Perceptions from the Studio

Great Commercial: AT&T's "Lost Dog"

2009-09-25T11:13:00.003-04:00

Blogging has certainly taken a back seat to the new projects we've been working on at Perceptivity Studio, but I wanted to take a quick second to point out one of the best commercials I've seen in a while: AT&T's "Lost Dog" spot, which is currently running.

I think I've mentioned before that I watch most of my television on DVR and zap through the commercials (I know, I know, I should be more loyal to my industry!) to save time. But as we were fast forwarding the other night, my husband actually told me to stop and watch a commercial, a very rare occurrence. It was the AT&T "Lost Dog" spot, which features a little girl putting up posters looking for her lost puppy with UNC basketball star Tyler Hansbrough saving the day with his AT&T phone and the power of social networking. Entertainment Weekly also took notice of this tearjerker in their PopWatch blog today.

The spot is great because it really does strike a chord with its target market. This sort of "viral" everyday information swap has become a daily occurrence for most of us these days. Need some information? Jump on Facebook or Twitter and you're likely to find someone who can get you what you're looking for...whether it's your lost dog, a book recommendation, a business resource or pretty much anything else your heart desires, and it comes personalized just for you by someone you know in some context.

Now with mobile devices like the ones AT&T is touting, these social networking tools are becoming more and more accessible...and some would say ubiquitous. While I've resisted the mobile web for a few years now (because really, I check my email too frequently already!), I know the day is coming when I won't be able to resist the call of a shiny new Blackberry and its ability to instantly gratify my every wish and whimsy. And this commercial is doing its job to encourage me to hurry that process along.

The new Namics logo: boring revamp...or is it?

2009-06-25T09:40:00.005-04:00

I read about the new Namics logo in the Brand New blog this morning, and I instantly wondered what the heck they were doing when I saw the before and after (photo from Brand New):

The original Namics logo, while a little bit odd, at least had some character to it. And they replaced it with a bunch of words set in Arial?? Seriously?

But once I read the background behind the new Namics logo (you can read more about it in the Brand New article if you're interested), dubbed by Heads, the agency who created it, as “the world’s first ‘Real Time Corporate Identity'” I appreciated its genius. While I don't understand what the German words before the Namics name mean, they're actually being pulled real-time from input by Namics employees through any number of methods, like Twitter or SMS. Confused? Visit the Namics website and watch the logo continually refresh itself. It's a random stream of consciousness...ever-changing and reflecting trends in the online world.

Despite my initial reaction, I think this is one of the most intuitive logo ideas I've seen in a long time. It is able to reflect a consistent brand image for Namics while still staying fresh and new at all times. Brilliant.

The Bronze Quill

2009-04-08T09:11:00.003-04:00

I mentioned a few months ago that Perceptivity Studio and Bacon Group, Inc. had won two Bronze Quill Awards of Excellence from the IABC. While Bacon Group kept the original awards, I ordered one for Perceptivity Studio, and it just came yesterday. Thought you would enjoy looking at our pretty new award! (It's a little hard to photograph, since it's clear, so apologies for the bad picture!)

Stay tuned for a post about the new campaign we just launched for Bacon Group's new pre-designed shelter line, called S3 Shelters. If you'd like a sneak peak, visit the temporary website at S3Shelters.com where you can view a slideshow of their beautiful work and enter to win a $50 Visa gift card.

An Eco-Friendly Identity for PURE Inspired Design

2009-03-06T15:06:00.008-05:00

Designing the eco-friendly identity for PURE Inspired Design was an ideal job for Perceptivity Studio. Part green, part fun & modern, I am so happy with what we came up with for this new company!

Interior Designer Samantha Cobos, an established interior designer in the Minneapolis-St.Paul area, became so interested in "green" interior design that she decided to start a new company dedicated solely to environmentally conscious interior design. PURE Inspired Design will officially be launching to the public in the next issue of SPACES Magazine, and we've been busy shaping the identity for its public unveiling.

We started with the logo design for PURE Inspired Design, which has a modern, organic feel with bright colors dominated by a vibrant lime green to signify that this is a "green" company.

The business cards came next, and the two-sided design features the company's tagline, Environmentally Conscious Interior Design, across the back on a bold, green background. We printed the PURE Inspired Design business cards with a green printer, using 100% post-consumer fiber recycled paper.

As I mentioned before, the company will officially be launched in the next issue of SPACES Magazine, and we created a full-page ad to introduce the company. Readers are already familiar with Samantha's existing interior design business, INTERIORS by Samantha Cobos, so we used the same picture so they would recognize her face, and explained why she started the new company. Future ads will feature her exclusive line of eco-friendly furniture and rugs, which are currently in development, but the main purpose of this ad was to draw a connection between "environmentally conscious" and "interior design" which we did with the various images in the ad. The Robin's nest image was perfect, since many people associate a "nest" with their home, and the blue eggs perfectly picked up on the turquoise in the logo.

Finally, we developed a fun website for PURE Inspired Design. The home page features the same images as the ad for brand recognition, and the site also features a portfolio of Samantha's interior design work and a product gallery of the furniture and rugs she is currently developing. Visit the site, www.pureinspireddesign.com, to see more, and to learn more about this awesome new company.

While PURE Inspired Design is currently operating in the Minneapolis-St.Paul area, they will also be offering a "virtual" interior design service worldwide in the near future. We wish Samantha Cobos and PURE Inspired Design the best of luck as the company is launched next month. Thank you for letting Perceptivity Studio build your new identity!

Stinky Cheese: The $50 Logo Experiment

2009-02-18T16:35:00.006-05:00

I read about the $50 Logo Experiment this morning on the Logo Design Love blog and just had to share it with you!

As many of you may know, there are a lot of online logo design companies out there who promise to basically move mountains for mere pennies, giving you custom logo designs at bargain basement prices with un-heard-of turnaround times. It's kind of scary at times for designers like me, because why would you want to work with my company when you could go to one of them for much less?

Well this post is a perfect example of why it would behoove you to run screaming from these logo companies. I always wondered what kind of work these companies produced, and this blogger's experience gave me quite a laugh. That cheese character is just priceless!

The morals of the story?

1. Make sure your designer gets to know you first. There are a lot of logo designers out there. Whether you choose to work with my company or not, make sure the designer you choose is concerned about getting to know your business before they dive head-first into Illustrator. At Perceptivity Studio, we go through our Perception Brief with our clients before starting a logo design, which helps us get to know what makes your business tick, what you like, what you don't like and so on. We've found that it's much easier to get things right the first time around when there's a rationale to go on.

2. Don't nickel and dime your designer. Logo design is a very time-consuming process if you're doing it right. When I design logos for my clients, choosing a typeface alone can take hours as I sort through thousands of fonts in my collection to find several options that will work for a logo, not to mention creating several graphic images that will represent the company (and what they represent) well. Assuming that sweat-shop labor is still illegal, give your designer the budget they need to properly allocate the amount of time it takes to give you some great logo options to choose from.

3. You get what you pay for. If you do decide to go with one of the online logo design companies, you very well might end up with a logo you love. But you're more likely to end up with some stinky cheese.

A company's logo is such an important part of its identity, and I absolutely love working with companies to design or even re-design their logos. Thank you to all of the companies who've trusted Perceptivity Studio to establish their brands. I hope the process was worth more than $50! :)

The Perceptivity Studio Super Bowl XLIII Ad Awards

2009-02-02T09:48:00.007-05:00

I'm not the biggest football fan unless we're talking about the Florida Gators, so I really wasn't all that excited for the Super Bowl last night. At least not about the actually football game part of it, (which really didn't end up being all that bad). I was, however, totally psyched for what I consider to be the main event of Super Bowl Sunday, and I know I'm not alone here...the ads.

Ah, those :30 and :60 budget-busters that all the advertising nerds like me look forward to each year. Honestly, during the actual game, which I watched from the comfort of my couch with my husband, I had my book out and got some reading time in, but as the music signaled a commercial break approaching, I put down my book, got out my notepad, and got ready for some great commercials.

According to USA Today, about 28 advertisers bought a record $206 million dollars' worth of commercial time. They paid a record $3 million per 30-second slot — or $100,000 a second — for their moment of Super Bowl glory. Nearly 100 million viewers nationally watched at least some part of the game and its 52 commercials.

Now normally, I would scoff at spending that amount of money on one commercial. But these days, it might not be the worst idea in the world. Super Bowl ads have always been popular, true, but these days, think how many people (myself included) are blogging about them, posting/watching the YouTubes, watching them on Hulu, etc. etc. Sure you paid for one :30 spot, but in these days of Tivo, it just might be one of the few times you can get people to not only watch your ad once, but watch it again and again and share it with their friends and colleagues. That being said, you won't be seeing a Perceptivity Studio Super Bowl spot anytime soon, but it does rationalize that ridiculous $206 million number just a bit more than it used to.

But I digress. Despite the huge budgets, I wasn't terribly impressed this year. Sure there were a few good commercials, but I don't think that any of this year's ads will make the all-time best list. So in lieu of recapping all of them, I've decided to give out my awards for the best and worst of the night. If you want to see more, Hulu has them all posted:

The Perceptivity Studio Best in Show: Coca Cola's "Heist"

This one isn't getting the best reviews out there, but I really loved this sweet Coke ad that featured a gang of insects absconding with a sleeping picnicker's Coke bottle to the music of Peter and the Wolf. Was it the most effective ad? Definitely not. But it made me smile, and it was the one ad that I personally will remember from this Super Bowl.

