Here’s a question we often hear from clients: “This has always worked for my industry; why mess with the formula?” Any brand that wants to dramatically grow market share or take that coveted number-one spot from a competitor has to reject this…
Some marketers will tell you that in this digital era, direct mail is dead. It’s a waste. It’s all junk mail. Instead, they’ve gravitated to email because it’s cheap, measurable and (seemingly) effective. But billions of emails are sent every…
Start Bar, an arcade bar in downtown St. Louis, is opening soon and we couldn’t be more excited. In anticipation, we wanted to share some of the thinking behind the branding and design work that Atomicdust has been excitedly working…
Marketing today is about exchanging value. Businesses are constantly wondering how they can make their brand stronger, and how design and marketing can make their product or service preferred against competitors. If you want happy, loyal customers that love your…
Here’s a question I’ve been pondering lately: “What’s fun got to do with it?” More and more, my answer is: a whole heck of a lot. I would argue that fun is a critical ingredient in making a true impact…
I’m not an experience designer. I’m not even a graphic designer. What I am is a fan of how design influences experiences. One of my favorite experiences is going out to a restaurant. When you visit a restaurant, what do…
My dad always tells me stories from the days when he managed small businesses. One of my favorites is about his former boss and the many women in his life: wives, ex-wives and girlfriends (in no particular order). The way…
For years I hated the term “experience design.” In my mind it was just a high-brow way to describe good web design. Labeling something as “experience design” seemed like a superficial way for web shops to position themselves against competitors,…
I was presenting a web design concept to a client the other day, and was trying to explain why 90% of the layout looked a certain way, while the rest was totally different. My answer was that the brain loves…
Often with high-profile, highly visible design and branding projects, there’s added pressure on the creative team that might not exist when making, say, a sales brochure. Some projects, like the opening of an exciting new restaurant concept in downtown St.…