Charpie

Food for Market, a food styling, advertising, branding and strategy business owned and operated by Shannon Charpentier, now has an online presence! Yay for food! We’ve initially created a simple, one-page site showcasing capabilities and offering the necessities for the new business to get off the ground. The new site will give them a pretty face on the internets and world wide webs while we work on building out a more content rich version. Delicioso!

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Heyoh!

Check out our shnazzy new identity piece for Fargo-based firm, Stahl Architects and Builders. The idea behind the design was to create something far different from your typical architecture firm logo sporting either some sort of trendy san-serif font or alas… a Roman or Greek column. Sorry Futura, Century Gothic and Roman Empire, but you’re not needed this time.

We think the logo twists a nice modern feel with an old school carpentry/handyman/craftsman-like warm feeling establishing a sense of long-standing reputation without dropping “Est. 1889” below the name. It also offers a unique and great direction for future collateral that will separate them from competition for sure.

But… the client didn’t like it. Or rather, they did, but it wasn’t the direction they wanted to take. Shucks! It happens though. This is the design business.

So, this will be the only place you see this logo. We wanted to give it one last shiny little moment before filing away. Goodbye my looooove!

Ok, we’re over it. Next!

Just launched! We’ve created a new site for Bethany Retirement Living!

Bethany, formerly Bethany Homes, contracted Charpie to freshen up their existing site. We wanted to create something more friendly and approachable and look toward the positive side of retirement living.

We also wanted to focus on the actual people residing at Bethany and shed them in a new light. There’s so many great stories within the Bethany community that we just couldn’t resist not telling them. So, the site will feature newly updated pictures and biographies of actual residents that will not only keep fresh content flowing but develop an entire library of great stories from the Bethany community.

Additional features include the ability to email residents, look for jobs and careers, apply for admission, and check out maps and details of all their locations.

The site was coded by Jason Hummel of Humjay!

Check it out at http://bethanynd.org.

Thought we’d get a post in to highlight the design of our latest campaign element for the Pedigree Technologies OneView platform.

The campaign introduces OneView’s latest spokesman, Jack (of all trades), as an everyday, hardworking good-old-boy and targets Pedigree’s existing customer base as well as prospects. The landing page design reflects Jack’s desk, littered with sticky notes, loose papers, and the random stuff that collects on the average day of last minute phone calls resulting in change orders, reroutes, equipment failures, headaches, etc.

The design is the beginning of a new approach to Pedigree’s commercial presence taking it away from a possibly intimidating tech approach to a more friendly, light-hearted, “we understand what your days are like” approach geared toward attracting those who shy away from the assumption that implementing such an advanced platform is just for the tech oriented, IT computer geek guys.

We are so super excited to launch our up-and-coming sister site, GrillingAddiction.com, that we just have to give you a visual taste of what’s in store. Introducing the Grilling Addiction logo.

For us, it started as a love for grilling over hot coals in our trusty Weber grills with a cold beer in hand. Now, it’s an addiction. Grilling has not just become a past time or a means of preparing that which we need to survive. It’s become our life.

We want to know every tip, trick and recipe for every meat, fruit and vegetable that could possibly come in contact with a grate. And, we want to share our experiences with you through GrillingAddiction.com

The final design took a couple weeks to finish off and is vastly different than some of the first concepts. We originally went down a road of traditional western-style typefaces and used visuals such as flames and wood grain. Although nice, the designs didn’t pertain to the feel we wanted the site to have — something lighter with more modern lines and easy on the eyes.

Follow Grilling Addiction on Twitter!

New logo for LA based consulting company EcoSet! Woot!

EcoSet contacted Charpie in an effort to help them make a splash in a breakthrough new industry offering green solutions and logistical environmental support tailored specifically for the feature film, television, and commercial industries. Their goal is to reduce the industry’s negative impact on the environment.

While working in the production office of the latest Coen Brother’s flick, A Serious Man, Ecoset’s founder Shannon E. Shaefer helped divert nearly 80% of the set waste which totalled precisely 11.1 tons! Yowza. Read more about Shaefer’s efforts.

EcoSet will help production staffs integrate environmentally responsible practices involving composting, recycling and waste diversion, energy and transportation, client services and general production support.

Follow @ecoset on Twitter!

