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‘Graphic Design’ Category Posts

Keep to Your Local Roots…

posted February 21st, 2012 in Graphic Design, Student Designers, Uncategorized by jillharding

We at BD love our clients! We at BD also love our vendors! Over the past 10+ years we have most certainly learned the importance behind keeping local and close to our roots in life + business. Recently, we worked with a client who we often also partner with – CoreTech REVOLUTION (Indianapolis, IN) and designed/created their newly re-branded marketing materials. This print design project was an exciting adventure. We begun the rough design layouts on a Friday afternoon and received final design/layout approval Monday. We packaged up the five approved print piece design layouts for print and sent to our local preferred printer – Metropolitan Printing (Bloomington, IN). I contacted Mark Leggio (Metropolitan Printing, President) and discussed our print project and tight timeline. And he and his team came through with flying colors. All five print pieces were printed offset, full bleeds, with a metallic + CMYK – and sent out the door Thursday for delivery in Las Vegas Friday for a medical tradeshow which started this Monday, today and runs through Thursday.

This was a very quick turn around print project. We at BD love our clients and vendors – THANKS to both we were able to make this particular print project reality. Additionally, we at BD, are so proud of the outcome of these five print pieces that we have selected to submit to the PRINT’S 2012 REGIONAL ANNUAL DESIGN Competition. So remember to Keep to Your Local Roots, as you never know a simple project or complex project comes along you want trusted resources to depend on, who also want to work with you. We at BD are striving to make the world a better place, one design at a time! BD

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Press Check Sheet [FRONT

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Press Check Sheet [BACK

The Complete CoreTech REVOLUTION Package

The Complete CoreTech REVOLUTION Interior Marketing Pieces

The Complete CoreTech REVOLUTION Interior Marketing Pieces w/BD's design entry form.

Back to Your Roots 2012 : Marketing/Branding

posted February 3rd, 2012 in Graphic Design by jillharding

How do you define your brand? Is it how you position yourself in the minds of stakeholders and the public in general? Is it shaped by what people think you do and how you do it? Is it determined by the design of your website, the quality of your marketing collateral or the success of your public relations efforts?

In lieu of the XLVI National Football League Bowl of Super (reworded slightly so not to step on toes :o), being in Boundless Design’s home state we want to share a huge back to your roots 2012 blog post. We have visited downtown Indianapolis, Indiana to see and be a part of one if not the largest sporting events in the world. We started by visiting downtown the night all of the festivities began and went back mid-week to enjoy even more and went to the NFL Experience. Wow, we are truly proud to be a Hoosier and appreciate our strong Indiana roots. Visiting downtown gave us a great appreciation for Hoosier Hospitality and what it truly means to stop and remember where you are from, your roots.

Brand strategy is the process of aligning what we say with what we do, to positively influence what customers think. Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana is aligning “Hoosier Hospitality” with the largest sporting event in the world and gaining a hugely positive experience from folks all over the country and even world.

Indianapolis, Indiana XLVI

Vince Lombardi Trophy on the JW Marriott

Ice Carving

NFL Experience, Indianapolis, Indiana

Colts Branded Indy Car

Pig’s Foot Family Fable

posted January 7th, 2012 in Graphic Design by jillharding

Well with 2011 gone and a week into 2012 BD is ready to get personal this 2012. BD decided to end 2011 with a Top Secret design project that would surprise our entire family.

So we designed and had illustrated a children book by retelling a story that our grandfather told. Pig’s Foot. This story is our family fable passed down from our beloved grandfather Gordon Leigh Speer. We grew up listening and then watching others hear our grandfather tell this fable. We would all sit on the edge of our seats anticipating the fable’s surprise ending. By sharing our family fable, we too hope you and your family will enjoy this fable with your family from generation to generation. ENJOY!

We at BD want to share this family fable with you all as an example to get personal in 2012. In other words, we encourage you to grow from your roots to strengthen your brand. Keep it simple and know BD is here for you in 2012 as roots are important for any business.

We encourage your thoughts and comments, in fact we will personally mail out a book each to the first 5 comments we receive from this blog post.

Pig's Foot

Pig's Foot : Intro

Pig's Foot : Discovery

Balance Your Space with Colors

posted October 5th, 2011 in Graphic Design, Interior Designer by jillharding

Remember a solid brand is much more than a well crafted logo. Brand is the personality that identifies a product, service or company (name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them) and how it relates to key constituencies: customers, staff, partners, investors etc. Some people distinguish the psychological aspect, brand associations like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and so on that become linked to the brand, of a brand from the experiential aspect.

