Dot Kite

Ask any consumer what they think of all the advertising messages they are exposed to on a daily basis and chances are the majority, as most surveys have revealed, believe there is far too much advertising noise – whether offline or online. A sizable percentage of consumers have also admitted that they avoid purchasing products that over-advertise.

When you think of design, the first thing you think of may be designer furniture. Of course you know there is more to design than furniture, but what is service design? Service design is all about making physical design integrate into the functional service provided. So, what is the fuss about service design? Well, most modern economies are service oriented, i.e. where the money is, and if your services stand out, this will lead to a competitive advantage.

Dot Kite is proud to announce the partnership with Rotterdam based company Q Food. We have just completed a new Total Consumer Experience (TCE) project with emphasis on branding and communication.

Q Food is a new concept in the HoReCa (Hotel Restaurant Cafe) industry which will provide high end catering solutions to the Dutch market.

Branding in competitive fields such as the aviation industry is crucial not only in order to attract new customers but mostly in order to create a loyal customer basis that will eventually become your brand ambassadors. As we have stated on a previous post, the world’s best airlines have one thing in common: excellence in design!

You can have your average retail store, a budget one, or one at the high end of the spectrum. You could even have one only selling exclusive products, but all retail stores share some design guidelines, whether you are selling IT equipment or groceries. So, how do you design your retail store?

First of all, there is the layout. Designing your layout will have effects on other parts of the store design, so this must align with you brand or store strategy. A store with straight aisles, in line with walls maximizes selling space. On the other hand, angled aisles, circles, or other curves makes for a more luxurious perception. Leaving a great deal of space for customers to browse is a big investment usually only practiced by high end retailers. Upon entering, each customer should also be greeted, especially in high end stores.

What do we conjure-up in our minds when we see or hear the expressions, “upscale restaurant” and “high-end restaurant”? Undoubtedly, they denote “fine dining”. Expanding those adjectives further and we think of pricey, presentation, ambiance and service – including restaurants which could be described as “trendy” and “nouveau” anything. An upscale restaurant should strive for top ratings in every category which enhances its image and reputation. Therefore, focus is multi-dimensional as in good food, extensive wine selection, atmosphere, including striking and tidy washrooms, choice furniture, tableware, cutlery, glassware along with courteous and seasoned staff. It’s easy to see that these essentials combined can amount to sort of a “show” business within the dining experience.

In the era of mobile digital tablets, such as iPad, Kindle, etc., there are many praising the end of the traditional newspapers. Such devices have a lot of advantages but it will be very difficult to compete with bold and innovative moves like Monocle’s latest release. Monocle Mediterraneo is a new venture from the Monocle media. This bold and in a way controversy move by Monocle, besides its great content, the design of the newspaper is unique as well.

There are many ways of seeing the value of design. You can measure sales and relative value as an output of changes in design, for example. Design can also improve your standing amongst rivals and give you a competitive advantage. The Design Council published a report where facts and statistics concerning the value of design are highlighted. One interesting statistic is that design conscious businesses can expect a 125% return on their internal design investments. Try beating that with other investments.

The dictionary conveys to us that “ambiance” is “the character and feeling of a place.“ A place which wants to attract the most discerning souls, should be unique and embody a complete lifestyle concept which combines a relaxed, spiritual ambiance amongst an elegant setting and decor with attention to detail. Staging an impressive, well executed upscale event, such as a product launch or promotion takes creativity, organizational skills, as well as savoir faire.

Of course we would like to say that the Total Consumer Experience (TCE) is viable in all circumstances, but that is not the case. Many companies can benefit from the Total Consumer Experience (TCE), but in some situations, things may be better off in a different manner. Here we explain why the Total Consumer Experience (TCE) is relevant and in which cases it is the most applicable.

Fast moving consumer goods can be branded, but how do you make one exclusive? I’m not talking about your grade A brand of butter, but something beyond this standard. I mean something that is not a part of a multinational such as Unilever, but something so exclusive that it can only be hand crafted.

In that case, would there have to be a new name? Handicraft is not necessarily fast. It takes time to do things right with the utmost care for quality. At any rate, we would like to attest to the total control over quality, design, and branding that can create not a grade A brand, but something exclusive.

In the beginnings of passenger aviation, few individuals were fortunate enough to be able to fly. There was a whole aura around the few lucky people who were once airborne. Back then, fashion and flying went hand in hand and charismatic individuals were associated with the airlines. Nowadays many people can fly, it is not a special experience anymore, there is no heightened sense of fashion associated with flying, and airlines are mostly part of strategic alliances with no real figurehead. So, how do you get people excited about flying again?

How do you design your restaurant? First of all, you must have done market research and found a location. One of the two precedes the other. Find a location and do the research, or do the research and derive a location from your findings. Once you are set on that issue, you must design your restaurant, but how?

There are many ways in which you can attempt to have the best hotel. You can be specialized in one way or another, but quality through and through is what is becoming the norm these days. Staying up to par is not easy, so you should also look into who you are allowing to stay in your hotel and for which reasons.

