DesignThinkers 2011

Last week I attended RGD Ontario’s DesignThinkers. This two-day conference is a mash up of graphic designers, printers, typographers, artists, web developers, photographers, art directors and others all inspiring and pondering under one collective umbrella. Topics ranged from sustainable printing choices, book design, corporate culture, using metaphors in design and, the most applicable to us here at kitestring, using stories to catapult your brand. RGD always enlists such a great cast of characters to speak about design trends and strategies. This year’s DT included keynotes, Eric Ryan of Method, Steve Edge of Edge Design Ltd., and Jessica Hische of Jessica Hische (totally crushin’).

If you’re a graphic designer, especially an in-house designer, it’s easy to get caught up in your day-to-day routine and forget why you wanted to get into this biz in the first place. It’s amazing what a day full of case studies and inspirational talks will do to you to give you that “Oh, yeah, this is why” moment. Here’s a great quote from Eric Ryan, of Method, who started his company when he was 27. The quote is, “have the courage to do it differently”. What a cool mantra for your company to live by. Sometimes different can also translate to memorable. For example, when Method was attempting to break into department store, Target, they teamed up with industrial designer, Karim Rashid (also a past RGDDT keynote speaker), and together created beautiful product packaging that had vibrant personality just like their company. Eric Ryan said that if he and his business partner Adam hadn’t put money into the design of their products they would have never made it on the market.

Another cool thing that I took from this year’s DesignThinkers was (the coolest, most eco-friendliest) paper company, Cascades. Their paper is Canada’s only EcoLogo certified paper manufacturer. Why is that you ask? Because, Cascades makes all of their paper from post consumer waste, in other words, they make paper from our weekly blue bin collections. Along with a host of other reasons why they are the coolest paper manufacturer, their paper mill is powered by biogas made from a near-by landfill’s methane and converted into steam that powers their equipment. WOWZA! Anyways designer friends, start saving up your nickels for RGD’s DesignThinkers now and I’ll see you there next year ready to be amazed.

Did you miss the conference? You can grab some of this year’s highlights from twitter! Just search for the hashtag, rgdDT, and follow everyone’s tweets!

Photos shown above by Spencer Xiong.

Today, the kitestring team carpooled into Burlington to visit our friend Rob at Battlefield Graphics Inc. Rob re-introduced us to the world of offset printing and some printing options that can help reduce our impact on the environment. Chris, Jenn, Meg and myself got to see, touch and smell all sorts of beautiful paper and varnish samples. We talked about responsible forest management and what to look for when choosing the best paper and ink for your project. For those who who haven’t heard, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an external certification that indicates that a product (paper or wood) has been managed in a responsible way – from forest, to mill, to merchant, to the printer and then to us (the end-user). Battlefield Graphics Inc. is a FSC certified printing partner of kitestring’s and also happens to use vegetable-based inks for offset printing (which is pretty awesome). We’re looking forward to sharing more of these eco-friendly options with you soon!

Let me share a little story with you. It’s called ‘When Chris met Jenn’.

You see, Chris and I weren’t always the yin and yang that we are now. In fact, the first time I ever met Chris, we were in a very different scenario…

Enter: Chris & Jenn

Chris was the lead designer at the agency presenting a campaign concept being developed for the company I was working for.

That’s right, I was the ‘client’!

I remember the concept being great – well thought out, met the objective and was beautifully designed. However, instead of this compliment being the first thing out of my mouth, I opted for “Hmmm, you can’t use our logo there. Haven’t you read the brand guidelines”. Chris put a twisted smile on his face , nodded and marked it as a revision to be completed. This is a day that he will never let me live down.

Fast forward 6 years and here we are, steering the ship of our own agency.

At kitestring, we have the opportunity to develop some amazing brands for our clients. We also have the honour of working with some very well established brands each and every day.

In both cases, we understand and value the power that a properly developed and executed brand can play in the success of a business.

Enter: Brand Guidelines.

There’s no doubt that Brand Guidelines are an integral piece of the brand – they help in ensuring that the carefully crafted brand is used properly and consistently when put to the test of ‘the real world’.  It provides both internal stakeholders with an understanding of the brand as well as a tool to effectively communicate with designers, writers, photographers, etc., etc., etc.

The question I’ve been left to ponder for the last few weeks is – how much is ‘too much’ when it comes to brand guidelines? Can there be too much? Can there be too little?

Enter: Reality.

Unfortunately, sometimes reality doesn’t live nice and neatly within a beautifully bound brand book. It’s important to remember that your brand guidelines are just that – guidelines. They’re job is to provide guidance to the creative team and ensure consistency in brand application at all times.

Guidelines should provide enough information and structure to adequately support the brand without enforcing so many rules that it chokes the creative potential.

Remember, your brand is an organic, evolving creature that must fit into an ever changing horizon of advertising and marketing outlets. Take care in ensuring that your brand guidelines are flexible enough to allow you to adapt to this morphing landscape without losing the core essence of the brand.

