Cinco de May'all: a southern-style fiesta

The East Cooper Breakfast Rotary Club, in their infinite goodness, decided to create a new fundraising event to support their charitable efforts.

They knew they wanted it to be a Cinco de Mayo party but weren't sure what to call it or what it should look like. So... they called SLANT.

Many of the organization's efforts are pretty serious business - funding and facilitating life-altering surgeries for children and families from countries all over the world. Amazing work but not what you draw on for a party's identity. 

So what else defines them? They're a social bunch and happen to live in a pretty southern community. We started exploring iconic southern elements and Cinco de Mayo elements, while steering clear of the typical cactus, chili pepper and margarita imagery. 

With that in mind, we came up with the name Cinco de May'all. And for the event's logo/poster concept, we incorporated classic southern seersucker, bowties and our favorite contraction of togetherness, blended with the classic Mexican sombrero and tie.

Now, that's a party. Ole!

Five years of iFiveK

Team SLANT, 2011The 2011 iFivek was cancelled - but the pizza and beer consumption wasn't! Despite the hail, torrential downpour and soggy-shoe guarantee, there were clear skies on the horizon - we were all ready to run the fifth-annual iFiveK last Thursday, April 21.

But it each time the worst of the weather seemed to be behind us, the rain returned and ultimately the race route, rife with puddles, was unsafe for the crowd of 750 to navigate.

So we did the only logical thing. We huddled inside the Maritime Center and kicked off the after party (sponsored by BoomTown - THANKS guys!)

SLANT has been the race's Creative Sponsor since the first iFiveK and we were thrilled to experience the first sold-out year. From a creative perspective, our biggest overhaul was the new website, then there were new shirts (gotta keep it fresh), updated signage (that saw a lot of rain but no runners) and new photography (you remember Will's death defying escapade, right?).

Great job to Ernest, Amy, Amanda, the Charleston Digital Corridor team and the rest of the sponsors for making it a success. Fingers crossed for clear skies in 2012!

Ready to run. Yeah, turns out we've got some hardcore runners in the group.The calm after the storm (brought to you by BoomTown's beer and CHS's beauty)Double rainbow... all the way! (What does it MEAN?)

Dead Battery Anxiety ads in Times Square

thanks to longtime slantastic friend @mattpostism for the foto!

A few of our DBA video ads ran on the CBS screen on 42nd Street in Times Square February-March. (Check out the originals below).

To end the run, SLANT created a spot that challenged Microsoft Tag-savvy viewers to use their mobile phone to snap a giant Tag on the screen. Those who could master the open-app-and-snap in less than :30 were whisked away to the DBA YouTube channel for more DBA hilarity.

Fun, right? We thought so!

SLANT gets appy with BatterySense for iPhone + iPad

Booming announcer's voice: The BatterySense by Philips Consumer Lifestyle app is live in the Apple app store! Now you can be in control of your iPhone, iPod or iPad's power destiny... estiny...estiny.

OK, for real. It's totally gratifying to see this labor of love finally come to life so the rest of you can download it for free. (Please, let us know what you think!)

How did all this get started? SLANT worked with Philips Consumer Lifestyle to concept an app that would be relevant to their mobile power products. So we got to work and the result was BatterySense.

Our goal when designing Battery Sense was to reveal the most pertinent information right away and leave all the other details hidden until you need them. And since it will live on a sexy touchscreen device, we organized the interface with big, giant buttons and gorgeous graphics. That makes it easy to use and fun to look at.

But wait, there's more!

The real genius of BatterySense lies within the "What If" feature. Just slide your finger up the interactive battery meter to tell BatterySense how much more time you need for say, Internet Use, and voila... BatterySense will make some recommendations on what battery-hogging iOS settings you can turn off to help you get there.

And if you get a little greedy over how much extra time you need your battery to last? Well, Philips has some power products to help you with that power boost. (We don't want anyone running around with Dead Battery Anxiety now, do we?)

So after concepting, defining the app's feature, designing the interface, programming with our rockstar development partner Relium, and testing (and testing, and testing), BatterySense is approved and in the App store. Now go download it and cure yourself of Dead Battery Anxiety!

Stuff you gotta see: The Philips Dead Battery Anxiety "mockrosite"

 

Yeah, we made up a word. Heck, we made up a whole disease!

We're stoked to announce the launch of the Dead Battery Anxiety (DBA) campaign. Why? Is it because we produced the campaign?  Well yeah, that.  But now mobile phone users can finally stop living in fear of dead phone batteries.

