Southeastern Guide Dogs

By mctootNov 02, 2015
Southeastern Guide Dogs are more than just "dogs." Each starts out as a puppy that's one-part personality, and one-part potential, and 100% heart and hope. Meet Gibson: Meet Jackie: Meet two sweet puppies. Who are the sweetest puppies ever? You are. That's right, you are! Creative Director/Art: Richard Skiermont Creative Director/Copy: D.P. Knudten Agency: C•Suite Communications, Sarasota, Florida
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Noir Wars?

By mctootJul 01, 2014
  So it's been announced that the director of the new Disney Star Wars film after J.J. Abrams's retool will be Rian Johnson. If you're like me, unable to see anywhere near as many movies as you'd like unless their Netflixed, the name may not ring a bell. But if you truly are like me, I really encourage you to do what I just did: watch Johnson's 2005 big screen debut Brick.   Why? Because…
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Have Keynote. Will travel.

By mctootMay 21, 2014
People who know me well know I like to talk. Well, not talk so much as provoke. As in 'say something provocative, then surf the fallout.' I've taken this conversational modus operandi and turned it into four presentations perfect for holiday gift giving—or your next business gathering. Here's a brief look at each one:   BRANDTASTROPHE™ / How 'content' has the power to end your career—and what you can do about it. The word 'content'…
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Know your product. Your real product.

Know your product. Your real product.

By mctootMay 08, 2014
My very first Creative Director (Hi, Brian!) once said to me one of those supposedly insightful but at the time mildly mystifying marketing sayings: "People don't go out to buy drills. They go out…to buy holes." After I mentally flipped him off and mumbled 'Whatevah, old man' (which was awkward as I was older), I began to chew on it. And have been masticating that cud ever since. It's like the saying 'have your cake…
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Be Here Never.

By mctootApr 22, 2014
Ever since I first heard about Google Glass, I've been chewing on what it is that disturbs me so about this brave, new technology. There's something that's not right about it in my mind, but it has nothing to do with my feelings about the company producing it. It's not like I'm unfamiliar with the features and benefits involved. Anyone who's read William Gibson's Mona Lisa Overdrive or Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash can recognize the…
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#thanksscience

By mctootMar 28, 2014
In my Twitter feed today: Here is a wonderful video of a 40-year-old deaf woman hearing for the first time http://t.co/JnoQ8OsVvJ— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) March 28, 2014 Science did this. I like science. Do you? - D.P. Knudten
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Context before Concept.

Context before Concept.

By mctootFeb 28, 2014
Like any experienced creative type, I've got an unwritten list of rules that I alternately cleave to or break on a daily basis. One that proves surprisingly resilient is "Always understand the context before wasting time on the concept." I was reminded of this maxim when I saw this maximum impact creative for the Swedish drug store chain Apotek: Apotek Hjärtat - Blowing in The Wind from Ourwork on Vimeo. This is just so damn…
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iWhy no iTV?

By mctootFeb 13, 2014
People been harshing on my bro Apple for not living up to their expectations about an Apple TV that's not just a black puck that hooks up to a real TV. And they're claiming Apple's lost its innovative edge. Me, I think they're just doing what they've always tried to do: bake the whole cake before serving. Yes, I know about all the fill in the blank-gates (e.g., Antenna-Gate) and have to admit they are…
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Gamification clarification.

By mctootJan 27, 2014
I had a recent meeting with a client where I did what I too often do: use a relatively obscure term that requires a level of 'get-it-ness' that has yet to penetrate the popular consciousness. That term is 'gamification.' The easy definition? Take the techniques games use to delight their players, and apply them to non-game entities and actions. Need an example? Try this: • Use of color and design to elicit visual interest and…
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Three chords + truth = (part II)

Three chords + truth = (part II)

By mctootJan 06, 2014
Just a quick post about a song that's on perma-repeat in my iObsess list. It's stylistically pretty far afield from purebred country (like part I here) but the performer's pedigree in that genre is rock solid. I'm talking about Jennifer Nettles. Of Sugarland. And this: Woh. Jennifer Nettles x 2. Duh-ang. But the song, oh my lawd, what a great tune. The arrangement, the instrumentation, the fact that a guitar hack like me can solo…
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portfolio_Discover Wisconsin

