American Artifact

Top: from left to right: Pete Alvarado, Stephen Croxson, Laurie Croxson, Robin Parrish

CROXSON Design an award-winning branding and integrated communications firm that is dedicated to the development of their clients’ brands by providing strategic branding solutions, marketing communications, advertising, print and interactive services.

AIGA Houston’s John Luu was able to stop by CROXSON to speak with principals; Stephen and Laurie Croxson about their studio and their process on how they utilize design and strategy to develop brands and integrated communications solutions for their clients.

John Luu / How did you first get into design?

Stephen Croxson / I came to Houston from Louisiana Tech. In college our design class toured studios in Dallas and Houston. We toured the Richards Group, Tracy Locke, some large agencies in Dallas and in Houston, Rives Dyke, which is now Richards/Carlberg, and Baxter+Korge (B+K). So I thought, “ok, if I go to Dallas I’ll work for the Richards Group and if I stay in Houston I’ll work for B+K.” Well, unbeknownst to me when I interviewed, B+K had one open spot and 22 people interviewing for the position. So that’s how it was when I was hired by B+K and that’s how I got into the industry. B+K was very much a B2B (Business to Business) studio and that type of work has always interested me. I naturally gravitated to high-profile projects like annual report design and corporate identity. Working on the highest-visibility pieces gave me the opportunity to work with upper management. So, I’ve always felt very comfortable working with senior executives, so it was an easy transition for me… going from the drawing board to a presentation to the Chairman of the Board.

Laurie Croxson / Even as a child Steve always knew he wanted to design. He wasn’t sure what it was called, but he knew he wanted to work in graphic design in some form.

SC / Louisiana Tech had a lot of architectural rendering and illustration courses, as well as fine art and advertising-based programs. So I had a plan – that was what I wanted to do. Like Laurie said, I never quite knew that it was labeled a Creative Director. I’ve always enjoyed the creative side and the thought process it involves. I’ve been very fortunate in my career, I’ve always been in organizations that respect the “thought” side of the business. Our legacy, our culture, how I hope CROXSON Design is perceived is through the work we do – it’s the thought process, not just aesthetics. Obviously aesthetics are very important, but there must be an underlying theme and continuity of messaging throughout; so I think that’s one of the ways we differentiate from some of our competitors.

You’ve been in business since 1978. Can you tell us how CROXSON Design come to be?

SC / I was working at a design studio, Ben Carter & Associates, where I had an opportunity to develop my own client base, so in a way I was a freelancer working for a freelancer, and Ben had an excellent creative reputation and was looked upon as a creative hired gun. He had been an art director at McCann Erickson, and had worked on large projects like the Exxon name change. Ben was growing his studio, got to a certain size, and we just had a difference of opinion which presented a perfect opportunity to exit and carry some clients I had established at that point. So when I went out on my own, I already had a client base started. My background with Ben provided wonderful insight because I could see what I believed had been done right, and what I felt I could improve on. This was a good foundation for running my own business.

LC / Steve had been on his own for quite some time when he and I met. I had always worked on the agency side: copywriting, media planning, branding strategy, graphic standards, that sort of thing. So when he and I started dating we were bidding head-to-head against each other on project,s and after about a year we decided the best thing would be to merge everything. In the same week I moved in with him and went into business with him, so I felt like I was throwing my career and my home and my heart all off of the same cliff, but it really did work. It’s a good mix because we have a nice right brain/left brain combination. So much of my background was print ad campaigns, and it allowed CROXSON Design to branch out into more areas. 18 years later, we still think it was a great business decision and a great personal decision!

SC / Yeah, that separation of church and state… somewhere the line got crossed but it works very well for us. I think it does have to do with the left brain/right brain side. Our studio attacks things strategically. We attack things from the point of view that a lot of what we do can be viewed as subjective, so we are firm advocates of defining the objectives of a project and developing targets to hit. That idea of a client saying “I don’t know what it is but I’ll know it when I see it” — the answer is: run from that, because you can never hit that target. Setting clear goals that creative must achieve raises the professionalism of our industry because it gets less subjective.

Laurie and I were actually introduced by Terry Vine and Patti Schumann, his wife at the time. We met at a jazz club. It was Terry, Patti and myself and six other ladies.

LC / It wasn’t so much of a blind date – they thought we were perfect for each other, and if they just put us in the same room we would find each other. And we did!

SC / This was a very attractive table, I might add. The jazz singer sent over drinks to the table to congratulate the gentlemen for having these very attractive ladies with them, so we owe it all to Terry and Patti for setting us up.

LC / I had heard of CROXSON Design but had never met Steve; I only knew of his work and his reputation. So going into business with him a year later, that was what I had always wanted to do; to partner with a small design firm to turn it into a boutique ad agency. That’s very much what we are functioning as now. For our large clients, like Exxon Mobil where they have hundreds of marketing people, we perform very targeted tasks as a part of a large team. But for our smaller and mid-size clients we’re their virtual marketing and creative department and handle all of their marketing functions. The scope of services we provide is customized to the needs of the client.

