Happy Birthday, Tom!

Happy Birthday, Tom!

Happy Birthday, Tom!

We’re celebrating Tom’s birthday at the office today! We sat down with our very own language connoisseur for a few questions in honor of his birthday:

WHAT IS YOUR OFFICIAL TITLE?

Production Manager.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A PART OF THE VISION TEAM?

8 years.

WHAT’S A DAY LIKE IN THE OFFICE FOR YOU?

Coffee, proof, create specs for estimates, track jobs, write, more coffee, repeat.

DO YOU CATCH YOURSELF PROOFREADING WHEN YOU’RE CASUALLY READING THE NEWSPAPER OR A GOOD BOOK?

Unfortunately, all the time.

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN TO SPAIN?

Every few years, so probably about 6 or 7.

YOU ALREADY SPEAK FRENCH AND SPANISH, ARE THERE ANY OTHER LANGUAGES YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO LEARN?

Russian and Chinese.

ANY HIDDEN TALENTS?

Still looking. 🙂

The AMI Digital Summit: The Flight Crew Heads to Chicago

The AMI Digital Summit: The Flight Crew Heads to Chicago

Our Flight Crew makes penguins fly from the East Coast most days, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love spreading our wings every once in a while–especially when it’s to hone our skills so we can become even smarter, more efficient, and more digitally savvy when it comes to the latest industry happenings.

Creating the GDUSA Award-Winning Biovanta Website & the Relationship Behind It

Creating the GDUSA Award-Winning Biovanta Website & the Relationship Behind It

Winning a GDUSA award is always exciting because it’s both a celebration of our designers’ hard work and a time to reflect on our partnership with a client in relation to the project itself. We’re only as good as our last project after all, and our partnerships make us who we are. So let’s take a dive into not just creating the GDUSA award-winning Biovanta website, but into how it all came to be.

Grassroots Marketing

Grassroots Marketing

We recently brought a grassroots marketing campaign to life in Central Park for the family-owned snack company John Wm. Macy’s. Our experience got us thinking about the core aspects of grassroots marketing and audience engagement, and what it takes to create a successful campaign. It’s a layered concept, so let’s dive in together.

Capturing the Spirit of “The Spirit of America”: Laird’s AppleJack 86 Label Design

Capturing the Spirit of “The Spirit of America”: Laird’s AppleJack 86 Label Design

Capturing the Spirit of “The Spirit of America”:

Laird’s AppleJack 86 Label Design

A Brief History of Laird & Company

The Laird family has been passing down the art of producing their reowned AppleJack brandy through generations for almost 300 years. Laird & Company was America’s very first commercial distillery obtaining License #1 in 1780 right here in New Jersey.

While Robert Laird served in the Revolutionary War under George Washington, his family supplied the troops with their AppleJack brandy.

(Photos courtesy of www.lairdandcompany.com)

The Laird family’s signature apple brandy has stood the test of time and continues to be held in high regard throughout today’s ever-growing liquor industry.

Our Vision for Laird’s

When tasked with the opportunity to create a new label design for Laird’s AppleJack 86, we wanted to convey a contemporary evolution of this veteran spirit. The new design involved streamlining the Laird’s logo as well as manipulating a range of typefaces until the desired effect was achieved. The goal was to create a certain level of sophistication while simultaneously paying homage to the legacy of the Laird family in American history. 

We are proud to have been awarded GD USA Magazine’s 2018 American Package Design Award for this project.

The AMI Digital Summit: The Flight Crew Heads to Chicago

The AMI Digital Summit: The Flight Crew Heads to Chicago

Our Flight Crew makes penguins fly from the East Coast most days, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love spreading our wings every once in a while–especially when it’s to hone our skills so we can become even smarter, more efficient, and more digitally savvy when it comes to the latest industry happenings.

Creating the GDUSA Award-Winning Biovanta Website & the Relationship Behind It

Creating the GDUSA Award-Winning Biovanta Website & the Relationship Behind It

Winning a GDUSA award is always exciting because it’s both a celebration of our designers’ hard work and a time to reflect on our partnership with a client in relation to the project itself. We’re only as good as our last project after all, and our partnerships make us who we are. So let’s take a dive into not just creating the GDUSA award-winning Biovanta website, but into how it all came to be.

Grassroots Marketing

Grassroots Marketing

We recently brought a grassroots marketing campaign to life in Central Park for the family-owned snack company John Wm. Macy’s. Our experience got us thinking about the core aspects of grassroots marketing and audience engagement, and what it takes to create a successful campaign. It’s a layered concept, so let’s dive in together.

Celebrating Designers in Honor of Black History Month

Celebrating Designers in Honor of Black History Month

Celebrating Designers in Honor of Black History Month

In honor of Black History Month, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate these influential designers who have through their creations made an impact not only in the design industry but also in our society. These designers have contributed groundbreaking work throughout the years in many forms such as advertisements, album covers, marketing collateral and even Census forms.

