We can all relate to the desire for newness, especially as we enter this New Year. Sometimes that comes in the form of a personal update, a new pair of glasses, because you’re bored of seeing yourself in the mirror (and maybe coupled with not being able to see yourself in the mirror). Other times, it’s a household renovation -- the living room requires just the right couch to bring everything together.  In that same way, organizations arrive at a crossroads where they seek a renovation and style update too. It was at this stage of the game when we were recruited by the  Austin Young Chamber to create their new logo.

This vibrant nonprofit organization has grown so much since its inception, and under savvy leadership, they have their eyes on a well-defined future. Throughout our conversations, the words from their core values resounded: Leadership, openness, opportunity, growth, community. While seeking a bold new look, they still wanted the new logo to honor their past. As we type “logo,” it’s striking how such a little word represents something so massive. How do you convey all of this past-present-future in one image, an image that has to be versatile in every sense of the word too? Conversation, listening, coffee, and design with an artist’s touch are some of the ingredients to Graphismo’s recipe. It’s a bit more complicated than that, but how about we just show you the final result?

We loved working with Austin Young Chamber, meeting them at their cool headquarters, and their member’s equally stellar office behind the scenes at a performing arts venue, and having lively conversations about design and goals. They’re an inspired and diverse group, which fueled our inspiration. The happy result is that they’re happy, which they talk about with fanfare here in their own blog.

Is your business ready for some renovation? Whether bold changes or some fine-tuning, an update is a worthy investment. We work in digital and print marketing, providing you with custom imagery, lively copy, and making sure that your marketing is true to who you are or plan to be. We’re actually in the midst of our own website facelift to show off how much our agency has grown, but more on that when we’re ready to share the big reveal!

It’s been really festive over here at Graphismo, or at least more so than usual. We’ve been busy celebrating the holidays. Which holidays? Well, all of them! That is, vicariously through our clients and friends, like Brackenridge Recreation Complex, who are about to host their annual Halloween celebration, the “BRC Spooktacular Trail and Carnival.”

As a festival host, it’s a creative challenge to host annual celebrations -- to set it apart from previous years and competing events, yet still maintain traditions. Brackenridge’s Spooktacular is bursting with a full array of Halloween fun, and caring about their local pride, they’ve also added site-specific merriment, like Best Decorated Campsite & Cabin contest. And so, when we were considering imagery for their annual Halloween poster, we likewise wanted to create something with distinction and made especially for Brackenridge.

With our “Come Discover What Lurks in the Woods” poster, we took a trip into our imagination to sketch out Halloween concepts, and honed in on this scene of spooky-but-playful characters gleefully gathered around a cauldron. Having artists on our staff means we can create artwork that in concert with our clients, rather than relying on stock imagery. As a festival for families, it was important to present something eye-catching to all ages, and with its vintage feel, we also offered up a bit of nostalgia for the adults too.

Having collaborated with the good folks at Brackenridge for about two years, we celebrate with their community multiple times a year, including conjuring up marketing visuals for their Snow Days and Independence Day too.

Whatever events you’re planning, we can help you with your celebration graphics! Contact us at Graphismo, and let’s start the conversation about your upcoming occasion! Speaking of holidays, IF YOU HEAR FROM US LIKE THIS ON OCTOBER 22ND, DON’T WORRY; IT’S JUST CAPS LOCK DAY (yes, there really is a holiday for everything…and why not?).

Graphismo has long been telling stories, primarily visually, as a creative agency. But, we’ve recently broadened our scope of services so we can offer more to our clients: We’ve added a copywriter to our roster. This brings us to the effective crossroads of branding-driven storytelling and story-driven branding. And, why can’t you be fully-rounded and have it all?

Before we relate anything in your voice, story gathering is the essential beginning of storytelling. By listening and asking guiding questions, we can cultivate not just the facts, but also learn about the heart of the business and its personality. Whether you have a one-off project for us, or are depending on Graphismo for branding with a longer-term plan, it comes down to conversation and developing a relationship. Sure, you‘re a great writer too, and you could do a stellar write-up yourself. But, who has the time to do everything? While you’re focusing on your specialties, let us devise narratives for you that resonate with your audience and contribute to building and honing your image.

Words composed not just in the right order, but with the sense of the whole picture in mind, can foster loyalty, engagement, connection, and interest. Presented in the right way, these words can be woven together to educate, inform, entertain, and contribute to a memorable portrayal of a brand. There are a lot of messages out there – in print and digital platforms – and everyone’s using the right buzz words to tweak algorithms to grow a social media reach. Beyond these popular words and social media, your message and your brand deserves to be handled with care, spoken about in a new and innovative manner, and dare we use one of those buzz word, but don’t you want it to be authentic too?

Here’s a story about our storytelling:

Recently, we took a field trip to spend time with a client whose brand has a rich personal history. Having an outside person to put the company’s story in words was essential, since they were too close to the plot themselves. Taking the time to observe and take in their mantras, personality, integrity, skill, as well as their overwhelming pride, love, and care for their concept enabled us to translate this into a brand biography.  And the resulting words we offered them made them teary eyed. In a happy way.

Not all assignments are so personal, but that emotional response really hit a strong note with us.  Storytelling is an important responsibility, and one that we take on with utmost care. It’s not about us; it’s about you, your goals, and your audience. We want to create something that is in your style, has the end result you’re seeking, and we’d like to say it in a new way, to differentiate you from everyone else.

Want to present your message to the world, but need a partner to help you show and tell? It starts with a note to nick@graphimso.com.

Corpus Christi Illustration created for the Texas Festivals & Events Association 2016 Summer Conference.

We are packing our bags and heading to the Texas Festivals & Events Association Annual Summer Conference in Corpus Christi. This is our very  first TFEA Conference, so we are looking forward to making new friends and learning new things. If you are going to be there, make sure to stop by our booth at the trade show on Friday and Saturday.