SC / I think it’s interesting when people compare the design work of Houston to Dallas, you have to look at what client base is established in each city. We’re very much a B2B environment, and understanding the industries and how vertical the target audiences can be, with niche trade publications – that’s why Houston developed, I believe, into a strong print-centric market where, say, Dallas is more of a B2C broadcast environment. From a television and radio production point of view, well, they’ve always been stronger than Houston. Houston’s vertical focus on energy, health sciences and similar industries has cultivated some great B2B design firms like Pennebaker and your firm, Axiom, which I consider to be our peer group.

Actually this kind of leads into my next question. There are currently four people at CROXSON. Are there any insights into what designers should expect or know when working at a small firm?

SC / That’s a good question, and the answer is: know everything. In our educational system, just because a student knows a particular design software or skill, it can be seen as the end-all-be-all. But the education process never stops. We’re doing two new product launches right now involving new molecules. It’s heady stuff and with all due respect, there’s no way you can go in and bullshit your way through a meeting on something like that. We meet with engineers and marketing people who truly understand positioning and particularly in chemical processing, when you have a new chemical introduced, it may be three years down the road from a production standpoint. So you touch on a lot of industries, you touch on the marketing strategy of the organization, dollars within the organization that will be put forth not only for the research side, but also the implementation side. Customers may have to build a whole new wing to their plant to implement technology innovations and that can take five years. So I think as we get more deeply involved with our clients’ thought process and strategies, it gives us a better idea of how vision works for corporate America.

LC / The bad news in a small firm is that there is nowhere to hide – if you’re not producing, it’s going to be obvious. It’s also very interactive; it’s very close knit. The positive side, and this is input we get from employees coming from large agencies, there are none of the layers of management that eat away at great creative. You don’t have have something going through this person and then that person. You can speak directly to the client if you want to. We don’t filter our designers from anything, and it’s all about the creative end-product. That is bottom line. We don’t keep time sheets; we’re not going to worry about spending more time because it’s not budgeted; it is simply about the best creative it can possibly be. That’s why we decided to not grow. We don’t want to get bigger because it doesn’t mean you get better. It just means you’re going to worry about bringing in more accounts, where you’re going to get the next big client, the next new project and you forget about doing the very best you can with the projects you have in-house right now. So that’s why we love our size – we don’t want to lose sleep about ever having to lay somebody off or worry about whether we can give out the bonuses people deserve. We want employees to be able to go home at 5 pm, see their families, do the things they love. Getting away from work can be the best way to clear your head and let the big ideas develop. Sometimes when a design firm gets too big, you get caught up in this machine and you lose sight of the design and creative and the fun you were having doing it. We see firms who are all about getting bigger and bigger and I don’t see why. I’m sure there are dollars in there somewhere, but quality of work and quality of life have to play into it, too.

SC / That’s an interesting thought, I think at some point in time, every principal has a mental image of what their comfort level is, and how many people you’re comfortable managing. I kind of refer to it as “rowing a boat.” At one time I had a studio with 10 people and I felt like I was rowing the Titanic. I think there is a misconception in college that just because you’ve made it through your four years and learned the latest software design program – that’s it… you’re employable. In reality, the education process never ends. You move from understanding the basic elements of design and composition to understanding business and how businesses work. We’re currently launching two new product lines, and one of the products contains a newly-developed molecule – that’s pretty heady stuff. Understanding the “cradle to grave” aspect of marketing a new product line; that just isn’t taught in a design class. The marketing strategy of a product launch like this will incorporate many disciplines – from brand development and messaging to understanding that a technological advancement might require three to five years to build a new manufacturing facility before it captures its first dollar. Projects like these allow us the opportunity to interpret our clients’ vision and gives us a much clearer idea of how corporate America works.

LC / Another fun thing for a designer in a smaller environment is that when we get a creative project – whether it’s a website or a logo – everybody works on the initial concepts, everyone gets to dive in and the best rises to the top. Whichever one the client chooses, that person follows it through to production and press checks. It is your baby from start to finish although some people may not want that. We are very detailed-oriented; down to hyphens and line breaks, and if a designer doesn’t want to agonize over how something looks and what the line breaks are and the kerning and the leading; if they want to hand that off to a production person who is less experienced than they are, we’re not the right place for them. You have to care.

SC / I believe in pride of authorship. We’re very proud of the work that we do for our clients; we just won Agency of the Year from BMA, which is interesting because I don’t typically think of us as an agency. But that’s my own perception. To me an ad agency is someone who’s handling and producing consumer campaigns and doing national media buys. Large media dollars define an ad agency to me. Now that’s not the legal definition, but in my mind, that’s what it is. I think as Laurie said earlier, we think of ourselves as boutiqish in nature and we look upon that with great pride because that’s where some of the best creative comes from.

CROXSON specializes in corporate branding. Specifically Business to Business. Can you go into detail about your process?

SC / Our client base includes start-ups to corporate giants. This morning I met with a company to design their very first annual report. We’ve already developed their corporate identity and branding structure, and this annual report will offer us an opportunity to work further to define the culture of their organization. So not only are we able to provide a visual brand for the company, but now we will help craft the message – interpreting how they raise their flag to salute, “this is who we are” in the marketplace. From a designer’s perspective this is a tremendous opportunity, and from my perspective it’s a rush to be able to do that.

