Stellar “brandscaping” firm in Omaha is seeking team member who worships brilliant graphic design and knows how to break the mold to make it happen. (If “worship” sounds like a bit much to you, feel free to stop reading.)

Are you inventive and hungry to learn? Is great design a driving force in your life? Do you have a killer portfolio and want to thrive with one of the most passionate, experienced creative teams in the Midwest? (more…)

The complex and arcane nature of heraldry might appear to make it redundant in contemporary visual communication. Yet for branding there are lessons to be learned from blazon, the vocabulary of heraldry.

The arms above are those of Catherine Middleton, being those recently granted to her father, but born by blue ribbons and in a shape that reflect her unmarried status. Upon her marriage this Friday, the shape will change to a shield. The blazon for this coat of arms is Per pale Azure and Gules a Chevron Or cotised Argent between three Acorns slipped and leaved Or. This description may seem unintelligible, and, indeed, for most of us it is. However, to me Russia’s Cyrillic or China’s character alphabets are equally unintelligible, as I simply have not learned them.

The use of visual elements to communicate comprehensive concepts and important meanings extremely rapidly is powerfully demonstrated by heraldry. There are numerous terms that articulate precisely the miscellany of colors, shapes, position, attitudes and components of every aspect of the coat of arms. It is not for the uninitiated. Fortunately, various heraldic authorities around the world will guide those of us entitled to the grant of arms in their design. The College of Arms in England states: (more…)

On Sunday night’s episode of Celebrity Apprentice (“Raising the Steaks”) contestants were challenged to create occasion-specific meals using Omaha Steaks products.  The entire episode featured Omaha Steaks products and paraphernalia, not to mention celebrities singing the brand’s praises.  It was amazing!

A few years ago, we wrote about the remarkable transformation of the Omaha Steaks brand position and all of the work that went into it.  We love our clients and are proud that “Oma-Ha Steaks” is receiving such great national recognition!

Sidenote: What dd|a spent countless hours researching and carefully crafting, celebrity contestant Gary Busey took to new heights about 15 minutes into the episode by suggesting a Father’s Day kite… “And on the kite it says ‘Heartland Quality Omaha Steaks Since 1917.’” Genius.

We needed to have a little fun with that and see it come to fruition:

We may not be celebrities, but we’re pleased to see our work getting the star treatment.

Yves Béhar was design alliance OMAha’s recent guest speaker and, in outlining his attitude to design, referenced the need for design to give people a sense of participation. He elaborated by asserting that “Participation is the new brand loyalty.” That is an intriguing thought on many levels.

Fuse Project’s work designing Puma’s Clever Little Bag is both incredible design and environmentally sensitive. For Puma it is a great way to extend their brand presence in other promotional ways, beyond the product delivery end point. The concept is good for us, good for Puma, good for the planet. It is hard to argue with that, although I still wrestle with the tension between endorsing the utility and sustainability of multi-functional design and the desire not to be co-opted as a naive advertiser for the company.

Participation in brands in other senses has included (more…)

At what point does the process of innovation cease to produce unique artistic outcomes? What do you do when you realize that what was inspiring has become insipid? These questions confront Oscar winning director Steven Soderbergh, whose answer is to explore a different process and format of artistic expression.

At yesterday evening’s Film Streams Feature III gala event Steven Soderbergh confessed to his interviewer, Studio 360’s Kurt Andersen, that he could see his retirement from directing on the near horizon, once his next two commitments were fulfilled. Andersen led up to this revelation through some precise, intuitive questioning around artistic themes and cinematic expression in Soderbergh’s extensive body of work. “Art is a problem solving process,” Soderbergh explained. Moreover, as you practice your talents, you demonstrably improve as you become better and quicker at identifying the wrong artistic options. (more…)