Hallmark Channel Branding

Design firm Imaginary Forces just finished up the 2010 Network Branding for Hallmark Channel (The website got a facelift too).

Here is what they said about the concept:

"The new branding for the Hallmark Channel emphasizes the Network’s goal of “celebrating life’s moments.” Taking the design for the new branding a step further, we celebrated the brand itself. Using an embossed 3D logo, the design physically explores the ins and outs of the logo, and highlights the content of the network with changing color schemes and subtle cues to the programming it surrounds."

It is very very cool! Check out the video on their site.

New on "Hallmarkers Who Blog" List

It seems that every day I meet a new fab Hallmarker... Dave M. is one of those people.

I have been in the Licensing Design Studio since September, and am getting to know more about my talented, funny, sincere, and diverse team here, of which Dave is a big part of. A 2008 Reuben Award Winner, illustrator, and designer for Hallmark, I can always count on him for a smile, a little-known fact, a silly story, or a great joke.

All joking aside, Dave is a great guy and his blog has some wonderful product, inspiration, and laughs -- check out his blog under "Hallmarkers Who Blog." Also, check out his People Page on Hallmark's PR site.

Day Trip :: Weston, MO

On Saturday, my boyfriend and I took a day trip to Weston, MO (about 25 miles north of Kansas City) for some fall bike riding and to visit this historic town we'd never visited. What we happened upon was far more amazing than you'd ever expect from this town of slightly more than 1,500.

Each year, the local pub, O'Malley & Sons and the local brewery, Weston Brewing Company host an Irish Fest. There are a lot of these types of festivals around KC. I'm no historian, but I'd imagine it's because of a large number of Irish immigrants or possibly because we simply have multiple microbreweries with good beer. Whatever the reason, this festival was a lot like the rest: live entertainment, little shops set up in tents with Celtic jewelry and art, food, and of course, frosty beer of multiple varieties.

As we walked around, we decided to duck into the pub, O'Malley & Sons, and see what it was like. Here is the unassuming exterior of the building:


We walked inside and saw nothing but restrooms with long lines to our right. But, in front of us, a line of people was moving up and down a long staircase. My thoughts: Cool. Must be a basement bar. So, we followed the line of people down a long flight of stairs....down a ramp.....through a small room with a few tables..... down some more stairs....through a tunnel (my thoughts: Ok, really?? A tunnel? Is this a dungeon? There better be something cool at the end... my ankle [which is not fully healed from a recent sports injury] is killing me...

Finally, we arrived at this:


My thoughts: I haven't seen anything like this anywhere in the U.S. [I'm pretty well-traveled, having been to 3/4 of the states]... I haven't seen anything like this since my friend Michelle and I went to Germany and happened upon a small pub under the street near our hostel! Here are a few quick stats:

-O'Malley & Sons is the most sought-out pub by Irish musicians traveling the U.S.
-The Weston Brewing Company was built in 1842, and the three cellars that made up the original brewery are now home to O'Malley & Sons Pub
-The lower cellar of O'Malley's is nearly 60 (yes, sixty feet underground (the lower cellar is where we sat and had a beer and listened to the Irish band, pictured above)!
-The ceilings in the lower cellar are 20 feet high.
-O'Malley's is Weston, MO's tallest building, 6 stories, all located underground.
-The brewery, Weston Brewing company brews 5 beers year-round, and also brews special seasonal beers, including my favorite from our visit, Dropkick Ale.

My quick snapshots don't do this hidden gem justice. I am sure that I will soon return: the 25 mile drive is worth it to feel like you are in a different time and place... And, we spent the whole day at the pub -- there are many more attractions in Weston to visit, including antique stores, winter candle-lit home tours, shopping, a winery, and several bed and breakfasts. I'll be back!

P.S. As if having an awesome environment and tasty beer is not enough, Weston Brewing Company has some nicely designed labels on their beers, too:

Feist and a Lesson in Storytelling

One of the schools that Bess and I visited in Atlanta this week used the following videos as a lesson in a design class: audience and storytelling are critical to design problem-solving, and this was the example the professor used. Very cool, I think. Enjoy!

Hilarity + Sweet Design = Great Book!