We work very hard to understand our clients’ businesses, the industry segments they serve. An oil service company that deals with well intervention will face challenges and restrictions like high pressure and high temperature. When you meet with their engineers they expect you to understand what they’re doing. Through all my years of doing this, I’ve pretty much worked on every part of the drilling rig – from the mast, to the rotary table to the drill bit to downhole intelligent completion. You learn how all of the pieces work together and that’s when you are able to bring value to your client.

LC / Steve worked on a pipeline repair crew when he was in college, so he’s been out there in the field. Hands-on, which our energy clients love, because it means he knows what he is doing, and when he goes on photo shoots the crews respect that he’s done some of the work himself.

SC / The oil industry is like any industry, people want to know that you understand what they’re doing; it’s talking to a guy on a backhoe and being able to talk to the chairman of the board. The beauty of my experience allows me to speak comfortably to everyone, and have the same level of respect for both. You can gain a lot of insight from the guys in the field about how to do something right, and they appreciate the fact that you want to do it right – the first time. That’s what I still truly love about our industry. But at some point in time – and I’ve owned my own company for 30 years – you ask yourself “are you tired of it yet?”

LC / (laughs)

SC / (smiling) Not yet. But I would like a shorter work week.

How long have you been members of AIGA?

SC / I would say about eight years now.

What do you get most out of AIGA?

SC / With Robin Parrish on our staff now, we know what’s going to happen before it happens… and when we’re busy she reminds us of upcoming events. But I particularly like the speaker bureaus, when you bring top talent to the city. It’s a window into the world. You’re bringing talent to our marketplace, that we would not normally see on a regular basis and it becomes an exchange of ideas. You take it all in, and you start formulating your own ideas of what is appropriate. You try to take that information and use it in your day-to-day activities. Hopefully, that not only makes you a better communicator, but a also better designer, a better husband, a better person in general. And I believe design is a tool that can accomplish all of those things.

What do you look for when looking at design portfolios?

SC / The thought process.

LC / The concept.

SC / Concept is everything John; it’s the “big idea” or magic behind something. I think it’s interesting when someone says there’s only one way to do something. I love to prove that person wrong. There are many different ways to attack a problem, and to articulate a message through certain nuances in different ways, and I think that’s what we’re asked to do as professionals. Take information and find the best way, in the voice of the client, to communicate it. When a client comes to me, I don’t think they’re asking for my style.  What they’re asking is “What can you do to build MY corporate image and brand in the marketplace?” So if I give them Steve’s look, no matter how beautiful it is, well, I think that’s a disservice to the client.

LC / So particularly with student portfolios, we’re disappointed when an individual has one style and that’s it, that’s everything that you see. Because we don’t present the same style to clients over and over and over again. We have to reflect their brand, not our preferences. When you’re showing your portfolio, tell us a story – we want to hear how you started thinking, who is the target audience, and what was the thought process that brought you to what you are. The background is going to tell us more about you and how you arrive at solutions.
Do you have any additional advice for designers still in school?

SC / Read more. It’s amazing when I talk to students and you ask “Has anyone read a Wall Street Journal this week?”. No hands go up. Now think about that; we’re a business doing business with other businesses. The Wall Street Journal is simply the bible. You have to surround yourself with what you want to be and who you want to talk to. You have to project yourself beyond school into the working world. Wouldn’t it be a pretty good idea to be cognizant of what’s happening in the real world? And I get “I’m a college student, I’m on a budget.” Look, you’ve got Wall Street Journals in the library, or go online. But the idea is, once you stop formal education, once you finish college, education does not stop. It just began for you because you’ll be thrown into an environment where you’re meeting with a Chief Financial Officer and had better have a general idea of his job description and what the CEO does. And none of that is by osmosis, it’s all simply by hard work and study.

LC / It’s not just the job of account services to know these things… it’s really a part design to understand who you’re designing for.

SC / Design is a wonderful discipline that can help open eyes, open minds and even open hearts. Use this wonderful talent we’ve been given and make the world a better place.

To learn more about CROXSON please visit their website at www.croxsondesign.com

If you would like your studio featured on AIGA Houston please contact John Luu info@houston.aiga.org for more information.

Date: Thursday, March 4, 2010
Doors open at 6:30 pm for drinks and chit chat. Talks start at 7:30 pm.

Location: The Atrium in the UH College of Architecture Bldg

Pronounced “peh-chak-cha’’, a mix of show-and-tell, open-mike night and happy hour, it has become the forum for ideas on design, culture and a lot more that has swept the world in just four years now having taken place in over 200 cities globally.

Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

What do we have lined up for PK Vol 2? Neuroscientists, Graphic Designers, Artists, Architects and Industrial Designers. And thats only half the roster!

The event is FREE and open to the public. Cash bar.
Seating is limited so get there early.

