The National Tooling and Machining Association, founded in 1943, is the premier center of knowledge for precision custom manufacturing in the United States. The storied organization stands to empower our nation’s manufacturers by providing resources and expertise in business development, education, government advocacy, and workplace development.

NTMA faced a perception challenge. While much of the economy has been in decline, manufacturing still produced gains and has hired more than most industries. The organization needed to tell its story accurately, increase awareness, and inspire in an economy full of doubt.

We developed an evolutionary mark that reflected experience and precision while elevating the brand. An identity system that was flexible enough for growth, yet provided consistency and organization for internal communication. Marketing and collateral highlighted the heart of the industry – its workers – and changed the conversation from dimness to hope. The future of manufacturing is bright indeed.

See the full case study.

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Video Application produced in partnership with Green Tricycle

We are in the age of rebranding. With talk of design and “the brand” being so in vogue, it seems like everyone is racing to update their look. There are many reasons why a company would want to change their identity: to signal a new direction, update an aging mark, attempts at relevancy. What’s not talked about as often is the brand that doesn’t change.

If you’ve been paying attention to the American auto industry in the last few years, you probably recognize that Ford is absolutely crushing it. While the other two automakers were stumbling through bankruptcies and bailouts, Ford raised money the old-fashioned way and posted profit. They reduced costs and increased efficiency, culling a 97 model lineup to 20. For the first time in decades, they’re building beautiful cars.

The latest handsome sculpture arrives in the form of the 2013 Ford Fusion, revealed at the 2012 Detroit International Auto Show. Admiring the new Aston Martin-inspired fascia, I noticed the juxtaposition of a very contemporary shape with the classic script logo. Strange for a second, but somehow a good match.

The original script was drawn in 1909 by Ford engineer and designer Childe Harold Wills. It’s received some soft updates since, but has remained largely the same. In the midst of the constant change of today, there’s something nice about witnessing a truly timeless mark.

The past couple of years brought us the emerging trend of "handmade." In the last decade, the craft movement made sense. It was reactionary, a move away from low quality, big brand goods and services of the 90s. Our lives were getting too technological, too automated. The consumer sought to get their hands dirty again. Thus in the last decade, the artisan was reborn.

Fast forward several years, and the trend is still going strong. "Farm-to-table" is now the bare minimum, cars are built with pride (and by humans) again, and once ordinary items get designery treatments and are sold at a premium.

What's a big, mainstream company to do in the new artisan age? Play along, of course.

In the past several months I've come across three of the big guys touting dedicated bakers, legendary beginnings, and hand-signed delivery pizza. 2010 may have been the peak of the artisan, but with Burger King now selling "chef-driven, artisan-style" burgers, we've hit bottom, unable to do anything but  laugh at ourselves on the way.

New York Magazine has a more in-depth report.

As the internet evolves, a funny thing is happening. In some ways, it seems to be going in reverse. During the early part of the 2000s, the online world had a huge growth spurt. Bored with the limited nature of HTML, developers sought new ways to push the boundaries of the web. Sites got more cumbersome as interactive features and special effects piled on (often via Flash).

Then, the weight of the internet got tiring. Huge Flash websites were bulky and tough to update. People started using mobile devices more and more. Social media took over. All of a sudden, instead of using the World Wide Web for entertainment, we started to use it for information aggregating and social networking. People just wanted content.

And so the internet that has emerged seems to be one that is clean cut and light weight. There have been many developments, but one that I find interesting is the embrace for nostalgia. The animated GIF has proliferated as a trendy "new-old" way to add visual interest to websites and emails. This heritage file format finds new life in many places, from low-brow memes to high-brow fashion email blasts to cinemagraphs to stereoscopic animations.

This phenomenon also seems to be coinciding with similar return-to-form movements offline, such as our current obsessions with analog mediums, artisan methods, and pre-industrial production.

Image Credits: Jack Spade, J. Crew, Field Study, Need Supply, Flipboard, Battle Axe, Twin Sister

It's Christmastime again, and for me that means a trip to Los Angeles, California. It also means a lot of trips to In-N-Out Burger, the popular burger chain from Southern California.

