Competitor Analysis – A Graphic Design Perspective

You probably already know all about SWOT analysis. You might even have your oppositions target demographics, market share and sales figures on hand. But have you ever applied the same type of stringent methodology to analysing your competitors’ visual presence in the marketplace? A graphic design audit is a fantastic and relatively easy way to get a clear picture of how your competitors are perceived, what key messages they are communicating and how you look when placed alongside them. It’s also a valuable exercise that informs you about the type of communication your customers are receiving on a regular basis from your key competitors.

So how do you do it?

The first step to a graphic design audit is to compile every piece of sales and marketing collateral you can find from the competition. This includes trawling through their website and taking screen grabs of key pages, subscribing to their mailing lists, getting your hands on their brochures, purchasing their products so you can have a look at packaging etc. etc.

According to Peter L. Phillips author of “Creating the Perfect Design Brief – How to Manage Design for Strategic Advantage”, one of the best, least expensive and fastest methods is to attend all industry trade shows. There is nothing illegal, unprofessional or immoral about this practice. Business is merely a game we are playing to win after all!

Mr Phillips also suggests using your sales force members to find out what the competition are up to.

As they come into direct contact with customers every day, they can often pick up competitive literature from the customer. They only need to know what you need and of course why you need it.

So once you have compiled the information, what do you do with it?

The best way to start is by putting your competitors’ information up on the wall and analysing them one by one. Invite as many people as possible from your sales, marketing and business teams to give their individual opinion on what design elements are working very well for the competition, and what weaknesses they can see. By starting your analysis on your competitors first, you will build up a bit of objectivity so you can then turn the same harsh critique onto yourself.

Look for ways the design and language make a document unique. Do they have a friendly look and feel that reflects more personalized service? Do they look more professional than you? Why? Is it because the page is less cluttered, the colours are more toned down or some other reason? Is their website easier to navigate than your own? What do you think their reasons behind these choices were? Is there anything you can learn from them? Most importantly, how are these competitors using design for competitive advantage?

Now for the hard part – using the same analysis on yourself. Reassure your staff that this is not an exercise where they need to defend their work, it is merely a way of gaining useful information that could give you a competitive advantage that improves your bottom line. This aspect of the audit sometimes proves a bit tricky so you might need an independent opinion from a graphic design firm that understands the process to help you out.

It is amazing how much strategic information this process can generate. It will give you new ideas and a fresh perspective that can influence the entire way you approach your marketing for the year. And considering a lot of businesses think of graphic design as an annoying inconvenience, if you are the first to use this more strategic approach you will find it is another tool to help you stay one step ahead of the competition.

How Ayurveda Can Help Diabetics

In Sanskrit ayur means life and veda means knowledge or science… Ayurveda or knowledge of life is a natural system of healing that originated in India about five millennia ago. Ayurvedic medicine is still practiced widely in India and there are ayurvedic clinics in most countries around the world.

Some conventional or Western medical practitioners consider Ayurveda a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and may include it alongside their conventional treatments.

How the ayurvedic healing system works

In Ayurvedic medicine, good health is defined as a state of equilibrium within yourself plus between you and your environment. To achieve this equilibrium your ayurvedic clinician will prescribe changes to your individual lifestyle and diet. These changes will be based on your personal body type or constitution, called your dosha.

This health system lays great emphasis on ayurvedic lifestyle practices, along with personalized nutrient-dense diets, to help prevent disease and optimize well-being, both physically and mentally.

It targets the whole person? the body, mind and spirit? which means that diet, use of herbs and supplements, stress management, sleep, and movement all combine to promote overall health. It may also include CAM treatments such as homeopathy, massage, yoga, meditation, aromatherapy and exercise.

In order to follow the Ayurveda, your particular dosha must be determined.

The three basic doshas

Each person’s dosha or body type is different and unique.

However, there are three different basic doshas… vata, pitta and kapha… and every individual has a unique combination of these three doshas that determines his or her physical and psychological characteristics.

Here’s a brief overview of the three basic doshas:

Vata… these people are usually thin with smaller bones, find it difficult to put on weight and have digestive problems. They are curious, open-minded, creative and energetic, yet tend to be fearful, stressful and scatter-brained.

