Before working at kitestring, I went to school for theatre. Now I find the balance of work and play by participating in community theatre groups such as Black Box Fire. I’ve recently cowritten and directed a show, with my friend Jessica Perkins, for BBF called Death of a Rollercoaster.

Death of a Rollercoaster is a comedic (we hope!) ensemble piece about the last day of a wooden roller coaster, The Great Canadian Grizzly. Set in 1988 at Beaver Tail Island Amusement Park, the show follows Gus, the parks longest standing employee and roller coaster operator/repair man, as he struggles to let go of his favourite ride in the park. Along the way, he meets bizzaro riders and other park employees who are forced to reflect on what the ride means to them. To some, it is a mere heap of wood and steel. To others, it is much more. Through the characters, the play explores the infinite possibilities of a product’s use value.

Working with Black Box Fire has brought many groups and ideas together that may have not flourished in other theatre groups. Jessica and I have a theatre philosophy based on the foundation of community and collaboration. BBF has allowed for this philosophy to grow as so many unexpected people have stepped forward to help us out. It never ceases to amaze me how the Hamilton theatre community will simply volunteer their time and thoughts to make a small idea into something so much more. This is what makes Hamilton and community theatre so special – groups in Hamilton, such as BBF, bring people together and enable ideas to happen just for the heck of it! So if you decide to see our production for any reason, let that reason simply be to join us in a celebration of community, friends and effortlessly belonging.

Death of a Rollercoaster opens a week today! It runs on July 7, 8 and 9 at 8pm each night and 2pm on the Saturday at Hamilton Theatre Inc. (140 MacNab St. N). It’s a part of a special Original Works Double Bill Night with Enter Alice! For more information please visit the Black Box Fire website!

Poster by Justin Nusca

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

Nowadays, with social media and branding being so important to a company’s image, it is crucial to have a presence on some of the more popular websites out there.

The application is surprisingly fast and fun to watch it go through each site and scour them for your chosen username.

Having a presence and active profile on these sites can help your Search Engine Optimization, and get the word out.

Now, mind you, not all of them are important in a business sense, and some of them are not even around any more, but some of the notable ones are behance.net, Blogger, Flickr, FriendFeed, Twitter, Xing, and maybe even YouTube.

Check it out at namechk.com