Welcome to a new branding world order: make a unique form work for multiple functions. For a long time, the concept of the logo as a sacred and untouchable mark has reigned supreme, but the scalability/interactivity/changability of online marketing provides the perfect opportunity to shake up this old-school paradigm. The web demands (and is defined by) frequent content updates – your logo is no exception to the rule. Changes in a logo’s context and aesthetic treatment can empower your brand without eclipsing your brand standards.

HTML emails are an invaluable and sustainable tool for keeping up with current clients and for getting your name out to prospects. Especially when an HTML email can be a prospect’s first impression of your company, it’s essential to make sure that first impression is a great one; here are some tips to help...

 Except for instances where my internet is down, I pretty much never watch tv shows on my actual television anymore; I am part of what I suppose we can call the Hulu generation. The other weekend, I went home to visit my folks and prepared to settle comfortably back into the family room routine of TV-watching from the couch. And before long, the ever-growing rift between the different two mediums became painfully obvious.

You’d think that, being a creative, I would have been planning, sketching and designing out my Halloween costume both in exquisite detail and months in advance. Alas, my weekends have been filled with afternoon naps and end-of-summer bike rides and I am totally behind the Halloween eight ball. So, for all you fellow Halloween-stumped designers, here are some costume ideas.

Dear Adobe Elves,

I know I’m early for Christmas, but I thought I’d give you some time to work on my wishlist. Here are a few things that I really really really really want for the next generation of the creative suite.

When IKEA announced that they were scrapping their beloved “IKEA Sans” (a customized version of Futura) for Verdana, the design community exploded - on the internet, at least. The reason behind the swap, according to an interview in Cap & Design magazine, is that Verdana allows Ikea to establish a consistent branding both internationally and across web and print.

Riiiing! Today we launched www.ascendentsystems.com! A division of our client RIM (the driving force behind BlackBerry™), Ascendent Systems allows users to automatically extend the identity and functionality of their business desk phone to any other device. Neato, right? As a collectively smartphone-obsessed company, this was a super fun project for us and we’re looking forward to more exciting engagements with RIM.

Don’t get me wrong, I love design inspiration websites. In fact, I have a whole bookmark folder chock-full of them (favorites being designbombs, dezinspiration, ilovetypography’s ‘Week in Type’ series). These gems aside, many design inspiration sites seem to be steadily veering away from a presenting a collection of hand-picked favorites and more towards becoming indiscriminate mass-aggregators riddled with generic templates and tired web 2.0 tricks. So, here’s what I’ve been looking at instead...

One of the things that I love most about being a designer is that I’m constantly learning – both inside and outside of my own industry. At Silverscape, we’re lucky enough to have a broad client base and it’s allowed me to get knee-deep in the science behind fire-retardant performance garments, what separates artisan chocolate from your run-of-the-mill Hershey Bar, the technology that propels secure data protection and control, and even the details of safety and environmental compliance within the construction industry. Getting to really know a client once they’ve come on board is an exciting process, but beginning an engagement with a client whose services are already close to your heart is even more rewarding.

What up, MTV; welcome to our crib. We’ve done some drastic redecorating, so ditch your shoes and start exploring our new Social-Media-powered digs.