Vata energy plays a role in essential functions, such as breathing, circulation, mobility and motion. Vata people are susceptible to physical problems such as neurological disorders, insomnia, arthritis and heart disease and mental issues like fear and grief.

Pitta… these people are mainly of medium build and find putting on weight or muscle easy. They are smart, hard-working, ambitious, competitive but angry and aggressive at times.

Pitta energy plays a strong role in metabolic functions, such as digestion, absorption of nutrients, energy expenditure and body temperature. They can over-exert themselves and are prone to heart disease, hypertension, infectious diseases and digestive problems.

Kapha… these people usually have a big solid build and tend to be overweight. They are realists, supportive, loving and forgiving but tend to be lazy, envious, sad and insecure.

Kapha energy plays a role in lubrication, fluid balance, nourishment, rest, relaxation, caring for others, reproduction and building a strong immune system. Their health problems include diabetes, cancer, obesity, fluid retention and respiratory illnesses.

These doshas are general types and an individual’s personal dosha will be a combination of the three basic types in a proportion that is unique to that person.

Your dosha is be determined by an ayurvedic practitioner. However you can have a go at working it out for yourself by reading a companion article How to determine your unique personal dosha yourself.

How your ayurvedic practitioner determines your personal dosha

To determine your dosha, your consultant will take your medical history, check your skin and your tongue and gums, check your vital signs (heartbeat, pulse, reflexes etc) and so on.

He or she will also discuss your personal relationships and ask you about your sleep patterns, exercise routines, work and so on. His questions will examine a very wide number of variables, such things as… your physical characteristics… you personality traits… the food you eat… your level of activity… your mind, emotions and moods, and so on. Determining your primary dosha can be a lengthy process.

Once that is done, the consultant will figure out which aspects of your doshas are out of balance and why… perhaps, for example, because you are not eating a healthy diet, not sleeping enough or are overworking and so on.

Ayurvedic lifestyle

In Ayurvedic medicine, good health means ensuring the three doshas are in a state of equilibrium within yourself and between you and your environment.

To find out where this balance is, you need to:

  • tune in to the natural rhythms of your body, and
  • synchronise your lifestyle with nature and its cyclical patterns, ie aligning your food choices, sleep patterns, and level of activity etc with the seasons, time of day and, if you are a woman, your menstrual cycle.

Thus, after determining your unique personal dosha and what aspects of your dosha are out of balance, the ayurvedic consultant will prescribe a lifestyle and a particular diet combined with specific herbs and restful practices.

The ayurvedic diet is discussed in a separate article Can the ayurvedic diet help control blood glucose levels?

Key points about an ayurvedic lifestyle

Your consultant will determine the lifestyle you need to follow to bring your dosha back into balance. The following are some of the key points he or she will cover:

Environment… creating a calm environment for your work and home by decluttering it (removing all unnecessary materials), allowing fresh air in, and adding plants or flowers to brighten it up.

Meditation… getting into the habit of waking up at about the same time every day and meditating quietly for about 15 minutes on what you intend to do for the day.

Avoiding certain foods… these are foods that are not appropriate for your dosha and therefor harmful, such as processed foods. You consultant will give you a list.

Eating nourishing foods… that are specific to your dosha, such as vegetables, legumes, spices, etc. Again, your consultant with provide you with a list.

Exercise… engaging in regular exercise that is appropriate for your body type… not too vigorous, but strong enough to improve circulation and functionality.

The benefits of an ayurvedic lifestyle

The core belief in the Ayurvedic health system is that illness and disease are the result of an imbalance in the three doshas and a disconnection from nature. It’s aim is to make you healthy by restoring that balance and reconnecting you with your environment.

But is this lifestyle beneficial?

Yes… according to a report published by the University of Maryland Medical Centre in 2015. The report stated that Ayurvedic medical practices coupled with a personalised ayurvedic diet can help in the treatment of a variety of inflammatory, hormonal, digestive, and autoimmune conditions.

