As I mentioned in the previous post, the Wingnut project led to a spin-off deal for another student. That student was Larry Luk (of Epidemik Coalition fame). The company liked his Wingnut label, but thought his approach, using typography only to create high shelf visibility, would be better suited for another brand they were developing at the time, Firehose. Larry was called to get to work quickly, collaborating with their team to finesse the design. Here’s the result, which will roll into stores come October:

As you might recall, this past winter quarter my Symbols, Metaphors, and Logos class was involved in an exciting project with Three Thieves Winery to brand the company’s new wine, Wingnut.

In addition to their (several) other projects in my class—and the projects from the other four classes they were taking at the time—these guys worked day and night on this real-world assignment. Every student in the group created a potentially viable brand, but only one design could be chosen. (However, one of the label designs led to a spin-off project for one of the students. More about …more

I so recall from a recent conversation with Ric, i.e., Richard Grefé, the Executive Director of AIGA, an opinion he offered as we were discussing an address I was going to be giving at a national student conference not long ago: “Try to help them understand, Hank,” he suggested, “the difference between opinion and effect. The first emanates from the creator; the second emanates from the latter. If you want to focus on the former, be an artist. If you want to be a designer or in advertising, commit yourself to the latter. This can be done for either commercial …more

I know you’ve all heard my mantra: Remember, people don’t buy brands, they join them. True innovation begins with connecting brand value with a holistic understanding of consumer needs and then creating a user-brand experience: Think Starbucks. Apple. Harley Davidson. It’s all about emotions—about discovering what moves an audience. Not JUST discovering it, either, but truly understanding it.

More and more of our graduates are taking jobs at firms that wisely embody this philosophy—companies such as Interbrand, Siegel & Gale, Landor, and Wolff Olins, for instance. This is the Future, boys and girls. Brands are here to …more

Last week, I took my Design History group over to Michael Gilmartin’s studio in a middle-of-nowhere industrial area of Atlanta’s West End. Michael has been building Portfolio Center students’ chair designs for over ten years and is known here for having great respect for the design process and for his ability to work closely with students. Michael can turn a student’s most esoteric concept into a fully realized and practical form while maintaining the integrity of the idea.

In addition to his numerous national awards for woodworking and being profiled in publications such as the Chicago Tribune and …more