Spout Off

Legends Entertainment District Featured in The Arizona Republic

2012-01-26T10:27:00.000-08:00

Some great things are happening in downtown Phoenix thanks to the efforts of one of Kitchen Sink Studios' signature clients.

The Legends Entertainment District was profiled yesterday on the cover of the Valley & State section of The Arizona Republic. The article spotlighted how the District's outdoor advertising is creating new energy and buzz in downtown Phoenix.

We have been privileged to be a part of the Legends project, which is a joint effort between the City of Phoenix, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Phoenix Suns to transform the area around U.S. Airways Center and Chase Field into a dynamic, interactive environment for visitors and fans.

Kitchen Sink Studios played an integral part in the formation of Legends Entertainment District by developing the concept for the Legends name, designing the Legends logo and brand identity, and creating an interactive sales and marketing presentation that brings the District to life. You can read more about the process here.

We're thrilled to see the Legends Entertainment District gain steam and create a real buzz in downtown. We wish them continued success as the vision for the District becomes a reality!

Featured Project: LoopLogic Branding, Identity & Video

2012-01-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

When you’ve built a better mousetrap, how do you tell people about it? That was the challenge presented to the Kitchen Sink Studios team by a company called LoopLogic.

LoopLogic (currently branded as NextSlide) is on online tool that lets customers use virtually any type of media to share information with an audience. It also integrates the customer’s existing e-mail, sales, marketing and other business applications with the media, and provides robust tracking of the audience’s views and interaction. It’s truly a groundbreaking product that has significant competitive advantages.

The challenge presented by LoopLogic was to create a new brand identity that would help it stand out in a highly competitive industry dominated by large companies, as well as to create a tool to easily explain why LoopLogic is the best solution for the customer’s needs.

The Kitchen Sink team developed a brand identity and logo that’s clean, memorable and has a distinctive “tech” feel, then translated that brand identity into a two-minute video telling the product’s story. The vector video involved extensive storyboarding and finding creative solutions to transitioning from topic to topic. You can view a low-res version below or a high-res version on our Vimeo page.

The end result is a concise, memorable overview of LoopLogic and its unique advantages, and provides them with the tools they need to make a dramatic impact in the marketplace. It’s also a great example of our team’s ability to create a truly unique solution to each challenge we’re presented with.

Keep your eye out for LoopLogic. They’ll be rolling out their new brand over the next few weeks. And feel free to check them out if you need to present information online!

First Friday at Kitchen Sink Studios, Featuring the Art of Daniel Shepard

2012-01-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from Kitchen Sink Studios! We're ringing in the first First Friday of 2012 this upcoming Friday, January 6. We'll be featuring artist Daniel Shepard in our gallery space — here is Daniel's description of the exhibit (lowercase punctuation included):

the work i've done for the kitchen sink studios show took on a life almost of its own. my first series of new paintings in almost eight months, i have been working in the area of mixed media and collage, this new series was approached in a process i refer to as "elegant erosion" where equal parts and attention are given to, not just the application of paint to the canvas, but as much attention to the removal of layers of paint from the canvas. elegant in the end result being beautiful and minimal on purpose.

all the work has two sections, where paint has been applied and removed numerous times, forming a balance without being of equal parts. although each piece was finished in bright colors, all were started from a solid black abyss. wanting to work backwards, i brought out the depth and layers of color as i went along.

as always, with abstracts, the hard part is knowing when to stop the process altogether. at times i would set a piece aside for a day, or look at another for hours, deciding if i was finished. with all of my abstractions, i stop when i reach a personal satisfaction in the level of beauty i have committed to each canvas.

this work, "applications," is nestled into my artistic life as an extension and creative expansion on my earlier work in the field of abstract painting, both in process and growth. i enjoyed doing this work and am thankful to kitchen sink studios for the opportunity to show these paintings to you.

daniel shepherd

Local singer/songwriter Elizabeth McGovern will also be performing in front of the studio. Elizabeth now has a new Facebook page that is featuring a video of her recent performance at the Brophy Fine Arts Extravaganza. Check it out and be sure to come see her perform live on Friday night!

And, we will be giving tours throughout the evening and will have the Jumbo Jenga set up out front. The gallery space will open at 6 and the rest of the festivities will kick off around 6:30 p.m. We are located at 828 North Third Street in downtown Phoenix, just south of Roosevelt Row. We hope to see you on Friday!

Happy Holidays From Our Funky Family to Yours!

2011-12-19T15:02:00.000-08:00

Please click here to view our interactive annual Holiday card!

Featured Project: Santa Monica Place Video & Leasing Presentation

2011-12-12T12:14:00.001-08:00

Back in 2008, Macerich, one of the largest owners of retail centers in the country, came to Kitchen Sink to ask for our help in rebranding Santa Monica Place. With our help, the property has been remodeled and rebranded into one of the finest retail projects in the western United States and a true destination in downtown Santa Monica.

A few months ago, Macerich came back to us to ask for our help in creating a B2B leasing package that truly reflects the unique qualities of Santa Monica Place as a high-end shopping and dining destination. Santa Monica Place features custom-designed department stores, a collection of A-list retail names, and several chef-driven restaurants located on a rooftop dining deck overlooking the city, mountains and the Pacific.

Our mission was to create a video that brightly describes the location, amenities, competitive advantages, and surrounding demographics for Santa Monica Place. (It's posted above, or you can view it in HD on our Vimeo page). We went about this by creating a customized and highly stylized video presentation that includes four vignettes, each telling a key part of the Santa Monica Place story. We also completed a custom presentation that can be used on a standard screen or on iPad that contains additional information on the project.

The finished product shows why Santa Monica Place is laid-back luxury at its best and illustrates the appeal to both savvy locals and style-seeking visitors. It depicts the store fronts, restaurants and the location itself that makes Santa Monica Place sunny, airy, beautiful and hip.

Our goal was to create a presentation that will entice the finest of potential retailers and/or restaurateurs to the inviting atmosphere and appeal Santa Monica Place offers. And from what we're hearing so far from the Macerich team, mission accomplished.

Kitchen Sink Studios®, Inc. Lands Major New Branding, Web Projects

2011-12-06T08:47:00.000-08:00

PHOENIX, Arizona (December 6, 2011) — One of the Valley’s most renowned creative firms is piling up new clients and developing some innovative, state-of-the-art ways of telling their stories.

Kitchen Sink Studios, Inc. has landed and completed several notable branding, web and marketing projects to add to their highly regarded design and creative portfolio.

The company’s innovative and newly revamped HTML5 web site www.kitchensinkstudios.com, which launched in August of this year, has been a major driver of new business, with more than 60,000 hits since launch. The site, which replaces the company’s previous Flash site and works flawlessly on most mobile devices, has received significant recognition in the design community — and it has prompted several existing and new clients to reexamine and enhance their web presences by hiring Kitchen Sink.

Kitchen Sink’s wide range of creative services have helped it adapt and thrive despite the economic downturn — rather than just focusing on branding or animation or design, the firm offers a robust portfolio that can assist just about any organization.

Some of the new and recent clients include:

• Fox Restaurant Concepts has retained Kitchen Sink to develop a new brand, identity and logo for the corporate parent company of more than a dozen unique restaurant concepts, as well as to redo the company’s web site. The rebranding and new web site, which will be mobile-friendly, are designed to reflect the quality of the company’s restaurants and position it for future growth. Each of the restaurant’s concepts — which include North, Sauce, True Food and The Arrogant Butcher — will receive customized treatment on the new site.

• Universal Technical Institute, one of the largest corporations based in Arizona, has retained Kitchen Sink to create eye-popping web-based virtual recreations of its campuses. The recreations will tie in the company’s brand with the specific features of UTI campuses across the country through robust and immersive visuals. Everything will be able to be tracked and tied into social media campaigns and other marketing efforts. Another component of the campaign will include an augmented reality feature that will show a 3D, interactive representation tied to printed campaign piece. The recreations are designed to attract potential students and solidify the company’s presence in the highly competitive technical education industry.

• Macerich, one of the largest owners and operators of retail centers in the United States, retained Kitchen Sink Studios to create a new leasing presentation for its Santa Monica Place property. Kitchen Sink previously created the entire branding and identity, as well as the architectural look and feel, for the successful retail project in 2008. Now Kitchen Sink has been brought back on board to develop a B2B leasing presentation that includes custom-made video vignettes outlining Santa Monica Place’s creative advantages over other retail areas. View samples as a PDF document.

• Jokake Construction, a full-service general contractor with services including ground-up construction, renovations and tenant improvements, retained Kitchen Sink to create a new brand, logo and web site, as well as for public relations, marketing and social media support. The new brand identity, which can be viewed at www.jokake.com, included the creation of “Joe” — the company’s new persona — a comprehensive review of branding and messaging, a robust new HTML5 web site with significant back-end content management capabilities and a newly expanded social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. View samples as a PDF document.

• SolarWing, which has created breakthrough pre-fabricated solar parking structures, retained Kitchen Sink to start from scratch in building a brand and identity for the company that would help it stand out in the competitive solar industry. The concept for SolarWing literally began as a sketch on a napkin, and recently became a reality with the first SolarWing installation at the Burton Barr Library in dowtnwon Phoenix. Essentially given a "blank canvass," the Kitchen Sink team was able to develop not only a strong, memorable logo and brand identity for SolarWing, but a number of other critical products for their marketing efforts, including state-of-the-art renderings and animations, a new web site and an innovative video explaining product features. SolarWing’s web site can be viewed at www.solarwing.com. View samples as a PDF document.

• Genius Blends approached Kitchen Sink Studios with the task of improving upon their initial concept for a vending machine that dispenses fruit smoothies and other similar drinks. Kitchen Sink developed a more creative and aesthetically pleasing model and produced a polished package for potential investors to view. The Kitchen Sink team refined Genius Blends’ preliminary illustrations to make the product look more attractive to potential customers by creating 3D product renderings and a video animation short. View samples as a PDF document.

• Finally, Kitchen Sink’s legal division has created successful legal animations, videos and demand packages for several significant cases for the firms of Fennemore Craig, Gallagher & Kennedy and Jennings Strauss Salmon over the course of 2011. These products have led to several successful, high-dollar settlements for the plaintiffs in these cases.

These clients are just a cross-section of some of the challenging creative projects the firm has tackled in recent months for a wide variety of clients.

“The entire process of working with a client and evolving their brand, product, or service in a successful and creative way is extremely rewarding," said Nick Hower, President and Founder of Kitchen Sink Studios. “Our team strives to set the bar high and go above and beyond with each project in order to accomplish outstanding results for all of our clients, whether we’re working on branding, web sites, animation, PR and marketing or other disciplines.”

First Friday on December 2 featuring Elizabeth McGovern!

2011-11-29T08:51:00.000-08:00

The heavens opened up last month and rained out our First Friday festivities, including the performance by the tremendous young singer/songwriter Elizabeth McGovern. However, the Kitchen Sink team will not be denied, and the weather is looking a little better this time, so come on down and join us on Friday, December 2!

Elizabeth will perform out in front of the studio, and we will be giving tours throughout the evening and will have the Jumbo Jenga set up out front. Please feel free to stop on by for some great music and fun times!

Elizabeth now has a new Facebook page that is featuring a video of her recent performance at the Brophy Fine Arts Extravaganza. Check it out and be sure to come see her perform live on Friday night!

Doors will open and the merriment will begin at 6:30 p.m. We're located one block south of Roosevelt at 828 N. Third Street. We hope to see you then!

Featured Project: Jokake Construction

2011-11-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

The Kitchen Sink Studios team always endeavors to try to capture the personality of its clients when doing their branding or rebranding. In the case of our work for Jokake Construction, which launched their new brand identity this week, we even helped create a new personality altogether.

Jokake is a full-service general contractor with services including ground-up construction, renovations and tenant improvements. The company is focused on construction in several key growth industries, providing all the capabilities of larger contractors with a uniquely personal, flexible and cost-effective approach.

Their previous brand identity, while well known in the local construction industry, was a little dated.

The company felt it was time to begin to position itself for the future, and to develop a brand and identity that would help them continue to grow and expand their market share in the construction industry. They wanted to showcase Jokake’s corporate culture, place an emphasis on its employee-owners and position themselves as a leader in several key construction-related sectors.

So how did we do it? Kitchen Sink Studios has developed an attractive branding and collateral identity for Jokake that will be incorporated throughout their operations over the next few months. Specifically, we provided:

• A new logo, brand identity and business system (business cards, letterhead and envelopes) to help them stand out from their competition.