Through the knowledge we have acquired in various industries, we are now going to put a focus on the seafood industry. We can add value through our full understanding of how consumers think and what they want. Therefore, Dot Kite is exploring into redefining the way in which a very traditional industry such as the seafood (fishing/aquaculture) industry is going to promote its products and how they increase the value of their goods to their partners, and ultimately, the end consumer.

Have you ever heard of the value chain?  If so, then you know that design is not mentioned in it.  So then why is design an important part of the value chain?  To answer this question, we must investigate what the value chain is and how design adds value.  Design is all about integrating the different parts of the process so that they add universal value.

Dot Kite is proud to announce the partnership with Cupid & Shu. We have just completed a new Total Consumer Experience (TCE) project with emphasis on branding and communication.

Cupid & Shu is an Amsterdam based photography agency that provides its related services to local and international clients.

Most businesses have an opinion on what branding constitutes, though how do you go about standing-out apart from similar product or service categories? Let us begin the thought process on this issue by first looking at what the word “Branding” is defined as in the Cambridge English dictionary. “Branding” is “the act of giving a company a particular design or symbol in order to advertise its products and services.” Sounds very simplistic. However, we know that it takes plenty of thought, creativity and flawless execution to truly define a brand which radiates externally to produce notable customer experiences. A brand is essentially an intangible asset which is injected with personality – values that consumers like and can relate to. Moreover, a cleverly created and executed branding strategy develops an intangible association with consumers.

Capturing and holding your customer’s attention is becoming more and more challenging by the day. Not only are we dealing with new forms and types of media that we are only slowly discovering for business purposes, but added to this, we are also dealing with an ever-shortening attention span affecting today’s average consumer.

In addition, while previously, brand communications to the customer were controlled by the brand (even testimonials used to be carefully chosen), today, communication possibilities have multiplied with the web: brand-to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer (social media, blogs, independent influencers, sharing product reviews), and consumer-to-brand (social media, UGC or user-generated-content, crowd sourcing, and more).

In 1959, VW started a campaign to sell the Beetle in the US. It was a tough job, and rightfully so. Why would Americans buy a small car from a nation they were at war with less than 15 years prior? At that time, the American economy was doing great, affording the middle class to purchase huge American cars. So, how did it sell in America and become one of the world’s best selling cars of all time?

Have you ever experienced perfect service at a restaurant? Maybe close to it, but things can always be improved. Remember, service has to do with everything from before being on location to having left. Great service of yesterday is today’s norm, so how can design improve restaurant service?

First of all, what is great service? It is hard to measure if service is good or bad, but you can set parameters. Not having to wait for more than 5 minutes for a waiter or not having to wait for more than 15 minutes for food could ways of measuring how good service is. Of course, there are other variables to take into account, but these are just examples.

Dot Kite | Lab is proud to announce the partnership with De Lastage. We have just completed a new Total Consumer Experience (TCE) project with emphasis on branding and communication.

De Lastage is a unique concept. They rent out new, furnished, luxurious apartments in the center of Amsterdam. They can range in size from as small as 56 square meters to over 150 square meters with four bedrooms. These apartments can be let for a short or longer period of time and are amongst the most popular specialty lodgings in Amsterdam.

There are 32 teams competing in the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. Each team has a unique uniform or kit with the shirts being the most defining factor. In this post, we will have a look at the home shirts for each of the 32 team in alphabetical order, with the exception of New Zealand for which we have the away jersey.

The World Cup has seen two trophy designs; the Jules Rimet Trophy and the FIFA World Cup Trophy. The reason why a second one was needed is because the Jules Rimet Trophy was to be kept by the 1970 world champions, which ended up being Brazil. Since then, the current FIFA World Cup Trophy has been awarded to the winning team of the world cup. What you may not know is that there are a few interesting design elements to both.

To most of us, the actual design of the ball in the sport is of little importance. To the select few who will play at the World Cup, the design of the ball is of high importance. Changes in its design effect how the ball looks and feels, but more importantly for the professionals is how the ball accelerates and moves when kicked.

Each World Cup from 1950 onwards had its own logo. The first three did not have logos, but posters instead. The logos represent a mixture of the sport and the host country. In this post, we analyzed the logos and compared them with criterion about what we agree is a good logo. So, what is a good logo?

It is common knowledge that in order to be successful in business, promises to customers have to be delivered. But what differentiates offering more satisfaction from being able to create a lasting, positive impact, also known as the “wow factor”?

One of the key ways to achieving this is to ensure that you are giving your customers that little extra something. This can be accomplished by simple CRM or better yet, by ensuring that you’re providing Total Consumer Experience (TCE). To put it simply, this means that you are going above and beyond your core offering; you are placing your product or service into a neat package that makes the whole experience of dealing with your business, a remarkable one.

How does one design for a low cost airline? There are a limited number of options if you want to save costs. As has been explained in a previous post, companies must know where it is crucial to ensure quality and where costs can be cut.

In order to win awards, such as the best low cost airline award, by Skytrax’s World Airline Awards, airline companies must save money on things such as extras/options and personnel costs by, for example, having them fill multiple roles. The money low cost airlines can save must be invested in increasing efficiency (further saving costs) and in areas passengers hold in high regard such as the feeling of safety.

The Dutch Horeca (hotel, restaurant, café) market has seen revenues decrease by almost 6 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the same quarter last year. The Dutch statistics bureau CBS (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek) published the figures.

