Catalog Critiques: Making Bad Good, and Good Better

Olive & Cocoa: Draw Your Shoppers In I’m a sucker for an illustrated cover, even when I’m not in the target audience – J. Peterman, Duluth Trading Company. There’s something about the artisanship, timelessness and unique look that calls to me and makes me want to see what’s behind it.  At J.Schmid, we like to […]

Catalog Critiques: Making Bad Good, and Good Better

Duluth Trading Company It’s my turn to chime in as part of our critique series, where we assess catalogs with an eye for the “Three D’s: DISRUPT, DELIGHT and DRIVE.  Does the catalog stand out and grab my attention (Disrupt)? Does the book engage me somehow (Delight)? Does it encourage me to go online or […]

Catalog Critiques: Making Bad Good, and Good Better

Crate & Barrel, A Story of Unrequited Love I absolutely love Crate and Barrel. I love the way design meets function, in each and every one of their products. I love walking through their stores, being inspired by what could be. I love that their product designers take inspiration from around the world and bring […]

Catalog Critiques: Making Bad Good, and Good Better

ROKA At J.Schmid, we know catalogs. But we also know that in order to stay at the forefront of change and innovation you need to be a student of your craft. We’ve learned what works, what doesn’t, and where unexpected opportunities may lie. This blog series will showcase our expertise, as we take an in-depth […]

5 Copywriting Tips From a Writer on The Simpsons

If you’ve ever met me, chances are I’ve worked a “Simpsons” reference into the conversation. If you know me, chances are you’re sick of the number of “Simpsons” references I’ve worked into every conversation. No television show in history has had such a profound influence on my life. It both reflected and shaped my philosophy, […]

Location. Location. Location.

Where does your brand story take place? When people think of your brand, do they think of a specific location? Is your brand linked to the mountains or the beach? Maybe your brand is associated with a certain city or region. It’s not critical that a brand be connected to a place, but if it […]

Knowledge-Based Creative

Part 5: Left-Brain Creative Creative and analytics teams are drastically different disciplines, driven by different personalities and workflows, which means that merging them takes purposeful planning. The timeline is the first big challenge. The creative team looks ahead, creating new campaigns to be launched in the future while analytics teams review the past, examining what […]