Archive for July, 2010

One thing that can be said about human beings is that we are, by and large, creatures of habit. We establish routines, consciously and subconsciously, that help us accomplish tasks or move us more quickly or comfortably through our day. Habits are formed in the design and development community just as they are in nearly every other professional and personal environment, and they serve any number of purposes. In design and development circles, one established habit is seen with the launch of a website or project.

Naturally, each of us has developed a process that we engage in as we wrap up a project, but a few procedures tend to be used over and over again by the masses. We know this because we ran a poll on this very topic on Twitter. We got many great responses, but the community tends towards a few common practices. We could see as we looked through the list of entries that certain wrap procedures seem to have mass appeal (judging by the number of times they were given as answers), so we began to examine the benefits they offered and what they say about those who fall back on them.

Designers and developers obviously adopt routines for a reason — perhaps because they suit their personalities or even their other routines — so it is possible to gain a little insight into those who follow them. There certainly was quite a range of responses, and we really appreciate everyone who took the time to get back to us with an answer.

Consider our previous posts:

• Five Tips For Making Ideas Happen
• Web Design Criticism: A How-To
• Invoice Like A Pro: Examples And Best Practices
• How To Find Time For… Everything!

Now, let’s examine the final steps that handfuls of people in the design and development community take when the clock says that it is officially “go time.”

[By the way, did you know we have a brand new free Smashing Email Newsletter? Subscribe now and get fresh short tips and tricks on Tuesdays!]

Freak Out!

One of the responses that seemed to resonate among so many was, basically, to freak out as the launch date draws nearer. Who needs a calm and collected approach when you can run screaming back and forth in front of the computer and pull your hair out as the final hour draws near? The time-honored (even if impractical) tradition of panicking, which flies in the face of the hitchhiker’s motto, is not without its merits. However, for sanity’s sake and the sake of those who share your space, another approach near launch time might prove a bit better.

Image source, by Maks Karochkin.

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Panic!”
• “Cry.”
• “Simple answer: pray!”

Benefits

• There is a great release of pent-up energy when you freak out, which can have numerous benefits — one of which is no longer holding nervous energy inside.
• A last-minute chaotic whirlwind of panic can also benefit the project because it ensures that you are alert and ready should any fault be found.

What This Says About You

Perhaps panic mode teaches us that those who fall back on such an approach lack organizational skills. The tendency to freak out more than likely stems from a lack of confidence that everything is in place. It could also indicate a slightly pessimistic outlook (à la Murphy’s Law): no matter how prepared you feel for launch, you have a nagging feeling that something will go wrong — not because you neglected something, but just because it can. A comprehensive check list could help to curb this tendency in some cases.

Relax

A somewhat different approach — in fact the exact opposite of the previous tactic — taken by many is to just kick back and relax. Though it may seem reasonable, relaxing just as a project will be introduced to the online world might not be an easy approach. In fact, achieving your desired level of calmness could take a lot of effort. If you can find your center and bask in relaxation during the pre-launch phase, then this approach might refresh you before you throw yourself into the next project.

Image source, by VinothChandar.

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Get a good night’s sleep. Launch when you’re fresh, not tired.”
• “Relax. Have a smoke, read some jokes online.”

Benefits

• Peace of mind is naturally a welcome benefit of this approach, especially given how hectic things can get upon launch.
• Mental decompression often helps because, as your mind is switches gears, your subconscious is free to review the project and scan for any missed elements.

What This Says About You

Being calm in the face of a wrap-up is not always easy. If this is your approach, it says one of two things about you: either you are extremely confident in your abilities, and therefore at ease because you know the job is as complete as you could have made it; or you simply don’t care — you’ve done your part, things are out of your hands, and you’re free to move on or just kick back. Confidence is not a bad thing; it could mean that you are prepared and thorough. Not caring, though, may not necessarily be a good thing — but you don’t care, so why harp?

Await Final Payment

Some of those who responded to our query take another route altogether: their final moves are all about the financial aspects of the project. They try to get paid. These people have run all their normal checks, and now they’ve turned for the final check from the client. Most professionals in the design and development community hold off on launching until the client has made their final payment. Whether that would be the final installment or full payment, the last thing on the check list for many is to collect everything owed for their work — and to stay in a holding pattern until that is done.

