Vital Design Blog » logos in portsmouth nh

Coffee for A Cause: Popovers Donates to African Memorial

Brian DeKoning — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 21:25:58 +0000

Supporting a charity or cause is a great way for businesses to connect with their customers and show them that they really care about the local community.

So we were excited – as caffeine addicts, marketers, and members of the Seacoast community – to see a special offer from Popovers on the Square which will happen Wednesday.

As part of celebrating its fifth anniversary in business, the European bistro-style cafe will donate 50% of the price of each coffee-based product sold on Aug. 10 (from 7 a.m. – 11 p.m) to the cause of creating a memorial park for the African Burying Ground. Additionally, Popovers owner John Tinios will match every donation personally.

The African Burying Ground effort strives to memorialize those buried in a part of the city identified on a 1705 map as “Negro Burying Ground.” The area was paved over when the city expanded in subsequent years.

Coffins in the area at the intersection of Court and Chestnut streets were accidentally unearthed in 2003 by city workers. The city of Portsmouth has since formed a blue ribbon committee to create a memorial at the site.

To make a small donation to the effort, all you need to do is buy a coffee at Popovers on the Square, strategically positioned in Market Square, on Wednesday.

The promotion essentially means that 100% of all coffee sales on Wednesday at Popovers will be donated to the African Burying Ground. It is a generous offer from Mr. Tinios.

And be sure to tweet this, share it on Facebook, post to Google+ or share it in whatever way is going to spread the word. Download a flyer in support of the effort here.

Tutorial: Vital Does Auto Decals

Jesse Rand — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:46:15 +0000

Creating a full vehicle wrap can be a daunting task for a designer. They just seem so complicated, particularly placing them on these fancy new futuristic models. Luckily, there is a wealth of helpful hints and tutorials online, and in keeping with the Web tradition of Vital helping out our fellow graphic designers, here is a quick walkthrough of our process and the slick final product.

Step 1 – Vehicle Wrap Make/Model/Year

In this case we dealt with a 2008 Hyundai Accent for our friends at Nerd 1-1. The Hyundai ended up being a great model for our first foray into the vehicle wrap world, mostly due to it being relatively small and sleek– so that initial urge to make the graphic design look like a street racer actually worked!

Why is this important?

Beyond the obvious reasons, you will need the specifics. You can skewer the links below to try and find a pre-built Adobe® Illustrator® artboard template.

Step 2 – Download or Build Your Vehicle Wrap Template

Using the resources listed below; along with anything Google might find for you. Try your best to find a pre-built Template of the exact make and model of your vehicle.

*Special thanks to Jacob Cass of Just Creative Design for compiling this list of resources.

Step 2.5 – Building The Vehicle Wrap Template

Time to get out the digital camera.

Shoot both sides, the rear end, the hood, and if you can – the roof – at the highest resolution possible. This way if you need to drag the design into Photoshop you’ll have something to work with. Next you will need to trace every nook and cranny on the body of your vehicle. Remember that every slight angle, bevel, and piece of molding needs to be accounted for in the design, so spare no details. Once you’re done, the template should look something like this:

Step 3 – Applying Your Graphic Design

OK, all of the technical junk is out of the way and you can start to have some fun. In our case, the requested vehicle wrap only needed to reflect the company branding, which is (thankfully) all vector based. So Illustrator© it is!

Create A New Layer

Just to make life easier on the printer and to better organize the design.

Wrapping The Graphics

The original outline of your template works similar to a die-cut in traditional printing, and you are free to let your colors hang as far over the edge as you would like. In fact, if the design is meant to wrap around the edge you will have to do this. Think of it like a bleed.

Dealing with subtle grooves in the body of the vehicle can be a bit tricky if you don’t have real-world access to the vehicle. You will want to go outside and look at just how deep the grooves might be, because your straight line stripe may not look so straight once it goes up and over that door panel molding. Just be aware of this.

Step 4 – Saving Your File

Now that your design is placed on its own layer – on top of the outline template – you are all set to save your file. It may throw you off that the file size is so small and that the document is only 8.5 x 11 but this is intentional as the printer will just want your entire source file. They will blow it up and do the heavy lifting for you. Oh and be kind, save in Legacy, not every printer is using CS5.5.

Now Sit Back and Revel in (Y)Our Work.

Real-Life Social Networking: How The Music Hall Wins With Community Marketing

Monte Bohanan — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:12:52 +0000

An essential component of any business is relationships. It’s who you know and how you can help each other. Relationship building is how my employer, The Music Hall, does business.

