Special thanks to Rachel Stuart for designing the November edition of the Orange Element Insights blog header, which you can see at the top of your screen. As always, you can find all the previous header designs by clicking “Header Design Archive” on the navigation to the right.

Looks great, Rachel!

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

Fall desktop wallpaper! This gorgeous fall Friday in Baltimore inspired this little wallpaper. Hope you enjoy!

Click a link below for a downloadable image of the Fallpaper desktop wallpaper:

1024×768 (best for standard)
1680×1050 (best for widescreen)

Have a beautiful weekend!

Sarah Rosenthal
http://www.orange-element.com

Earlier this week I wrote about President-elect Barack Obama’s big win on Tuesday, and how I hoped that he would continue to harness his powerful brand and understanding of new media to engage the American public. Here’s what I wrote:

As he makes his transition into the presidency, I will be particularly interested in whether or not he continues to use his powerful brand and marketing (Facebook, Twitter, Web, print, etc) to connect with the American people. It is my hope that this will usher in a new era of political communication and transparency.  

Yesterday, the new administration took a giant leap forward in this regard by launching change.gov.

This site is beautifully done (particularly for a .gov site) and helps to keep the public informed about the transition period between the general election and the Inauguration in January of 2009. In true Obama fashion, the site places an emphasis on design, creating an experience that is just as filled with hope and enthusiasm as his campaign for the presidency was.  

It also really does a good job of providing the transparency that the American public craves from a new administration–the same transparency that encouraged millions to take part in campaigning for Obama for the last year +. On the site users will find a detailed outline of his agenda once he takes office, an opportunity for them to share their story of hope and change, event details and information on his administration.  

For now the site itself is pretty simple, but it’s a very encouraging step in the right direction. Take a look when you have a chance!

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

Yesterday we met with a company that manufacturs a great consumer product that you’d find in a grocery store to talk about working with them on some brand and marketing initiatives. As such, we’ve been thinking about product brands and product packaging a whole lot over the past few days. It seemed only appropriate to highlight a product brand that I feel is doing it right.

Check out the brand and label for Lazarus Wine:

I love this execution for a number of reasons. First, it’s unique–In a liquor store there are literally thousands of choices. Wines with unique labels typically have a much better chance of being selected. I also really like this packaging design because it reinforces the Lazarus brand’s chief distinction, which is that it is made by blind people. The designers in this case have dramatized this distinction by using braille on the labels. 

Brilliant - because being different and communicating a distinction both matter. This product will sell, sell, sell.

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

Today is a new day. The American people have spoken and elected Barack Obama as their 44th President of the United States. His encouraging words of “yes, we can” are providing hope for multitudes of generations and uniting the American people on both sides of the aisle.

As he makes his transition into the presidency, I will be particularly interested in whether or not he continues to use his powerful brand and marketing (Facebook, Twitter, Web, print, etc) to connect with the American people. It is my hope that this will usher in a new era of political communication and transparency.  

I also hope that American citizens will continue taking interest in the political process and be as passionate about supporting President Obama as they were about Senator Obamaas a candidate. To help you continue showing your support for President-elect Obama, Jeff Domke has created a collection of high-quality dingbats for you to use to create your own Obamaphernalia. Check it out:

You can download them for FREE, here. This is a great country.

Via Swissmiss.

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

…and then go get some Starbucks.  

You have to applaud Starbucks for staying true to its socially-conscious brand, even when the tempatation is to sell out and name a blend of coffee after Obama or McCain…Instead they decided to give folks that care enough to vote a cup of coffee on the house.  The best part is, I’ll bet the return on this is probably immense, since the message went viral with the help of the video above and services like Twitter and Facebook. Kudos Starbucks.   

NOW GO VOTE.

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