Everyone always wants to know where the name birdsong gregory comes from. And what the heck it means. Well, it's really not that interesting of a story. Birdsong is my middle name. It is the maiden name of my paternal grandmother. And no, my parents aren't of native american descent. And I wasn't conceived at a Grateful Dead concert. Although those options are so much more interesting.
Gregory is Jim's middle name. A family name. We had to add something to birdsong that connected to him - he being the other principal partner of birdsong gregory. I was pushing for birdsong design, but he felt left out.
I guess we could have used our last names, but Kraemer Cusson just doesn't roll off the tongue. And I kind of enjoy the curiosity around birdsong. People seem to remember it. And I don't even mind the occasional phone call from someone needing help with their parakeet.
To learn more about the online and offline branding, marketing, and advertising services our agency offers, please visit the birdsong gregory website, contact Jim Cusson at 704-332-2299, or stop by the next time you’re in downtown Charlotte.
Just last week I started my classes at the Innovation Institue at the McColl Center here in downtown Charlotte. In just six days, this artist-lead program will "help unleash your imagination with a unique curriculum emphasizing creativity and innovation... using creativity as the catalyst for personal growth."
So far, after 2 classes I have realized 2 main things: ONE: Being artistic and being creative are two different things. Some people have both, and some people have one or the other or neither. TWO: Often times the way we think people "see" us individually is less based on reality and more based on a reflection of our own fears.... Deep thoughts by Leslie. Stay tuned to see where the next 4 classes take me.
So, Design*Sponge, the interior/home design blog, reached out to bg a few months ago asking if anyone from the office would like to be profiled in their "Sneek Peeks" section, and I jumped at the chance. I have been a fan of the blog since they started in 2004. Founder, Grace Booney, has really made a name for herself and the blog. She even has a newly published home decor book that's flying off shelves.
Design*Sponge has 75,000 unique daily visitors, making it the most popular design site on the web. The site receives 250,000 pageviews every day and has 150,000 RSS subscribers and 280,000 followers on Twitter. Now that's some good exposue.
Most designers like to dabble in different design fields, and I am no exception. Interior design is a fun hobby for me, and a nice outlet for creative expression. At home, I have the freedom to change my wall colors as often as I like (and my husband will endure). Whereas, if I took that same approach to client's brands…we might have a problem. Check out the post here.
Retro packaging is now in vogue. The big players in the marketplace are all digging through their archives to bring back designs from the past. Just like the fashion and music scene, the nostalgia around what was old can quickly become fresh again. Is this a strategic play to follow the trend of a return to simplicity? Or a sign that designers are running out of original ideas. Keep watch as others follow the lead.
Behold the latest in a series of fresh billboards we created for Bloom Grocery in their South Eastern Virginia market. Over the past several months, we have been working with Bloom to reintroduce the brand and give customers a fresh perspective on both their product assortment and great deals. We wanted a bold, seasonal message to get this idea out to their target audience, and we're berry happy with the results.
This is how I often feel shopping at mega stores nowdays. Overwhelmed by the choices. Life can be so complicated. Sometimes less really is more. Pictured is Liu Bolin – an artist who paints himself like a human chameleon and dissappears into his environment.
So we concepted, prepped, tested, ran time trials, and even drew blood. This years pumpkin carving competition put our skills to the test. And while our submission did not win first prize, we were told it was a very close 2nd. Arrrrrr! Next year Matey!
Here is one of the designs submitted to the Dollar ReDe$ign Project by Dowling Duncan. My favorite of the bunch.
Organized by creative strategy consultant Richard Smith, the Dollar ReDe$ign Project is soliciting ideas for the dollar bill of the future. "Our great 'rival', the Euro, looks so spanky in comparison it seems the only clear way to revive this global recession is to rebrand and redesign," the project notes on its website.
When you think of food and Southern California, what comes to mind? Beside the iconic In-N-Out Burger?
Increasingly, the region's true culinary claim to fame is LA's thriving street eats scene. Thanks to a growing selection of gourmet-on-the-go, mobile take-out joints that have at least 4 wheels (and an army of loyal Twitter followers), the LA street food scene is more dynamic, affordable, and delicious than ever before.
It even has its own festival, which happened a couple of weeks ago. Held in the Rose Bowl, 50+ L.A. food truck and ice cream vendors (set up in booths), bars, tequila and mezcal tastings and a marketplace of general goods and crafts provided enough culinary and visual stimuli to keep festival-goers happy (and possibly drunk). General admission tickets quickly sold out, and all the SoCal food truck favorites like The Grilled Cheese Truck, Don Chow Tacos, Kogi BBQ and Flying Pig Truck were there.
There was an interesting article in the NY Times the other day about how luxury brands that formerly eschewed the the online retail world are now flocking to it in droves. it seems that before the Great Recession of 2009, retail brands like Hugo Boss or Marc Jacobs felt the proletarian warrens of the Web was no place to sell very expensive, very exclusive products like a $500 shirt or a $3000 handbag. In 2009, as the worldwide luxury-goods industry fell 8%, online sales were forecast to grow 20%.