The world’s best airlines are not in Europe, nor are they in North America. They are all found in the east and they have one thing in common: excellence in design. The World Airline Awards, or in other words, the Passenger’s Choice awards feature many methods, but when the people choose, two aspects of design stick out.

In general, economies such as the UK rely more heavily on financial services to create value, while other economies such as Germany’s economy rely more on manufacturing. The products and services are good, but there is something that could increase the value of products and services in highly competitive economies. Can you guess what that is?

We are pleased to announce that Dot Kite | Lab signed a contract with Hilton Athens Hotel.
Dot Kite | Lab, as in the case of Best Western | Hotel Selene, will provide Total Consumer Experience (TCE) solutions for the prestigious Hilton Athens Hotel which is situated in Greece’s capital.

We are pleased to announce that today Dot Kite will participate as a partner of Hotelloods which is part of the city of Amsterdam.

This is a major Hotel related event that takes place in Amsterdam and there will take part more than 200 companies from the Netherlands and not only. Some of the people that will attend this event are professionals from the following industries:

- Bankers
- Hotel Developers
- Hotel Operators
- Brokers
- Entrepreneurs
- Investors
- Public Officials

For more information of this event, contact Amsterdam Financial Department

When you head to the grocery store to pick up an everyday product such as, say, cereal, do you pick up the same favorite each time, or are you like many consumers, waiting, comparing and undecided about which one to grab?

When presented with a large range of choices to fulfill the same need, it is in human nature to become confused, and thus unable to quickly make a choice. When we spend too much time comparing the plethora of options we are presented with, the functional differences between each of them soon become blurry. Once the functional differences lose importance, the peripheral aspects take precedence. This means that whichever product’s ad, spokesperson, or packaging color stands out favorably in our minds, we will end up purchasing that product.

We are pleased to announce that Dot Kite | Lab signed a contract with De Lastage.
Dot Kite | Lab will be responsible for the Strategic Branding and Communication of the company, helping De Lastage to establish a dynamic, fresh and of premium quality brand in the Hotel and Hospitality industry.

You probably know that people get a lot of information from the web nowadays. Did you know, however, that initial customer interaction with a company is via websites 90% of the time? That means 9 out of 10 people get information about your company not through their family, friends, peers, or via spam they get in the mail or advertising the see all around, but through company websites. That is why you should have a website in the first place. Why then, would someone delve into yours?

Like two sides of a coin or yin and yang, meshing together the functional and emotional values of your brand and maintaining the balance between them is vital to building a long lasting brand.

The functional offering fulfills the basic customer need – something that several brands are likely to be able to accomplish. A functional competitive advantage however is not a long lasting one because the competition can catch up, offering similar or even better functionalities in due time.

What is one of the most important parts of your body? There are several good answers, but one of them is your feet. Doctors tell their patients that having shoes that do not support your feet well could negatively affect your knees, back, and posture. So, wearing shoes that are designed to fit you are very important for your health. Not only this, but they are a part of your identity and are a part of a first impression. That’s not all though. Shoes are just a part of footwear.

From the old penny-farthings to modern day’s racing bikes, all bicycles have been designed for a specific purpose.  The penny-farthing was not the first bicycle design, but that design was simple and cheap to produce.  Penny-farthings gave way to the safety bicycle.  We know them today as the standard type of bicycle.  They were called safety bicycles because they were designed so that the cyclist’s feet could touch the ground while being seated as opposed to being high up on a penny-farthing.  Nowadays, bicycles are designed for many different purposes.

We are pleased to announce that Dot Kite | Lab signed a contract with Q Food.
Dot Kite | Lab will be responsible for the Strategic Branding and Communication of the company, helping Q Food to establish a dynamic, fresh and of premium quality brand in the HoReCa and catering industry.

The answer to this question may seem obvious: if I’m paying a premium, I must be served well. However, it has a few layers of complexity.

Take for example, the elite restaurants, bars and lounges of the world. You are declined a reservation unless you have the right connections, or unless you book months in advance. Yet the premium price tag stays. A clear example of such an Intimidation policy that still attracts customer after customer is the legendary Hotel Costes on Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris where the waitresses are known for their unfriendly attitude. However, customers tend to feel so privileged just to be in the establishment that paying a premium price for a cocktail and enduring long waiting times doesn’t seem to be an issue.

Everyone wants to get more out of their budget. Saving money now means you can spend more on other things; new investments, or the next design. By having a thorough understanding of what you want and what you need to develop, we can create successful solutions that can be of added value without adding on the costs.

Nowadays, there is a trend that sees hotels and even hotel chains being purchased by private equity firms. These firms hire third parties to operate the hotels. Everything is being outsourced to a diverse selection of firms. Even though one may think they are staying at a certain brand of hotel, it may be owned by a third party who hires say five other companies to do the service, catering, spa treatments, management, and bar. It is becoming increasingly complicated from a strategic to an operational point of view.

One cannot say where the history of design started. Did it start with the beginning of time how nature designed itself through evolution? Did it start with prehistoric people making cave drawings, or did it only start with the creation of something more tangible than a drawing? The earliest weapons and watercrafts were designed, but when we think of design today, we usually think about the aspect of a product or service that is appealing to the senses and not the functional aspect of it.

