You probably know that as creative people, we draw inspiration from many sources. We are proud of our ability to integrate disparate thoughts into something new. This year for you, we are calling for some help from the animal kingdom to usher in a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous New Year.


We salute our animal friends’ self-sufficiency, their ability to deal with issues as they arise, and leave them behind when they are done. We support their locally-based lifestyle and their low carbon footprints. We have a lot to learn, indeed.


We wish you a bright, bright 2012.


This year, we will explore the things that make us remarkable. This year, we will refine our output as a creative firm. This year, we will be unique.


I’m in the middle of reading The Purple Cow by Seth Godin. The central message it delivers is that the strongest business strategy is to bring something unique to the market. Unique things tend to fill a need. Unique products tend sell themselves or fail quickly. Either way, you’re better off.


Blair Enns, agency sales rep turned business coach, provides the same advice in Win Without Pitching. There is very little need to sell yourself if you become unique. The business goal of providing something unique is not to remove competition from your field, but to transcend the field of competitors.


Astute readers of our Fish Wrap and blog know that we’ve been laying the foundation already with our work on the Flux Report, EastBirch.com, data visualization and user interface design. These are all products and services of our creation. These are all original to Birch Studio; a pretty significant departure from what any of our competitors are doing. Since these things combine our existing skill sets and interests, it’s not a career change for us as much as a new recipe using the same awesome ingredients we have in stock.


This year, look for us to bring focus to the branding and analytical skills we have. Look for a lot of improvement in our data visualization and user interface design. Look for big thinking.


That’s where we are aiming to spend 2012, with you.



Her BFA in Fine Arts gives her deep roots into the world of beauty. Her work for previous firms and on side projects show a deep understanding of information and how to make it comprehensible and interesting. Her motivated nature gives her the platform to put it all together into something great.

You’ll likely hear her name again soon as she integrates into our work flow and begins meeting many of you.

Please find a coalition near you and join their mailing list.

WANTED: We are seeking data partners. Please contact David Robinson for more information.

Print to PDF to web to email to social media, we hit them all in this campaign.

Logo
The primary goal of the Summit was to get people talking – challenges, possibilities, context. The signature piece of the Summit was a moderated case-study based conversation (which Darden is famous for). The logo abstractly reflects an arrangement of equal members forming a larger whole. This drew inspiration from the U.S. Presidential seal.

Stationery
The stationery was a tactical piece used early on to gain interest in the Summit prior to investing much time in any other materials. The logo, sponsors and supporters helped set a level of quality for the event. CNBC was the media sponsor. UVa and Monticello were location sponsors.

Icon set
The Summit was made up of three discreet and unique activities. Each one had an icon to represent it. The icons were all derived from and complementary to the logo. The icon for the Rotunda Dialogue became additionally symbolic with its use of a network diagram incorporated within.

One pager
For the most part, we assumed that we’d be working through the invitees’ assistants. We needed something to put in their hand, which they could put on their bosses’ desks. The printable PDF was a perfect summary of the event. Short enough to fit on one page, long enough to pique the invitees’ interest. We turned this piece into an HTML email to send to the invitees with links for registration and contacts.

Website
Imagery, colors, backgrounds, spacing, font sizes – all of these items came into play in the website development. The first phase of the website was essentially an online brochure with a registration form for the Delegates (attendees).

Interactive Delegates Page
Once we had some momentum with delegates, started highlighting them on the website. Partially to give them some thanks by way of recognition, partially to give other delegates a sense of who was coming. We also added a randomly loading, scrolling portfolio panel of delegates to the home page, so users wouldn’t need to dig to find fellow attendees

Public Events Collateral
The Summit included a series of public events, for people that didn’t receive special invites. The collateral for these events included a program, an HTML email, an ad series and various sized posters. Virginia Living magazine, a supporter of the event, ran the ad series to reach a broader audience of the entrepreneurial type.

Delegate program
The program was the most formal and most complete piece of information created. It was presented to each delegate as a tangible welcome and guide to the 2 day event. 44 pages of content that rolled up the website, late-breaking content and a letter from Governor McDonnell to kick the event off right.

Embossing die and sponsor band for Moleskine
As a gift of hospitality and a keepsake, the organizers opted for an embossed Moleskine notebook. It was both sophisticated and practical, as we expected delegates would like to make notes at the event. We modified the logo to work as embossed artwork. We wrapped it in a paper band with the Summit logo and recognition of the sponsors and supporters.

From our vantage point, we see people with dreams in their eyes. We see entrepreneurs and eager tacticians putting their best efforts forward to build something bigger, to communicate better and to shape our collective future.  We are proud and honored to be in such company.

With equal parts of “these guys are great”, and “nice to meet you”, we now connect our clients’ public LinkedIn profiles into our testimonials page so you can find out more about who they are, and – who knows – maybe you can help each other too.

