http://www.mottoagency.com We Are Motto | Brand Strategy + Design Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:20:56 +0000 http://www.mottoagency.com en http://www.mottoagency.com/574936/Hudson-River-Trading http://www.mottoagency.com/574936/Hudson-River-Trading Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:20:56 +0000 We Are Motto | Brand Strategy + Design 574936 Hudson River Trading is a quantitative trading and technology firm based in lower Manhattan. They pride themselves on having a work environment that blends the laid back feeling of a dot-com, the imagination of a startup, the excitement of a trading floor and the intellectual stimulation of a think tank. We created these pieces for their 2010 college recruitment campaign. During our research phase, we learned that students stop by a booth at career fairs to get a sense for what a firm is all about and ask themselves, “Is this a place I’d want to work?” The goal then is to attract candidates who will make a good fit. It's always important to deliver an honest portrayal of an organization’s strengths and culture. We began by interviewing a handful of HRT employees to get an inside look into the company's culture and recruitment process. From there, we caught on to corporate catchphrases that are seen as negatives from an employee standpoint. This is what we used to build the campaign. The focus on these phrases separates HRT from the pack and creates a unique perception of their company in the minds of target candidates to attract, encourage and retain them. <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/574936/HRT_blue.jpg" border="0" width="640" height="959" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/574936/HRT_red.jpg" border="0" width="640" height="959" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/574936/HRT_green.jpg" border="0" width="640" height="959" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/574936/HRT_yellow.jpg" border="0" width="640" height="959" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/574936/HRT_Tshirt.jpg" border="0" width="640" height="710" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/574936/HRT_Tshirt_2.jpg" border="0" width="640" height="710" align="left" /> http://www.mottoagency.com/574936/Hudson-River-Trading http://www.mottoagency.com/543184/SERVICES http://www.mottoagency.com/543184/SERVICES Mon, 02 Aug 2010 01:57:27 +0000 We Are Motto | Brand Strategy + Design 543184 Brand Strategy There's been no more challenging time to figure out a brand strategy than today. That's because brands are less about what we buy, and more about who we are. That means your product can't just look good. It has to feel good to people, too. Building your brand on a deeper level is key to success. Effective brand strategy provides a core idea around which all behavior, actions and communications are aligned. Brand Identity The recognition and perception of a brand is highly influenced by its visual presentation. Identity should support brand strategy and help bring it to life. We create identities that excite people, fuel recognition and embody the emotion, context and essence of your brand. We'll work with you to determine the best type of logo, be it an icon, wordmark, or a combination of the two, and then create an entire system to express your brand visually. And since managing the integrity of your identity is crucial, we provide Brand Standards and Guidelines in PDF format to help companies and their employees build consistent implementation. Your Motto Call it a slogan or a tagline if you will. We prefer to use the term motto since it serves as your guiding principal, your strategic and moral compass. We help you find your critical essence, your inspiring cause, which can elevate your brand over any of the others in your space. We'll craft a simply worded statement that will communicate what you're all about; your motto. Consulting Sometimes you’ve heard your own story so much, that you’re blinded to its important points. Motto provides individual business and brand consulting by the hour for companies and entrepreneurs needing help with things like managing transitions and overcoming obstacles with objective, expert advice. We’ll look at your brand from a diagnostic level, save you from unnecessary experimentation, and offer solutions that you may not have considered yet. The great thing about hourly consulting is that it allows you to get the help you need, at your pace, without a larger financial commitment. We consult via Skype, phone, or in person (local) during normal business hours. Package Design The shelf is probably the most competitive environment that exists for consumer brands. Our objective is to develop packaging that is memorable, distinct, and will dominate rather than blend, for either a new brand, a packaging redesign or a brand extension. We can also help oversee the entire lifecycle of the process: source, print, assemble, pack, ship, display, etc. Web/Blog Design Your website is the next best thing to reality. We keep site goals, audience needs, key messages and brand personality central to every decision we make. Site analysis, site mapping and wireframe, content writing, site design, CSS/HTML/Flash development, content management, social media integration, hosting. Collateral The best collateral materials deliver the right kind of information at the right time. From stationery systems, business forms, brochures, publications, sales presentations and annual reports, we design and implement your brand into a variety of printed tools. Environments Well-conceived branded environments appeal to customers and can increase sales. Whether it's a refresh/update of an existing office environment, or a completely new retail space, we'll work to create a compelling experience using color, texture, scale, light, sound and smell to manage the perception your audience has on your brand. Social Strategy Anyone interested in building a brand needs to utilize social tools, like blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. to engage with their audience online. We develop strategies to help you tap into the raw enthusiasm of people wanting to be part of the conversation. Consumer Research We conduct research using various approaches to discover what your customer's want, need, believe or how they act. Types of research include observation, personal interviews, surveying, and secondary online research. This is often needed to ensure