But now, these ritzy brands are taking the plunge, and enjoying the benefits of a clickable environment: low overhead, no middleman, social networking opportunities, etc. And although I don't buy clothes that cost more than a week at the beach, if I won the lottery tomorrow, I think I'd prefer to shop for pricey labels online in my ratty pj's rather than have to endure the snooty atmosphere of a high-end bricks-and-mortar boutique.
Born in 1873 in Bremen, Germany, Beck’s mixes internationality and tradition, qualities that helped the beer to become the number one selling export beer. But as any good designer knows, what looked sharp in 1873 might appear a bit dated in 2010.
So Beck's chose Buenos Aires based Pierini Partners to redesign Beck’s global packaging. The new layout highlights the visual elements that comprise the brand emblem, such as the key icon, phrases about its origin, medals, and its characteristic colors of red and black. All these elements were simplified and applied on a metalized support which adds modernity and freshness.
One of the most emphasizing details in the new packaging is the raise in the logo and icon importance. The icon was placed in the upper part in order to glorify the brand identity, which has been a synonym of quality and beer expertise for over a century.
The project lasted more than a year and was tested in several countries, such as German, England, USA, Italy and Romania.
Sure. The practice of shopper-centric design extends far beyond the aisles of a retailer. Think bank customers, hotel guests, attorney clients, etc. Ideally, wherever "shoppers" interact with your brand and have the opportunity to "make a purchase."
I spent a few days last week at a Marriott Courtyard in Birmingham, Alabama last week, and was thoroughly impressed with how this leading global hotelier has redone their public spaces in a way that now injects fun, style, and functionality into what once were bland, cold, transitional spaces you hurried through on your way to your room or out the door.
IDEO, a brand design agency, is responsible for the facelift, and based their designs on five guest-enabling brand principles that were uncovered through conversations with guests. Namely, focus on working smarter and anticipating needs; instill pro-activity to let personality shine; enable guests to feel comfortable in public spaces using subtle gestures; provide options and a sense of control; and aim to help guests feel refreshed, refueled, and recharged.
To that end, a large screen called a "Go Board" provides easy access to such relevant information for guests as weather, traffic conditions, local restaurant recommendations, and flight information. Dedicated boarding pass print stations allow guests to head to their next destination prepared. A redesigned cafe with three modes of service provides an inviting place to eat, offering healthier, modern food throughout the day and a lively atmosphere for cocktails in the evening. Welcome podiums replace the antiquated and alienating check-in desks to allow for more direct and personable interactions between staff and guests. And flexible seating and work areas allow guests to easily move furniture for a variety of uses.
That's right. birdsong gregory is beefing up its shopper marketing capabilities to help retailers and manufactures spend their marketing dollars in a more effective fashion, i.e., where it counts – at the store level.
We have a couple of new hires that will be starting this month who have worked for big, global retail branding agencies – and small retailer brands you may not have heard of - like WalMart. ;)
Together with our existing team of designers, writers, and brand strategists, we have some robust expectations for what lies ahead. We'll keep you posted…
Check out Time Magazine's slideshow of all 19 official FIFA World Cup posters, which runs from the first World Cup back in 1930 to the action happening right now down in South Africa. It offers a great retrospective of graphic design trends over the last 80 years. From Swiss Modernism to Punk and Post Modern, this collection of posters shows how far graphic designers have come in terms of their aesthetics and technical capabilities. This retrospective also demonstrates the timelessness of fundamental design principles like balance, contrast, and arrangement.
Take 7-Eleven, for example. The company is the process of rolling out its own video service to over 6,200 stores in the US and Canada, and once the more than 12,000 screens are in place and delivering information, entertainment, and advertising to shoppers, 7-Eleven will be in a position to reach 190 million viewers every month.
The programming mix will be divided among 7-Eleven advertising (38%), in-store brands (29%), outside, non-competitive brands (26%), and news and weather (7%), playing on a three to five minute loop.
In anticipation of next month’s World Cup in South Africa, FIFA has commissioned 17 artists and graphic designers to create limited-edition soccer-themed prints. The original artworks were auctioned at New York’s Phillips de Pury, but the signed and numbered prints — 2,010 of each image — go for as little as $121. See the rest here . . .
Chock full of breathtakingly well-designed packaging from a number of different CPG categories, like this private label brand of fruit jams for the upmarket UK grocery store Waitrose.
Take a look at the what was selected from over 800 entries sent in by package designers and retail branding firms from around the globe. Here's the link
That's what was discussed, explored, and pontificated about at the 2010 Fuse conference I attended recently in Chicago. The Fuse community brings together brand strategists, designers, creative directors, and trend forcasters from around the world (but mostly North America) for an annual three day conference, and at this year's event, as in years past, there was a big emphasis on shopper marketing and retail branding.
What made the biggest impression on me? It might have been the panel session in which marketers from Hershey, Kraft, General Mills, and Quaker gave their CPG perspective on the nexus between design and marketing: great packaging is the best marketing.
Everyone always wants to know where the name birdsong gregory comes from. And what the heck it means. Well, it's really not that interesting of a story. Birdsong is my middle name. It is the maiden name of my paternal grandmother. And no, my parents aren't of native american descent. And I wasn't conceived at a Grateful Dead concert. Although those options are so much more interesting. 
Powered by Compendium