Runner Up: Monster.com's "Double Take"

This one is getting good reviews, and I really enjoyed it as well. The plight of the everyman in corporate America with the snooty, good for nothing boss is dramatized by showing the boss in his pristine over-the-top office with a large moose head mounted on the wall, then taking us around the other side of the wall where the moose's other end hovers above some poor Joe's desk. Not sure it's the most timely of messages (because really, if you have job security right now, who cares if you have a moose a** above your desk!), but still a good one.

Most Timely Message: Hyundai's "Contract"

On the flip side, the Hyundai "Contract" spot was not all that memorable or special, but its message will probably be very effective for them. Buy a Hyundai, and if you lose your job, return it with no adverse affect to your credit. With the economy in a less than favorable state right now, this just might make more people consider buying a Hyundai. And their Hyundai Genesis "Angry Bosses" spot made me giggle a bit too, noting that "winning one little award will suddenly make everyone get your name right (it's Hyundai, like Sunday)." Their spots averaged out to a good mix of humor and concern.

Runner Up: E*Trade's "Wings"

Acknowledging the bad economy, E*Trade welcomes people to use their service to "learn to fly again." I'm not a big fan of the talking babies though, so despite the good timing, I didn't love this one. But after re-watching it a few more times, I must admit the cute little singing baby is growing on me!

Biggest Laugh: Doritos "Crystal Ball"

This one wasn't created by the pros, it was created by two unemployed brothers, who won $1 million from Doritos for winning an online contest and ended up creating the best-liked ad in the Super Bowl according to the USA Today Ad Meter. Was it the best ad? No. It relied on the old slapstick "getting hit in the crotch" shtick that has happened in many Super Bowl ads before it. But despite its cliche humor, you have to admit this one was funny. And honestly a bit scary for my industry!

Lamest Attempt at Humor: Castrol Oil "Edge Monkeys"

Who decided that chimpanzees were so funny? Funny monkeys are another Super Bowl stand-by, but this one didn't work quite as well for me. Grease monkeys, haha, get it? And the gratuitous monkey kiss at the end? Yuck.

Runner Up: Pepsi's "Pepsuber"

While SNL was fantastic during the election, it's not doing so well outside of the fantastic Tina/Sarah impersonation. This one was just lame, and a big disappointment considering how good Pepsi's ads have traditionally been.

Most Amibivalent Reaction: Pepsi "Refresh Anthem"

While it was decidedly better than "Pepsuber" I'm still a bit undecided on the "Refresh Anthem" ad. Is Will.i.am really the Bob Dylan of our generation? Sure I loved his "Yes We Can" Obama video, but I don't know if I agree with that comparison, though some of the other then-now comparisons were quite good. The jury's still out on this one. I think Pepsi missed a big opportunity to really show off their new branding.

Biggest Letdown: Budweiser Clydesdales

The Budweiser Clydesdales have been a standard for good Super Bowl ads in years past, and I just wasn't all that impressed with this year's trio of horsey goodness, which tried to be a bit too cute for my taste. Of the three, "Circus" was probably the best, though it reminded me more of the Britney Spears music video of the same name than it tore at my heartstrings. Maybe next year will be better for the Clydesdales, but until then, I will leave you with the unforgettable 2002 "Respect" spot, which still brings tears to my eyes.

So what did you think? What were your favorites? Least favorites? Were you disappointed with the overall quality of this year's commercials like I was? Leave a comment and let me know!

A bit of advertising history: famous logos and Super Bowl Commercials

2009-01-23T09:24:00.003-05:00

Things have gotten very busy again at Perceptivity Studio. Not that I'm complaining in the least, but it's made my blogging become a bit scarce! I really do plan to get some of the fun new projects we've been working on up here soon, but in the meantime, here are a few websites where you can go kill some time learning about the history of advertising.

1. Stories Behind 10 Famous Food Logos
Sure you recognize them in the grocery store, but do you know how these famous icons came to be? Get to know more about the Morton Salt Girl, Jolly Green Giant, Sara Lee, Quaker Oats and the Laughing Cow, find out where Heinz 57 came from, and find out which two of these four icons are real people and which two were dreamed up by creative advertising geniuses: the Gerber baby, Aunt Jemima, Chef Boyardee and Betty Crocker. I love seeing how brands have evolved over the years but still maintained a sense of brand equity so you and I will still recognize them.

2. The Adland Archive of Super Bowl Commercials
While most years I honestly couldn't care less about the football teams playing in the Super Bowl, I most certainly do care about the famous Super Bowl commercials! Super Bowl commercials are notoriously the best commercials you'll see all year, and companies spend humongous amounts of money to make sure their spots will be the ones talked about. (This year the starting cost for a :30 Super Bowl commercial is reportedly up to $3 million dollars, not to mention the production costs to put together that :30 spot. What would you do with that kind of marketing budget?)

Anyway, here is an archive of all of the notable Super Bowl commercials from years past. My all time favorite Super Bowl commercial? The Apple 1984 commercial from, not surprisingly, the year 1984. It's a classic and gives me chills every time I see it. Not to mention it launched Mac computers! Here's a bit of history on the Apple 1984 commercial:

The Apple 1984 commercial was created by the advertising agency Chiat/Day, and Ridley Scott (who had recently finished filming Blade Runner) was hired to direct it with the "unheard-of production budget of $900,000." Steve Jobs loved the spot, so they purchased commercial spots in the upcoming Super Bowl. In December 1983 they screened the 1984 commercial for the Apple Board of Directors, and reportedly the entire board hated it. It almost got pulled in favor of a much safer but much less impactful spot, but thankfully it did run and the rest is history. To read more about it, there's a great article here.

The Apple 1984 commercial is embedded below, enjoy!

Ikea brings holiday spirit to their billboards

2009-01-08T08:25:00.009-05:00

With billboard design, sometimes it's hard to step outside the box, or in this case, the rectangle. There are so many restrictions...making sure that you don't have too many words (because you sure don't want your potential customers to crash their cars!), that your text is readable from a distance, that your message is easy to grasp in just a few seconds, etc.

Some companies get their billboards very, very wrong, but there are a few that always stand out for me, getting their billboard designs very, very right. Like the Chick-fil-A cow billboards. You've seen them...three dimensional cows stand below the board promoting "chikin." Genius!

And I just saw these three-dimensional, holiday-specific billboard designs from one of my favorite places...Ikea! If you haven't been to Ikea, you're totally missing out on a zen-like experience...two gigantic stories of low-cost, but totally stylish furniture and home accessories. But I digress...Ikea has done some great advertising over the years, like the award-winning Ikea Lamp commercial, which I'll embed at the bottom of this post if you haven't seen it. Ikea continues the trend with these fantastic billboard designs, which feature the words Joy, Hope and Love made from families enjoying the holidays with their Ikea furniture. The simple copy at the bottom says "Decorate for the holidays." Which of course has a double meaning, so brilliant!

Now get our your tissues for the Ikea Lamp commercial. This message totally speaks to me, because I'm one of those sentimental fools who gets attached to inanimate objects. Enjoy!

10 things I didn't have growing up, but couldn't function without now

2008-12-24T08:51:00.020-05:00

As part of GenY, I'm a bit obsessive about my technology. I check my email far too frequently, never leave home without my cell phone, and DVR way too many shows. As I was driving down the highway yesterday, I started thinking about all of the things that I'm now so intertwined with I would go into withdrawal if they were taken away, and yet everything on that list is a relatively recent addition to my life. So I thought it would be fun to make a list of the things I I didn't have growing up, but couldn't function without now. These are in no particular order because I tried to rank them, but couldn't! :)

Cell Phone: I'm not half as high-tech here as I could be, but my aging pink Razr is one of my nearest and dearest friends. It goes with me wherever I go, and even sits on my nightstand when I sleep, where it also functions as my alarm clock when I actually need it (my four cats take care of waking me up these days). It also serves as my business phone, so my clients are able to reach me even when I'm out and about. I've been debating whether or not to upgrade to a Crackberry or another of the smart phones, but know that as obsessively as I check my email now, that could be a very dangerous thing indeed! Which leads me to...

Email: While I'm always glad to talk to my clients on the phone (friends and family too), I am a huge fan of email. It gives me a record of everything I need to do in an easily accessible location, and with a few clicks and searches, I can generally find any information I've ever received from a client. Ask me two years later to find some notes I scribbled during a phone conversation and it's questionable (but still likely) that I'll be able to track them down. But the email from two years ago is still safely filed in that client's folder in Entourage. I've had email for quite some time now...my family first signed up for Prodigy (an old school internet service provider) when I was in middle school. I still remember my first email address (KNFJ75B@prodigy.com...and no, I didn't pick that snazzy succession of letters and numbers) and am still friends with one of my penpals that I met on Prodigy way back in 7th grade (Hi Kristen!)...and yes, we met online, but then proceeded to actually write each other real letters...how quaint, right? We also had a 2400 BPS modem that plugged in to the phone jack and a cord stretched across to our computer...dial-up of course. Which leads me to...

High-Speed Internet: 2400 BPS dial-up was SLOW, and painfully so. Of course I didn't realize that back then, but as technology started picking up speed it became painfully obvious just how slow it was. Now with my super-speedy Fios, everything online is pretty much instantaneous, which is perfect for an admittedly impatient me. Which leads me to...

Computers: Like I said, my family got a computer pretty early on, so I'm not sure if this officially belongs on the list, but comparing my computer today to that first computer is such a drastic contrast that it pushed it over the edge. While I used PCs for a very long time, my career in design necessitated a jump to Mac, and I will never go back, as they say. I spend a lot of time with my MacBook, which I have docked to a big flatscreen monitor, speakers and my tablet/mouse, but I can still take it with me when I'm out and about, which is the perfect solution for me. Which leads me to...

