I’ve often heard it said that to have true success, you need to find inspiration in the things you see everyday. Well, one of the things I see everyday, and often overlook, is a large, cylindrical tube of Quaker Oats, apparently it holds 30 delicious bowls (but how do they know how big the bowls I own are?), but anyway. I have this cardboard tube sitting on a cabinet at my cubical for some time now, and to tell the the truth, I don’t really know why. I don’t even eat Quaker Oats. At this very moment, as I write this, I am eating a bowl of oatmeal that is some other brand that I enjoy more than Quaker, but each time I buy more oatmeal, I take the contents and pour them into this Quaker Oats container. There’s just something about it that’s comforting. It makes me feel like home. It’s like having an old photo of a grandparent at my desk, but at the same time, I find the thing incredibly creepy. For some unfound reason, I can’t explain why it’s so intriguing to me and why I keep it around.

It’s fairly basic packaging. Nothing to write home to mom about, so why am I writing about it…? No bells and whistles, no amber waves of grain, or Photoshopped ‘grain’ textures, just bold reds, and blues, some golden gradients for style, and a kindly, white-haired Quaker illustration…

…oooooooohh, that illustration…

It’s the kind of illustration that pops-up in dreams out of nowhere and scares the Bejezus out of you with his ‘Mona Lisa smile,’ which is as friendly as it is diabolical. There’s just something eerie about his smirk. Apparently the portrait is one of the oldest advertising mascots in America, and contrary to popular belief, does not depict William Penn. Created originally by Jim Nash in black and white in 1964 and then taken full color by Haddon Sundblom in 1972. Representing Quaker values of honesty, integrity, and purity, the rosie-cheeked Quaker elder is not supposed to be a portrait of anyone in particular.

So I guess there in lies the rub, the fact that he’s just there. He’s there and he’s just smiling. He has no identity. All we really know is that he’s a Quaker, and even the Quakers, who are now the Religious Society of Friends, don’t want him around (they lost the law suit, so he stays). He never changes. He’s like the Mona Lisa, and the frightening twins from the Shining all wrapped into one. For all eternity, he’ll be there, smiling, and that, I find creepy. The new Quaker campaign doesn’t help with my paranoia, either. It’s just weird to have a huge omnipotent Quaker portrait telling you to, “Go Humans Go.”

At the same time, however, I think he can be somewhat comforting and it’s what I find successful about the whole Quaker brand. Their identity has basically been the same for generations. Anyone who sees that illustration knows what product is being sold. Even if you hate the bland, cardboard taste of plain oatmeal, which I happen to love, the product and feeling toward it is still the same. It resonates with people. You’ll never see Quaker Oats NEW FORMULA or some other ridiculous campaign, like Crystal Pepsi. It will always be the same oatmeal that your dad ate, and his dad ate, and his dad, and so on and so forth. The Quaker Oats Guy then becomes a perfect symbol for the brand. He goes on day by day, staying true to his fundamentals, to what made Quaker a recognizable brand.

Even though I sometimes feel like he’s staring at me, in this twitter feed / TMZ / topsy-turvy / here-one-minute-gone-the-next world we live in, it can be nice to know that there’s always a familiar, welcoming smile within an arms-length…even if the contents inside are someone else’s.

EndNote: For the record, YES, I did just compare an illustration and identity for an oatmeal manufacturer to the Mona Lisa, one of the single greatest works of art, ever.

It’s been a long, busy summer and we here at Triple Strength have been inundated with work in both print and web, hence the blog silence. In between all the client work, we were able to spend some time on our own identity. First was with a re-imagining of the Triple Strength icon. In the past we’ve used the Triple Strength ‘Burst,’ but in moving forward, much like the astronauts and/or apemen in 2001: A Space Odyssey, branding will now be done with the TS ‘Monolith.’ The new identity symbolizes strength, stability, and structure. Enhancing these three ideals, supplementary graphics include elements such as diamond plate textures and tetris-style block accents. Further redesigns will be coming along as the days get shorter, and the leaves change from green to orange. Look for other new TS identity pieces such as brochures, marketing materials, and a completely redesigned web site in the coming months. We’ll also be putting forth extra effort to Brand3, in order to keep you posted on the latest happenings and goings on. So, as my new favorite player for the Cincinnati Bungles, Ocho-Uno, has said…get your popcorn ready!

Kevin himself sums it up best: “It’s like the typographic equivalent of showing up to brunch in a tuxedo that’s all rumpled because you were out the entire night before, carousing and merry-making, and making gentleman’s bets on the horses.”