Dot Kite’s client, IT Center, which is the distributor in Greece and in Cyprus of the products of the entrepreneurial esosystem Virtual Trip has announced the participation in the 2nd Exhibition of Infrastructure and Equipment for Educational Centers- Infrapedia 2010.

What makes an industrial product consumer ready? Well, that is one reason to have design. Designers basically work on two aspects of products; functionality and aesthetics. Through their work, designers connect the industry with consumers by translating a concept into something that adds extra value to consumers.

What? Invest during a recession? Invest in design? Yes, that’s true. A case has been mentioned before in the post Airline Design instigates Sustainable Competitive Advantage about airline design. It showed how a company invested in design during a recession and came out with a much larger market share afterwards and kept a hold of it. In order to come out on top, you should not just invest in marketing, but invest in Total Consumer Experience (TCE).

When the economy picks up again, hotels in Amsterdam should expect an increase in visitors from all backgrounds. On another note, the number of visitors from emerging economies will increase at a higher percentage than those from the traditional nations, but even though the percentage is high, the absolute increase is still relatively small. The biggest comfort for hotel owners in Amsterdam are the big spends. Who the big spenders are is discussed later, but what these visitors want is a high quality Total Consumer Experience (TCE).

The Services industry has several stakeholders – manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, sales personnel in a retail environment; in a hospitality environment, staff members that one faces, but also behind-the-scenes staff such as chefs & cleaners, & in both cases, the customer, of course.

As we are about to conclude the first quarter of 2010, we have a lot of new developments at Dot Kite. The new quarter of this year a new member will join the Dot Kite team. With this news post I would like to officially welcome Seroj de Graaf to Dot Kite’s design team in our Amsterdam office.

In the past, people were excited about flying. Airplanes were designed with exclusivity in mind. There were bars and lounges in the airplane, golden cutlery, and the travelers were served by a select few who could proudly call themselves air hosts. Nowadays, airline companies lack in giving such experiences to their customers, even their most loyal who get certain perks, but not the best service.

As we already mentioned, Amsterdam’s hotel guests are visitors from all over the world and stay for many different reasons. Like any metropolis, Amsterdam has a wide variety of hotels on offer. These can be anything from a backpacker’s cheap sleep, to five star luxury hotels, to boutique hotels. It is especially at the latter where guests feel a unique Total Consumer Experience (TCE). So, let us now take a closer look at the hotels themselves.

As I have already mentioned in the past, the world – and the way it does business – has changed dramatically in the last few years. Here at Dot Kite, we are always keen on new developments and always want to push the boundaries of design and also of online experiences. Willing to invest in new technologies in order to provide the best possible service to our partners and clients is our commitment.

From the UK and the US to India and China, there are many international visitors, both tourists and business visitors that come to the Netherlands and stay at one of Amsterdam’s many hotels. They can stay at one of many hotels including designer hotels and go through a new Total Consumer Experience (TCE). Why, you may ask, is the term visitor being used instead of tourist? This is because the term tourist would exclude the 40% of visitors who are on business.

The airline industry is defined by their customers. They hop from one airline to another depending on the price or the quality of the service. Great service, as a part of the branding experience, is what brings airlines to the top of rankings, such as Skytrax. When customers have the experience of a lifetime with one airline, they will come back for more and eventually become loyal. When you have loyal customers, they will perform the most powerful form of marketing for you – word of mouth.

Is design everything? Everything is designed! Or is it? Nature is designed for perfection. We know this as evolution; the survival of the fittest. Design is also developed through experience – a mistake now will not be repeated in the future, and knowledge – what designers learn through education and adoption of best practice.

We are pleased to announce that Dot Kite | Lab signed a contract with Cupid & Shu.
Dot Kite | Lab will be responsible for the Strategic Branding and Communication of the company, helping Cupid & Shu to establish a solid and dynamic brand in a highly competitive industry.

Total Consumer Experience (TCE) design is nothing without Total Quality Management (TQM). Without TQM, the effects of TCE are diminished. Total Consumer Experience is about perfecting every detail of a customer’s experience. TQM is about managing this experience from strategic to operational levels. Designing a perfectly tailored Total Consumer Experience (TCE) is what Dot Kite excels at. Cases from their website attest to this.

In the recent past, I have worked extensively with the hotel industry’s visual palette, and one thing they almost all have in common: the first impression on their websites do not deliver the product a luxury hotel really is. There are, by guarantee, sizeable budgets at spa and wellness areas, large fine conference rooms, an overwhelming foyer, and rooms where comfort, design and safety are presented in higher unity. These websites, which are the first impression you get, should to be a good sales argument for choosing the specific hotel, instead of the one on the other side of the street. However, it seems as if they have not been able to get those sales arguments moved over to the digital part of marketing.

Global population grows at a very fast pace, faster than ever before; people flood major cities, with urban citizens growing by 3 million per week for the last two decades. According to the Global Report on Human Settlements 2009, by 2050 the global urban population will reach a 70 per cent, representing 6.4 billion people. As a result, more urban consumers are “born” every day, with customer satisfaction gaining even greater importance and global competition becoming more intensive.