Of particular interest to type 2 diabetics, Ayurveda:

  • Helps you reduce your high blood pressure
  • Helps you reduce your cholesterol
  • Reduces you weight and especially your tummy fat
  • Gives you better control over your stress

The first three bulleted points refer to the metabolic syndrome, a cluster of disorders concerning certain biochemical processes… high blood glucose levels, increased blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, or excess body fat around the waist… that very often occur at the same time in your body and are inter-related. If you have three of these conditions, you have metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome arises before you become diabetic, and it increases your chances of developing diabetes and heart disease or of suffering a stroke. If you have one component of the syndrome, you are likely to have the others.

Thus, it seems reasonable to assume that the ayurvedic lifestyle will benefit you control of your blood glucose, and in any case, as a diabetic, there’s an 85% chance you have problems with your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

When people with type 2 diabetes are under mental stress, they generally experience an increase in their blood glucose levels. When they are under physical stress, due, for example, to injury or illness, their blood sugar can also increase.

Better control of stress seems to be one of the primary benefits of Ayurveda, according to a western medical viewpoint. We know that chronic stress can ruin your quality of life and that lower stress levels are correlated with better health, longevity, weight management and overall happiness There is no doubt that the ayurvedic lifestyle may help you beat your type 2 diabetes.

The State Of Graphic Design In Jordan

Jordan’s unique geographical position results in its experts choosing self development, which includes graphic design. Experts are also involved with developments taking place in neighbouring countries and the internet was extremely useful in putting interested parties in these two fields in touch with each other and sharing possible development tools. The development of Graphic Design is also assisted by annual exhibitions and specialised conferences held both in Jordan and outside the Arab world.

The academic and professional specialists for the basis in developing graphic design through the formation of local learning institutions. In these institutions academics, programmers and graphic design teachers can meet with professional designers and discuss the way business is moving forward and requirements of the labour market.

Practical training is considered the foundation of Graphic Design, upon which the academic skill of the student and his creativity are built. Working in a design office is considered to be the most important and effective tool in measuring the level of academic learning. It also gives an indication of the effectiveness of teachers in producing a generation of students capable of dealing with the academic ethos and engaging with the requirements of the profession. This training provides the students with opportunities to polish and develop their skills by working along side established practitioners. Today’s graphic design tools rely on information technology for producing visualisations of scientific developments. This visualisation requires an understanding of the scientific theory and the visualisation tools available, which in turn relies on the expertise of graphic designers.

In this paper I will focus on the profession of graphic design and its development by discussing its early development. I will review the positive and negative aspects of that development and how they related to changes in the market and the size of the market and labour force. I will also discuss the academic concepts, and the requirement for graduate graphic designers.

In this paper I draw from my experience of working in Jordan since 1987 at the MIDAS Establishment and my roles in student training at Yarmouk University and the Applied Sciences University, which I had been attached to since 1999. This paper addresses many questions and aims to explore the mechanics of enhancing graphic design in the academic and professional sectors.

The historic and technical initial stages of graphic design in Jordan

Graphic design developed alongside the printing and information technology industries. Printing was brought to Jordan in the 1940s by people who had learnt the trade in other countries. Jordan’s printing evolution was similar to that of other countries. Printing started using wooden moulds, then zinc clichés and letterpress, as well as other printing tools, symbols and shapes. It was the printing technology that restricted the scope for producing new designs. The range of items printed was limited to newspapers, cards and stationary. Printing started mainly in black and white, and was then developed to make photo made clichés through which the printers were able to print in full colour. Typolography, or raised printing was the main method and is still used today. Offset printing enhanced the quality of production, providing improvements in colour and picture reproduction. Around the same time the role of the graphic designer was developed, involving the preparation of makettes and then film montage and plates to be ready for printing (prepress); this relied on the professionalism of the film montage technician for the preparation of backgrounds for the pictures and words. Prepress was considered the most important process in the production of the final printed article. This process was carried out at the prepress service centre which was limited to a single institution until 1987. This centre had the capability and technology to perform a range of techniques where an artistic touch was required.

In the late sixties, design pioneers were not graphic designers, but had learnt the technologies of collage and calligraphy. They were able to imitate designs from abroad and in some instances reproduced them. Their work initially ranged from greetings cards, business cards, social stationary, letterheads and envelopes, then progressed to brochures and folders. The work was mainly limited to newspaper advertising which relied predominantly on the offset printing method. We shouldn’t forget the air brush technology that provided designers with the use of graded colours, achieving three dimensional effects for some designs, although the number of people using this was limited.