WiFi: While this isn't a perfect science yet, I love that I can take my laptop just about anywhere and find a connection to check my email, look something up or kill some time. Airports, restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, check, check, check and check. And even in my home office, I'm not actually wired in. I can work at my desk (where I can usually be found since that big monitor comes in handy) or unplug and sit on the couch or on the back porch just as easily. Which means that information is almost instantaneously accessible wherever I go. Which leads me to...

Google: How did we survive without Google? Seriously. I would guess that at least 50 times a day (which may be a conservative guess), I open Google and search for something, whether it's specific vendors I'm looking for, directions I need (Google Maps), random facts, research I need, etc. etc. etc. And I'm sure you do the same. We all do, which is why Google is so huge. And in addition to the traditional search engine, there are other fun features. Which leads me to...

Google Reader/Blogs: I read a lot of blogs. I think at last count I was over 75, which includes a mix of marketing information, entertainment news, updates from friends, and random info including cat blogs and my new favorite, Cake Wrecks, which has hilarious commentary on poorly decorated cakes. (Totally random, but great for a good laugh when I need a quick break!) I used to have all of these blogs bookmarked and have to go check them to see if anything new was posted (I read fewer blogs at this point!), and then I discovered the magic of RSS. I now subscribe to all of these blogs in my Google Reader, and it magically tells me every time there's a new post. I don't even have to go to the blogs to read them (unless I want to read the comments, but hey, maybe they'll fix that soon), I just click through them right from the Reader interface. (If you don't have an RSS reader set up and you read more than this blog, go do it right now!) When I write in my blogs, the posts automatically show up in my Google Reader and on Facebook, which leads me to....

Social Networking: Before the internet, if you had long-lost friends, they generally stayed long-lost. But since the advent of social networking, I've been able to find nearly all of the friends I'd lost touch with, including my elementary school friends from South Carolina, middle school friends from before I was rezoned, high school friends before the reunion and college friends to network with now that we're all out in the real world. It started with MySpace, but now I'm an avid Facebooker, and it's made it so much easier to keep in touch with my friends and even my family. I'm reminded of their birthdays, get to see pictures of their kids and lives in general, know what they're currently doing, and can easily check in to say hi or comment on any of the previously mentioned items. Facebook stays open on my computer all day, which leads me to...

Digital Music: Just like the ubiquitous Facebook, my iTunes is always playing in the background on my computer, on shuffle of course. I love music and have a large, eclectic library of music stored on my computer and on my MP3 player. Do I have CDs? Yes, but the last one I actually purchased was from a long time ago, and most of the ones I occasionally listen to are burned compilations of various artists. At home, it's a mix of everything on iTunes, and at the gym, my MP3 player has upbeat songs to motivate me. In the car, it's usually still the plain old radio, but hey, we can't be high-tech all the time, can we? Which leads me to...

DVR: Live television. I realize that as a member of the advertising community I should watch it, but since we got our first DVR a few years back, I very rarely do. We record an ungodly number of shows between the two DVRs in our house, and we watch them all on our own time. "What did she say?" I just rewind it to find out. Phone ringing? Pause. While there are still a few shows I watch live (LOST!), I couldn't even tell you when most of the shows I watch are actually on, because I watch them all after the fact. When I was little, I called our very basic cable box the "Fraggle Box" because I knew that when I pushed a button, it would put my favorite show, the Fraggles, on the TV for me. My DVR is one smart Fraggle Box.

So there we are. A ridiculously long post about my technological must-haves, and probably too much insight into my technologically obsessive life. So tell me...what did I miss? What are your favorite old-school technology memories? How many blogs do you read? Leave a comment and let me know!

Top 10 Holiday Eco-Tips

2008-12-11T14:57:00.006-05:00

How scary is this? An estimated 2.6 billion holiday cards are sold each year in the United States, enough to fill a football field 10 stories high. It is estimated that between Thanksgiving and the New Year an extra million tons of waste are generated nationwide each week. In fact, 38,000 miles of ribbon alone is thrown out each year--enough to tie a bow around the earth!

Needless to say our society tends to get more than a bit wasteful when December rolls around. Since being environmentally friendly is very important at Perceptivity Studio, I did some research to find out how I could be more "green" during the holidays. I decided to share this information in our holiday card this year to encourage our clients, associates, friends and family to join my efforts, and thought that those of you whose addresses I didn't have might still enjoy reading them!

Here are our top 10 holiday eco-tips for a greener Christmas:

10. Consider purchasing a live tree from a local Christmas tree farm and then planting it in your yard. It’s beautiful during the holidays, and then you get to watch it grow!

9. Give gifts that can be experienced, like tickets to a baseball game or a homemade dinner, to minimize waste from wrapping gifts.

8. Find out what services your family and friends are already using and pre-pay for them as a gift, like a month at their gym or their Netflix subscription.

7. If it’s time to replace your holiday lights, consider replacing them with LED lights—they’re 90 percent more efficient than traditional incandescent lights.

6. For holiday dinners and parties, use non-disposable utensils and dishes to reduce waste.

5. Save your gift boxes, ribbon and even wrapping paper each year and reuse them. If it can’t be reused, separate the leftovers and recycle what you can.

4. Instead of using traditional gift bags to wrap presents, buy reusable tote bags. They’re only 99 cents at most major stores, and the recipient can use them again and again.

3. Designate a certain hour every night to turn the holiday lights on. That way you can gather and enjoy them together and save some energy—and money—in the process.

2. Send holiday cards printed on recycled paper. The Perceptivity Studio holiday card is printed on paper made from 100% post consumer fibers, meaning it contains no new trees. Please recycle it (and your other cards) after the holidays.

1. Make a New Year’s Resolution to “go green” in 2009, and start making your home and/or office more environmentally friendly.

Need help making your marketing efforts more eco-friendly or green? Eco-friendly marketing is one of our specialties, and we would love to help you accomplish that #1 tip in 2009. Read more about our eco-friendly, "green" marketing services, and contact us to learn more about what we can do to help your company!

I wish you all a very safe, happy and "green" holiday season, and a wonderful 2009! Thank you all for helping make 2008 such a great first year for Perceptivity Studio!

Anatomy of a custom holiday card

2008-12-08T09:12:00.010-05:00

I just finished a fun custom holiday card project for one of my clients, and thought it would be fun to share the process we went through to create it.

Elizabeth, one of my clients from Tanglewood, was looking for a custom holiday card to send out to friends and family this year, and saw my $99 Custom Holiday Card design special in my fall newsletter.

We tossed around a few ideas, but she mentioned that a friend had done a really beautiful line drawing of their home, and maybe I could "Christmas it up" a bit to use on their custom holiday card.

Here is the original drawing, done by Rosemary Williams:

I also requested a photo of Elizabeth's gorgeous house:

I took the drawing into Photoshop, sampled colors from the photo, and "painted" the line drawing to mimic her home. I also added Christmas lights to the roofline and the sailboat in her window, some snowflakes falling through the air, and the little topiary trees on her porch.

After I was done "Christmasing up" the artwork, I created the custom holiday card layout in InDesign, adding the background, design elements and typography that matches the Tanglewood logo I created for them earlier this year.

Here is the final custom holiday card:

Thanks for letting me work on this project, Elizabeth, and I hope you and your family have a very happy holidays!

If anyone else is interested in taking advantage of my $99 Custom Holiday Card design special, contact me soon! The holidays will be here before you know it! Running short on time? A New Year's card can also work well. And we can also help you be eco-friendly with either a custom holiday card printed on 100% recycled paper (like Perceptivity Studio will be sending out this year) or even a custom e-card like I'm currently designing for Bacon Group Architecture.

Perceptivity Studio & Bacon Group Architecture win two Awards of Excellence at the IABC Bronze Quill Awards

2008-12-04T09:00:00.011-05:00

Bacon Group Architecture entered two categories in the IABC Tampa Bay Bronze Quill Awards, and we attended their banquet in downtown Tampa last night to find out the results. We are excited to announce that we won two of their four highest awards, Awards of Excellence, for our entries! Our customizable trade show displays were recognized in the design category and the campaign as a whole was also recognized. It was such an honor, and I am so proud of what we accomplished!

It's been a long process re-branding Bacon Group Architecture from start to finish, but we finally finished their whole campaign, and I couldn't be more pleased with the results! While I've posted bits and pieces of the Bacon Group Architecture work in this blog, I've never posted it all in once place, so here it is, including the logo, corporate identity (letterhead, envelopes, business cards, labels, notepads), niche market brochure, corporate brochure/pocket folder, website, signage, proposal template, trade show display and trade show advertisement.

Again, we are so honored to have our hard work recognized by the IABC, and it makes me so happy to see how consistently Bacon Group's brand is presented across all of their different marketing materials now. (When you're a marketing nerd like I am, these things are exciting!) It has truly been a pleasure working with Mindy Bacon, the Director of Marketing at Bacon Group, to create and implement a new, professional image for their company.

To learn more about Bacon Group Architecture, visit www.bgarchitects.com or call 727-725-0111.

Notes on Efest and the Eco-Friendly Marketing Booth

2008-11-17T13:51:00.007-05:00

As I mentioned last week, Perceptivity Studio exhibited at the Efest Green Living Festival this past weekend at a booth with our green signage partner, Precision Digital Greenworks. I am exhausted from a long two days, but energized by the positive energy from the festival.