Check out this awesome find I spotted at Barnes and Noble last night. Were You Raised by Wolves: Clues to the Mysteries of Adulthood, by Christie Mellor is hilarious (not to mention incredibly well-written, full of experimental typography and hand lettering, brimming with fun line-work illustration, and is all wrapped up in a simple, flat-outcool color palette. Take it as a dose of mid-afternoon "I'm tired of working and I wanna go to happy hour" inspiration.

Browse Inside this book Get this for your site

Oh, and also take a peek at Christie's blog on Mommytrackd.com. Christie's attitude surrounding motherhood is totally the type of mom-'tude that I want to have someday!

Green....

.... is not just a modern-day buzzword here at Hallmark. Throughout our company, we're doing all sorts of things to reduce our carbon footprint and decrease our impact on the environment. To prove it, I'll be posting examples of our green initiatives each week. Here's the first!



For one of our largest mass-channel retail partners, WalMart, we created this line of green cards. These sweet cards hit the end cap displays in the card section of most WalMart stores nationwide this summer.

From the back of each card: "These little cards are greener than most because they are made from half sugarcane by-products and half recycled paper. That means no new trees were cut down to make the. So not only are they fun to send, but they're extra good for the earth, too."

Not only are they earth-friendly, but they only cost $0.94 each, so they're good for your pocketbook too!

For more posts about green initiatives at Hallmark, look for our new logo, or click on the "green" label.

Wait!? People are doing cool things... in KC!?!

YES!




Check out local design/letterpress studio, HAMMERPRESS, featured on Design*Sponge. Just goes to show the amazing talent... in the midwest... right here in KC.

Click THIS.

From KC to NYC

Hallmark recently had an exhibit at the New York Licensing Show, June 10th-12th at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.

Most people know that Hallmark has licensing relationships with places like Disney, Mattel, Marvel, Dreamworks, and many more (and we've got the cards, plates, cups, napkins, ornaments, and gifts to prove it!). However, most people don't know that we also have a group responsible for licensing out some of Hallmark's creative assets.

From the Hallmark Design Collections website. "For nearly 100 years, Hallmark has been creating images that people love. Each year, we add more than 23,000 new illustrations, designs, and photographs to our collection—a collection that spans every emotion, occasion, and season. Hundreds of thousands of images are waiting for you—created by Hallmark artists and photographers, or derived from Hallmark-owned collections. It's a treasure trove of creativity, one that will truly set your products apart."

So, below are some photos from the Hallmark Design Collections booth at the New York Licensing Show. Be sure to check out the Design Collections website to browse more of the collection and for information on how to tap into our unparalleled creative collections!

My new fave blog.

Ya know, I was chatting over an afternoon snack today with my friend Laura, discussing blogs. I still have some feelings of blog-design inadequacy, but then I realized, there are probably a million blogs out there, and not all of them can be more hip & more designerly that the others surrounding it on the www.

I got to thinking, do financial analysts blog about the latest interest rates on high yield savings accounts? Do mechanics blog about the latest hybrid fix-it techniques? Or, do paleontologists blog about how long-term physical changes of global geography, paleogeography, and climate paleoclimate have affected the evolution of life? If they do, I doubt that their blogs are filled with the latest hot eye candy... and I will bet that their blog header is just as plain as mine is. In fact, I'll bet that the authors on these blogs just simply don't give a rip about how their interface looks. It's content that matters, right?

We are our own worst critic: I surround myself with design, art, architecture, photography, illustration, and all things creative every day. Herein lies the reason I am having blog inadequacies... so, I decided to explore new blogs, outside of my everyday world.

Today, I explored the world of food blogs. Here is my new favorite: http://lunchstudio.blogspot.com/ Yum!






Oh, and by the way, I did find a pretty neat paleontologists blog, if you're into that sort of thing...

Form or Function?

Or both? Are these forms simply for fun or is there function behind each friendly facade? Take a look and make a guess. Answers below.

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Answers: 1. paper towel holder 2. pepper mill 3. soap dispenser 4. toilet paper holder 5. toothpick holder 6. cheese grater 7. bathtub drain plug 8. vegetable chopper 9. egg cup with salt reserve and spoon 10. dip dish with mini-spreader 11. corkscrew 12. colander 13. salt mill 14. tea bag drainer 15. corkscrew 16. nail brush 17. fruit juicer with cup 18.nut cracker and bowl 19. sugar castor 20. kitchen timer

All products can be found (and purchased) here. I love this site!