a timely debate
For over a year now, our company has been working with RE Sources for Sustainable Communities and Climate Solutions to create messaging and graphics about the coal train issue. An overview of the issue can be found here. It has been a challenging project. Challenging in the sheer complexity of the issue: the impacts of ...
the devil uses Archer
I thought The Devil Wears Prada had a wonderful insight into the culture of design and the mindset of designers. You may be able tell at a glance that I am somewhat a stranger to fashion, but there was much of this movie I could relate to – none more so than the scene above. ...
this month’s contest: logo evolution
See how a century’s worth of changes have affected eight famous brands. If you can put the logos in the correct order, you have a chance to win $50 from Boundary Bay Brewing Company or Amazon.com, a letterpressed Fresh Ideas book and set of coasters printed by Shew Design. The person with the most correct ...
February contest results
Congratulations to Alec Strand for winning Shew Design’s February contest! It was tough competition, but he was the only one to correctly identify Bethlehem Steel as the answer to Q5 and that put him in the top position! Close behind were Shelley Calissendorff and Christina Wright and Tina S. Maxell Volkswagen. Original text: “Think small.” ...
Komen and Planned Parenthood
The public feud between Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Planned Parenthood is an object lesson in successful strategic thinking. It’s also a sign of what is to come in terms of captivating and motivating an audience. For those of you who haven’t followed the controversy, Komen recently announced they would (in effect) not ...
“simpler is better,” a strategy for making adaptable, scalable event graphics
Event graphics and messaging are great opportunities for organizations to capture interest by exploring different ideas and flavors in their communication. Shew Design takes a branded approach to event graphics, creating a few simple elements that can be easily repeated in any number of other materials. We think of this as our toolkit, with the ...
February 2012 Contest
Greetings and well met, traveler. It’s time once again for your chance to win fabulous prizes from Shew Design. This month’s contest tests your knowledge of some classic print and TV advertisements. The twist? We’ve replaced the original copywriting with quotes from Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets – painstakingly finding passages that resemble the sense of ...
the hidden value of hidden messages – part 2
Hidden messages, conveyed through optical illusions, puns, subliminal messages, riddles, and in jokes, have always played a unique role in visual communications. They raise questions that are fun to ask, but often impossible to answer. More than anything, they appeal to a childlike delight we all share in finding in things ‘hidden in plain sight.’ I’ve read that ...
media, new and old – one company’s view
We’ve been thinking a lot about the evolving nature of marketing, adjusting our services and workflows to reflect emerging trends. While I don’t believe that print is dying (or dead), events such as the recent closure of The Paper Zone make it abundantly clear that print is no longer the thing it was. Today we ...
Powering past coal
The Power Past Coal website was conceived to be a media hub around the coal train issue impacting the Pacific Northwest. For the unfamiliar: the issue is about a coal terminal proposed to be built at Cherry Point in Whatcom County. If built, this would create an enormous influx of trains carrying coal – and with ...
design by committee (but in a good way)
“A camel,” the old saying goes, “is a horse designed by committee.” ‘Design by committee’ is not code for horrible design, but rather bland, unremarkable design — work compromised by being unfocused trying to please too many, while actually pleasing too few. Yet, most marketing work is actually designed by groups of people – much ...
the hidden value of hidden messages
A fundamental principal about marketing communication relates to making it easy for the audience to understand what you’re trying to say. A message that requires serious thought is almost certainly going to be upstaged by less demanding messages. Yet, as I see marketing as the strategic breaking of rules, I can justify throwing the ...
