Transforming Trucking

Transforming Trucking

Shah Trucking Identity

Guru Shah had a vision to start a transportation company with one truck and focus on the drivers. While he had a limited budget and a short timeline, he still needed an identity that would express the company’s ideals and last a long time. Widgets & Stone worked quickly and efficiently to provide solid bones for the corporate identity with logo, typefaces and colors, as well as the design for that very first semi trailer.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design: Mandy Meredith and Travis Hitchcock; Writing: Caleb Ludwick/26 Tools.

Easier Easy Menus

Easier Easy Menus

New Designs for Easy Bistro

Chef Erik Niel devised a plan for a new cascading menu structure and asked Widgets & Stone to help design it. Travis Hitchcock and Matt Greenwell prototyped several constructions and materials, to land at the final solution: a simple legal-size hardboard back with an easy-on sliding plastic binding bar to hold papers in place.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design: Matt Greenwell, Travis Hitchcock; Board and binding bars: Range Projects; Laser etching: Wonder Press.

We Believe In Main Street

We Believe In Main Street

Poster for AIGA Chattanooga and Mainx24

This December, the Chattanooga Chapter of the AIGA (the association for design in the US) hosted a show of custom designed posters during the seventh annual Mainx24 festival.

Designers were asked to create a poster that captured the spirit of the event and of Chattanooga in general. Paul Rustand (and Widgets & Stone) have a studio just off of Main St and have done many projects on Main St… So Paul grabbed a wonderful slogan that seemed to capture the sentiment — a slogan his colleague Matt Greenwell coined for Collier Construction (also on Main St) years ago.

Design: Paul Rustand.

“The Working Man’s Lunch”

“The Working Man’s Lunch”

MoonPie® Tin Designs

MoonPies® have been a Chattanooga Bakery signature product for almost 100 years. When John Campbell and Tory Johnston thought of designing a custom MoonPie® tin that captured the history and nostalgia of the product, they knew that Widgets & Stone would be perfect for the project.

While the final tin design is still in process, the concepts that the team has developed along the way show the playful side of the MoonPie® brand and enduring quality of design styles from a different era.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design: Amy Trumbull Harmon, Travis Hitchcock, Ben Dicks.

Escadrille Product Photography

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Escadrille Product Photos

Photography style for catalog and promotional materials

Dotson Commercial took a basic photographic concept from Paul Rustand and turned it into beautiful images of Escadrille’s products.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Photography: Dotson Commercial.

At Your Request

At Your Request

Text Request Identity Elements

Everyone is texting. Text Request connects organizations with their customers through personal texts. A service team in every customer’s pocket. Customers know what they want, when they want it. Text Request makes it easy for them to tell businesses with a simple text from their phone.

Widgets & Stone joined regular collaborators Iron Horse Software, 26 Tools and Tubatomic to give a clear and simple identity to a clear and simple service. The design team established basic identity elements for the writing, web design and backend programming to be built on. 

Logo, colors, typefaces, illustration styles and photo standards were established by Paul Rustand, Amy Trumbull Harmon and Kerry O’Connor. 

TextRequest.com launches today.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design: Amy Trumbull Harmon, Kerry O’Connor; Writing: Caleb Ludwick/26 Tools; Web Design: Tubatomic; Backend Development: Iron Horse Software.

Working Together Works

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Working Together Works

EPB 2013-14 Annual Report

EPB’s mission is to enhance the quality of life in Chattanooga, TN by providing top-quality energy and communications services to the city. Each year the company issues an annual report and, naturally, it covers pertinent business and financial information but EPB also uses the report to tell stories of the great work being done by their employees.

Widgets & Stone teamed up with regular collaborators 26 Tools, Dotson Commercial and Tubatomic to build the all digital annual report. After meeting extensively with the EPB team (led by VP Danna Bailey), the creative team met to brainstorm how best to tell the stories of the past year.  Inspiring ideas came by starting with design, writing and photography solutions the team had wanted to use in the past, but had not had the opportunity to implement. The final style of the annual report is a perfect blend of solutions contributed by every member of the team – photography, typography, writing and interface. 