• The creation of "Joe" — the company’s new persona. “Joe” embodies Jokake’s 70+ employee-owners and demonstrates their core values and the approach they’re committed to in providing an exceptional level of service to their clients.

• A comprehensive review of Jokake’s branding and messaging, with recommendations about how to position the company competitively in the future.

• Vehicle branding and branding of other materials.

• A robust new HTML5 web site with significant back-end content management capabilities.

• Newly expanded social media presences on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and a new focus on public relations and e-marketing.

The end result is a look for the company that’s completely different than what their competitors are doing — and an enjoyable new brand that tells the company’s story in a more effective manner. We thoroughly enjoy working with Jokake Construction and appreciate their willingness to think outside of the box.

First Friday on November 4 Featuring Singer/Songwriter Elizabeth McGovern!

2011-11-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

It should be a cool First Friday this upcoming Friday, November 4 in downtown Phoenix, and Kitchen Sink Studios will be celebrating it as usual!

We'll be featuring a performance by singer/songwriter Elizabeth McGovern out in front of the studio, will be giving tours throughout the evening and will have the Jumbo Jenga set up out front. Please feel free to stop on by for some great music and fun times! Check out some of Elizabeth's songs in the clip below:

Doors will open and the merriment will begin at 6:30 p.m. We're located one block south of Roosevelt at 828 N. Third Street.

We look forward to seeing you on Friday, November 4!

Featured Product: Genius Blends

2011-10-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

Our latest featured project is our work for a company called Genius Blends, which is developing a vending machine that dispenses delicious, nutritious fruit “smoothies” and other similar drinks.

Genius Blends approached Kitchen Sink Studios with the task of improving upon their initial machine concept. Our job was to develop a more creative and aesthetically pleasing model and produce a polished package for potential investors to view. Kitchen Sink Studios refined the illustrations to make the product look more attractive to potential customers and emphasizing the delicious flavors that the machine will dispense. We illustrated the concept by creating 3D product renderings and producing a video animation short based on only the preliminary product illustrations from Genius Blends.

The images below show the process in taking Genius Blends’ early models and crafting a more creative and appealing look:

Original Genius Blends Renderings:

The Kitchen Sink Process:

First Phase Investor Package Result:

Video Animation:

The entire process of working with a client and evolving their brand, product, or service in a successful and creative way is extremely rewarding. Kitchen Sink Studios is excited for the future of Genius Blends and the potential of this incredible machine. We are confident that everyone will be seeing their product popping up in every gym, convenience store, or general public setting soon!

Featured Project: SolarWing

2011-10-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

Thursday, October 13 is a big day for one of our clients. It's the ribbon-cutting ceremony for SolarWing at the Phoenix Burton Barr Library downtown — an event that will mark the completion of the first-ever installation of the innovative new solar product.

SolarWing is a breakthrough in solar technology because of its solar efficiency, attractive design, pre-fabricated construction and the many ancillary features the product can include.

Kitchen Sink Studios has developed a captivating branding and collateral presence for SolarWing, including developing the product's logo, web site, marketing collateral and a video on how the product works. Our team had the opportunity to start from scratch in building a brand and identity for SolarWing that would help it stand out in the competitive solar industry.

Our job was to tell their story in a way that multiple target audiences could easily understand, despite the fact that the company hadn't been installed anywhere when we began the process. Because we were essentially starting with a "blank canvass," we were able to develop not only a strong, memorable logo and brand identity for SolarWing, but a number of other critical products for their marketing efforts, including:

• Renderings and animation that bring the product to life and show how it will look once installed.
• A web site for SolarWing (www.solarwing.com) that explains the key features of the product in a way that's easily understood and graphically compelling.
• And perhaps the biggest hit of the products we developed was the innovative SolarWing video, which was created from scratch by our in-house team of artists and animators.

The result is a brand and identity for this exciting new product that's helping the SolarWing team tell their very compelling story to potential customers. The SolarWing team is making some exciting connections for future installations around the Valley, so keep your eye out for more SolarWings in your neck of the woods.

It's always exciting for the Kitchen Sink Studios team when we get to work with great clients who give us the opportunity to do something exceptional. We feel like we knocked it out of the park with SolarWing, and we expect them to have a very bright future.

It's that time again — First Friday at Kitchen Sink Studios is on!

2011-10-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

The forecast is for fun on First Friday, as the heat is about to break and Kitchen Sink Studios is about to have its first big First Friday of the year!

Kitchen Sink Studios will be celebrating the break in temperatures as well as the thriving local art scene by opening our gallery doors this Friday, October 7.

Local artist Tiffany Egbert, an Arizona-born designer and photographer, will be displaying pieces from her recent photography collection. This will be her very first solo showing, so don’t miss your opportunity to view this amazing compilation inspired by vintage fashion. We'll also roll out our popular Jumbo Jenga set and will have lots of other fun activities as well.

Doors will open and the merriment will begin at 6:30 p.m. We're located one block south of Roosevelt at 828 N. Third Street.

We look forward to seeing you on Friday, October 7!

The building of the building

2011-08-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

The team here at Kitchen Sink Studios gets a lot of questions about our building. It's certainly a unique space and can be the focal point of a conversation, and we love to show it off. So in case you've never had the tour, here's the full skinny on 828 North Third Street.

Nick Hower and Kory Kapfer, the owners and founders of the company, bought the 6,400 square foot building in 2006 with the vision of turning it into the permanent home of Kitchen Sink Studios.

"We wanted to support downtown Phoenix and kind of rolled the dice, before even light rail had been approved. The building itself had sort of a rag-tag collection of tenants in it at the time," Nick said. "There was a guy back in the corner doing stamp collecting...stuff like that. And nothing had really been done to the building since it was constructed in the 1970s. It had low ceilings, dingy carpet, dingy paint — it needed a lot of work."

Nick and Kory hired Plus Minus Studio and Patry Building Company to bring their vision for a new working studio to life.

We began planning the space immediately but couldn't start work until all the tenants were out. Once the design was 80% solidified, and the last tenant moved out, we secured our demolition permit and went to work. The first sledge hammer hit the building at 8 a.m. on May 1, 2007. While this was occurring, we continued fine-tuning the design, dealt with budget issues that go hand-in-hand with construction, and last but not least continued keeping all of our existing clients happy.

The building was immediately gutted and the existing floor plan thrown out in favor of a new floor plan that stressed open space, natural light and the opportunity for collaboration.

"We had trucks and equipment in here almost immediately," Kory said. "It was really as close to a complete rebuild as you can get. We messed with just about everything except for the brick walls themselves, and even those were sandblasted on the inside."

Some signature features include:

• The staircase in the main courtyard was built to look like a it came from one continuous piece of steel, and was lifted in by a crane, over the roof to its final resting spot.

• The courtyard was completely redone with new stone, landscaping and a tranquil water feature that's actually about four feet deep to keep clean water flowing.

• Working closely with the team, we were able to create EVERYTHING in 3D in advance, allowing for greater control throughout the process. Even the desks were custom-designed, pre-built in 3D and fabricated.

• All ceilings in the studio are open and exposed, and all data, power, and phone lines drop from the ceiling allowing our desk configurations to be moved at any time without constraint.

• The windows were designed with "aspect ratios" in mind that mirror those that would be produced in our work, such as 16:9 ratios and 4:3 ratios.

• The "wall" of Nick and Kory's office is actually a rotating door that's approximately 10 feet long and sits on two Volvo axles, allowing it to move freely back and forth.

• The "sink" statue in front, and the others in the courtyard, were done by John Tuomisto-Bell, who frequently exhibits at Kitchen Sink on First Fridays. The "sink" statue was custom-made for the studio's entrance and symbolizes the teamwork and collaboration that happens daily with these walls.

Our certificate of occupancy was granted on November 15th, 2007. We sent out a moving announcement and had a gathering of friends, family and clients to partake in blue martinis, a guest VJ and snow machine.

In the summer of 2009, our team began work on our exterior "sign," which was completed over an eight week period and contains approximately 8,000 bottle caps provided from local establishments.

What have we learned? Don’t judge a book by its cover — places with 2x4 styrofoam ceilings can be super cool when properly remodeled. Keep an Excel spreadsheet for everyone related to the project. Don’t have your ribbon cutting party the same week you move into your space. And metal stairs are slippery when wet.

The end result is a studio that we take a great deal of pride in and enjoy working in every day. It's an important muse in the team's creative process and a place where we can both work and play. We hope that it continues to be an iconic feature in downtown Phoenix and a point of pride for the area for many, many decades to come.

If you'd like to learn more about the building, stop by sometime and we'll show you around. Bring a bottle cap — we can always find a place for it!

The word on the street about the new Kitchen Sink Studios web site

2011-08-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

It's been about a week since Kitchen Sink Studios launched its new web site, and we've been humbled by some of the reviews, feedback and even awards we've received in that time. The Kitchen Sink team just wanted to say thank you to those who took a moment to send us comments via social media, e-mail or other methods.

Since its launch a week ago, the new Kitchen Sink site has been viewed by more than 4,000 people — a number that peaked yesterday with almost 2,400 visitors. The feedback we've received has been incredibly positive. Some of the highlights have included:

• A wonderful profile of the site and the company by Ballista Magazine.

• Features on the site on such notable industry blogs and publications as Creattica, the MyFonts Showcase and several others.

• A long stream of feedback and compliments on Twitter.

And perhaps one of the neatest compliments came from a gentleman by the name of Hannes von Döhren. He e-mailed us from Berlin to say "Just stumbled upon your site using the Brandon Grotesque. And I have to say the use is just perfect. I love it! Thank you for such a nice website - can't stop looking at it :-)".

The significance? Hannes' company, HVD Fonts, invented the font Brandon Grotesque that we used on the web site. That sort of comment is not something that happens every day!

Anyway, our team just wanted to take a moment and say thank you to everyone who dropped us a line on our new site. We are very proud of it and are overwhelmed and humbled by the response we've received.

Introducing the new Kitchen Sink Studios web site!

2011-08-10T14:04:00.000-07:00

When a company that specializes in creating exceptional web sites decides to redo its own site, it had better do it right. So when the Kitchen Sink Studios team decided it was time for a new web presence at www.kitchensinkstudios.com, we set the bar high for ourselves.

Our previous site, which launched in early 2008, was an award-winning, 100 percent Flash site. But more and more, our clients are concerned about making sure their web sites are making the most of search engine optimization and can be viewed on all sorts of browsers and mobile devices.

So, we felt it was time to develop a new site that addresses both those concerns. But how would we go about creating the same kind of unique, creative approach that the use of Flash would allow? That was the big question as we started the project, and Creative Director Doug Bell jumped right in with a design that borders on being a work of art.

The answers to the technical issues were a combination of current programming techniques and creative thinking from the big brain of our web guru, Justin Tucker. The new site uses HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery technologies, which allow for the best search engine optimization as well as the ability to view it on all kinds of devices. Highly optimized CSS, streamlined navigation and heavy use of web fonts were just some of many approaches that went into the new site.

The Work section was a particular area of focus. We wanted to visually convey the sort of variety and quality that goes into each Kitchen Sink project. So designers Mike Giles and Sarah Thomas took samples of our work to locations all over downtown — on some of the hottest days of the year — to shoot new photography. The vast majority of the photos in the gallery were taken on an iPhone 4.

We had a few glitches to work out this afternoon, of course. The site will be a work in progress, and we'll be ironing out little things, adding to it and refining it as time goes along. We'll get the word out when if and when we make any significant improvements and modifications.

We're all very proud of the result. Again, you can check it out at www.kitchensinkstudios.com. We hope you enjoy it and have a little fun with it, and feel free to leave your comments about the site below.

Coming Soon: The NEW Kitchen Sink Studios web site

2011-07-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Kitchen Sink Studios is flexing its creative muscles and redoing our company web site!

We've come up with some pretty innovative and exciting concepts that we think you'll like. The target launch date is August 10, 2011 at noon Arizona time.

We can't tell you a whole lot about it at this point. Well, we could, but it would ruin the surprise. We can, however, tell you the following:

• The new version will have up-to-date, semantic code with HTML5 and CSS3 coding practices. Our current site is 100% Flash, but because we believe everyone should experience some KSS love, we're making it compatible with iOS devices and multiple screen dimensions.

• It ain't gonna navigate like a standard, average web site.

• Old Blue, the company's vintage Chevy and the closest thing we have to a mascot, will be prominently involved.