But that’s only half the circle. If you go into a relationship with the understanding that by helping each other, everyone benefits, then you are really onto something.

Call it synergy, call it enlightened self-interest, call it a rising tide that lifts all boats. It doesn’t matter what you call it, the effect is real. So why don’t more business do it?

Business Relationships Take Time

This is not a quick fix. It takes time and effort to develop a genuine relationship with your partners. The Music Hall is a 900-seat historic theater in the heart of downtown Portsmouth, NH and it seems that every production we create or event we host involves partnering with a business, non-profit organization, or charity.

A great example of what I’m talking about is “Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth,” a collaboration between living history museum Strawbery Banke Museum, The City of Portsmouth, downtown hotels and the local chamber of commerce to make Portsmouth a destination in December.

By partnering, we expand our reach. We can offer amenities we couldn’t individually. And we have increased ad-buying power. Instead of competing for holiday dollars, we generate more money for everyone involved by making it easy to book a hotel, find a restaurant, go on a candlelight stroll, see a live show in our gorgeous theater, and get around Portsmouth’s lovely historic downtown.

Heading into its seventh year, Vintage Christmas is a boon to all involved. The hotels are happy to have something unique for guests. The Music Hall and Strawbery Banke are happy with increased ticket sales. The City and the chamber are happy because it is yet another way for Portsmouth to be a focal point in local, regional, and national media. The restaurants and shops are happy because we deliver customers to their doorsteps in December.

This is how the synergy works. When the restaurants are full, The Music Hall benefits. When The Music Hall has a show, the restaurants are full. There is a feeling that there is something going on and that feeds the feeling that there is, well, something going on. Portsmouth’s most prolific restaurateurs, Jay McSharry, points out the importance of The Music Hall in drawing business as a key reason he continues to support The Music Hall.

“For my business and many others downtown, The Music Hall is a key factor for success, an engine for growth,” said McSharry.

The Vintage Christmas example is a huge undertaking with a lot of staff resources. But collaboration can be simple, too. For example, you could host a social networking event that raises money for charity through foursquare checkins. It can be really easy. Really. Here are some tips.

Find the Right Collaborators
Many great ideas falter because one or both parties don’t follow through. You have a meeting and everyone is really excited about the idea, but nothing happens. Avoid this by choosing partners carefully and making your expectations clear. Do your homework, and make sure you’re not the problem.

Maintain the Relationship
Once you have that first collaboration with someone, make sure that you do a post-mortem. Find out what worked and what didn’t, make plans to do it again, better. Keep notes. Remember that these things often work best when it is not all about sell, sell, sell. It is a chance to engage your customers in a different and meaningful way.

Get Out There And Do It
While it may seem daunting, it doesn’t have to be. The best way to learn is to do. Once you start looking with fresh eyes at the possibilities around you and start talking to people, the ideas will start pouring out. Not all the ideas are feasible. Knowing the difference is a learned skill. Start small, and know when to say when.

What do you think? How have you partnered with other businesses in win-win situations? Let us know what you think below and be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed to get regular Vital posts when they’re fresh.

Guest blogger Monte Bohanan is electronic & new technology manager at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, NH where he manages the website, social media and IT. He is also the head honcho of Tide Mill Studio, a Web design and marketing solutions company focused on small, micro-business and nonprofits.

Building a High-End Brand One Handshake at a Time

Chris Martin — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:27:21 +0000

Buying decisions are almost always influenced by branding. At some level, we all have preconceptions about the value we’ll get when we make a purchase or work with a company. Having certain expectations for a brand is a huge factor in purchasing decisions, even here in NH for a niche market.

Consistent and accurate branding can be a huge factor in stimulating consistent growth for your company. For Sperry Tents Seacoast, founded in 2006, developing a recognizable, distinguished brand – including logo design but also messaging and identity – for our high-end event tent company has been important for our marketing and word-of-mouth referrals. Sperry offers sail-cloth canvas tents that are hand-sewn and crafted by master sailmakers.

But our branding goes well beyond having consistent colors and a professional logo on everything we put out. Our brand is about relationships, how we work with people, and how our representatives present themselves. In addition to the great graphic design Vital provides, we’ve used three key elements for building our brand:

High resolution photos of our event tents

We partner with photographers and are happy to pay for the best shots of our tents, flooring, and lighting in action. We have a vast library of photos to choose from whenever we need to produce marketing materials, a website or an email.

