Logos don’t always need a stand alone symbol to be effective. For example, companies like Microsoft, Sony, and Google all have very recognizable and effective logotypes without accompanying symbols. After agreeing that a straightforward logotype would be the best route for the Meyer Foundation for Disabilities (MFD), Oxide pursued several options, eventually presenting two directions for MFD to consider. It was decided that the unselected option shown below placed too much importance on the word Meyer, when all words of the organization’s name hold equal importance. …
In October of last year, we shared some of our photography from Omaha’s Fertile Ground mural. Shortly thereafter, we continued working with the Peter Kiewit Foundation to produce a brochure that describes some of the incredible symbolism found in the mural. This time around, we asked Scott Dobry to shoot the primary image used inside the brochure. …
I’ve imagined for awhile that when I release my first album, it would immediately exist as part of a series of albums. The problem with that plan is that I’m not a musician (or at most, a Not Great piano player). …
As a follow-up to our recent Passenger Productions logo story, we are excited to share the recently printed business papers. We create our fair share of logos here at Oxide, but in an increasingly digital world, we less frequently get the opportunity to see a brand through to full stationery sets. …
In late 2009, Oxide Design Co. was approached by Metro Area Transit (the local mass transportation provider in Omaha, Nebraska) to look into re-branding the organization. Both MAT and Oxide agreed that the organization was indeed in dire need of a refreshed identity in the marketplace for several reasons:
- A lot of public focus is starting to be placed on mass public transit throughout the nation. MAT has a great opportunity to shine at this moment of increased awareness.
- In the past, branding and marketing had been a low priority for MAT because a majority of the riders had no other transportation options. As young professionals and other progressives look to public transit for both economic and eco-friendly reasons, MAT must appeal to a much broader audience that has a wealth of other …
(Note: deadline extended — entries must be postmarked by 31 August 2010!)
I am excited to announce that Oxide Design Co. has been selected by Rockport Publishers to author Letterhead + Logo Design 12, the latest edition in their best-selling series. (Oxide recently had the honor of having several pieces selected for inclusion in Letterhead + Logo Design 11.) Oxide will be responsible for collecting and cataloging entries, judging the design submissions, designing the complete book, and writing all of the text. The hardbound book will be available at booksellers worldwide in the fall of 2011. …
Back in 2007, Oxide had the honor of being on AIGA’s Design for Democracy (DFD) team that developed a set of national ballot design guidelines adopted by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Since then, I’ve been serving as the Design Director of election design for DFD. Much of that work has centered around advocating ballot design best practices to states and local jurisdictions, in an effort to implement the standards we developed. In the past year, it also led to working with the New York State Board of Elections on a redesign of their voter registration form. …
August 7th marks the date of the first annual Farnam Festival. The festival was created as an annual community event at 40th and Farnam (just outside Oxide’s front door). This year will offer a great line-up of bands as well as food, beer gardens, a silent art auction, vendors, and raffles. Admission to the event is $10, and the money raised will be used to convert Farnam Street traffic to two-way from 36th to 42nd streets. The goal is to raise $50,000 by the end of the summer to complete the project. Converting the street to two-way will allow better local access to the businesses along Farnam and will promote the area more as a neighborhood, instead of an exit route from downtown. …
Oxide recently had the pleasure of working with the team at Tripleseat to overhaul their corporate web site. (Developed by Brightmix, Tripleseat is a sales and event management solution for owners and managers of restaurants, banquet facilities and catering operations.) The previous site had undergone a long history of being constantly tweaked to chase the latest SEO trend, with no one keeping an eye on the big picture. The result was a site heavy on verbiage and buzzwords, that sent potential customers frantically searching for the exit the moment they arrived. Our basic creative brief was to build an aesthetically-pleasing site that underscored the ease of the Tripleseat product, with a primary focus on conversion of visitors to customers. …
Not long ago, Joe Hubers (owner of Passenger Productions) came to us in search of a new identity for his company. Passenger is a film studio based out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In Joe’s words, “Passenger is a creative company that employs various media to deliver well-crafted stories for business, advocacy and entertainment” or “We make things.” …