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April 21, 2014

Find your favorite spot

The theme for this year’s Zoo Preschool is animal markings and habitats. And because the whole point of the preschool is to teach young kids about animals, we decided to make the direct mail piece interactive and educational. The piece featured a soft, natural color palate and a fun illustrated style, which was carried out across all media including the campers’ t-shirts. Any day we get to to create cartoon animals is a good day. And from the photos, it would appear these preschoolers found their favorite spot at the Fort Worth Zoo.

This year, the Hurst Conference Center came to us with a problem. As always, we came back with a solution.
Problem: How can we increase our wedding and reception bookings and overcome the negative perceptions that engaged couples have of a conference center as a wedding venue?
Solution: Develop a unique brand and identity for the Hurst Conference Center’s bridal market that sets it apart from competitors.
Our first step was to evaluate the local bridal market, the competitors and the unique attributes of the conference center. We then crafted the venue’s unique positioning, which guided us through the naming and identity development process. Our strategy was to develop an identity that conveyed simple elegance while highlighting the unique attributes of the grand ballroom while giving it a name that would sound good on wedding invitations. We developed several different names and designs and, in partnership with the client, landed on a name that highlighted the iconic fiber optic star-field chandelier located in the grand ballroom – Lumiere Ballroom at the Hurst Conference Center.
With the bridal identity developed, we executed the new brand in several collateral pieces to introduce it into the marketplace. Our goal was to differentiate the bridal marketing elements from the rest of the Hurst corporate/meeting planner marketing pieces. This meant pulling away from the traditional red and orange colors.
The bridal identity is set apart from the corporate HCC brand through the photography style and limited use of colors. De-saturated photography added an element of refined elegance to the space, while the use of black allowed the chandelier to stand out as a focal point within the venue. However, the corporate/meeting HCC brand and the bridal identity are tied together through the use of photography and the type family (Helvetica).

October 29, 2013

Cover Your Sneeze

Flu season is once again upon us. And without knowing it, a lot of extra germs could be as well.
The CDC requires healthcare providers to post visual alerts instructing patients to practice respiratory hygiene or cough etiquette. Most of the time, this manifests itself as cheesy cartoon illustrations, which are printed and laminated in-house. In other words, another flyer in a hospital or clinic that you don’t care to read. When JPS brought this challenge to Schaefer, we found a way to get the message noticed.

Photography by Robie Capps
 

Schaefer Advertising recently rebranded Tallulah & Company, a Fort Worth interior design company led by Ally Arlington. She’s the very talented designer who is responsible for the beautiful environment we work in every day. She tasked our team with developing an identity that could exude a timeless style with a flair for the unexpected. It needed to be strong yet comfortable. Beautiful yet functional. Just like her work.
We enlisted the help of calligrapher Lauren Essl, of Blue Eye Brown Eye, to craft the handwritten logo treatment.
 

Schaefer Advertising recently rebranded Tallulah & Company, a Fort Worth interior design company led by Ally Arlington. She’s the very talented designer who is responsible for the beautiful environment we work in every day. She tasked our team with developing an identity that could exude a timeless style with a flair for the unexpected. It needed to be strong yet comfortable. Beautiful yet functional. Just like her work.

We enlisted the help of calligrapher Lauren Essl, of Blue Eye Brown Eye, to craft the handwritten logo treatment.

 

September 13, 2013

Zoo Ball 2013

Our poster for the 2013 Zoo Ball features custom illustration by creative director Todd Lancaster. In keeping with the event’s psychedelic theme, we printed this poster in the style of blacklight posters from the ’70s using UV inks and purple flocking for a textural element. Posters were delivered in a tube that included a blacklight bulb, so the recipient could get the full effect. Other printed materials for the event were illustrated in the same style to further the theme.

September 10, 2013

JPS Health Network Rebrand

Last year, JPS Health Network charged us with reinvigorating their brand and changing the perception that this county hospital was dated, distant and becoming irrelevant in the community. By doing so, we could inspire the employees within the network to have greater pride in their organization and in the quality care they provide for their patients.

The new JPS Health Network logo consists of the JPS icon and the tagline “Centered in Care, Powered by Pride.” The tagline is given new prominence to clearly define the JPS commitment to excellent patient care. It’s necessary to evolve logos over time to keep them relevant as the assumptions made when the initial logo was established may no longer hold true. The color-enhanced JPS logo reflects the vibrancy, diversity and energy of their staff today while maintaining the core blue icon that is so well recognized in the community.