By mctootNov 21, 2013
Longform? Not a problem. (from the blurb on the back) "For 25 years Discover Wisconsin has introduced television viewers to odd, interesting, delicious and delightful destinations and attractions throughout the Badger State. And now, to celebrate the first quarter-century of what has become the nation’s longest running tourism TV program, the team of storytellers at Discover Mediaworks has recreated the show in book form." "What makes Wisconsin Wisconsin? That’s the question this book was designed…
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portfolio_Trail Nation promo

By mctootNov 21, 2013
Check out this is sales video for a TV show concept called Trail Nation. We took the team to Ensenada for a five-day endurathon with Go Baja Ridin, a Baja California-centric motorsports tour operator. If you're at all interested in Baja via bike, you have to talk with Bruce / Bruno. (That's 10-time overall Baja 1000 champ Larry Roeseler popping a wheelie past me on the El Diablo dry lake bed at :32 and my…
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portfolio_Discover Mediaworks rebrand

By mctootNov 21, 2013
Pictures speak louder than words—and here's proof: Before (circa 2002): After (2011): 'nuff said. Here's the Brand BackStory™ I wrote that served as the philosophical foundation for the entire thing: Discover Mediaworks' Brand Backstory™ -dp Creative Director: D.P. Knudten Associate Creative Director/Art: Wayne Koenig Agency: Discover Mediaworks • Madison, Wisconsin
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Fear. Desire. Choose.

By mctootNov 21, 2013
Every once in a while, the universe perfectly aligns where you are, with what you need. Here's but one current example. I stumbled across the Salon.com article about MLB pitcher Jamie Moyer and his personal journey through a professional life hampered by negativity (doubts, fears) to one focused on accentuating the positive (working with the talent and tools he has.) Can an old, slow dude win in the majors? Yep, 269 games worth. I love…
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Let’s collaborate.

By mctootNov 16, 2013
It's been a long time coming, but COLLABORATOR creative is LIVE. I'll be continuing to do what I've always done—work with clients to achieve their marketing goals—only this time as the Chief Collaborator at my own shop. Those of you who've known me for years will recognize that modus operandi from my days back in Colorado where I created/helmed Alley Grant & Logan (founded in a garage on the alley between Grant and Logan in…
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In praise of parameters.

By mctootNov 13, 2013
If anything is possible, nothing is. A provocative over-statement, perhaps, but it's often true when trying to create work, art, music, poetry, and baked goods. Endless possibility is often creatively debilitating. I mean, where to start? For me, it's parameters, as in "let's tightly define the parameters of this project." Classical poetic forms? Parameters. A cogent Creative Brief? Parameters. A stretched canvas? Parameters. Grandma's rye bread recipe? Parameters. Without parameters, there's no wall to push…
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Three chords + the truth =

By mctootNov 05, 2013
Mama's hooked on Mary Kay. Brother's hooked on maryjane. Daddy's hooked on Mary two doors down. That's modern day Shakespeare, and a lyric from Kacey Musgrave's breakout album Same Trailer Different Park. Three simple phrases sum up a family's condition in just sixteen words. That's tight storytelling, too—and one of the reasons I love country music. Country music is three chords and the truth. - Harland Howard I'm all with Harlan about that. Not what…
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You paid for it. It’s not yours.

By mctootOct 31, 2013
Why do I have a couple of boxes filled with hundreds of music CDs sitting in my basement? Because of this. Even after going through the trouble and week's-worth of time ripping every CD with Apple's Lossless codec, I'm keeping the actual bought-'em-in-a-store or via Columbia House Records discs because of this unfortunate fact of digital life: if you don't own the dead tree version of the book or the vinyl LP / cassette /…
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Your mileage may vary. How very true.

By mctootOct 29, 2013
Automakers faced quite a challenge when the EPA began requiring them to publish miles-per-gallon stats for new vehicles. After all, how can you create a "one size fits all" average when one driver floors it, and the other feathers it? You can't. But you can create an approximate average that works by appending the brilliantly weasel-worded phrase: "Your mileage may vary." What appears to be a prosaic afterthought is actually a deep, rich koan worthy…
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It takes a neighbrahhood.

By mctootOct 25, 2013
I ran into an HR situation today that was quickly resolved with three simple words: 1. Dude 2. Not 3. Cool When used in combination, they form a phrase of surpassing power, an incantation capable of transmogrifying a raging jackass into a repentant basset hound. "Dude, not cool" (DNC) is a defacto code that's pretty much guyiversal. And it's applicable everywhere and anywhere a male (of any age) has crossed over into DoucheLand. Now it…
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Features & Benefits? Benefits, then Features.