In the meantime, we'll give you some sneak peaks between now and then, including the ones below. More can be viewed through our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Getting our hands dirty with hand-rolled Kitchen Sink promo pieces

2011-05-05T11:06:00.000-07:00

This is the sort of thing that happens around here when someone says "Hey, we should put together something that we can hand out at First Fridays":

Our team loves all things retro, so when it came time to develop a cheap, easy promotional piece for the studio, KSS designers Doug Bell, Mike Giles and Justin Tucker came up with the idea of doing hand-rolled printing.

For the design addicts out there, Mike provides the following summary of the process:

We began with an original three-color design, in the vein of the bottlecap typography across our front gate. After converting the art into separate plates, Airpark Signs was kind enough to donate their time, and laser-cut three linoleum blocks for us.

We used custom mixes of Gamblin etching ink to achieve our desired colors, then ran the plates and paper through our hand-turned press one color at a time – blue, red and black.

For our next run, we're thinking about trying actual wood plates. We're curious about the different textures and impressions that would yield.

Keep an eye out, we'll be cranking out more designs in the coming months.

Come check out the team's handiwork tomorrow night at First Friday! We'll be hosting artist Monica Robles, screening an outdoor movie and challenging all comers to jumbo Jenga!

First Friday on May 6...outdoor movie, jumbo Jenga and great art!

2011-05-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

It's the last First Friday party of the spring at Kitchen Sink Studios! First Friday is coming on May 6, and Kitchen Sink Studios is the place to be for great art, entertainment and fun!

With a warm, balmy evening forecast this time around, we'll be featuring an outdoor movie (weather-permitting) and showcasing our jumbo Jenga set outside.

The festivities kick off at 6:30 p.m. We're located one block south of Roosevelt at 828 N. Third Street.

We'll see you on Friday, April 1!

It's Time to Make 'em Dance!

2011-04-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Dance Writer converts text to simple dance moves. Create your own choreography by typing a message. Share it with your friends, and send them your animated emails.

Featured Project: Linthicum Web Site

2011-04-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

This week's Featured Project is an HTLM/jQuery web site developed by the Kitchen Sink Studios, Inc. team for Linthicum Corp. Linthicum is the premier builder of high-quality custom residential, commercial and golf properties in the western United States. Kitchen Sink had developed an all-Flash site for the company about seven years ago, but recommended that they redo the site so that it would work on all browsers and mobile devices. Our team also developed Linthicum's unique branding approach, which prominently features their project photography.

The challenge of the site was to feature the stunning photography available of the many beautiful Linthicum projects in a way that worked on any computer or device, while incorporating an elegant design that reflects the company's commitment to quality. The Kitchen Sink team relied on jQuery to create visually captivating slide shows of Linthicum's completed projects, ranging from exceptional residential properties to beautiful commercial and golf course developments.

The Kitchen Sink team also created a unique approach to highlighting Linthicum's numerous articles and press coverage, highlighting the artwork and photography from each publication in a gallery setting that provides easy access to any given feature.

The completed site has a clean, contemporary design that makes the most of the photography of Linthicum's projects while conveying key information about what makes Linthicum such an exceptional builder. And, it presents beautifully on almost any computer, tablet or smart phone. Try it on the new iPad 2, for example (I did)!

First Friday on April 1: Zella, Monica and Jenga!

2011-03-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

It's that time again...First Friday is coming up on April 1, and Kitchen Sink Studios is the place to be for great art, entertainment and fun!

Kitchen Sink Studios is pleased to welcome back Zella Day, who will be singing and playing guitar in front of the studio. The teen folk rock sensation has been called "the next, next, next American Idol" and is a huge crowd favorite.

We'll also be featuring the work of local artist Monica Robles in our gallery space. Monica will be displaying her Collective Photo Art Series. This series contains images captured from different city streets. Through contextual photographs of building exteriors, montages of street art and other mixed-media work, she invites the viewer to reassess notions about texture and two-dimensional art.

Finally, we'll be debuting something new at this First Friday...Jumbo Jenga in the Kitchen Sink parking lot! Come try your hand and steady your nerves with our hand-made jumbo Jenga set, and see if you can beat the Kitchen Sink team.

If you haven't been to First Friday lately, this one's gonna be good and the weather should be perfect! The festivities kick off at 6:30 p.m. We're located one block south of Roosevelt at 828 N. Third Street.

We'll see you on Friday, April 1!

Spout Off Blog | kitchensinkstudios.blogspot.com

Featured Project: W Hotel Video/Animation for DAVIS Architects

2011-03-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

This week's Featured Project is an innovative marriage of video and animation created by the Kitchen Sink Studios, Inc. team for DAVIS Architects.

The animation depicts DAVIS' concept for a W Hotel in downtown Phoenix next to US Airways Center. While the project has been put on hold, the design was so bold and innovative that DAVIS wanted to show what kind of dramatic effect it might have on the Phoenix skyline should construction resume at some point in the future.

Kitchen Sink's creative team wanted to show a glimpse inside of the minds of the DAVIS team, so we actually filmed them as they "designed" the building from the ground up on tablet computers, making it literally rise into the air with each stroke of their fingertips.

The video then shows the dramatic design elements, including some striking balcony features and an exterior design with sharp and dramatic edges that make it a true visual attraction in the context of the existing Phoenix skyline. The video also uses time-lapse photography, combined with the animation, to show the kind of energy, foot traffic and life it would bring to the downtown area.

One of the goals was to show that DAVIS can design anywhere and everywhere. So, although the video and design is actually set in downtown Phoenix, our team wanted to create something that translates to any large, cosmopolitan urban setting.

You can view the video above or on our YouTube page.

The creative minds at DAVIS developed a truly exceptional concept for the W Hotel, and the Kitchen Sink Studios team greatly enjoyed bringing it to life with a combination of video, animation and time-lapse photography.

A new take on an old staple: First Friday at Kitchen Sink Studios on March 4

2011-03-01T08:44:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of years the Kitchen Sink Studios team has opened its doors to the world for the First Friday Art Walk in downtown Phoenix. We're proud to announce that on Friday, March 4, we'll be doing a few new things to make the First Friday experience even better!

First, we'll be featuring a new artist, Dan Ray-Burnett, in our gallery space. Stop on by to see some great works of art!

Second, for the first time ever, Kitchen Sink will be screening a movie on a big screen outside the studio. We'll be featuring the classic (and big favorite of ours) "Raising Arizona" outside under the stars on what should be a perfect Arizona evening.

Third, we'll be doing tours of the Kitchen Sink Studios offices so that you can get a first-hand look at how we do what we do when it comes to creative design and animation.

And fourth...well, Friday is March 4th. And there should be a lot going on along Roosevelt Row, making it a perfect time to experience First Friday.

Kitchen Sink Studios is located at 828 N. 3rd Street, just a block south of Roosevelt. We hope to see you on Friday night!

Featured Project: Environment and Natural Resources, Phase 2 building at the University of Arizona

2011-02-21T13:35:00.000-08:00

How do you depict one of the most ambitious green building projects ever contemplated in Arizona? That was the task for the Kitchen Sink Studios team when we were retained as part of a collaborative effort between the University of Arizona, richard + bauer architects and several other groups to create the University of Arizona's Environment and Natural Resources, Phase 2 (ENR2) building.

University of Arizona officials are kicking off a capital campaign to raise the money to build ENR2, which will house six university departments. They wanted the kind of fundraising presentation that literally would bring the building to life for prospective donors and show just how much thought went into its incredibly sustainable design. ENR2 is inspired by a natural slot-canyon design to help minimize the impact of the desert elements, and when completed, will be one of the most environmentally sensitive structures ever built in Arizona, with the goal of obtaining coveted LEED-Platinum certification.

The Kitchen Sink team created three groundbreaking products to illustrate how ENR2 will work and truly bring the structure to life:

• An interactive, web-based presentation that opens with a tour of an animated slot canyon, showing just how it inspired the design of ENR2. The opening presentation then transitions into an interactive learning environment showing five different viewpoints of ENR2 and depicting some of the many features that make it such a sustainable project.

• An "augmented reality" presentation of ENR2 that allows anyone with a web camera on their computer to experience a three-dimensional, interactive version of the building that can be rotated in their own hands. The augmented reality presentation literally brings the building to life and allows the viewer to experience the building from any angle.

• A printed piece, which was printed on 100 percent FSC certified paper to ensure its sustainability, that tears off into postcards featuring the complete set of renderings of ENR2 and background information on the project, as well as the placard needed for the augmented reality presentation.

All told, it was a great example of how Kitchen Sink's 3D and animation capabilities can be used in both web-based and printed pieces to create tremendous communication tools. It's also a great example of just how much is possible when you have an open-minded client like the UofA, a top-notch design team like richard + bauer, and the creativity of the Kitchen Sink team come together.

Featured Project: Kitchen Sink Studios Provides Naming, Identity, Interactive Marketing for Legends Entertainment District

2011-02-15T08:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday an exciting new initiative was announced that will change the landscape of downtown Phoenix. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Suns and the City of Phoenix have teamed up to create the Legends Entertainment District, which will transform the area around US Airways Center and Chase Field into a dynamic, interactive environment for visitors and fans.

Kitchen Sink Studios, Inc. played an integral part in the formation of Legends Entertainment District by developing the concept for the Legends name, designing the Legends logo and brand identity, and creating an interactive sales and marketing presentation that brings the District to life.

The first step was the name. Each member of the Kitchen Sink creative team came up with their own ideas and suggestions for a name for the District, which were then compiled into one list. From there, team members brainstormed and narrowed down the choices to about a dozen selections, which were presented to client.

From those dozen choices, the Kitchen Sink team was instructed to begin creating a logo and identity for three finalists, and from those finalists, the Legends Entertainment District was born.

"'Legends' is a clear reference to the sports and entertainment that goes on in Chase Field and US Airways Center. These are places where some of the most well known athletes and entertainers of our lifetimes have performed," said Doug Bell, Art Director at Kitchen Sink Studios. "But there’s additional history behind the idea of the 'Legends' name that makes it even more intriguing and relevant."

First, for long-time residents of the Phoenix area, “Legends” will call to mind the beloved Legend City amusement park, built in the late 1950s near the Phoenix Zoo. For residents of the area in the 60s and 70s, the park was Arizona’s answer to Disneyland and an entertainment mecca.

Legend City was also where Wallace and Ladmo frequently performed. These legendary entertainers thrilled Arizona children for years at their studios, which were not far away from the current site of the sporting venues.

The “Legends” area in question is also adjacent to Heritage Square in Phoenix, home to several historical museums.

This taste of Arizona history, based around the “Legends” concept, is a reminder that Arizona frequently does not celebrate its own history. As we thought about how the concept could evolve, we thought the “Legends” theme could create the opportunity for a variety of different features and activities.

But the Legends name also created a challenge. The goal wasn't to evoke old times, necessarily; it was to create a dynamic new experience. So when it came to developing a logo and identity, we were tasked with creating something that generates a sense of excitement.

The Legends Entertainment District logo you see here is the result of that effort. We originally developed 8-10 logo concepts for the District, and the logo selected was carefully refined from one of the earlier iterations. It evokes not only the sports and entertainment aspects of the District, but also downtown Phoenix itself, in a way that makes the area feel fresh and exciting.

Finally, with the name and branding developed, we were asked to bring the District to life through the use of an interactive online marketing presentation. The Kitchen Sink team created a Flash presentation that shows how the lights and activity around the Legends Entertainment District will look in the future, and allows prospective sponsors to literally zoom through the District and see how their sponsorships might look in real life.

The Legends Entertainment District was a very enjoyable project for the Kitchen Sink team, allowing us to flex our creative muscles and create something that will have a lasting impact on our community. We wish Judd Norris and the folks working on the District the best of luck in making it a reality.

The Great Kitchen Sink Studios, Inc. Favorite Sandwich List for 2011

2011-01-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

Here at Kitchen Sink Studios, Inc., we love great design. The only thing we may love more than great design is a great sandwich. Maybe. It's close.

So in that spirit, the KSS team has compiled its 2011 list of the Best Sandwiches in Phoenix. They're in no particular order, but they're all downright tasty. Also, as Nick Hower says, "First off, a hamburger will not be associated with MY list...other then the fact that it’s not a sandwich (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandwich) and I believe burgers should be in a separate category altogether. Secondly, after looking over my list, I know why I haven’t been at my fighting weight for a long time. :)"

So dig in!

• Hillstone — Prime Rib Dip Sandwich. No substitutions...have it delivered exactly the way the chef makes it. They started at $11, but it’s now up to $18. (shhhhh...because we'd pay $25, no problem).

