reactions

If you are designer, you’ve probably already read Paula Scher’s opinion piece, ”AIGA: Unjustified“ in the online journal Imprint, decrying the AIGA‘s decision to forgo other competitions in favor of just one, “Justified.” It has generated an unprecedented amount of comments for the publication, and has polarized the design community. What you may not know is that my agency, MSLK, helped the AIGA in bringing Justified to life.

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Over the years MSLK has had some truly gifted, inspired, and inspiring interns work in our studio. We find the experience to be rewarding and in many senses a way of giving back, showing others what we’ve learned over the years that has helped make our work award-winning.

Some of our best interns have been the youngest, and last year was no exception. We hosted a summer internship with a young gentleman named Leon Robinson as part of the Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum’s 2011 Design Prep Scholar’s program. He worked with us to develop Read the Label, a self-initiated awareness campaign/eco-art project about the harmful ingredients found in everyday products.

The video above features Mr. Robinson recounting his experience here along with many other bright designers of tomorrow telling about their experiences. Congrats to all!

We are thrilled to officially announce that our new packaging for Wigwam just won an American Packaging Design Award!

According to the letter of congratulations:

“For nearly five decades, Graphic Design USA has sponsored national design competitions that spotlight areas of excellence and opportunity for creative professionals. Of these, the American Package Design Awards is the fast growing. The reason is simple but profound: marketers are challenged as never before to convey their message. Package design — along with the related disciplines of POP and instore graphics — are increasingly the difference-makers in the consumer’s purchasing decision. This competition celebrates well-designed graphics, of course, but also the power of design to advance the brand promise and forge an emotional connection with the buyer at the moment of truth.”

Making this even better is that we were able to top ourselves… having won the same award for our soon-to-be-the-old packaging in 2008. Lightning has definitely struck twice, and it feels even better than it did the first time! Congrats to all at MSLK and Wigwam who helped make this as great as it could be.

Look for the new packaging as it arrives in stores this spring!

Steve Jobs was not a designer, at least not in the traditional sense. In fact, there was little he did do that was traditional, in any sense of the word. Having just finished his biography, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, I have a new-found respect for the man who transformed not only the world of computers, consumer  electronics, music, movies, etc… but also had a profound effect of the lives of creative professionals — graphic designers in particular.
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It’s that time of year again. Love is in the air, and MSLK has compiled our 3rd annual list of things to do, give, and love this Valentine’s Day. Single or not, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

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We are honored that our identity system for the Figment Art Festival has been included in the new compilation, Magic Branding, by DesignerBooks. The book features the best in integrated branding systems from around the world and would make the perfect addition to any designer’s bookshelf. We’ll certainly be putting it on ours and will return to it frequently for inspiration.

To me, the use the word “Magic” in the title is ironic. From the client perspective, the design process certainly may seem to have an element of magic in it. We listen closely to a client’s needs, go back to the studio, wave the magic wand, and presto, out pops a brilliant and intuitive solution! Just kidding…
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Photos.com, a division of Getty Images, one of the world’s leading sources for stock imagery, has featured our website redesigns of James Porto and Cameron Socks on their Facebook Page. All of these case studies are contained within the “Makeovers” Tab. Users have the option to read the full case study and share each of them. Read more to find out about the two featured projects.

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MSLK’s Sheri L Koetting was mentioned in Happi‘s coverage of the HBA session, “Social Media: Marketing for the 21st Century.” The article highlights MSLKs experience in reinvigorating fashion and beauty brands and helping them embrace social media platforms.

“Social Media: Marketing for the 21st Century”
Happi, Magazine
2010

Marketers are constantly exploring novel ways to reach their customers. How can you get people to notice your brand, buy your product, join your organization, go to your event or become a sponsor? Whatever the case may be, the goal is always the same: reaching your audience in a meaningful way that captures their attention. While your online and social media presence is definitely the most important viral way to engage with your audience, a recent print promotion for the Type Directors Club reminded me of how powerful a unique, well-thought out print campaign can be. Perhaps there is still a bit of room in the marketplace for this type of work. Sometimes it’s exactly what’s needed to make people notice just how great your company or organization is.

So what makes for a spectacular print promotion? I’d say it’s a combination of a unique concept, thoughtful material selection, a healthy dose of graphic wit, and flawless execution.  All of these elements should come together seamlessly to create something that people want to hold on to.
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Our website, www.mslk.com, is cited in the current issue of How Magazine in an article entitled, “The Marketing-Smart Website” written by Ilise Benun. The article gives examples of what to do — and what not to do — for designers setting out to redesign their site. Our site’s innovative and sorting features were given the following compliment:

“There are 90 examples of work in the portfolio section of MSLK.com, but it’s not overwhelming because visitors can sort by medium or industry category to find what they’re looking for. Mouse over any thumbnail and it automatically enlarges and identifies the image.”

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