Not only did Efest meet my expectations, it far exceeded them! There were over 10,000 people there over the course of the two-day festival, and we met so many wonderful people looking to make a difference, many of whom I hope to work with in the future to make their marketing materials more "green" and environmentally friendly.

Here are some pictures from our butterfly-themed booth:

We had a raffle to win a trip to the Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville to go along with the theme of our booth.

Sarah from Precision Digital Greenworks (left) and I had a great time at our booth on Sunday.

I definitely plan on going back again next year!

If you're a new reader from Efest, welcome to our blog! Feel free to subscribe via the RSS feed if you use a reader or via email if you don't. (The links are in the top right corner.)

Eco-Friendly Marketing: Less is More

2008-11-14T09:32:00.007-05:00

I read about this billboard in Denver here and wanted to share its brilliance with you:

What a clever idea! While this message is specifically referring to the conservation of water, it applies to so many other things, and I think it's great of Denver Water to also use less billboard vinyl--and thus be kinder to the environment in the process--to get their message across. It's a great example of eco-friendly marketing, and how you can be more environmentally responsible while still using that consciousness as a marketing advantage. Instead of noticing the message less, I'm guessing most people will actually notice it more.

I'm off to exhibit at the Efest Green Living Festival tomorrow in Sarasota, so eco-friendly marketing is heavy on my mind. I just got the Perceptivity Studio "Eco-Friendly Marketing Services" brochures (printed on 100% post-consumer fiber recycled paper, of course!) back from the printer, and am co-exhibiting with my clients at Precision Digital Greenworks, an eco-friendly display company (read about their new marketing materials here), so our whole backdrop and banner stands are made from eco-friendly materials...including biodegradable PVC in lieu of nasty vinyl, and renweable bamboo for the banner stand hardware. Our booth has a "butterfly" theme to symbolize the transformation of our products and services to be more eco-friendly. I'm excited to see our whole booth set up in the morning!

If you'd like a copy of our new brochure, which features descriptions of our eco-friendly, "green" marketing services, as well as examples of some of the "green" projects we've completed thus far, leave a comment here, or send me an email and I'll get one out in the mail to you.

Guerrilla Marketing for Obama: Vending Machine "Change"

2008-10-31T08:56:00.009-04:00

It's been a long election season, so needless to say I'm excited to go cast my vote on Tuesday! Which leads me to a very important reminder: GO VOTE ON TUESDAY! We've seen in the past few elections that every vote really, truly counts, so please, regardless of who you're planning to vote for, just get out to the polls on November 4th. It's important, and we are so lucky to have the opportunity to choose our next leader during this difficult time in our nation's existence.

OK, off my soapbox and on to the fun stuff. While I won't get into the politics of either candidate, I will say that from a marketing perspective, Obama's campaign has been a breath of fresh air. Whether you love him or hate him, you must admit that Obama's marketing campaign has been brilliant.

Obama's logo and campaign materials, unlike so many political campaigns before them (and after them, I'm sure) are well designed, not only from a visual standpoint, but also from a branding standpoint. They're patriotic, but also clean and simple, touting "Change" and "Hope" more than the candidate's name, and making these words almost synonymous with "Obama."

To quote a great blog post from earlier this year,

...we are living through the first Presidential campaign that is being marketed like a high-end consumer brand...The typical Presidential campaign logo usually features some variant of the stars and stripes. Beyond patriotism, they have no message. They are pretty much interchangeable between Republicans and Democrats. Obama’s logo rearranges these patriotic elements into an emblem that distills his message to the core: the hope of the sun rising [or, Republicans, is it setting?] over amber waves of grain, with the novelty of the candidate’s unusual last name reinforced in an “O”...And like good corporate logos, this logomark can be disaggregated from the candidate’s name, in the same way that the swoosh instantly screams “Nike” or the circular logos of BMW and Mercedes spark instant associations with affluence and prestige.

There was the viral Yes We Can video:
Yes We Can Obama Song by Will.I.Am

Then there was that 30 minute "infomercial" this week across most major networks with absolutely no mention of his opponent. Not to mention a brilliant Internet campaign including Twitter, Facebook, and an email announcement to subscribers the moment Obama chose his vice presidential candidate. I could go on...

But the item that inspired me enough to actually blog about his campaign was the brilliant guerrilla marketing campaign I read about on Trend Hunter this morning, called "Press for Change." The Press for Change campaign encourages Obama supporters to transform the change buttons on vending machines into a political message for Obama, adding his "O" logo to the button with a "press for change" sticker above it. Genius! Here are some pictures:

Now I'm not condoning vandalism here, nor am I suggesting that seeing the Obama message on a vending machine is going to sway a vote one way or the other, but again, regardless of politics, you must admit that this one is clever, and totally in-line with Obama's brand promise.

I hope that future politicians are taking (marketing) notes from Obama's campaign, and I look forward to seeing how future elections take Obama's strategies one step further as our marketing landscape continues to evolve.

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday. Promise?

Eco-Friendly Identity for Precision Digital

2008-10-28T13:59:00.011-04:00

As a marketing company striving to be more eco-friendly, it's important to have a strong network of vendors with the same mindset to support the efforts I'm making with my clients. So I was thrilled to team up with SKL Marketing to help Precision Digital, a local display company, develop an identity and marketing materials for their new "green," eco-friendly line of product offerings, and to be able to offer their products to my clients as well.

Precision Digital Greenworks, as we named this new division, offers "green," eco-friendly banners, trade show materials and signage using new products designed to have less of an impact on the environment. Their industry traditionally uses some pretty toxic materials, including vinyl, which takes 500 to 700 years to biodegrade in landfills. Now they offer biodegradable PVC, which only takes 3 to 5 years to biodegrade. This and other similar materials, paired with eco-friendly inks, mark quite a transformation for a display company.

The logo for this new division uses the globe and "Precision Digital" type treatment from their existing logo, while changing to a color palette of lime green and brown and adding a handwritten script for the word "greenworks" to give it an eco-friendly flair.

The tagline I developed for the company, "Transforming the way you display," touts their main brand promise. To quote the brochure we developed, "Just as a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly, Precision Digital is changing something ugly into something beautiful." Likewise, all of their materials feature a monarch butterfly against a vibrant orange background.

Here is the tri-fold brochure, which includes a caterpillar, cocoon and flying butterfly to symbolize the transformation the company is making. It also includes samples of a banner design, banner stand design and sign design.

The business cards also features the Monarch butterfly.

And their temporary website also plays on this concept.

We wish Precision Digital luck as they launch this new product line to the public!

If you're interested in learning more, please contact me and I will coordinate your new eco-friendly banner, trade show materials or signage with Precision Digital.

Polished Identity for Control Logics

2008-10-28T13:30:00.007-04:00

Homan Lajevardi has been a client of mine for over a year now, and I was so excited to hear that he was starting his own company a few months back. His new venture, Control Logics, specializes in risk management strategies, including internal controls and audit and Sarbanes-Oxley assistance. And while I certainly don't claim to be an expert on all of the technical details of what he does for his clients, Homan certainly is.

Homan wanted his company's new identity to be very polished and professional. The symbol I developed as part of the logo is made of "C's" and "L's" while still creating a graphic image that stands on its own, both in the circular icon in the logo and as a ghosted graphic element on identity pieces. We added shading and highlights to give the symbol some dimension, and paired it with a clean, sans-serif typeface.

The business cards are very clean and simple...

...and we created electronic letterhead, with templates created in Microsoft Word and Excel.

We wish Homan the best of luck as he creates yet another successful, worldwide company. To learn more about Control Logics, contact Homan at 813-454-2383 or homan@control-logics.com.

Sweet Girly Identity for Elle Diere Sophisticated Baby

2008-10-28T10:38:00.009-04:00

I've known Lauren Castine for 8 years now, and she's one of the most creative people I know. Dubbed "Martha Stewart" by all of her friends, Lauren has a knack for making things look beautiful, from homes to parties to weddings to, now, baby accessories. When Lauren became a mom 7 months ago to the lovely Kendall James, it came as no surprise that Kendall would quickly become just as well-dressed as her mom. And since Lauren wanted accessories to match each of her adorable outfits, she started making them herself.

Lauren and I have worked together on many a project since we met, including the identity for her wedding business, Elle Diere Signature Weddings (she and her mom have planned some AMAZING weddings...mine included...and they make beautiful handmade items like ringbearer's pillows and aisle runners)...

and most recently, the birth announcement for her daughter Kendall.

The identity for her new line of accessories, Elle Diere Sophisticated Baby, combines elements from each of these projects. Here are the business cards:

And the product packing for the headbands and hair clips:

Lauren is currently selling the Elle Diere Sophisticated Baby line at Serrano's Maternity in Brandon. View more of her designs here, then contact Lauren at ElleDiere@gmail.com if you'd like to learn more. We can't wait to see what's next!

Visual Website for Exterior Concepts

2008-10-27T17:02:00.010-04:00

I've been writing freelance stories for Brandon Magazine (a new upscale magazine for the Brandon area of Florida) for the past few months, and that's where I met David Hetrick, the owner of Exterior Concepts. The latest issue of the magazine features his company as its cover story, so while I was interviewing him for the story, I got to know a lot about what he does. I also found out that he was looking to update the Exterior Concepts website, so I've been working with him on a website redesign.

Exterior Concepts is a full-service hardscape company that creates outdoor living spaces with an artistic twist, resulting in spectacular mixed-medium outdoor living spaces for their customers. Their work is really beautiful (check out the Featured Projects and Gallery on the site), and Dave is a true artist.