• Sacks — Steak Encore with Feta dressing and Mixed Peppers. (Kory Kapfer adds: "I like a mix of the hot and sweet peppers, lettuce and tomato on a baguette. Get it with the feta yogurt sauce and you are in for an unique sandwich!")

• Pane Bianco — Soppressata with aged Provolone and roasted peppers.

• Middle Eastern Deli (3052 North 16th Street, Phoenix, 602-277-4927) — Gyro with Feta

• Matt’s Big Breakfast — Steak Sandwich special. This is not on their typical menu but when it’s available on the chalkboard, you have to order it...with jalapeños.

• Duck and Decanter — Tuna on Pita with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles. Call in advance and order for pick up; otherwise it’s a 45-minute wait.

• McGurkee's (2822 North 15th Avenue, 602-274-4262) — JP Turkey. Add peppercinis.

• Matt’s Big Breakfast — Egg Salad Sandwich, add Bacon.

• Baby Kay’s — Catfish Po’ Boy with remoulade sauce...with a Red Stripe beer of course!

• Honey Bears — Put a little south in your mouth....Pork Sandwich with sauce.

• Durant's (602-264-5967, 2611 N. Central Avenue) — The French Dip, served on their La Brea Demi Baguette with a side of the au jus and the atomic horseradish. Truly an awesome sandwich.

• Pane Bianco — The Soppressata. With aged provolone and roasted peppers. A fantastic lunchtime staple; however, always keep an eye out for the market sandwich because those never fail to impress.

• Chompies New York Deli. Kory Kapfer says: "Several valley locations although none in downtown Phoenix. I am hoping that they read this and decide that downtown needs a really, really good deli!

Get the Rachel's Motown. You get a choice, but I always go with corned beef. Served with coleslaw and swiss cheese. It’s the closest thing we have to a real New York deli folks — trust me on this one."

• Cibo (602-441-2697, 603 N. 5^thAvenue) — The PLT. It’s like a BLT but with toasted prosciutto and roasted red pepper aioli.

• Hanny’s (602-252-2285, 40 N. First Street) — The Roast Beef. Grilled ribeye, Nueske’s bacon (Kory says, "If ya don’t know then you don’t like food!") arugula, and a fried egg on ciabatta.

• The Roosevelt Tavern (602-254-2561, 816 N. Third Street) — The Honeymooner. Grilled bologna and cheddar. Kory: "All I can say is ‘don’t knock it until you try it.' It’s like reliving your childhood only with way better ingredients and you get to eat it with a beer in your hand."

• Los Reyes De La Torta (602-870-2967,‎ 9230 North 7th Street) — The Torta del Rey. Not for anyone with an undersized gullet. Breaded beef, pork, ham, chorizo, cheese, a fried egg, and then topped with avocado, beans, tomatoes, onions, and jalapeno. Have it with one of their agua frescas for a true taste of Mexico City.

• Fusilli’s (602.266.1490, 3110 N. Central Avenue) — The Meatball. Pretty standard sandwich concept but with top quality meatballs plus they put it on their home made flatbread hot out of the oven. Tip: Add a little chili infused oil on the top of it for that little something extra.

• Defalco's Italian Grocery (Scottsdale) — Cheese steak sandwich.

• Pane Bianco: Housemade Mozzarella, Local Tomato & Basil sandwich.

• America's Tacos (two locations in Phoenix) — The carne asada torta sandwich: toasted telera bread, mayo, guacamole, carne asada, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and chile jalapenos.

• The Main Ingredient (2337 N. 7th Street, Phoenix) — Jive Turkey...oven roasted turkey breast, Jalapeno Cream Cheese, local tomato, and field greens, on baguette.

• The Main Ingredient — The Calvano...sopressata, aged provolone, chopped artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers, on focaccia.

• The Living Room (2333 N 7th Street, Phoenix) — Patty Melt...swiss cheese, caramelized onions, house dressing, on sourdough.

• DeFalco’s Italian Deli — Chicken Parmigiana...Lightly fried and breaded chicken breast with melted mozzarella & topped with their homemade sauce.

• Sacks — The Remmington.

• McGurkee's — The Super Sicilian.

So there you have it...a comprehensive listing of some of the best sandwiches Phoenix has to offer. Hungry yet?

Kitchen Sink Studios' Work Featured on Cover of AZRE Magazine

2011-01-13T16:03:00.000-08:00

Kitchen Sink Studios, Inc.'s visual depiction of the Rockefeller Group Chandler 101 was used in the cover story on the project in the January/February issue of AZRE Magazine.

Rockefeller Group Chandler 101 is a 24-acre mixed use development that will include three office buildings, a 300-room hotel, a conference center and significant retail space. Kitchen Sink Studios provided Rockefeller Group with a stunning interactive web site that provides shows the project's look and feel, provides key project demographic information, and serves as an important tool for the leasing team as they identify potential tenants for the project.

The profile of the mixed-use project, located near the intersections of the 202 and 101 Freeways in Chandler, featured several renderings and animations the studio developed to bring the project's vision to life. Part of the team's work on the interactive web site included the creation of renderings and animation that visually depict the overall look and feel of the project, including its superior architecture and attention to the creation of a mixed-use environment.

Congratulations to Rockefeller Group on the great profile in AZRE Magazine! We are proud to have helped bring the project to life through the use of our animation and web development expertise.

Enjoying the brilliance of a truly horrible logo and jingle

2011-01-12T10:09:00.000-08:00

Here at Kitchen Sink Studios, we're always looking out for the latest trends and groundbreaking work in the design and marketing industries. It's what we do. We want to be sure that we are on the cutting edge of technology and innovation when it comes to telling our client's stories in a compelling manner.

That's why we couldn't resist when we came across the web site www.horriblelogos.com. The site's mission statement is "Drawing Bad Logos Since 2010." For a mere $5, you can submit to them your company's name and some background information, and they will produce for you a truly horrible logo. The proceeds from the logo design, according to the site, go to "buy myself a beer at the local watering hole." Graphically represented, it looks something like this:

As you might imagine, we were intrigued. So we actually went ahead and plopped down $20 for their deluxe package, which includes not only a high-resolution version of our horrible logo but a horrible jingle for the company as well.

Sure enough, about 24 hours later, we received Kitchen Sink Studios' very own horrible logo:

Here were the internal reviews:

"Gosh...it's awful. Looks like a cat's (censored). I hope the jingle is just as bad!"

"It's awesome!"

“That logo is quite possibly the worst logo I’ve ever seen. How much did we spend, $5? My two year old could do better...with his eyes closed. Yet somehow, it’s growing on me. Now that I think about it, perhaps this guy is a genius like no other.”

So we awaited the arrival of our jingle with baited breath, and three days later, we were rewarded with the following interpretation of what Kitchen Sink Studios is all about (video added by our team):

We've always wanted our own theme music.

So look for our new identity and jingle in our future correspondence...we're furiously grinding away at potential uses for this truly horrible — yet somehow brilliant — representation of our beloved company.

Happy Holidays from Kitchen Sink Studios,® Inc.!

2010-12-21T10:55:00.000-08:00

This 2010 holiday card was animated from scratch by the fine people at Kitchen Sink Studios just as we have done for the past 11 years. You may also view a high-resolution Flash version of the video here, or watch the video on YouTube.

Enjoy the holidays, your friends and family, and a little R&R. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2011!

Santa: The Brand Book

2010-12-17T08:46:00.000-08:00

We'd like to tip our caps to Quietroom, a London-based communications consulting firm, for coming up with one of the best pieces of holiday creative work we've seen in a while.

It's the "Santa Brand Book," and it shows the exacting brand standards The Clause enforces for himself and the entire Santa organization. And it's pretty darned funny.

Well played, Quietroom. And a great way to have some fun during the holiday season!

Featured Project: Linthicum Living

2010-12-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

This week's Featured Project is the branding and business system Kitchen Sink Studios, Inc. created for Linthicum Living, Inc. Linthicum Living, Inc. provides those looking for an immediate primary or secondary residence with a home designed by a nationally recognized, independent design team and built by a true custom home builder, Linthicum Custom Builders.

Linthicum wanted to create a brand and business system that would truly set them apart from other companies in the industry while conveying the kind of attention to detail and quality they take pride in as a company. Their custom homes are superior products, and they wanted to convey that through a superior brand.

The Kitchen Sink creative team focused on the fact that each Linthicum project is unique, and wanted to convey that somehow in the brand and business system. The way we ended up doing that was through the use of high-quality photography to create literally 20 different versions of their business card and letterhead.

While each card and letterhead has uniform branding and type treatments, the photography is varied so that the company can visually reinforce just how different its projects are from location to location. The cards and letterhead are accompanied by a containment folder that complements the unique look and feel of the brand.

It was an opportunity for the Kitchen Sink team to take a different approach to the traditional business system and help brand the client in a truly memorable way.

First Friday on December 3rd at Kitchen Sink Studios!

2010-12-02T14:12:00.000-08:00

Join us once again on Friday, December 3rd for First Friday at Kitchen Sink Studios!

From 5:30 to 10 p.m., we are pleased to present local artist John Tuomisto-Bell. To learn more and see further work please visit www.tuomistobell.com.

We'll also be selling old time sodas from the Soda Pop Shop, with proceeds going to benefit our gallery. We hope to see you there!

Spout Off Blog | kitchensinkstudios.blogspot.com

Featured Project: Artesana

2010-12-01T09:40:00.000-08:00

This week's Featured Project is Artesana, an exceptional hospitality resort and residential development project in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico being developed by Artesana Rosewood Residences and marketed by DMB Realty.

Artesana is a stunning project located in a beautiful part of historic Mexico. San Miguel de Allende is a colonial artist's village in the shadows of the natural spires of La Parroquia, with a historic and quaint downtown where the project is being constructed. Rosewood's vision for the project is to create luxurious homes and a resort that capture the character of the historic village while providing all the amenities that could be desired.

Kitchen Sink Studios was tasked with creating marketing and sales materials that would capture this ambitious vision and bring the project to life. The studio developed an interactive DVD presentation branding the project through music, video and animation.

The studio's work shows potential buyers how old-world Mexico and its picturesque natural environment can combine with modern-day luxury and incredible design to create a truly unique and exceptional living environment.

The project was a perfect example of how the Kitchen Sink team combines its capabilities in renderings and animation with its creativity in developing superior marketing materials for some great results for our clients.

Featured Project: Recreation of Fatal Automobile Accident

2010-11-23T13:57:00.000-08:00

Kitchen Sink Studios, Inc.'s featured project of the week is a photo-realistic re-enactment of a tragic, fatal automobile crash the studio created for Pat McGroder, a plaintiff's personal injury attorney with Gallagher and Kennedy in Phoenix.

Because of the terms of the settlement, we're withholding some of the specifics, but the crash took place when the victim was making a left-hand turn on a major street. The victim, looking at oncoming traffic, believed he had plenty of time to make the turn, assuming that the oncoming cars he saw were going approximately the speed limit.

However, the two oncoming cars were actually drag racing, and were traveling more than 30 miles per hour above the speed limit. They closed the distance much faster than the victim anticipated, leading to the horrific and fatal crash that took place.

You can view the entire re-enactment on YouTube. Using police reports, expert witness accounts and simple math formulas (V=D/T), we were able to re-create and depict the accident from multiple vantage points, as well as various speeds— creating a "what if" scenario for the viewer. The case settled in favor of our client.

At Kitchen Sink Studios, we take great pride in being able to bring anything visual to life, and legal re-enactments have become a significant part of our client work because they not only allow the legal system to work properly, they allow the families of victims to understand what happened in tragic circumstances.

Featured Project: DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials Web Site

2010-11-15T13:45:00.000-08:00

This week’s Featured Project is a unique Flash web site Kitchen Sink Studios©, Inc. developed for DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials earlier this year. We wrote about the initial concept for the site on this blog about a year ago, but the site is now fully built out and functional.

DA NanoMaterials is the world’s foremost provider of electronic polishing products, which are critical to the manufacture of computer chips and silicon wafers. Therefore, their target audience is companies that are on the cutting edge of current technology, and many of their customers are located in Asia.

The products are not very visual in nature, so Kitchen Sink Studios’ challenge was to find a way to create a web presence for them that incorporated a high-tech feel. The creative team came up with the concept of using hexagons as a visual element to represent the chemistry involved in DA NanoMaterials’ manufacturing process. The hexagon elements allowed for the creation of an interesting, interative navigation menu as well.