To you, we give thanks. We wouldn’t have made it 15+ years without you.  Happy Thanksgiving. May your cornucopia overfloweth.

]]> http://www.birchstudio.com/blog/flux-report-natural-gas-vehicles/feed/ 0 http://www.birchstudio.com/blog/hemosonics-brochure-and-infographic/ http://www.birchstudio.com/blog/hemosonics-brochure-and-infographic/#comments Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:08:37 +0000 david http://www.birchstudio.com/blog/?p=929 HemoSonics is a medical device company with groundbreaking technology. The technology reveals information discovered in current research about the body’s hemostatic process, i.e. things that make our blood clot, or not. This project comprised a brochure, copywriting to accentuate and organize product features and an infographic.





Brochure Design
One challenge for this brochure design was that the research is so new that most professionals aren’t aware of some of the critical issues that this device can help them resolve. So, our goals were two-fold: design an infographic that explains in simple terms the current knowledge of hemostasis, and design a brochure that pairs state-of-the-art knowledge with the device’s features.





Infographic Design
The infographic we designed takes into account the multiple biological actions and states that take place in the hemostatic process. We got a crash course in hemostasis from our client in order to produce this piece. Using our proprietary process, we combined our skills in information design with our client’s knowledge to get the look and the message just right.





Copywriting
The tagline, “quick, clear, complete” was the starting point for the brochure copywriting. After some in-depth interviews, we matched the product features with benefits, and put them in terms of the three points in the tagline. This approach makes their brand more holistic, roots the brochure copy back to the tagline, and makes both the copy and the tagline that much stronger together.



We use terms like “some”, “they”, “those”, “this” and “we” to identify something in general. They refer to a certain amount or group of something. But they are not defined by name. They are referred to in terms of groupings, in a sense.

“A” changes that. “A” is more singular and isolated. “A” has an autonomy about it that “some”, “they”, “those”, “this” and “we” don’t.

With the change of “some” to “a”, water is subtly quantified, turned into a discernible amount of something. And that something can begin to have an identity. That definition of the object as a thing is a necessary first step in developing a brand.

You can probably imagine where I’m going with this. It’s almost a story about the continuum from commodity to product. First there’s some stuff that fills a need. Then people start to like it a lot. Then someone recognizes its value and ramps up the promotion of it, delivering it in their own special way to the masses. At that point, they’d probably want to name it and make it their own. Thus, a glass of water from the tap turns into a bottle of water from the store, which may be named something. Dasani anyone?

Reading through “Holsigner’s Charlottesville”, a book about old Charlottesville recently, I was struck by how the names of the businesses were all people’s names: H.M. Gleason, a farm supply store; John A. Gilmore, a fine furniture store; Sensibaugh-Ritchie, an electrical appliances store. This is the rudimentary beginning of branding. Rather than the small town style of just hanging out a shingle that says “Shoe Store”, these people had the sense to put their name on it. But naming was still very much tied to the name of the proprietor.

Think about other big names we know: Kellogg’s, Campbell’s, Johnson & Johnson, Smith & Wesson. There definitely were non-family names in business back in the day, but they tend to be created much more these days. Perhaps because there are so many of us that a last name isn’t as unique as it used to be. But also in part because a constructed brand name can capture the imagination so much more. It’s another arrow in your branding quiver.

Now, for a coffee. Or is it some coffee?

1. It makes you proud
When you look at your logo, you must feel that you are putting your game face on. Dressed for business. Looking like you have somewhere to go.

It is sometimes difficult for people to take the leap of faith necessary to create something as new and pivotal to a brand’s identity as a logo.  (For practical help getting there, see my post on Top 5 Takeaways). If you are part of a committee that decides on a logo design together, the best case is that everyone agrees on the definition of the ideal logo. The bigger the group, the less likely that is to happen. You may feel less than 100% fulfilled. That is the nature of groups.

2. It is memorable
A logo does not have to be a diagram of what you do, just as your name doesn’t need to be a description of what you do – that’s what a tagline is for. Consider for a moment Nike, Apple, Starbucks, ExxonMobil and Target. None of their logos (or names) give any clue of what they do in their business. But that doesn’t stop you from recognizing them.

Some major elements that make a logo memorable are:
a) an original concept that inspires the brain to see something differently, much like fine art
b) visual simplicity with geometric originality
c) a strong, but appropriate color palette

3. It has a shelf life
Plan on making your logo last a fairly long time — about 5-10 years depending on the growth of your organization. It’s long enough that you want to give it serious thought but it’s also not forever. So don’t worry too much if you’re not able to see far into your future needs or fine tune it enough. Whether through evolution of your business or a change in aesthetic sensibilities, you will have the opportunity at some point in the future to address your logo again.

In the meantime, put your energy into making the logo stand for something. Because even the coolest logo needs a really good organization to support it. Otherwise, it’s just another pretty picture.