Clean, professional uniforms, vehicles and signage

The Sperry brand means respectful, professional employees who are courteous and treat our clients’ property as if it was their own – but better. You’ll never see a Sperry employee on a job site without a tucked-in collared shirt or a jacket featuring the Sperry logo. Additionally, our trucks are clean, well-maintained and always feature consistent Sperry signage and logos.

Attention to customer service

Sperry Tents Seacoast always has a manager on-site who can make decisions quickly to answer customer questions and take care of concerns. It might be more lucrative in the short-term for us to have fewer staff at each event. But it would be a mistake – and a disservice to our customers – in the long run.

All of these things and many more have helped Sperry build a brand that clients often know before they even see our high-quality canvas tents or hear about our attention to customer service. In short, many of our prospective clients, whether brides-to-be or event and wedding planners, understand that the Sperry brand is a promise of high-end quality as well as a high level of personal customer service.

Sperry has worked closely with Vital Design to help translate the quality products and services we offer into what has become our Sperry brand. But it wasn’t always this way.

The beginning for Sperry was a fast grass roots growth fueled mostly by word-of-mouth referral. As we continued to grow, we looked to organize our unique services and customized approach into a uniform message for consumers and vendors alike. Vital has helped us establish a recognized brand with a clear promise. They’ve also helped translate this promise to our website, our social outposts, and our print and Web advertising.

In the events industry, it is extremely important to stay current and maintain relationships with everyone involved in the event planning process. Our social media and Web presence has also enabled us to keep the conversation alive with vendors and with brides-to-be.

To stay competitive and to really carve out a niche in your industry, a strong, established brand is essential. It’s the face of your company – the first thing prospective clients and your community see. A consistent messaging and brand strategy is about building relationships, trust and credibility so your audience and customers know what to expect from you.

Guest blogger Chris Martin is marketing coordinator and operations manager for Sperry Tents Seacoast. When not helping Sperry Tents grow through traditional and social media marketing, he enjoys skiing and hiking in Northern NH.

Ideas on simple, authentic ways to build your brand? Please comment below!

Vital Welcomes New Designers Jesse Rand and Shane Rutherford

Brian DeKoning — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 13:28:50 +0000

With the arrival of the new year, times are changing and so are the faces here at Vital Design. We are very happy to welcome our newest team members, graphic designers Jesse Rand and Shane Rutherford.

Jesse and Shane will dive into many exciting projects Vital Design has slated for 2011. Jesse will work both in graphic design and Web development while Shane will focus primarily on graphic design and branding.

Jesse’s previous experience includes time in the Boston mobile start-up industry as an in-house graphic designer where he produced branding, print and Web collateral, and mobile UI development. He even produced and directed his own segment for Bryant Gumble’s “The Economic Report.” He returned to NH to work for a small marketing company, where he was responsible for the design and development of numerous small medical practice websites from around the country. Jesse holds a BFA from Plymouth State University, with a concentration in graphic design.

“I’ve always admired Vital’s online marketing presence and overall aesthetic from afar,” Jesse said. “To say I’m excited to finally be a part of this team would be a gross understatement.”

A Portsmouth native, Shane has worked extensively as a designer, photographer and marketer in the action sports industry in San Diego, CA where he worked for national and international apparel brands. He has also worked as a graphic designer at Infinite Imaging, Ideal Health and previously at Vital Design in 2004. Shane was part of the team that designed some of the most popular brands in Vital’s portfolio.

Modern Design’s Influence on one of the World’s Oldest Team Sports

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:48:39 +0000

Crisp fall nights loom on the horizon as we wind down the dog days of August. This time of year means football, for many. Of course, geography plays a large part in determining which brand of football. Being part of the growing contingent of football fans in the states that follows the European version – the one played with feet – I’d like to examine the influence of modern design on the rebranding of football clubs in Europe. You can think of them as soccer clubs if you’d like, I can assure you no one in this group will mock you publicly.