RSVP Here- Pecha Kucha Vol 2

For more info join the – Facebook Page

Follow us on twitter
Or check out our page at PK Headquarters

Speakers
Joshua Gowin – Neuroscientist
Andrea Grover – Curator/Artist
Brenden Macaluso – Industrial Designer
David Morris – Programmer/ Artist
Zach Moser – Workshop Houston
Derek Rankins – Photographer
Brittanie Shey – Writer/Journalist
Judith Uzcategui – Designer/Illustrator
Abram VanElswyk – Designer
Tito Vargas – Architect/Student
Andrew Vrana – Architect

Sponsored by
UH College of Architecture Alumni Association
with support from AIGA Houston

Parking directions

DIRECTIONS TO THIS BUILDING FROM I-45 SOUTH (DOWNTOWN)
- exit Cullen
- turn right on Cullen
- turn left at 1st light, Elgin St.
- turn right into UH Entrance 18
- the Architecture Building is straight ahead
- to park, turn right at stop sign
- turn right into parking lot 16B

PARKING INFORMATION
To obtain a visitor parking permit, visit the Information Center at Entrance 1 on University Dr. or the Information Center on Cullen Blvd near the Athletics/Alumni Facility.There is metered parking in the first row of lot 16B , and there is gated visitor’s parking in lot 16F

Question: Ask Ken – corporate clients and small biz

Hi there. I am a freelancer who has a DBA and has been freelancing for 15 years. I have always had either a short-term onsite corporate assignment or corporate work from home via my agent (high level work), which has kept my cash flow steady. Last year much of that work went away and I am trying to land my own corporate clients. I love my small business clients but I cannot live on their work alone.

Any suggestions as to how to get a large corporation to take an independent, experienced designer/project mgr seriously and actually award projects? And how to get my foot in the door?

Thanks.
Kristin

Kristin,

It sounds like you already have your foot in the door, now it is a matter of getting them to open the door wider. What I mean by that is, you have been freelancing for fifteen years, you have been working on short-term onsite “corporate” projects and some from home during that time. So you have some inside contacts (inside these companies). Sounds like you just need to leverage your network contacts. I may be over simplifying or I may not have enough information about your situation, but I agree for a lot of freelancers it is about getting your foot in the door or about getting corporate experience under their belt or on their resume. These don’t sound like they are issues for you.

I would suggest that maybe you need to work your network a little. I assume that in your corporate project/assignment work you dealt with someone on the inside and should have developed a good rapport with them, they liked your work and you have continued to work on assignments off and on. These network contacts are your foot in the door. If they were happy with what you did then they and who they know are your best ways into the company. We have all heard the adage “it’s not what you know but who you know”, business is as much about the relationships as it is the work. We are all willing to suggest a good restaurant to a friend or a good company when we have received good service or had a good experience. These contacts are your best advertisement for more work. I would tread lightly though, there is a fine line between networking and being annoying. I would definitely keep in touch, let them know what you are doing or trying to do but no one likes to be continually bugged or harassed. Foster the relationship, call or e-mail periodically, whichever gets a more favorable response. If you can, do lunch every so often, be visible and you are more likely to be remembered next time an assignment come up.

Beyond that, network, network, network. Join and frequent groups that are attended by your clients (future and present). A lot of corporate client work is awarded through marketing teams, and a lot of corporate marketing people frequent AMA (American Marketing Association) and BMA (Business Marketing Association) meetings, events and conferences. You might also expand your network by joining the AIGA (assuming you aren’t already a member) or the Art Directors Club of Houston. There are studio owners, agency members and some in-house creatives that might also give you an in to some companies. These are all great organizations to be a part of and not just for networking. You don’t even have to join if you want to check it out first. Just find out then the next event is and go, check it out and see if it is something worth your time and money.

Lastly, make sure that your resume/bio/credentials, whatever you are using, is set-up and targeted toward corporate clients as well as your portfolio/work samples. You need to come across as someone professional that can support their business.

On Thursday evening, Feb. 4, AIGA Houston brought us an event with Austin-based designer and educator Armin Vit. “Graphic Design Referenced” is a new book from Armin and his spouse and partner, Bryony Gomez-Palacio. Their design firm, Under Consideration, was asked by a publisher to create a new graphic design reference book. Armin started the evening by describing the arduous process of inventing an up-to-date guide to everything that’s happened before and is available now to inform and assist a designer.

About 50 AIGA members and friends enjoyed wonderful snacks and beer at Rudyard’s. The advertising signage and funky décor set the mood admirably for a friendly discussion of what’s important in design. We had the entire upper room to ourselves, and it was easy to talk, listen, and work the room.

April Guzik, Robin Parrish, John Luu, Robin Tooms and the other board members of AIGA Houston brought plenty of name tags , t-shirts, images and ideas to share. (T-shirt are on sale for a new low price, so contact April if you want to buy any.)

Armin was born in Mexico City and worked for years in New York and around the country at firms such as marchFIRST and Pentagram. He and Bryony established the Under Consideration design firm in 2001 and recently moved it from NYC to Austin. They are as famous for their blog and discussion forum, SpeakUp, as they are for their work. Armin was among the first practicing designers (as opposed to instructors) who encouraged designers to be well-educated about business practices and design theory. In their book “Graphic Design Referenced” Armin and Bryony work hard to share the legacy and acknowledge great designers who’ve come before us.

Houston’s designers, photographers, and art directors enjoyed the presentation, and it was easy to move from the audience to the bar! The presentation was a chance to learn about the challenges of publishing a design history book. Armin showed many famous examples of type, logos, and graphics design, then explained how hard it is to license them for reproduction.

Designer Jeff Djie took many wonderful pictures are this event, which you can see on his blog: http://www.jeffdjie.com/.

After the presentation, Armin ran a trivia contest for design history. Eight people volunteered to play in the ‘tournament’, and armed with copies of Graphic Design Referenced, they scrambled to answer some of the trickiest history questions we’ve ever heard.