From 1980-87 design was performed by specialists in Plastic Arts and Architecture, as well as the first graduates of the college of arts at Yarmuok University and similar institutions. By the end of the eighties, the computer Linotype was used as a publishing tool by newspapers to prepare text for layout and paste it on the required pages next to advertising. Some publishing houses have graphic design offices which also acquired these systems to ensure the production of books and magazines to a similar quality. Linotype was also used to prepare the design of brochures and advertising materials that cannot be hand drawn. With time Linotype was also used for the preparation of other material by this method, including greeting cards, posters and advertisements.

The design and printing sectors found the computer to be an effective way of improving productivity. In 1988 with the arrival of the first design computer by Apple Macintosh, the numbers of workers in the field increased and performance progressed in the pre-printing stages such as film making and separation. However, the expense of computers meant that there use was still limited. The production of personal computers by competitors of Apple Macintosh as well as the ease with which film can be processed through its programs, created a huge increase in the number of professionals interested in graphic design. This became evident by the growth in the number of agencies, design offices, publishing houses and service centres.

Personal computers affected the technical and artistic aspects of production. Some production centres were able to develop their skill base and by recruiting experienced designers and developing them by organising training courses. These highly trained individuals achieved high standards of work within and outside Jordan and were able to compete with others in the Arab regions and captured a share of these markets, producing many publications. Jordanian specialists became serious competitors against other Arab countries which had previously monopolised the fields of design and printing. Jordan has developed so that it can meet the demand for design and printing within the country. Jordan has become a magnet for many publishing houses in the Arab region. Many production and publishing organisations were able to catch up to the levels of the latest technology. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that they will develop further, using modern production tools, and this will ensure there are enough local specialists who can continue to produce work of the highest quality.

The pace of technological development made it necessary for the academic institutions to provide the Jordanian market with the skilled workers who can work to the high standards required. These institutions have to continually adapt to the advancing technology as well as support the academics in their quest to enhance the artistic, scientific and technological aspects of production and publishing. Relationships must also be strengthened by co-operation between business leaders and academic institutions in order to provide the mutual benefit of improve standards, with the ultimate aim of keeping up with both local and international developments.

The easiest way to judge the standard of design and printing in a country is through the newspapers, magazines and books published. Television also provides a showcase for visual communication through locally produced advertisements. The speed of printing development has made impositions on graphic design and the designers themselves. Designers have to continuously update their training to keep abreast of new technology. This enables them to be at the forefront of improving quality and creativity in all aspects of production.

The advantages and disadvantages of sectors allied with graphic design

When discussing the organisations involved in design and production in Jordan it is easy to become overwhelmed by the variety and abundance of them. These organisations saturate the market. One of the reasons for the number of organisations is the variety of production formats, each of which has its own structure. Computerisation has lead to many operators being made unemployed.

Production sources can be divided into;

– Design

– Commercial printing

– Publishing houses

– Pre-press services centres

– Computer software training centres

These are the organisations where people often look for graphic designers, although most of them do not have academically trained staff who specialise in graphic design. Many of the people who own these organisations have chosen to specialise. Some of them specialised because the profession does not require a large capital outlay, others specialised because they had a knowledge of the tools used. Most appear to have specialised because this provides them with status in their community.

Although there are many organisations working in graphic design, the workers and owners in these establishments often lack awareness of the professional graphic design concepts as they have not studied the subject in depth. Employment opportunities for graduates only began to develop after 2000 when some organisations recognised the need for such skilled workers and academic institutions were able to produce professionals of this standard. The impression of graphic design graduates has changed so companies are no longer choosing graduates who studied abroad. Design establishments have noticed the high quality of products which trained graduates can produce with their competence and skills, and their ability to use the full range of design and printing equipment. Without this properly structured training program, experience had been gained through hap-hazard on the job training.

One of the weaknesses of those producing the designs is that they are not always confident about how to use the latest techniques. They often ask advice and prefer to work within their comfort zones, failing to produce designs that would demand a great deal of time, effort or care. Graduates are much more comfortable with change and willing to develop new skills. There are a few professionals, however, who have been invaluable in the development of graphic design by training others and developing their own technical and professional skills. These people have also monitored the pace of development in the fields of printing and graphic design.