ARSENAL FC

We start with the rebrand of the club I have a firsthand knowledge and love for: Arsenal FC. I remember when the new crest debuted. You might have thought someone dropped a bomb on the stadium and sold all the players, according to some in the blogosphere who saw this as a clear abomination and betrayal of the club’s history and heritage. Given time, however, people get over their disdain for change and embrace a new look. Minimizing design isn’t always the answer, but it has been a successful trend in modern updates of brands from corporate to sport, and here I feel it works quite well. The previous crest was far too ornate, and busy. The update displays a modern font and a simplified eastern facing cannon that signifies a commitment to progressively moving forward. All told, a resounding success as far as this designer is concerned. Of course I teeter on the brink of bias, but I digress. A-

BOLTON WANDERERS FC

Moving on To Bolton, a truly detestable side with a moderately detestable crest. This upgrade is subtle and preserves their previous typography adding little whispy streamers instead of the stately ribbon of the previous effort. This upgrade isn’t particularly bad as it’s understated enough, I’m simply not a fan of the logo to begin with. And anything that evokes the memory of Will Ferrell’s floor dance performance in “Old School” can’t be a good representation for any club looking to establish their identity. D+

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Let’s jump countries on our European tour over to Germany to check on Borussia’s update to their classic BVB crest. Punching up the yellow really leaves an impression. The typography has been updated nicely to make the crest symmetrical and sophisticated. It’s simple but memorable. A

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC

Being an Arsenal supporter, Tottenham falls under the category of nemesis. The clubs are separated in North London by four miles and a wealth of good fortune. That said, as much as it pains me to say so, the update of the club’s crest is a fantastic improvement. The simplification of the “cockerel,” (their birds not mine) came off perfectly. They dumped the lions and Latin and inserted a retro football in the place of the club’s initials. I think the color, lines, and look of this update to the crest are nearly flawless leaving you with a simple and sophisticated improvement. For that they receive high marks. A+

PARIS ST. GERMAIN FC

Onto France where we take a look at the updates in Paris. PSG did a nice job cleaning up what was otherwise a little murky. The black strokes on the old logo were harsh, and the typography appears messy jetting off the icon as it does. The upgrade addresses these issues nicely, even if the baby crib under the Eiffel Tower is a little curious. B-

AJAX FC

The Dutch national team has one of the coolest brands of all time in the lion’s head. I liked it so much I placed it on the Vital team jerseys for our Tuesday night league. This fondness does not carry across the board in Holland as Amsterdam’s Ajax (eye-axe to those of you confusing it with a cleaning product) upgrade has left me a little conflicted. On the one hand I love the type update, as well as the red border, but I can’t help thinking the update to the Greek Warrior Ajax’s face took simplicity to the precipice and beyond. If we were to agree that the original version was far too detailed to reproduce across multiple forms of media would we then agree that using a fat magic marker to do a quick trace would not be the answer to simplifying the image? I think so. In writing this I’ve learned that supporters have been campaigning to ditch the new crest since its inception in the ’90s due to it being too cold and business like. A campaign that has fallen on deaf ears. Proof positive that you can oversimplify your brand and agitate your target audience. C-

Moving away from the per club breakdown of club crests, I’d like to now move swiftly onto my “FILE UNDER” segment where we take some successful, some not so successful, some legendary and some downright bizarre examples of rebranding from around European football leagues and file them under their appropriate categories.

FILE UNDER “PROGRESS”:

FILE UNDER “STROBE-TASTIC”:

FILE UNDER “MUTANT RABBIES CAT”:

FILE UNDER “FINE WINE AND BIOHAZARD”:

FILE UNDER “LAW SUIT”:

FILE UNDER “INEXPLICABLE”:

FILE UNDER “УРОДСКО!”:

FILE UNDER “Vive Le Résistance!”:

FILE UNDER “YOU AIN’T GO-‘N’ NOWHERE”:

FILE UNDER “LEGENDARY”:

Smooth Scroll Site for Stone Church

Brian DeKoning — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:13:28 +0000

We are happy to launch a new website design for the Stone Church, the coolest music venue in the Seacoast, NH area.

After designing a new logo for The Stone Church, we used a one-page, smooth scroll approach for this site because we wanted to give The Church a memorable website that is easy to update (it helps that Church owner Chris McClain knows HTML) but is not too complicated.

This is the first one-page, smooth scroll site we’ve built for a client and I think we are all happy with the design. One of my favorite parts, other than the guitar, is the look of the Twitter feed. It blends well with the rest of the site and is an easy opportunity for dynamic content.

The Stone Church has been around for about 40 years. Despite some major renovations over the years, I don’t think it has changed all that much in terms of the type of music or energy and crowds you’ll find there. Needless to say, we were very excited to be chosen for this project. Chris and his wife/business partner Melissa Poirier have been fantastic to work with.

