Tag Archive for: emotion

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Move That Bus

The word is out and I have the all-clear from ABC TV to talk freely about my involvement in the Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Gibbs family home in West Union, Iowa. It’s not everyday that Hollywood comes to Iowa—so that alone made this a pretty big deal. Better yet, this was an opportunity to help a family in need—making this a great project all the way around.

I received a call from Architect, Christian Prasch (representing ABC) on Friday September 30, 2011 at 4:00 pm. We discussed the Gibbs family home project in depth. Christian was one of many designers on the project and our mutual task was the design of youngest Gibbs son Danny’s bedroom. I was to design a mural extending across all four bedroom walls and the ceiling, while Christian took care of the dimensional items and room propping. The Deadline was a killer—Sunday, October 2 at 5:00 pm.

Danny Gibbs is a typical Iowa boy—interested in the outdoors—specifically fishing. The bedroom was designed with his interests in mind. The bedroom floor was the river bottom, the bed frame a rustic dock, with the walls an underwater mural.

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Mural-1

Mural-2

Mural-3

Gone Fishin’ Sign

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Dannys_Bait_and_Tackle

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15 minutes of fame

Living in Iowa, it’s pretty easy to feel a galaxy away from the every day “goings on” of Hollywood. I have no idea what Joan and Melissa Rivers are doing this morning—nor do my Hollywood friends know that there is a deer in my backyard as I write this.

So, when Hollywood comes to Iowa, it’s kind of a big deal. Extreme Makeover Home Edition is working on a build just north of Cedar Rapids in a small town called West Union. Us hard-working, salt-of-the-earth Iowans are excited about changing the living conditions for the Gibb’s family. Doing good is always a good thing.


I have been working with Extreme Makeover Home Edition Producers and Designers, and have been given the task of creating artwork for various parts of the new home.

I can’t disclose too much about our role just yet….more on that to come. But, we’re excited to be involved on the project, and very happy to help this wonderful family.

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Offshore Concepts

I love upstarts. They offer all sorts of unique opportunities and challenges. This upstart, Offshore Concepts, came to Basler Design Group because of our experience in the boat building niche—especially given our experience with smaller volume, regional builders who put craftsmanship at the top of the priority list.

Typically companies like Offshore Concepts are less concerned about making their first million than they are in producing the best product around, and getting their first couple of orders.

Basler Design Group created a very unique identity, getting Offshore Concepts off to a fast start. The letterhead incorporated an innovative two-sided approach. A large version of the Offshore Concepts “shield” was printed in a very intense magenta ink on the back side of the letterhead sheet. The shield was sized in such a manner that it perfectly aligned with front-side artwork and also fold lines and margins. The super-sized shield graphic shows through the paper, creating a ghosted image on the front side.

After the basic identity components were in place, we proceeded to the design of print ads and brochures.

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M.C. Ginsberg Outdoor

Basler Design Group was hired to create a new visual branding program for regional jeweler, M.C. Ginsberg. We started small but quickly progressed to the big stuff—outdoor board big. Here are a few of our concepts.

Great outdoor is not easy—but we love the challenge. These boards were written by good friend, Chris Lien. The visual elements are light and transparent, emulating the feel of looking through a gemstone. The MC ligature gives the logotype a very monogram-like element. The ligature was supported by the Ginsberg name—well-known amongst regional jewelers.

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Hip Cat? Hepcat.

If you’re new school you say hip cat. Old school, hepcat. Either way, this Iowa City Jazz Festival Program ad for M.C. Ginsberg Jewelers is about cool as they come—a well thought out headline, and smoky, ethereal design. Advertising becomes magical when it seems this simple.

Chris Lien was the copywriter on this piece, with design handled by Bill Basler. Typographic elements are Clarendon—a current and long-term studio favorite.

IC Jazz Half Page Ad

 

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Haberdapper on Broadstreet

For about the last year or so, we have been working with Haberdapper, a men’s clothing store in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Basler Design Group developed Haberdapper’s identity program, signage, store interior and point-of-sale needs, as well as email marketing and advertising components. We have quite a lot of work to show for Haberdapper. We’ll start by showing a few of the basic identity components.

The Haberdapper wordmark was given a vintage retail flair by way of its “Milk Bone” dog biscuit background shape. A color palette of dirty orange, cream, and cool gray rounded out the look.

Haberdapper on Broadstreet Logo

The storefront sign was designed within the strict parameters of historic Lake Geneva’s building and sign ordinance. The sign was designed to fit within a 2-foot x 8-foot space, with a maximum area of 16 square-feet. The solution was to manufacture a painted and aged wooden sign with gold leafed letterforms. While newly manufactured, the sign looks as though its been hung for years. The background was distressed, using cracked paint, rubbing, and glazing techniques. The Haberdapper letterforms are dimensionally carved and guilded with real gold leaf.

The goal was to create an identity that looks like it could have been in place 75 years ago. We love using manufacturing techniques that the machine age offers, but finishing the artwork with “elbow grease” patina.

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