The questions made us think about how designers have developed their craft, the serious business challenges they’ve faced, and the way companies constantly change their graphics.

We also learned how designers are educated, how they share and steal credit for work, and how much  they build on each others’ contribution.

Much to her dismay, AIGA President Robin Tooms won the tournament, showing a real flare for scanning the index and the text for clues, as well as a good grasp of design history, of course.

All the copies we had of “Graphic Design Referenced” were sold during the evening, and Armin autographed them. He confessed there will probably never be an online version of the book, so keep an eye out for used copies, if you don’t mind the fingerprints.

Name: John Luu
Place of Employment: Axiom
Job Title: Designer/Art Director

What do you get out of being an AIGA board member?
Serving on the board of AIGA Houston is very meaningful and empowering on a personal level, whether it is interacting with the local design community, connecting people to help them achieve their goals or helping to foster a cohesive and stable design community. Also being a board member allows me to pursue and develop additional skill-sets and responsibilities that would not necessarily be accessible within a studio environment.

What inspired you to become a print/interactive designer?
Originally I studied to be a painter, I first came across graphic design back in high school when I knew it as commercial art and wasn’t really impressed with what I was exposed to; my high school library was woefully out of date. It wasn’t until I went to Otis College of Art and Design in 1996 and first heard Moira Cullen speak about the power of design and design thinking and witnessed first hand the cultural impact that graphic design at the time was having on the West Coast that I wanted to become a designer. When I came back to Houston in 1998 I discovered the amazing Graphic Communication Program they had at UH and went through the block program there.

In terms of interactive design I just drifted into the field by accident. A couple of years out of school I had a some websites and motion projects under my belt when I heard about this interactive position at a firm. It was a considerable bump in salary over what I was making as a print designer so I applied even though my interactive experience was rather thin. Luckily I had a pretty solid portfolio and mailer and my demo reel at the time was serviceable and they took a chance on me. The next twelve months was probably the most challenging for me since I was essentially learning a dozen different technologies and work processes on the job with very aggressive schedules, at the end of it however I was a pretty well seasoned interactive designer.

When you aren’t working, what are you doing?
If I’m not working I’m usually volunteering or working on personal projects or trying to fix things around the house. I like to watch movies or read, hang out with family and friends, spending time with my wife. I like to travel.

What is your greatest accomplishment to date as a designer?
In 2004 – 2005 I worked on a series of Patient Education kiosks and saw firsthand how the clarity of design, both visual and instructional, could persuade individuals to consider making a lifestyle change that would improve their health and quality of life. To me that was a very meaningful call to actions.

What is your project that you have the most bragging rights too?
I have a pretty short attention span when it comes to my own projects. I would have to say right now it would be our latest demo reel at Axiom. It’s a compilation of our agency’s work, the majority of which I was not directly involved in but by editing, layering, and pacing the sequences into a cohesive montage that communicates, clearly and passionately, Axiom’s creative energy, is something I’m quite proud of and feel a large sense of authorship in. Also the fact that the project afforded a high level of autonomy didn’t hurt.

What advice would you give to an aspiring designers?
1. Be good. There are so many good portfolios out there, it’s very humbling. You need to be able to stand out.
2. Your first job out of school will usually be a real acid test of everything you’ve learned. Do yourself a favor and get an internship while you’re in school.
3. Don’t take anything for granted. I had to learn this lesson a few times in my career.
4. Read as much about design as you can. Be knowledgeable about design history. If someone asks you about Helvetica and the Crystal Goblet, know what that means.
5. Be involved. Join the professional groups and associations that directly supports your field of interest. Find out what’s new and emerging and experiment with it.
6. Be professional. There are designers that behave in a professional and ethical manner and conduct and price themselves accordingly and then there are the other types and they are diluting the industry. Hopefully they should be easy to spot.

Where can we find you?
www.axiom.us.com
stimulacra.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/stimulacra
www.twitter.com/stimulacra
www.linkedin.com/in/stimulacra

Name: Yanet V Rodriguez
School: Art Institute of Houston
Graduation Date: June 2009

What made you want to study design?
I always liked to draw and put my ideas on paper, even after I studied business I felt that there was more out there and graphic design meet that criteria.

When you aren’t at school, what are you doing?
Since I am a graduate right now I am looking for employment related to my field of study, like to brainstorm for future children book illustration ideas that I’m currently working on with my sister-n-law who is the author, and watch online Asian dramas and Anime that I like to comment and blog about with other that share my interests.

How long have you been an AIGA Houston member & what do you get out of being an AIGA member?
I have been a member since 06-30-2009 and I get to meet other professional people in the same field and share backgrounds and information of what is really waiting out there for us.
[Yanet is our newest addition to our boards ever growing committee members. She will be fulfilling the role as Volunteer Coordinator and will be working with volunteers on placing them on open committee positions and helping out at events. She will be the direct line of communication between volunteers and AIGA Houston board. We are excited with her addition to our membership committee. -April]

What’s your favorite typeface?
I like Century Schoolbook typeface because I find it easier to identify the letters even if they are small font sizes and if I need it in italics it is available. The counter-form of the letters also help in distinguishing an ‘a’ from ‘q’.

What’s you motto that you design by?
If at first you don’t succeed try, try, try again.

