THIS JUST IN

A request to design a poster for the Committee of Seventy in collaboration with The Pennsylvania Voter ID Coalition.

THE PURPOSE

As of November 6, 2012, all voters must show photo ID every time they vote. With the April 24th primary just around the corner (next week) Seventy and the Coalition seized the opportunity to get the word out.

They launched a campaign, titled, “Photo ID. ASK ME!,” which includes 1,500 posters and 100,000 information flyers to be distributed by volunteers (who will be identified accordingly) at Pennsylvania-area polls. The goal is to raise awareness regarding Pennsylvania’s new Voter ID law.

CREATIVE BRIEF

1. Can’t look like a campaign poster

2. Can’t use blue or red (this is a non-partisan public education campaign)

3. Must be a quick, simple, easy read

WHAT WE DID

MGD designers cranked out eight concepts in less than three hours, giving the client lots of options from which to choose. These are a few pulled from the first round of sketches.

Sketches on the fly!

The voter’s booth/photo booth concept  (directly above) was selected.  English and Spanish versions of the poster and flyer as well as the volunteer buttons were created instantly. With a minute of extra time, we tested the color and graphics on Broad Street. Noticeable: YES.

Ah, all in a days work!

For more information, call the Committee of Seventy at 1.866.OUR-VOTE (1-866.687.8683) or go to www.seventy.org/voterID. You can also find the Committee of Seventy on: Facebook and Twitter.

For starters, it was way too sporty for a bunch of creative designer types. The net imagery just didn’t work for us (know what I’m sayin’?). The biggest draw back, however, was the frustration from clients who assumed we were a dot com. They’d often complain that emails were bouncing back or that they couldn’t find us on the web. We got tired of saying, “It’s because we’re dot NET not dot COM.” Silence. Apparently being a dot net just wasn’t, um, cool.

Over a decade ago, when we were poking around for a domain name, dot com wasn’t available so we scored a runner-up finish. It’s caused a bit of a headache but as March rolled in today—not so much like a lion—it brought lovely weather and a new domain name for us!

It’s official. We are now MastersGroupDesign.com. Please contact us directly through our new email addresses:

Lisa@MastersGroupDesign.com, Benjamin@MastersGroupDesign.com and Vicki@MastersGroupDesign.com.

Our lives are complicated. The responsibilities of maintaining a family, a home, a job, and our health is a daily challenge. We are flooded with bills, forms, applications and important documents that pile up into our personal folder of life—a reflection of how hard it is to keep up.

For our Philadelphia neighbors living below the poverty level, this daily struggle is compounded by a lack of resources and ability to fight for their basic needs.  They are often at risk for losing their homes and struggle to keep themselves and their children safe and healthy.

Since 1966, Community Legal Service of Philadelphia has been dedicated to obtaining justice for these residents. Every day they stand up to fight for them and produce meaningful results, which is the subject of their newly published 2011 annual report. It contains the voices, photos, and piles of paperwork of CLS clients who have faced mortgage foreclosures, sheriff’s sales, accusations of medical neglect, and a denial of public benefits to which they were entitled. This “folder of life,” art directed and designed by Vicki Gray, is a visual collage expressing the urgent need for equal access to justice for all.

The law firm of Cohen, Placitella & Roth, PC (CPR) approached us to strengthen their visual image. We began with an assessment of their print and digital collateral and concluded that the veteran law firm was replete with stunning results and compelling messages. We also saw opportunities for greater visual clarity and a clean, consistent design approach across the board. In addition, the firm’s name appeared in several different fonts and colors, but this variety lacked purpose. We decided to take a stand there.

Since 1973, CPR has maintained a persistent voice—advocating for their clients and being dedicated to their clients’ causes. Their logo needed to mirror that determination with a time-tested, meticulously crafted font that messages both endurance and strength. To highlight their distinctive style and the creative lens through which they approach each case, we omitted the conventional commas and ampersand in favor of a contemporary forward slash. This direct and punctuated approach is presented as an indelible word mark through engraving or embossing techniques on printed materials. The final logo has an extended full-name version as well as a shortened version. The latter is used in all new communications to introduce their main message. “CPR: It’s what we stand for—Commitment. Purpose. Results.”