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Wait for final payment confirmation.”
• “Send an invoice.”
• “Get the cash!”

Benefits

• One benefit of this approach is that you get to move on until payment is received, being freed up for other things.
• It also puts the responsibility for ultimately launching the website on the client.
• Finally, by not launching until you get paid, you ensure that final payment does actually come.

What This Says About You

One thing this tells us about the person who uses this approach is that they are trusting… to a point. They are willing to meet the client halfway and do most of the remaining work for them on good faith. But it also shows that good faith will carry the project only so far; this professional is not willing to give up their only leverage to the client. It also shows a certain level of professionalism, seeing as some sort of contract was agreed on before the project began.

Run Diagnostics

Some members of the community opt to run a final set of comprehensive diagnostics. They go through a full range of tests to determine whether any areas are still exposed to the elements as it were (speed tests, script checks, link trials, spell checks and so on). The list of oft-overlooked yet ever important details can be quite long and intimidating to tackle. But tackle we must, and some save this daunting diagnostic imperative until they are on the verge of launching. Several members of the community even create a helpful check list to aid in this phase.

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Test, test, test!”
• “I go through my check list and see that I just forgot something. I check or preview the project before launch. I do simple and wide checks.”
• “Test whether everything works properly and look for spelling mistakes. Tick off the project check list.”

Benefits

• Of course, a full project diagnostic test will be beneficial, but doubly so if you’ve saved it for last, because no little changes you’ve made will fall through the cracks.
• A thorough examination also brings peace of mind, especially when you use a comprehensive check list to ensure that everything is covered.

What This Says About You

Running diagnostics on your projects simply says that you are professional, sensible and efficient. While that may seem an impressive peek into your personality, those are not surprising qualities in the design and development field. But the depth of your diagnostics process gives a little more insight into who you are. If you take the time to conduct a meticulous check on a project, then you are more than efficient: you are anal, and your personality reflects that perfectionism. If you take a more lackadaisical approach and cover only a few key areas, then you may be efficient but have some traits of a slacker.

Final Cross-Browser Compatibility Check

One obvious and important check to perform at some point during any Web-based project is cross-browser compatibility, and according to the responses we received, some members of the community repeat this frustrating step before the project goes live. In fact, it is usually a safe bet that at least one browser will give you some sort of headache before all is said and done. Some resources can make these checks quicker and easier (we’ll link to them later).

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Do a quick cross-browser check…”
• “Make sure it doesn’t totally explode in IE6.”
• “Run through a quick check — analytics, etc. — and a last x-browser check.”

Benefits

• The benefit of this kind of testing is self-evident. Saving it for last, though, generally gives you a sound starting point for the testing. However, it is always a good idea to test early, and test often. The earlier you test your working protoypes, the more likely you are to avoid compatibility issues in the long run.

What This Says About You

Checking for cross-browser compatibility is unavoidable. Leaving it for last simply speaks to your knowledge and ability to handle the full range of browser checks. What you check tells us even more. If you do a comprehensive test, it shows that you are responsible enough to see your tasks to completion. If you do everything but ignore IE6 (leaving its glitches in place), it shows you are responsible but have limited patience for idiocy.

Get An Outside Opinion

Another oft-mentioned approach is to turn to outside sources for opinions and feedback (always important whenever you do it). There is a reason why the saying about having a second set of eyes around has become so entrenched. Getting someone else in your field, whose opinion you value and insight you trust, to look at a project when you feel it’s ready is always useful. Given the size of the online design and development community and the willingness of its members to offer feedback, all you have to do is ask.

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Have someone test the website out, check for bugs and give you a quick review.”
• “Pass the website over to a network of Web dev friends for them to pull apart and find anything you’ve missed.”
• “Delete and start over (kidding). Send out a password-protected URL to a select group of Web buddies for a last look.”

Benefits

• Getting feedback from someone who is not close to the project, someone who would see things you have overlooked, is always helpful.
• A second look can reveal elements that don’t work as well as you would like or believe.
• Feedback from people who are actually in your field is invaluable. Most other feedback tends to be vague and superficial.

What This Says About You

Anyone who makes this their wrap-up routine plays well with others. Those who seek input from others also possess confidence and understanding and rarely rely solely on their own judgment. They are secure enough in their abilities and know enough about their field to be able to handle professional criticism of their work. These qualities are also needed to implement the recommendations that they get. Also, you are at least somewhat likeable, having a network of trusted friends in the community.