What would be your dream job or accomplishment if you could do or be anything?
My dream job would be to illustrate children book that will be enjoyed by everyone.

What is the one piece of work that you pride yourself on?
A Magdala of the Virgen de Guadalupe

Where can we find you?
facebook
yanetvrodriguez@live.com
y1saturn.wordpress.com
myspace.com/y_darkangel_

Name: Theresa Quintanilla
Place of Employment: Steady Stream Publications, Inc.
Job Title: Owner, DIY Publisher

How long have you been an AIGA Houston member & what do you get out of being an AIGA member?
Brand new
[Theresa is our newest member added to our communications committee. She will be posting reviews/pictures of our all of our events. We are excited to have her as our newest edition. -April]

When you aren’t designing, what are you doing?
Helping enterprises connect with their audiences

Who are your design heros or what designers are you following right now?
Hugh MacLeod (Gapingvoid), Austin Govella. I follow design on Notcot.com and futureblog.designhotels.com. I prefer having a curator!

What is your greatest accomplishment to date as a designer?
Yikes! I’ve been working on www.QViewsOnline.com for a long time. I guess it’s as good as I can make it now. Yeah, sad, I know. Clearly don’t plan on making a living as a designer.

What’s your favorite typeface?
Palatino

What type of music do you listen to while designing?
Ambient electronic (i.e., Brian Eno)

Where can we find you?
QViews almost everywhere: Twitter, Facebook, Flicker,
sometimes I’m TheresaQ or QTalks, when I couldn’t get QViews.

Join AIGA Houston as we embark upon 2010 with our Meet Market 02. Socialize with the prime cut of creative folks from 6:30-9:30pm at Hearsay Gastro Lounge, Downtown Houston. RSVP is required to participate in the social.

The Premise: Like SpeedNetworking, but better

The goal is to meet as many people as you can in the room. With only two minutes per conversation, you’ll be sure to meet a lot of people. But don’t worry – with the business card information you’ve provided in advance, we’ll make this easy on you.

All attendees will supply a business card, which the event organizers will use to provide to everyone with facts about you – facts they’ll have to “check” when they meet with you. It will be fun, we promise! (we’ll give you the lists when you check in that night).

At the end of the event, everyone will turn in their sheets and all of the “checklists” will be tallied to see who is our best networker. The top two attendees with the most points will receive recognition and receive a prize for being the most social.

There will also be a door prize which will be draw from all the attendees that attend the event.

*Every attendee will be supplied a list upon checking into the social.

Location:
Hearsay Gastro Lounge from 6:30-9:30
www.hearsayhouston.com
218 Travis Street
Houston, TX 77002
Hor’dourves & drink special for AIGA Houston at $6 wells, $6 wine ( 1 red & 1 white ), and $5 beers.

Please RVSP by February 23rd to memberactivities@houston.aiga.org
Directions to RSVP: Please send a copy of your business card [pic or scan] with your RSVP.

You do not need to participate in the social in order to attend our Meet Market 02. Everyone is welcomed both members/non-members. This is a Free event. You do not need to be 21 to attend or to participate, only to drink.

For more information/comments/questions, contact
April Guzik
memberactivities@houston.aiga.org
Member Activities Chair

Savage specializes in results-driven corporate design and branding. For more than three decades, clients of all sizes and industries have brought their branding, marketing, and communications challenges to their doorstep – in every shape and form.

AIGA Houston’s John Luu was able to stop by Savage to speak with Paula Savage Hansen, CEO, Bethany Haley, President & Brand Strategist and Dahlia Salazar, Creative Director to learn more about Savage, their history and what Smart. Fresh. Human means.

John Luu / How did all of you guys first get into design?

Bethany Haley / I actually majored in graphic design thinking I would go into that field after college but after a couple of internships realized that it wasn’t my core strength, I was better on the idea-generation side of it and after more schooling and life outside of graphic design ended up going back and getting my MBA to learn about corporate strategy, entrepreneurship, marketing, and how to run businesses. My contribution to this company is to work with our clients on their core strategy and positioning.

Dahlia Salazar / I’ve always wanted a job in design since grade school. I was always interested in the arts and once I graduated from the Art Institute of Houston I was, for a year and a half, at an advertising agency, long enough to know I didn’t want to work at an advertising agency. So I came here to Savage and I’ve been here ever since.

Paula Savage Hansen / Well I guess mine was sort of by accident. My father always thought that I should be in what he called “Commercial Art” I think mainly because he always wanted to be in it and he figured that I could draw so maybe I could do that. But it wasn’t really what I was too interested in because he had me convinced that I had to be able to support myself once I graduated and I didn’t see any financial future in it. So I was going to be a math major but I didn’t do as well as I should have. My father talked me into trying art for one semester and if I didn’t like it he would never bother me about it again.

I loved it. I never went back and that’s all I’ve known, it’s been my passion since so… he was right. I think that we learn that sometimes our parents know us better than we think that they do. That’s how I got into it. If you want to know about my first job, I won’t go into all of that.

My second question—I didn’t realize you were going to be part of this discussion but… how did you come to join Savage?

PSH / I started it. (laughter) That’s mine, y’all can go ahead.

