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Everyday, I explore the web for current articles and blog posts about social media strategies. These posts are usually divided into helping businesses sell to businesses, businesses sell to consumers (ranging from large corporations to small business solutions), or personal branding techniques to land a role helping with the B2B/B2C listed above.
Yesterday, the Olympic torch passed through our fair city, with thousands of Quinte residents crowding the streets for a glimpse. Despite the fist shaking that ensued over congested traffic, the Olympic spirit prevailed, and a sense of unity and pride was in the air.
(Take a look at the video our friend Trevor Crowe, of Crowe Productions took yesterday!)
The Olympics is an event of, well, Herculean proportions (pun very much intended). And there’s more to it than simply the games. Whether it’s in city planning, architecture, uniforms and accessories, logos or branding, the Olympics is as much about design as it is about the sport. Since its rebirth in 1896, both summer and winter games have seen various attempts at capturing the Olympic spirit visually.
Rumour has it, we like design around here as well. So we thought we’d take a look at some past logos, in honour of the torch run, and let you know our favourites.
Fillmore’s Picks
Albertville, 1992 and Calgary, 1988.
Kathy’s Picks
I prefer Helsinki Summer 1952 for the sole reason that it definitely has the “retro” feel. However, for fun colour and movement I prefer Barcelona Spain – I’d love to go to Spain one day. Calgary 1988 hits me in a nostalgic way because I remember watching Elizabeth Manley win silver in women’s figure skating. It was so exciting!
Bryna’s Picks
For purely nostalgic purposes, I agree with Kathy regarding the Calgary 1988 logo. I think it was the first Olympics I was really aware of, and it held a certain grandiose mystique in my seven year old mind. Plus, I liked those bear mascots!
As a grown up, I love the Athens 2004 logo, but I think it lacks the movement that you might associate with a good Olympic design (ie. Barcelona, Nagano, even Torino). But I still think it’s gorgeous so it’s my favourite.
Kerry’s Picks
I am quite torn as to which one I like the best. I would have to say that it is between three: Lake Placid Winter 1932 (really love the feel of this one and the image of the skier); Sapporo Winter 1972, and Calgary Winter 1988. Funny how they are all winter ones! If I absolutely had to pick, I guess it would be 1972–awesome color combo with the silver and red, it looks crisp and clean (not too busy like some of them) and easy to understand. Love the snowflake!
Shaun’s Picks
Vancouver 2010 as it’s the most sophisticated/modern design of late. Taking the colour from the rings was smart, and they didn’t overdo it with the fonts.
For a complete list of Olympic logo design, check out this link.
What are you favourites?
We here at Engine love it when our colleagues and clients come up with amazing ideas! Here’s one that we just had to share.
The group from JB Printing, in Belleville, Ontario, have created an online charity auction, where they’re selling off Christmas wreaths, made by members of their team, to benefit the Make A Wish Foundation.
Here’s Owner, Teresa Bell’s, take on how this project came about:
It started in October…….at a staff meeting we somehow got started challenging each other to a pumpkin carving contest. Well, the next week everyone showed up with a pumpkin and then we asked customers to vote. We had such fun with it that we started thinking, what could we do next?
With Christmas just around the corner it was natural to think of a wreath making competition, and we always support a charity. Why not put the two together? The Wreath Off was born.
The hardest part was deciding which charity to support. In past years we have done a Toy Drive, Christmas Sharing Baskets and Coats for Kids. This year we voted to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation.
Everyone at JB Printing made a wreath. The rules stated that you had to make it yourself, it had to be a continuous shape and less than 24″ wide. When the wreaths arrived we were amazed at the variety, ingenuity and talent showcased in the various themes.
We are now auctioning the wreaths off, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Make a Wish Foundation. The JB staff are a pretty competitive bunch and we all want to have the highest selling wreath. It’s annonymous, so no one knows whos wreath they’re purchasing. The wreath designers will be revealed after the auction closes on Dec. 14.
Merry Christmas,
Teresa Bell
This is such an ingenious way to engage staff, foster creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, and to give back to the community!
To find out how you can participate in the JB Printing, Christmas Charity Wreath Off, check out this link!
We’re working with a new client, Connie Yrjola, who owns one of the coolest jewellery stores around–Glamour Junkie. This weekend, Connie invited my good friend, photographer and blogger Allison Empey and I, into her store to take some product shots for her new website (which we’re in the process of building).