Building on the design styles established by Widgets & Stone, Tubatomic made the site adaptive – working differently on laptops than on tablets and smart phones. PDF versions of the annual report and the financials reflect the overall style while adapting it for yet another format.

Visit the actual site here.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand, Mandy Meredith; Writing: Caleb Ludwick; Design: Bradley Dicharry, Travis Hitchcock, Kerry O’Connor; Web design + buildout: Tubatomic; Photography: Dotson Commercial.

Building Visualization Tools

Building Visualization Tools

Avison Young User/Occupier Value Brochure

Avison Young provides innovative commercial real estate solutions and services. Principal of the Office Properties Group Sean Moynihan had a clever idea for communicating the value that tenants/occupiers bring to large commercial properties – using the popular children’s toy, Lego™ as a visualization tool.

He asked Mandy Meredith and Amy Harmon of Widgets & Stone to create a design template that his design staff could use. The result is a clean, clear and easily understood brochure.

“I can’t come up with enough or powerful enough adjectives for how pleased I am,” said Moynihan.

SpeakSharp

SpeakSharp

App Identity and User-Interface Design

SpeakSharp is new app designed to teach public speaking skills – geared especially toward large companies and organizations that need to instruct many employees or members. 

DevStudio42 led the app development and backend programming, but didn’t have a design team in-house, so they reached out to Widgets & Stone to help. Widgets & Stone worked quickly and efficiently to create a clean and professional identity design and user-interface for the app.

The app is in the late stages of development and should be available soon in the Apple App Store.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Art Direction: Bradley Dicharry; Design: Bradley Dicharry and Amy Trumbull.

Unified Graphics for Education

Unified Graphics for Education

Chart designs for UnifiEd

Elizabeth Crews of UnifiEd – a community-led movement of parents, teachers and citizens who want every student in Chattanooga to have the chance to attend great public schools – needed to make a presentation of statistics and charts more compelling. She asked Widgets & Stone to help.

Designers Kerry O’Connor and Travis Hitchcock moved quickly to develop a clear and dynamic set of info-graphics, basing styles on the UnifiEd identity developed by Figure 5. Working closely with Crews, the team was able to hone and clarify messages to a short set of slides with clean and clear designs.

Designers: Kerry O’Connor, Travis Hitchcock.

Choices That Work

Choices That Work

Mannington Commercial 2014-15 product catalog

Led by Design Director Mandy Meredith, the Widgets & Stone design team worked with Mannington Commercial and backend development expert Rob Reagan of Iron Horse Software to create a comprehensive product catalog.

Iron Horse developed programming to allow the print catalog content to flow from Mannginton’s web site into a set of print templates designed by Widgets & Stone. The new system will allow for an easily updated and even customizable print catalog in the months to come.

Design Direction: Mandy Meredith; Designers: Mandy Meredith, Amy Trumbull.

Come As You Are. Get Where You Want To Be.

Come As You Are. Get Where You Want To Be.

Forte Fitness Identity Design

After a decade of working for a national franchise, owner and personal trainer Julian Kaufman decided to start his own fitness studio. Through years of working as a one-on-one personal trainer, Julian had developed an excellent client base and reputation. He turned to Widgets & Stone to help him create an identity that would reflect that excellence in his brand communications.

Widgets & Stone worked with regular collaborators Caleb Ludwick and Grant Dotson to create the name, the writing, the designs and the photography to properly represent the new endeavor. Forte Fitness was the result.

The name and overall look and feel were inspired by Julian’s Italian heritage. The name means strong in Italian, and is familiar to those who don’t speak the language. The Italian flag’s colors made their way into the logo and the “azurri” blue of the national teams plays a complimentary role in the palette.