DS / Like I mentioned my first job was in an advertising agency and that was real good experience but I wanted to get into a studio environment and this was a really good studio even back then, Savage had a really good reputation. So I joined it and it was a much better environment for me in terms of creative freedom and creative development.

BH / Well some people may know this and some people don’t but Paula Savage is my mother so I literally grew up in this business. From the beginning of my time I’ve been exposed to this great business and after going to college and sowing my oats in other places and after business school came on to work for Savage so it was just a natural transition for me to come into the family business.

If you had 3 words to describe Savage what would they be?

BH / I think we’re all going to have the same answer, which is; Smart Fresh and Human. It’s on everything. And we spent a very long time…

DS / …Deducing it down.

BH / …clarifying what those words are and we’ve come to live and breathe them so I hope that everyone in this organization would come up with those same three words. Because they’re very meaningful, not just to us, but to the value we provide our clients and the work that we do.

According to your fact sheet; Savage has six partners,, all of which have a background in Graphic Design. How has that shaped the vision of the studio?

PSH / That’s an easy and a hard question because we all come from… even though we’re all in graphic design, we all have different disciplines. Part of being a partner though goes more to the business side of it. I’ve tried over the years—it’s very typical in this business for designers to not necessarily have a great career path at a firm. After a certain period of time they tend to move somewhere else in order to move up rather than stay with the same firm. We had such great people here that we didn’t want to lose them for that reason because I felt that they contributed a lot of time and effort to the company and they should have an opportunity to be an owner in the company. I’ve made that offer over the years to several people and currently we have six partners, including me. And we have different retreats to help plan and define “what’s ahead for our firm and the profession and where do we fit into all of that”

We basically plan, at least once a year and also meet twice a month on a very regular basis to talk about where we are going with the firm and what’s happening with our clients. What is happening internally and externally and so on. I think that goes a long way in shaping what it is that we do, I would say that the company has always had a very entrepreneurial spirit about it and we like to stay that way.

Also it helps us to distribute the management across different people so we have a four person sort-of day-to-day management group and that consists of three of the partners and our controller and that’s more on the management side. Part of their time is taken up with the management of the company. Two of the partners prefer to be almost solely in design, doing design and doing the work, and they still participate in carrying the design banner, taking that one step further in terms of keeping us on track as far as some of our core competencies. Even though those have extended beyond just the pure design aspect of it. It’s design that has a strategy behind it. Strategic Design is what we do. The thinking is just as important as the aesthetic of what we are doing.

I think that having the responsibilities distributed over a group of people rather than just having one person responsible also helps the employees here, they know they can go to more than just one person in order to get an answer to something or get something done. In a lot of cases it also has meaning to our clients because it allows them to know that they are working with the principal at all times. I think that’s pretty important to our clients. They know that there’s somebody really caring about their account and whether we’re doing a good job or not.

BH / I think what’s interesting too is that, as the company has transformed into more brand development strategy, we can continually execute on that strategy. You hear a lot of grief being given to consultants in general because they come in and they tell you what to do and then they leave and they leave you to execute. Because we are grounded in graphic design and we understand the value and the power of design as a differentiator for companies, when we come in and go through the strategic process then we can deliver the solution and execute a plan and walk away having the client comfortable with the fact that they have deliverables that they can use and measure against. That’s the other reason that I think that everyone’s past or experience in graphic design is pretty critical.

Savage is one of the oldest and most respected design firms in Houston. What do you think is the key to Savage’s longevity and continued relevance as a studio?

PSH / I think one of the reasons that we stayed around is that we made a lot of good business decisions and a lot of that goes back to the entrepreneurial spirit that we have here. We’ve been on —you know they talk about the leading edge, the bleeding edge —we’ve always been on the bleeding edge. We have taken it as part of our responsibility to understand where the technology is going and how it can help our clients.

I think it’s really focusing on our clients and bringing new ideas and keeping client-centric. So it’s planning and staying ahead of the game and really being a partner with your clients so that you are not losing your clients. And understanding how to market; doing what you say and practice what you preach.

BH / We also have a lot of financial discipline as well. There’s investment in innovation and staying on the edge and investing in your company and yourself. We’re business people too, that’s based on 36 years of Paula doing this, we’ve got a couple of MBA’s, we have very senior level treasurer and controller and so we have financial discipline, we have processes and procedures in place and part of our culture is to have processes and procedures so that we’re smart.

PSH / That’s true. I’ve even had people over the years say “Oh my gosh, I’ve never worked at a place that was so well organized as you are here but… I like it” You don’t necessarily think of creative people as liking that kind of thing but I think that even if you are a designer and you look at a blank sheet of paper. Well that sheet of paper still has four edges to it, I mean there has to be some sort of a foundation in place for you then to be able to think freely and be creative. That’s just part of my philosophy.

Recently Savage has branched out into adjacent forms of communications, PR and Social Media. Do you have any insights into how visual designers can adapt to these new integrated tools and approaches?

DS / It kind of goes back to what Paula said earlier. We’ve made the time to learn about those new technologies because whether people are utilizing them right now or not, we owe it to our clients who’ve always evolved based on their needs and so learning about technology and social media and optimization, all of those things. We make the effort to invest the time to learn it so we can then go and accurately apply it to what our client’s needs are so that fuels the partnership that Paula was talking about earlier and because of that we maintain a lot of long term relationships with our clients. We’re going to them a lot of times and they might not be interested in it initially but we will get the call back; “Remember the meetings?” or “Remember that call?”, historically it always happens.

