Branding

What the hell is an SMB??? I had the same question myself. As it turns out, I just found out that it means Small and Medium-sized Businesses. If you're just finding that out too, no worries, we can pretend that we both knew it all along ;-) Or if you don't care and you [...]

A rebrand raises the business profile of a bespoke Android device manufacturer. When your company is ready to pitch new prospects, but your corporate image looks like it was designed in a crappy paint program, you've got a presentation problem. It's like going on a first date wearing a raggety t-shirt, cargo shorts, flip-flops [...]

"How do we raise $500,000 to help rebuild the Lowell Library? Oh, and by the way, we've never done anything this massive before..." Actually TBH, $500,000 isn't a large amount when it comes to capital campaigns, but the Lowell Alumni Association hadn't fund-raised at that scale before, so being a good alumnus, I happily [...]

"We need to update our brand and brand materials. While you're at it, it would be great to get a style guide so that everything looks consistent. And, can you design a brochure too? Oh, also a presentation folder to hold everything. And, of course, our show announcements and gallery artist cards." Why yes, [...]

Building excitement and energy for your brand always begins from the inside. Your people are your brand ambassadors. When they're excited to be at your company, they communicate that to everyone they come in contact with. So you have to keep your employees engaged and enthusiastic. CSAA Insurance Group does that by supporting their [...]

A commitment to quality is more than just marketing words with McCutcheon Construction. "Paint the back of the fence because you'll know it." The saying, attributed to Steve Jobs' dad, is an object lesson about doing complete work and having pride in craft. McCutcheon Construction has a reputation of doing the best design and [...]

Yes, working for this software company really IS as fun as people think! For a designer, Autodesk was a golden opportunity to do lots and lots of great work. The people were terrific to work with. Management was brilliant and totally supportive. We worked with every department. The size and scope of projects that [...]

"Kern, you're like an automatic profit center. When you work on a project, we always make money." That's one of my funniest memories of working with Alterpop. One day, the bookkeeper said that to me in passing and I still remember it to this day. Alterpop is an award winning design agency run by [...]

Designing a showcase portfolio website for a designer friend, whom I deeply admire and respect, is both rewarding and terrifying. As a very young designer, I interned for Sandra McHenry when she worked at Pentagram. She was always very supportive but she also took every opportunity to torment me... in a fun way, of course. [...]

Mr. Toy designs... TOYS!!! In addition to designing the packaging for these University Games products, I also had the really exciting opportunity to design the game boards and work out the game play with the product manager. Does anyone remember ColorForms? ColorForms was a repositionable sticker that you could use over and over on a [...]

Changing the company name was a chance to rebrand and make the new logo more thoughtful. Automated Environments changed its name from Automated Electric. It's a small change, but it reflects how the company grew from being electricians to designing and installing complete automated systems for homes and businesses. Think automated lighting, shades, security [...]