Lack of imagination. I could leave this blog post at that and just about everyone would understand and agree, but for the sake of those who don’t necessarily like to see ideas crumble due to a lack of understanding (myself included) I’ll expand a bit.

Sean X. Cummings wrote the article “Why the QR code is failing” going into great depth on this topic explaining that most people believe the QR code to be useless, though we shouldn’t blame the QR code itself for this but rather the people implementing it. Companies love to pepper these little pixelated boxes on their billboards, posters, fliers and commercials to get you to go to their website. What’s the problem here? That it goes to their website. We can all agree it’s just the same or easier to open up your mobile browser and type in the company’s URL than to bring up the QR reader app, take a picture and wait to see if it read it correctly. There’s no added benefit and no incentive to look at a company website by these means.

What needs to happen is a bit of creativity. Connecting your QR code to something that will engage the audience and make them want to utilize this technology rather than pointing them to a business card when they know just how to find you from your advertisement anyway. Don’t make them do extra work to get to an end they’ve already met. Cummings mentions using a scavenger hunt—great! Maybe it points to a hidden video that describes something about the area they’re in and how your company has influenced it. Sustainability is big right now, right? How about pointing the code to another video explaining the process behind creating the 100% sustainable flier your audience is holding in their hand and how they can plant it in a pot of soil and flowers will grow? There are a million ideas you could come up with for QR codes that are far more engaging and useful than the surface-scratching method of attaching your website to it. Tom Fishburn of The Marketoonist (whose image we’ve used above) provides a fantastic example in his article where QR tags in New York City’s Central Park have created a rich and unique interactive experience that brings visitors closer to this historic landmark. Don’t give your audience busywork. Teach them something, reward them with something, play with them. As Plato has said “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” What better way to connect with your audience?

Did I mention there are also branding and design opportunities for these drab black and white stamps themselves?

“In every corner of the globe, we see the power of living and working more sustainably. When we look into the future, we know our actions matter. So while our work is complex, our commitment is simple: Succeed today without compromising tomorrow.” -Fluor Corporation 2010 Sustainability Report

Fluor asked Baker to help elevate their third sustainability report to a higher level than had been accomplished with the two prior reports. While still new to the arena of sustainability reporting, Fluor had a clear idea of what they wanted to do this year: communicate the commitment and accomplishments of its sustainable business practices in construction projects around the world within the context of an easy-to-navigate interactive PDF. We came up with the theme and title, Insight Onsite. We then brought it to life using bright colors and big, bold type to identify each section and interesting, easy-to-read graphics. Additionally, we included links throughout to navigate the user to different sections of the report or to the Fluor corporate website for more detailed information.

Read more about Baker’s role in our case study.

On the heels of a successful online annual report, Baker launched a completely rebranded corporate website for Leap Wireless this month. Designed to provide deeper information and tell the Leap/Cricket story consistently to all audiences, the new website features enhanced content and functionality across four broad categories: Who We Are, Investors, Newsroom, and Careers. The site is powered by a content management system that enables quick and easy updates. And while it remains true to the corporate brand, the site design is cohesive with Leap’s newly revamped consumer brand Cricket, as seen on its website, mycricket.com, as well as other commercial, in-store and co-branded touchpoints on and off the web. Check it out here.

Baker and Leap have partnered on the following initiatives:
Six employee engagements videos
2011 annual review—online and print
Investor collateral
Corporate website

“And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” —W.B. Yeats

That’s been a pretty good description of the cloud of fear that has collected around many of us who’ve spent our careers producing printed communications. Since, print has been declared dead in the last couple of years.

Well, the new beast is taking shape, and it’s not so rough after all. In fact, it may turn out to pretty damn sexy and even, gasp, profitable! Witness the latest reincarnation of Gourmet as Gourmet Live to be released for the iPad later this year. The iPad is allowing Conde Nast to pull a Lazarus on this much loved brand. But this new creature will be part magazine, part social media resource with a game component similar to Foursquare. It will feature content from it’s  backlog of recipes as well as new content available for a small fee. (Gourmet Magazine Revived for the iPad)

Wired magazine also shows what the future may hold for publishing with downloads recently exceeding it’s newsstand sales without cannibalizing them. Wired is also breaking new ground and acting as an early leader in establishing conventions for digital publishing. (Introducing WIRED on the iPad)

But this isn’t an Apple love-fest. Adobe is playing a key role in enabling much of this revolution with it’s new software offerings for Creative Suite 5, or if you’re on a first name basis with it like we are—CS5. CS5 is providing powerful new ways for content developers to digitize their content straight from their printed projects while minimizing development costs. Apparently Adobe has been the motor under the hood of Wired magazine’s new digital offering. (Creating Digital Magazines)

In a way, it may be that the website has died a little. As devices like smart phones and tablet computers offer more attractive vehicles for content, the website may grow to be more utilitarian in nature, like the PC itself. Enter Flipboard. Billed as your social media world presented as a magazine experience. A new app for the iPad. Okay, so maybe this is an Apple love fest after all. But this app is a great example of how the website is being transformed by the app. And the exciting new possiblities of presenting and monetizing content. (Flipboard, New “Social” iPad Magazine will be Powered by Semantic Data)

From this spot in the road, we may have to correct, the masterful Yeats’ gloomy vision with the more stylish, if not remotely linguistically comparable Don Draper by way of Balzac — “Our worst fears lie in anticipation.”

Los Angeles-based Grandpoint Bank launched on June 30, featuring a new identity designed by Baker. Prior to the launch, the Baker team worked with the founders to create a platform that reflected not only their deep industry expertise but also their service philosophy of highly personalized banking: helping clients achieve financial success through a spectrum of customized services accessible through one point of contact.

Baker used this platform to build the visual components of the program. In addition to a new logo and tagline, the elements included proprietary brand imagery, stationery, signage, collateral and a website — all for which Baker created a distinct look-and-feel that could extend effectively and consistently across customer touch points.

Read the case study or Grandpoint’s launch press release.