No doubt, It’s a tricky balance to strike…and so to close… “Jenn’s Guidelines Regarding Guidelines”:

If your brand fits nice and neatly on the back of a cocktail napkin you most likely aren’t providing the structure and support it requires to be used consistently. On the other hand, if your guidelines carry the weight and rigidity of an anvil, chances are there’s too many restraints placed on the brand to grow with your business over time.

Develop and utilize brand guidelines that provide the foundation, are realistic and are flexible enough as not to stifle your brand from reaching its full potential.

- jenn

The holiday season is just around the corner. Have you started your shopping yet? Jenn was telling me today, on the way to a client meeting in TO, that she is almost done all her shopping for her little guy Jack. I haven’t even started to think about it yet. Maybe I better.

What about you? Have you started your Holiday shopping yet? We’ll I have a few links for you to help find just the right thing for that little person in your life. And they are all my clients!

Hit the read more button to get-a-shoppin’!

With Bjork and too Much Denim.

What are you going as for Halloween?

We are! Meg and Chris from kitestring will be at Supercrawl this Friday. We will be handing out big prizes. BIG prizes. Make sure you spot us in the crowd. We will be wearing our underpants so it won’t be that hard !

Check it out!

See you there!

kitestring is celebrating its second successful year of business in Hamilton. Thinking back to how much love went into our brand to launch it as the business we know today, we wanted to give something similar to small business entrepreneurs getting started around us.

Maybe you know someone who should enter. Like a new entrepreneur that doesn’t like to give out their business card because they were designed in some unlucky parent’s basement by a guy who swears by youtube tutorials. Or a new business owner who has gone though the branding, print or web design process and came out the other end with nothing but some dumb t-shirt or a really ugly tri-fold brochure. That is who should enter this contest. Maybe that business is yours.

Here at kitestring, we just wrapped up the design and branding of a new wine label. We are very excited to present it to the world. Take a look below!

What is Leaning Post?
Leaning Post Wines are new vintners situated in the beautiful Niagara Peninsula wine region. Oenologist Ilya Senchuk and business partner Nadia Senchuk have cultivated grapes from the highest quality soil from Ontario`s finest wine region to craft distinctive wine in both red and white offerings. Quality is of utmost importance for the brand in order to successfully compete with VQA Ontario wines.

Logo Architecture
The logo was specifically developed to visually convey a distinctive, rustic, and authentic identity. The logo comes together to produce the look of a cultural, family connection that evokes the essence of a memorable vineyard experience.
The icon works to please your target audience in multiple ways.The illustration subtly mirrors traditional Ukrainian folk art through the use of authentic line work and high contrast. Both the post and the red “i” lean up and to the right to promote feelings of positivity and progress. The perspective angle of the post makes it seem as if it rises into the sky giving it an air of importance and making the piece memorable.

This style was developed to depict the authentic, handmade, and rustic qualities of the brand through the custom, hand-drawn illustration of a leaning post, as well as the high quality and distinctiveness through the clean lines and use of open space. Special attention was taken to detail specific important elements of the brand such as the red “i”.

Chris Farias – Hamilton Ontario – www.kitestring.ca
kitestring creative marketing + design – graphic design, marketing, illustration, web design, creative thinking, strategic marketing, total fun!

Our client, Citizen Kid, is set to open their doors this Saturday on Locke St. in Hamilton.

Chris and I were lucky enough to drop by the store today and get a sneak peak. We were like two kids in…well…a toy store!

The store is beautiful and the toys are absolutely wonderful! With a commitment to providing natural toys of quality, integrity, and lasting value – you can be sure to find something fun, adorable and safe for your kids (or the kid inside) at Citizen Kid.

I promised myself that I would not make a purchase until I had the opportunity to bring my little guy on Saturday so he could make his own ‘selection’ but, I just couldn’t help myself. Both Chris and I left with several fun things in-hand.

Be sure to check out their website: www.citizenkid.ca for further details on store hours and location.

Now…I just have to find room in our house for a playroom. Happy playing!

- jenn

The Hamilton 24-hour film festival is the largest of it’s kind in Canada. Last weekend team kitestring produced a 5 min film titled “O CRAAP!” for the festival.

“O CRAAP!” stands for Canadian Rebels Against American Patriation

The requirements were to produce a short film entirely within a set 24-hour period using three elements randomly selected at a kick-off meeting. These elements were: a line of dialogue (SHOW ME THE MONEY), a prop (CANADIAN FLAG), and a location type (IN A CAR). A celebrity jury reviewed the completed films, and the top films were selected for showing at the festival screening.

We are so excited and happy to announce that Team kitestring came in the top 10 out of 36 entries and Jared Lenover (Kirk) won best actor at the ceremony!

Thank you to my whole team for a fun filled day of movie making. I had a blast and am very proud of the film we produced. CONGRATS!!! We are definitely looking forward to next years event! I also want to thank Martinus Geleynse for organizing the festival and for helping us all to realize how great a city we live in.

Watch the film below…

or click here to view it on youtube

You can see Jared in the production of “Down the Road” this weekend at Hamilton Theatre Inc. For more information on the show here

To hear more of the music in the film click here

Chris Farias – Hamilton Ontario – www.kitestring.ca
kitestring creesign – graphic design, marketing, illustration, web design, creative thinking, strategic markeative marketing + dting, total fun!