The new website really makes their work the star, showcasing all of the beautiful projects Exterior Concepts has done for its customers over the years. There's a slideshow of some of the highlights on their home page...

...and the Gallery showcases a portfolio of each of the different "artistic mediums" that Dave uses in his outdoor living spaces, including custom decks, gazebos, fire pits and water features.

I've really enjoyed working with Dave on both the website and the magazine article, and I hope that his business continues to grow and flourish as more people discover Exterior Concepts. If you want to learn more, visit the website, www.exteriorconceptsonline.com, give Dave a call at 813-877-2792 or email ext.concepts@yahoo.com.

Logo Design for The Marlo Laney Group

2008-10-27T10:33:00.006-04:00

Marlo Laney is an enthusiastic, energetic Realtor who just relocated back to Florida after living in Virginia for 11 years.

Since she last lived in Florida she's gotten married and has a new last name, but since the name "Marlo" isn't all that common, we decided to use it to achieve a bit of brand recognition from people who remember her as Marlo Davis. Thus her business in Virginia, The Laney Group, became The Marlo Laney Group in Florida.

As a Realtor, we wanted a symbol for Marlo that would represent what she does (find people homes) without being completely obvious about it. So instead of using a house, we used a skeleton key. Marlo wanted a fluid, feminine script to display her name, and chose a deep red to match the Keller Williams logo she displays on her marketing materials, along with a blueish gray and black.

If you're in the market for a new home, give Marlo a call at 813-846-6328 or email her at marlo_laney@hotmail.com. 78% of her business is referral based, and her customers have said that Marlo has helped them put the fun back into the homebuying process...that they've enjoyed looking at houses, and she made the process less stressful. She really focuses on developing trust with her clients, and always offers them honesty and education.

Welcome back to Florida, Marlo!

A Refreshed Identity for Quality Medical South

2008-10-23T13:27:00.010-04:00

Perceptivity Studio teamed up with Contact Media to create a new identity and marketing materials for Quality Medical South, a biomedical equipment repair and service company.

Quality Medical South liked the concept of their existing logo but it needed a bit of a makeover. We refreshed the heart monitor graphic, type treatment and color palette while still maintaining the integrity of the original design.

Once the logo had been updated, we worked with them on a new website design and sell sheet design for their individual product lines. The new website, www.QualityMedicalSouth.com, just went live.

The sell sheet design has a similar look and feel to the new website, while presenting the information in a simple, easy to read format.

Tampa Bay Green Business Survey

2008-10-22T11:06:00.005-04:00

As I've posted before, Perceptivity Studio is trying to be an environmentally-responsible business, and I've teamed up with a few other local Tampa Bay businesses to start a new group called Green Initiative Tampa Bay that will hopefully help me (and you!) do just that.

We're still in the planning process, so we've developed a survey to help us understand how other businesses in Tampa Bay (and elsewhere if you're not local!) feel about "going green" with their businesses with questions involving opinions, eco-friendly business practices and more. I sent a link out to many of you this morning, but if you didn't get it, here's a link to the survey:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228CHSLD6YQ

The more feedback we can get, the better, so please take a few minutes (it's quick, I promise!) and let us know what you think. I will post more information about the group once we get it going. Thank you in advance for your help!

A New Website for Engineering Matrix

2008-10-21T15:00:00.007-04:00

Perceptivity Studio has been working with the wonderful team at Engineering Matrix since February. We launched a direct mail campaign to let their current customers know about some of their lesser-known services a few months ago and developed a new "look" for their company in that campaign.

Next up? Revamping their website. While it actually went live a few weeks ago during my crazy-busy blogging downtime, I'm excited to finally blog about it and show you the new site now, because I love it!

Here is the home page...actually, go look at the actual home page so you can see the rollover on the menu. When you roll over each of the menu headings, the "Matrix" in "Engineering Matrix" changes...so About is "Engineering Story," Team is "Engineering People" and so on.

The interior pages follow a similar layout. Here is the team page:

Engineering Matrix is very involved with "green" building. In fact, 25%+ of the staff are LEED Accredited Professionals with the U.S. Green Building Council, which is a big deal! So we did a special page on the new website dedicated to Sustainability ("Engineering Green") and even changed their blue logo to green for this page.

We're also developing a complete admin system so they will be able to edit the website themselves, including adding new projects to the portfolio page (which we're hoping to launch soon so you can see all of the amazing projects they've worked on).

This has been a really fun project to work on, and we look forward to whatever is next with the Engineering Matrix team! If you haven't already, go look at the new website now!

Perceptivity Studio will be exhibiting at Efest!

2008-10-16T13:12:00.005-04:00

Perceptivity Studio has been focusing on eco-friendly marketing with our clients for a while now, and we're excited to take that focus one step further--we'll be exhibiting at this year's Efest in Sarasota on November 15th and 16th.

Efest is "a major green living music and arts festival that unites hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals that care about our environment," and we're hoping to reach like-minded businesses who are looking to make their marketing efforts more eco-friendly with our green marketing materials (like business cards and brochures), green promotional items (like recycled pens and water powered clocks), green display materials (like banners, signs and trade show materials), electronic media (like websites and email newsletters) and eco-friendly identities (logos that reflect eco-conscious companies).

Want to read more about our eco-friendly, "green" marketing services? Visit our website and click on the "green marketing" button at the bottom of the page. Want to check out Efest? Their website is www.efest.us.

A More Sophisticated Yellow Tag: Best Buy Gets a New Logo

2008-10-10T09:02:00.008-04:00

I just read on the Brand New blog this morning that Best Buy is in the process of re-branding themselves with a new, more sophisticated logo. There's quite a bit of debate over at Brand New about whether Best Buy's new logo was a good idea or not, and I'm still a bit undecided myself.

As I said in my comment over there, my initial reaction was positive. From an aesthetic standpoint, the new Best Buy logo is certainly an improvement...from a practical standpoint I'm still making up my mind.

It's certainly hard to ignore the screaming yellow price tags currently adorning all of Best Buy's stores, but will we really not notice the new yellow-outlined tag just because it's not screaming as loud? The big-box Best Buy stores will still probably be painted bright blue, and the yellow is still there, just not "highlighter" yellow. I'm guessing the new Best Buy signs will all be in neon, a la the photos from the new Mall of America storefront where the new logo was launched.

It's still going to be obvious that this is Best Buy, and I don't think people will notice them less because of their new logo.

In our Great Logo quiz back in May, Best Buy was one of the logos we looked at. Here's what I had to say back then:

This logo has been around since 1989, and literally screams the company's main benefit (you will get the "best buy" by shopping here) loud and clear in eye-catching yellow and black. In Best Buy's highly competitive retail environment, this bold color combination may be a good idea. However, just because it's bold doesn't mean people will automatically pay attention, so think about colors that make sense for your company before automatically picking the loudest ones.

I said it then and I say it now. Maybe it's not such a bad idea to stop screaming at your customers. Let's see how Best Buy's new logo plays out once it's officially launched.

A New Logo for Natural Baby Source

2008-10-07T13:16:00.004-04:00

Betty Cortez is super-mom. With a handful of kids and a handful of entrepreneurial conquests, she talks a mile a minute and is constantly on the go, go, go every time I see her. So it's no surprise that she's saving the world one cloth diaper at a time with her new company called Natural Baby Source, which sells eco-friendly baby products like cloth diapers to moms around the country.

Natural Baby Source tapped Perceptivity Studio to design a new logo for their revamped e-store, tasking us to come up with something that was fun and whimsical while still projecting a professional image to customers and emphasizing that the company focuses on "green" products. Given our commitment to eco-friendly marketing and the "green" movement in general, we were excited to work with a company whose main goal was providing eco-friendly alternatives to families.

The logo that Betty chose features a baby hanging from a tree in a green sling. It's sweet and simple, and looks great on the website that Betty had already put together for the company. The new identity and e-store look very tailored and professional and really make Natural Baby Source stand apart from their competitors.

We're glad to have been able to help Natural Baby Source develop a professional identity to differentiate their company, and we look forward to hearing updates on Betty's success with this and other projects.

To learn more about Natural Baby Source and the whole cloth diapering phenomenon (which is a whole lot less scary than it sounds!), visit their website, or contact Betty Cortez at betty@naturalbabysource.com.

Long time, no blog!

2008-10-06T09:53:00.004-04:00

The good news is that I've been very busy here at Perceptivity Studio. The bad news is it's been nearly a month since I've blogged! In that month, we've wrapped up a lot of really great projects for our clients, so I'm going to make a real effort to post some of that work...soon, I promise!

Get a Mac: Stop Switching to Mac!

2008-09-10T08:25:00.005-04:00

I went to the CNN website this morning to see how the Large Hadron Collider's first test went (If you missed hearing the controversy, there was a good chance that this crazy particle accelerator in Switzerland, which was attempting to create the conditions just prior to the big bang, was going to open up a black hole that would suck up the earth, killing us all, when it fired up for the first time while we slept last night here in the US...needless to say, this didn't happen. But still!) when I saw one of the most clever online advertisements I've ever seen, and I wasn't the least bit surprised that it was an ad by our friends at Apple, called Stop Switching to Mac! (their exclamation point, not mine)

The Mac-PC campaign, called the "Get a Mac" campaign, has been brilliant since the beginning in 2006. While I am a notorious DVR user (I know, I know, I'm a traitor to my industry, but really, I don't have time to watch things live anymore), I will always stop fast-forwarding through commercials when I see a new Mac-PC commercial zipping by. The Mac and PC characters are perfectly cast, the writing is hilarious and, as a Mac user myself, the messages are SO TRUE! Not to mention the use of white space (every designer's dream) and the recognizable music (come on, you know you can hum along with it in your head).