Dotson Commercial is currently working on photographs that show how training and lifestyle go hand in hand at Forte Fitness. The black and white images stand out in the marketplace, but also match well with the colors and type.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand, Mandy Meredith; Design: Amy Trumbull Harmon, Matt Greenwell, Brian Wleklinski; Writing: Caleb Ludwick; Photography: Dotson Commercial.

Saucey!

Saucey!

Clyde’s on Main BBQ Sauce Labels

Along with helping to establish Clyde’s visual identity, Widgets & Stone assisted in labeling Clyde’s six different in-house BBQ sauces. 

The team continued to build on the visual styles of the eclectic 1980s — using the xerox “zine” culture and southern vernacular as inspiration.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design: Ben Dicks, Travis Hitchcock.

I Don’t Get Drunk, I Get Awesome

I Don’t Get Drunk, I Get Awesome

Clyde’s On Main Logo

Mike & Taylor Monen and Tenley Mayfield are experienced restaurateurs — creating successful establishments like Taco Mamacita, Urban Stack, Community Pie and Milk & Honey. As they moved towards opening their fifth concept restaurant, Clyde’s On Main, they asked Widgets & Stone to help with logo design and other graphic needs.

Since Clyde’s was designed to be a “go-to” spot for locals, it made sense  to name it after something the neighborhood would recognize — the building and business formerly known as Clyde’s Auto Glass. The auto glass sign painted on the wall of the building was iconic, and known to everyone in the area, so Widgets & Stone decided to base the logo on it.

The overall aesthetic of Clyde’s is reminiscent of the 1980’s and is a hodgepodge of relatively undesigned stuff, so the Widgets team (of Ben Dicks and Travis Hitchcock) created a very simple logo system. In short, Clyde’s logos are simply built to be flexible to whatever suits the medium of production. Flat bold art for painted signs, outlined lettering for rubber stamps, simplified letterforms for neon, and so forth.

The result is an interchangeable system of logos that is a unified family, but with distinct personalities — including that drunk uncle.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design: Ben Dicks, Travis Hitchcock. 

The Love of the Ride, in Gear

The Love of the Ride, in Gear

Escadrille’s first catalog

Escadrille is named after a “little squadron” that fought in World War I. They are a challenger brand setting out to make the world’s best apparel for cyclists. They are seeking to bring the form, function and freedom that cyclists want – both on and off the bike.

After initially struggling to find a voice that matched the look and feel of the brand, they turned to Caleb Ludwick (26 Tools) to help write their introduction to the world: the very first catalog. The hitch was — it needed to be done in two weeks.

Widgets & Stone jumped in to help with design, working with photography and product rendering assets to create a functional and memorable catalog. In short order, Mandy Meredith and Paul Rustand helped to produce a small of run of digitally printed catalogs for Escadrille’s first sales trip.

Creative Direction: Mandy Meredith; Design: Mandy Meredith, Paul Rustand; Writing: Caleb Ludwick; Printing: Bennet Graphics.

Streaming Made Simple

Streaming Made Simple

Boxcast: Live HD Video, from Anyone to Everyone

Boxcast is a pocket-sized breakthrough technology that makes it simple for anyone, anywhere to stream live video to everyone, everywhere.

Boxcast is a startup with a few years already under its belt. The company’s leadership was finding that the brand identity and communications materials it had created early on weren’t quite doing the job. So a couple of their experienced investors turned to Widgets & Stone for help.

Led by Mandy Meredith and Paul Rustand, the team also pulled in writer and strategist Caleb Ludwick of 26 Tools. The team quickly and efficiently produced several possible solutions for identity and communications, resulting in a clean, clear and straightforward look and feel.

Along with identifying five key target audience archetype stories, and ways to speak to those audiences, Widgets & Stone and 26 Tools created a new logo, design styles, photography guidelines, strap lines, headlines and explanatory copy.

Web designers Alex Ogle and Jason Fritts of Tubatomic joined in to establish web styles and templates for the client to implement.

