Every once in a while, we will consider taking on a “rush” job… When copywriter/content-strategist Elaine came to us asking us if we wanted to help with what she called a “hot project”, we agreed because we trusted that copy/content would be well taken care of (which we’ve found is often a huge bottleneck in projects) with her incredible expertise in the area and she was quite passionate about the client which also happened to be her church.

The task was to create a website for the NEXT Church Conference 2012 hosted by FPC Dallas, where she is a member. We were given about a week and little creative direction except for a rudimentary logo that they wanted to keep since it had already been created and used for initial promotion. With the time factor, we decided to go for minimalism at its best. (Oh, the beauty of simplicity and ah, whitespace! ;-P). But of course, clear presentation and layout were not compromised by keeping a tight, neat grid structure while visual appeal and interest were taken into account by injecting splashes of color against the otherwise bare canvas.

Also, as a social media consultant, Elaine wanted to see networking connections available to the user, which we have included throughout the site. This has been quite useful in promoting the conference, positively affecting registration numbers. Lastly, the site is freshly WordPress-ed for ease of maintenance and modification by Elaine and the conference team.

We hope the conference goes well next month!

CB != British Columbia backwards (haha?) but having to leave inches and inches of snow definitely was a bit twisted. ;-p But 2012 is raring to go so just gotta hop on! Happy New Year, btw. :)

So this project will definitely will be interesting as it is our first foray into the multi-language realm. We won’t reveal all the details of the venture until the site launches but it will be geared towards the overseas market, and in particular, Taiwan (G’s birthplace!). Time to brush up on our Mandarin/Chinese. Thankfully, Y can speak, read and write!

The founders, surprisingly two male, top-notch MBA grads who are NOT Taiwanese, asked for our involvement in first establishing a suitable identity and then designing the overall front-end of the website. “Cindy Box” as they named the company stemmed from “Cindy” being one of the most popular female English names in Taiwan and directly translated as “heart inside”.

With a target audience of women, ages 18-35 who care about beauty products, and more specifically prestige brands (which is very common in the country), we were asked to first come up with a logo to represent the company. Elements of fashion, femininity, and exclusivity/brand name/high-end appeal, along with the culture itself were taken into account in the concepting phase. Using the Chinese name as part of the logo was an option but not required. Also, the owners expressed that they were leaning towards a color palette of teal, white and tan or brown (which we stayed true to except for one where we went for very traditional Asian colors just to see).

{ scroll through each logo via thumbnails or by clicking the image }

The CB crew not only discussed amongst themselves but actually corralled a small focus group of relevant participants for the sole purpose of logo selection. The last five in the slideshow were the top picks. The final logo was selected for its clean and modern aesthetic and the stylized “CB” that multi-functions as a kind of box/enclosure with the faint hint of a Chinese character. The positioning was reworked for web purposes but the elements are flexible enough to be laid out differently based on medium or need.

Final Logo:

Excited for the official unveiling coming soon… and learning quite a bit along the way. :)

PS: Now for G’s annual “brag session” about her other passion: running! So I’ll speak in first person now… Though I adore design, it is always the perfect break to get moving in the great outdoors after sitting in front of the computer for hours on end. :)) And there IS such a thing as runner’s high!

2011 races for some great causes (many local!):
DRC Frigid 10K: 2nd AG (so close — by 3 secs!)
Trinity Levee 10K: 1st AG
Run for Cover 10K: 1st OA
Make the Break from Domestic Violence 5K: 1st AG
Firefly Run 5K: 1st AG
DRC Independence Day 5K: 1st AG
DRC Breakfast Bash 5M: 1st AG
DRC The Loop 15K: 1st AG
Run with the Son 5K: 1st OA
Allen Community Outreach Fall Fest 10K: 1st OA
CZO Run to End Poverty 5K: 1st OA (men’s, too)
American Heroes 10K: 2nd AG (my first off-roading run!)
Plano Pacers Turkey Runoff 15K: 1st OA
City of Allen Rudolph Run 5K: 1st AG
New Year’s Double Half Marathon: 2nd AG, 3rd OA (then ran a relay next day w/ Y but we’ll save that for 2012’s list!)

Heading out (up!) to British Columbia for fresh powder in Whistler and unmatched chinky cuisine in Vancouver… ;-) We’ve been working pretty crazily the past few weeks tying up odds & ends and jump-starting on some really cool projects for 2012 — ready for a break of sorts!

But just wanted to send some Christmas wishes before we’re off. May you be blessed by this season that we celebrate Christ coming and because of Him, Love may abound. :)

Can’t believe it’s mid-December already! It’s been quite a month but we’re in good spirits with the festivity and joy of the holidays and anticipating ending the year on a high note.

After weeks and months of finalizing content, we’re excited to be rolling out First Rate Living! Dave, founder of First Rate (a company that we’ve mentioned we really admire), created a separate entity as an extension of a company culture that he established for over two decades revolving around the tenets of Love, Give, Serve, Enjoy. He envisioned a story-telling site that would capture people living out these values not just within a company, but in their local communities and even globally and internationally.

Over time, he had invested in developing three design elements that he wanted to somehow incorporate in the site: the FRL logo, a banner with the word “living” in various languages, and the image of a hand forming a heart which he believed to be representative of the core of what First Rate Living is about. These were included as integral pieces in the layout.

Also of particular importance to him was displaying his daily proverb which is tweeted everyday so we made that available on every page in the sidebar. The highlight for us was the interactive map that shows all the charities and organizations FRL is involved in. It’s amazing to see its reach both in the U.S. and abroad. What an encouragement of giving and serving, especially around this time of the year.

Look for more inspiring stories to come as the site’s content will be dynamically evolving… (And editable by our client — yep, we <3 WordPress!). It was also so helpful working with a project manager that was always on the ball. Very appreciative of that!

PS: On a totally different note, whose idea was it to make custom client gifts this year? Okay, if it was Y’s idea, he’s making G execute. ;-p Hope ya’ll enjoy when they come in the mail!

Hope everyone had an abundant Thanksgiving and that you’re still full on food, family and friends! We’re not one (two) for crazy crowds and lines/queues so bypassing Black Friday shopping for a quiet day in the studio corner. :)

We recently rolled out a logo/identity for the newly formed ATCG, an IT/business consultancy founded by two young and experienced professionals in the industry. ATCG is the component for DNA strands, and principals Maria and Karthik explained that their core competency would be improving the DNA of a company.

They sent over some images with actual DNA strands as a base but were open to further interpretations. Overall, they wanted to establish a mark that was modern and professional, with some shade(s) of blue as the main hue. Additionally, they requested some possible assistance in coming up with a tagline/slogan that would complement the logo and succinctly convey their vision.

Given those requirements, we came up with an initial set that varied from literal DNA semblances to more abstract concepts, also exploring color, tag phrases, and clear typography.

{ scroll through each logo via thumbnails or by clicking the image }

The client favored the mark represented by curves and dots and connected with the tagline “core changes, proven results.” After further refinement in regards to placement and blue color palette, the ATCG final logo was decided upon.

We are now in the secondary phases of layout and design for their website. Be back soon (-er or later!). ;-)