Ok, I feel like a traitor saying this, because I’ve been Googling for so long that I can’t even recall what I did before that, but I love Bing!

Being a long time Apple user, I am, as almost a matter of principle, adverse to anything Microsoft. The Apple user interface has always been better, and I am happy that Apple is finally being appreciated for the wonderfully intuitive interface it proudly displays and continually improves upon. As a result, there are no longer those closet Mac users that existed years ago. We can all stand up and be proud to love Apple!

But even I have to admit, Microsoft has done a lot right with Bing. 

It is really wonderful.

I particularly love the rollouts that display info, which are a terrific timesaver.

Plus, in searching for images, it gives you the option of choosing size, color, layout, style (photo or illustration), or people…

I can see many applications for this useful feature and it too is a great timesaver.

But, allow me to switch gears for a moment, and talk about Bing’s branding…

Interestingly, there is already controversy over the name.

A man named Stanley Bing, who is a columnist for Fortune Magazine and a best-selling author, has issued a press release expressing his “moderate outrage” at the branding. It seems he has received some terrific PR with this.

Read more about this here.

His visual…

Which brings me to the visual icon for Bing.

Personally, I like it’s simplicity…

In fact, I see it having many options, and it can easily be embellished, much like the Google logo.

I also like the yellow dot for the “i.” It is just dark enough to hold against most backgrounds and bright enough to spark. The roundness of the letters is something I typically do not like. It is difficult to read at a quick glance but since Bing contains only 4 letters, it is easily recognizable for what it is. And this is coming from a self-proclaimed purist when it comes to type.

But that doesn’t mean it can’t be improved

The roundness of the letters make it a bit less readable than it could be.

Of course, you need to see for yourself or read what experts reviewing the technology are saying. I think to really give it a full analysis, you need a state-of-the-art computer with lots of bandwidth. I tried it out on an older mac laptop and it had a bit of trouble. So if you are like me, just keep that in mind.

Anyway, the only other thing I have to say is, well, maybe they could have thought of a more innovative name! After all, if you Google, “Bing” , you will find many results that are not actually “Bing”, the search engine. But then, what did we expect? It is Microsoft! 

The classic Nike logo smiles, somewhat like the new Pepsi logo. What would happen if they had used it upside down? A smile always gets positive attention, but turn it upside down? It is a subliminal no-no.

Gene Gable of CreativePro.com writes often about vintage advertising in Scanning Around with Gene. This week his article is titled: Holy Word Balloons, Batman! This ad is an attention-grabber!

Great blog, 3 Hot Marketing Tips from Heat Map Analysis

Once again … the age-old tried and true rules of advertising prove valid.

Issue#1: People scan but do not read.
Solution #1: Use short sentences, bullet points and bold text.

Issue #2: Images get a lot of attention.
Solution #2: Use images effectively.
(With a goal in mind. What do we want people do next?)

Issue #3: People rarely scroll.
Solution #3: Put important content above the fold. (In websites they are referring to the virtual fold.)

In any marketing effort, we need to help move our audience through a piece visually with a goal in mind.

Heatmapping is still pretty interesting and for those who want to learn more…this site will provide the service of eyetracking for your website.

This site tell the stories of the visual and conceptual transitions of 20 corporate brand logos.

I particularly like number 1, the Apple evolution.

Don’t miss Volkswagen, number 11. Company history ties the German automaker with Adolf Hitler (1933).

Thanks for voting!
Grace Para, of Landenberg, PA, was the Region 3 winner in the K-3 group.

Find the national winner and 3 finalists here.

We did an enewsletter on the first Eye tracking study done for websites a few years ago… some may recall.

Eye tracking studies have revealed valuable information about how people read and interact with websites.

Read more on Eyetrack III, the recently published summary of eye tracking results for news sites.

See a visual map of home page priority zones… and a very good summary of the study.

Interestingly enough….
As we know, these age old tricks hold true for print as well.
Graphics can be useful for conveying information that is difficult to communicate in pure text.
Short paragraphs encourage reading.
Your headline must grab attention in less than 1 second. Get to the point fast!
People notice ads placed close to popular content.

Not much new here!
Human behavior in the visual world, that’s all.

Mozilla Corporation has offered up an initial revised draft rendering of its existing ‘fox around a globe’ logo for user consideration and said it will continue adding further revisions every 24 hours or so.

Maybe they want to adapt the Google model where the fox wears something unique new each day? A hat, coat, gloves, sunglasses. This could make things on Firefox fun!

Vote!

Until May 18th you have the opportunity of voting for the best google doodle in each of four grade groups. 

Locally (region 3) for us, we have Grace Para, of Landenberg, PA, as a candidate in the K-3 group. Her doodle is so well developed for someone so young. Be sure to go see these wonderful doodles. 

Kudos to Google for sharing and helping to create design stardom for little people–our up and coming graphic designers! 

Winners will be announced on May 20th with their logos appearing on Google home page May 21st. 

Vote here