When designer denim and fashion boutique Luxe contacted me to create a new logo for them, I was faced with a challenge. The store catered to both young fashionable women from age 16 to more mature women with refined style up to age 55.

My initial designs always swayed one way or the other. I struggled to find a middle ground between young, fun and innocent and bold, sophisticated, yet not highbrow.

This is how this design was born. The custom Luxe typeface seems to have two personalities. That of a younger still emerging and developing style as depicted at the base of the word to another as you continue to scan up the logo and the initial personality becomes more defined and even refined as it appears to almost grow and lift off the surface.

Zip zing!

Yay for new work! Recently, an up and coming electric vehicle manufacturer asked me to polish up their image. Fargo-based Electric Vehicles Unlimited wanted something that looked clean and professional that would have room for future growth.

Up until I met them, they strictly referred to themselves as EVU, and their current logo also suggested this moniker. So, this is where I began. Hiding the word “electric” was not something I wanted to do for it was the foundation of the company’s existance. Let’s get EVU out the window and bring Electric Vehicles to the world. Now when someone sees their name they’ll know exactly what they are all about. It won’t be another acronym guessing game.

I also didn’t want to overcomplicate things. I’d like Electric Vehicles Unlimited to have a symbol, but I don’t wanna go overboard with something that overshadows the most basic definition of the business. My solution was to make Electric Vehicles Unlimited a text based logo accented with a well known symbol for electricity - the good ol’ bolt. The bolt also ties the two basic elements of the company; electricity and vehicles.

The room for future growth will rely on the bolt. It will be able to be used with tags and as a physical emblem on the vehicles themselves, and it will create a second wave of branding after the initial establishment of Electric Vehicles Unlimited. For example, check out this spec animation I whipped up: Watch. (Requires QuickTime)

It appears the EU has huffed and puffed and blown down Lego’s brick trademark. Although the patent on the company’s design ended years ago, Lego still held a trademark on the shape of the toy saying that its bricks were distinctive of the Lego brand. The EU thought otherwise arguing that the shape is not owned by any one company and its design is purely functional. Lego has since appealed.

So what does this mean for one of our favorite toy manufacturers? Probably nothing. I don’t think a sea of knock-offs forming a tidal wave of competition and overtaking the king of the brick ring will happen any time soon. It could be fun to watch though.

Check out more with some interesting tidbits on the brick’s origin.

Pepsi is about to launch an entire brand overhaul.

Looks like they’re not only changing the face of the logo, but changing the face of the logo several times over. The widely recognized spherical red, white and blue emblem will take a personified twist when the company decides to turn it on its side and make a little smiley. Sorry, that’s the best way I could describe it. However, that’s not all. Depending on what drink it appears, the smiley’s facial expression will change. For example, Diet Pepsi packaging will have a little smirk while Pepsi Max will have a wide open chuckle.

Mountain Dew will also become Mtn Dew and get a much needed, in my opinion, facelift. I was dang sick of the logo as they continued to try an modernize an old image. You can only skew type and round corners so much.

I can understand the opinions of both those opposed and for the decided rebrand. It can certainly feel like it’s a rebrand just for the sake of some short term publicity. However, as a designer, I know what it’s like to get completely bored with something and a little refresher may do the trick in bringing back some excitement. Is that a good reason to spend nearly $100 million while the economy tanks? Probably not, but who am I to judge.

Check out some more packaging examples at Brand New

Just whipped up this graphic to be used in conjunction with some other materials I’m working on for stencil maker, Industrial Stencil Design. I’m currently working on a new logo for the business as well as a spankin’ new site! Zip zing!

We are continuing to put a new face on San Rafael, CA based production company Dandy Dwarves! We’ve just launched the new website featuring a plethora of new and old work. There are some projects in there from way back in our college years even!

For the site we wanted something that looked artsy, but still played well with web standards. From our research, it turns out to be one of only a few production company sites that aren’t Flash based — which is a good thing. Building the site complient with web standards will allow for better search engine optimization and an easier way to link to specific projects.

I’m surprised at how many large production companies have terrible websites in which you can’t link to a specific project. Can you imagine getting inspired by something and wanting to share it with your creative team or client? The conversation would go something like, “Ok go to blah.com. Wait for it to load. Now do you see a projects link? Ok click that and wait for it to load. Now is there a Directors link? Click that and then click on Joe Schmo. When his thumbnails animate in go to the third one across and second one down. Yeah that’s it!”