In-N-Out has developed legendary reputation in the fast food industry, mostly from a super focused menu, exceptionally well-trained staff, and good, fresh food. It's not dissimilar from the rabid fan base that surrounds Chick-fil-A restaurants around here.

There's one thing both companies have been into — expanding into other markets. This has led to great celebration in said markets, but I'm not sold.

Being from Los Angeles, I grew up on Double-Doubles, "animal style" fries, and Lemon-Ups. Sometimes, I miss it, being that no other burger chain on the east coast has been able to offer as good an experience. That said, I don't really care for making it accessible in Atlanta.

Part of the fun of visiting another city is getting that sense of place when you're there. In-N-Out feels Californian through and through. It's a reflection of the company's roots. Why would I need that experience in Atlanta, or New York City? Those cities are great in their own right, and offer up other kinds of enviable establishments that only they can.

This is all wishful thinking, and I'm ignoring critical principals of business and selfishly wanting to stunt growth and hating on capitalism and freedom and et cetera and so on. Chick-fil-A has already made its way to the west coast. The furthest In-N-Out has reached is Texas. Until a "distribution center" pops up nearby (stores are required to be located no further than a day's drive from a DC) at least I can still live in my stubborn dream world and enjoy In-N-Out while vacationing out in L.A.

Last Friday marked the third Creative Mornings in Atlanta. It was at Piedmont Park and featured Ben Chestnut, co-founder and CEO of Mailchimp, the creative and wildly admired email marketing service from Atlanta.

Ben’s talk was wonderfully paced – serious, funny, genuine, and full of absurd Keynote effects. He was very quotable:

“Chaos is good. Embrace chaos… or there will be no bacon.”
“Designers are real sneaky people.”
“Humans want to create cool stuff and see other people use that stuff.”
“Cats don’t like hats.”
“Love what you do.”

The last one stuck out the most to me. Ben was walking us through his long road to Mailchimp, and made an important point about how to work: “It’s not about doing what you love, but loving what you do. Love what you do, be really good at it, and success will find you.”

Instead of getting hung up on the “dream job,” sometimes you just have to look right in front of you and make the most of it. No matter what job you’re doing, do it well. This makes me think of a past stint at Schlotzsky’s while in school. It was one of the unsexiest jobs I’ve had, but you bet I was the best cashier and soup reheater that sandwich shop had ever seen, and they probably had the best P.O.P. signs and flyers of any franchise (R.I.P. store #2219).

“Loving what you do” is an interesting look at work ethic, and perhaps even inherent in a good designer or creative thinker. Young Ben wanted to grow up being a cartoonist. He now runs an email company. But you see his passion throughout – in the quality of the product, rewarding environment, and creative endeavors. “We made a coloring book and sent it out to customers around the world,” Ben said, “I guess I did end up fulfilling part of my dream.”

Above: Matchstic designer Alana (left) enjoying snacks from Empire State South and Little Tart Bakeshop.

Photos by Tim Lampe. Last image by Mailchimp. Follow Creative Mornings on Twitter @Atlanta_CM.

Was this an honest stand against consumerism or just sanctimonious, counter-intuitive advertising?

Patagonia sent a strong message, and a complicated one. As a corporation, it’s out to make money, and thus needs to sell those jackets. But with a long-standing track record in environmental activism, the text comes across as quite genuine. On the same day, the company further addressed the matter on their blog, explaining the perhaps overly provocative headline and potential corporate hypocrisy.

If nothing else, I think the piece at least got people to stop, think, and perhaps want to learn more about sustainable consumption. If Patagonia did sell less jackets last weekend, they will likely make up for it with goodwill in the long run.

The full text (PDF):

It’s Black Friday, the day in the year retail turns from red to black and starts to make real money. But Black Friday, and the culture of consumption it reflects, puts the economy of natural systems that support all life firmly in the red. We’re now using the resources of one-and-a-half planets on our one and only planet.

Because Patagonia wants to be in business for a good long time – and leave a world inhabitable for our kids – we want to do the opposite of every other business today. We ask you to buy less and to reflect before you spend a dime on this jacket or anything else.

Environmental bankruptcy, as with corporate bankruptcy, can happen very slowly, then all of a sudden. This is what we face unless we slow down, then reverse the damage. We’re running short on fresh water, topsoil, fisheries, wetlands – all our planet’s natural systems and resources that support business, and life, including our own.