What is Industrial Design and why should you care? Take almost any product you touch in your daily life and I trust it has passed through the hands of at least one Industrial Designer from concept to shelf delivery. Who are we? Where did we come from? Who makes the things you use without thought? Your toothbrush? The shopping cart you push to get groceries? The packing to your favorite gourmet coffee? 

As 2010 entered, this new year brings us a new member in the Dot Kite team. With this news post I would like to officially welcome Johan de Letter to Dot Kite’s business development team in our Amsterdam office.

Dot Kite | Lab has recently designed Total Consumer Experience for Olive Country in order to create a solid brand image and to help the client boost its sales into the Dutch market through major retail stores in Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands.

In this post we show you how we transformed Olive Country into a high-end brand. We invite you to have a look at the images below and understand how we added value to our client by creating a profitable business, as shortly after the project completion and delivery, Olive Country products have already penetrated the Dutch market with great success.

Travel has changed much over the last hundred years. It is hard to believe that within 2 generations we have evolved from the horse and buggy to the family car to simply owning a personal vehicle for the sake of luxury. It is not ancient history the commercial airline industry took flight -wherever you want or need to go, you can get there- so as long as your wallet is limitless.

Graphic design has been essential to every (single) era of publishing history. Nowadays, where the digital media become more important and are available for everyone, the profession of graphic design is in the midst of enormous change. Some people think that the new technology is about to diminish the graphic business but in fact it enhances it. If we see these changes as a chance to advance our skills and deepen our knowledge, we become stronger and get up with new and good solutions. But what will the future bring in detail?

We are glad to announce that WordPress, the most popular online publishing platform, selected www.dotkite.eu for its Showcase under the categories Design, Innovative, Content Management System, rewarding dotkite.eu as one of the most well-designed and developed websites that use WordPress.

Dot Kite | Lab has recently designed Total Consumer Experience for Olive Country in order to create a solid brand image and to help the client boost its sales into the Dutch market through major Dutch retail stores. Only after a small period of the project completion and delivery, we are proud to announce that Olive Country has already built a business relationship with major accounts in the Netherlands.

There are some fonts which are used so often that have truly become standard scripts. In the field of the web, these are mainly Verdana and Arial and in the publishing area Helvetica, Frutiger and Futura. But it’s not the missing personality, it’s rather the occurrence of the usage when a font seems less individual. How could an identity stand out from the crowd, when the mass uses only Frutiger? It’s obvious: We need to work with new fonts.

We are pleased to announce that Dot Kite | Lab signed a contract with Attalos Bar/Club/Restaurant in Athens, Greece. This will be one more major Total Consumer Experience project in Greece, helping Attalos to offer the best experience to its customers and communicate its values and high-quality services.

Successful global brands all share similar elements, with this happening in airline branding as well. The key to success in the fast changing global arena is the development of unique Brand Strategies with sharp and solid methods of implementation.

In this modern, hectic era where people check their e-mail and update their tweets or Facebook posts more often than talking to each other face-to-face, everyone feels the lack of normal human warmth.
After all the virtual socialising tendencies, the world will return to a more traditional, real-life way of communicating. Sending messages online will never be able to substitute this.

There is a push for better design in more and more corners of our everyday lives. The times of something being purely engineered are quickly fading as design infiltrates more corners of the market. Massive corporations are beginning to realize the power in their design departments and how creating beautiful products speaking a better language can create more productive business.

Dot Kite’s founder and CEO, Thomas Mylonas, participates in the 2009 Global Entrepreneurship Week video, where speakers from all over the world talk about their passion, and the importance of entrepreneurship and GEW at a local and global scale.

Dot Kite | Lab transformed Apolis from a old-fashioned restaurant with a downgraded image to a completely new restaurant offering a superb-quality experience in only 45 days. Dot Kite | Lab managed this Total Consumer Experience (TCE) project from initial sketch to turn-key delivery. In our previous post we showed to you how Apolis restaurant looked before and after we were called to action. In this post, you will be able to follow the Apolis project step by step, from the initial sketch, till the 45th day of delivery.

We are pleased to announce that Dot Kite | Lab signed a contract with Greek Archipelago.
Dot Kite | Lab will be responsible for the Strategic Branding and Communication of the company, helping Greek Archipelago to establish a solid and dynamic brand in a highly competitive industry.

It is autumn 2009, the H1N1 flu that for a moment seemed innocent is becoming more threatening. From a scientific perspective there is a vaccine available. So why to be anxious? Well, perhaps many of us know the famous line from our childhood: ‘easy… it is not something to be afraid of…’

The financial crisis has been over our heads for quite some time now, but it is beginning to turn. Undeniably, it is a good opportunity for fresh, innovative designers to reveal their way of thinking with regards to new retail concepts, use of material, interior and products. We, here at Dot Kite, discussed about the design trends that will shape the look of our world after the crisis.

Dot Kite | Lab conceived, designed, developed and delivered a remarkable concept for the standards of Athens city and Greece. Dot Kite | Lab transformed Apolis restaurant from an out-fashioned restaurant to a high-quality one, managing the whole Total Consumer Experience (TCE) project from the initial sketch till the end.

