Instrument is a digital agency on the move. Since relocating to Portland, Oregon from Burlington, Vermont in 2006, the firm has grown considerably. Today, Instrument employs 28 people and works on Nike, Microsoft and other blue chip clients from its custom designed offices at Alberta Central.
A few of those 28 people were recently employees of Portland design firm, Gridplane. The two companies announced a merger last Monday, after sharing space and a close working relationship for the past three years.
JD Hooge of Gridplane now joins partners Vince LaVecchia and Justin Lewis to become Creative Director at Instrument.
Hooge was Owner and Art Director of Gridplane, earning a reputation for clean, simple and beautiful visual design while working for clients like Lexus, MTV, Nike, Microsoft and The Sasquatch Festival. An award-winning interaction designer, Hooge was named one of Print Magazine’s “30 Under 30” Visual Artists in 2005.
Hooge and team recently partnered with Instrument to design and launch sites for Google, Nike, Ziba and Uncommon.
“With the addition of JD and his crew, Instrument is fielding its strongest team to date. We are poised to drive the company forward, continuing to create beautiful experiences built on the latest web technologies for global brands, agencies and innovative organizations,” says LaVecchia.
Instrument is also sporting a new tagline, “Digital Craft.” LaVecchia says, “‘For us, it’s about the perfect marriage of art and algorithm. The craft of user experience design merged with the craft of building the right tools. It’s about pride in your work, a balance of living life and working smart. It’s not about rushing to meet deadlines, but about producing simply great work. Craftspeople manage their business and their time to be able to deliver at a high level consistently without compromise. The right people, the right materials, the right ideas and the right equipment. Digital Craft is about doing it right.”