When Jen Stack, Director of Communications at Colle McVoy, sends me something, I pay attention. I pay attention because Colle McVoy in Minneapolis sends the best branded merchandise, a.k.a. gifts, of anyone in the business. Whether it’s a packet of notecards, chocolates, or a new planner for 2018, it’s always well-made, thoughtful and useful. Because […]
Design
Designer/Archeologist Restores Old Outdoor Ads (To Something Beyond Their Former Glory)
According to Portland Monthly, 3D designer Craig Winslow has turned a yearlong creative residency with Adobe into a fascinating new art project. Using a technique called projection mapping, Winslow takes clues from ghost ads on city walls and recreates the original ads on his computer to scale. Then he projects them back onto the wall. […]
Legal Cannabis Is A Massive Opportunity for Marketing and Media Pros
Legal cannabis—medical and recreational—is a burgeoning opportunity for cannabis entrepreneurs like retailers and growers. It’s also a wide open opportunity for the larger ecosystem that supports this industry, including design shops, ad agencies, and media organizations. I recently had dinner with an account executive in Portland and asked him who was knocking on his shop’s […]
Grain Belt’s New Lager Gets The Colle & McVoy Treatment
Inspired by the Mississippi River and the hard working lock and dam system that powered the original Grain Belt brewery, this new brew combines old-world techniques with a hint of hops to bring the traditional American lager into the 21st century. Design and packaging from Colle + McVoy in Minneapolis. Grain Belt is now made […]
Rebirth Announcement: On March 16, Nebraska Realty Is In Business
One of Omaha’s largest real estate firms – Deeb Realty, will change its name to Nebraska Realty, effective March 16, 2015. The real estate company hired Corporate Three Design in Omaha to create a new brand identity and roll it out across traditional media. (DISCLOSURE: Shawn Hartley, the publisher of this web site is Vice […]
Will The Real Experience Designer Please Stand Up?
Titles are superficial. And like so many superficial things, we cling to them dearly. Particularly so in the ego industries where a director is someone with a seat and a say. Hey, I get it. It makes sense. When it takes you 15 years to make it to creative director, you want to revel in […]
Design Thinking For Strategic Innovation Aims To Make Business More Elegant
I’m not sure designers would agree, but it feels to me like we’re in a golden age of design. Because as complex as our world (and the technology propelling it) is getting, there’s a stronger need for simple, clear design in our products and surroundings. Idris Mootee takes a closer look at this in Design […]
How Does Office Design Affect Productivity?
Startups have become kind of synonymous with “cool” office design. The exposed ducts, and wide open spaces are commonplace in the tech scene, where employees can sometimes be spotted working from the couch. At any given gaming or tech startup, you’re likely to find a fully stocked fridge and big cushy chairs. Is all this […]
Clean Is The New Black
Here is some exceptionally good news. According to Digiday, The Banner Industrial Complex Under Threat. “From a publisher’s standpoint, there really is no choice but to go this way,” said David Payne, Gannett’s chief digital officer, of the move away from the banner. “I think we’ve all proven over the last 12 years that the […]
Custom Brand Identity Now Available Off-the-Shelf
Hessian is a brand without a company, a backwards fabrication from a designer uninterested in how things are typically done. Be that as it may, the idea is generating some press for its creator Ben Pieratt, who now wants to sell his concept and the designs that support it for $18K to an entrepreneur in […]