Design in Amsterdam, Tokyo, London, New York, Paris, Buenos Aires; in various disciplines and modules, with national and/or international influences, aiming at a local and/or global impact. Similarities and differences, with one definite common approach: our effort to feed potential customers, media professionals, art lovers, entrepreneurs, amateur and professional designers with the latest development on our work. Did I say feed? Well, someone with the basic knowledge on online social networking should already shout loud: TWEET!

We are at the dusk of 2009, and after two years of financial turbulence and instability, we can surely say that consumers became even more demanding, pay more attention to where they spend their time and money, and are much more critical and well informed with regards to what they consume.

Apart from the closing of a successful year, the end of 2009 signals the completion of two operational years for Dot Kite’s office in Athens, Greece. During these two years, Dot Kite managed to be recognized as one of the most dynamic multidisciplinary design companies in Greece, renowned for the high-quality of its design and business services.

Tomorrow November 4th 2009, the founder and CEO of Dot Kite Thomas Mylonas, will give a guest lecture at ESADE business school, one of the most highly recognized business schools at a European and global level.

With this news post I would like to officially welcome Line Oehlenschlaeger to the Dot Kite design team in our Amsterdam office. Line comes from Denmark and will enhance Dot Kite’s multicultural environment and creative diversity.

We are pleased to announce that Dot Kite | Lab signed a new contract with a High-End food bar in Milan, Italy. This will be one more major Total Consumer Experience project in Italy that will help the new food bar to offer the best experience to its customers, and communicate its values and high-quality services through its Brand and Retail Experience.

In graphic design and design in general, at first you have to learn the traditional evolved rules, which have been established to ensure consistent and usable design. None of us designers can skip that first step. We always keep these rules in mind and ask ourselves how to create something which achieves the right balance between unity and tension (in this strict system). But do we have to strictly follow these instructions?

Accelerated by the financial meltdown and a growing demand for green services, the craze over sustainability is just as difficult to grasp as a hieroglyph. Is there a word more used and less understood than the S-word?

As brand strategists and communication experts we ask ourselves the odd question everyday: What is sustainability? Who produces it? Where can I buy some? And we help our clients reflect on their own questions: What does it have to do with my business? Does it make my knowledge current or obsolete?

As the Asian economies and cultures evolve at a fast pace, at Dot Kite we identified the increasing need for higher quality services in the Asian design industry. Therefore, and after its successful presence in the European market, Dot Kite is glad to announce that is currently investigating the Asian market with a special emphasis on China.

Yesterday, Thurday 22nd of October, Thomas Mylonas was the closing speaker of the first TEDxAthens that took place in Microsoft’s central offices in Athens. The event has been sold out for the last month, while 40 VIP tickets have been distributed to selected guests.

As designers, we constantly play the role of expert with every new project proposal. We are forced to understand our current market segments, our users, problems, overall design understanding and in the end come up with a variety of creative results. Times are changing, though. Fleeting are the days of irresponsible design in which designers did not have to be concerned with where their products ended up, how environmentally friendly the manufacturing processes were or living without the concept of ‘cradle to cradle’.

The financial crisis still goes on and – according to experts – will last at least until next year. During these difficult times it’s so much more important for a company to have a straight and clear communication outwards to hold one’s ground. The best chances to gain this goal is to strengthen the identity with a good corporate design which turns out appealing to the consumer.

Your health belongs to us now… This may sound like a bold statement; who are we to claim you? Yet, with current societal developments it may soon become reality. An aging population already puts a burden on our healthcare systems. We simply cannot afford to have more unhealthy people walking around. When the system overloads, we all experience its consequences one way or another. Services go down or prices will rise.

It has been more than a month since we launched our new website. In that period, we had the chance to receive your enthusiastic comments and critical observations that gave us the opportunity to think on how to make it better and achieve even highest standards in online experience.

Therefore, taking under consideration your feedback we worked towards the further improvement of the website. We would like to announce that from this morning, www.dotkite.eu has been updated and now each page has a unique url, providing everyone with the opportunity to share with great easiness:
- a post under the news section, or
- a project from our portfolio.

The retail stores and malls of our society have the need to evolve on daily basis. If in the fashion boutique stores, the large supermarkets, the entertainment industry etc. the concept of updating the in-store experience is a reality during the last years, in the traditional retail stores this has not happened yet.

Just as we continue to be surrounded by the worst economic news most of us can even remember, extreme luxury offers are more ubiquitous than ever. Take last weekend’s edition of the Financial Times. On the cover there is a lower right corner box that advertises an FT Global Event conference titled ‘Lessons Learnt from the Financial Crisis’. The point being, we should indeed learn something. But just above the main headlines a banner reads: ‘The world’s most luxurious website HOWTOSPENDIT.COM launches today’.

We are proud to announce that Dot Kite | Lab has delivered Total Consumer Experience to Olive Country.

Olive Country is a Dutch-based company that brings olive oil, herbs and spices and other greek products in the Netherlands. The company owns and grows its olive trees in the South of the Peloponese, Greece, born with the aim to bring to your table what the locals enjoy on a daily basis. Soon, you will be able to experience Olive Country in major Dutch retail stores.

If you should live in Germany these days, its likely that you ran into some posters or videos from Hitler, Stalin and Hussein promoting safer sex.