BH / Also, internally, we challenge our designers to know that stuff. It becomes a requirement; this is the technology that’s here, this is the form of communication that we have to provide to our clients, and whether somebody is fresh out of school or has been working with Savage for twenty-something years, we put them on projects and client teams that are going to push their comfort level a little bit to learn that. And also we have the expertise in house to provide some mentorship and guidance but we really want everyone to participate in learning and growing with new technology. What’s also interesting in what you mentioned; social media and investor relations, and there is a split in where it used to be the innovation was in technology, like using the web and now it’s all about social media tools and where we’ve seen innovation in recently is how you effectively communicate with a variety of different audiences. Thinking about the internal employee audiences and thinking about the customer, thinking about supplier communications and finding the right tools to maximize the reach and impact you have upon those clients so part of us branching out into adjacent areas is only about finding and being able to provide the best means of communications for that audience. That’s been part of our path, trying to access these skills we know are important for those communications plans.

PSH / Another side of that is we do a lot of branding and that’s just part of that. Once you develop the brand you need stuff to communicate it so there is a PR component to that we do like to provide. We don’t do a lot of advertising either, we don’t do a lot of ads but we do image ads so the part that relates to the project, we want to provide to the client.

How long have you been members of AIGA?

BH / Paula is the longest standing member of AIGA in Houston! And three of our six partners are in the top ten longest standing and Paula is the longest standing member. Which is really fascinating because it shows how much support she’s given.

PSH / I think what it shows is how important it is, even when times are bad, to maintain some sort of a national professional affiliation so that you have people on a national level you can bounce ideas off of, that you can talk to and you can find out what’s going on. You can participate in your profession because it’s not just about being with your clients all the time, you have to participate in our profession also. It’s like lawyers and doctors practice law and practice medicine. You have to practice design communications and that’s just part of it. It’s important.

What do you get most out of AIGA?

BH / What we talked about as a firm, we really want all of our designers—actually we want everybody at Savage to participate in some sort of professional development and for designers the number one is AIGA and so they benefit, they learn more and they network they create these relationships and share knowledge that not just benefits them professionally but benefits our firm professionally.

It’s also a good virtuous cycle. We get new designers, the designers learn more, they help us help our clients better, and honestly you can’t do that just within the walls of the firm, you have to look outside to the community as well. So we’ve gotten a lot from AIGA and from other organizations just through those means and also it’s been a recruiting tool.

DS / The standards and policies that AIGA has developed that are now industry standards those are all very helpful in terms of being accepted and communicating those standards back to our clients so that they are aware that there are some standard practices and procedures within this profession.

PSH / We’re not, we don’t have AIA and those kinds of things following us but AIGA has provided a lot of legitimacy to our profession.

What do you look for when looking at design portfolios?

DS / I look for, obviously the thinking, and the thought process behind any type of design solution. I look at someone’s communication skills, how they present themselves. Are they able to articulate effectively what the challenge was and how they arrived at their solution. Just the craft of the portfolio itself. Is it polished? Is it well presented or is it falling apart at the seams? That gives you a lot of insight into a person in terms of the amount of detail and what they put into their work. I mean am I going to be able to put this person in front of a client? Also whether they’ve done any kind of research on us. It’s always good to have someone that’s actually studied our background and has some questions and comes prepared and is interested in not only presenting themselves but in asking questions about the studio, that tells me they’ve done their homework. Do you guys have anything else you might want to add?

BH / No that’s really dead on.

PSH / Besides having really really great design. (laughter)

DS / That’s a given.

Do you have any advice for designers still in school?

BH / Our biggest consensus on advice for designers still in school is to take some courses outside of graphic design. Consider a class in business writing or a class in general communication, how to present in presentations or public speaking. A lot of those courses are offered in these schools and students just get into these little pigeonholed world of graphic design and forget when they come out that their clients are in the real business world and understanding where they are coming from and how to speak their language and how to present to them professionally, how to stand in front of a board even, is really going to be an extremely important skill and a differentiator for a student coming out of school and when they’re interviewing will definitely set them apart.

DS / And start to think about that before their senior year. They can call and hopefully get face time with some folks around town. Typically you see people at the portfolio review and it’s their senior year and they’re about to head out into the market but it would be helpful if they did that in their junior year or earlier start researching and trying to get a lay of the land in terms of what is available to them

BH / And most design firms in Houston, this is an assumption, but it is our personality; everyone is open to informational interviews. Don’t wait until you need a job, start using some networks and start talking to people. I mean we’ll spend twenty minutes or thirty minutes talking to somebody, just talking about their portfolio or talking about what opportunities we see out there for them. I don’t think people are really taking advantage unless they’re really looking for an internship or looking for a job.

Sappi Paper: Ideas that Matter

Baylor College of Medicine "Best Minds. Best Medicine." Identity Campaign

Dell, Inc.: Worldwide Employee Communications Campaign

Delta Air Lines: Emerge Book

Sysco Corporation 2008 Sustainability Report

To learn more about Savage please visit their website at www.savagebrands.com.

If you would like your studio featured on AIGA Houston please contact John Luu, info@houston.aiga.org for more information.