The interactive Get a Mac ad I saw this morning on the CNN page used the banner at the top of the page, along with a wide skyscraper ad down the right side of the page. At the top was "Mac" talking to "PC" on the side, who had written an article entitled "Stop Switching to Mac!" Hilarity ensues.

Here is a YouTube of the live action from Stop Switching to Mac! (give it a few seconds and they will turn the sound on):

Who needs static online advertising when you can so cleverly use live action in a non-obtrusive way? The Stop Switching to Mac! ad doesn't "bug" you (one of my pet peeves) until you turn the sound on, and you even have the option to replay the ad when it's over, which of course I did...several times. Isn't that exactly what you want your customers to do? In a saturated media environment, Apple's Get a Mac ads are some of the few that actually break through the clutter and make me take notice. And while I'm already a customer, I feel like I still learn new things about one of my favorite brands every time I watch their ads, which as a customer, I appreciate.

Well done, Apple. If you've missed a couple of the Get a Mac ads, you can watch all of them here on the Apple website.

What is a brand?

2008-08-22T09:16:00.004-04:00

The word "brand" gets thrown around a lot these days. (I know I use it all the time.) But what is a brand?

A brand in a marketing sense is essentially everything that has to do with a company or product. It's not only the visual logo and identity as the term is often used, but it's also how people feel about a product, and all of their experiences with that product, both positive and negative. Companies try to influence brand perception with advertising and marketing...I should know, it's my job...but a brand isn't something physical you can hold in your hand. It's an intangible, ephemeral concept that can determine the success or failure of a company. To put it simply, it's quite a powerful little word influenced by more factors than you can count on your fingers and toes.

I read today in the Brand New blog that the Department of Psychology at Harvard University is currently running a "mind study" that examines how people perceive the 'mental' capacities of corporations. Here's how Harvard explains it:

Every day we buy products from a variety of corporations. Each of them employs marketers to see into your mind - the mind of their consumer. Here is your opportunity to turn the tables and evaluate their minds. Of course, corporations do not have minds in the normal sense, but they do possess certain abilities. We are interested in how people perceive the mental capacities of corporations.

It's essentially an exercise to see how you perceive the brands of the 13 companies they're testing. First you meet the companies, ranging from companies most people like (Google, Whole Foods) to companies most people are ambivalent about (Playtex, TWA) to companies most people despise (Phillip Morris, Enron). Next you're given a series of tests to take — the first one I took was "Harm" and others include Worth, Punishment, Morality, Guilt and Desire — that take between 5 and 10 minutes to complete. You're given a series of match-ups of two of the companies on the list...so in my first quiz, I was asked, "If you were forced to harm one of these corporations, which one would it be more painful for you to harm?" Based on my results, here is how I ranked the 13 companies they were testing.

Google
=Disney
=Apple
Toys 'R' Us
=Ben and Jerry's
Starbucks
Whole Foods Market
Playtex
Walmart
Trans World Airlines
Enron
Exxon
Phillip Morris

Google, Disney and Apple are tied for first because I love them all and couldn't inflict any pain upon any of them, then Toys R Us because it's a happy place, then Starbucks and Ben & Jerry's are tied for 3rd because they're both guilty pleasures. Next comes Whole Foods, which I don't actually patronize, but I think well of, then Playtex, which I don't really feel one way or the other toward, followed by Walmart, which I'm not a big fan of to say the least, then TWA, which doesn't exist anymore so I didn't feel so bad inflicting pain on it, followed by my three least favorite companies on the list, Enron, Exxon and Phillip Morris. I obviously feel stronger about high gas prices and smoking than I do about corporate scandal.

My results didn't surprise me much...given the list of companies, I probably would have ranked them similarly, with just a few changes in the middle perhaps. But it's interesting to see how emotions can be tied to our feelings about a company's brand, especially in the circumstances Harvard is asking us to put them in.

How do you rank the companies? Take the quiz and find out if your perceptions are in line with your actions. And see why even though a company might spend billions on marketing, or "branding" themselves, there are so many other factors that influence consumers' perception.

Eco-Friendly Marketing

2008-08-20T09:08:00.006-04:00

I just took the Design Can Change pledge to make Perceptivity Studio a more eco-friendly design studio. There’s nothing particularly strict about the effort, it’s really just a set of guidelines that gets the ball rolling. It's something we've already been moving toward, but today was an official commitment to making it happen. Over the next few months we're going to make an effort to not only make our business more eco-friendly, but also to help our clients produce more eco-friendly marketing as well. Stay tuned for more blog posts on eco-friendly marketing topics you can think about on our next projects together.

We've already started helping our clients be more eco-friendly with their marketing efforts. We've talked a bit in the past about our efforts in green printing for Tanglewood and Accelerated Momentum. While it does cost a bit more to print with a green printer, it's wonderful to see tangible results of the actual difference you're making by spending just a bit more money.

Of course the "feel good" aspect can only take you so far, and eco-friendly marketing can also be a smart marketing decision, especially in an industry where being "green" is becoming more important, like construction, architecture and engineering. Perceptivity Studio has been helping our clients in these industries explore different ways to promote their LEED (which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a designation by the U.S. Green Building Council to signify sustainable building practices) services.

We already mentioned printing Tanglewood's business cards with a green printer, and we just recently printed their letterhead and envelopes with a green printer as well. This development and construction company is part of the USGBC, and spends extra time and money to incorporate green building practices in their historic renovations and new construction. It was important to them to produce eco-friendly marketing materials, and we added a "100% Recycled" symbol to each piece to let their customers know that they'd made the effort to be more responsible.

Bacon Group Architecture is also a member of the USGBC, and principal architect Rick Bacon is a LEED Accredited Professional, meaning that he's passed the test to prove he has the knowledge and skills to successfully steward the LEED certification process. Bacon Group has mentioned their sustainable architecture services in their company brochure and on the home page of their website, and we're working on a cut sheet for their brochure to explain the LEED certification process to their customers, since it can be a bit confusing. Bacon Group's eco-friendly identity package was all printed on recycled paper as well.

Engineering Matrix is also a member of the USGBC, and a good chunk of their staff has obtained LEED AP status. Many of their projects have obtained or are in the process of obtaining LEED certification. We highlighted their Eckerd College Iota Complex project in a direct mail campaign a few months ago, and we've developed a very "green" sustainability page on their new website, launching soon. (Stay tuned for more on this fun project!)

We're very lucky to have clients who share some of our sustainable philosophies, and we really look forward to helping you all learn more about the small steps you can take to be more eco-friendly with your marketing and business over the next few months.

If you have any specific eco-friendly marketing questions you'd like answered or topics you'd like us to cover, leave a comment or email us. In the meantime, consider visiting the Design Can Change website. Their Resources section has all kinds of good information to get you started being more eco-friendly with your business!

Yummy Menu Brochure for Bonetti's Catering

2008-08-18T09:09:00.008-04:00

Bonetti's Catering is a new catering company with much older roots. An offshoot of Gino's NY Style Pizzeria, which has been in the Tampa Bay area for almost 20 years, Bonetti's Catering is now serving the delicious Italian cuisine of Chef Gino Bonetti at events from 20 - 200 people.

I was approached by Leah Bonetti (a referral from a client at Engineering Matrix...thanks Jamie!) to create a menu brochure for the company. Let me tell you, the stunning photography and delicious food descriptions were quite an inspiration (and a distraction to my stomach!), and I'm so happy with the finished product--a gorgeous 12-page booklet that we're printing in full color on coated paper to really showcase the food and project a professional image. The final design features rich textures and "hand-stitched" borders throughout the booklet that complement the family-owned company and their home-style Italian cuisine.

Here is the cover:

And one of the inside spreads:

Hungry yet? We wish Bonetti's Catering the best of luck as they launch this new chapter in their family history. I have a rumbling feeling in my stomach that they'll be quite successful!

Want to learn more? Visit the Bonetti's Catering website, call 727-789-6883, or email them at info@bonettiscatering.com .

Ruby Tuesday Demolition: A "Cheeky" Viral Marketing Stunt

2008-08-06T15:46:00.008-04:00

I was intrigued when I saw the following Ruby Tuesday commercial on TV on Monday night, and made a mental note to myself to go check out their website at 3pm on Tuesday.

I should learn not to depend on mental notes, because I just now remembered (on Wednesday!) that I was supposed to go watch the live Ruby Tuesday demolition. I went to the Ruby Tuesday website to see if they'd posted the demolition there for those of us with memory problems, but it appears that this was a viral marketing stunt by Ruby Tuesday, and a disappointing one at that.

The premise was that the newly re-branded Ruby Tuesday, which recently adopted a new logo

and more upscale interior design for their restaurants (which is a big improvement, if you haven't been there lately...still not a huge fan of the food though!), was going to demolish their last "old" store live on the internet to symbolize how different they had now become from other casual dining restaurants. Here's a video of the result:

Apparently, the demolition crew "accidentally" blew up Cheeky's Bar & Grill next door instead due to its "sameness," but now, because of the "sweeping changes that have taken place within (the Ruby Tuesday) organization, it's extremely unlikely that a Ruby Tuesday restaurant will ever be confused for another casual dining establishment again." Hardy har har.

They have an apology letter up to Cheeky's Bar and Grill on the Ruby Tuesday website, but of course the whole stunt was just a gimmick. I appreciated the symbolic nature of what Ruby Tuesday was trying to do when I saw the commercial on Monday, but I'm very disappointed with the result, as are others and others to say the least.

