I recently met a golf course architect named Terry LaGree from a company called Barbaron out of Florida. Terry is a great architect, who also happens to be responsible for golf course renovations at The Golf Club at South River.

One of his newest ventures is what really caught my attention. Terry is a partner in a company called Harmony Pointe Greens, a company that makes synthetic golf greens which are mainly used for practice facilities. These greens are not only a much better solution for someone that can’t devote lots of time and money to maintenance, but they are also environmentally sustainable. They are made out of 100% recyclable materials and don’t require chemicals to maintain. You can read more about the product HERE.

What really struck me having read more about the product is how much Harmony Pointe has integrated product and design to create an amazing offering. By partnering with Barbaron, a real life golf course architect responsible for some amazing courses, they ensure that customers get the most out of their Harmony Pointe experience. Taking into account how the product is going to be used (shot angles, distances, spin), Harmony Pointe, through their partnership with Barbaron essentially ensure that people don’t spend thousands on a golf green that doesn’t function well.

While I likely won’t have the budget to put one of these in my backyard for years and years to come, I definitely think these folks have come up with a concept that will spread like wildfire. At Orange Element, we’re hopeful we can continue our relationship with Terry and perhaps even do work for Harmony Pointe one day.

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com/

Our good friend Rachael from Tilt sent me this link about how the design community in Baltimore and beyond can band together to support positive global climate change through sustainable design.

Pretty good stuff, so check it out and take the pledge: http://www.designcanchange.org/

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

Every once in a while something that I have probably seen 5,000 times but never noticed catches my attention. That’s exactly what happened to me just recently when I opened an Adobe PDF document on my office computer. Here is what I saw:

The design of this ‘welcome’ screen irritates me. What is the deal with the jumping man? The jumping man definitely doesn’t set a very good tone for the Adobe brand in my opinion - a brand that is supposed to be on the forefront of high technology! The Adobe Guy looks like clip art from the 1980s gone wrong…

On second thought, why must we see this opening screen at all when I open a PDF? Do I need to know all of the patents? I could think of many other things that I’d rather see in the few seconds it takes to open a PDF document…

For what it’s worth, I downloaded Adobe Reader 8 and the new welcome screen looks like this:

MUCH better design, Adobe! Simple works, and sets a tone that inspires confidence…I’m glad they fixed this so we no longer had to be assaulted with the atrocity that was the “Adobe Guy.”

Images courtesy of vincentarsenault.wordpress.com and debianadmin.com.

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

Hi all -

I’m very proud to announce that I have been selected as an interim board member of the Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance. I couldn’t be happier about this, both because it’s an extraordinary young organization that has a lot of potential and because it furthers Orange Element’s commitment to operating as a sustainable design + brand communications firm.

In my work with the CSBA, I will be mainly focusing on outreach and social media, including their Chesapeake Sustainable Business Network, a groupsite powered by CollectiveX. The CSBN is a really important resource that helps to create a sense of community among business leaders in this space, as well as allows a free flowing exchange of ideas. I look forward to making it a hub for sustainability in this region.

I will keep everyone posted on my progress with the organization. In the meantime, if you are in some way related to sustainability or environmental causes and are doing business in Maryland, I encourage you to consider joining this organization. The benefits you will receive far outweigh the cost to join. Click here for more information: http://www.csballiance.org/pages/memJoin.html.

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

I saw a video this morning that I thought was rather amazing and insightful. It talks about innovation and the role of social media, mass media, etc in that process.

If you can spare 240 seconds, I think it’s worth it:

Courtesy of my friend @thegirlriot. Her blog is here.

Garret Ohm
www.orange-element.com

Recently, as part of our relationship with The Brick Companies, Orange Element was tasked with creating a completely new brand for South River Golf Club. The Annapolis-area course, one of Maryland’s finest, was about to undergo a transition from a full public golf course to a private club. In doing so, it was necessary for us to create a new brand that was going to be distinguishable from the original public course, driving home all the great changes that were about to take place. At the same time, it was essential that we set the proper tone for the private club–one that would attract the right target audience and encourage them to join.

I think the work that resulted for “The Golf Club at South River” was fantastic. At one point during the identity review, the client even stated that it was the “best logo [he] had ever seen!” That’s great feedback! Once the identity was settled upon, we started to integrate the brand into multiple mediums and channels including apparel, signage, collateral, environmental graphics, golf balls and more.

Tonight is a big night for The Golf Club at South River. It’s Founder Day. Founder Day is a grand event where prospective members come to actually secure their membership. They have the opportunity to be among the few that are the original members of The Golf Club. Those are some lucky folks–I have played there many times and it is a GREAT golf course.

And now, without further ado here is some of the work:

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com