After establishing the two-color palette for the word mark, we expanded the system to include a handsome spectrum of grays and navy blue. These accompany the bold rust color that is employed as an accent throughout. It all comes together in a variety of examples below and on their newly redesigned website (cprlaw.com).

Children have always had a STARing role in the work of Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia. Each year, thousands of vulnerable and at-risk children are helped by JFCS’ services which include Critical Needs, Special Needs, Open Arms Adoption Network, Child Welfare, Education and Outreach, and Jewish Community Services.

To generate support for these vital programs, we designed a Chanukah mailer that responded to one specific request from our client, “It must be a star.” No problem! We love a challenge at Masters Group Design.

The mailer “shell” was designed as a Magen David (star of David) with each point representing one of their 6 programs. How to make a donation and details about their programs were included in a hexagon shaped insert that fit inside the star.

Assembling this complicated piece involved the expertise of a world-class origami artist (really, it wasn’t easy). Special thanks to the nimble fingers and extraordinary patience of FMI Direct, who printed, nestled, and hand-folded thousands of these super stars.

For this year’s annual report, Living Beyond Breast Cancer sought a high impact product. Their theme, “Redefining Definitions,” inspired us to create a piece that could “live beyond” the organization’s yearly reporting.

Dividing their content into two halves—one dedicated to outlining the programs and services of the organization and the other serving as a report on the fiscal year—made it possible to create a multipurpose product. Put together, the halves constitute the annual report, but the first 24 pages can stand alone as an independent organizational brochure.

 

We are currently transitioning the design elements to LBBC’s other collateral to create a visually integrated system based on this compelling theme. So far, we extended it to a year-end solicitation, thank you postcards, email banners, a panel card marketing LBBC’s Survivors’ Helpline and conference postcards.

Our creative direction was enriched by a new collection of stunning photographs taken by Laurie Beck Peterson. Each woman featured is an LBBC volunteer whose life has been affected by breast cancer. Their grace and beauty contributed to a boundless layout that emphasized the idea of “living beyond.”

Donor Thank You Postcard

Year End Appeal (cover)

Email Banner

We encourage you to support this vital organization by making a gift online today.

Jewish Relief Agency (JRA) was founded 12 years ago with one goal in mind, to bring vital food support to hungry, disadvantaged Jewish families in the community.

Each year the organization plans a family-friendly fundraiser to bring exposure to their great work and raise the necessary funds to keep it going. This year, they’ll be celebrating 37 amazing volunteers, internally referred to as the “Yellow Cappers”. These dedicated workers ensure that everything runs smoothly, managing roughly 800 people of all ages who participate in JRA’s monthly food distributions. Every month, volunteers fill the JRA warehouse in northwest Philadelphia, donning bright yellow shirts and caps, packing boxes, loading them up, and delivering them door-to-door to those in need. This hands-on approach led to the theme of this year’s benefit: Hats Off to Hands On.

Masters Group Design had the pleasure of developing the visual communication for the event. The project was a joy thanks to a fabulous, dedicated team of planners including Amy Krulik, Executive Director of JRA, and Joan Denenberg + Sheri Resnik (Resnik/Denenberg Events).

For over 25 years, the company has worked hard to maintain a strong visual presence, defined largely by its signature squirrel and bright yellow sale signs. When approaching this project, these elements had to remain recognizable. Our goal was to build on their equity and evolve the identity to a more sophisticated, modern aesthetic while remaining familiar to their loyal following.

Masters Group Design was honored to partner with Elfant Wissahickon and help them achieve this milestone. You can visit them in Chestnut Hill, at their Center City location (2000 Pine Street) or online. And, if you’re looking to buy, sell, or receive knowledge about real estate—follow the squirrel!

Advertorials, November 2010

]]> http://blog.mastersgroupdesign.net/?feed=rss2&p=859 1 http://blog.mastersgroupdesign.net/?p=952 http://blog.mastersgroupdesign.net/?p=952#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:40:02 +0000 Benjamin Brown http://blog.mastersgroupdesign.net/?p=952

Back in May we posted a concept presentation for The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe, an event that supports local artists and brings the world’s newest and most cutting-edge cultural experiences to Philadelphia. For most of the summer, we’ve been working on a ton of collateral for the festival. We’re exciting to see the guides, bus shelters & posters hit the streets! See below for a sampling of promotional material (captured by my phone).

Oh, and get your tickets for the festival (Sept 2-17) while they last!

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