Many of the professionals have established themselves thorough the high quality of the work they produce. This is not possible without a capable, aware and educated body of co-workers, who have scientific knowledge and are creative rather than imitating the work of others.

The increasing gap between academic designers and employers, or art directors and creative managers is often due to misunderstanding the role of graphic designers. In industry, the priority of some designers or agency owners is profitability regardless of the quality of the results.

The first problem is that some of the art directors or creative managers are not aware of the importance of their position, and often the employer is equally ignorant of this. Job titles are often arbitrary so artistic or creative managers frequently lack experience and expertise.

There is an absence of a common language between academic designers and managers or employers. This often frustrates designers, creating insecurity and hindering creativity. Such an environment can be an attempt to reduce a designers` status and restricts him from engaging in the creative thinking he would have been taught and university.

Adequacy of the professional reality

Graphic designers are distinguished from other fields by being one of the most creative professions; they work with information technology and visual communication. It also involves dealing with the business world, in which credibility and ability are necessary to achieve the creative work. Qualifications and talent are essential for this.

A graphic designer is not only an artist but also a technician who is able to use software and techniques to tackle the project in hand. His approach should go beyond communication with the audience, to effective promotion and display. His aim is to produce clarity and he should be able to do this from the information using the techniques available to him. The aim is to connect the data and in order to do this must understand the development and design of the software that could be used. He has to understand all the innovations and methods of designing texts.

The design sector requires professionals to have the experience to be able to select and classify information, and to create links between related elements. However, this won’t be enough if they can not interpret this and transform it into definite forms. It is also important to understand the vocabularies of with language, sound and music as they are the most important tools of communication. Added to this, the designer must understand how to use the specialised design software to write texts, prepare drawings, animated cartoons and websites. The designer should know about design, timing, transformation, rhythm and visual presentation.

The potential of the design sector should be realised by knowledge of the necessary theories and techniques to improve communication with the audience, enrich the design proposals and understand the reflective aspect of the design process, studies and research.

There is much variation in the qualifications of staff within the design sector. It is important to differentiate between the craftsman and the academic designer. The graphic designer is a complete cultural and intellectual entity that is noted in the sensational theory, linguistic theory, visual eloquence and the cultural history of art, literature, science, technology, industry and humanity. They cannot isolate themselves from developments in theories of communication, information development, and from management and criticism. Moreover to improve the added value of the final product, all methods and tools used in production and publication should be understood. They must understand the stages before the design, and they must understand the printing process and its implications on the design.

The market is crowded with many people working in graphic design. Due to the wide use of graphic design in many fields of work, the widespread use of computers and availability of basic software packages there is a role for people using graphic design without any prior knowledge. The expression of graphic design is still not adequately understood by some employers in industrial and commercial firms and organisations that need graphic design services.

I do not doubt the potential of the vocational sector but this is the reality of graphic design. It must be remembered that well qualified people now occupy high status positions in the Jordanian market, showing its expertise and its ability to demonstrate the highest levels of graphic design.

The size of the market and people working in graphic design

There are now more than five hundred establishments working in graphic design. There are many who would not classify themselves as an agency, centre or office, as they have found their own market niche. Therefore these classifications can not be meaningfully applied in Jordan.

The sector is large compared to the market. The establishment of new graphic design organisations peaked in 1999. Since then, some have declined while others have expanded. Some have stagnated or changed management, while others have merged.

A quick look at the design sector will show that 85% of those working in the field can be classified as;

– Computer science graduates

– Architecture graduates

– Interior design graduates

– Graduates in ‘Computers and the Fine Arts’ from community colleges

– Fine arts graduates (both graphic design specialists and non-specialists)

– Graduates of design courses run by computer centres

– Unemployed people who are interested in computers

University educated graphic design graduates fulfil an important role because;

– Universities produce Graphic Designers with a different outlook to those mentioned above.

– Organisations run by people who understand graphic design will be better able to develop designers skills and adapt to the future

I am concerned for students who study graphic design at university but do not try to improve his rate of innovation and creativity in order to improve. This will affect whether he is employable.