Back Up

The final approach we’ll feature here is an extremely important step that is often forgotten: backing up all relevant data and materials before launching. Backing up all the parts of your project before handing over the files not only is sound and sensible, but in the event of an unforeseen catastrophe, it saves you from losing the entire project and having to start at square one. Backing up is an easy way to play it safe and cover your bases. You cannot know what will happen once the project is in the hands of your client.

What our friends on Twitter said:

• “Make a snapshot of it (including data) and put it somewhere in case you need to restore at a moment’s notice.”
• “I take an SQL dump of the database and store it somewhere safe.”
• “Back up and archive! Twice!”

Benefits

• Backing up is beneficial in and of itself, but it also saves you the headache of repetition if your diagnostics uncover an issue.
• Backing up too early could inadvertently cause you to save an inferior version of the project. Then, if you need to restore the website, you won’t have the launch-ready version ready.

What This Says About You

Relatively few people tend to back up last. Doing so indicates a thoughtful nature and a completist approach to work. It also shows that you prepare for the worst-case scenario, either because you are a bit paranoid and pessimistic or because you like to play it safe (or a combination of both).

A Final Word

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to this post and made it possible, including all of you who have taken the time to read it. We have a few related resources for you to check out. After that, feel free to share your thoughts and your final steps before launching below.

Further Resources

As always, here are a few more posts and tools that might assist you in your final hours. Enjoy these helpful check lists:

• 45 Incredibly Useful Web Design Checklists and Questionnaires
• The Ultimate Website Launch Checklist
• Web Standards Checklist
• Aaron Cannon’s Web Accessibility Checklist
• The Ultimate Testing Checklist
• The Ultimate Web Design Usability Checklist

(al)

© Robert Bowen for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | Post a comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine
Post tags: checklists, launch

Logo design has been a controversial subject in the design press lately. One branding professional recently claimed that logo design is not that hard to do and another said that logos are dead; some rebutted while others concurred. Why all the fuss?

We live in a Brand Era, where branding is in, and for some, aspiring to the Paul Rand style of logo craftsmanship is about as hip and contemporary as writing your invoices with a quill. Yes, logo design is only one facet of the powerful force that we call brand identity. Yes, a branded design environment can communicate sophisticated brand meaning without much (any?) usage of logos. But some ‘brand gurus’ or ‘brand evangelists’ (translation: ‘bastions of corporate pretension’) seem to enjoy making hyperbolic pronouncements just to sound shocking or cutting-edge. Logo design is not dead. The technological advancements and tumultuous industries of our century are causing its role in our culture to evolve.

Perhaps this clamorous debate is cause for a look at where logo design comes from, what state it’s in currently, and where it’s headed in the future. Where does a logo ultimately derive its power from? If we’re so hung up on divining what this Brand Era means for our clients, can we envision a Post-Brand Era?

[Offtopic: by the way, did you know that there is a Smashing eBook Series? Book #2 is Successful Freelancing for Web Designers, 260 pages for just $9,90.]

Symbolism

The history of logo design begins with the roots of human expression. In fact, the fundamental power of symbols remains most important element of logo design. A logo has meaning because it draws on centuries of signs and symbols (including the alphabet) in human literary and visual language. A logo designer who uses an image of an apple, for example, is drawing on centuries of potent symbolic usage. For most Western viewers, the image of an apple summons our associations with nature, food, the ‘forbidden fruit’ in the Garden of Eden, Snow White, Apple computers, et cetera. To design a logo with symbolic resonance is to participate in the lineage of social dialogue.

Fragment of a vase, third millennium B.C. The figures on this vase bear a striking similarity to the cave paintings of Lascaux and even to contemporary imagery like the Puma logo. These similarities reveal the harmony and union of human communication over great distances of time and geographic location.

To communicate effectively with design, it’s important to view the big picture of human communication and mythology. Logo design as we know it today is a strategy that rose to popularity with brands and corporations of the twentieth century. However, people and organizations have been identifying themselves with an enormous variety of marks, signatures, and emblems for centuries. In terms of visual communication, a modern company that represents itself with a logo, color scheme, and slogan is not very different from a 15th century royal court that invoked identity and unity through the use of family crests, uniforms, and religious symbolism.