So remember color plays a huge role in creating a visual brand… what do the colors within your office space, marketing materials say about your company’s visual brand?

[CREATIVITY] : Orange expands your thinking. It reduces self-consciousness and allows you to express yourself with confidence. Use it in your space when you want to feel younger. It is the color of laughter and celebration. [try an orange.. mouse pad, one wall or notecards]

[PROSPERITY] : Green increases wealth. The primary color in nature, it corresponds with life’s riches. It is the color of fresh starts and growth. It will encourage you to honor your unique talents and manifest them in the material world. [try a green.. checkbook, desk chair or office door]

[CALM] : Blue gives a sense of peace. It dissolves tension and promotes tranquility. Light blue especially brings ease into the office and harmony into relationships. Wearing or surrounding yourself with it helps calm aggressive tendencies and eliminates discord. [try a blue... office wall, peg board or office wear]

[CONCENTRATION] : Yellow increases your focus. It is known for enhancing intelligence and mental agility. It can help stimulate conversation and clarify thoughts. [try a yellow... no.2 pencil, bookmark or post-it notes]

[ENERGY] : Bright red will fortify you. It is a stimulant. It promotes courage and fearlessness. Use this color when you want to increase self-confidence. But too much red can make you feel overly excited. A little goes a long way. [try a bright red... dish of candy, picture frame or coffee-table book]

For example… in our Boundless Design studio, we have a bright red rug (in photo above) which is an extension of our visual brand palette. We soften this strong energy color value with large white desks to represent the clean fresh approach we give to every design project.

Also in the above photo is a logo development project we designed for INpact Medical Device Network.

Staying in Business : A Branding Story

posted July 16th, 2011 in Graphic Design by jillharding

Someone has well said that the two most important rules of business are: 1) Stay in business; and, 2) Don’t forget rule number one. If your business fails, you cannot serve your customers. Obviously, we can learn lessons about staying in business from those who have done it.

Last Christmas we received a SodaStream. While we really thought this gift was cool and fun to use, I had no idea the SodaStream story until my brother told “hey you know SodaStream has been around since 1903, right?” And I really had no idea and I thought SodaStream was a brand new company/product.

BD with our SodaStream

SodaStream was started in 1903. It was a carbonation system invented by Giles Gilby that made standard water into fizzy water and was originally sold to the upper classes. Different flavours were introduced in the 1920s. Cherry ciderette and sarsaparilla were two of these. In the 1970s and 80s it enjoyed vast success, becoming a big hit in countries such as the UK, Germany and Australia.

The company underwent numerous changes in ownership, becoming, at one point, part of the Cadbury Schweppes empire. 1998 saw the company change hands for the final time when purchased by Soda Club, at that time Israel’s biggest supplier of SodaStream. SodaStream remained the name of the brand after Soda Club’s unsuccessful bid to change the brand to Soda-Club.

This year, and every year, thousands of new businesses will be born, and thousands of others will be buried. By analyzing a business like SodaStream we can identify qualities and strategies that might help our own businesses survive. Thanks to SodaStream’s realization that a re-branding effort was greatly needed to survive they are back on the market stronger than ever in their respective market. This is a remarkable branding story. bd

Defining Moments… A Fully Designed Life.

posted June 10th, 2011 in Fashion Designer, Graphic Design by jillharding

1967 Ralph Lauren (age 27) establishes the Polo label with an instantly successful line of ties. In direct opposition to the narrow ties and conventional styles of the time, Lauren designs wide, handmade ties using unexpected, flamboyant, opulent materials. The ties quickly become a menswear status item.

“A tie was the way a man expressed himself. I believed that men were ready for something new and different. They didn’t want to look as if they worked for IBM. A beautiful tie was an expression of quality, taste, style.” – Ralph Lauren

Already interested in promoting a lifestyle with his ties, Ralph Lauren names his line after a sport that embodies a world of discreet elegance and classic style: Polo. When asked why the name “Polo” Lauren’s answer was simple he really enjoyed sports but could not name the company basketball, baseball, tennis, etc. as he wanted a more sophisticated internationally known sport hence “Polo.” Ralph Lauren teaches us to keep design simple and do not over think it.

The Polo Ralph Lauren brand is still going strong today nearly 40 + years later. The PRL stayed true to it’s roots – “About Living - About Life - About Living Life Stylishly Comfortable.” The PRL story and branding impact reminds us at BD to embrace and recognize “defining moments” as these moments can have an impact beyond your wildest dreams. Simply do what you love and most importantly love what you do. -BD