With the motto “Aids is a mass murderer”, german association Regenbogen e.V. started a campaign on the occasion of the world aids day 2009 which makes massive waves: This campaign has initiated a huge discussion in the german media – the feelings range from “annoyed” to “deeply shocked”.

As we have officially changed season, this autumn brings us here two new members at the Dot Kite team.
With this news-post, I would like to officially welcome Kristen and Sabrina to our Dot Kite design team in Amsterdam.

I believe designers were born with a particular genetic makeup. In case you have not noticed we are a unique breed. It is amazing to observe designers in their natural habitat, tackle a challenge, like an animal on the hunt, placing on the cap of ‘expert’, flooding pages and pages of thoughts, ideations and vigorous effort until that glorious “aha” moment happens or when the design is, dare I say it? Finished.

It was in the early 2007 when the first signs of the financial crisis made their presence. Several companies have been facing the danger of bankruptcy, while others have been looking forward to the opportunity for growth by taking the market share of the bankrupt ones.

How much of who we are, as designers, is dictated by where we come from? It becomes the age-old question of nature v/s nurture. Do we learn what ‘good’ design is based up on our cultural upbringings or more so by formal training? Many times designers stereotype design by cultural location. Such as, “Oh, that portfolio is so German. Very Bauhaus-esque”. Why do we continue to categorize on such a level of boundary in the fast-paced, diverse market of today when the language design is meant to be universal?

Thomas Mylonas, the founder and CEO of Dot Kite, will give a guest lecture at ESADE business school, one of the most highly recognized business schools at a European and global level.

In a hospital, a doctor’s coat may seem the most safe and comfortable object, and to many of us it symbolizes purity and cleanliness. However, not many people realize that it may also be a very dangerous one, as it is indicated that the uniforms may be among the most contaminated objects; a walking vehicle of pathogens.

When you think ‘Dutch’, you immediately think, wonderful typography, and an appreciation and open mindedness for other culture. ‘German,’ still greatly influenced by the Bauhaus, is more rigid, detailed, striving for perfection. And ‘American’ gripped by the bright colours of POP, is always busy. But do our surmise really exist, can we still think of Style on a National level?

Thomas Mylonas, the founder and CEO of Dot Kite, will be one of the key speakers at TEDxAthens that will take place in Microsoft’s central offices in Athens on Thursday the 22nd of October. TEDxAthens seeks to develop and leverage the TED experience at a regional level, bringing together innovators and inspirational speakers in Athens, Greece. In that respect, Thomas Mylonas will talk about Creativity and Design.

Healthcare is a complex matter. When healthy we seem to feel invulnerable. And only when sick we are confronted with the notion of health. In my personal opinion, new technologies strongly influence our image of healthcare.

The current H1N1-flu for example, encourages a huge faith in a possible vaccine. It is like wanting to have a software-update for your system. And since it is too difficult to engineer this for ourselves, we need superb hackers of the human body to fix our systems. Without them, humanity seems doomed.

On behalf of Dot Kite team, I would like to officially welcome you to our new website www.dotkite.eu and introduce you to our unique world of design, innovation and new visual & aesthetic experiences.
The world – and the way it does business – has changed dramatically since our founding in the end of 2005. It is now just as easy to do business with a company on the other side of the world as with the one located next door, and therefore we have invested heavily and updated Dot Kite’s online presence.

We are pleased to announce that Dot Kite | Lab delivered a great design of 1.600 square meters of office space to Intralot B.V.

Dot Kite | Lab provided the following services to Intralot B.V.:

- Intralot Branding concensus in the office space
- Interior Design
- Architectural Design
- Facilities Management services
- Project Management

The company (YouGo) will take advantage of Dot Kite | Lab’s branding expertise and we are very proud that they came to us for their further communication services.

YouGo is an advance logistics and rental service company that operates throughout Italy from their Head Quarter in Rome. Dot Kite | Lab design and developed the Total Consumer Experience of YouGo last year.

We are pleased to announce that Dot Kite | Lab delivered a very challenging project in the shortest time line ever.

Dot Kite | Lab, redesigned the whole promotional and marketing material for Plaisio Computer S.A.

In the first nine (9) months of this year, Dot Kite | Lab has grown considerably and now has three (3) offices (Amsterdam, Athens and Rome), has been awarded several prizes and enjoys economic prosperity with a growth of 300% each quarter for 2008.

The company is still in growth and wish to mark this occasion by showing it’s appreciation to all of their employees, customers and contacts.

We are proud to announce that Dot Kite | Lab has been selected as the promotion and communication partner of Maiorano.

Dot Kite | Lab will design and develop all future promotional and communication material in order to create a more solid brand image and to help to boost sales for the Italian food manufacturer.

Dot Kite | Lab confirms its ability to create, develop and manage complex and large accounts and that is the only design consultancy operating in Europe (among the offices in Amsterdam, Athens and Rome) that can offer services ranging from Branding and Communication design, to packaging design till product design.

For more info for our Total Consumer Experience service, please contact us here: info@dotkitelab.eu

We are proud to announce that Dot Kite | Lab has been selected as the promotion and communication partner of PLAISIO Computers S.A.

