Let’s say you want to cross your kitchen from fridge to stove. You don’t need a gps to chart the exact coordinates of the fridge and the exact coordinates of the stove and draw a line between them. You can just turn and walk. If you’re a degree or two off, it doesn’t matter because you literally can’t miss it.

But let’s say you want to go from your fridge, in Upstate New York, to the Golden Gate Bridge, in San Francisco. If you’re even one degree off your mark, you’ll end up in Los Angeles or Canada.

When people ask me what we do at GrafiQa, this is the analogy that always comes to mind. Yes, we design print materials and create websites and design logos, but that’s not really What We Do. Those are just the vehicles with which we accomplish our real goal, which is guiding our clients from their refrigerators to the Golden Gate Bridge without getting lost and ending up in the Yukon.

Attention professors and adjuncts - are you hot? If not, writer John Warner has advice to help you ramp up the chili pepper ratings over at McSweeney’s.

Actually, McSweeney’s recent archives offer a few interesting takes on how the new web impacts life - or might have impacted life. Check out Amazon.com’s Recommendation Algorithm Applies to Life Events by Maribeth Mooney and Proust Discovers LiveJournal by Summer Block Kumar.

And speaking of LiveJournal and other ugc, there has been a lot of attention in the media this week to the BlogHer | Compass study that revealed what many of us already knew: Blogging is mainstream. No one needed to tell me that.

But what is even more fascinating - and less touted - is that a sizable portion of the 16-million-strong league of lady bloggers falls into the “mature” age demographic. A full fourth (if my math is correct) of those who actively use and keep blogs (4 million women) are over 50. You can read more over at BlogHer.

This article in HOW magazine explains how monthly “creative jams” at the Dallas firm Mason-Baronet keep things lively. My first thought after reading this was that I wanted to suggest something like this at work. Then I broadened my thinking to include home as well. I’ll let you know if either suggested is met with delight.

Have a delightful weekend.

We’re all finally back at our desks after 4.5 days in Boston attending the HOW Conference. Boston was amazing and revitalizing and surprisingly chilly (by which I mean it was still warmer than Upstate New York).

The sessions themselves were something of a mixed bag, but overall the GrafiQa contingent came away pretty darned inspired and more than a little recharged. One of the most inspiring sessions was a presentation by Joe Duffy titled “A Designed Life.” One of the many insightful points he made was about the impact of design on the quality of life.

In Japan, he noted, design is an integral part of even the most ordinary daily activities.

The presentation of food, architecture, the landscape.

Duffy’s assertion is that, because impeccable design is so culturally ingrained, Japanese people live with a more sophisticated grasp of good design principles.

Another speaker, Bill Strickland, shard a similar philosophy in his closing presentation. Strickland, who is the author of the book “Make the Impossible Possible,” created an amazing arts and technology center for inner-city kids and adults. The centers are beautiful - inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture and filled with beautiful works of art and fresh flowers.

To quote his speech: “People are a product of their environment and expectations. When you build a beautiful place, you get beautiful people. When you build prisons, you get prisoners.”

You can see his entire speech at his website (and I highly recommend it).

These two speakers, who essentially book-ended the conference drove home a simple, but resounding truth: Good design should not be reserved only for a special class of activity or an exclusive class of people. Design surrounds us, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the gum wrapper in your trash bin to the trash bin itself.

Good design is important enough, influential enough and life-changing enough that we should all learn from it, embrace it and demand it.

Some of us here at GrafiQa are counting down the days and hours until we set off for Boston for the How Conference. It will be 3 1/2 days of pure design immersion in an amazing city. We love Upstate New York, don’t get me wrong, but there’s nothing like an intense few days in a big city to stir the creative insights.

The great thing about GrafiQa is that we all have very different talents and expertise, and yet our goals and guiding principles pull them all together. Getting ready for the conference, we’re all excited about something a little different.

Our fearless leader, Chris, is looking forward to the Boston studio tours, and a chance to peek behind the curtain at the inner workings of some of the best shops in the business. (He also tells me, “And I’m looking forward to spending so much time with you guys.”) Yeah - we don’t see enough of each other during the ordinary 45- to 50-hour work week.

Susan, our resident design maven, is excited about the chance to sit in on a session with Debbie Millman, a designer whose work she loves.