Georg Olden: The Trailblazer Designer

Shown Above: 100th Anniversary of Emancipation Proclamation Stamp design, 1963, below President John F. Kennedy at the design reveal (photo courtesy of AIGA.org)

Shown Above: CBS Program titles for Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Web (photo courtesy of AIGA.org)

Georg Olden greatly influenced the field of broadcast graphics during the “dawn of television”. Working under CBS’s Creative Director, William Golden, he oversaw the visual identities of shows such as I Love Lucy and Lassie and Gunsmoke. Olden also sold cartoons to The New Yorker, purposely dropping the ‘e’ off of his birth name, George, in order to capture the editor’s attention which he then kept throughout the years. One of the many notable works he created was the postage stamp design for the 100th anniversary of Emancipation Proclamation making him the first African American to design a postage stamp that was also presented to President Kennedy at the White House.

Sylvia Harris: The Citizen Designer

Shown Above: US 2000 Census form design (Creative Director: Sylvia Harris, Art Director & Designer: Julie Marable, Designer: Colleen Hall) (photo courtesy of AIGA.org)

Shown Above: Voting by Design poster University of Minnesota Design Institute, 2003 (Creative Directors: Sylvia Harris & Janet Abrams, Designers: Kathleen Meaney, Leila Taylor) (photo courtesy of AIGA.org)

Sylvia Harris has used intelligent strategy and flawless design to communicate ideal functionality for both the end user and the companies she’s worked with. Sylvia gained an interest in taking complex information systems and recreating them to improve the user experience. Harris has worked with Citibank to help establish an industry standard for digitally based consumer banking systems. Working with the United States Census Bureau, she was challenged to improve participation among Americans in completing the form. Harris capitalized on this opportunity to learn how a new design can impact participation and solidify branding for the Census Bureau.

Leroy Winbush: The Pioneer and Entrepreneur

Shown Above: Materials created for the Black Expo, which was considered to be at the time the largest gathering of black businessmen in history (photo courtesy of AIGA.org)

Shown Above: Variety of album cover designs (photo courtesy of AIGA.org)

Winbush started his career right out of high school, learning from the South Side sign painters in Chicago which lead to a job designing signage for the Regal Theatre where he met famous performers like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. In 1945, he established his own design firm in 1945. He was considered a jack of all trades who despite never having any formal design training taught classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Columbia College Chicago. Winbush was also a strong advocate and used his design work to help the black community. He has designed exhibitions for the DuSable Museum of African-American History on subjects such as the Underground Railroad.

Emmett McBain: The Influential Advertiser

Shown Above: Playboy Jazz All Stars Album Cover, 1957 (photo courtesy of AIGA.org)

Shown Above: Marlboro Advertisement, 1972 (photo courtesy of AIGA.org)

McBain was a determined socially conscious designer who gave a new voice to advertisers and the black community.  At 12 years old, Emmett started taking classes at the Art Institute of Chicago during the summer and then continued on to attend Ray Vogue School of Commercial Art, American Academy of Art and the IIT Institute of Design. By the age of 24, Emmett had his own design firm and had created over 75 album covers for artists such as Tony Martin, Max Roach, and Sarah Vaughan. He then went on to help launch the Ford Mustang at the World’s Fair with a dealer promotion campaign. Some of his most famous work has been in the tobacco industry with groundbreaking ads for Marlboro and Newport.

Source: Aiga.org:

Sylvia Harris

Emmett Mcbain

Leroy Winbush

Georg Olden

The AMI Digital Summit: The Flight Crew Heads to Chicago

The AMI Digital Summit: The Flight Crew Heads to Chicago

Our Flight Crew makes penguins fly from the East Coast most days, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love spreading our wings every once in a while–especially when it’s to hone our skills so we can become even smarter, more efficient, and more digitally savvy when it comes to the latest industry happenings.

Creating the GDUSA Award-Winning Biovanta Website & the Relationship Behind It

Creating the GDUSA Award-Winning Biovanta Website & the Relationship Behind It

Winning a GDUSA award is always exciting because it’s both a celebration of our designers’ hard work and a time to reflect on our partnership with a client in relation to the project itself. We’re only as good as our last project after all, and our partnerships make us who we are. So let’s take a dive into not just creating the GDUSA award-winning Biovanta website, but into how it all came to be.

Grassroots Marketing

Grassroots Marketing

We recently brought a grassroots marketing campaign to life in Central Park for the family-owned snack company John Wm. Macy’s. Our experience got us thinking about the core aspects of grassroots marketing and audience engagement, and what it takes to create a successful campaign. It’s a layered concept, so let’s dive in together.

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Happy Birthday Ashley

We’re celebrating another February birthday today at Vision Creative Group! We wish a very happy birthday to our own designer and photographer, Ashley! Here are a few fun facts about the birthday girl:

WHAT IS YOUR OFFICIAL TITLE?