that we produce what customers really want and not what you think they might want. Competitor Research To formulate an effective strategy, it's crutial to understand a basic question: What are your competitors up to? We work to collect and analyze information about your rivals to evaluate how you perform relative to them. This helps us develop solutions that will position you apart from everyone else. Project Management A major part of design success is following it through the printing and production process; design is only effective if it can be reproduced at the highest quality. We have a solid network of vendors who we know and trust, or we're happy to work with your people if you'd like. http://www.mottoagency.com/543184/SERVICES http://www.mottoagency.com/544248/FAQ http://www.mottoagency.com/544248/FAQ Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:47:44 +0000 We Are Motto | Brand Strategy + Design 544248 Why did you name your company Motto? We wanted a name that had three characteristics: a word that is profound and metaphorical, would relate to how we work with individuals, companies and their brands and lastly, something that expresses the beliefs we hold deeply. We think the idea of a motto is so important that we named our firm after it. What is your motto? Lead, never follow. What's yours? How did you two meet? We met during the wintertime in Chicago in 1996. Sunny threw a snowball and hit Ashleigh in the head. A conversation happened and a connection emerged. The rest is history. How much does it cost to work with you? Hiring us for a branding project costs between $5k to $30k. The cost varies depending on a number of factors including the size of the company, complexity of research needs, number of strategic and creative explorations, and inclusion of specific requirements and deliverables. If you have additional needs such as a website or package design, those fees would be determined separately. If you're interested in working with us on your project, feel free to email us the details and we'll set up a phone or Skype chat to discuss. How long does the process take to complete? Every project is different. Time frames usually vary from four weeks to four months, depending on specific deliverables, with the average project lasting 2 months. We'll learn about your individual needs before providing a schedule. I already have a logo that I don't want to redesign, but I do need help designing other materials. Can I hire you for that? Yes, of course. If you already have an established identity, but you'd like for us to develop other touch points, we'd be happy to discuss your needs to see if we'd be a good fit. Will you present some ideas to me before I hire you to make sure I like them? We do not offer strategic or creative solutions without a paid engagement. "Spec work" compromises the quality of work because the time, energy and thought that goes into developing effective solutions is bypassed, ultimately doing a disservice to you, the client. It also diminishes the value of the contribution we make toward your objectives. All I need is a logo design. Can I just hire you for that? Our clients get the most value from us when we approach their brand looking at the big picture, not just their logo in isolation. That said, we are happy to work in phases of development to satisfy your immediate needs. Who owns the design work? The client owns all final designs. We retain ownership of all preliminary work. Do you stick around after the work is done? Once we have delivered a final project, we don’t just disappear. There will be times you need our help with what we have created for you. Whatever the question, we're here to guide you, and your brand, in the right direction, be it months or years down the road. We're only an email or phone call away. What advice do you have for companies trying to find their point of view? Go watch a Charlie Chaplin film. There's no words, no dialogue, only movement, music and subtle silent communication. It's not what we say, but what we don't say. If you're struggling or confused with trying to find your point of view, it's probably because you're trying too hard to say something that people will listen to. Rethink that motive and realize that before you can become it, you must be it. What do you do if you can't think of an idea? Get in the car and go for a drive. Sometimes we go hold puppies or baby ducks, though baby ducks are much more difficult to find. Anything that is unrelated to work really. We don't force ideas to happen. If it's not coming to us, we give it more time. What are your favorite kinds of projects to work on? The kind of project where we first work on the individual and then the brand. We are incredibly passionate about the art of transforming. This happens when working with a client who is unclear (to a certain extent) about why they are doing what they do and how it relates to the brand they are building. We believe you are your brand. If you're confused, your brand is confused too. So, for us, we like to come in and help take you from the fuzziest thing to the clearest thing. And then, unleash you. http://www.mottoagency.com/544248/FAQ http://www.mottoagency.com/544180/CLIENT-LOGIN http://www.mottoagency.com/544180/CLIENT-LOGIN Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:54:33 +0000 We Are Motto | Brand Strategy + Design 544180 http://www.mottoagency.com/544180/CLIENT-LOGIN http://www.mottoagency.com/299575/STUDIO http://www.mottoagency.com/299575/STUDIO Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:58:28 +0000 We Are Motto | Brand Strategy + Design 299575 In 2005, we sketched out the office of our dreams on a set of napkins. Shortly thereafter, we used that inspiration to renovate a 2,500 sq ft. commercial warehouse into a creative workspace. We chose an eclectic mixture of hard and soft elements to bring a little bit of our love of Chicago into our studio at the beach. The space features St. Louis style brick, galvanized ceilings, concrete floors, exposed ductwork, a second story production loft, and floor to ceiling windows in the conference room. In 2007, HOW Design Magazine featured our workspace in their Workspace column, a section of their magazine that profiles innovative office design in each issue. <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/299575/studio_conference.jpg" border="0" width="600" height="450" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/299575/studio.1 