He’s right—it does actually make you think of gentleman’s bets and coattails, and that’s what they were going for…a Victorian inspired serif. Kevin’s research for another project, a graphic novel version of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, included a lot of Victorian ornamentation. In fact, the name ‘Phaeton’ is a type of early 19th century carriage.

It’s not just pretty either, it has nearly 600 characters, ornate banners and even 49 glyphs for words like ‘and’, ‘the’ and ‘with’.  One of Cornell’s favorite features is the lowercase swash variants designed by Randy…”I’m also partial to the upper-case ‘K’. It’s hard to find a good ‘K’ sometimes, I use it a lot.”

For the most part Kevin drew the characters and Randy translated them into an actual font.  Phaeton started as a side project for both of them back in the Fall of 2008. They sent the beta version to Veer by May of 2009, and it was officially released two months later in July.

Fans of the font can look forward to another collaboration from the duo; a san-serif font to compliment Phaeton. No word on a time range yet, but based on this first project, it’s definitely something to keep an eye out for.

With the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics from Vancouver only hours away, and the Alpine Skiing qualifier already in full swing. I wanted to reflect upon the Olympic logo, which if you haven’t already, are going to be seeing a French-Canadian ton of, before the fortnight of games are over.

The logo is supposed to represent a monolithic Inuit character known as an Inukshuk. The Inuits were a tribe of people native to the Vancouver area. The name of the character is Illanaaq and it means friendship in Inuit. The illustration is chalk full of symbolism, which I guess, all Olympic logos are supposed to be. The green smiling head is for the coastal forests, the blue arms for the coast, the sky blue torso for the mountains, the red left leg is for the maple leaf, which, who doesn’t associate Canada with the maple leaf, and finally the yellow leg is for the sun. The CEO of the Vancouver Games said that the figure “reflects the sheer joy for winter sport and draws its strength from the true spirit of teamwork.” The ironic thing is that nothing about this identity equates with the speed, grace and athleticism of the Winter Games. My real question is what does the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man have to do with Alpine skiing, the Luge and speed skating. If you can’t tell, I’m not overly psyched on the 2010 Olympic logo. It seems as though the Inukshuk symbolizes so many things, but it missed out on the one that matters…sport.

I guess it could be worse, though. It could be as bad as the 2012 Summer Olympics logo from London, which looks like it could grace the cover of the newest Sex Pistols record. Stay tuned and enjoy the Games…

Best of all, the Charles Schwab brand is suddenly more vibrant. There’s an expanded color palette—a rainbow collection of chroma-rich hues—used to fill the oft repeated dialog balloons with passion comparable to an investor’s dream. The full spectrum of colors associated with the Schwab brand is indicative of the wide spectrum of investment strategies available to young and old, conservative and aggressive individual investors.

Charles Schwab now owns the dialog ballon just like Target owns the red bullseye. If you’re questioning whether  this discount brokerage firm’s claim to dialoging with investors is a credible one, visit their website and see for yourself. One nifty tool is the Schwab Portfolio Checkup that enables Schwab investors and non-Schwab investors alike to compare their current investments with their overall aims. If you have any other questions, just call Charles Schwab at 800-435-9050. They’ll be happy to talk with you!

Heidi has defended her decision to undergo all these procedures in order to create “the best me possible.” Statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery attest to the fact that many young women (19-34) also want to be their “best,” and go on to report the number of cosmetic-surgery procedures performed on females 18 and younger nearly doubled over the past decade. Girls no longer believe they have to play the hand they’ve been dealt – they can simply go out and buy a better face and a different body.

Reading the article and the subsequent comments the blog received in response, it made me think, what is beautiful? The term “Aesthetic Plastic Surgery” would lead you to believe the plastic surgery procedure will create a more aesthetically pleasing you. With breast augmentation and liposuction procedures growing by leaps and bounds, whose aesthetic standards are we conforming to?

Challenge: 3/4 of “boomers” will experience one (1) or more chronic conditions.

Challenge: 89% prefer to “age in place,” despite the possibility a spouse may suffer from a debilitating condition. An even larger percent of seniors anticipate technology will help them live longer, better, more independent lives even if they are unaware of what that technology may be or how it will help.

Solution: Diakon Smart Homes. Outfitted with the latest technological advances, Diakon Smart Homes are designed to enhance safety, particularly as older adults desire to grow older residing in their own homes.

Challenge: Create a way for people to learn about Diakon Smart Homes showcasing the technological advances and attractive living space designed to support this new idea of “Aging in Place.”