We can just send ‘em a simple link directly to any page. That’s how it should work.

We’ve revamped the logo for San Rafael based production group Dandy Dwarves! They really wanted something simple with room to add a little fun later, so I’ve initially based the logo off the Century Gothic typeface. I evened out all the stroke widths, and rounded everything off. A little nip there, a little tuck there, and that’s what you see.

This is probably getting a little old; my Microsoft ad campaign banter. But they just make it so easy. This latest ad is a perfect example. What’s with the line at the end?

“I’m a PC and a human being. Not a human DOING, not a human THINKING, a human being.”

Huh? You don’t DO or THINK? You just BE? It seems to contradict the entire ad showing many people with their accomplishments. Obviously they must have been both thinking and doing. 

If you know me, you know I love to grill. And who love to grill just as much as I do? Well, a lot of people, but mostly my friends and family! So, this year we’ve created a seasonal event dubbed Grill-A-Thon. The idea is simple. Wake up and start grillin’ and keep on truckin’ until you literally can’t stand anymore. We gather as many grills as we can find and get as many chefs and eaters as we can to take part of this little spectacle.

Grill-A-Thon was created as a time to get together with friends and learn from each other tips, tricks, and recipes. You can come and cook, or just enjoy the food. There’s really no rules at all.

What would an awesome event be without a little design for desert? That’s why I created this logo for us and am currently working on a website and some merchandise. I figured I’d through the design in a starry night scene around a glowing grill as is how the event usually comes to rest. So feast your eyes!

Just completed! To help launch the new Redline ‘Redefine’ campaign we’ve completed this quick, action packed animation. It will be used to tag on to existing Redline videos while we continue our work to bring everything up to speed with the new look. Charpie teamed up with fellow production crew Dandy Dwarves and Mike Goubeaux to make it happen.

Dandy Dwarves | Mike Goubeaux

This week will mark the beginning of a brand overhaul for Minnesota-based Redline Performance Products. The company had been widely known in the performance vehicle industry for their snowmobiles, but they’re letting go of the snow-chained vehicles for a more dynamic, all terrain genre. They call it a Sport Terrain Vehicle (STV). Think of a dune buggy after a case of Red Bull, throw in some Fox shocks, a 72hp Weber engine and hit the trail; be it dirt, snow, or sand. These machines truly rock any terrain, and they do it right out of the box.

I got an opportunity to ride one of these devils a couple weeks ago. It’s a thrill that has to be experienced. I’m not a skilled enough writer to even attempt putting it into words. I can say that I about crapped my pants on the first jump I took at the company’s two and a half mile test track. I was not expecting to get the air that I did and was definitely not expecting such an easy landing. It was as if I shot into space and came back down on a cloud.

Getting back to business, the above type treatment utilizing the new campaign tag ‘Redefined’ is the first snippet of an all out makeover. What’s to come? New print pieces, a dealer kit, online video campaign, and a few other surprises. Stay tuned. This will be a fun one to watch.

Microsoft’s new $300 million ad campaign to counter Apple’s PC vs. Mac ads has debuted with a somewhat unusual approach. It kicked off with a 90 second tv spot featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates last Thursday. It’s definitely entertaining, which is not something hard to fetch when featuring Seinfeld. I could sit and watch him eat a churro and probably laugh my ass off for hours. Maybe that’s just me. However, what did the ad accomplish besides seemingly mindless banter about shoe size? Many don’t seem to know, and I don’t think we’re supposed to know.

Yet, anyway.

As much as I dislike Microsoft, they’ve got superstar agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky heading up the campaign and with their track record I know they’ve got something interesting up their sleave. But what is it? So far, the ad is seeing some harsh reviews and they’re probably from people who just aren’t seeing the whole picture.

Either that, or Microsoft just sucks. We’ll see.

Hey, everybody! The TEP Inc. website is now up and running! The site for Thermal Energy Products was designed a couple months ago as part of an identity makeover. We wanted to keep the design simple, clean, and refreshing given that there would be a lot of complex images the user would be bombarded with once delving into the content of the site.

TEP Inc. is the leader in thermal and accoustical insulation covers for very large equipment in factories and plants. Their solutions help businesses maintain efficiency from an energy standpoint. Go green tech!

