Hello, Office Peeps!

Office Systems, Inc. is now Office Peeps!  The Watertown, SD-based company recently unveiled a new retro-inspired identity.

Starting with the logo, Office Peeps has also rolled out the new look on their website, storefront signage, and print materials. A teaser newspaper campaign slowly revealed the company’s new identity during the week of the unveiling. 

Insight Marketing Design was excited to rebrand the 50-year old office sales and service business. We created a complete array of integrated campaign components. 

"We learned that the company’s greatest value and strength was its employees,” said Insight Principal, Candy Van Dam. “The rebranding puts the emphasis on people, rather than products.”

Not that products aren’t important. Office Peeps carries over 50,000 products, and offers them at competitive, low prices. “By being part of buying groups, Office Peeps’ purchasing power rivals that of any mass merchandiser,” said Van Dam.

“But because the staff is so experienced, many with 20 or 30 years at the company, they really know the products – and the customers – inside and out,” she said.

New Hardware

 

Insight was just notified that we won 11 MarCom Awards for 2009 (loud applause)!

Just for the record -- no, we didn't send in 50 entries. Just 16. And yes, we had competition, with nearly 5,000 entries.

Also, for the record, we like the little statuettes MarCom Awards bring.

Here's how we did:

•  Four Platinum Awards -- the highest honor -- for “Moonlight Movies,” a movie trailer produced for Downtown Sioux Falls; Ethanol Today covers for the American Coalition for Ethanol’s membership magazine; a video for Children’s Home Society on the making of the Little Red Stocking window; and Santa’s Prayer, a book also created for Children’s Home Society.

•  Four Gold Awards for the “DSU 2.0 Invitation” for Dakota State University Foundation; the “Chicago TV Spot” for the Sioux Empire Community Theatre; the “Does it Hurt When You?” advertising campaign for Open Upright MRI of South Dakota and a television campaign, “It’s Turkey Time,” for the South Dakota Poultry Industry Association.

• Three Honorable Mentions, for the “Enjoy the Scenery” Season Poster and the Season Illustration for the Sioux Empire Community Theatre; and the logo, letterhead and business cards for Chicagoland Community Church.

The MarCom Awards is an international creative competition that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communications professionals. It is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals.

 

 

IMD Begins Book Tour

Yes, Insight has been published. Not in an artsy little zine that three people in San Francisco read. Not in a brochure of Addy® winners. Not in a book we created ourselves (good idea, though).

In fact, Insight's work now appears in two books so legit you can find them at your local big box bookstore, or order them from your favorite local independent bookstore. Or online.

They're big books. The kind you'd find on a coffee table in a really cool house. Or in the art department of an ad agency.

The Big Book of Green Design, 2009, Collins Design, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing, New York, includes four pieces created by Insight.

1. Insight’s Eco Bags, made of 100% recycled materials, were sent to clients with a list of “Top Ten Ways to go Green at Work.”
2. The Bike Rack Art Call for Entries for the City of Sioux Falls was created to solicit designs for original bike rack sculptures.
3. The Fueling Revolution poster for the American Coalition for Ethanol publicized the organizations 2008 National Conference and Trade Show.
4. Ethanol Today is the publication of the American Coalition for Ethanol. Insight designs each issue; The Big Book of Green Design shows the Insight-designed cover of one issue.

Edited by Suzanna Stephens and Anthony Stephens, The Big Book of Green Design features top green design materials created worldwide.

Another title in the "Big Book" design series, The Big Book of Self-Promotion from the same publisher, also hot off the press, contains several pieces from Insight. These include holiday books A Classic Christmas Tail and A Classic Christmas Tail 2.

The Big Book of Self-Promotion contains work from more than 500 design firms worldwide, showcasing the freshest, most inventive ideas used by these companies to promote themselves.

How to get a job in advertising

Many people in advertising are looking for jobs.

No -- and sorry -- we don't have any openings right now. But if we did, we'd be looking first at resumes like these, at Web Designer Depot, via Quipsologies.

The folks who created these resumes clearly thought about the design as though it were a client project. What is the purpose of a resume? Who's the target audience? What does it need to communicate?

The results are unique and delightful.

In general, it's tough to know anything about a person by looking at their resume. Especially in the case of recent graduates -- all the resumes say pretty much the same thing. Given the huge volume of resumes, it's important to provide a compelling reason why yours should receive special consideration.

In other words, it's just like the marketplace. You've got to create a piece that stands out and delivers your message in an engaging and memorable way.

Most important of all, don't forget the needs of the target audience. I've seen so many cover letters that focus entirely on the applicant. Remember to consider the employer's point of view. What do you bring to the table? What can you offer?

And as with all communications, if you can show it, not just tell it, you're ahead of the game.

