Very cool first play of the season to promote. Usually I skim through the script/book at the start of my creative process, but in this case I found myself reading it from start to finish.

 

 

Artwork completed when the request went out: “This looks great, but could you take out the freckles from the girls face?”

I’m always up for the challenge….

 

 

 

As always, a wonderfully challenging branding brief from our friend, Jim Flynn. Thank you to you and Karen, for your support and great feedback.

Click on each of the four logo’s to see each teams full branding presentation.

Project Title: Brand X Vacation Rental Property Insurance

Project Description: Brand Development/Digital Marketing Initiative

Background: Brand X Vacation Property Rental Insurance is a new player in the market – and up against stiff competition.

The challenges for breaking into this insurance space are multifold – driving the critical need to differentiate and be found.

The properties Brand X covers are vacation properties (homes, condos, cabins, etc.) rented out for short-term vacation stays through the likes of www.HomeAway.com and www.VRBO.com. Often times, vacation properties are purchased as investment properties, for the property owners to realize income during the times the property otherwise would be sitting vacant. However, the majority of vacation property owners do not know what they do not know. As such, they are not aware that as soon as the rental lease is signed and income is realized, their standard homeowners insurance is null and void – because now the property is considered a commercial entity. With this, the property owners are left vulnerable and liable for catastrophic events such as fire, property damage, theft and injury.

Mandatories: (What must be included – logo, address, theme, etc.)

• Company naming (recommended name and rational for why + 3 alternative names)
• Logo and tagline
• Brand positioning, supported by messaging & imagery
• Website design
• Digital Brand launch to consumer market of vacation rental owners
• Recommendations for an integrated marketing strategy, to include –
• Thought leadership initiative (see additional information_
• Organic Social Media
• Paid online initiative –
• Google Adwords
• Google Display
• Sponsored Social Media

And here are some photographs of the teams ‘in action’…

Continue reading “Vacation Rental Property Insurance Branding Project”

Bradley University has a long established, wonderful Study Abroad program. With a reach of almost thirty different destinations, students can study, learn, and explore either for a short interim session, or for an entire semester.

The program needed a review of its brand and promotional deliverables, so this was a great opportunity to create a brief for the Brand Experience course.

Students were in teams/pairs. Here is a small cross section of some of their outcomes: Continue reading “BU Study Abroad Program (re)Brand”

Three years since the last one, a gathering of the Chicagoland graphic design alum from Bradley University was LONG overdue. This one was bittersweet as it was the final one Professor Robert Rowe (a legend in his own lifetime) was attending before his well earned retirement (don’t worry, I’ll pull him back for some adjunct teaching!)

Venue: Fado’s Irish pub. Chicago.

An evening of wonderful company, as more and more graphic design alum, ranging from the class of 2004, to as recent as the class of 2016, collected, connected, and waxed lyrical about all things Bradley, the art department, London study abroad (a common theme among the group), and the world of Graphic Design, while enjoying a pint… or two of Ireland’s finest beer.

Seeing all these successful, talented individuals doing so well in the industry is all the reward Robert and I need. It is reassuring to know that the Chicago design community has a wealth of Bradley University’s finest making an impact.

Thanks for 18 great years working and teaching together, Robert. You’ve been a mentor to me, helped me to push myself as an educator and designer –  and the person I could take out all of my British sarcasm on!

And Welcome Kim Mitchell. Just hired as the new Robert 2.0. Excited to see her help to take the Graphic Design program at Bradley to the next level.

As always, great fun working with the Chair of the Theater department and the Director of the play.

Here are some of the variations along the way…

Continue reading “Picnic – Final Theatre Production of the season”

If any building on campus needed a little ‘curb appeal’ it was the Heuser Art Center. Now, thanks to some beautiful examples of student work from Photography, Graphic Design, Ceramics, Sculpture and Printmaking, we have something eyecatching to compliment the existing art installations around the building and to distract from some of the cracked brickwork and rusting steel.

…. and the finished piece (at least until the Midwest weather gets the better of it).