Teri Rogers | T2 + Back Alley Blog

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July 22nd, 2010
by Teri Rogers
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Unspectacular Things. They Matter.

Dieter Rams

OK, yes, I love great design. I live in a world driven by design. Fueled by design. And that’s why I love great designers. Watching this film moved me – like the first time I saw film/art from Charles and Ray Eames.

Dieter Rams is a visionary. He was then, even in the early days of working with Braun, as he moved from a focus on industrial aesthetics to aesthetics for the home. And he is now. In his laboratory, the environment was such that new products were influenced by many and ultimately, made better for all.

The world has come full circle – but some things remain certain and true for all time.  The world of design – and advertising – has always been defined by creativity.  But what really defines great work – is collaboration – work that is influenced by many, working seamlessly together, creating a finished product that is better for all.

Rams’ Ten Principles of Good Design are timeless as well — tenants to live by:

Good design is innovative.

Good design makes a product useful.

Good design is aesthetic.

Good design helps us to understand a product.

Good design is unobtrusive.

Good design is honest.

Good design is durable.

Good design is consequent to the last detail.

Good design is concerned with the environment.

Good design is as little design as possible.

In the film, Rams says “The unspectacular things are the important things, especially in the future.” Real word or not — I liked the way that made me feel.

Photo Credit: Abiasag Tullmann

July 15th, 2010
by Teri Rogers
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What the Frack? This is What I Love About Filmmaking

I always tell people that the reason I got into this business is because it is such a powerful medium.  A single film has the power to influence – to motivate – to raise awareness – to change a point of view.  And making a documentary film, in particular, gives the filmmaker a unique opportunity to reach down deep inside and produce a piece of art that tells a story — a truth.  That gives the filmmaker a powerful platform that can affect change.   But you can see all that for yourself, if you just take a minute to watch this documentary trailer.

Gasland was directed by Josh Fox and it was the Winner of the Special Jury Prize – Best US Documentary Feature at Sundance in 2010 and it also screened recently at Cannes. Fracking is not only happening all across rural areas in America, it’s spreading to Europe and Africa, too.  Property owners are tempted by very lucrative offers from big energy companies and, given today’s economy, it’s not surprising that some opt to take the money and run.

I think this is a huge deal – and I agree with Josh that this is a situation that deserves a big spotlight aimed right at it – and this documentary definitely does that. If the trailer intrigued you at all, and you want to do more, visit the Gasland website. Request a screening in your city. Make a donation. If we all just did a little, we could make a huge impact.

And that, my friends, is why I LOVE documentaries. I love watching them. I love making them. I love their inherent power to make a difference.

June 28th, 2010
by Teri Rogers
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Cannes Winners Signal Profound Change in Advertising

Vintage Cannes Poster - 1939

Design + Technology is the hot new “creative” as it relates to the ad industry. The big Cyber Grand Prix winners at Cannes are indicative of where advertising and the world of design are headed. There’s no argument that great design will always be great design and regarded as such. But, in today’s advertising world, where we are routinely charged with producing great design that drives results, the addition of technology into the mix is, in my opinion, the best recipe for success.

DDB Stockholm’s work for Volkswagen took home a win for its terrific Fun Theory campaign that took ordinary experiences, added technology and not only made the experiences fun, but changed behavior as a result.

Weiden & Kennedy’s Chalkbot campaign for Nike Livestrong was evidence that by integrating technology into an event, you can actually bring the public into the event and make them a part of the experience, almost seamlessly.

In both cases, technology was the hero, and the driving force behind the concept, but the beauty of both of these integrated experiences is that the technology was invisible. The winners at Cannes validate that this is where the world of advertising is moving. Design + Technology may seem like strange bedfellows at first – similar to the traditional agency creative process integrating with the digital creative process. Those agencies that mastered that were way ahead of those who kept them separate.

For us, it has been an adaptive process over the last couple of years. Our designers were at the top of the heap – so we had to learn how to embrace the collaborative effort between technologists and designers. There were fits and starts – but today, I can say without reservation that the line between our designers and our technology gurus has blurred into one big integrated space. And happily, it has changed the face of our business, as well as the kind of work we are able to do for our clients.

*The poster is the 1939 Cannes Film Festival vintage poster, which is from the year of the planned festival debut. The film festival was canceled that year, because of the start of World War II

June 17th, 2010
by Teri Rogers
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Diesel Cam Brings The Dressing Room to Facebook

Diesel Cam Brings the Dressing Room to Facebook

Diesel stores in Spain are on it. They have introduced Diesel Cam, an interactive installation that is really on the cutting edge when it comes to integrating social media into the retail experience. The installation allows shoppers to try on clothes, then log onto Facebook by using Facebook Connect, post (and edit) pictures of themselves, and then ask their friends’ advice, show different choices and bring their friends into their buying decisions and/or their buying experience.

With some 400 million active Facebook users, savvy brands are finding clever ways like this to advertise and promote themselves. Add to that the fact that 50% of active users are on Facebook every day and the average user has 130 friends and you see the potential. Creating integrated experiences for today’s consumers and making an ordinary experience – like shopping – an extraordinary experience, just makes sense.

What kind of innovative integrated experiences do you know of that brands are using today? We would love to hear about them!

June 16th, 2010
by Teri Rogers
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Our Business Mantra: Turn And Face The Strange

Changes Bowie

Not unlike most businesses, ours has undergone many changes over the course of the past several years. And our strategy has guided it at times and tried to keep up with those changes the rest of the time. This post was inspired by David Bowie a veritable master of change. Listen to the song while you read this post and you’ll see why I was inspired.

Take Two used to be known mostly in the Kansas City market for our post-production work. In order to keep up with a changing industry, we created Back Alley Films to do original film production and motion graphics design. We then created our Integrated Experience Lab to focus on emerging digital and multi-platform work: things like augmented reality, interactive design and experiential design. We’re now known as T2 + Back Alley Films and, while our client base still includes Kansas City based companies, it has expanded to include clients all over the world.

Change has been a great opportunity for us to reinvigorate our business, reinvigorate our staff and completely reexamine our business model. As a result, it has literally changed the way we do everything.

These days, from the very first moments of working with a new or prospective client, the people that we bring to the table is an eclectic group — and a strategically formed one. No longer do we rely on our new business development team — or our producers — to do all the work, instead, we bring the talent to the table. We combine the strategic and the creative thinkers – for a new age of strategic/creative thinking. That means our team, our creatives, our brand experts, our interactive and experiential design teams, our mobile technology team and our social media strategists are part of just about every project or idea, from its earliest inception.

The reality of our business – and any business, really – is that change IS the reality. And in this case, we’re finding that change is making us better at what what we do. It’s creative services — but it’s broader than what it used to be. I bet it’s happening everywhere. What about you? How are you changing the scope of the way you do business? Our generation will be defined by this. Let’s talk about it — and learn from each other.