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	<title>The Words and Not Words of Chris Erickson &#187; Branding</title>
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	<link>http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell</link>
	<description>The Words and Not Words of Chris Erickson</description>
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		<title>A Brand New Day</title>
		<link>http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/typography/a-bold-new-day/</link>
		<comments>http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/typography/a-bold-new-day/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:51:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Erickson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parliament]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Typography]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Logos]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/?p=867</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Perhaps I&#8217;m alone on this one, but I don&#8217;t think there is a project out there that is more difficult than designing and defining your own brand. Playing the role of client and designer, simultaneously, is a real trick. There&#8217;s no budget or deadline, nothing is ever good enough, and it is impossible to come [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Perhaps I&#8217;m alone on this one, but I don&#8217;t think there is a project out there that is more difficult than designing and defining your own brand. Playing the role of client and designer, simultaneously, is a real trick. There&#8217;s no budget or deadline, nothing is ever good enough, and it is impossible to come up with a solution that feels finished&#8230;there is always something else to play with or explore.</p>
<p>As a result, we&#8217;ve been in brand limbo for quite some time. But, after what feels like 50-years in the making, we&#8217;ve finally finished up the core pieces of Parliament&#8217;s branding overhaul. If years of experience has shown us anything one thing it&#8217;s that nothing says, &#8220;We&#8217;re professional,&#8221; like atoms and robots, so we&#8217;ve got them and we&#8217;ve got them hard. And, I think we&#8217;ve found the perfect balance between <em>we are finished </em>and <em>we will never be finished</em>, which couldn&#8217;t make me happier. Let me explain.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *</p>
<p><span class="fakecaps-bold-blue">STEP ONE: </span><strong>Start with the badge.</strong> Every Parliament badge has a few core elements that never change. They consist of a scalloped base, a few rings, and a proudly centered PARLIAMENT set in Knockout.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-957" title="Base" src="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/basic2.jpg" alt="Base" width="490" height="488" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *</p>
<p><span class="fakecaps-bold-blue">STEP TWO: </span><strong>Add a mark and a bit of copy.</strong> Our primary mark reads, <em>A Creative Services Company.</em> It is honest and straightforward and I&#8217;m looking forward to <em>not </em>hearing folks ask, &#8220;Now, what do you do?,&#8221; quite as often, which will save me — literally — hours each and every day. Or, perhaps, more literally, minutes of every week. Regardless, I&#8217;m looking forward to transferring that burden to this unassuming mark, which calmly announces, &#8220;Sir, we are a creative services company.&#8221;</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-958" title="Primary mark" src="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/atom.jpg" alt="Primary mark" width="490" height="488" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *</p>
<p><span class="fakecaps-bold-blue">STEP THREE: </span><strong>Repeat step two.</strong> At this time, we&#8217;ve developed a bit more than a dozen really solid badges, some of which contain our primary message, but most of them refer to one of our internal departments. Most of them map directly to the different phases of a project, for example, the badge used for our <em>Working Prototypes Division</em> is typically displayed in conjunction with Production, and our<em> Hazardous Idea Division</em> is linked to Strategy.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-959" title="Variations" src="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/four-up.jpg" alt="Variations" width="490" height="488" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">All in all I&#8217;m really happy with how everything came together visually. The real success of this approach, however, lies in its flexibility. It allows us to continuously change and play with our ID, without ever altering its foundation, and it also lets each everyone contribute to the collection and take some ownership. Our membership cards are a great example our visual brand latitude — each member was able to choose whichever badge that they wanted for their membership cards, making each card reflect the owner&#8217;s taste.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-954" title="Card marks" src="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/card-marks.jpg" alt="Card marks" width="490" height="327" /></p>
<p>Ultimately, I&#8217;m happy to get this wrapped up, but also looking forward to seeing where Parliament continues to push it. I think we&#8217;ve found a good balance of finished and unfinishable.</p>
<div class="inlinelinks">
<ul class="inlinelinks bottom-20">
<li class="span-12-half"><a class="block" href=" http://tr.im/tLGJ"><span class="postcount">www.typography.com</span>Knockout by Hoefler &amp; Frere-Jones</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
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		<title>Membership Cards: Behind the Scenes</title>
		<link>http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/design/membership-cards-behind-the-scenes/</link>
		<comments>http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/design/membership-cards-behind-the-scenes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:05:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Erickson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parliament]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Print]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Card]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Identity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/?p=833</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many thanks go out to everybody who put forth the blood, sweat and tears necessary to finish up our membership cards. Here are just a few of our favorite moments.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Many thanks go out to everybody who put forth the blood, sweat and tears necessary to finish up our membership cards. Here are just a few of our favorite moments.</p>
<div id="attachment_828" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 500px"><a href="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7227.JPG"><img class="size-large wp-image-828 " title="ID Photos" src="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7227-490x326.jpg" alt="ID Photos" width="490" height="326" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Carlos in our production facility tediously adhered the ID photos to each of the cards. Our prayers are with him as he recovers.</p></div>