The environmental cost of everything we make is astonishing. Consider the R2® Jacket shown, one of our best sellers. To make it required 135 liters of water, enough to meet the daily needs (three glasses a day) of 45 people. Its journey from its origin as 60% recycled polyester to our Reno warehouse generated nearly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, 24 times the weight of the finished product. This jacket left behind, on its way to Reno, two-thirds its weight in waste.

And this is a 60% recycled polyester jacket, knit and sewn to a high standard; it is exceptionally durable, so you won’t have to replace it as often. And when it comes to the end of its useful life we’ll take it back to recycle into a product of equal value. But, as is true of all the things we can make and you can buy, this jacket comes with an environmental cost higher than its price.

There is much to be done and plenty for us all to do. Don’t buy what you don’t need. Think twice before you buy anything. Go to patagonia.com/CommonThreads or scan the QR code below. Take the Common Threads Initiative pledge, and join us in the fifth “R,” to reimagine a world where we take only what nature can replace.

#6 – IT’S THEIR FLAG, NOT OURS

We pour a lot of ourselves into a project. We want it to look amazing and create success. We want it to make rounds through the annual design awards. We want street cred among fellow designers. Through all of this, sometimes we forget the most important thing about a project – we’re not the owners.

At Matchstic, we prize collaboration. We aren’t the arbiter, but rather a co-creator. Our expertise is in brand strategy and creative thinking; however, nobody knows a business better than the client.

We want what we create to be strategically sound and beautiful, but we recognize it’s all useless if the client can’t wave their flag proudly.

Past Beliefs:

• #1 – We hold each other's feet to the fire

• #2 – We follow through on our word

• #3 – We rise and fall as a team

• #4 – We know the difference between career and life

• #5 – We will be profitable

A while back I posted about the importance of brand mystery. The ultra-accessibility of everything today begs for some buried treasure. People are intrigued by the elusive. They want to dig, to be insiders.

Just recently, an example materialized here in town – a late night eat-and-drink pop-up in the middle of East Atlanta Village.

Dubbed “Octopus Bar,” this mysterious eatery takes over the patio between the hours of 10 pm and 3 am at So Ba, a Vietnamese restaurant by day. It was created for “industry folks” – cooks and bartenders and waitstaff who want a place with good food and drink after work. The folks who find great pleasure in “uni carbonara” and “rabbit wonton soup.”

In the weeks leading up to launch, there was no press save the slightest word of mouth. There was speculation and excitement. Even upon opening, marketing has been non-existent.

“Branding” decisions seem haphazard, with a mysterious inconsistently inked “O” serving as the logo. Menus are trimmed as irregularly as the flow of one post-fusion dish to another. Is that Comic Sans (u mad)? There’s a vague spy-house theme to the cocktails, (”008,” “The Bluff,”) twists on the classic martini and Manhattan. At least it’s consistently inconsistent.

Octopus floats above the prevailing dining trends of the moment. It’s elusive, irreverent, and personal. The success of this bar could serve as an indicator of where we’re headed. Information overload and infinite accessibility have created a craving for the mysterious.

Less in question are strategy, research, “design thinking.” These things make sense to most – we analyze, and make decisions based on our findings. The age-old battle has to do with visuals.

Clients always have a desire to quantify the abstract qualities of design. Will this color or that shape necessarily translate into more units sold? Why should such a simple type treatment cost so much? Business is booming, why would we change our logo?

The simple answer is: a pretty logo won’t always directly influence profit. Many a corporate enterprise do perfectly fine with bad branding. But when it comes to visual value, the answer isn’t always clear. It really just comes down to quality, a degree of excellence. In other words, what do your design decisions say about you?

“All this seems to imply that good design is superfluous. Design, good or bad, is a vehicle of memory. Good design adds value of some kind and, incidentally, could be sheer pleasure; it respects the viewer-his sensibilities-and rewards the entrepreneur. It is easier to remember a well designed image than one that is muddled. A well design logo, in the end, is a reflection of the business it symbolizes. It connotes a thoughtful and purposeful enterprise, and mirrors the quality of its products and services. It is good public relations-a harbinger of good will.” — Paul Rand, Logos, Flags, and Escutcheons