listen up

Some things are just screaming for an update… like the time share that I am in right now in Orlando.
It was new & “in” when Miami vice was having it’s inaugural years.  The problem that this place faces is that it spent a TON of money on permanent fixtures that had a shelf life of less than 3 years. The developers didn’t really think through their design & development strategy very well. What really needed to happen BEFORE they built was to come up with a plan of how to update in the future without having to rip the whole thing back down the frame and start all over again.
You have probably noticed this design flaw in other places as well. You see it in restaurants and stores. You also see it in magazines & clothing lines. You also notice it in companies who build their identity around a very specific niche look and sell out to it so far that they can’t possibly adapt to the future.
So here are some good challenges for us all with design:

• How do we develop an unique market place identity that is pliable for the future and also stands apart now?
• What things must be kept as central in a corporate identity and what things are changeable?
• Are there foundations for building a ‘brand’ that can make it universal in natural?