By mctootOct 23, 2013
This is a "duh" post (at least for anybody who deals with marketing on a daily basis.) But all you have to do is look around the marketplace (especially B2B) and you can see terrifically bad examples of a universally recognized marketing rule of thumb being routinely ignored. The rule in question? The one regarding Features vs. Benefits (as in, which comes first.) Features are subject to market change. Benefits are universal and timeless. When…
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Nest Protect’s Substantive Style

By mctootOct 09, 2013
Nest is all over the InnerTubes with their latest high-style foray into the lowest of tech: their Nest Protect smoke alarm. The category, once the province of boring beige ceiling boils, was just blown apart by this upstart manufacturer of premium prosaic appliances. Sound familiar? That Nest CEO Tony Fadell is an Apple grad is no mistake. It's clear that while there he paid brilliant attention. Not to the hype or showmanship, but the modus…
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Big HAI! for Shingeki no Kyojin

By mctootOct 04, 2013
There's something wonderful about having your kids grow up to the point where they stop following your lead and forge out on their own—especially when they start sharing stuff with you that is nowhere near your radar. Hence this post about Shingeki no Kyojin (AKA Attack on Titan). Anime has always been something that I've been tangentially aware of. I'm a big fan of the Studio Ghibli stuff that John Lasseter's been bringing over from…
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This is branding, Pt. 1:Orange Leaf’s spoon

By mctootSep 30, 2013
FroYo lover's in my neck of the woods rejoiced with the recent opening of the area's first Orange Leaf store. That may not be a big deal to all y'all MetroYogusexuals, but here deep in the realm of the Dairy Queen (Long Live the Queen!) this just adds a wonderful option to our burgeoning quickserve frozen dessert menu. But that's not the big thing—this little thing is: the Orange Leaf spoon. I've talked with a…
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A foolish consistency.

By mctootSep 26, 2013
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. - Ralph Waldo Emerson Instagram has responded quickly to Apple's release of iOS7 operating system update with a nicely done revision of its popular iPhone app. But I can't help agreeing with John Gruber in this regard: Nice job overall, but I think making avatars (a.k.a. profile pictures) circular is a mistake. Sure, that’s what Apple is doing…
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Tablet First Design

By mctootSep 12, 2013
Not very long ago, websites were a strictly desktop experience and built with that in mind (e.g., full keyboard, pointing device, nearby access to printer, etc.). Then came mobile with its limited screen real estate, sub-optimal input interface and processing power limitations. What happened then? Many companies created two distinct sites: a desktop superset of functionality site, and a mobile-based subset experience. The desktop was the design flagship for both sites ("Desktop First" design).And that…
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UX levels up

By mctootAug 08, 2013
Oculus Rift has been a amorphous ghost on my radar for a while now. After all, the potential of virtual reality is pretty obvious to anyone who games, has an FPS fetish, or has ever read William Gibson or Neal Stephenson. But that potential always seemed to be just a little too far beyond the technical horizon. Recent news of John Carmack joining the Oculus team makes me believe this potential is now a lot…
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Designers < Directors

By mctootJul 11, 2013
The recent beta of Apple's iOS 7 is getting a lot of press, much of it somewhat dubious to downright negative at best. But all the gyrations regarding font weight, color palettes and icon size are missing a much larger point, best explained by iMore's Rene Ritchie here. I agree. iOS7 is, one way or another, going to be HUGE. Whether it's hugely successful or a huge flop remains to be seen, but either way, it…
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Schedule your subconscious.

By mctootJul 04, 2013
Some dude named Murphy gets a law ("Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.") Gordon Moore, too ("the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles approximately every two years.") Well, I want one of my own—so here goes: "Time devoted to subconscious creative thought is as, and in many cases far more, valuable than the conscious variety." History is replete with examples of this (two great examples: Archimede's bathtime funtime water displacement observations and Kekulé's snake & tail daydream…
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Protect your power cycles

By mctootJun 28, 2013
Creativity is such an elusive thing, but if you're paying attention, you're sure to have noticed a few things about the way you work. Me, I can solve yesterday's late afternoon/night intractable problem in the first 30 minutes of the next day. For other collaborators of mine, it's the late hours of the night (and even the next day) that seem to get them into the right frame of mind for working. These are what…
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Swiss Army knife—or scalpel?