 

Say Hey to Jill

Today I'd like to introduce you to another new Insight employee, Jill Smith.

Jill grew up in Egan, SD, and went to school in Arizona. She returned to South Dakota after graduation (although I bet she's wondering why these last few days).

As our new Designer/Web Developer, Jill will handle a multitude of tasks involving design. She also experienced the dreaded Initiation Interview, and here's what she revealed.

Q: What’s your favorite song? Or top 3? And why?
A: I have always migrated back to the only India Arie CD I have. I purchased it on a whim, and it's turned out to be one of the best ever. All of the songs are so peaceful and calming, at the same time as giving a message of self-empowerment and worth.

Q: What was your most embarrassing moment?
A: Might have to be kindergarten or 1st grade, don't remember which...mandatory bathroom breaks. I didn't have to go, but they made everyone go in and "try". So I went in and stood in the stall. I didn't want the monitor to see I was just standing there (in case she looked under at our feet) so I sat down on the stool...and fell in! Who leaves the seat up in the girls' restroom!? Darn janitors. Needless to say, my pants got wet and it looked like I had pee'd in them. Luckily, it was right after recess, so I had my jacket to tie around my waist.

Q: If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would it be?
A: Probably my husband. No stress, no expectations...just a nice quiet meal together. At Olive Garden. (He hates it, but I love it!)

Q: If you could redo one thing in your life, what would it be?
A: Nothing really comes to mind. Each experience has taught me something different. I wouldn't be the same person had something not happened just as it had. Well...maybe I'd check that toilet seat before I sat down.

Q: Where is the love?
A: At home! With family!

Q: What is your favorite movie?
A: I can watch "The Grinch" every holiday season. I even watched it without words one day with my daughter because I didn't know how to get the surround sound speakers to work. All we had was the tiny background music coming out of one audio channel. Have you ever realized how much music is layered behind all of the speaking!?

Q: What is your ideal vacation?
A:  I've always wanted to travel to Australia and the Galapagos Islands

Q: Who plays you in the movie made about Insight?
A: Hmm...Angelina Jolie. Because she'd give me a little of the alter-ego bad-ass that we all wish we had.

Q: What are three things you want to achieve during your lifetime?
A: One - raise my daughter to be a respectful and kind-natured person. Two - Make a measurable impact towards the cause of an organization that is important to me, through the use of my skills as a designer. Three - Live my life in a way that my children can look up to, and can say "I want to be just like Mom when I grow up."

Q: What is your favorite PMS color and why?
A: Oooh...there are so many. It ultimately depends on what I'm going to use it on. I've always liked red....so I pick PANTONE 18-1454 TPX Red Clay. It's not overpoweringly flashy and has a bit of a sophisticated air.

Q: What is your favorite font and why?
A: I really like Avant Garde. It's just "nice."

Q: Who is your favorite artist?
A: I'll have to say Bob Ross. I watched his show on PBS when I was a kid and he's the reason I started painting, which was one of the multiple reasons I decided to pursue a career in the arts.

Q: Which car are you most like and why?
A: A Jeep Liberty of course! I drive one and I love it. Versatile enough to make everyone happy (room for the kids, groceries, the occasional 250+ pound English Mastiff), and yet still able to hit some rough terrain and make it through in one piece.

What is Graphic Design?

In the perpetual quest to define what graphic design is, veerle's blog (my favorite design focused blog right now), is helping us to answer this nagging question. She recently hosted a poster design contest allowing designers to tackle this subject by submitting their own designs. The winners are posted here.

Take a moment to view the design of the finalists to see what they came up with, and please let me know what your favorite one is. I personally like 6th place, both for visual representation, variety and definition.

Any kind of art contest is cool, because the competition and contest brings out the best in artists. It challenges us to define what art is, and allows us to dig deeper into ourselves and our world to find out more of what that means. And the great thing is, we all get to collectively define what art is. Because no artist nor his/her work is an island. We all inspire, disgust, challenge, and most importantly help each other to expand the "walls" of what the definition of art is, making it broader than what we thought was originally possible. And contests are the catalysts that spur this process on.

Speaking of art contests, Insight Marketing Design is hosting our own art contest and benefit auction for Children's Home Society. The top 20 judged entries will be displayed at our live auction event on the evening of Thursday, June 19th. Furthermore, two works of fine art will be selected as "Best of Show" on Thursday, June 19th -- one for 2D art and the other for 3D.

The deadline for entries is May 30. By the time this article is published, a majority of entries will be in; however it's not too late, so send in your entry now! It's exciting to see what kind of unique artwork local artists are creating. From photography to oil paintings to 3-D, it will be varied and intriguing for sure.

Be sure to bid on the artwork via Ebay® plug-ins per piece on www.insightmarketingdesign.com. We will have a link on our home page to easily direct you there.

by Ben Hodgins