“I have seen many presentations by nationally renowned creative agencies over the years,” said investor Tobey Maloney, “But this was by far the most impressive. The quantity and quality of concepts delivered on the timeline and budget was spectacular.”

Escadrille Packaging Concepts

Escadrille

Packaging Concepts for High End Cycling Apparel

Young startup Escadrille – makers of high end custom cycling apparel – approached Widgets & Stone for initial concepts in packaging. The new company didn’t have much to go on: the logo was in the process of being re-engineered, the brand story and film was yet to be developed (by McFaul+Day of the UK), a marketing plan was in flux and even the apparel designs were still being finalized.

So, the team Widgets & Stone just went with the flow – helping to visualize a simple yet flexible packaging system that could accommodate different products and different sizes, all while still looking like a top quality brand.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design Direction: Mandy Meredith; Design: Bradley Dicharry, Ben Dicks, Amy Trumbull.

The Red Jacket

Red Jacket

Wine label for a special event

The Swing Ding is not your ordinary tournament golf tournament. Hosted annually by the Lookout Mountain Golf Club, this event has one of the strongest histories of any private club event in the South dating back to 1959. The brainchild of Jack Lupton and John Stout, Sr., the Inaugural Swing Ding was created to be a celebration of life with some golf. The setting couldn’t be better on the Seth Raynor designed golf course and the scenic views of multiple states from most every part of the course. The club transforms for the Swing Ding every year, with multiple family-oriented events, and  Bluegrass or Jazz bands performing under the big top over several nights.

In 2012, member Rob Vannoy collaborated with vintner Chris Bratcher to create a special edition wine for the contestants. This year’s theme was based on the famed “Red Jacket” given to tournament winners.

Paul Rustand and Ben Dicks worked up a playful handcrafted label for the wine that celebrates the tournament.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design: Ben Dicks

The Next Big Thing: A Million Little Things

The Next Big Thing: A Million Little Things

Mannington Showroom Neocon 2014

Widgets & Stone directed the full scale redesign of the Mannington Commercial Showroom in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago for the third year in a row. The designs showcase new products in a visually exciting and memorable way, both on the floor and in wall displays.

This year’s showroom design was based on the theme of the “Next Big Thing” being “A Million Little Things” – so displays took the form of thousands of 2-inch squares (covered with Mannington’s products and colors), each making up a single big image. The STYLIST collection drew inspiration from fashion, so a large image of Debbie Harry (photographed by Steven Meisel) was used. The Connected collection drew inspiration from the Brooklyn Bridge; Design Local used an image of one of the three cities participating, Philadelphia; other displays were simple images or even symbols.

The pixel effect proved quite a delight as viewers in person could not always get far enough away to make out the full image. However, as soon as they took out a phone or a camera to photograph it, the image became immediately visible on the digital display screen.

Design Direction/Art Direction: Mandy Meredith; Designers: Amy Trumbull, Ben Dicks, Kerry O’Connor, Paul Rustand; Fabrication/Design-Build: Range Projects.

Style In Store

Style In Store

Amtico Custom Design Photo Styling & Ad Design

Creating ads that showcase great products isn’t difficult, but what about when those products don’t yet exist? Showing custom flooring designs to interior designers and architects can be tricky. Led by Design Director Mandy Meredith, the Widgets & Stone team worked hand-in-hand with client Mannington Commercial to design a custom floor pattern for their Amtico Collection. 

Mandy and Mannington’s Natalie Jones worked together to not only create a floor pattern, but also to select colors and materials, then to assemble it and create a small section of a sample floor. Widgets & Stone then identified a great retail space to photograph in (Amanda Pinson Jewelry) and a great photographer to composite the floor, Dotson Commercial.

The result is a great example of the client’s custom capabilities, as well as a lovely ad.

Creative Direction: Mandy Meredith; Design: Mandy Meredith, Amy Trumbull; Photography: Dotson Commercial.