Launching today, DeadBatteryAnxiety.com is a wealth of education, diagnosis and “treatment options” for those who don’t have time to plug in and charge their phones when they’re on the go. Brochures, in addition to interactive and broadcast media, support the DBA campaign.

We collaborated with Philips Consumer Lifestyle to create the mock affliction microsite, or “mockrosite” as we’re calling it (see what we did there?) and its hi-larious content to support the Philips ChargeOn line of portable chargers. The products, designed for iPod/iPhone and other mobile phones, are available for sale via the website and at Wal-Mart stores, nationwide.

“Philips has a history of trying innovative things with product launch promotion and we knew we had a unique opportunity to have fun with the ChargeOn line in particular,” said Kit Hughes, Art Director at Philips Consumer Lifestyle.

“Everyone gets how aggravating it is to lose mobile power at an inconvenient time - so we tapped into the comical side of dead battery worst-case-scenarios throughout the messaging and campaign elements,” said Christopher Cecil, SLANT’s Founder and Creative Director. “Creating the videos was a blast because they are such extreme examples of DBA, but they’re still really relatable.” 

In addition to the Philips team, we worked with Tout Talent and Fox Commercial Media to cast and shoot the videos around the Charleston area and then produced the final edits in house. Catch four of the videos live on the DBA website now and stay tuned for more to roll out over the next few weeks. 

So don't miss a thing - Like DBA on Facebook, follow @DeadPhonesSuck on Twitter and enter the DBA sweepstakes to win a new Honda CR-V or a ton of Philips products. The campaign is also being supported by national interactive media, social media, and 60-second radio spots with related contests and events in Oklahoma City, Tampa, Dallas/Fort Worth, and St. Louis.

On-set for "She Hit Tha Flo" sketchAt the studio with the FashionistaSetting up the alley shot

Update on 2011-03-25 19:09 by Lauren

The New York Times Covers "Dead Battery Anxiety" Campaign

December 13, 2010: Veteran New York Times advertising columnist Stuart Elliott covered our collaboration with Philips Electronics on the "Dead Battery Anxiety" campaign in his weekly "Campaign Spotlight" feature.

Read the article here. 

Mr. Elliott interviewed Kit Hughes, Shannon Doyle and Nico Riggio of the Philips Consumer Lifestyle division, and our own Christopher Cecil of SLANT to paint a picture of the collaboration, the campaign's reception to date and its expansion goals for 2011.

Thanks, Mr. Elliott! Enjoy, SLANTfans.

Update on 2010-12-14 15:21 by Lauren

New Cyber Monday DBA Video

To celebrate Cyber Monday, the Dead Battery Anxiety campaign releases the Fashionista video. Hope your phone battery holds out while you're shopping, unlike hers. What a meltdown - check it out. 

Update on 2010-12-14 15:21 by Lauren

New in the DBA Video Library

Teens and the parents who don't understand them. GAH.

liquidpubs: superior digital publishing coming soon to an iPad near you

What do you talk about when you sit around discussing how things should be? A frequent topic at SLANT is the creative potential of consuming content on touchscreens. 

These conversations became more focused in February when Apple demoed the iPad without a digital media solution in place. Since then, a few magazines have launched digital versions, but interactivity has been dismal, at best and consumer reviews have been below average. 

It's easy to see that iPad publication readers want a richer experience.

liquidpubs came to SLANT this year with the concept of creating a new customizable application that would allow publishers to create more robust digital and interactive newspapers, magazines and books. 

1. storyboarding the user's reading experience2. taking designs to the iPad screen3. all good review sessions involve the Thriller dance

How often do you get to be part of the solution? So of course, we dug in. 

We started with storyboarding the graphic user interface elements of the base application, including the paths users would take through the content. We then concepted ways to infuse gorgeous interactivity within the magazine like like pop-out timelines and galleries within articles. Paired with animated covers and articles with motion backgrounds, the truly interactive magazine came to life.

From here, liquidpubs began working with their development team to program the app to make their customizeable base application a working reality. 

In the company's press release, liquidpubs founder Ryan Vetter added, "We've been developing and planning since last year, and have worked hard to assemble an amazing team of people and a powerful solution for the next generation of publishing. We're excited to finally be out in the world."

 "We can't wait to work with liquidpubs to help publishers' deliver unbelievably cool content on this digital platform.” said Christopher Cecil, SLANT's founder and Head of Creative Intelligence.