Had they actually demolished their last restaurant instead of the fake Cheeky's Bar & Grill (for which they even created a website), I would have had a lot more respect for the marketing stunt, because it really did seem like an interesting idea. I was definitely intrigued after seeing that initial commercial for the Ruby Tuesday demolition, but now I'm just disappointed. To quote the Serious Eats blog, "Ruby Tuesday arguably botched what could have been a complicated, humorous campaign, and this whole debacle shows how talented and clever you need to be to successfully pull off viral marketing stunts." Amen.

LOGOS and LOST: The Dharma Initiative gets a new logo redesign

2008-07-29T09:42:00.008-04:00

At Perceptivity Studio, we love a good logo redesign...and we also love the television show LOST. So when we heard here that the show's fictional mysterious scientific organization, the DHARMA Initiative, had undergone a logo redesign resulting in a new logo, we had to take a look at it.

The original logo, according to the Lostpedia, is "based on an octagonal design incorporating eight trigrams surrounding a central symbol. The design of the logo was derived from a Chinese concept known as Bagua."

The new DHARMA logo has a fresh, modern look with an updated wordmark and simplified trigrams. The trigrams have also been rotated clockwise two positions...perhaps due to events from the season finale? The new DHARMA logo also loses the bold lines and hand-drawn aesthetic in favor of a streamlined 21st century look.

For those of you not familiar with LOST, a group of plane crash survivors land on a mysterious island which they discover was formerly occupied in the 70s by the noticeably absent DHARMA scientists. As the show progresses, we discover the group's "stations" littered across the island, each with a new DHARMA logo.

Here's the first DHARMA logo found, the Swan:

And the last DHARMA logo found, the Orchid:

The LOST team has been attending the Comic-Con convention for the past few years, and each year they do something fun and interesting. This year the DHARMA Initiative is supposedly attending the conference to "recruit new members." This publicity stunt, which is rumored to become an alternate reality game, was revealed in a commercial during a LOST episode from Octagon Global Recruiting (referring to the octagonal shape of the DHARMA logo), and they've hired actors to man the booth and administer "eligibility tests." (The site was down when I tried it, but feel free to check back.)

They also unveiled their new logo at the conference. Nice job, DHARMA Initiative on your new logo. Namaste. :)

Introducing LendersREOTitle.com

2008-07-16T14:11:00.007-04:00

LendersREOTitle.com is a new title company started by Phil Clark, President of Enterprise Title of Tampa Bay. This start-up company specializing in title work on foreclosure homes needed a new logo that complemented their existing Enterprise Title identity, so Perceptivity Studio worked with the company to created a logo that was unique while still remaining professional. It also shares a consistent color palette and typeface with the existing Enterprise Title logo.

We wish Phil luck as he launches this new company soon!

Subscribe to Perceptions from the Studio Blog

2008-07-09T16:08:00.004-04:00

I've just added a few subscription options for the Perceptions from the Studio blog so you can stay updated without having to check back all the time. Enter your email address to the right, and we'll email you whenever there's a new post, or you can click the "Subscribe to Feed" button on the right to add this blog to your feed reader.

On a related note, if you don't already have a feed reader, I strongly recommend getting one. (Google offers a free one when you register with them, and there are plenty more out there.) If you don't know how a feed reader works, you subscribe to all of the blogs you read on a regular (or not so regular) basis, and the feed from each blog sends a message to your feed reader every time there is new content on that blog. So instead of going to multiple sites, you can go to one place to quickly read through all of your favorite blogs. It's quite a time saver when you spend a lot of time out in the blogosphere, and who doesn't want to save time these days?

Viral Marketing: Popcorn Cell Phones

2008-07-08T10:43:00.006-04:00

Did you know that cell phones can make kernels of popcorn pop? Just think what they must be doing to your brain! Mass pandemonium ensues!

Wrong! It turns out the video was a marketing ploy by Cardo Systems, makers of a Bluetooth headset. It was officially debunked by physicists here, and Snopes here but everyone doesn't do the research before believing their email forwards. Hence the video has gone "viral," with millions of people spreading it around.

Viral marketing is defined as a marketing strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence.

Marketers have been using the viral marketing medium quite successfully. Some famous viral marketing examples that you may have participated in yourself include Burger King's Subservient Chicken which allowed users to control a creepy chicken character to promote their BK Tendercrisp sandwich that you can get "just the way you like it" just like you can get the subservient chicken to do anything you want it to do.

Another of my favorite viral marketing examples is the Dove Evolution campaign, which has won multiple awards, and goes beyond the "silly" factor to present a very valid and important message to women around the world. I received it quite a few times in email forwards myself, did you?

Goofy, meaningful or just plain weird, viral marketing is certainly a new medium that many big companies are using quite successfully.

A new logo for Walmart

2008-06-30T15:04:00.006-04:00

Wall Street Journal released a story today that Walmart is changing its logo. While it's not official yet, new signage designs were submitted for a new store prototype, and show white letters on a burnt-orange background followed by a white starburst.

The new design is evocative of Target's clean, simple logo, and evidences Walmart's attempts to modernize its image to better compete with Tar-jhay. Reports show that the new logo should officially be revealed sometime this week.

I think it's about time they spruced up their image a bit. Sometimes it's tempting to keep a logo just because it's been around forever, but oftentimes a logo "face lift" can bring new attention to your company and show your customers that you are a fresh, relevant company that really means business.

Here are a few before and afters from some re-branding projects we've worked on at Perceptivity Studio.

Introducing Accelerated Momentum

2008-06-23T10:19:00.005-04:00

Perceptivity Studio has been working with Caren Reynolds for the past month to define an image for her new coaching business.

We started with the name, choosing Accelerated Momentum because that's what coaching can do for you...not only giving you the momentum you need in your personal life and career, but also accelerating the process.

Next we developed the logo for Accelerated Momentum. The graphic represents the company's name, with a ball shooting up an incline, gaining momentum as it goes. We chose the color orange because it represents excellence, change and energy.

Finally, the business cards are simple, bold and attention-getting.

We are printing them with a green printer, and here are Caren's environmental savings.

0.01 trees preserved for the future.
0.03 lbs water-borne waste not created.
5 gal wastewater flow saved.
0.57 lbs solid waste not generated.
1.11 lbs greenhouse gases prevented.
8,534 BTUs energy not consumed.

Caren is a personal and career coach, meaning that she helps people develop realistic goals and action steps, create timelines, build momentum, increase focus and balance their lives and careers. To learn more about Accelerated Momentum, give Caren a call at 813-732-7160.

A "Tangled" Identity for Tanglewood

2008-06-11T14:48:00.011-04:00

Tanglewood is a growing construction and development company in Annapolis, Maryland, and because of this growth, the time had come to have a professional image created for their company. Perceptivity Studio has been working with them to develop an elegant new logo and corporate identity package representative of the beautiful homes they build.

A Delightfully "Tangled" Company

Tanglewood's roots began with the renovation of historic homes, and their current new construction homes share an aesthetic with various historic periods, including Craftsman, Colonial and Victorian. Here is one of their beautiful new homes with an updated craftsman aesthetic.

However, while they realize the importance of preserving the past, they also understand how important modern details are to today's homebuyer. They put the extra effort into finishing touches like custom carpentry, luxury kitchens and detailed tile-work. They are also members of the U.S. Green Building Council, and expend extra energy to ensure that their homes are as environmentally friendly as possible using the latest in "green" building technology.

This combination, or "tangle," of old and new allows Tanglewood to create homes that combine the best of both worlds...unique homes that maintain period details while still appealing to modern sensibilities. And when things are "tangled," they are not easily undone, so this “tangle” creates a fusion of all the elements people most want in a home.

A Delightfully "Tangled" Solution

If you do a Google search for Tanglewood, you'll see that there are a lot of companies out there around the country who bear the same name. Most companies with the name tend to go the “tree” route, but given the unique nature of this particular Tanglewood's business operations, we decided to focus instead upon the "tangle" in Tanglewood to really differentiate them from all the others.

Add to this that Tanglewood's owners are avid sailors, and the perfect logo solution materialized as a figure-eight knot combined with an elegant, sophisticated typeface that reflects the high-end nature of their homes. And an organic color palette of chocolate brown and sage green represents their commitment to "green" building.

The business card design we created is simple and sophisticated and features the figure-eight knot subtlely on the front and prominently on the back.

"Green" Printing

Given Tanglewood's commitment to sustainability and green building, we printed their business cards using "green" printing methods. The paper we used is made of 100% post-consumer recycled fiber and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). In the process of printing their business cards, this is the difference Tanglewood made:

0.01 trees preserved for the future.
0.03 lbs water-borne waste not created.
5 gal wastewater flow saved.
0.54 lbs solid waste not generated.
1.06 lbs greenhouse gases prevented.
8,092 BTUs energy not consumed.

While the numbers aren't huge on their own, think what would happen if more companies were willing to spend a bit more on green printing to ensure that it is done in a way that will have the least possible impact on our environment. Perceptivity Studio believes strongly in the principles of sustainability as well, and we encourage you to consider green printing for your next project. If you're interested in considering green printing as an option, we can help you understand the process and how green printing can work for your company.

Kudos to Tanglewood for making the effort, and congratulations on your new identity. We look forward to helping your company continue to grow and "tangle" for many years to come!

Kick off your shoes, it's time for Barefoot Summer...