We’re pleased to announce the launch of the new First and Deli site! We’ve pushed up a simple little one page design for your enjoyment. First and Deli, formerly Barbara’s First and Deli, is an outstanding place to grab some fresh grub in downtown Fargo. I frequent quite a bit and highly recommend the Combo sandwich on the garden vegetable bread. Their salads are great, too! What’s more? They deliver! Yippeeeeeeeee! I think you stop in, though. There’s usually a pretty good crowd around the lunch hour, and that’s always more fun.

If you’re on the Twitter bandwagon, check out www.twitter.com/firstanddeli for the soup of the day. We’ve incorporated Twitter into the site as well. We wanted to make it as easy as possible for First and Deli to update the soups on their site. Knowing they’d have to do it every day, we thought what better way to do it than with Twitter. So now, all they have to do is text the soups from their cell phone, and the First and Deli site will automatically style and update the graphic at the top of the page. Pretty nifty! And on top of it, fanatics like me get the soups delivered to our cell phones as well!

Enjoy!

If you know me, you know I like to grill. So, over a few beers and some minor planning, some friends and I developed “Grill-A-Thon.” About once a month we get together and grill over some hot hot coals from 9am until roughly 2am. There’s no rules, except that the food prepared must be made on the grill. There’s a lot of meat, a lot of booze, and a lot of good times!

Each Grill-A-Thon seems to get twice as big as the previous, so it was time to start branding the event. I whipped up this logo, and am in the process of getting a website up and running so everyone can follow along or even join in on the fun. We’re in preparation of the next event, July 19th. It will be held at Rose lake in Minnesota and feature the live music of The 404.

All are invited! I’ll get directions posted soon!

We’re currently in the process of giving Thermal Energy Products Inc. a little facelift! I’m super excited about the project. It’s been a long time coming!

TEP Inc. specializes in reusable, removable insulation blankets. These fancy blankets wrap around valves, pipes, and other big hot or cold things you’d find in large factories. The blankets will help keep the equipment at acceptable temperatures to help the facilities maintain efficiency and reduce the amount of energy needed perform. That’s my take on it anyway!

The original logo was created by the company’s owner, Mark Walstead, using a some sort of plotter and CAD software. The company has grown quite a bit since 1985, so TEP came to Charpie for a makeover. I didn’t want to stray too far from the original design, so I maintained the ovalish shape. However, I incorporated red and blue, dare I say ‘swooshes,’ to symbolize the ‘thermal’ aspect of TEP’s products. An inner gray oval represents the client’s pipe, valve, etc. to which TEP’s thermal blankets are applied.

We’ve got a website redesign in the works, so stay tuned!

Way back when I was a freshman in college at the Savannah College of Art and Design I hooked up with three like minded achievement addicts: Josh Lind, Britt Spencer, and Kevin Phillips. We all got a long great and each saw a skillset in the others that offered a unique blend when we combined our effort toward a project. We knew we wanted to some day work with each other professionally, so as an excersize we formed a group called Dandy Dwarves.

Within this group we made up fictitious clients and produced work for them as if they had come to hire us in the real world. The work ranged from a simple logo to websites to television production. From this we gathered great experiences in understanding how each of us worked and what roles we naturally fell into. The Dandy Dwarves did eventually become a business and now operates out of San Rafael, CA and is lead by Josh Lind. Although Lind is the last remaining ‘original’ member, we all still work closely on projects together.

History aside, I recently created this minor facelift of our old emblem, the lollipop, to tide the Dandy Dwarves image over until the complete overhaul already in the plans. I did it mostly for fun, but also wanted to see how far I could push the idea.

One of my first jobs when I started as Art Director at Fargo-based marketing company, Sundog, was to develop a new logo for a nearby tool and die shop. Performance Tool & Die needed something sleek that represented precision and professionalism. This is what eventually came of the project. Their original logo had the crosshairs, and I didn’t feel they needed to go. It was a nice, easy way of bringing the precision aspect of the business into play.

But how do I portray the underlying personality of not only the company but the folks that make it up? That’s where the typeface comes in. I wanted it to look as if deriving from a classic, timeless vehicle. I wanted it to look like it was ripped right off the back of a car from a time period when they actually had personality and to own one was to love and care for one, because that’s what you could see in the faces of these employees that worked hard and cared about what they did.