We then took it a step further by incorporating a “spectrum” background that constantly changes color as you view the site, providing a sense of motion and life while again emphasizing the product technology. And, the content is presented without the boxes or constraining elements found on most web sites, making the design feel more open and interactive for the site visitor.

We’re always working to develop the most visually captivating ways to convey our clients’ messages, whether through branding and identity, animation, video or web sites like the one we developed for DA NanoMaterials. This colorful solution is one we’re particularly proud of.

Featured Project: Redwood City Saltworks

2010-11-09T09:42:00.000-08:00

The Kitchen Sink team has been involved in a number of exciting projects in 2010. Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll introduce you to some of them through a “Featured Project” series of posts.

Kicking off the series, Kitchen Sink was retained by DMB Associates, Inc.’s Pacific Division to conceptually depict their ambitious Redwood City Saltworks project as it will appear in the future. DMB is one of the most prominent development groups in the western United States, and this project will be one of their largest undertakings to date.

Redwood City Saltworks is currently a 1,400-acre industrial salt production site — bare land covered in thick layers of salt — located on the San Francisco Bay.

Using proprietary software and photography techniques, we helped DMB to unveil their vision for the project to the public with stunning presentation materials that show how it looks now, compared to how it will look upon completion. Our work to bring Saltworks to life included everything from computer animation to a PowerPoint template to a project binder to an interactive HTML5 map of the current and future site. We geared our work to their specific target audience — residents of Redwood City, as the entitlement process is getting underway — with the goal of creating a positive first impression within the community.

Our initial work was completed on an extremely expedited timeline to meet their needs for an October 19 presentation for the Redwood City Planning Commission, and is now featured on their project web site.

It’s been a fun and interesting project to work with, and one that allowed us to flex our cerebral muscles a bit when it comes to designing and crafting a presentation of this type. Sometimes the way in which you tell a story is just as important as the story itself.

It's on! First Friday at Kitchen Sink Studios

2010-11-01T10:44:00.000-07:00

It's time once again for First Friday at Kitchen Sink Studios! Join us on Friday, November 5 for what promises to be a fun, festive and entertaining evening.

From 5:30 to 10 p.m., we are pleased to present local artist John Tuomisto-Bell. To learn more and see further work please visit www.tuomistobell.com.

And Zella's back! First Friday favorite Zella Day will be performing for the first time this fall. The 14-year-old folk rock sensation has been called "the next, next, next American Idol" and is a huge crowd favorite.

We'll also be selling old time sodas from the Soda Pop Shop, with proceeds going to benefit our gallery. This should be one of the most lively First Fridays in recent memory, so be sure to stop by!

Spout Off Blog | kitchensinkstudios.blogspot.com

Wanted: Aspiring Jedi graphic designer (contract basis)

2010-10-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

Kitchen Sink Studios is looking for a graphic designer. You don't have to be the most experienced, but you do have to have that certain je ne sais quoi. We're looking for someone with 1-3 years of experience in creating captivating designs for print and the web. Full knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite is absolutely necessary; HTML and Flash would be extremely useful as well. This would be on a contractor basis for the time being for 20 hours a week, but could blossom into something bigger if all the ducks line up in a row. Salary based on experience and, frankly, how good you are. You also have to like dogs and dig hanging out in one of the coolest office spaces in downtown Phoenix.

Send a resume, samples (just a few, don't bombard us) and cash (kidding) to Tom Evans at tevans@kitchensinkstudios.com.

Join us for First Friday on October 1st!

2010-09-29T13:46:00.001-07:00

Come join us for First Friday on October 1st! We'll be featuring the work of local artist Kathy Taylor in our gallery space. And to help you keep cool, we'll be selling old time sodas from the Soda Pop Shop for a small donation to our gallery.

The fun starts at 6:30 p.m. We're located just a block south of Roosevelt on Third Street. We hope to see you on Friday!

Out of hibernation

2010-08-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

“Spout Off” has been in hibernation for a few months now due to a variety of circumstances — some good, some bad. But mostly, we’ve had our collective noses to the grindstone and have been enjoying a terrific summer of producing great creative.

And now with summer ending, we’re taking a deep breath and dusting off the old blog to tell you about the news and happenings with your favorite downtown Phoenix design studio.

First of all, big shout out to our long-time client, Pat McGroder of Gallegher and Kennedy, a Phoenix-based law firm. We’re helping him serve his clients by providing top-notch legal animation and video that bring his cases to life. Another shout out to the Plaintiff’s Personal Injury Group at Fennemore Craig, headed up by Marc Lamber and James Goodnow, for bringing us in on several of their cases as well.

Our legal niche is becoming very exciting for us. We’re branching out with new ideas and groundbreaking ways of helping attorneys present critical information. And we’ve enjoyed the opportunity to get to know some of their clients and help them receive the results they deserve in their injury cases.

But that’s not all we’ve been up to. We’ve started to see things move a bit in the business community and some signs of overall economic improvement, and we’ve made some great connections on exciting new projects. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, the Arizona Heart Foundation, Downtown Live! and several other significant organizations have brought us on to help tell their story in compelling, innovative ways. We’ll be telling you more about some of our killer projects in the coming weeks.

Finally, we’ll be revving up the First Friday activities at our studio starting on September 3^rd. If you’re down and checking out the scene on Roosevelt, head a block south on Third Street and come say hi. We’ll have artists and performers on hand, and our team would love to catch up with everyone.

Hit us up on Facebook and check back here regularly for updates!

HTML Designer Needed!

2010-06-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

We're looking for experienced HTML production talent- contractual basis. If you've got what it takes, please send resume and contact information to info@kitchensinkstudios.com

Kitchen Sink Studios First Friday™

2010-03-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

Come visit our studio gallery every first Friday in downtown Phoenix! We are located on the southwest corner of Garfield and Third Street.

April 2nd, from 5:30pm – 10pm, we are pleased to present local artist, John Tuomisto-Bell. To learn more and see further work please visit www.tuomistobell.com.

Also featuring the music of Zella Day, (www.myspace.com/zelladaymusic) the 14-year-old folk rock sensation who has been called "the next, next, next American Idol" and a crowd favorite. Following Zella at 7pm will be Chad Krystals, the energy packed live DJ show featuring dual drummers!

How's 2010 International Design Annual Interactive Award.....We Won!

2010-03-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

New York Times profiles Roosevelt Row

2010-02-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

Our little neighborhood all grows up...check out this New York Times profile on Roosevelt Row! It's a great sign that the arts community is growing and thriving so much that it would garner the attention of such a significant national publication.

If you haven't had a chance to come out and see it in person on a First Friday, when the area is really vibrant, check out the post below and stop by on Friday, February 5th!

Kitchen Sink Studios First Friday®

2010-02-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

Tell one, tell all!!! This Friday (Feb 5th) please swing by our studio and experience the eclectic downtown art scene! FYI- Zella Day will be performing earlier in the evening in front of our office building (Kitchen Sink Studios- 828 North 3rd Street, Phoenix’s Downtown Art District).

Happy Holidays from Kitchen Sink Studios®!

2009-12-17T09:37:00.000-08:00

2010 begins! During this time of reflection, let's all keep in mind what is truly important...2009 is over! Please click on the link below to see our little gift to you. Then click the light socket at the bottom of our sign to plug in our Christmas lights...and all your holiday wishes shall be granted! (OK, maybe not but it should put a smile on your face). Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year from all of us at Kitchen Sink Studios!
www.kitchensinkstudios.com

Web Site Re-Branding 101: The Devenney Group

2009-12-04T10:44:00.000-08:00

The Devenney Group, a Phoenix-based architectural firm that specializes in health care design, approached Kitchen Sink Studios to redesign their web site. The original, as you can see above, was a little...pedestrian. The Kitchen Sink team dug into it with a process that involved numerous meetings, concepts, sketches and photography in order to tell their story in a fresh new way. Not too flashy, clean, sophisticated and 100% custom...check it out for yourself!

www.devenneygroup.com

First Friday at Kitchen SInk Studios returns on December 4!

2009-12-01T09:28:00.000-08:00

Come visit our studio gallery for First Friday on Friday, December 4 from 5:30-10 p.m. We'll be featuring the artwork of John Tuomisto-Bell. We'll also be featuring the music of Zella Day, the 14-year-old folk rock sensation who has been called "the next, next, next American Idol" and a crowd favorite at First Friday for her energetic blend of original songs and classics.

Kitchen Sink Studios is located at 828 N. 3rd Street in downtown Phoenix (corner of 3rd Street and Garfield). We hope to see you there!

Cool Kitchen Sink® Project of the Week: New Web Site for DA NanoMaterials

2009-11-18T09:37:00.000-08:00

Not to toot our own horn (OK, absolutely to toot our own horn), but we wanted to show off a pretty cool project we're currently working on.

DA NanoMaterials® is a Tempe-based company with branches around the world that provides slurry materials for the semiconductor industry -- effectively, "liquid sandpaper" used to polish silicon wafers. They came to Kitchen Sink Studios recently looking to improve their overall web presence and brand experience, and to announce the opening of their new Advanced Technology Center™, a state-of-the-art 300mm-Capable Lab facility in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

The before and after is shown in the photo posted here, but you can check out the actual site at www.nanoslurry.com. The Kitchen Sink team wanted to create a site for the company that reflected their technology focus and stood out from the norm — while catering to their demographic (70% Asian marketplace). So, starting with the announcement for the new lab facility in Taiwan, the team created a living, breathing site for the company that involves the full spectrum of colors (note how they are constantly changing on the live site) and uses a sort of molecular theme to present information and visuals in a completely unique way. Right now, just the announcement for the facility is on the site, but the skeleton you see here will be built out and become their entire web site in a few short weeks.

Let us know what you think!

Join Us For First Friday on November 6th!

2009-10-29T13:17:00.001-07:00

Kitchen Sink Studios invites you to join us for First Friday on Friday, November 6 from 5:30 to 10 p.m.

Local artist Jill Brownley's work will be featured inside the studio, and Zella Day will be performing out in front of the studio in the back of "Ol' Blue." And, check out the completion of our bottle cap public art installation!

We're located at 828 N. Third Street in downtown Phoenix. We hope to see you there!

Kitchen Sink Develops Stunning Futuristic Video For Austin Planetarium

2009-10-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

We just got done with a pretty cool project we wanted to share with you.

Davis Architects (www.thedavisexperience.com) hired our team to tell their story for the new Austin Planetarium in Austin, Texas. The $50 million facility is currently in a capital raise campaign, and the Davis team was looking for a compelling way to help people visualize what the Planetarium will look like upon completion.

Rather then generate multiple computer animation videos, we decided to create a futuristic interface to relay the design in a more dynamic manner — putting the viewer in the shoes of the designer, looking at the project on the computer screen of the future.

Using simple green screen methods and a custom interface and audio, the final solution provides a one-of-a-kind presentation that will be used for fund raising and community awareness for the new facility.

To view the film in its entirety, click the video below. You can also check out this PDF to see some still photos of how the project came together.

6,000 Bottlecaps & A Bunch of Great Poster Art: Kitchen Sink Studios Celebrates Phoenix Design Week

2009-10-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

Kitchen Sink Studios decided a while back to do a little something different with its new building and identity — to tip its hat, so to speak, to other artists and the Phoenix Art District where it is located.

“We needed a sign,” said Nick Hower, Founder & Partner at the downtown Phoenix creative design studio. “And we’re a bit obsessed with all things retro. It started as an interactive button piece but Doug Bell, our Art Director, came up with the bottle cap concept.”

That’s right -- bottlecaps. Somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000 of them (we stopped counting). Kitchen Sink’s sign is actually a public art installation that, as they like to say, is “saving the world one bottlecap at a time.”

Kitchen Sink started putting them on the front of their building at 828 N. 3rd Street this summer. And after months of hard work and a few adhesive-fume headaches, and in honor of Phoenix Design Week, the KSS team will wrap up the project the afternoon of October 20.

That’s also the same day that Kitchen Sink Studios will be hosting a poster exhibition for Phoenix Design Week. Dozens of works by students from ASU, NAU, Collins Institute and the Art Institute will be on full display from 7-9 p.m. at the studio. The posters are meant to promote awareness about social issues and charity causes, and are being done in conjunction with good50x70.org and poster4tomorrow.org, two international poster submission contests.

“We thought it would be fitting to finish up the bottlecap project during Phoenix Design Week and on the same day we’re hosting the poster exhibition,” Hower said. “It’s our little contribution to a week of celebrating great art and design, and it should make for a fun afternoon and evening.