For more information, visit the liquidpubs website (we designed that, too). And while you're there, check out the video we produced on the homepage to take a tour of the protypical magazine experience running on the liquidpubs platform. 

SLANT Re-Engineers the ADC Brand

A year after working with ADC Engineering on the logo design and signage concepts for its Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfont Park project, ADC Engineering approached SLANT to help evolve its own image.

During our Discovery process, we uncovered a company that had dramatically increased its scope of services over their 20-year history but has remained committed to a forward-looking approach to engineering. What they needed was to update the visual expression of their identity to reflect all of this. The goal was to better define who they are and organize their diverse service offerings.

We know what you're thinking: engineers are boring. Well, you'd be wrong. In fact, the project was a blast. We received great client input (which we love) and they weren't afraid for us to explore creativity (which we love even more).

The end product fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Here's a recap of the results of our collaboration:

UPDATED NAME & LOGO

By changing the name from "ADC Engineering" to "ADC Engineering Specialists" the focus is placed on the true assets of ADC: its people and their depth of knowledge, resources and skill sets.

The new logo brings a bolder, more modern and fresh look all while maintaining the visual recognition of their original logo.

OLD LogoNEW Coporate Logo

NEW TAGLINE

We also developed a tagline that provides a one sentence statement summarizing the company's philosophy and passions:

Progressive By Nature.

It speaks to their progressive approach and allows for multiple interpretations:

• Being progressive is in their blood
• They work with nature in aspects of their projects
• Their progressive approach results in "green" or nature-friendly practices

NEW DIVISIONS

We organized ADC's services into departments and set up co-brand identities for each - site services, building envelope and structural. This allows them to to distinguish or individually promote particular services.

The brand doesn't just stop there.  All of this plays out through business collateral, report covers, name tags, building signage, promotional banners, website...you name it!  And to be sure that ADC maintains brand consistency with ease, we provided them with a comprehensive 30 page brand guidelines document.

Congrats ADC Engineering Specialists, you're lookin' good!

SLANT rebrands J. Henry Stuhr, est. 1865

 

J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. has been serving the Charleston lowcountry for almost 150 years. But despite their history, they were struggling to leverage their long-standing legacy of personal service as a differentiator from their many competitors. After conducting an in-depth analysis of their existing brand and marketing efforts, as well as their competitors and industry in general, SLANT Media undertook a brand redesign, now visible throughout its business collateral and the new www.jhenrystuhr.com

Old LogoNew design strengthens "crest" and incorporates founder's signature.“We felt strongly about drawing inspiration from Stuhr’s roots, while also conveying their modern approach in providing services beyond those of a traditional funeral home.” said Christopher Cecil, SLANT’s Creative Director. 

The new logo updates the crest that has long been a part of Stuhr’s identity. And instead of putting the company name in script font, SLANT utilized an original J. Henry Stuhr signature that was found during research. “This combination of logo elements conveys the century-old identity of the company and illustrates their personal touch,” said SLANT’s Will Bullock, the branding project design lead. “Then, from a design standpoint, we use these traditional elements in more modern ways - for example, extending beyond the edge of a business card, on a surreal peaceful backdrop on their website.”

Business Card - FrontBusiness Card - BackIn addition to providing information about burials, cremation, aftercare and advance planning, the website also has an obituary section with personalized pages so family and friends can access information about the deceased, the services and convey condolences to the family via an online guestbook. 

“We feel fortunate our business’s heritage has had a place within the history of Charleston. And while being extremely proud of our history, as a business we need to convey our leadership as a forward-looking provider of funeral services,” says Catherine Stuhr, Vice President of J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. “We are thrilled with our updated identity and the additional services and information we can provide on our new website.”

Okatie Legacy Plan Charrette wins Mayor's Merit Award

Earlier this year, SLANT collaborated with a team led by DesignWorks, LC to create a sustainable growth plan for the Town of Bluffton's Okatie Headwaters community.

We're happy to announce that the collaborative submission earned the Town of Bluffton's "Mayor's Merit Award".

SLANT's contributions included insight into issues surrounding community identity, as well as human interaction with and without technology in order to garner public involvement. Other members of the team included land-planners, architects, attorneys, developers, conservationists and community activists.

Click here to check out more details about the project and award in this post by DesignWorks, LC.

An earlier SLANTASTIC post about the project can be found here (for your reference because January was a LONG time ago!)