to creating an identity crisis, the growing number of graphic files and signage made it nearly impossible to manage the entire National Championships campaign.

After brainstorming with the USA Cycling team, we proposed building a “graphic toolkit” that would help them to get things under control and create a solid foundation for the National Championships brand. The toolkit would include a new brandmark for the series along with a set of guidelines and graphic files that could be used internally or by race coordinators. The goal was to create a design that captured the spirit and professionalism of the USAC while allowing room for expansion and the addition of venue specific information.

After sketching out many potential designs, we narrowed down the field to 4 distinct concepts. The final ideas were presented as mock-ups with modular elements that could be re-configured to allow for integration of event names and sponsor logos. Designs were presented in color and black-and-white to ensure that the look could be reproduced effectively in a variety of formats.

Concept #1:

Concept #2:

Concept #3:

Concept #4:

The four designs were narrowed-down to two finalists, both of which were integrated into a variety of situations to show how they would work vertically, horizontally and with additional typography and graphics. The final design uses the USA Cycling logo, letting the flag flow into a strong typographic treatment and 5 stars, representing each of the cycling disciplines. The open design allows similar elements to flow around the text while keeping the main focus on the National Championships at all times.

Final Design:

Now that the foundation for the look had been established, the rest of the “toolkit” was constructed. Key elements included:

• Color palette with breakdown of colors for web and print uses
• Logo files – color, black and white, single-color and reversed
• Signage templates
• Logo files with event names and venues integrated
• Online advertising templates
• Merchandising templates
• Style guide outlining guidelines and best practices for using the graphics

All files were provided in an online download area and on CD-ROM for easy access.

True to their original vision, USA Cycling now has a flexible graphic toolkit that they can use to help define the National Championships brand. The files and guidelines can be provided to partners and race coordinators to help them create their own materials while the internal marketing team can focus on promoting awareness and membership.

Want to see the new look first-hand? Check out the 2010 National Championships schedule.

Have you had a situation where a set of graphics elements or tools helped you? Maybe you have something that could use one now? Let us know in the comments.

Design Rangers has the pleasure of posting this article written for us by Tammy Oler – our dear friend and awesome wordslinging partner. Enjoy!

Between blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, there are more ways than ever to connect with your customers.  But direct marketing still works – and email newsletters can be a powerful way to reach out.  The key to success with an e-newsletter is cutting through the clutter of your customers’ inboxes, and giving them good reasons to click through to your content.

Here are five tips for making your e-newsletter more newsworthy:

Offer Unique Value

Give your readers unique and valuable content: relevant news, exclusive how-tos with case studies or examples, resources, and information on sales and discounts are all excellent ways to connect with customers and keep them reading. It’s easy for people to delete and unsubscribe, so make sure that you’re publishing information your customers care about!

Make It Entertaining & Fun

Don’t send boring stuff to your customers!  (This one seems obvious, but it’s important to keep in mind.  Consider just how much boring stuff you receive from companies…)

Get Social

Incorporate social media into your e-newsletters to connect your customers on multiple channels.  Invite your newsletter readers to link to you on your other social sites, and share your newsletters on those sites.  You can also conduct polls or solicit content from customers on other channels and share in your newsletter.

Be Familiar

Readers are more responsive to communications from friendly, trusted voices.  Write your newsletter as if you were an insider talking to another insider.  Give your newsletter a club or community feel.

Deliver on Your Promise

Make sure you tell people what they’ll get when they sign up for your newsletter – and make good on your promises!  Be clear about how often you will send out emails and what types of content they will contain.

Oh, and don’t forget to proofread!  Just like with blogs, spelling, punctuation, and grammar still matter!

Good luck with your email marketing!

Tammy Oler is a freelance wordslinger, strategist, and member of the Design Rangers Auxiliary in Brooklyn, NY.

To subscribe to the Ranger Report, the Design Rangers’ monthly e-newsletter click here.

It’s doubtful however that many would envision a talking wine bottle looking for a date with food (a campaign for Epcot’s International Food and Wine festival). Or an ad showing Yoda, using the force at luggage claim (in a campaign for Star Wars Weekends). Yet these are exactly the kind of fun (and funny) ideas and campaigns coming out of Disney’s “Yellow Shoes” in-house creative department.

Or take the example of the campaign for the Disney Princess half-marathon. It would have been easy to take a group-shot of Disney’s many animated princesses and call it a day.  But by combining a classic icon with the unexpected, you get a much more powerful and targeted message. The theme worked so well, that Disney created real glass-slipper running shoes for display alongside other athletic shoes at Foot Locker, the key sponsor.

