April 25, 2012
AIGA 100 Show
The Salt Lake Chapter of the AIGA, the professional association for design, asked modern8 to create the branding and design for the annual design competition, the AIGA 100. Starting with the call for entries and Web site, we’re now working on the poster, environmental graphics, award certificates and ingots. We’ve spent a lot of hours and had a lot of fun working with our design peers, but we were told it wouldn’t help us win in the design competition.
January 13, 2012
Get the X Out of the Way
ACG Utah 2012 Conference theme
ACG, the Association for Corporate Growth, has scheduled their annual Intermountain Growth Conference and Capital Connection. Themed “Pathways to Success”, we were again engaged to help brand the event and created graphics for the Web site, email blasts and posters that capitalize on the keynote speaker, Urban Meyer. The conference is scheduled for March 9, in Salt Lake City.
December 23, 2011
A Dragon at Murray Library
Every library is a microcosm of the community it serves, reflected in the patrons, the books and materials, and the look and feel of the place. A library may not have a brand in the same sense as a corporation, but like all organizations, the sum total of all of your experiences with an organization become your brand perception. Murray Library is the same—and yet different. They are not part of Salt Lake County library system, and even have independence from Murray City, who has their own brand identity. We took Murray Library through our Perception Branding 5d process and learned a lot before we proposed a new logo. The library has had a long history with a unique mascot. For many years, a dragon has been part of the culture of Murray Library, for both child and adult. A soft sculpted dragon hangs from the ceiling. At first library management believed that a dragon reference would not work for a logo; that it might be too child-like. But after reviewing options, executives changed their mind and decided that there was nothing else that quite captured the sense of the library and their tagline, “Take me there.” We rendered our dragon in a graceful style, simply and friendly and created Brand Identity Standards for using the logo and other graphic and type treatments that guide the library in adopting the new look.
September 13, 2011
Brandscape Architects
Hot Off the Press
We’ve done a lot of work for architects. We’d like to do more. So with an intriguing title and cool illustration, we designed and printed up posters to mail out to local and national prospects. The front side spells out the word “Brandscape” while the backside has information and testimonials from those oh-so-satisfied clients, like Architectural Nexus, MHTN and FFKR. We posted it to our Facebook page, and we have had people asking for their own copies, but so far, we think they were other graphic designers, not architects.
September 12, 2011
Bob Knox in the Pocket
Hot Off the Press
Our work for R.G. Knox Company, from brand strategy to a Web site, business cards to pocket folders—each build on a simple idea: specialized knowledge is a significant advantage. As a former county treasurer, Robert Knox knows the politics of investing for local government like no other broker-dealer. We make the point with simple illustrations on each item we created.
September 12, 2011
DooBizz is in Bizz
Hot Off the Press – New work by modern8
There is an optimal path for any business which you want to grow quickly while spending the least time and money possible. DooBizz, the online name for Grow America Ventures, helps you find that path and it does it all online.
DooBizz is the brainchild of former MarketStar CEO and long-time Utah venture capitalist Alan Hall, and Berkeley Geddes, a Phoenix-based serial entrepreneur. modern8 was engaged for brand strategy and design, and used the Perception Branding 5d process to form the creation of the new DooBizz Web site and logo. The tree-like navigation is the heart of the educational and mentoring capabilities of the site, with over 100 leaves, leading you from start to launch, including 15 videos to help teach critical concepts essential to the success of starting a new business.
July 28, 2011
Cycling Til You’re Blue
Hot Off the Press
We’ve got cyclists in the office, so when business neighbor, Cory Shupe of Blu Line Designs asked if we wanted to help sponsor his team, we were interested. We are naturally concerned about the aesthetics of anything with our logo on it. Fortunately they are landscape architects and planners, so their aesthetics are highly refined, but just the same, we offered to help get it ready for printing.
Their Blu Line logo is paramount, but if you look closely, the eightman shows up on the sleeve and the shorts. Randall Smith, modern8 creative director, will be sporting the kit and riding with the team at the Cache Valley Century at the end of the month, but demurred joining them for Lotoja two weeks later and at twice the distance.
July 26, 2011
New Packaging Insight
Hot Off the Press
Our long-term client, Insight Eyeworks, had us design the packaging and display for their I-Image line of reading glasses exclusively sold at Sam’s Club. The packaging has three different product lines, with six power level variations within each, all incorporating the logo we designed for them three years ago. The packaging is designed to position the merchandise as a branded product line, distinguishing it from its generic predecessor.
July 25, 2011
Encore: Pioneer Theatre Company
Hot Off the Press
Back in 1992, Randall Smith Associates, the business predecessor to modern8, created the advertising and promotional materials for Pioneer Theatre Company, the professional theatre in-residence at the University of Utah. The relationship continued for seven years. This spring, the theatre renewed the alliance and asked modern8 to produce a new season of brochures, banners and advertising to promote seven new productions.
We art directed illustrations by Russ Gray and Val Bochkov, then designed a banner that hangs outside the theatre building, and the season brochure, which is mailed out to current and potential season ticket holders. Newspaper advertising is up next. Designing for the theatre is a nice change from the corporate world we normally inhabit.