PUBLISHER’S NOTE: THEY MADE THE LOGO BIGGER

The New York Times building facade is a very deserving honor winner in this year’s Society for Environmental Graphic Design awards, fulfilling the dream of clients everywhere to “make the logo bigger.” Pentagram did the deed, installing the iconic Times logo on the new Renzo Piano-designed headquarters tower, with a team consisting of Michael Bierut, Tracey Cameron, Michelle Leong and Tamara McKenna. What may look like a simple sign — if a 110 foot long logo set as a 10,116-point version of the newspaper’s iconic Fraktur font can be called simple — is actually an intricate skin assembled from nearly a thousand separate custom-designed pieces, each a painted, extruded aluminum sleeve 3 inches in diameter. (Wouldn’t it be great if newspapers communicated their biases and agendas in similarly bold type. Just a thought.) More images of the Times project, and other SEGD honor and merit winners, can be seen online.
http://www.segd.org/awards/2008.html

— Gordon Kaye

SPOTLIGHT PROJECT: BART CROSBY CAPTURES ‘STYLE WITHOUT AFFECTATION’

Venerable Finch Paper is rolling out a brand identity that emphasizes the simple and friendly nature of the company’s business practices. Comprised of a new logo, tagline and distinctive graphic element, the branding system provides a common look and consistent messaging to all of the company’s packaging, advertising and product information collateral for its text and cover, opaque and digital papers. Bart Crosby of Crosby Associates in Chicago — whose client roster includes the likes of Kraft Foods, Mutual of Omaha, the University of Chicago and Edward Jones Investments — built the identity around a new, more contemporary and less industrialized Finch Paper logo, presented in an all-lowercase typestyle customized for Finch by acclaimed Swiss designer André Baldinger from his soon-to-be released BaldingerPro font. Says Bart Crosby: “Style without affectation. That’s what the new program and the company are all about.” Adds Anthony McDowell, vice president of sales and marketing, who spearheaded the search for a message that captures the essence of the company: “The Finch Paper story is really quite refreshing. We have one mill, four paper machines and a team of really dedicated people who work hard every day to produce outstanding paper, minimize our impact on the environment, and bend over backwards to deliver a level of value and service that exceeds our customers’ expectations. Doing business with Finch is like working with a small, neighborhood business — and that’s the message we’ll be conveying through every contact we make...”
http://www.finchpaper.com

GRAPHIC NEWS

Gateway City Honors Gericke
Scott Gericke, partner and creative director at graphic design studio designlab, inc., has been awarded the AIGA St. Louis Fellows Award for 2008. Scott’s career in St. Louis and his involvement with AIGA spans almost two decades. He has held senior design positions at Falk Harrison Creative, Kiku Obata & Company and XPLANE, was a founding member and past president of the AIGA St. Louis chapter, and recently stepped down as lecturer and design director of the Visual Communications Research Studio at Washington University’s Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, where he taught for over 15 years. Gericke will be honored along with other Fellow awardees at the AIGA Design Legends Gala in New York City in September.
http://www.designlabinc.com

Hands On
Duffy & Partners has developed the design and brand strategy for the HandsOn Network, reputedly the largest volunteer organization in the nation with a network that manages millions of volunteers and 50,000 community impact projects. “Everything about our work puts people at the center of change,” said Michelle Nunn, HandsOn Network founder and CEO. “The new design gives our global community of change-agents, partners and supporters a way to start a new kind of conversation about connecting the people and ideas that create social change.” Explains chairman Joe Duffy: “The identity exemplifies the handprint and impact their work leaves on people’s lives.”
http://www.handsonnetwork.org

Perfect Fit
Hansen Design Company has merged into decade-old marketing consulting business MarketFitz. Pat Hansen has been named as creative director of the Seattle operation. Hansen will also oversee the transition of Hansen clients to MarketFitz. The merger “made so much sense,” says Hansen, who was recently named an AIGA Fellow from Seattle. “Now we are part of something bigger, better and stronger.” Hansen Design, which was started in 1980, has done work for clients including Alaska Airlines, the Boeing Company, Columbia Bank and Make-A-Wish Foundation. Heather Fitzpatrick is CEO of the combined firms.
http://www.marketfitz.com

The Army Store
The U.S. Army plans a pilot recruitment center in late August inspired by the interactivity of Apple Stores. The center will be built around virtual simulations and other experiential marketing techniques to engage visitors. Apple retail centers and attractions such as the ESPN Zone reportedly prompted Edward Walters, CMO of the U.S. Army, to give this a try. “In the past we’ve focused on traditional media vehicles. [But] the millennial generation is used to engaging in interactive assets and we need to adapt to them,” says Walters. The first new recruitment center will consist of three large simulators with full-scale mock-ups of Army equipment and wrap-around 270-degree video screens. For example, an Apache simulator allows a pilot and co-pilot to experience the aircraft and its weapons systems. Despite the continuing unpopular war in Iraq, the Army exceeded its recruiting goals last month.