In semiotics (the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation), human communication is discussed in terms of signs and signifiers. Signs can take the form of words, images, flavors, or even odors: things that have no intrinsic meaning until we invest it in them. We perceive, understand, and negotiate the world around us by investing meaning in all manner of signs and symbols. In the West, an image of a snake signifies evil. But without our Western cultural and mythological associations (many of which are rooted in the Bible), a serpent is just a serpent.

Greek signature seals, fifth century B.C. Affluent Greek citizens used these molded stamps to sign or endorse documents. Using an animal image to identify oneself has a long history predating famous animal logos like Lacoste and Penguin.

Symbols are highly subjective and dependent upon cultural reference. The swastika, for example, is a symbol that was used by various cultures across the globe for over 5,000 years to symbolize a variety of positive meanings including good luck, life, sun, power, and strength. In fact, the word swastika comes from the Sanskrit svastika, which means “good fortune” or “well-being.” Sadly, those meanings have all been usurped by the atrocities of the Nazi party. No symbol has inherent meaning of its own, but when maligned by indelible association with war and unspeakable tragedy, a simple symbol like the swastika can be transformed into a potent talisman capable of eliciting an intense reaction from the viewer. Our complex emotional responses to rudimentary images reveals the profound depth of our relationship with the visual world around us.

The meaning of a logo is often an elusive concept, and two top professionals may disagree about whether a particular logo is a masterpiece or an abomination. This subjective nature of meaning in logography is part of the beauty and wonder of the craft.

Historical Identifying Marks

A wide variety of stamps, symbols, and signatures have been used to identify people over the centuries. Here are a few.

Printer’s marks, late fifteenth century

The printer’s marks above are variations on an ‘orb and cross’ theme, symbolizing the idea that “God shall reign over Earth.”

Aldus Manutius, printer’s trademark, c.1500.

This printer’s trademark symbolizes a beautiful paradox. It was used in conjunction with an epigram reading “Make haste slowly.” Swiftness is visually represented by the speedy sea animal and stillness is represented by the anchor.

Rembrandt ‘branded’ his authorship on his paintings with a variety of signatures during the course of his career, but the distinctive ‘R’ and unique personality of the letterforms provide unity to the marks.

Corporate Identity

The industrial revolution profoundly expanded the reach and power of mass production and the marketing used to promote it. Corporations now found that a simple identifying mark was insufficient for distinguishing themselves amongst growing competition in broadening markets. “The national and multinational scope of many corporations made it difficult for them to maintain a cohesive image, but by unifying all communications from a given organization into a consistent design system, such an image could be projected, and the design system enlisted to help accomplish specific corporate goals.” (Meggs’ History of Graphic Design, by Philip B. Meggs and Alston W. Purvis).

In other words, the logo was now being used as one element in a broader system of visual elements used to identify the entire output of a corporation — many of which were becoming larger and more powerful than any had every been before.

Here are some notable developments in the evolution of identity design.

Wiener Werkstätte

The Wiener Werkstätte was a manufacturing and marketing enterprise founded in Vienna in 1903 — decades before graphic designers were doing work that was officially recognized as corporate identity. This group of craftsmen and designers were true trailblazers.

Marks of the Werkstätte, left to right: Werkstätte monogram, rose logo, logo for Galerie Miethke designed by Kolo Moser

Wiener Werkstätte letterhead printed in ‘Wiener Werkstätte blue,’ 1914. The group’s obsession with squares and grids is evident here.

A trademark was proposed for the Werkstätte, but designer Josef Hoffman proposed a complete graphic identity. The appearance of the group’s letters and articles was unified by four elements: the Werkstätte’s red rose symbol plus the monogram marks of the Werkstätte, the designer, and the producer. These standard elements, along with the use of the square as a decorative motif, were used to design everything from invoices to wrapping paper.

Now that’s dedication to designing an immersive brand environment: the Werkstätte logo forged into the handle of a cupboard key.

Identity Masters

Westinghouse logo and annual report designed by Paul Rand

Extraordinarily influential designers like Paul Rand, Milton Glaser, and Alan Fletcher helped shape the graphic identity of consumer culture during the second half of the twentieth century. Rand, for example, designed many ubiquitous logos and his varied identity work for IBM became a benchmark in the industry. These great designers have been covered in depth elsewhere (check out ‘The world’s best logo designers?’ by David Airey), so we won’t spend too much time on them here.