copy.jpg" border="0" width="600" height="450" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/299575/studio2_2.jpg" border="0" width="600" height="450" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/299575/studio2.jpg" border="0" width="600" height="450" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/299575/studio4.jpg" border="0" width="600" height="450" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/299575/motto_logo.jpg" border="0" width="600" height="450" align="left" /> http://www.mottoagency.com/299575/STUDIO http://www.mottoagency.com/543882/We-are-Motto http://www.mottoagency.com/543882/We-are-Motto Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:28:05 +0000 We Are Motto | Brand Strategy + Design 543882 Motto is a brand strategy and design firm that works with companies to help launch, grow and reinvent their brands on a deeper level. We have a history of doing what our name implies - creating a visual language around the belief systems of the brands we work with. Historically, mottos were war cries of sentiment, hope and purpose, and that's why we named the company after such a meaningful word. http://www.mottoagency.com/543882/We-are-Motto http://www.mottoagency.com/387137/SHOP http://www.mottoagency.com/387137/SHOP Sun, 01 Aug 2010 03:18:42 +0000 We Are Motto | Brand Strategy + Design 387137 http://www.mottoagency.com/387137/SHOP http://www.mottoagency.com/463433/PROCESS http://www.mottoagency.com/463433/PROCESS Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:31:10 +0000 We Are Motto | Brand Strategy + Design 463433 Curiosity, logic, and magic. While each client and project is unique, the process remains the same. Brand development requires a great deal of investigation, strategic thinking, imagination, curiosity, open-mindedness, design excellence and an extraordinary amount of patience to ensure a successful project. Brand strategy and design, after all, is just as much magic as it is logic. While the process is there to guide us, it cannot compensate for lack of genius. Our process is made up of these phases: Phase 1: Research We kick off each project by gathering client assets, conducting market research through competitor analysis, define trends and work to understand our client on a deeper level. Phase 2: Strategy In this phase, we synthesize the learnings from the research phase and begin to brainstorm, ideate, develop a positioning point of view and focus on a core idea. Phase 3: Design This is where the first two phases come together visually. We work to develop the look and feel, create color and type systems, and present initial concepts. In this phase, we also work to shape, refine and fine tune the final design. Phase 4: Applications We extend the brand into all brand touchpoints including but not limited to: stationery, collateral, web, packaging and media. Phase 5: Production Our clients like to know we are able to assist in the printing and production of their projects. We have a strong network of vendors who we know and trust to execute our design. Through quality control, vendor collaboration and project management skills, we are able to oversee a wide range of production related needs. Phase 6: Launch We deploy a launch strategy and work to build synergy around the brand. http://www.mottoagency.com/463433/PROCESS http://www.mottoagency.com/299442/PRESS http://www.mottoagency.com/299442/PRESS Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:05:23 +0000 We Are Motto | Brand Strategy + Design 299442 Some of the important stuff Print Magazine Regional Design Annual, December 2010 LogoLounge 6: 2,000 International Identities by Leading Designers The Big Book of Packaging, HarperCollins Spring 2011 Ashleigh Hansberger named 2010 Inc. Magazine 30 Under 30 American Express OPEN Make Mine a Million $ Business Award Winner, 2007 Inc. Magazine, Gen Y Entrepreneurs The Art Institute, Gen Y HOW Design Magazine/Drawing the Line, March 2010 HOW Design Magazine/Workspace Column, June 2007 HOW Design Magazine/Behind the Design, 2007 Mac News World American Design Awards Reader’s Digest Business Week Entrepreneur Magazine Upstarts! by Donna Fenn The Business of Design Book PINK Magazine blog Marie Claire Designers Who Blog Stevie Award Honoree, Best Young Entrepreneur 2008 E-Commerce Times Savannah College of Art & Design, Chronicle http://www.mottoagency.com/299442/PRESS http://www.mottoagency.com/453578/Future-Development http://www.mottoagency.com/453578/Future-Development Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:46:36 +0000 We Are Motto | Brand Strategy + Design 453578 We were asked to create a series of poster designs for the Graffiti Art Exhibit in NYC. We wanted to combine the use of graffiti art with quotes that would symbolize the devout mottos these artists live and work by. Graffiti is controversial; some believe it is art expression while others criticize that it is vandalistic by nature. Our role was to celebrate the art form and drive audiences to the exhibit through use of powerful imagery, bold messaging, bright color and strong typography. <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/453578/fd2.jpg" border="0" width="570" height="719" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/453578/fd3.jpg" border="0" width="570" height="719" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/453578/fd_1.jpg" border="0" width="570" height="719" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/453578/fd4.jpg" border="0" width="570" height="740" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/453578/fd5.jpg" border="0" width="570" height="380" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/453578/fd6.jpg" border="0" width="570" height="379" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/453578/28548_395119930761_23766260761_3967024_1099081_n_1024.jpg" border="0" width="570" height="386" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/453578/28548_395119940761_23766260761_3967025_8134955_n_1024.jpg" border="0" width="570" height="453" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/453578/FD_shirt_1.jpg" border="0" width="570" height="668" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/453578/FD_shirt_2.jpg" border="0" width="570" height="668" align="left" /> <img src="http://c0573862.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/1/0/25804/453578/FD_shirt_3.jpg" border="0" width="570" height="668" align="left" /> http://www.mottoagency.com/453578/Future-Development