Senior Graphic Designer

WHAT’S A DAY IN THE OFFICE LIKE FOR YOU?

Designing things like print ads, displays and graphics for our clients.

DO YOU HAVE A HOBBY?

I have been getting into photography and have been taking classes online to better my skills. I recently lit some flowers on fire to photograph them and I loved the way they came out.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT VISION?

Just under 2 and a half years.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE VCG MOMENT OR MEMORY?

When I started, I was only here a few weeks before we all went to the Far Hills Race (aka The Hunt). The weather was good, the food was great and it was a fun way to hang out and get to know all of my new coworkers. I also loved making our mannequin challenge video.

FAVORITE ITEM(S) ON YOUR DESK/IN YOUR OFFICE:

Pictures of my family & a finger painting my son made.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST IN 2018?

Hanging out with my husband and son (who is now 8 months old) and seeing all the milestones he will hit and new things he will experience.

The AMI Digital Summit: The Flight Crew Heads to Chicago

The AMI Digital Summit: The Flight Crew Heads to Chicago

Our Flight Crew makes penguins fly from the East Coast most days, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love spreading our wings every once in a while–especially when it’s to hone our skills so we can become even smarter, more efficient, and more digitally savvy when it comes to the latest industry happenings.

Creating the GDUSA Award-Winning Biovanta Website & the Relationship Behind It

Creating the GDUSA Award-Winning Biovanta Website & the Relationship Behind It

Winning a GDUSA award is always exciting because it’s both a celebration of our designers’ hard work and a time to reflect on our partnership with a client in relation to the project itself. We’re only as good as our last project after all, and our partnerships make us who we are. So let’s take a dive into not just creating the GDUSA award-winning Biovanta website, but into how it all came to be.

Grassroots Marketing

Grassroots Marketing

We recently brought a grassroots marketing campaign to life in Central Park for the family-owned snack company John Wm. Macy’s. Our experience got us thinking about the core aspects of grassroots marketing and audience engagement, and what it takes to create a successful campaign. It’s a layered concept, so let’s dive in together.

Happy Birthday, Angela!

Happy Birthday, Angela!

Happy Birthday, Angela!

Whether it’s whipping up new recipes or finding a new polka dotted item to add to her wardrobe, our very own resident pastry chef is celebrating her birthday this week! We stopped by the birthday girl’s office and asked her a few questions:

WHAT IS YOUR OFFICIAL TITLE?

Account Executive (unofficial title: Vision Pastry Chef)

WHAT KIND OF ACCOUNTS DO YOU WORK ON?

All kinds! Real estate, private clubs and foodie-related clients to name a few. Managing the web projects allows me to be involved with accounts ranging from cheese brands to education to toys and more!

WHAT’S A DAY IN THE LIFE FOR YOU LIKE?

Usually starts with coffee or ice water and then emails, reviewing web projects and writing/editing content for clients. If I’m lucky, I get to scope out food photography and write recipes, too!

DO YOU HAVE A HOBBY?

Cooking! …and finding the perfect polka dotted items to integrate into my wardrobe.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT VISION?

3.25 years next week ????

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE VCG MOMENT OR MEMORY?

Personally, it would probably have to be the first time a recipe I wrote for one of our clients was published.
With the whole company… celebrating VCG’s 30th anniversary this past September! It was a such a fun milestone to be a part of to celebrate everything Andy and Sharon have done since Vision started in 1987.

FAVORITE ITEM(S) ON YOUR DESK/IN YOUR OFFICE:

In my office: The awesome 12-cube bookshelf I put together when we moved to our new location
On my desk: Polka-dotted boxes (that are occasionally filled with mini chocolates!)

The AMI Digital Summit: The Flight Crew Heads to Chicago

The AMI Digital Summit: The Flight Crew Heads to Chicago

Our Flight Crew makes penguins fly from the East Coast most days, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love spreading our wings every once in a while–especially when it’s to hone our skills so we can become even smarter, more efficient, and more digitally savvy when it comes to the latest industry happenings.

Creating the GDUSA Award-Winning Biovanta Website & the Relationship Behind It

Creating the GDUSA Award-Winning Biovanta Website & the Relationship Behind It

Winning a GDUSA award is always exciting because it’s both a celebration of our designers’ hard work and a time to reflect on our partnership with a client in relation to the project itself. We’re only as good as our last project after all, and our partnerships make us who we are. So let’s take a dive into not just creating the GDUSA award-winning Biovanta website, but into how it all came to be.

Grassroots Marketing

Grassroots Marketing

We recently brought a grassroots marketing campaign to life in Central Park for the family-owned snack company John Wm. Macy’s. Our experience got us thinking about the core aspects of grassroots marketing and audience engagement, and what it takes to create a successful campaign. It’s a layered concept, so let’s dive in together.