Too complex to be boiled down to a single bullet point, the solution for explaining the advantages of aging in a Smart Home was best accomplished by creating an intricate, multi-tiered virtual “in-home experience enabling website visitors to interact with and learn about these new inventions. It also required the time and talent contributions provided by a team of creative individuals. The result is groundbreaking. More importantly, it empowered the efforts of Diakon to inform and educate prospective residents.

The process started with a complex three-dimensional illustration of a Smart Home, rendered by our partners, the fine folks at FUSE FX out of Minneapolis. The illustration was scrutinized down to some of the most minute details. It needed to accurately display the new technologies which will revolutionize the way people thought about senior living. Medication Reminder Systems, Minimal Threshold Showers and Under-Counter Appliances were just some of the amenities featured. At one point, even the bed spread was changed because it wasn’t cozy enough. It was this attention to detail that would resonate with potential buyers.

Once the groundwork, pun intended, of getting a layout was finished, a way of introducing people to the different technologies of the home needed to be implemented. Though research has shown 85% of Baby Boomers are tech-savvy, the system needed to be accessible, intuitive, and practical. The resulting interactive animation makes it fun to experience Smart Homes technology—virtually. Moving throughout the home, an animated character would trigger room sensors signaling lights to turn on and off, as a room was entered or exited, all the while leaving a dotted trail showing the course of its path—harkening back to the days of Family Circus cartoons.

The next step was to create an interactive means for enabling website visitors to access specific information pertaining to Smart Home facilities. To achieve this, a series of navigation menus and drop-downs were designed to appear at the click of an icon. Easily understood, user-friendly icons were designed to encourage participation. Any solution too technical in appearance and the opposite might occur—scaring visitors away from discovering important benefits. Fun and easy to use, the interactive illustration is guaranteed not to become pure eye-candy.

In order to present this revolutionary system, a new website was created. Reportedly the first of its kind in the country, the new Diakon Smart Home website showcases and incorporates all the various features from the home. It is the ideal way for people who may be looking into retirement, to learn and familiarize themselves with this new initiative. It was and is the perfect marriage of form and function. As a young person just entering the work force, and nowhere near retirement, I often thought during work on this project that I wouldn’t mind having these amenities and technologies in my house. I mean, who doesn’t want lights to go on and off when they enter a room. They are definitely the future of senior living, and ultimately, living in general. It’s only a matter of time until houses look like that of the Jetsons. I can’t wait.

]]> http://brand3.triplestrength.com/2010/01/06/designing-for-the-future/feed/ 1 http://brand3.triplestrength.com/2009/12/15/chocolate-workers/ http://brand3.triplestrength.com/2009/12/15/chocolate-workers/#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:43:35 +0000 Lance Dietrich http://brand3.triplestrength.com/?p=12

Ever since the Hershey Chocolate Factory opened in 1905, residents from Hershey, PA and nearby communities have been employed to provide the hands-on expertise required for making chocolate. Factory employees commonly addressed the company’s founder as Mr. Hershey and generally respected him for his entrepreneurial success and undying determination in the face of early failures.

With a legendary work ethic all his own, the value of reliable labor and the value of a man’s job was not lost on Mr. Hershey. In the midst of the Great Depression, he asked a foreman how work was proceeding on his new hotel. When the foreman reported, “The new steam shovel does the work of 40 men.” Mr. Hershey responded, “Get rid of it and hire 40 men.”

Employment in Hershey, PA remained steady during the Great Depression, a proud point and one of the many historical facts to be discovered at The Hershey Story, The Museum on Chocolate Avenue. The first landmark building to appear on Chocolate Avenue in over 70 years, the world-class museum serves to preserve and pass on the inspirational American success story of chocolate-maker turned philanthropist, Milton S. Hershey. Already a popular attraction, the new museum is rapidly becoming the equal of traditional tourist favorites Hershey’s Chocolate World and Hersheypark.

The museum is also a major accomplishment in the revitalization of the city’s downtown. Touted to become a hub of activity and community center, the museum won widespread support among local contributors during a capital campaign conducted to fund its construction. To engender support and advertise the grand opening, Triple Strength created the image shown here of a contemporary factory employee at work with others who preceded her by nearly a century.

How fitting to pay homage to the generations of Hershey Chocolate Factory workers in this town where the bond between the town’s benefactor and employees of the company he started have traditionally remained very strong. Now more than ever, the embattled American worker could really use a tip of the hat to acknowledge their hard work and devotion. Regretfully, this image created for outdoor postings never ran due to budget constraints, but hopefully it will in the near future.