We moved to a condo a couple of years back and quite enjoy it. It has an interesting mix of people and the convenience of the condo life is great. The only thing I didn’t count on, were vampires in the elevators.

I actually like vampire movies and the new one coming out with Johnny Depp looks like a hoot. On the morning in question, I had just finished watching an installment of Being Human. It’s a British, dark comedy about a vampire, werewolf and ghost that share a home and various adventures. The writing is great and they mix the odd chuckle with some pretty realistic gore, to make it both interesting and a near believable premise.

So, I’m fresh off the vampire story and enter the elevator on the 23^rd floor. I pass on a casual greeting to the young man standing in the corner, texting, head down, as is the case with just about anybody under 30 riding the elevators. I’ve gotten in the habit of striking up a conversation when I’m in this situation and mentioned to the chap dressed in black, long and lean, dark hair and fair complexion, “You could have just walked out of the vampire movie I was watching”. My better half would have kicked me in the shins for that comment… but she wasn’t there.

Without skipping a beat, the young man said “thank you” and I could see a bit of a smile as he continued texting. We arrived at the ground floor and he exited but not before looking me straight in the eyes to say goodbye. His eyes where all black, no colour whatsoever. I have to tell you, it threw me for a loop for a minute or two, as I continued my elevator ride to the parking garage.

I understand he had some kind of contact lenses but it did make me think. What if, along with everything else we deal with on a daily basis, we had to be on the ready to fend off vampire and werewolf attacks? It would certainly put our current challenges in perspective.

Lee’s quote for the day

“Ever feel like you’re in the Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day? That’s probably a good sign to change things up but do me a favour and don’t do the vampire thing…once is enough.” 

When I started in the marketing business decades ago, PMS was certainly a big deal. It could cause a headache and cramp your style for days at a time. PMS, short for pantone matching  system, was the bible for recreating your corporate brand on things as varied as golf balls, business cards, brochures…you name it.

Every company had logo standards and PMT sheets and then of course you would have to match those PMS standards to vinyl swatches for decaling vehicles, thread swatches for embroidery and so on. What a nightmare. The truth is there were so many variables in the resulting colours that it almost made the whole process redundant. Letterhead stock printed different than glossy brochure stock, process colours printed differently than spot colours. The whole deal caused many a sleepless night for marketing professionals.

Although this system continues as the standard today, most work is produced in 4 colour process. The varying percentage combinations of black, cyan, magenta and yellow can reproduce millions of colour combinations. The pre press cost of reproducing materials is a fraction of what it was when I started in the business in the late eighties. The actual cost of printing is similar, while the cost of stock is at least twice as high.

Most of the wrinkles have been ironed out over the years but a couple of things still remain. Along with the various PMS numbers there are a few primary colours that do not require mixing. They gave these colours a name instead of a number, like pantone red, warm red, pantone yellow and reflex blue. Reflex blue is still the worst colour on the planet for reproduction. It never dries without a varnish, it likes to turn purple without warning, so if you’re still using that one…do yourself a favour and heave ho( or simply revise your reflex blue to PMS 286, no one will notice and it reproduces more consistently).

The moral of the story…when you’re picking or revisiting your corporate colours ask your agency these 5 basic questions before deciding:

1. How does it reproduce in 4 colour process?
2. How does it compare on coated and uncoated papers?
3. Are there thread colours and vinyl colours that match closely to it?
4. What are the variations of logo colours and proportions you can use across various applications?
5. What fonts should be used in conjunction with your new corporate standards?

Lee’s quote for the day

“The beauty about rules and standards is that you need to create them knowing they will be broken. If you have a champion to enforce them, they will just be broken to a lesser degree.”