Dot Kite | Lab will design and develop all future promotional and communication material in order to create a more solid brand image and to help to boost sales for the major retailer that operates in south eastern Europe and Greece.

We are pleased to announce that Dot Kite | Lab signed a new contract with V-Trip Ltd. (Mother company of IT Center) for the strategic development of the IT Center brand. This will be one more major Total Consumer Experience project in Greece that will help IT Center to be established in the IT retail environment.

Dot Kite | Lab signs an outstanding contract with INTRALOT for the design of their offices in Amsterdam. This is the biggest project that Dot Kite | Lab undertakes in The Netherlands and the combination of first quality client with the best design company in The Netherlands can provide unique results.

We are pleased to announce that Dot Kite | Lab signed contract with V-Trip Ltd. for the strategic development of the Solo brand. This will be a major Total Consumer Experience project that will help V-Trip Ltd. to expand with their new products to the global market.

Solo is a Complete server/gateway solution, a Single infrastructure for Communications and Computers, a rich feature-set, all integrated. It’s easy to configure and manage, it is secure and reliable.

We are proud to announce a very exciting project within the retail business. Dot Kite | Lab in partnership with PLAISIO Computers S.A. will design and develop the first retail experience zones in Greece.

This retail experience zones are from the unique service offered by Dot Kite | Lab as Total Consumer Experience.

We are happy to announce that Dot Kite | Lab expands on a very rapid pace in the Greek market by signing contract with EverGreen brand.

Dot Kite | Lab will be responsible for the retail experience of the High-End food bar that is situated in the centre of Athens, Greece. Dot Kite | Lab will design and develop the outfit and apparel for all EverGreen’s retail employees.

After the successful completion of the product design of Plaisio’s Turbo-X consumer electronics products, we are happy to announce a new breaktrhough project for our company.

Dot Kite | Lab signed contract with PLAISIO Computers S.A. for the strategic development of the
Turbo-X brand. This will be a major Total Consumer Experience project that will help PLAISIO Computers S.A. to expand even more to the South-Eastern European region. PLAISIO Computers S.A. Plaisio was born in 1969 in a small shop in the center of Athens. In 1986, PLAISIO, was the first company that builds PC’s with the trademark “TURBO-X”, according to each customer’s individual needs and based on the Built to Order (B.T.O.) system.

We are happy to announce that Italian based company Maiorano S.r.l. chose Dot Kite | Lab for the Brand design and development.

Maiorano is the leading Roman ham manufacturing and is operating in the field for more than 40 years.

Dot Kite | Lab will create, design and develop the new product packaging of Maiorano’s products. Moreover, Dot Kite | Lab will design and develop the whole stationery collection of the company.

We are happy to announce that Apolis chose Dot Kite | Lab for the renewal of the bar-restaurant, and building the Brand identity and guidelines.

Apolis is an entertainment complex in Athens, Greece. Is situated in the roots of the mount Parnitha. Apolis will offer high quality services with the best international chefs and an incredible view of the city of Athens.

River is a Wine Bar – Restaurant situated in the centre of the Italian capital, Rome. River offers high quality services with the best international chefs.

Dot Kite | Lab developed and delivered a unique high-end Branding and Interior design for the Rome based Bar-Restaurant River.

Dot Kite | Lab is pleased to announce officially the extensive collaboration with VETA S.A. in the field of packaging design.

VETA S.A. is active on the market in the fields of , steel and iron processing, Pet machinery as well as Mold manufacturing. Since 1989 VETA S.A. has been suppling systems for processing Pet material.

We are happy to announce that Openeye Consulting Limited chose Dot Kite | Lab for building the Brand identity and guidelines.

Openeye is a London based business consultancy that provides services to CEO and Senior management level.

We are happy to announce that Garum restaurant chose Dot Kite | Lab for building the Brand identity and guidelines.

Garum Restaurant situated nearby a Business Hotel in Rome, the Italian capital. Garum will offer high quality services with the best international chefs.

Dot Kite | Lab is happy to announce that DIMA constructions S.p.A. has become a new customer ordering the high quality Branding program offered by our company.

Hotel Selene is a highly respected four (4) star business and congress hotel that operates in Rome more than 30 years now.

We are happy to announce that River chose Dot Kite | Lab for building the Brand identity and guidelines.

River is a Wine Bar – Restaurant situated in the centre of the Italian capital, Rome. River will offer high quality services with the best international chefs.

Dot Kite | Lab will create, design and develop all the necessary materials in order to provide a unique brand identity. Moreover, the design specialists of the Dot Kite group will overview the interior design of the Wine Bar – Restaurant with the intention of making sure that the interior layout is in harmony with the Brand values.

With this project Dot Kite | Lab expands its range of portfolio also in the food service industry.

Dot Kite | Lab is happy to announce that MECAP after evaluation has decided to bring into play the knowledge, experience and expertise that we offer at Dot Kite | Lab.

Mecap was a leading Italian footwear brand during the 70’s. The brand was offering cheap but quality shoes as an alternative response to the established brand such as Adidas and Nike. Mecap was recognised as the “must have” footwear for the youngsters during the mid 70’s. Now, Mecap wants to revive the brand and enter again into the market by offering sophisticated footwear to the new generation.