“We see it being recognizable for tourists in the future and a hub for the art district,” Hower added. “The response we’ve had on First Fridays, for example, has been tremendous. People are just drawn to it and think it’s a cool and exciting and different piece of art.”

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC/MEDIA: The public and media are invited to watch the KSS team wrap up the bottlecap project from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 20 -- and even put a couple up themselves if they wish. Then, from 7 to 9 p.m., the poster exhibit will be open to the public as well.

Kitchen Sink asked local businesses such as the Roosevelt Bar, Cibo and America’s Tacos to save their bottlecaps and contribute them to the public art project. Because of the contributions of several different establishments, the bottlecaps represent a wide variety of beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

“We also thought it was a great way to repurpose something that would otherwise be thrown away,” Hower said. “And over time, they’ll get weathered and rust, and we think that will make the project look even more interesting and visually appealing.”

Introducing our exciting new venture: Sodapop Gang!

2009-09-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

Kitchen Sink Studios is proud to announce that it is moving forward with an exciting new venture! It’s called Sodapop Gang, and it’s a fun, interactive and educational experience where preschoolers and their families can discover, explore and learn.

Sodapop Gang is an educational and entertainment brand for preschoolers featuring an interactive, photo-realistic and safe online experience that is fun for both children and parents, and including a wide variety of enjoyable merchandise and products.

The main platform for Sodapop Gang will be www.sodapopgang.com — which you can visit right now to view a Beta version of the site. Keep in mind that we’ve only built out a small fraction of the site and it would be refined as we go along. We’re also examining other Sodapop Gang products, such as mobile applications, toys, merchandise, games and puzzles.

We’re currently in the process of raising capital to make our vision a reality. Once we have the dough, we anticipate the full buildout of the web site will take about a year, although other Sodapop Gang products may be available in the meantime.

We invite you to keep in touch with the progress of Sodapop Gang by becoming a fan of our Facebook page. We’ll send out frequent updates on our progress, as well as related news and links and even some games and activities for kids. And, we’ll be asking our Facebook fans in a couple of weeks to participate in a quick survey to help guide our efforts to create the best experience possible. So spread the word!

We hope you enjoy the web site and share our excitement about the potential of Sodapop Gang to become a safe, enjoyable activity for children and their families. Thanks!

Think people don't notice how your brand is presented? Just ask IKEA

2009-08-28T15:05:00.001-07:00

Design-geek issues such as font usage rarely see the light of day in mainstream media, but a recent Time Magazine post is a good reinforcement of how important even the smallest of details can be to your customers.

The piece linked here detailed a backlash against retail giant IKEA for having the gall to change...its primary font. That's right -- after decades of catalogues filled with unpronounceable names in a customized version of the typeface Futura, IKEA is switching to the more internet-friendly Verdana.

Now, perhaps the backlash will be somewhat confined to the design community -- "Verdana, which was invented by Microsoft, was intended to be used on a screen, not on paper," Time tells us -- but regardless, the article proves a point that many companies just don't get when it comes to marketing and brand identity.

People notice small details about a company or organization, and when presented with those details consistently, form impressions in their mind based upon them. Consistency helps define the communication, and when that consistency is removed, it makes people question what's going on with the brand. The switch to Verdana may not result in lower sales of such products as the Aspelund (it's a bed), but it certainly caught the attention of more than a few people.

So what's the best policy? Build a brand identity, maintain it, and even guard it with your life. And if you make a change, it should be for a good reason. Maybe the brand has grown stale and needs a refresher; maybe the target audience has changed over time. IKEA apparently is making the change to save money, which every now and then is a good one too.

But if you think the little details aren't important, think again. Somebody is always going to notice.

iPhone® Battery Issue Solved!

2009-08-26T15:19:00.001-07:00

As you may or may not know, I am a HUGE iPhone fan. Needless to say, after I installed the new 3G software, I was extremely disappointed with the battery life. The phone seemed to die after a round trip to the local CircleK for my big gulp! I exhausted the internet discussion forums, as well as 3 trips to the "Genius" Bar at the local Mac store, before finally cracking the code on my own. Here's what I found out: My Exchange Server Email was sending ghost emails, to my phone, every 3 seconds...thereby draining the battery life. To resolve the issue, I adjusted the following: Within the Settings/Email, Contacts, Calendars: select, Fetch New Data and slide PUSH to the OFF position. Then, select an appropriate FETCH time (mine is set to Every 30 Minutes). Keep in mind Email still automatically downloads whenever it's opened or checked.
Voila! I'm back up to a reasonable battery life of @14 -18 hours!

Believe it or not, when it comes to kids, every little message counts

2009-08-24T10:17:00.001-07:00

Remember in the summer of 1990 when Judas Priest was sued because their lyrics allegedly inspired a misguided young man to commit suicide? I remember it well — my 18-year-old self would watch news clips of the proceedings and mutter “That’s BS” under my breath. Surely listening to a music lyric or band couldn’t influence someone like that, I thought, as I presumably put on my Cure t-shirt and dropped Depeche Mode’s “Black Celebration” into the tape deck.

I still think that was bunk. The poor kid who killed himself clearly had issues; he would have found some other outlet or some other excuse for them had it not been for Rob Halford and the boys.

But then I had a kid. And now I see that there’s absolutely no denying that kids are astonishingly influenced by what they see and hear from the entertainment industry.

My three-and-a-half-year-old son loves television, to the point where we have to ration it — only a couple hours a day, and only certain programs. “Dora The Explorer,” yes, “SpongeBob,” a big NO. Why? Because we quickly learned that even at such a young age, he would immediately start emulating the behavior of the characters he likes on TV.

Even programs that we thought were somewhat harmless — such as PBS’ “Word Girl,” which is written more for an audience of 6-7 year olds — would have an effect. From “Word Girl,” he learned that karate-chopping robots is OK, but it got to a point where he was a little too fired up about it. He’d start seeing robots everywhere, and randomly would start karate-chopping things at weird moments, like at the dinner table.

And when that happens, you have to start thinking about everything. Is the football game I’m watching sending the wrong message? Do I really want to let the TV linger on a James Bond smash-em-up when I think my son is just playing with his toys? And God forbid I pass by an MMA fight as I’m channel flipping; that’s more of a mixed message than Britney Spears’ “Oops, I did it again” video.

I’ve had a crash course over the past couple of years — both on a personal and professional level, actually — on communicating with kids. And what I’ve taken away from it is that you have to pay attention to every little detail. You have to think about what thought might pop into their head next, and what not only to avoid, but embrace.

The whole thing can be migraine-inducing, but it can also shed a lot of light on how communication and messaging bounces around in the human mind. And whether I like to admit it a lot, every little thing has some sort of effect. Even Judas Priest.

Kitchen Sink Studios Profiled in Phoenix Business Journal

2009-08-07T12:11:00.001-07:00

Kitchen Sink Studios' work on the re-enactment of the 2007 Phoenix news helicopter crash was profiled today in the Phoenix Business Journal. The article provided an overview of how the video was constructed, discussed how beneficial such computer re-enactments can be, and talked about how such animations are becoming an increasingly important part of Kitchen Sink Studios' business profile. Click here to view the article (PDF file).

Computer Animation of Helicopter Tragedy- Channel 3 & Channel 15

2009-07-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

It was a day that will forever live in the minds of Phoenix residents, when an unthinkable tragedy took the lives of four people who seemed like family members to many in the city.

On July 27, 2007, two television news helicopters crashed into each other while covering a high-speed chase in central Phoenix, killing the crews in both. In the aftermath, it was difficult to determine how something like this could happen — but necessary to resolve the legal issues surrounding the crash.

That’s why Pat McGroder of Gallagher & Kennedy, which represented the victims’ families from the Channel 3 helicopter in the case (Bowerbank/Cox vs. US Helicopters, ET AL.), brought in Kitchen Sink Studios to help.

The studio, renowned for its work in graphic design and computer animation, was asked to create a video re-enactment that would clearly show how the incident unfolded.

The footage, based upon scientific evidence such as radar data, live audio and video from each of the helicopters as well as physical evidence from the site, became a chilling representation of what happened — and a representation that was critical to the settlement of the lawsuit surrounding the crash in favor of the plaintiffs in the case.

And the video will serve as an example of how cutting-edge computer animation technology can help resolve even the most complicated legal cases, and perhaps even help bring closure to those affected by such tragedies.

“It was a sad and somewhat difficult assignment for us, but we are proud that we were able to use our resources, skills and technology to bring a resolution to this difficult case,” said Nick Hower, Partner in Kitchen Sink Studios. “Our team really dedicated itself to combing through the evidence from the crash and determining just what took place.”

Working with expert witnesses, Kitchen Sink was able to develop several different vantage points of the crash, and render those vantage points with stunning realism, including the layout of the ground below and the paths and relative speed of each helicopter.

The computer animation was overwhelmingly compelling, and used throughout the mediation process. The final result was an undisclosed settlement sum for each of the victims’ families associated with the News Channel 3 Helicopter.

"Kitchen Sink represents the finest of a new breed of technological genius," said Pat McGroder of law firm Gallagher & Kennedy, the lead attorney on the case. "Their creativity and ingenuity is only surpassed by their recognition of the meticulousness required by legal standards.The technology allowed the viewer to put himself/herself at the scene in a position to clearly see and evaluate what happened in the case. Any viewer of the animation could only come to one conclusion and that conclusion was determinative in the resolution of this case."

To view the presentation in its entirety, please click below for immediate viewing, or visit www.kitchensinkstudios.com or YouTube.

For inquiry or comment, please email or call our studio: info@kitchensinkstudios.com or 602-258-3150

The Great Bottlecap Art Experiment of 2009

2009-07-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you combine about a dozen creative minds with 7,256 bottle caps?

You get the new public art installation going on right now at Kitchen Sink Studios! We’re in the process of turning the front of our building into a work of art that we hope will become one of the signature images in downtown Phoenix. The project involves placing bottlecaps in the shape of the words “Kitchen Sink” on the front facade in sort of a retro-50s font.

We’re not only making cool things happen, we’re using a resource that would otherwise be discarded into the trash. AND, we’re getting bottlecaps from nearby businesses such as The Roosevelt Bar, Cibo and America’s Tacos. If you know of anyone who might like to contribute some caps, please let us know (www.kitchensinkstudios.com).

Our goal is to have the entire project completed in time for Phoenix Design Week, which is from October 21-25…which means a lot of warm evenings like the ones you see in the attached video.

We’ll keep you posted on the progress. In the meantime, if you’re in the neighborhood, come check it out! We'll be working on it on Wednesday afternoons after 5 p.m., and you can also come see us on First Fridays starting in September.

Mosey on over to the new Kitchen Sink Studios Facebook Page!

2009-06-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

The folks at Kitchen Sink are dialed in to this Internet thingy. That's why they've created a new Facebook "fan" page to better communicate with folks like you. The new page will replace their old "group" page, which was a little cumbersome. So if you're on Facebook, please take a moment to visit the new page and sign up as a "fan".

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kitchen-Sink-Studios-Inc/77333862448

Muchas Gracias!

Chowing your way through the Great Recession

2009-06-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

I rock the North Central area of Phoenix, and I’m darned proud of it. I love Kitchen Sink’s barrio, but go home to the Central and Camelback area at the end of each day. And while recently we’ve seen a very-welcome restaurant cluster pop up near the studio here at 3^rd Street and Garfield, what I’m seeing in North Central right now is downright prolific.

See, I thought I read something about some sort of recession, but it seems like everyone and his dog is opening a restaurant in North Central. It’s to the point where pretty soon, North Central may start to rival Old Town Scottsdale as the Valley’s premier restaurant destination. To wit:

• Recently opened near Central and Camelback: The new Postino and Maizie’s Café. And, rumor has it, the new Postino will be joined by its sister grocer, La Grande Orange, in the coming months.

• Seven million years old, but in case you haven’t heard: Cheese & Stuff at Central and Camelback had a sandwich that was written up in Esquire Magazine last year as one of the best sandwiches in the country.

• I don’t even need to remind you: Pane Bianco, Lux Coffee and the George & Dragon between Indian School and Camelback on Central.

• 7^th Street and Camelback stalwarts: Lola Tapas, Ticoz, Two Hippies Burritos, Rosie McCaffrey’s, Oregano’s, Sonoran Brewing Company.

• A little further north: Richardson’s, TexAZ Grill, Phoenix City Grill, Rokerij, Luci’s Healthy Marketplace.

• Even further north: Bomberos Wine Bar and Corbin’s, both at Central and Dunlap-ish.