We found that almost 80% of their printing used four or five colors. With this discovery, we saw an opportunity to introduce more color to the logo that would not impact the budget for printing and would deliver greater impact in digital mediums.

Visually, this is not a drastic overhaul of an identity but a very specific and strategic evolution that focuses on opportunities to better JPS as a network. This can be seen in the improvements to legibility within the icon and typography. Our design styles and approach to all communication materials moving forward must provide clarity because it reflects the quality of care that is provided.

We selected the Tisa typeface family to bring a more contemporary look to the JPS brand. By contrasting a sans serif and slab serif typefaces, we are able to provide variety to the various extensions of the brand without sacrificing consistency or legibility. When paired with the updated icon, this typeface maintains brand recognition within the community and displays a more approachable image.

– Charlie Howlett

September 3, 2013

J.L. Matthews Rebrand

J.L. Matthews Co. is a third generation family-owned business based in Fort Worth that specializes in top-of-the-line safety equipment and apparel for lineman and arborists. They recently came to us with the challenge of updating their brand without losing the history and values that still shape the company today.

Founded in 1946 by Joe L. Matthews, their main focus remains the same: provide top-notch, personal customer service with an emphasis on training and safety. With such a deep family history, it was fun to get to know their business on a more personal level. Old family photos showed what it was like back when Joe Matthews was creating custom leather harnesses in his small, cluttered workshop.

Our goal was to update the brand to make it relevant to their current customers without losing the heritage and family values that continue to set them apart.

Since safety is the most important facet of their business, we began by shifting the brand color from red to a safety orange. For a family of Red Raider fans, this wasn’t an easy decision, but it proved to be the right one.
The logo features the company name with emphasis placed on “Matthews” since that resonated most with existing customers. Date and location were added as secondary elements, and the shield shape conveys strength, which represents the industry and those who work in it.

Happy Friday, everyone. And to the Rangers fans among you, happy Home Opener Day as well.

This season is particularly exciting for us because one of our clients, Nolan Ryan’s Beef, is beginning their reign as official beef and hot dog sponsor of the Texas Rangers. While this probably isn’t the most shocking news you’ve heard all week, it does mean you can look forward to some pretty tasty food at the ballpark this year.

It’s been a scramble to get everything done in time for today’s game, but it’s also been a lot of fun. One of our first assignments was to create a ten-second jumbotron animation to promote dollar dog nights. Now, to be fair, dollar dogs kind of sell themselves. Apparently, senior designer Charlie Howlett recognized this and chose to use it to his advantage.

Everyone, meet Howdy, the official Hot Dog of Nolan Ryan’s Beef. Be sure to keep an eye out for him next time you’re at the ballpark.


Recently, I caught up with Charlie outside the Schaefer men’s room to see what he had to say about creating a new American icon.

Scott: So Charlie, what do you have to say about creating a new American icon?
Charlie: I can only hope he becomes an American icon.
S: You’re being too modest. So how did Howdy come about?
C: It was pretty natural, actually.
S: Care to expand on that?
C: Well, [creative director] Todd and I got the assignment and decided we needed to create a character – a walking hot dog. So I sketched him out on the window with a dry erase marker and we knew we were onto something special.
S: Were you worried the client wouldn’t go for him?
C: We always hope that clients will find the humor…
S: Slow down, I can’t type that fast.
C: Well, you should record it. That’s what real journalists do.
S: I’m not a real journalist, Charlie.
C: Fine. We. Always. Hope…
S: Stop it.
C: (laughs) We always hope clients will find the humor in what we do. Luckily, the NRB folks loved it.
S: So how did we land on the name Howdy?
C: We had been tossing some names around, but it was the client who suggested “Howdy.” That’s when we knew they loved him as much as we did. (pauses) We thought he had legs before…
S: (groans)
C: …but that’s when we knew he could really run.
S: (groans louder)
C: That’s the truth, Scott. That’s how it happened.
S: Sure it is. Anything else?
C: Actually, seeing Howdy helped my (3-year-old) son get a better idea of what I do all day.
S: Well, not all day, but that’s cool. So is he a fan of Howdy?
C: He is.
S: That’s how you know you nailed it. Well, thanks for taking the time to chat with me, Charlie.
C: My pleasure, Scott. I’m going to go get a hot dog. It’s Opening Day, you know.
S: I did know that. That’s what this blog is about.
C: So are you going to take me out to the ballgame? You know, take me out to the crowd?
S: Okay, I think we’re done here.

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