Studioblog (n): a blog by Studiobanks about design, marketing, internet, business, Charlotte and more.

We're ADDY Sponsors!

Will 1 Comments

For this year's ADDY® Awards Studiobanks created a web campaign playing off of their "Call For Entries" print material.

We were then presented with the opportunity to be one of the event's title sponsors. So on March 6th at the ADDY® Awards you can keep an eye out for our ad in the event program (shown above) and our logo animation playing during the awards ceremony. Both feature the character design of Bloo Empire's Keeley Carrigan.

Here's a little sneak peak of the logo animation we put together this week:

(Project Update) Bourbon Boards Website Launched

Banks 0 Comments

Bourbon Boards is a new company that is selling authentic Heart Pine wood from an old bourbon mill in Kentucky. Board by board they have reclaimed over one million feet of this beautiful wood.

Longleaf Pine ecosystems were once among the most plentiful during the 1800s. American settlers used the sturdy and decay-resistant heart of these trees to construct homes, factories, breweries, & distilleries. Unfortunately, habitat loss and degradation have made this resource extremely rare.

Our friends at Eye Design Studio did all the branding work for Bourbon Boards and we did the website design and development. We just launched the new site to coincide with the opening of the their showroom on South Blvd. Perhaps we should update the Studiobanks site background with some authentic Heart Pine jpegs.

"Plastic Soup"

Mike 1 Comments

I stumbled across this article talking about a sea of plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean nearly twice as big as the continental US. Plastic products, packaging, and trash that have been dumped into the sea are gathering in a "trash vortex" nearly 10 meters deep, and is responsible for killing "more than a million seabirds every year, as well as more than 100,000 marine mammals. Syringes, cigarette lighters and toothbrushes have been found inside the stomachs of dead seabirds, which mistake them for food."

The plastic waste poses a threat to humans as well. Every year, millions of plastic pellets (the raw material used to create plastic products) are lost at sea. These pellets act as a chemical sponge, absorbing man-made chemicals such as hydrocarbons and the pesticide DDT, which are then eaten by marine life, that could possibly wind up on your dinner plate.

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Asana Holds a Media Night, Launches New Website

Banks 1 Comments

Last night, Asana Activewear held a Media Night. It was a PR event that catered to local media, in efforts to make them more aware of the new activewear apparel store. Owner Gary Schwake, spoke in front of the media to describe his vision and goals for the store. He explained how Asana is more that a store that sells clothes but is a hub for the active lifestyle community. Partnering with local yoga studios, gyms, and fitness centers Asana is able to offer their customers with more than the latest fashion trends, but with valuable information about the happenings throughout the active community. It was this unique community hub concept that was the inspiration of the Asana logo we designed.

Later in his presentation he announced the launch of AsanaActivewear.com a website we recently designed. The website offers a directory to find local studios and trainers, a community calendar that you can either post events on or search to find other local fitness events. Also, each month Asana picks a “Hero of the Month”, an instructor or trainer that helps to motivate people to live an active lifestyle. We built a section that highlights these Heroes and gives them their due recognition. Of course the website also allows users to learn more about the store and the brands they carry, but it is the community aspect that Gary is most proud of. Check out some photos we took at the event.

(Pardon the Buzz Word) Webcentric

Banks 0 Comments

Advertising execs are always quick to use fancy lingo and buzzwords. Often times, terms get misused and can get misinterpreted. We position ourselves as a "webcentric" design firm. Perhaps that makes me your typical ad exec—I hope not. In my defense, let me explain exactly what webcentric means.

In short, webcentric is a style of marketing in which the marketer harnesses the power of the internet by centering all their marketing efforts around a well designed website. They bank on their strong online presence to be what the consumer acts on. It is an approach that has been widely adopted because of it's many benefits over other more traditional methods.

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Checkers Unveil a New, Tougher Logo

Banks 3 Comments

In the past, the Checkers have always promoted themselves as something fun to go do. Their old logo was playful and so were their ad campaigns. Last year’s campaign by Greenspoon Advertising featured the cheerful "Chubby" mascot parallel parking a Zamboni Machine on the streets of Charlotte while Mayor Pat McCrory stopped traffic.

Last Friday night, the Checkers unveiled a new, tougher looking logo. A sleeker and more ferocious-looking bear, set against a backdrop of Charlotte's skyline has replaced Chubby in the logo. The new mark coupled with the new “Our Team — Our Town” ad campaign seems to imply that the team is headed in a new marketing direction focused on hockey instead of pure entertainment factor of the games.

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Design Lecture by Muzak Design Team

Banks 0 Comments

You might remember that Studiobanks gave a lecture for AIGA a few months ago. It was a part of their A Lecture by Your Next Door Neighbor series. Well, this month Muzak's in-house design team has been invited to speak. We have been working closely with their team on Muzak's various website projects. It will be interesting for us to hear more about what their offline design process is like. The event is next Thursday. Make it out if you can. You can find details on the AIGA Charlotte site.

About Muzak Design Team:

As the world’s leading provider of business music, Muzak creates experiences that reach more than 100 million people daily. Some of the biggest brands in business, from Aveda to Sur La Table to Boeing, work with Muzak to enhance their brand image in more than 350,000 client locations. Based out of its home office, Muzak’s in-house design group creates everything you can think of—from sales collateral and web sites to environmental design and apparel. The team of three designers and one copywriter create award-winning work to promote sales and the brand.

Who is Keeping You Down and Holding You Back?

Banks 0 Comments

To help promote this year's ADDY® Awards and Gala Show, we've created a web campaign based on the "Call For Entries" mailer and poster designed by Limerick and Hot Sake. It was made for people in the creative industry to poke fun at their boss, a client or any other worthy foe. People can anonymously log on to the site, provide the person's name, upload their photo and dress them up anyway they see fit. From there, they can print it, email it or post it in the bathroom—it's up to them. Share it with the world, because we are going to print them all out and hang them up at this year's ADDY® Awards and Gala Show on March 6th.

Check it out and then let the rest of the world know who is keeping you down and holding you back!

CommandShift3

Robbie 0 Comments

CommandShift3 is a new site created by Jelly in New York. In short:

You are presented with the screenshots of two websites side by side. If you click the screenshot of the site you think looks best, the page reloads and you start all over again. It never ends.

Basically, it's Hot or Not for websites.

We've submitted the Studioblog and the Studiobanks website (they just recently added the ability to thumbnail Flash sites) and they've had their fair share of victories. Regardless of the outcome, it's good clean fun.

Whiskerino

Studiobanks 1 Comments

Studiobanks team members Banks, Robbie and Will have been growing and showing for two months in the biennial Whiskerino:

The Greatest Facial Hair Growing Competition to Hit The Internet.

The contest is curated by Michael of Yewknee.com. This is the third time the contest has been held and second time Studiobanks has competed. You might remember Ben’s mammoth beard during our acceptance speech at the 2006 Addy Awards Show.

For more on the contest, visit Whiskerino.org. Read the Manifesto where we cry out with one voice:

"I WILL HAVE A BEARD! I WILL BE A MAN! I WILL NOT CONFORM TO YOUR RULES!"

We have two more months of the contest. Keep tabs on Banks, Robbie and Will’s growth along with our friends Ben, Joey, Byron, Mizey and Jeremy.