Connie’s been making jewellery since she was twelve. She works with a variety of materials, and designs in just about every style possible. On top of being incredibly talented and creative, Connie is really, really fun. She said we could share some of the pictures from our shoot here. Keep in mind they’re raw and unedited, but they’ll give you an idea of her work.
From the 'Natural' Collection
From the 'Bridal' Collection
Connie indulged me, and let me wear some of my favourite pieces for a picture.
For more pictures of Glamour Junkie’s unique jewellery designs, please take a look at our Facebook Fan Page.
Glamour Junkie is located at Fusion Creative Collections, 282 Front St., Belleville, Ontario. Or call, 613-967-4438.
I know we (or at least I) tend to limit how we think of certain things. For instance, being a graphic designer, I tend to think of “design” in terms of print, web and sometimes packaging. I also have a love of /for interior spaces and architectural design. Then I will come upon an interior space, a building or informational display and I am blown away by the inspired design and creativity displayed.
One of the things that I love about creative thinkers, is that they can look at something old or generic and visualize it as the basis for something new and different. That is exactly what Zecc Architecten of the Netherlands did with this abandoned watertower.
“The water tower, which dates from 1931, was converted into an unparalled twenty-first-century home spread over nine levels.” That architects converted a watertower into a family home is not as impressive as how beautiful and unique a home they have created. Check out more here.
Exterior View
Exterior View 2
Interior - Kitchen and Staircase
Interior - Bedroom and Staircase
Sarah Rozema-Seaton, Creative Director
Ahh the phrase, “Who inspires you…” There are so many people that I find strength and inspiration from. A lecturer that taught me, design friends with their wacky creativity, and the mommy I know with the strength of a thousand elephants.
I better focus on the work aspect.
There are so many people in the design industry that I find inspiration in. One of the biggest mentors would be David Braun. He was a lecturer from college, and was the person that helped me as a creative professional to get past what I thought I knew, and to do it again to be better. “Do it again, do it in green.”
When I was a greenhorn in the industry, I didn’t always agree with this, but he helped me to push the boundaries and look at things in different ways and become better at my job. Over 10 years later, I am still working in the industry.
This lecturer with his piles of papers (poor trees) had so much to offer. He also introduced me to an author, Edward De Bono. If you are a book geek like me, DeBono has written some fabulous books for creative professionals on lateral thinking. One of his best books is “The 6 Thinking Hats.” It is a book that introduces the power of parallel thinking, by breaking thinking down into hats. Worth a read for anyone in a creative industry or business in general.
Below are the 6 Thinking Hats:
Neutrality (White) – considering purely what information is available; what are the facts?
Feeling (Red) – instinctive gut reaction or statements of emotional feeling (but not any justification)
Negative judgement (Black) – logic applied to identifying flaws or barriers; seeking mismatch
Positive Judgement (Yellow) – logic applied to identifying benefits; seeking harmony
Creative thinking (Green) – statements of provocation and investigation; seeing where a thought goes
Process control (Blue) – thinking about thinking
Shaun Fillmore, Interactive Design
It is so much easier for me to list off influences rather than mentors when it comes to design. It is difficult to come up with someone I would consider a mentor. I would have to say, however, that an instructor named Chuck (think Gene Hackman with a mustache) was the closest thing to a design mentor to me. He is the kind of guy that is passionate about design and was always ready with pencil and tracing paper overlay to show you how you can improve your work (but only if you wanted to know). He is the kind of man who made you earn his respect.
Anyone who was in one of his classes will remember the phrase “distort the frame.”
As for true mentors… that distinction belongs to Sid Molenaar (He is husband to Cheryl – who Bryna mentioned in her post). The writing of this post comes at an interesting time for me. I have been reflecting on my relationship with Sid and the impact that he has had on my life. You see I am turning the age that Sid was when I first met him. Actually the first time I met him was at his surprise birthday party.
Sid made a point of taking me under his wing. He is an intense guy and has the ability to see potential in you and bring it out. I guess that is what good mentors do. Thanks Sid. I still want to be like you when I grow up.
Getting back to design – I thought I would let you all in on some of those influences I referred to.
Joseph Müller-Brockmann (One of the pioneers of the Swiss Typographic style and creator of the grid system for graphic Design) you can see a few examples here
Alphonse Mucha (Best known for his posters – incredible illustrator and painter. One of the most recognizable artists from the French Art Nouveau) see some of his work here
Paul Rand (Best known for his logo designs – such as ABC, UPS and IBM) see his site here
There are many more, but these are the ones that spring to mind first. Perhaps I can talk about some other more current influences another time.