Music Television

“The move of information from the printed page to other media has changed the nature of graphic identity. The MTV logo, which emerges from an unexpected metamorphosis, is probably the ultimate in animated identity.” -The New York Times, September 1996

The MTV logo was designed by the now-defunct studio Manhattan Design in the early 1980’s. Former Manhattan Design member Frank Olinsky tells the story behind the creation of this logo here.

This logo was a revolution in corporate identity because it adapted to the language of television and shattered standing notions about the ‘rules’ of logo use. In the early 80’s, television had become a ubiquitous medium. The MTV logo adapted to the nature of this medium by exploiting the speed and motion of the moving image: it was regularly animated, shattered, decorated, erased, and reborn in the course of a brief station identification spot. This showed that logos could be adaptive vessels for graphic identity and demolished the notion that trademarks should always be presented in a consistent, static form. The logo had evolved to fit the culture of the television era.

The Brand Era

“In order to be successful multinational corporations, you need to produce brands, not products.” -Naomi Klein

Lebron James is deified in a Nike desktop wallpaper ad. The Swoosh is tiny; the brand is huge. For some, Nike epitomizes successful branding. For others, it’s the poster child for deceptive marketing, sweatshop labor, and unethical business practices.

Now that the whole world has been branded, the Twentieth Century approach to branding is old school. I’ll call our present day in age the Brand Era. The logo has evolved from a mark of quality on a product to a visual distillation of a cultural ideal — one that’s capable of accruing or asserting brand equity in a variety of marketing environments and inspiring great allegiance among consumers. “In this corporate formula,” says Naomi Klein, “the brand has little to do with the life of the product. Rather, it is a free-standing idea. The goal of the successful brand has become nothing short of transcendence from the world of things.”

In this twenty-first century brand space, Nike is no longer a shoe company — it is a concept that represents transcendence through sports. Consider the Nike ad above: Lebron James is deified in a Christ-like pose and with religious language (‘witness,’ ‘believe’), both of which imply spiritual transcendence. In the case of Michael Jordan, the star was granted superhuman powers in Nike ads (picture him achieving flight, suspended midair en route to the hoop). In the corner floats the simple, austere Swoosh. In this context, the logo is a sponge, soaking up the ‘brand equity’ created by themes of transcendence and flight as well as the basketball star’s fame/endorsement/deification.

‘Brand evangelists’ now use all kinds of lofty language to describe ‘brand worlds’ and ‘branded landscapes.’ At best, this kind of language describes creative brand strategy that can provide organizations with an innovative approach to defining themselves in today’s corporate culture — a place where tumultuous economies and rapid technological change require constant adaptation. At worst, this kind of behavior is an attempt to pull the pretentious wool over the novice client’s eyes, using ostentatious language to leverage the sale of mediocre design and commonplace brand strategy. None of us entered this field to become snake oil salesmen, so don’t pitch like them.

A Post-Brand Era?

Ask someone standing in Times Square if logo design is dead. Image: ‘Times Square Parade’ by Alexander Chen

In this era, the brand is bigger and more powerful than ever. Brands have become so big that some people have logo tattoos (physically branded with a brand) while celebrities like Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey have successfully developed themselves into personal mega brands. Brands like Nike have transformed themselves into lifestyle choices that consumers can integrate into their own identity. How much further can we go? What comes next?

Naomi Klein has noted that the many successful brands have already achieved “transcendence from the world of things,” meaning that the dissemination of a brand’s identity has become more valuable than its production of physical commodities. Technology will soon liberate brands from the visible world even further, as companies enter the fields of nanotechnology, synthetic life production, virtual space, and more. What will ‘brand identity’ mean for a person who has branded cells injected into their body to eradicate cancer? And you thought the favicon was small. Brands will occupy startling new environments (like the bloodstream) in the 21st Century.

The MTV logo famously introduced a logo that could undergo a costume change during every performance. How else can a logo break the rules to adapt? Is there a way to explode the logo, to decentralize it? What about a logo that consisted of separate elements that could be displayed on their own or joined together to create a unified whole? If branded products exist on a molecular level that’s invisible to the naked eye, could they project external holographic brand identity?

