STANDING BY YOUR MAN

The national political polls are roughly even, but graphic designers are sticking with President Obama. In a flash poll held in early July by GDUSA, fully 60 percent say they will vote for the President and 14 percent for Mitt Romney. The rest say they are undecided or will not vote. Despite this overwhelming preference, the numbers suggest something of an enthusiasm gap: only 8 percent of respondents rated Obama’s performance in office as “excellent” and only 27 percent said they would vote “enthusiastically” for him. But on the flip side, a meager 2 percent said they would vote “enthusiastically” for the Republican challenger.
 
— Gordon Kaye, editorial@gdusa.com

PS. The Inhouse Awards are now up online! www.gdusa.com

AIGA MINNESOTA NAMES FELLOWS

Among the top AIGA Chapters situated in one of the nation’s top design centers, AIGA Minnesota has selected John DuFresne, Monica Little, and Heather Olson as recipients of its AIGA Fellow Award. The award recognizes designers who have made a significant contribution to raising the standard of excellence in practice and conduct within their design community as well as their local AIGA chapter. DuFresne currently heads the Graphic Design Department at the College of Visual Arts, Little leads Little & Company, the firm she established in 1979; and Olson is presently marketing director with Franke+Fiorella. Previous chapter fellows are Peter Seitz, Tim Larsen, Sue Crolick, Joe Duffy, and Eric Madsen. Minnesota fellows are now selected every two years. Show from left: Monica Little, John DuFresne, Heather Olson. Photo credits: Ken Friberg, Rat Race Studios.
LEARN MORE >

LONDON CALLS ANGELI ANSWERS

This poster by Primo Angeli was named the winner of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Committee’s poster competition. The classic black and white design features the famous Greek sculpture Discobolus, the “discus thrower.” No stranger to Olympic imagery, in 1996 an Angeli design was chosen by the IOC as the official poster that represented the Centennial Atlanta Olympic Games. Angeli’s work has been exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution, The Achenbach Collection at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, The Library of Congress, and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. The designer is making available signed prints of the new poster, selling them on his website.
VISIT >

GETTING A HANDLE ON LUNCH

TFI Envision, Inc. developed the branding and packaging for the new Amco Houseworks® product line called Lunch Buddies™. The colorful, animated identity seeks to reflect ease and portability. The simple carded product takes a distinctly soft curve to help it stand out from the regimented traditional rectangular packaging that exists in the category.
LEARN MORE >

DESKEY GOES TO THE MATTE

For more than a century, the Mikesell’s brand has signified fresh, premium snackfood products throughout much of the Midwest. This month, the brand debuts a new logo treatment, new flavors and an updated package design. Cincinnati branding and design pioneer Deskey spearheaded the rebranding as part of a company-wide initiative to re-introduce Mikesell's products and brand promise. Central to the project: an updated package design that sends a “best-in-class” message incorporating high-quality photography and a new, deeper color palette. The bag material was also changed to reflect freshness and flavor; gone is the old foil packaging in favor of a matte-finish bag.

PISCATELLO POSTER IS INVITING

Rocco Piscatello’s poster design invites the community to a major upcoming lecture at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). The speaker is Julia Hoffmann, Creative Director at the Museum of Modern Art; the date is October 25. The spectrum of colors found inside the letterforms represent the creation and disappearance of Hoffmann’s exhibition work for MoMA. Piscatello, an award-winning designer, has been crafting posters for FIT's renowned Visiting Artist Program lecture series since 2001.
LEARN MORE >

24 STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED

Worldstudio and AIGA have awarded $46,000 in scholarships to 24 creative, socially engaged art and design students. Recipients include Jonathan Torres, who mentors high school students in a YMCA Youth Institute, Ajani Takahashi Lofton, who fights against selfishness and prejudice through graphic novels, and Kyle Lopez,is a role model by leading his school’s Latino and Asian alliances. The scholarships are awarded to college students in the U.S. who also demonstrate a commitment to social responsibility. The program’s primary aims are to increase diversity in the creative professions and to foster an ethic of social and environmental responsibility.
LEARN MORE >

FIRST LADY PRAISES DESIGNERS

In mid-July, Michelle Obama paid tribute to designers from the fields of fashion, architecture, technology, communications and landscapes during a luncheon in the East Room of the White House. The event was part of the Smithsonian’s annual Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards. The attendees included a diverse range of creative visionaries, from Richard Saul Wurman of the TED Conference to fashion designer Thom Browne. In her remarks, the First Lady praised the winners for “pushing boundaries, creating and revealing beauty where we least expect it, and helping us all lead healthier, more sustainable lives.”
MORE ABOUT THE WINNERS >

QUOTE: UNIFYING POWER OF DESIGN

“… From the opening ceremonies through each medal ceremony and right through to the closing ceremonies, flags will be everywhere. This year, 204 countries will unite under the Olympic flag in an effort to live up to the ideals it symbolizes… We’ll watch as our own flag is raised and lowered - over and over again - to honor the athletes who prove that they are, in fact, the best in the world. And at those moments, we will collectively own those victories. We are there because our flag is there. No matter what country we hail, we look upon our flag as a symbol of our collective identity. It’s an amazing and humbling example of the unifying power of design - that color, shape and iconography - can express so eloquently the culture, philosophy, history and aspirations of a nation. And how we, living under that flag, see ourselves as part of something larger and more idealistic than our every day lives might suggest. For brands, this is a lesson on how design can help them create a community. It means looking deeply and honestly into their own truths and using design to express their higher order values. It illustrates quite effectively how design can inspire and unify a group of people who want to be part of something beyond a product experience. Design is a powerful force, and for the next two weeks the world will come together under its influence. And for the next two weeks, we’ll all be better than the sum of our parts.”
— Susan Federspiel, Spring Design Partners
 
READ ENTIRE BLOG POST >

Take Five! Career Tips

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

As athletes from around the world prepare to compete in London, workplaces in the U.S. appear to be hosting competitions of their own. Nearly half (49 percent) of senior managers surveyed by our company said they believe employees are more competitive with each other today than they were 10 years ago. Following are five types of workplace competitors and tips for dealing with them effectively:
 
1. The Pole Vaulter jumps to nab all of the high-profile assignments, leaving the less visible work to everyone else. To get plum projects, proactively make your interests known, volunteer for key assignments and acquire hard-to-find skills that make you indispensable.
 
2. The Boxer has a jab for everyone, whether it’s a snide remark during a staff meeting or a sarcastic email. Don’t succumb to this person’s negativity; remain professional when interacting with him or her, and try to work out your differences.
 
3. The Sprinter tries to curry favor by working quickly, even if the results are sloppy. Don’t cut corners to compete with this individual. Instead, become known for delivering quality work.
 
4. The Gymnast bends and twists the facts, sometimes taking credit for others’ work. When collaborating with this colleague, be sure to share your original ideas and contributions with your manager. Document the designation of duties and other critical conversations to avoid finger-pointing down the line.
 
5. The Marathoner can go the full distance when it comes to spending time at the water cooler, sharing rumors with anyone who will listen. Avoid associating closely with office gossips, and don’t share sensitive information with them.

The Creative Group specializes in placing a range of highly skilled interactive, design and marketing professionals with a variety of firms. For more information, please visit creativegroup.com. Connect with The Creative Group at facebook.com/thecreativegroup or twitter.com/creativegroup.