• Just popped out of the oven: Parlor Pizzeria (18^th and Camelback…a little more toward the Biltmore, but still).

• Need a coffee fix in North Central? Dutch Brothers Drive-Thru Coffee at Central and Camelback, and the new Lola Coffee (from the folks who brought us Lola Tapas) at Central and Campbell.

• Still in the oven: St. Francis Restaurant at 111 E. Camelback, by renowned chef Aaron Chamberlain (Rubicon in San Francisco, which I’ve actually been to, believe it or not, and Jean Georges in New York).

• Also still in the oven, and in the heavy construction phase: Hula’s Modern Tiki, in the same center as the new Lola Coffee. The first AZ outlet for this concept…the others are in Monterey and Santa Cruz, California.

How are all these new places getting construction financing? How are all these old stalwarts surviving the Great Recession? Beats me, but I’m hungry just thinking about it. In any event, it’s a refreshing little boom in business and the kind of trend that threatens to turn Phoenix into a “real” city.

And if you’re not into these? Hey, there’s an Applebee’s at Central and Camelback as well.

Two wacky things are going on in the social networking/marketing world

2009-06-10T13:50:00.001-07:00

A couple more things on social networking...we promise that the next post will be on something else.

• A few weeks ago, I saw that a friend had become a fan of a page on Facebook titled “Not Having George W. Bush As President.” Because I pay attention to politics, I thought it was a novel and humorous approach to starting a fan page, regardless of one’s own particular affiliation. And as one might imagine, the page rocketed in popularity — when I first saw it, there were about 40,000 fans; now there are more than 475,000.

Then I saw that those responsible for the “Not Having” page started sending out offshoot pages, such as “Telling Dick Cheney To Shut The Hell Up” and “Confirming Sonia Sotomayor To The Supreme Court.” And by the time the Sotomayor page got blasted out, I started to wonder if this wasn’t an organic occurrence at all — if it instead was something being done by the Democratic National Committee or MoveOn.org or someone like that.

Turns out that the page was started by a dude named John Hlinko, and a quick Google search tells us that he’s a Democratic political consultant who specializes in grassroots mobilization. Let me correct that a little bit — he’s a Democratic political consultant who specializes in grassroots mobilization who now has the ability to reach 475,000 people within a few seconds. Oh, and developing that capability was free.

Also recently, I took a quiz that got sent to me on the movie “Ferris Buehler’s Day Off.” (I’m proud to say I got a perfect score). But at the end of the quiz, I suddenly found myself signed up for an online movie rental service’s Facebook page. Now, I’m seeing the movie quizzes and other quizzes all the time, and they all seem to have an ulterior motive.

The point I’m getting at is that marketing in the Facebook era has taken on some completely different properties than traditional online marketing. People used to consider it a skeevy practice to do banner ads saying things like “What’s your true IQ” directing the viewer to some business’ page. But somehow, in the world of Facebook, this is considered completely normal and appropriate. Companies and organizations are less concerned about driving people to their brand than they are about simply creating a mechanism to reach the most people possible.

To me, it just seems like an odd change in decorum. But it’s one that as marketing professionals, we’re going to have to learn to either deal with or incorporate.

• The second wacky thing going on is the announcement, which has been low-key so far, that Facebook is going to start allowing users to have personalized URLs. While MySpace has been doing this all along, Facebook users have a URL that is www.facebook.com/ a bunch of random numbers and letters. And, we get to go back and retro-pick our new URLs so that our friends can find us, kinda like when we were all able to pick our own e-mail addresses back in the day.

The change begins at midnight EDT on Friday; you will be able to log on and pick your own name at that time, and it is first come-first served.

Now, call me crazy, but isn’t this likely to set off an absolute free-for-all? After all, doing a Facebook page is free, and an individual can do as many as he or she wants. And while Facebook allows you to stake a claim to a name that you have trademarked, what’s to stop speculators from claiming anything that might be remotely interesting and then auctioning those pages off like domain names?

Except that the difference is, while domain names and MySpace names were registered over the course of several years and continue to be registered in the future, the 200 million Facebook users out there have a zero-hour when this takes effect. Aren’t a lot of the John Smiths of the world going to scramble online to try to become www.facebook.com/johnsmith?

I just think this is going to be a bigger deal than people think. It has the potential to become a new cottage industry, just as domain name sales is right now. And I hope Facebook’s servers are up to the challenge at midnight EDT on Friday…

A look back in the past for a peek at the future?

2009-06-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

My wife is a huge fan of the film “You’ve Got Mail,” and so whenever it comes on and we’re both watching TV, I’m stuck with it for at least a few minutes.

Set in the late 20^th century, the film documents a budding romance between two people whose names I can’t remember, played by Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan (note: this was back when Meg Ryan was still attractive). This romance manifests itself through the anonymity of the earliest form of today’s “social networking,” America Online.

Watching it now, the movie seems like it might as well have been filmed a million years ago. In today’s day and age, had Hanks and Ryan not met through a dating web site, they would have at least been directed to each other’s Facebook pages, and instead of fluttering around anonymously in each other’s online lives for months on end, Hanks would have immediately seen Ryan’s vacation pictures from Cabo and known who she was and how she looked in a bikini. (Anonymity has certainly been a victim as the web has developed over the years.)

Anyway, I was reminded by the movie of just how big AOL was at the time — in case you don’t recall, around that time, AOL bought Time Warner. It was the Internet startup with just a few years under its belt that became a superpower in the media industry almost overnight.

And then just a few days ago, Time Warner sold off America Online for virtually nothing, and all I could think was “Wow, AOL still exists?”

So now here we are in the brave new online universe, where everyone is signing up for social networking sites and businesses are scrambling to find ways to figure out how to make money off of them. Facebook and Twitter appear to be winning “the war,” just as AOL did at the dawn of the Internet, and yet neither one of them operates at anything close to a profit.

Because they are not profitable, there’s been a ton of speculation about how they’re actually going to make the leap to becoming profitable. We used to pay $20 per month for AOL (and I hated every second of it), but now when a rumor starts that Facebook may charge $1 per month, 100,000 people sign up for the page “Tell Facebook to take that dollar and…”

AND, remember that when social networking REALLY began to hit critical mass, it was MySpace that seemed to be leading the way. This was only a few years ago. Now, at least from a marketing standpoint, MySpace appears to be slowly deflating like a kiddie pool with a leak in the side.

My point is, while it makes all the sense in the world to direct marketing and PR efforts toward Facebook and MySpace and Twitter right now, we must keep in mind that they are going to have a shelf life, and it’s probably only going to be a few years.

There’s a million things that will, inevitably, do them in. In the case of AOL, it was competition and the expansion of the Internet as a whole; suddenly, everyone had e-mail for free through work or Hotmail.

In the case of the social networking sites, there are a number of things that could send them the way of the dodo. Someone could build a better mousetrap. They can try to make money by overwhelming people with ads, to the point where it’s a turn-off (which is precisely what’s happened to MySpace). They could overestimate the public’s willingness to pay for their services. Or, people could just get tired of it all and move on to something else.

In any event, it will be interesting to see if anyone makes a movie similar to “You’ve Got Mail” about the social networking era we’re in right now. (Perhaps Hanks and Ryan have some time on their hands.) And it will be interesting to see how we look back on that film in, say, the early part of the 2020s. I have a feeling that, as we sit in our jet pods that automatically manage our commute to Mars while we browse the Internet, we’ll think this whole era was pretty darn funny.

Cool new sushi joint in downtown; cool new grocer in North Central

2009-04-08T10:32:00.000-07:00

Recent urban adventures have led the Kitchen Sink team and friends to a couple of cool new places...

MOIRA SUSHI: There's a nice trend going on in downtown right now, a little "restaurant cluster" that's popping up near the KS studio. Recent new additions have included the Turf Pub and the Pasta Bar, but the very latest addition is Moira Sushi. Located on the ground floor of the four-story "Amsterdam" style condos at 3rd Street and McKinley, the joint somehow manages to be unpretentious and cool at the same time, with dark lighting and metal chairs somehow working with the dark walls and brick to make the place comfortable. And...AND...the sushi is damn good, even if you're not the biggest sushi aficionado in the world. The staff is friendly and readily accommodating, offering suggestions to the uninitiated and service with a wink and a smile. A recent Friday night, two of us enjoyed enough sushi to choke a Tokyoan and a couple of premier adult beverages each, and walked out the door having spent $90 including tip. Not totally Great Recession-proof pricing, but not too bad either. Hit 'em online at www.moirasushi.com.

LUCI'S HEALTHY MARKETPLACE: While making the pilgrimage to Dick's Hideaway on a recent weekday, our people in the field stumbled upon the recently opened Luci's at 16th Street and Bethany Home. The obvious comparison is to La Grande Orange, so if you like your LGO but maybe think it's a little too "girly," this is the joint for you. For example, you can get meat at Luci's. Good meat. The kind of meat that men kill, then process, then give to their wives to turn into something with a side of risotto and a nice Italian table wine, all of which can be purchased in said store. You can knock down some coffee there on comfortable sofas, grab a meal to go, and even eventually check out a cooking exhibit in their crazy in-store Viking kitchen. Where most grocery stores want you to buy your stuff and then go home, Luci's wants you to leave your home and hang out at the store. And yeah, they do the healthy organic thing, but it's not like they're beating you over the head with a tofu brick or something. You could hit their web site at www.lucishealthymarketplace.com, but you won't learn anything we haven't just told you.

Evolving from old media to new media

2009-04-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

The folks at Kitchen Sink have been kind enough to let me riff a little bit about the current media and communications environment in Arizona on their blog here. By way of introduction, I'm a public relations and communications professional with more than 14 years in the business, six of which I've owned my own company.

I was working on a political campaign last year -- my first comprehensively statewide effort in a few years -- when I was smacked across the face with a new reality.

There is almost no local media left in Arizona anymore.

We've all read plenty about the struggles of conventional media in the new age, especially those of newspapers, but interacting with the media drove it home in an alarming way. I had a story to tell...there was simply no one in the conventional media to tell it to.

Don't believe me? Guess how many newspapers in Arizona have a dedicated presence at the Arizona capitol? The answer is...one. The Arizona Republic, of course. (CORRECTION: I was wrong about this; it was pointed out in comments that the Daily Star has one as well. I had heard that they pulled their presence but was mistaken. Apologies.) The rest of the state relies on two wire services for any capitol news. That means that for any given press release, there were only three beat reporters in the print market to send it to.

What about radio? Well, with the rise of syndicated talk radio shows, there are now only a handful of live, local-issue talk radio programs in the state that air on a regular basis. The two big Phoenix talk stations have a handful of shows each; the Tucson market has a total of two, and there are maybe two or three more statewide. The same holds true for stations that actually do their own news -- almost all the others rely on wire sources.

Television? Good luck. The competition is so cut-throat, and the stations are so short-staffed, that unless you have a truly compelling visual angle or sensational story, it's not going to happen.

So now what?

Good marketers and public relations professionals are increasingly learning how to master new media, including the ever-so-trendy social networking sites and blogs. Any good PR pro's distribution lists now include relevant blog sites that cater to the target audience. In politics, that's easy to find, but for traditional or product marketing it can require some diligent research.

And while everyone seems to have a Facebook or MySpace or Twitter presence these days, the key is to get people to follow you. So there are a few cardinal rules you have to follow:

1) Just building a page doesn't ensure people are going to see it.

2) In order to keep people interested, you have to continually feed the content beast. And don't make it dull, or people are going to drop you.

3) Have an endgame in mind. "Increasing awareness" is not it. Social networking programs work best when they "drive" the user somewhere, such as to your organizational/product web site. Once there, you have an opportunity to make sales pitches, capture data, or interact with the consumer in other ways. If you don't do that, the effort is pointless.

Even in the new age of media, there is no magic bullet -- although if you have the budget, Facebook and MySpace's advertising programs allow you to target your audiences extensively. It's still a mixture of savvy, creativity and luck to start a viral marketing phenomenon.

But by opening up your marketing and public relations programs to new media outlets -- with a few key caveats in mind -- you can overcome the shrinking of traditional media outlets by maximizing your new media opportunities.

Studio Space for Lease

2009-02-15T17:17:00.000-08:00

PRIME STUDIO/ OFFICE SPACE

Are you ready to shed those cozy jammies and leave the house for a real studio environment? If you're looking for synergy and a professional, warm and inviting office space, look no further. Located in the heart of the Art District in downtown Phoenix. We're a 4 minute walk from Light Rail, about 38 seconds from freeway access and 42 steps from Roosevelt Pub- what could be better!?!? Come see for yourself...by the way, you can still wear your bunny slippers!