The role of brand identity in the future remains to be seen. But it appears as though — barring the apocalypse or some Naomi Klein-inspired activist revolution — brands will continue to expand into new areas. Just as most industries are dealing with abrupt transitional periods due to the disruptive effects of technology, so is ours. In fact, their transitional periods become our transitional periods, because they are our clients.

As brand identity designers, merely designing a logo for a client is not good enough. It is also unacceptable to stand on the cultural sidelines or design with our heads in the sand. We must be students of the changing cultures around us. We must take active roles in the use of design to strengthen and navigate the futures of the industries, people, and causes we believe in.

The Road Ahead

For now, brand identity design is thriving. Branded design environments (like a website with an integrated design strategy expressing brand qualities) can coexist with traditional logo design. In the future — as always — it’s creative thinking that will lead the way. One valuable asset will be the willingness to take a risk when it comes time to develop a strategy for a brand’s visual persona. The faster technology propels our culture, the more design risk-takers we’re going to need.

Whatever changes may come, one thing will remain. As graphic artists and designers, we possess the power (just as any two year-old with a crayon does) to ascribe meaning to the world around us. We put an expressive face on raw information. The fundamental desire of humans to understand the world in visual terms is a desire that we can understand and foster. Graphic design’s ability to provide meaning and useful information will prove more valuable than ever during uncertain and challenging times.

Partial Bibliography

• Typography and Graphic Design: from Antiquity to Present by Roxane Jubert
• Meggs’ History of Graphic Design by Philip B. Meggs and Alston W. Purvis
• Graphic Design: A Concise History by Richard Hollis
• No Logo by Naomi Klein
• Wiener Werkstätte: Design in Vienna 1903-1932 by Christian Brandstätter

© Dan Redding for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | Post a comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine
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Almost all of us listen to music. We listen at home, while working, on the subway, while driving, while running. Yet many of us don’t think of music as much more than entertainment. Did you know that you can use music as a tool? With the right music, you can increase effectiveness, create better stuff more easily, get into your creative zone quickly and kick-start a productive day. Add music to your workflow for better results.

This isn’t a recent development inspired by the iPod generation. People have been using music as a tool for thousands of years — ever since humans started hitting sticks against rocks. Indigenous peoples used music in rituals and ceremonies, drummers prepared warriors for battles, and significant life events (like weddings and funerals) are still marked with special music.

(Image by renneville)

So, how do you actually use music to increase creativity, productivity and effectiveness? Let’s consider a couple of ways of adding music to your workflow.

[Offtopic: by the way, did you know that Smashing Magazine has one of the most influential and popular Twitter accounts? Join our discussions and get updates about useful tools and resources — follow us on Twitter!]

Get Into The Zone

Music has a strong influence on mood. Just try listening to some fast-paced energetic music while relaxing, or try getting pumped up with chill ambient soundscapes. It just doesn’t work. So, when you need to create something, play appropriate music to quickly get in the zone.

Different kinds of music complement different creative tasks:

• Listen to airy and melodic music to design something that needs to feel light and warm.
• Dark and industrial graphics? Put on some heavier music.
• Futuristic and exciting visuals? Play some energizing, progressive electronic music.

It’s like role-playing. The background music is your theme song, and you’re acting out the role. Each task to accomplish, each project you work on, becomes the mission of your “character.”

Get Energized and Get Focused

The human body naturally moves to rhythm. Whenever you hear a beat, you react to it subconsciously. Notice how people tap their feet or snap their fingers to whatever music is playing around them? You don’t need a sports drink or motivational coach to get going: upbeat music will energize you.

Of course, what counts as “energetic music” differs from person to person. Fast-paced rhythms and uplifting melodies work for many, and laid-back beats and airy vibes do it for others. For some, it’s heavy and dark tunes. Whatever makes you feel like doing things, that’s your energetic music.

So, to start with a bang, get motivated for a task or simply go for an invigorating run, listen to music that energizes you. Listen to whatever gets you excited in a “grab life by the throat and get big things done” way.

When it’s too quiet, your mind can wander. You start paying attention to every little sound and get sidetracked thinking about random things. Playing music of a consistent style in the background helps you stay focused and reigns in your wandering mind.