Academically and scientifically talented students will have few problems because good employers need students who are able to form ideas quickly, use appropriate design programs for his ideas and able to produce those. Other organisations are not useful for the academic designer. These are the push-pull level of the graphic design sector which reflects the levels of awareness of the concepts and functions of graphic design.

The market is capable of absorbing all graduates. This is dependent on the development of visual communication methods through graphic design. Such development requires the presence of skilled workers capable of meeting the needs of the market. This places incentives for educational organisations that deal with design to plan to suit the graphic design market.

The academic reality of graphic design

The emergence of academic institutions that specialised in the arts started at the Yarmouk University where the first arts and music department was established in 1980. This became a faculty in 2001, teaching drama, design (industrial, interior and graphic), plastic arts and music. The university awards bachelor degrees. It started in 2001 at the height of the computer revolution within the design sector in Jordan. In1991 teaching graphic design started as an independent specialisation within the Arts Department at the Applied Sciences University. This was followed by the Ahiya Amman University, the Petra University, Philadelphia University, AlZaytouneh University, the University of Jordan, and later the Israh University.

Apart from universities, during the time when graphic design became popular and a profitable profession, community colleges started teaching graphic design. These included the Al-Quds College, Granada College, Middle University College and Princess Alya College.

The work of the universities that award bachelor degrees is similar to colleges that grant two year diplomas, because both produce students with a certificate in graphic design. But in reality where creativity and technical skills are concerned we find differences. The differences are in the course curricula, and include understanding the production process, product identity, knowledge of software and design innovation.

There is confusion between graphic design and graphic art. These differences affect the student, particularly when he enters employment. He is judged by both his creativity and innovation in producing new ideas and his ability to use technology which now involves the computer, the main graphic design tool.

The reason for these differences becomes clear when we look at the number of workers in the market and where they graduated from. During the time that the largest number of graduates were being produced, the highest quality graduates were produced by well-known institutions and these were recruited by the most successful companies.

A distinction has developed between technicians and designers. This is because some academic institutions concentrate on technology and the practical aspects of design software, whilst others developing the ability to use knowledge and know how to connect ideas to the psychological and social context and include qualitative studies of theories and design curricula.

The reasons for this are;

– The absence of specialised academic experts in graphic design and the poor quality of some of the teachers.

– The absence of appropriate study plans for creating graphic designers

– The absence of a system defining the role of universities and colleges in teaching graphic design

– The absence of entry examinations to graphic design courses, unlike courses in the art specialisations

– The absence links to the outside world, other than through books.

– Some universities and colleges do not understand the concept of graphic design in an industrial context.

– The absence of official government support for finding a way to establish a core curriculum for university courses.

I have taught in the art departments of a number of universities and have assessed many graduation projects. These gave me the opportunity to find out about graphic design teaching, the standards of students, and showed the need for appropriate study plans. There is a lack of competitiveness which would improve educational standards and there is an arbitrary use of teaching methods. Objectives can be clear, but often mistake in not using the appropriate teaching methodology leads to them not being achieved.

In order to develop and improve, the graphic design sector needs skilled and competent workers. The workers will not be able to respond to the changes in technology unless they have a formal academic training. In order to achieve this advancement it is essential that graduate students are used as graphic design specialists.

Conclusion

There is a requirement in the Jordanian arena for the academic and professional sectors to review their experiences and identify their strengths and weaknesses. This is used by them to set a strategy capable of giving graphic design the respected position it deserves.

There is a requirement for government intervention to provide arena where specialists in graphic design may discuss many of the concepts that help them make company owners and managers aware of how to make the best use of graphic designers.

As well as teaching graphic design, universities and community colleges must support the markets needs for designers and artisans within the new specialisations which need to be introduced in order to reduce unemployment.There is a need for a professional body in graphic design to give support to designers, co-ordinate educational and technical preparation and for making contacts with the outside world. It is important to hold workshops and symposiums that enhance the competence of teaching staff, designers and students; these should be held with assistance from international institutions which are respected in this field.

It is also important to hold national and international competitions to encourage creativity and innovation. This will create a competitive atmosphere in which graphic design can flourish.

Finally, it is important to create a national identity in graphic design, which can cement its position in the international arena.