Thanks to Sarah Rosenthal for designing our newest blog header, which you can see at the top of this page (if you’re not seeing it, hit refresh). As always, if you’re looking for any of the previous headers, check out the Header Design Archive.

Next up, Caroline!

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

What better way to celebrate our 200th post on Orange Element’s blog than to talk about some recent coverage we received in a national magazine called Incentive! The magazine caters to executives looking to improve company performance and we were very flattered to be featured in an article on ’soft incentives’ or non-financial incentives.

You can read the full article which was also published to Brandweek by clicking HERE, but here are a few paragraphs about us:

Extra vacation days and paid leave can help motivate, but fun time on the job can be an effective incentive as well. Small Baltimore-based design and visual communications firm Orange Element takes a creative approach to its monthly Fun Day, a daylong opportunity for team members to shut off their computers and do something recreational together. “Not only is it an opportunity to blow off some steam, but it really does help us grow as a team,” says Aaron Moore, principal and creative director. “We’ve found that in an industry riddled with deadlines and high-pressure situations, taking a break to refocus creates happier, less-stressed employees, which in turn creates even better work.”

The office field trips can provide intellectual experiences that are in line with the company’s creative goals as well. “So much of design is about perspective-and it’s hard to have a good sense of perspective when you’re stuck in an office all the time,” Moore says. “Fun Days get us out of the office to experience new things and help us keep an open mind.”

Orange Element Fun Days so far have included paintball at a partner firm, snowboarding, baseball games, golf and duckpin bowling, all in the name of a good time. “I think there is a direct correlation between the amount of fun we are all having here and the quality of the work that we produce,” says Moore. “Making sure that we’re having fun allows us to be fun people, and that’s a big part of what our clients love about us.”

Orange Element maintains the fun the rest of the month with a lighthearted blog, which employees contribute to, and a pinball machine and putting mat set up in the office. And they aren’t just for show, says Garret Ohm, marketing director.

“The perception is that design firms are lavish spaces with rooms filled with toys. But the harsh reality is that in most firms, this is only a façade,” he says. “Most employees are too scared to endure the countless evil stares from upper management if they try to spend any time during the day doing non-billable work.” Not so at his office, where “the games are used all the time.”

Sweet - even the blog was mentioned in the article! This article hit it on the head, though. We’re big believers in creating an environment where there is a healthy work-life balance. We feel as though it’s important to have fun and stay happy because we know we do our strongest creative work when we’re not bogged down by the stress and anxiety that so often infiltrates the corporate world.

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

Ok, it’s not Freebie Friday, but I’m still giving something away. I’ve been reading a really great book by Maggie Macnab called Decoding Design and I came across a typeface that was referenced in the book that I really liked, so I looked it up. It is called Culture.ca and the design firm that created it, David Berman Communications, is giving it away in both PC and Mac versions on their site (for non-commercial use)!

Go HERE to download the font.

Upper:

Lower:

I’ll post more when I’m finished reading Maggie’s book, but so far it’s a great read about the importance of using symbols in visual communications. My favorite so far part is the case studies at the end of each chapter (which is how I found Culture.ca).

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

Just a quick note to let everyone know we launched a new MySpace page for the Department of Energy (DOE) today. The DOE’s newest page on MySpace is for their Diesel Program, and the goal is to help folks increase their Diesel IQ. Diesel engine technologies are getting more attention for their high performance, durability and increasingly clean combustion - click this link to learn more: http://www.myspace.com/DieselIQ.

Don’t forget to check out these other DOE pages we’ve designed as well:

http://www.myspace.com/h2IQ
http://www.myspace.com/solardecathlon07

Nice work, Andy & Sarah!

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

“Holy Crap.” That was literally what the brief said when handed down by Nike 6.0 Extreme Sports Group to Hub Strategy for their initial project together. Nike was going to be participating in the Dew Action Sports Tour and wanted Hub to help them to create a presence that was “impossible to ignore and sure to create a camera-phone viral response.”

Mission accomplished. The team from Hub designed a mobile action-sports urban assault vehicle. The vehicle is actually a converted 1959 amphibious tank-like truck that has been outfitted with a skate ramp, wakeboard tower, surf racks, skateboard rails and BMX racks — as well as creature comforts such as a barbeque, sleep-in camper shell, a waterproof CD player, radio and remote control iPod.

Guerilla marketing makes me happy - and this is certainly a great way to build the Nike brand in the extreme sports world. Nice work, Hub/Nike.  I hope to see it in Baltimore at some point!

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

The goal of any advertiser is to create an advertising campaign that engages the target audience. We want to create something that makes people take notice and perhaps even more importantly, take action. Chevrolet recently created an outdoor campaign in London that did both of those things–whether or not it was truly effective is in dispute.

To advertise the low starting price of their Chevy Aveo, they created a billboard made of 769,500 pennies, the exact amount that it takes to purchase a new Aveo. People noticed. Unfortunately, the action they took was not going to their local Chevy dealer, it was STEALING THE PENNIES off of the billboard. They were reportedly gone within 30 minutes.

Next time perhaps Chevy will put the billboard somewhere higher than street-level (although it didn’t stop the guys with the ladder…).

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