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MORE GRAPHIC NEWS

First Non-Agency Winner
Turner Duckworth’s work for Coca-Cola and Waitrose has earned it “Agency of the Year” and “Best of Show” at the 10th annual International Food and Beverage Awards for Creative Excellence in London. On being the first non-advertising agency to have won Agency of the Year, Bruce Duckworth, Turner Duckworth co-founder, said “This win further demonstrates the rapidly changing nature of the communications business. A design consultancy has forged ahead of traditional advertising networks.” Shown here: part of a Coca-Cola brand redesign which emphasizes simplicity and clarity, positivenesss and authenticity. Turner Duckworth is based in San Francisco and London.
http://www.turnerduckworth.com

Healthcare Coverage
In the May 28 GDUSA ENewsletter, we called attention to a small but scrappy poster contest, Art of Politics, organized by Portland OR residents Summer Lewis and Leslie Mestman. The competition has ended and the top winner is this wonderful healthcare advocacy poster by Luba Lukova. Visitors to the website picked 30 finalists, and a panel of judges — John Carr, Art Chantry, Susan Hoffman, Tara McPherson, and Taylor Stevenson — made the final selections.
http://www.gdusa.com/egdusa/pages/080528.html
http://www.artofpolitics2008.com

Lagging Indicator
A survey released at the recent Sustainable Brands 08 conference reveals that the environment is an important issue among U.S. consumers, but lags behind the economy and energy as the most pressing issue. The results are based on some 1,500 online interviews in the U.S. conducted by agencies Landor Associates, Cohn & Wolfe, and Penn, Schoen & Berland. “The [U.S.] results are somewhat alarming in that they indicate consumers only prioritize the environment when all other concerns are equal,” said Russ Meyer, chief strategy officer at Landor Associates, New York. “With agricultural commodities running low and the rising cost of gas in the United States, Americans indicate they have more immediate concerns than the environment.” Adds Annie Longsworth, president of Cohn & Wolfe, San Francisco: “The results of the 2008 survey suggest that, despite conversations about eco-overload, sustainability is in a nascent stage,”.
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003811333

Know When To Hold ‘Em
AIGA Las Vegas is sponsoring the 2008 All In Poker Tournament, where friends and business rivals face off in a Hold-‘Em-Style tournament for bragging rights and prizes. In addition to the tournament, the organizers will premiere this year’s collectible poker deck, featuring artwork from 54 Las Vegas designers, illustrators and photographers. The event, with cash bar and authentic poker night food, takes place tomorrow, June 26, at Hennessey’s Tavern.
http://lasvegas.aiga.org/

HOUSEKEEPING: GDUSA CONTEST DEADLINE JUNE 30

June 30 is the final deadline for the 2008 American Graphic Design Awards, the enormously popular recognition program presented by Graphic Design USA and sponsored by NewPage Corporation. Entries must be postmarked by that date. Forms can be downloaded at...
www.gdusa.com/contests/agda.php

TRENDSPOTTING

New California Goldrush
A study conducted by the Williams Institute at UCLA projects that the Golden State will see $683.6 million in direct spending over the next three years as couples flock to California seeking same-sex marriages. During that same period, the study projects more than 2,000 jobs will be created to service the industry. In total, the study, authored by Brad Sears and M.V. Lee Badgett, estimates that in the next three years, California will host nearly 120,000 couples tying the knot. “For over 20 years, analyses of other states' consideration of opening marriage to same-sex couples have argued that the first state or states to do so would experience a wave of increased tourism from out-of-state couples that would bring millions of additional dollars in revenue to state businesses,” says the report.

Off-Screen Graphics
Marketers are increasingly looking for a bigger role in the moviegoing process, but not always on screen. Cinema advertising grew 18.5% in the past year according to the Cinema Advertising Council, even as movie attendance remains relatively flat. Interestingly, the figure includes not just onscreen advertising, but instore graphics like concession-area marketing (up 48%), lobby and audio programming (up 207%), and lobby sampling programs (up 374%). Say Stu Ballatt, president of the Council, “Many advertisers from a broader group of categories are buying three, four and five flights a year in an upfront fashion, and that is the sustaining media that is a major part of this growth.” Off-screen revenues will blossom even further, contends Ballatt, from brand-emblazed popcorn bags to interactive lobby displays. “On-screen will always be the most compelling,” he said. “But we are seeing using off-screen in concert with on-screen creates a very memorable ROI, whether it's adding a lobby poster handout or a branded container.”

Interactive MFA
A new advanced degree program focused on the design and business of digital media will be offered at the School of Visual Art, New York City, beginning fall 2009. An MFA in Interaction Design will focus on the critical role of the designer in creating useful and usable digital products and services. The department will be chaired by Liz Danzico, an expert in information architecture and usability, who conceived the program with Steven Heller, a design historian, New York Times columnist, and co-chair of the MFA Design Department at SVA. “In its most basic form, interaction design involves a conversation between a person and an interface,” says Danzico. “Whether it’s a Web site, a mobile phone or a kiosk at the airport, great interaction design starts with an understanding of people.” The course is two years and 60 credits.
http://www.schoolofvisualarts.edu

Sunday Print Surges
Print advertising was mixed in the first quarter of 2008, with Sunday magazines and standalone inserts posting strong growth, while newspapers and national magazines dipped. Direct response, which includes direct mail, telemarketing and online promotions, showed the strongest gains. TNS media intelligence latest assessment of ad spending reported strong growth in Sunday Magazines (+17.1%), Spanish Language Magazines (+14.2%) and frees standing ad inserts (+8.8%). Consumer Magazine spending was essentially even while declines were seen in B-to-B Magazines (-3.2%), Local Magazines (-2.1%) and Newspapers (-5.2%). Sunday magazines are getting an extra push from newspapers, for example, The Wall Street Journal will launch a glossy Sunday magazine in September slated for nearly one million circulation.

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GRAPHIC DESIGN ENEWSLETTER / JUNE 24, 2008

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