It’s been a busy fall here at the studio. Many new branding projects!. So much so, we haven’t had time to update our portfolio. Sad face alert. : ( But it’s in the works. We thought we would give you a sneak preview on some of the brands we have been crafting. Take a look at some of the logo identities below. More updates to come! Happy face alert. : D

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

Every time we work with Mabel’s Labels our portfolio of awesome, fun work grows a little. That’s because these ladies know how to do it up right when it comes to online communications. The newest edition to this list is the video below for the Mabel’s Labels BlogHer’11 Non-Contest. Check it out…

From conceptual development, script writing, art direction and even acting, we had a blast working on this project. If you think you have what it takes to enter (it’s not that hard really) click here, join the facebook page and give it a go.

BIG thank you to Fenian Films for their awesome videography! You guys rock! : D

Last week marked my one year anniversary working at kitestring. To commemorate this special occasion, I wanted to share with you some of the things I have learned while designing, laughing and bingeing on candy:

Don’t touch the camera when Chris is directing.

Meg and Chris like their coffee black.

Chris can balance unusual things on his chin.

Forest Green and Terracotta colours are rarely spotted at kitestring.

Jenn likes a good Caesar with all the fixin’s.

It’s not uncommon for at least one Dolly Parton song to get stuck in your head per week.

Chris can definitely turn that frown upside down.

Margaret and I both share a love for plaid patterns and Dinosaurs.

All the kitestring gals wear glasses.

Wendy’s preferred ringtone is Pitbull’s Hotel Room

Candy and toys are never in short supply.

There seems to be an odd love for speaking with southern drawls.

Jenn and Chris are definitely Hamilton’s brand experts.

Brandon has a high tolerance for technology. (“You only have one job printer! Just print!”)

Office items come in many colours.

If you can’t find a ruler to measure, use pixie stix.

Only the gals at kitestring use the printer. Weird huh?

Don’t be afraid to paint on the walls.

kitestring is a cat-free zone.

kitestring recently had the pleasure of facilitating some of Toronto’s brightest minds in a workshop  with the team at the Toronto 2015 Pan/ Parapan American Games.

We were inspired by the intense creative energy that came together to explore innovative branded possibilities for how the Games will be experienced by those who will attend the events.

There’s nothing like the smell of career speed-dating in the morning. Yesterday at the 2011 Communication Studies and Multimedia Networking Breakfast, students were hungry for a taste of what its like to work in the industry. And for those students who’s worst fear would be having to ask, “Would you like fries with that?” this means serious business and serious questions. I tried my best to tell each table everything I knew about how I nabbed a gig at kitestring almost two years ago. I also emphasized that not all jobs are created equal; and that there’s a lot to say about good fitting workplace culture and the other professionals you’ll be sharing it with.  It reminded me how far I’ve come since leaving school and how lucky I am to work with such amazing strategic thinkers who have become the best creative comrades anyone could ask for!

This year, keynote speaker Steve Levy, President of Ipsos Reid Canada, shared his passion for market and advertising research (cool!) while posing the question, “Will change screw you?” This question was really an opener to caution students about the importance of staying on top of ever-changing digital, social and interactive trends as a way to get ahead in their careers. I loved how these points were echoed by Denis Dyack, President of Silicon Knights, who challenged us to own our smartphones without letting them outsmart our ability to manage our own down-time. Nicely played.

Thanks for inviting me, McMaster! #alumnirepresent

In Episode Three of Shoot the $#!T, Chris and his brother, Marc, blow up the kitestring printer.

Check out older episodes:

As life, and business grow in the digital world, it is more and more important to take care of your “virtual assets”.

Using the same analogy I used before, would you let someone else, like a real-estate agent, put your house in their name? Or the car salesman to put the automobile ownership in his own name? I’m guessing the answer to both of these questions would be a resounding “NO”.

Then why do it with your online real-estate, your online vehicle?

As a rule, kitestring WILL NOT purchase your domain under our own name. It’s a very simple process to register with a domain name registration company (there are many out there), purchase the domain (I’m assuming you have a credit card – or you can steal your parents’), and then Bob’s your uncle, you are the owner of a brand spankin’ new domain name! From there, if you don’t know what to do, you can hopefully work with your friendly neighbourhood web developer to get things started! Easy as pie.

There are a few things wrong with letting someone else register for you:

1. Who says they will be around next year, at the same company, or e-mail address? The registration and reminders will go to a specified e-mail address, and if that address no longer exists, then the renewal reminders will just float around, laughing at you until your domain expires and you frantically scramble to get things back up and running.
2. Who says the company who registered it will be around next year?
3. What if things go sour between you and the person/company who registered the domain name? They not only hold the deed, but the keys to get in and do anything about it.
4. You may not be warned that your domain will expire, so you won’t know to renew, and inevitably, your website will go down. The reminder will go to whoever registered, then it’s up to them to either let you know, renew themselves, or let it expire. Too often, we see them just expire.
5. It’s cheap and easy to register a domain name, and you’re most likely paying twice that to get someone else to do it for you, which may lead to other problems (see points 1 through 4 above).

Do you actually own your domain name? If not, you really should. Send me an e-mail at brandon@kitestring.ca and we can go over how you can transfer your domain into your own name, and avoid any of the pitfalls we encounter every day.

Meet Karen, Leah, Kate, Nisa and Katie. Get ready, they’re smart as a whip and coming to a communications department of an organization near you. If you were at the breakfast and didn’t get enough face time with kitestring, email me: meg@kitestring.ca.