By mctootJun 18, 2013
What is an app? A lite version of what has been called an "application" in the past? A purpose-built, single focus tool? A little of both—or something different altogether. That's a question I've been asking myself every since I downloaded Q Branch's Vesper for my iPhone. I like to mess around with a wide variety of apps for all sorts of professional reasons, so when one of my favorite bloggers (John Gruber @ Daring Fireball)…
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“Follow/Like us on Facebook!” Why?

By mctootJun 07, 2013
They're far less prevalent than the in early days of the social media gold rush, but you can still find them: ads with with a little something extraneous in them that invites the viewer to "Follow us on Facebook." Every time I see something like that, I ask myself two simple questions: 1. Why? 2. What's in it for me? For affinity brands, the answer is obvious. The "what's in it for me" is a…
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Lone Ranger needs Tonto

By mctootApr 17, 2012
International design maven David Airey asked those who've been/are out on their own to submit FAQ-style answers to questions young designers might have about going it alone. Here's my contribution: Can I do this on my own? Yes. But even a Lone Ranger needs a Tonto. Some people work best in a crowded, noisy sandbox. Others, like me, prefer a room so quiet you can hear the clock ticking. This advice is primarily for the…
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Siri, can you pass the Turing Test?

By mctootMar 26, 2012
Originally posted some time earlier. Recycled for maximum blog churn. - dp Has anyone tried to get the iPhone 4S's Voice Assistant Siri to pass the challenge created by Alan Turing? From Wikipedia: "The Turing test is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior. In Turing's original illustrative example, a human judge engages in a natural language conversation with a human and a machine designed to generate performance indistinguishable from that of…
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Twitter=Mars, Facebook=Venus

By mctootMar 22, 2012
Originally posted some time earlier. Recycled for maximum blog churn. - dp Women are different than men. Shocker, I know. But consider the following observation. It proves one of two things: A. That I am a chauvinist ass or B. That while painting with a timezone-wide brush, there's some truth here worth considering. My argument, unsupported by recognized fact or demonstrable metric, is that Twitter is to male communication styles as Facebook is female varieties.…
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Google+?

By mctootMar 12, 2012
Originally posted some time earlier. Recycled for maximum blog churn. - dp Here's my quick two-minute response to a friend's Google+ query re: Google+: "The thing that intrigues me most about G+ is what you started right here: a conversation with people you've curated into a posse (for whatever reason). A quick scan of this circle shows me only one person I know (hi Brian!) other than you, but because you've vetted this group (and…
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Sharing, not shilling.

By mctootFeb 27, 2012
Originally posted some time earlier. Recycled for maximum blog churn. - dp I've got a problem. A client is finally waking up to the potential of social media. Hallelujah for that. The problem is, they are rock solid certain that the best way to use it (for them) is as a always-on megaphone for their products and services. The online equivalent of dragging their catalog behind an airplane over a baseball game. To say they…
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me | recommend_Venus

By mctootFeb 19, 2012
cross-posted from my review @ The App Store. I've always disliked Facebook's desktop user experience. It has a baked in lack of intuitive navigation, suffers from seemingly non-sensical design, and is just plain corporate ugly. Oh, and let's not forget about the ads and distracting noise strewn about every page. Taken as a whole, Facebook always felt like the worst of "enterprise quality" design—you know, functional from a software engineering point of view, but sorely…
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Determining the difference

By mctootFeb 15, 2012
Originally posted some time earlier. Recycled for maximum blog churn. - dp So much of social media is based on tiny, seemingly insignificant nuances between apparently identical entities. That's a long way of saying that sometimes apples vs. apples is actually Golden Delicious vs. Granny Smith. So how's a person to understand the diff between the Facebook/MySpace, Tumblr/Posterous, Wordpress/Movable Types of the social media world? Test drive to see which thrives in your personal socmedia…
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Minority > Majority

By mctootFeb 03, 2012
Originally posted some time earlier. Recycled for maximum blog churn. - dp Without going into horrendously boring detail regarding my personal computing habits, this post requires the following understanding: my very first computer was an 8088 IBM XT clone. Green screen. Dual 5.25 inch floppy drives. And no C: prompt until I "upgraded" the machine to a 20 megabyte Seagate hard drive running MSDOS 2.2 or so. Been there. Booted that. But here's the deal:…
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