Meanwhile, I am all aflutter about a session led by Kelly Goto, goddess of process and usability.

And at the risk of getting sappy, I really am looking forward to spending time with the rest of the GrafiQa envoy. These are some of the brightest, funniest and most creative people I know, and it will be a rare treat to learn and brainstorm and hang out with them outside of the daily deadlines.

More from Boston…

I’ve been thinking today about the curve on which people adopt innovation. Out in front, you have people who are innovation junkies. They are so far ahead of the curve, always knowing what’s in development long before it ever hits the street. By the time the latest software or mobile device or Internet innovation is actually available, it’s already old news to this group. They’re looking ahead to what’s next.

If you can imagine innovation like a wave turning under the surface of the water, the junkies are the ones who are pushed forward far ahead of any visible wave.

Then there are the innovation surfers who zip in and out of the curl, enjoying the thrill of a new toy or a new trick.

Behind them are the folks who miss the first wave, but still manage to catch the next one.

And then there are the people who think they can’t swim, so they stand on the beach and every so often get their toes wet.

When a lot of people hear the words Web 2.0, they start to feel like one of those beach sitters. They’re not quite sure what Web 2.0 is. They think it has something to do with blogs and MySpace. It sounds like a lot of work. So they spread out their beach towels and pull out their romance novels.

Learning new technology can be daunting. But the beauty of Web 2.0 is that it boils down to making things easier and - key for business - more efficient.

Instead of playing phone tag, technology and the web have allowed us to email. Web 2.0 takes it a step farther and allows you to meet in cyberspace - either at the same time or at different times, so everyone is always on the same page.

Sites like Slideshare and Google Docs and others can make the organizational and workflow parts of your life easier, as well as help connect you to like-minded people.

Web 2.0 allows you to not only reach out to your consumers, but allows them to find you. It allows you to have a conversation - a real relationship.

And relationships are increasingly the driver of consumer decisions.

Not every organization or business needs to use every single Web 2.0 application. You have to be smart about it. Look at your overall goals, look at what gets in the way of meeting them, and then look to the Web for the solutions that will make your life easier, make your goals easier to reach and make your time more efficient.

The annual New York State History Day competition took place today in nearby Cooperstown. Students from all over the state were there with their exhibits, papers, documentaries, performances and websites. Their work was really amazing.

For the first time this year, GrafiQa Creative Services sponsored a special award for excellence in design.

Our CEO, Chris, judged the competition, and was blown away by the quality of the students’ skills. The award went to Lauren Reisig, Berner Middle School, for her Junior Individual Exhibit titled “Equal Vote. Equal Voice.”

Congratulations, Miss Reisig.

We hate to see good businesses taken in by bad consultants. I recently wrote this piece on how to avoid predatory consultants for a Binghamton, NY, business publication:

Hiring Consultants: The Good, the Bad and the Really Ugly

We’ve seen ‘em all.

The explosion of self-styled consultants in the business world has led to a serious side effect: Consultant fatigue.

No doubt you’ve seen it or experienced it yourself. Consultants come in with guns ablaze, dispensing big insights and making big promises. Six months later, either nothing has changed or things are actually worse.

You move on to the next big idea, the next consultant with a new spin on lean management or six sigma or the latest buzz biz model.

It’s enough to make business leaders wary of all consultants and their promises, which is unfortunate because there are talented and insightful consultants whose fees could be the best investment you’ll ever make.

We have worked with many consultants over the years because of our large client list and the type of work we do. Some of the consultants have been a pleasure to work for, grow with and learn from. Others have been mediocre, but they have served a purpose. And then there is the type of consultant who seems to have a stranglehold on an organization and actually does more harm than good.

You can find the good ones and avoid the ugly ones by following a few guidelines when hiring a consultant:

The Big Talker
It should go without saying. Before placing your trust and your company’s future in the hands of a consultant, ask for references and check them. Has the consultant worked for an organization like yours? What were the goals and outcomes? Who is a reference? A good consultant will be more than happy to share success stories, and will have plenty of references to back them up.

Track Record
How successful are the consultant’s own business practices? Are you going to trust the wheel of your million-dollar company to a consultant whose own business model seems to be lacking?