<div id="attachment_834" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 500px"><a href="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7232.JPG"><img class="size-large wp-image-834" title="Signatures" src="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7232-490x326.jpg" alt="Many thanks to Clarence for carving out some time in his busy schedule to make sure we had a signature that adhered to his strict standards." width="490" height="326" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Many thanks to Clarence for carving out some time in his busy schedule to make sure we had a signature that adhered to his strict standards.</p></div>
<div id="attachment_826" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 500px"><a href="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7225.JPG"><img class="size-large wp-image-826" title="Underwood" src="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7225-490x326.jpg" alt="Dane had an old roommate that left this Underwood typewriter in his basement, which worked out to our favor. We used to to type out all of our information, giving it all a really authentically imperfect feel." width="490" height="326" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Dane had an old roommate that left this Underwood typewriter in his basement, which worked out to our favor. We used it to type out all of our information, giving it all a really authentically imperfect feel.</p></div>
<div id="attachment_830" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 500px"><a href="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7226.JPG"><img class="size-large wp-image-830" title="Thumb Prints" src="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7226-490x326.jpg" alt="About eight pages in we finally created the perfect pair of thumb prints." width="490" height="326" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">It took about eight pages before we finally created the perfect pair of thumb prints.</p></div>
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		<item>
		<title>Membership Cards: Hot Off the Press</title>
		<link>http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/design/hot-off-the-press/</link>
		<comments>http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/design/hot-off-the-press/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:25:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Erickson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parliament]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Print]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business Card]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Identity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/?p=808</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Parliament&#8217;s membership cards are fresh and they are hot! Now better than ever, each member&#8217;s card sports one of six different ID photos (real photographic prints), different departmental seals, and Clarence Witherspoon&#8217;s official signature. Thanks to Pinball Publishing for all their production guidance and attention to detail with the printing.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Parliament&#8217;s membership cards are fresh and they are hot! Now better than ever, each member&#8217;s card sports one of six different ID photos (real photographic prints), different departmental seals, and Clarence Witherspoon&#8217;s official signature. Thanks to <a href="http://www.pinballpublishing.com/">Pinball Publishing</a> for all their production guidance and attention to detail with the printing.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 500px"><a href="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7222.JPG"><img style="border: 0px initial initial;" title="Close Up" src="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7222-490x326.jpg" alt="Close Up" width="490" height="326" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Mort is one hot agent. He&#39;ll be making design groupies hot and sweaty for sure.</p></div>
<div id="attachment_812" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 500px"><a href="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7223.JPG"><img class="size-large wp-image-812" title="The Set" src="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7223-490x326.jpg" alt="The Set" width="490" height="326" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">For all you designerds, there are the specs. Each card is printed 5/5 with a base of PMS 7457 and has a herringbone pattern overprint of PMS 628. Each side was then printed with PMS 328 (dark blue) and Black. An overprint of Magenta on the front and Reflex Blue for the signature on the back rounded out the press time, and then they were diecut.</p></div>
<div id="attachment_813" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 500px"><a href="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7224.JPG"><img class="size-large wp-image-813" title="The Back" src="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_7224-490x326.jpg" alt="The Back" width="490" height="326" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The back comes complete with our studio&#39;s contact information, a set of thumb prints, and our Director Clarence Witherspoon&#39;s official signature.</p></div>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Things They Are a Changin&#8217;</title>
		<link>http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/parliament/things-they-are-a-changin/</link>
		<comments>http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/parliament/things-they-are-a-changin/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:24:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris Erickson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Branding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parliament]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Print]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/?p=781</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Parliament is getting ready to roll out a new ID,  here is a quick sneak peak at things to come&#8230;

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Parliament is getting ready to roll out a new ID,  here is a quick sneak peak at things to come&#8230;</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-782" title="Desktops" src="http://www.kindnessandhumility.com/tell/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/desktops.jpg" alt="Desktops" width="490" height="343" /></p>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 510px"><a class="flickr-image alignnone" title="Herringbone Overprint Press Check" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/parliamentology/3681549547/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3053/3681549547_3a9af4c073.jpg" alt="Herringbone Overprint Press Check" width="500" height="345" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">We went to a press check this morning to see how the herringbone overprint on our membership cards is coming along.</p></div>
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