ALL INCLUSIVE OFFICE SPACE FROM $600/MO TO $1800/MO.
828 NORTH 3RD STREET, PHOENIX, AZ 85004
CONTACT: 602-258-3150
info@kitchensinkstudios.com

Kitchen Sink Studios wins Moluv Featured Site Award

2009-02-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

Every month Moluv reviews hundreds of submissions and searches vigorously throughout the web for sites that make our jaws drop. From this process, they post approximately 10% of the ones they come across.

We are excited to say that our Kitchen Sink Studios site has been selected as a Moluv featured site for its display of excellence in web design.

Kitchen Sink Studios launches new web site!

2009-01-14T13:22:00.000-08:00

We’re excited for everyone to see what we’ve been up to lately. You can witness the magic here: www.kitchensinkstudios.com

Please let us know if you like it!

Zella on MTV!

2008-12-31T08:54:00.000-08:00

January 3, 2009 Catch ZELLA on MTV for the first edition of Camp’d Out! Camp’d out is a TV series documenting the young summer camper —musicians and other special interest camps like cheerleading, action sports, etc… MTV spent a couple of days at Zella’s house in Pinetop, Arizona, filming her in her own world before following Z to Chicago for “Band Camp.”

Look out for her new CD called:
powered by LOVE
Available January 2009 at: http://www.myspace.com/zelladaymusic

Happy Holidays!!!

2008-12-17T08:50:00.001-08:00

We want to wish every one a great Holiday Season. Please note, our office will be closed from December 22, 2008. We'll be back and ready to go full steam ahead in the New Year (January 5th, 2009)!

Tuck Shop now open!

2008-11-24T09:13:00.000-08:00

Tuck Shop: neighborhood comfort food
2245 north 12th street
phoenix, az 85006
602.555-1212
www.tuckinphx.com

This is a great little new restaurant in the heart of Phoenix. Funny name with a warm boutique-type atmosphere and friendly service. We were encourage to share our meal orders in order to get the full effect. Open evenings with full bar service as well. Enjoy!

Roy Sproule, local mural artist

2008-11-20T13:40:00.000-08:00

Since March 2008, everyday or so, out our front window, across the street, Roy continues to paint his piece...

Scott Hansen's Obama Poster

2008-11-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

Scott Hanson - "I see Barack Obama as a leader who can inspire people to effect change and who himself can effect change. As an artist, it was only natural for me to want to create something that visually echoed these sentiments. I wanted to create an image that evoked the ideals I feel are central to our needs at this critical time in history: change, progress and hope. Because Barack Obama represents all three of these things to me, I felt compelled to express that through my work."

PRINT 2008 Regional Design Competition Awards Kitchen Sink Studios

2008-10-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

Kitchen Sink Studios received not one, but two awards in PRINT Magazine’s 2008 Regional Design Competition; one for our business system (letterhead, envelopes and biz cards) and another for our unique and quirky moving announcement. Over 20,000 individual entries competed from almost every state. According to PRINT Magazine, “the winners represent the best design, illustrations and photography being produced throughout the United States.” All winning work is featured in this December 2008 issue of PRINT (on news stands today!).

Prado Identity Designed by Kitchen Sink Studios Inc.®

2008-10-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

The 5-star Andalusian style restaurant's name and identity was designed by Kitchen Sink Studios.

"The cuisine at Montelucia also rouses the senses with Prado, the Andalusian-style restaurant that uses fresh, healthy ingredients and cooks in front of the guests on a wood fire grill." Read the entire article http://www.944.com/articles/montelucia/

John Tuomisto-Bell

2008-10-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

Kitchen Sink Studios is currently featuring award-winning Phoenix artist/sculptor, John Tuomisto-Bell. John’s work focuses on the spiritual revelation, personal contemplation and social issues of mankind. These expressive statements about the human condition are predominantly portraits and head shapes. He has over eighteen years experience in the ost wax method of casting bronze, often polishing the surfaces with paint and chemical patinas. His sculptures are in private collections as well as galleries in Indiana, Utah, New Mexico, California and Colorado. We invite you to stop by to see his unique talents for yourself Monday-Friday 8 am to 5pm or on First Friday events from 5pm-10pm.

Zella Day

2008-10-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Visitors to the popular downtown Phoenix event, First Fridays, were treated to singer/songwriter Zella Day on October 3rd at Kitchen Sink Studios. Aside from her singing talents, this amazing 13-year-old is also a gifted guitarist. She began her career at the age of nine and describes her music as “soulful pop with a mix of folk.” Zella, who is in the process of recording her first CD for release in 2009, plans on making our Studio and First Fridays a routine appearance!

VEEP BINGO

2008-10-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

Illustrator, designer and writer Bob Staake has produced a creative way to involve the nation in the political process. Download these game cards for the Vice Pres debates tomorrow night. When a candidate utters the buzzword on your card, cross it out. First player to get five across, up and down or diagonally wins –LINGO!

Pantone Color Trend for Spring '09

2008-09-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

New York Fashion week came to a close September 12 and
with that came an array of vibrant new Pantone colors for Spring 2009.
Spring traditionally evokes a sense of freshness and new
beginnings, with sprouting shoots and blossoming flowers
that inspire designers to breakout of the winter doldrums.
Bright colors return to the top 10 list for spring ’09, as
designers incorporate vibrant pops into their collections, yet
temper the vibrancy with deeper, translucent or neutral tones.
“New York’s fashion designers encourage hopeful attitudes
with lively colors, while sophisticated, grounded hues
address the need for stability in times of economic
uncertainty,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director
of the Pantone Color Institute®.

It's a girl!!

2008-09-16T09:28:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the world JennyJane Caroline Hower!
7 lbs 6 oz
9/16/08 Morning
New daughter of KSS Partner + Founder, Nick Hower, his wife Kristin & big brother Fisher.

Stop and Vote. . .everyone!

2008-09-15T09:03:00.001-07:00

Perfectly said - pass along.

Happy Friday! A fun song from 1969 to ring in the weekend.

2008-09-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

Nine Eleven

2008-09-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

Not many of us will forget where we were seven years ago today when our nation was changed forever. As we rekindle our spirit of unity, let’s remember and honor those who lost their lives and the heroes who responded in the rescue efforts on this unforgettable day.

Timing IS Everything

2008-09-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

Imagine how many times this scenario happens to brilliant people without the capital to get their product off the ground:

The original iPod was developed by British inventor, Kane Kramer, at the age of 23 in 1979. His prototype was capable of playing 3.5 minutes of music stored on a chip, a limitation he believed would change as storage capacity increased. Unable to raise enough funding, he let the patent expire in 1998. Even Apple admits to the iPod's origin; Kramer helped defend them in a patent lawsuit filed by Burst and to this date was only compensated for his time in the court case.
"...I was up a ladder painting when I got the call from a lady with an American accent from Apple saying she was the head of legal affairs and that they wanted to acknowledge the work that I had done. I must admit that at first I thought it was a wind-up by friends. But we spoke for some time, with me still up this ladder slightly bewildered by it all, and she said Apple would like me to come to California to talk to them...”
The dispute between Apple and Burst.com has since been settled confidentially out of court.

Now showing at Kitchen Sink Studios

2008-09-05T10:02:00.001-07:00

You are invited to join us, September 5th, as we kick-off the new season of First Fridays in downtown Phoenix!

Tonight in our Studio Gallery, we are pleased to present local artist, Angela Cazeljahn from 6 to 10pm.

To learn more about Angela and see more of her work please visit www.cazeljahn.net

Two Months, Two Boys, Two Girls!

2008-09-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

The latest and greatest addition to the KSS family is baby Diesel! The proud mom (even though we all think he’s ours) is project liaison, Clare Tinnion. Diesel, born July 23rd, spends his days ankle biting, cuddling and chasing pant legs. Judging by the paws, he will soon give our resident (and precious) Black Dog, a run for his money!

Three babies here (Archer, Mya and Diesel), one still to come (baby girl Hower due any day!)

Summer Monsoon X 10

2008-09-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, many of us woke to find serious damage after a series of fast-moving thunderstorms packing hurricane-force winds (75-100mph) plowed through the Valley, knocking down power poles, uprooting trees and leaving homes and businesses without power. At KSS, we lost our only large tree, a beautiful mesquite, and with it, part of the sidewalk. Good news – Ole Blue was due west when the tree went due north. . .

The Alphabet in 3D - Kitchen Sink Studio Style

2008-08-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

Available this October at a Barnes and Noble near you... just around the corner. Hooray!

On our shelves

2008-08-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

Photography by Andrew So - Orange Chair

Obsessive Branding Disorder – Lucus Conley
Cradle to Cradle – William McDonough & Michael Braungart
ZAG – Marty Neumeier
100 Architects 100 Critics – Phiadon Press
1000 Type Treatments – Wilson Harvey/Loewy
Color: message and meanings – Leatrice Eiseman
1000 Greetings – JGA
1000 Retail Graphics – JGA
How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer – Debbie Millmann
Otto Neurath The Language of The Global Polis – Nader Vossoughiam
Lefty’s Little Tips – Lefty Kreh
It’s Easy Being Green – Crissy Trask
1000 Journals – Kevin Kelly
The Brand Gap – Marty Neumeier

It's a girl!!!

2008-08-22T09:39:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the world Mya Jocelyn Burke!
5 lbs 14 oz
8/22/08 8:17 am
New son of KSS digital artist, Jon Burke, his wife Jill & big brother Tyler.

Get Inspired!

2008-08-15T10:41:00.001-07:00

DOLCE & GABBANA + ANNIVERSARY BOOK
ITALY + 2008

BOOK ILLUSTRATION BY JORGE RESTREPO
A fresh and innovative design with a contemporary style.

A gold medal for design

2008-08-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

Official Logo for the 2008 Beijing Olympics

"Dancing Beijing" is a milestone of the Olympics. It serves as a classic chapter of the Olympic epic inscribed by the spirit of the Chinese nation, calligraphed by the deeper import of the ancient civilization, and molded by the character of Cathay's descendent's. It is concise yet deep inside, bringing forth the city's gradual changes and development. It appears dignified yet bears a tune of romance, reflecting the nation's thoughts and emotions.

With inspiration from the traditional Chinese art form - calligraphic art, the character "Jing" (the latter of the city's name) is developed into the form of a dancing human being, reflecting the ideal of a "New Olympics". The words "Beijing 2008" also resembles the vivid shapes of Chinese characters in handwriting, voicing in concise strokes of the countless feelings Chinese people possess towards the Olympics.

Volunteer Logo for the 2008 Beijing Olympics

The shape of heart, composed of interweaved hearts, signifies that volunteers, athletes, the Olympic family, and all guests would render service and compassion in a joint effort to glorify the Olympic Movement.

The shape of a dancing human stands for volunteers with dedicated spirit. The sincere smiles, outstanding services, and friendly actions of the volunteers will evoke a strong echo in every participant of the Olympics.

Chinese unique artistic form -- calligraphic art is adopted in the beaming design of the secondary mark, which sets off against the Olympic Emblem "Chinese Seal, Dancing Beijing."

Environment Logo for the 2008 Beijing Olympics

The symbol, which was created using a calligraphic art form, is composed of human and tree-like shapes. The logo consists of the crown of a tree and the shape of a human being, which are used to create the form of a large tree reaching the sky. The image represents harmony and unity between human beings and nature. Just like swinging colored strips that encircle and cross each other, the green lines form a luxuriant crown of a tree and recall flowers in full bloom, embodying the sustainable development of nature.

Culture Logo for the 2008 Beijing Olympics

The design of the Cultural Festival Symbol shows a human being and a lantern dancing joyfully. Lantern is used at every traditional Chinese festival. It symbolizes reunion and other happy occasions, and assembles the soul of the traditional Chinese culture.

Official Mascots for the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals -- the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow -- and the Olympic Flame.

The Beach + Art = Perfect!

2008-08-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Alys Beach, one of the most beautiful new urban towns in the world, is located on Scenic Highway 30A in Florida's panhandle. The New York Times claims "it may be the best beach in the continental US." This romantic and vibrant town is home to the “Digital Graffiti” festival created to celebrate and promote the world’s most talented and innovative digital artists - with the entire town literally serving as their canvas. The 2008 festival will be held on the evening of Saturday, August 30th, with thousands of spectators expected to attend. Visit their Web site and check out the amazing images from last year!!