The Never-Ending Consultant
This is the worst of situations. Some consultants see businesses as endless supplies of revenue. They are adept at finding ways to extend projects far beyond their natural life or creating projects that spawn a litter of new projects. It’s important to examine how successful  Phase 1 was. If the project was wildly successful, then maybe Phase 2 is a good idea. If you’re lining the consultant’s coffers at the expense of your company’s, it might be time to move on.

The No-Duh Consultant
It is very easy for any competent businessperson to look at an organization from a third party perspective and see the strongpoints/flaws, Sometimes a lot easier then the person inside the business – this is the core of a consultants silver lining– The true effective consultant will have the ability to administer effective change through their observations. Many consultants seem like visionaries for basically pointing out the obvious – it’s important to take a step back and not be too impressed with observations – again look at the track records.

The No-Goals, No-Problem Consultant
If your consultant is quick to promise actions but slow to outline the goals and measurable results, take it as a big red flag. A good consultant listens to your goals and delivers a service designed specifically to move those goals forward.  A great consultant will outline very clearly from the beginning how you will be able to measure the value of that service after it has been delivered.

As in any industry, there are good and bad apples in the consulting field. We’ve worked with great consultants who are innovative, insightful and incredibly proficient. And if decision makers could more quickly differentiate between the good and the bad, things would never get ugly.

Christopher Quereau is founder and creative director for GrafiQa Creative Services, a marketing and brand development firm with offices in Binghamton and Oneonta. He can be reached at chris@grafiqa.com or 607.433.8837.

Remember middle school? Sure you do - it was that agonizing few years when everyone was growing too much or too little or just plain wrong. And hairy.

Your body was flooded with hormones and all the itinerant mood swings and cravings and irrational outbursts. It was like being pregnant without all the presents and bed rest.

But there were those kids - the one who glided effortlessly through adolescence. His hair was always perfect. She was funny and self-assured. They set the standard for successful Life in Middle School. And with an intoxicating mixture of admiration and envy, the rest of us all harbored crushes on them.

What does this have to do with marketing?

The other day, I was doing some research online and came across a business site that made me weak in the knees.

They had me from the About Page, which was far different than many business pages you find online. Instead of the usual chest-beating of “Who We Are,” “What We Do,” “Why We’re Better,” this page told me “Your needs are important,” “Here’s how we can help,” “These are the ways your life will improve.”

I love it when a business talks about me.

I also love it when a business shows personality, which this particular site did extremely well by inviting conversation and actually participating in that conversation via the company blog.

I didn’t just want to hire this company - I wanted to hang out with it. I wanted to be invited to its birthday party at the skating rink.

That’s a brand crush, and if your brand isn’t crushworthy to your audience, you’ll just get lost in the crowd.

The big news this week for people in the marketing and advertising world is that Virginia Commonwealth University has changed the name of its venerable graduate program from Adcenter to Brandcenter.

The program is one of the most respected in the country for producing creative, innovative professionals in ever corner of the field.

But what exactly is the field? Is it advertising? Marketing? PR? Social media networking?

Yes. Plus much, much more, including the design of everything from your business cards and your office place to the way you communicate with clients and other members of your professional community.

In a word: Brand.

The day of launching an ad campaign is over. This is the era of brand.

According to Advertising Age:

“The scope of the school has grown, and the business is changing, so if we’re going to prepare people for that bigger and more complicated world that is branding today, it’s probably limiting to think about it just in advertising terms,” said Mike Hughes, president and creative director at Interpublic’s Martin Agency, Richmond, who is also a member of the Brandcenter’s board of directors.

What implication does this have for the average business?

Businesses of all sizes need to shed the ad mindset and get into the brand mindset.

Ad mindset: Telling your audience who you are.
Brand mindset: Listening to your audience’s definition of you, and responding to their needs.

Ad mindset: Short-term campaigns.
Brand mindset: Long-term strategies.

Ad mindset: Short-term gains.
Brand mindset: Long-term returns.

Ad mindset: Putting a good face on your business for the outside world.
Brand mindset: Understanding that if you build a good internal culture, your employees will become your biggest evangelists.

Below is a story from the New York Times about Blogging which I found interesting and demonstrates how blogging can make a significant difference for organizations - especially service organizations. - c