Inspiration from Florence, Italy

My recent trip to Florence, Italy with my wife proved to be incredible. With an Italian family heritage I found it to be much more meaningful on a personal level than I anticipated. Without sounding cliche, I truly had the sense that I had connected with my roots. There were so many special experiences including the country side, the food, the wine, the architecture... I could go on and on. The two most special to me were the people and especially the art. I love the sense of style of the Florentines. Everyone, even the people living on the street wear designer glasses and shoes. Italians in general are known for their sense of design and style. The locals all know of and are very proud of their history. As Americans look to movie and sports celebrities as heroes, the people of Florence look to the masters of the Renaissance. I learned from my two new friends, Francessco and Christiano, that Michelangelo is truly seen as a great hero of Firenzé who not only contributed the greatest art of all history but also in saving the city using bed mattresses as barriers against cannon ball fire. The art of Michelangelo completely moved me. Never in my life have I experienced such beauty, greatness and passion in the creations of an artist. I truly believe he is the master of all ages never to be surpassed. He is the expression of a true Renaissance man mastering sculpture, painting and architecture.

The work following is just a small reflection of the impression the trip had on me. I designed this for my good friends Juri and Kinley Sbandati who hosted the trip. They both are truly wonderful people and I felt inspired to help them in their brand identity. The photography shown in the website pages are shots that I took on our trip. The experience in a sense returned me to my time as a young designer mentoring under a great designer and teacher, Michael Manwaring. Many considered him to be a modern day Renaissance designer. From him I learned beauty in design, attention to detail, passion for perfection, and personal integrity in conducting myself as a professional. The time in Italy reminded me why I love design so. Design is more than just to sell something, at times, it can simply be to express beauty, passion and the heart of an individual.

My trip to Italy has left a deep impression on me.

Branding a City. Sisters, Oregon.

When I was approached to help with branding the city in which I live I was a bit hesitant. The challenge given to me was to create a brand that would provide a unifying theme to represent the City’s various interest groups, along with becoming the catalyst to market the city as a vacation destination.

I began by sending out an extensive brand questionnaire to 75 city residents from various backgrounds and interests. This enabled me to find a common theme that would represent the city’s brand essence. In reading through the questionnaires, I found that many moved to the area to pioneer a new and better way of life. From this came the verbal brand tag line, ‘Pioneering Spirit’. Because of the western architectural theme of the town, my visual solution for the brand was a literal branding iron symbol. The logo positions the ‘S’ for Sisters in the center of an ‘O’, representing Oregon. The assignment also included website design and a year long advertising campaign.

To my delight, the new brand has been well received throughout the community along with providing a clear and focused brand message in which to market this unique and special region within Central Oregon. 

Branding for Non-Profits

I have long felt that branding is especially relevant for non-profit organizations. In Jim Collins’ Good to Great he speaks of the importance of branding in the social sector. He believes an organizations’ key link is their brand reputation, in order that both current and potential supporters believe not only in their mission, but the capacity to deliver on that mission and brand promise.

I have recently been working on a branding project for World Relief. Their vision is to relieve human suffering, poverty and hunger worldwide in the name of Jesus Christ. This new brand, named The World Relief NEXT Project, was created to attract the emerging and ‘next’ generation of people to bring hope to those most vulnerable around the world. These exhibits show the brand look-and-feel in initial design development.

I believe branding and design has enormous power to enhance the thing it represents and lift an organization from appearing ordinary to something extraordinary. Branding especially matters for non-profit organizations, and I believe more than marketing, it is defining and declaring a movement with meaning.

John C. Maxwell Author Brand

It has been ten years since I began working with Thomas Nelson Publishers on the John Maxwell brand. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership was one of my first book cover design assignments, and I could have never imagined that it would become one of the most significant brands that I would have the opportunity to be a part of. To date, John C. Maxwell’s books have sold over 30 million copies and he is considered the number one authority on leadership and teamwork. I am honored to have help shape the look of his brand and packaging over the years. I am also very grateful to Belinda Bass of Thomas Nelson for entrusting such and important author brand to me.