(Image by williambrawley)

Even if you’re not paying attention to the music, a steady rhythm induces a meditative state of mind: you focus on the task at hand because you’re subconsciously being carried along by the music. There are no inconsistent noises to distract you or hinder your progress. Think of it like white noise (like rustling trees or rolling waves). Consistent, even ambient sound helps you working consistently. Style- and vibe-specific DJ mixes, as well as “smart” playlists, can be great for this. An example of this are online radio stations Pandora, Grooveshark and Last.FM.

Background music doesn’t help everyone focus. For some, it can be a distraction; some work better in silence. And if that works well for you, there’s no need to stop. But if you find yourself getting distracted from time to time, give it a shot.

Next time you lose focus, put on some music and see how the next hour turns out. There’s a good chance you’ll be more focused and productive.

When To Turn Off The Music

As the saying goes, one can have too much of a good thing. As much as music helps you to work, is there a time to turn it off?

(Image by odreiuqzide)

1. Ear Fatigue

This is common sense: turn off the music if you start feeling ear fatigue. An aching head or throbbing ears will obviously distract you from work. Before you roll your eyes, consider that this is actually a common problem, especially for those who use headphones. After a few hours, non-stop music will tire your ears. Just as you should take frequent breaks to stretch, move and look around, so should you give your ears a break.

2. Distraction

Music should be turned off when it starts distracting you. This probably won’t happen for a while, especially if you’re busy creating. But again, too much of a good thing is bad.

When you start paying more attention to the music than to what you’re doing, turn it off for a while. The change of pace will help you refocus, after which you can always put it back on.

What About Shared Space?

Sure, playing music whenever you like is fine if you’re a freelancer who works from home or a location-independent person or someone who has their own office. But what if you work in a shared space? Is it a good idea to put music on in the background for everyone? Or is it better to keep the space quiet?

There do not seem to be any strict social conventions, so if a group is working on the same project and they don’t require complete silence, play some mood-appropriate music. It might get the creative juices flowing and get everyone into a steady rhythm. After all, the point is to produce coherent, creative results. Working to a soundtrack can help a group gel.

Returning to the analogy of role-playing, a shared musical experience while working can be like group role-playing. Think of your work as a “World of Warcraft” raid, with the right background theme to keep you all on task. A more probable analogy is office decor, which creates a distinct atmosphere of its own. Like furniture and decoration, music can augment a working atmosphere.

Neutral music (i.e. nothing too experimental) won’t distract. Of course, the group should decide together; if everyone can agree on a certain niche genre, then so be it.

What Else Does Music Do?

1. Increase Relaxation

Whether you play music while working, you can still use it to enrich your breaks. Music is especially helpful if you’re feeling stressed out and need a moment to relax. Relaxing instantaneously is nearly impossible, probably because shifting focus so quickly is hard. If you’ve been thinking about one thing, transitioning to something else can take a while.

Music, whether upbeat or tranquil, can facilitate the transition. It’s like auditory yoga, except you’re not forcing yourself to do anything uncomfortable; the music does the work for you.

2. Improve Presentations

Just as appropriate music lends itself to different creative atmospheres, it can also influence viewers of your presentations. Choose the right music and they’ll be interested, excited, even ready to buy.

A good presentation might use music at key moments. Even a tacky ’80s hit could work: it could trigger nostalgia, thus winning over your client. The right musical “moment” could lead to viewers purchasing or investing in your product, following your guidelines or just paying closer attention.

If you want prospective clients to take interest in your service, elicit their enthusiasm by playing music with an exciting build-up. To drive home a point or highlight a feature or benefit, sync a track so that the musical climax occurs at that point in the presentation.

(Image by tobiastoft)

Basically, decide what you want to achieve with your presentation. What is the viewers’ call to action? What do you want them to do afterward? Add music that suits the content of your presentation and that complements the emotional journey you want viewers to take. Music in a presentation elicits emotional investment, and you’ll probably get better results.

Music Creates Mood

Clearly, music isn’t just entertainment. The right kind of music is a tool that improves your day — and not just your mood: it can increase and sustain your creativity, productivity and effectiveness.

Remember these three reasons to add music to your workflow: to get into your creative zone faster, to stay energized and motivated and to get more important stuff done in less time.

(al)

© Oleg Mokhov for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | Post a comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine
Post tags: music