2008-06-02T22:02:00.013-04:00

Perceptivity Studio congratulates Barefoot Summer Kids, a boutique children's clothing line, on their official launch! The website, which currently features the company's adorable Summer line of custom creations designed by the very talented LeShayne Maddex, went live today.

Perceptivity started by naming the company Barefoot Summer Kids, then created the logo....

...and designed the business cards.

Then Perceptivity helped design custom graphics for the Barefoot Summer website. There is a slideshow of four images on the home page, featuring several of the custom clothing designs with fun, brightly colored graphics...

The gallery, which expands and contracts, features a clothing line for each of the four seasons since Barefoot Summer can last all year long. The footprints from the logo walk across the seasons.

Finally, we created a custom blog header for the Barefoot Summer blog.

Again, congratulations to Barefoot Summer Kids, and we wish them many, many summers of success! Visit the Barefoot Summer Kids website to learn more.

The Great Logo Quiz

2008-05-27T14:09:00.009-04:00

Two of our favorite things to do at Perceptivity Studio are develop logos and brand identities for new companies and refine or redevelop existing logos to re-brand existing companies. Why? Logos are fun! They are an artistic representation of what a company stands for, and are often help form the first impression a customer makes when interacting with the company. And while great logos aren't single-handedly responsible for a company's success (there are so many other variables that must be in place for that to happen), they can certainly help a company project a professional image to their customers.

So to get you thinking about logos and what they stand for, here is a quiz that presents two similar logo options for a series of 10 well-known companies...one that is the correct logo, and one that very well may trick you. Write down your answers, then scroll down to the next post to see if you were right. Plus learn a bit more about some of the elements Perceptivity Studio always thinks about when starting new identity projects with our clients. Have fun, and good luck!

1. Pepsi Logo

2. Disney Logo

3. Target Logo

4. Starbucks Logo

5. Domino's Pizza Logo

6. Nabisco Logo

7. Best Buy Logo

8. Wendy's Logo

9. Ocean Spray Logo

10. CBS Logo

Scroll down to the next post for the answers!

The Great Logo Quiz: Answers

2008-05-27T09:31:00.022-04:00

WARNING, ANSWERS ARE BELOW!
If you haven't already read the questions, go to the Blog Archive on
the right side of the page and select "The Great Logo Quiz" from the list.

1. Pepsi Logo

The real Pepsi logo has red on the top and blue on the bottom. Whether you got this one right or wrong, you probably recognized the all-American color palette that Pepsi has used since 1941, when their colors were changed to red, white and blue to support the war effort. Color is a very important part of a company's brand identity, and we'll talk more about it throughout the results.

2. Disney Logo

There are no Mickey Mouse ears in the real Disney logo, though the mouse ears are perhaps one of the most recognizable symbols of this company. The Walt Disney logo is a ‘stylized version of the founder’s signature’ that represents the light-hearted image of this American entertainment icon. Script logos can be a fun addition to a company's logo. While they're not for everyone, script or handwritten typefaces can add a touch of whimsy, elegance or laid-back flair to the right kind of company. We'll talk a bit more about fonts later in the results, so read on!

3. Target Logo

The real Target logo has fewer concentric circles. This extremely simple logo design is direct and to the point, and serves as an extremely recognizable symbol of this increasingly popular symbol of cheap chic (come on, admit to calling it Tar-jhay, everyone does!). This just goes to show that you don't have to have a terribly complicated logo to have an effective logo. The red target symbol is an obvious link to the company's name. When we work with customers on new logos, we always brainstorm symbols that could visually represent their companies. Sometimes they are obvious (like the target for Target), while sometimes they are more indirect, but still create a sophisticated visual link.

4. Starbucks Logo

The real Starbucks logo has stars between the words. Speaking of Starbucks, have you heard about the controversy with the attempted new Starbucks logo? Facing opposition from conservative interest groups, they've attempted to clean up their act a bit. It's a very interesting study of brand identity, and while I wonder why they would bother making changes to a logo that holds such high brand recognition, it has definitely brought the company into the spotlight. They do say there's no such thing as bad press, right?

5. Domino's Pizza Logo

The real Domino's Pizza logo has a total of 3 dots. Ever wonder what those three dots stand for? According to the Domino's website, they represent the first three Domino’s stores. At the time, the plan was to add a dot for every new store. Obviously, that plan ran out of steam (or, more appropriately, space). But having some symbolism behind your logo (whether people "get it" right off the bat, or whether it's something only you will ever know about) can be a great way to develop a symbol that uniquely represents your company.

6. Nabisco Logo

The real Nabisco logo lives in the top left corner of its products, not the lower right. According to the Wikipedia article, this logo is known as the "Nabisco Thing." It has been claimed in company promotional material to be an early European symbol for quality. It's also been cause for controversy as people have interpreted occult meanings for the symbol. True or not, it goes to show that you should always try to think about a logo from multiple perspectives!

7. Best Buy Logo

The real Best Buy logo is designed to look like a price tag, not a perfect rectangle. This logo has been around since 1989, and literally screams the company's main benefit (you will get the "best buy" by shopping here) loud and clear in eye-catching yellow and black. In Best Buy's highly competitive retail environment, this bold color combination may be a good idea. However, just because it's bold doesn't mean people will automatically pay attention, so think about colors that make sense for your company before automatically picking the loudest ones.

8. Wendy's Logo

The real Wendy's logo, which features an illustration of Dave Thomas's little girl Wendy (now grown up), does not have swirls extending beyond the square base. Wendy serves as a very recognizable "spokeperson" for the fast food chain, and an animated Wendy even touts products in their newest ad campaign. This logo even inspired a protest from redheads in New York, which was all in good fun (at least I hope so!).

9. Ocean Spray Logo

The real Ocean Spray logo has only two wave breaks and a more vibrant color palette. As we've mentioned previously, color can play an important role in a logo, and the color palette in your brand identity should represent your industry, company philosophy and yes, your personal preferences too. It's one of the variables we like to talk to our customers about when we're starting an identity project, and we like to choose colors that are the best fit for all of those variables.

10. CBS Logo

The real CBS logo uses a serif font, not a sans serif font. The typeface is also a very important part of your logo, and while there are a few general "rules" associated with the different kinds of type (for example, serifs are generally more professional, sans serifs a bit more casual), it really depends on how the type is manipulated to evoke the image you are trying to project for your company. We like to talk about this brand image with our logo customers to get a feel for the different type solutions we can offer them, and always give a few different options to help them visualize different directions their logo can take them.

So how did you fare on the Great Logo Quiz? Was it harder than you thought it would be, or are you now a confirmed logo expert? Post your score in the comments section, or just let us know what you thought about this quiz.

Are you ready to start an identity project with Perceptivity Studio? Email us at info@perceptivitystudio.com, and we'll be in touch soon!

Bacon Group Architecture Website

2008-05-13T17:13:00.002-04:00

Perceptivity Studio is proud to reveal the new Bacon Group website, launched today! The website is the final element of the re-branding process we started with this architecture company last year with a new logo, corporate identity materials and brochures, followed by a new trade show booth, proposal design and now the new website.

We wish Bacon Group continued success as their new corporate identity enters cyberspace.

Visit their website to see more of the website revamp and learn more about their company.

A "Green" Message from Engineering Matrix

2008-05-12T15:15:00.002-04:00

Sustainable, or "green," building, is a hot topic in the construction world, and Engineering Matrix has been on top of the trend for quite some time now. Perceptivity Studio helped them create a direct mailer to make their clients and consultants more aware of their experience with LEED projects, including the high-tech, environmentally friendly dorms in the Eckerd College Iota Complex.

This was the second postcard in their direct mail campaign. The first postcard talked about their security system design services.

To learn more about green building, visit the U.S. Green Building Council website, and to learn more about Engineering Matrix, visit their website. We congratulate Engineering Matrix for creating healthier environments for the people who inhabit their buildings, and a better outlook for the planet on which we live.

Welcome Kendall!

2008-05-08T15:32:00.008-04:00

After designing the invitations for Lauren's baby shower, I was excited to create the birth announcement when her daughter Kendall arrived. We kept a similar feel to the shower invitation with several shared elements, but made the birth announcement a bit softer and more feminine.

Here is the birth announcement:

Here is the shower invitation:

Happy Anniversary to Venue!

2008-05-01T10:15:00.012-04:00

Congratulations to Perceptivity Studio client Venue on their first anniversary. After initially creating the logo and identity materials last year for this cost & project management consulting company, Perceptivity Studio created an anniversary postcard announcing this great achievement for their company to clients and vendors.

Their tagline, "the bottom line" was used as a way of saying thank you to those who helped make them successful, and ghosted project names highlight the various projects they've worked on throughout the year.

Quite the international company, Venue's postcards are on their way not only throughout North America, but also throughout Europe and as far as Australia, Japan and Bahrain.

Visit Venue's website today to learn more about the dynamic Ryan duo of Sean and Steve, and see some of the incredible projects they've helped make a reality. Venue specializes in estimating costs for performing arts venues (hence the name), and they've laid the groundwork for some truly spectacular projects.

Congratulations again on this huge accomplishment, and we look forward to working with YOU for many years to come.

Welcome to the Studio

2008-04-30T13:33:00.006-04:00

Welcome to Perceptions from the Studio, the official blog of Perceptivity Studio. Check back frequently for enlightening posts on marketing and advertising related topics and exciting new work completed for our wonderful clients.

If you haven't already been to our website, visit now to view our portfolio and learn more about the company. Are you ready to get started on a new project? Contact Jenni McKay today at JMcKay@PerceptivityStudio.com or 813-857-2071.

Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you back soon.