The design by Art Director Scott Holt is meant to make you feel like you are sitting at a table or the bar of The Church. To do this, he used a lot of life-size things like beers and napkins and guitar pics as seen from a top perspective. (A few years ago we would have included ashtrays and matchbooks.)

Some of the inspiration for Web Developer Bill Lord on this site can be summed up with this very cool Creative Opera blog post, especially sites like Football Made in Africa, Danny Blackman, and The Great Bearded Reef.

We’ve already put out a press release and inundated our Twitter followers and Facebook fans with way more info about this project than they can probably bear, so I’ll be brief here. For more information, see the press release we wrote and feel free to leave us comments or questions here or through social media sites.

Lessons of Tropicana. Squeezing every drop from your brand.

admin — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:37:12 +0000

If a tired brand is dragging you down, a frosty economy is a great time for a new design.

By freshening your brand identity, you’ll create buzz, connect with new customers, and better represent your organization.

It’s kind of like when you start working out to shed that jelly belly after you get dumped. Let ‘em know you’re back in circulation!

But if your brand is more 2004 than 1994, maybe you wanna rethink how your loyal customers will stomach the new you. Consider Tropicana’s ill-fated recent redo, an example of rebranding gone horribly sour.

PepsiCo’s complete brand overhaul included a twist on Tropicana branding with a sleek, new package that some loyal customers called a generic juice box! (Who knew how much they love the orange with the straw?)

The reaction to the new packaging was so acidic that Tropicana squashed the updated design and reverted to their orange-impaled-by-candy-striped-straw look.

There are two big lessons here. The first is that social media networks like Twitter and Facebook (not to mention the electronic mail and the rest of them Internets) give instant power to the people. Forget the slow pulp of newsprint or the long, sagging vines of telephony when it comes to relaying consumer rejection. Buyer discontent is instant.

The second lesson is that it’s vital to leverage your existing brand strengths. Take time to consider this before you hire someone who never bought a carton of orange juice to make visual or graphic adjustments to your life’s blood. Beware the huanglongbing of change for change’s sake.

If done carefully and with research of your target market, company values and core message, an identity redesign can be the best thing for your brand. The 2009 ReBrand 100 Global Awards are great examples.

Pass the Burnt Sienna

Kris Combs — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:22:12 +0000

I’ll never forget what a client said one day early in my career after receiving a proposal for a logo design.

“This is what a logo costs!??!” exclaimed the client, who shall remain nameless. “A monkey with a crayon can do your job for crying out loud!”

I didn’t bother to explain that a monkey would actually have to learn how to use Adobe Creative Suites to do my job. In retrospect, it’s funny, but that experience shows you how logo estimates are sometimes received by clients who haven’t had custom design work done.

After explaining the planning, thought process, and wrist labor that designers go through, clients usually see the importance of the investment in professional help. Or they walk away laughing because we refer to moving a mouse as labor.

Whether we are designing a logo, or planning user interface and search engine optimization for a website, graphic and Web designers use a lot of experience-based knowledge and training to produce professional work. That’s why we’re in business, right? If we lack in those areas, we just wear nerdy glasses and tight jeans to make you feel like we know something you don’t. Just kidding!

If you think you need professional marketing help in design or Web, ask yourself these questions:

Is my logo or brand telling my customers what I want them to know?

Is my website content interesting and easy to read/view/hear?

How does my website show up when people in my area Google the service/product I provide?

If any of these questions are a stumbling block we can help. We don’t work for peanuts but throw in few bananas and we can talk.

5 Things Your Logo Should Say About You

Rachel Swanson — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:48:49 +0000

Logos are often the first introduction the public has to your company, so it’s critical to make a good impression with a professional image. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your logo needs to break out its interview suit, but it needs to have an appropriate style for your product or company. An eye-catching logo will inspire people to learn more about your brand, even if they have no idea what you do. It is equally important to realize that an uninspired logo can turn customers away before they get through the door. Here are five things your logo should say about your company, organization, or brand. How does yours measure up?

1. I am a professional and I take my business seriously (even if it’s Disney World).

2. I know who I am and what my brand represents.

3. I understand the audience that I am trying to reach.

4. I am current.

5. I am unique.

If you’re not sure where your logo stands, you can always contact us here at Vital for a free and honest evaluation. In the meantime, check out the work of other designers. One source of logo inspiration we like is the Logo of the Day Blog.

For critique and discussion of updated logos, nothing beats the Brand New Blog.
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