The Rangers had the exciting opportunity to attend Will Gay’s presentation to the Pikes Peak Advertising Federation that provided rare insight to the creative engine that drives the creative look for Disney’s resort brands. Will, the creative director for Yellow Shoes, showed us that even under the seemingly restrictive brand that is Disney, big ideas and creativity still rule the roost.

Besides being a fun and entertaining presentation, the talk sparked dialog at the Ranger Camp about the importance of creative play and the ideas it can create.  The big take-away for us is that you should always be pushing for innovative and smart creative, even if what you have is already working for you. Disney has a proven formula that’s worked through the ages, so why step outside the box? Because it works, and it keeps the Disney brand from becoming stale. As Will put it, “If you entertain people, they forget that they are being advertised to.” What ads or brands stand out in your mind as innovative, creative, entertaining or willing to push the envelope? We look forward to hearing your favorites.

Tammy asked us to design a Wordpress site that would showcase her wordslinging and marketing talents as well as incorporate her blog & post her twitter updates. We really wanted the new site to reflect TAMMY and her hip, funky, professional awesomeness!

Chris started with the Cushy WooThemes template…

used his design magic, customizing the template it into this….

Tammy was thrilled with the look of her new site, and quickly realized she needed business cards that reflected the new tammyoler.com feel. We designed this card for her…

The cards are printed on 16pt paper, and we decided on the rounded corner option, as it played off of the background pattern nicely.

As you reflect on your marketing efforts in 2009 and prepare for 2010, it’s easy to focus on what you accomplished (or didn’t) and what kinds of strategies will meet your needs going forward.  But before you design a plan that’s all about YOU, remember that no marketing will work unless you put your customers first.

Ask yourself the following question: how often do you listen to your customers?

Listening is critical to your business.  Listening – seriously – to your customers will not only provide you with key insights about your products and services, but it is essential for developing a strong and effective marketing plan.  As you move into 2010, make sure that a fundamental component of your strategy is setting up a listening post to talk to your customers – offline and online.

Listening in the Real World

This sounds simple, but most companies try to avoid actually talking to customers unless they have to.  Don’t skip out on your chance to connect personally and get honest feedback about what you’re offering!  If you’re a small business, chances are good that you have developed relationships with customers in your target markets.  Listening is as simple as asking them how they have experienced your product or service, how they perceive your company, why they choose you over a competitor, and what you can do to improve. This feedback can help you determine if your messaging and design is effective, if you’re using the right marketing channels, and if your performance delivers against your promises.

Listening in the real world can also provide you with key information on how to plan your online and social media marketing.  This type of marketing requires a large investment of time and, often, resources, and it’s critical to determine how to make that investment.  Make sure to ask customers in your target markets how they use the Web, what (if any) social networks they prefer, and if they feel it would be useful for you to be there, too.

Listening in the Virtual World

You also want to make sure that you’re listening online.  Many businesses make decisions about their online presence and social media channels without ever first assessing how their customers use the Web and the sentiment of customers towards products, services and competitors online.

To listen online, start by searching for your company name on broad range of platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google Blog Search, and general search engines.  How large is your online reach, and how positive is sentiment about you?  Next, do the same thing for your competitors.  Are they reaching customers in ways or places you are not?  Take the time to inventory how they are using the Web.  Finally, start searching for conversations about the types of products or services you offer.  Are there influential blogs you should be watching and contributing to?  Are customers even talking about your types of products and services on certain platforms? Remember that you may be able to gain new customers and strengthen your relationships very effectively online and with social media channels – but only if people in your key markets are actually engaged with that channel.

Make online listening an ongoing project!  You can automate this in several ways, including setting up Google Alerts to track mentions of your company name, your competitors, and other keywords that are essential to your business.

One More Thing: Be Prepared For Less-Than-Awesome Feedback

If you’re listening, chances are good that you’re going to hear some things that you might not want to. But negative feedback might be among the most valuable feedback you can receive.  It represents an opportunity to respectfully and considerately respond as well as to improve!  Remember that with social media, your customers are asking you to listen to them. Responding in an honest, authentic and ongoing way is the surest way to support your marketing efforts and build stronger relationships.

Here’s to a 2010 with more listening – and more effective marketing!

Tammy Oler is a freelance wordslinger, consultant and member of the Design Rangers Auxiliary in Brooklyn, NY.  Follow her on Twitter here.