Shaun Levy, President/Art Director
Of course so many people are influences in our lives, but there are always a select few that really impact it–True mentors. For me it was a professor at George Brown College, Charles Fisch, RGD. None of the students really liked him, and ironically enough, neither did I until years later.
It was only after looking back on my schooling that I realized what valuable skills and lessons he had taught me. The importance of preparation, planning and research involved in creating effective design.
Some of these steps seemed like a waste of time when I could be saving the world one awesome design at a time. But it was exactly these processes that enabled me to maximize my efforts, and come up with well developed design concepts.
For most design students it is all about how good your final design piece is, but he wanted to see the process–the thumbnail sketches, the roughs, and that the files were properly constructed in the proper programs. He would always say that it didn’t matter how “pretty” the design was if it couldn’t go to prepress and be printed. So now after being in the industry for about 15 years and working in many different roles from a Junior Designer to now owning my own company, I can say thank you Charles Fisch for all the tedious work that paid off!
Three of My Favourite Resources for Design Inspiration:
Today in her daily newsletter, Commentz, Sarah Evans, PR expert, guest speaker, and all around inspiring gal, offered the following question:
Who is your PR mentor/greatest source of inspiration? This person could be the reason you got into the field or someone who has helped you develop your skills…or has the job you aspire to.
Funny enough, this topic was really timely for a couple reasons:
Yesterday I actually met a woman, Cheryl Molenaar, who’s been inspiring me from across the country for the past two years. I’d never met her, and we’d never actually spoken (!) but there are just some people who’s words and deeds transcend all barriers. The funniest thing was that when we were introduced, she told me that I’d inspired her through my work! (Gratuitous hugging ensued, and also a really great connection for some future projects.)
Another moment came last week when I was invited to speak at my alma mater, Loyalist College, by one of my mentors, Robert Kranendonk. I was with his group of Art & Design students, and I was really hoping that I would have something to give. I’m a writer, not a designer. But the wonderful thing about creative careers is that a lot of the concepts cross borders, and we ended up having a great (two hour long) discussion.
What I’ve learned about mentoring over the past week is that as much as we look up to others, sometimes we inspire them too. I think the underlying, core value of mentoring is mutual respect.
Kathy Filo
In Commentz, Sarah asked us to blog about our mentors. I thought this was a terrific opportunity to showcase some of the people in the lives of the Engine staff, who’ve made a huge impact. All week long, we’ll be featuring our team and their mentors on the blog. We’d love to hear who inspires you too!
If you don’t know Kathy, she’s our Production Design Coordinator, and she gave us a taste of her design work on the blog, right here. With over 12 years in design, print production, and customer service, Kathy’s experience makes her an invaluable part of the Engine team.
Here’s what she had to say about her mentor, Larry Storing:
It’s funny that Bryna should ask us today who our mentors in business are. A couple of months ago I ran in to my mentor, Larry Storing, at the grocery store. I told him exactly this – that I truly consider him to be my mentor in business. I felt great telling him because I could see that he was proud.
I worked closely with Larry in bindery and prepress/finishing operations for over seven years in Trenton at DL Advertising Inc. before moving on to The Easier To Read Telephone Directory, Essence, Design Guys and now Engine. He was both patient and fun to work with, and he considered me to be one of his peers (being a female in a male-dominated environment, I really appreciated that).
Everything I learned at Mohawk College (I have a Graphic Art Production Co-ordinator Diploma) I put into practice with Larry: dark room camera work, film stripping, platemaking, folding, numbering, trimming, booklet-making, quoting, you name it. I did it. To this day it is that invaluable experience which I take with me every day when I design and quote on jobs for print.
Thank you, again Larry for giving me the tools I needed to succeed in our industry.
Remember the Lego house that Fillmore blogged about a few weeks ago? Well, it looks like the old saying is true: All good things must come to an end.
Apparently the Lego house was not the well thought out PR stunt that James May, host of BBC’s ‘Toy Stories’ and facilitator of the project, imagined it would be. After being built, no one showed any interest in buying the home. (Surprise! My seven year old son said we should have bought it, but let’s face it, he’s seven.) And because it was too expensive to move the creation, even Legoland didn’t want it. In a final attempt to unload the house, a Facebook appeal was made, but no one bit there either.
This got me thinking.
What can we learn from the Lego house?
Goodbye Lego house! You were fun while you lasted.
