On 09/11/08, McCain and Obama spoke together on the role service plays in defining the American Spirit. This has been core to co:lab’s outlook, and those speeches helped to intensify our commitment to spread even more of our energy, time, and gifts in support of our community. So, when Group88 asking for help with “8 x 8 : Bending Pixels”, an exhibit and auction to benefit the Greater Hartford Arts Council, we were all in. We created a poster and email campaign, while co:lab’s Rich Hollant and 8 other image creators contributed fine artwork to the auction. Thousands of dollars were raised along with a renewed awareness for the council. But most importantly, in the end, everyone felt a part of something positive that was bigger than themselves.
Whether we’re working with a big corporation or a Mom & Pop shop, we see branding as helping our clients celebrate their evolution. It’s fitting, therefore, that Flagg Road Church asked us to announce its 50th anniversary, while welcoming its new minister. “New Beginnings” emblemized this small congregation in Hartford County, encompassing possibly the most creative membership in all of Connecticut. We were honored to be part of this milestone. And we look forward to more collaborations.
Here’s a favorite paraphrase —“ask not what your design community can do for you, ask what you can do for your design community”. With that as a driving vision, co:lab is involved on the board of directors of the two prominent design organizations in the state. Troy and Brian return to the executive board of the Connecticut Art Director’s Club as vice president and secretary, respectively, while Rich is the technology chair of AIGA Connecticut, charged with building its on-line design community. If you’re involved with designers in any way, we encourage you to check out these organizations, and participate in their programs. It’ll change the way you look at your business.
In support of an initiative conceived and sponsored by AIGA, co:lab got together with our compatriots at Fathom and plastered “Get Out the Vote” posters from Hartford to Milford, Connecticut. While we were affixing these non-partisan messages, we imagined similar efforts around the country and the impact a little paper and tape may well have on this year’s voter turn-out. Even though we didn’t have the time to create our own posters this time around, we displayed our colleagues’ work as proudly as we would our own. This non-competitive, eye-on-the-prize guerilla paste-up movement was, to us, a true testament to the power of collaboration.
We’ve spent the past 9 months or so rebranding materials for Travelers mid-sized business line, sending the first pieces to print this month and preparing assets for the web. This program currently comprises over 200 moving pieces for 23+ evolving products. Inevitably, a program like this faces many compromises along the way threatening its potential impact and, hence, its ultimate success. However, with the commitment to collaboration and the trust of the Travelers Enterprise Marketing Group, every turn in the process was viewed as an opportunity to make the work stronger and to stay true to the original intentions. (Did you notice that “collaboration” word again?).
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