Recently, our client Little Dixie Construction converted an empty factory into a state-of-the-art green building for IBM’s Delivery Center in Columbia, Mo. VANGEL was proud to create educational signage throughout the building to highlight its green design, construction and silver LEED certification.

Here’s what the site looked like before.

And here is the building after Little Dixie worked their magic.

Little Dixie and IBM tapped VANGEL to develop informational graphics to educate employees and visitors about the building’s green features.

Our first step? Dumpster diving.

In the spirit of reduce/reuse/recycle, we visited the IBM job site to scout for construction debris.

Lucky for us, our Italian intern Carlo had come along. He volunteered to scale a construction dumpster and haul out a primer-gray, 8-foot electrical door panel. His fine Italian sweater may not have survived, but he can proudly say he got his hands dirty on the job in America. (Ti ricordi, Carlo?)

Here is the metal panel.

With the basis of a cool sign in hand, we enlisted the crew at SignsNow, for a plexiglass panel we would use to tell the building’s green story. The two pieces were then joined and mounted on the wall at IBM.

Next, we needed a way to maintain awareness throughout the massive building. The solution was a series of 12” x 12” plexiglass pieces that feature 3-dimensional items illustrating the building’s green features.

Simple and intriguing, the pieces also serve as “objets d’art” at IBM. There’s nothing like a chunk of concrete, an elephant, or a beer bottle sliced in half (thank you Village Glassworks) to get people talking.

VANGEL is proud to have been a part of this innovative LEED project. Ever wondered what creative, compelling ideas could do for your office space? Try dumpster diving.

Or give VANGEL a call.

VANGEL is proud to announce that our work has again been honored in this year’s 32nd Annual Telly Awards competition! (Our TV campaign for First Chance for Children also won a Telly this year.)

This time the Telly goes to two 30-second television ads we created for GetAbout Columbia, the Federal Highway Administration’s Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program in Columbia, Missouri.

The TV ads were part of a comprehensive public education campaign promoting walking and biking. As with all of the marketing materials we developed for the campaign, the TV commercials embodied the the GetAbout Columbia brand—upbeat, inclusive, and fun.

In the first spot, we touted the benefits of walking and biking by creating an original GetAbout Columbia song. We then enlisted the help of The Vision Factory to bring the brand to life through animation.

The second TV ad was part of a multi-media “Roll Together” campaign. By combining animation with video footage of Columbia streets, (shot by Boxcar Films), this spot reminds everyone—both car drivers and bicyclists alike—that following the rules of the road and simple courtesy are key to sharing the streets safely.

We’re extremely proud of the work we did for the GetAbout Columbia project. (See more here.) That’s because we know that a walkable, bikeable community is good for us all.

Do you have a product, service or initiative that you’re looking to brand in a memorable way? Give VANGEL a call.

Happy June, dear blog readers! I think it’s safe to say that summer is finally here. And with summer comes vacation, naturally, and with vacation comes reading. Whether you’re planning to soak up some rays on the beach or just need to pass the time in an airport or on a road trip, summer is always a great time to feed your brain with some great books. There are thousands of titles out there to inspire you and get you thinking more creatively.

So, may I present to you, the VANGEL Summer Reading List of 2010:

A Whack on the Side of the Head by Roger von Oech
Kevin mentioned this creative-thinking classic a few weeks back, and it definitely deserves a spot on the list. Not just aimed at creative professionals, this book, and its follow-up, A Kick in the Seat of the Pants, has great suggestions for moving past creative road-blocks, and “unlocking your mind.” It even has puzzles, cartoons and questions to get your mind warmed up.

LogoLounge 5 by Bill Gardner and Catharine Fishel
The LogoLounge series is a great collection of drool-worthy eye candy, featuring over 2,000 of the most creative identities from around the world. Volume 5 is the most recent, but volumes 1-4 are equally worth checking out. There’s also a great website with lots of additional content, but nothing quite compares to flipping through page after page of beautiful logos.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Julie says this book will “kick your butt.” Any artist, entrepreneur or regular ol’ person who just wants to get something done will benefit from Pressfield’s examination of “Resistance”—the all-encompassing word for the numerous road-blocks that keep us from creative success—and how to overcome it. Pressfield will arm you with the tools and mental ‘oomph’ to identify your struggles and achieve your creative potential.

Color Index by Jim Krause
Some of us refer to this legendary tome as “The Color Bible.” Small and unassuming, it’s filled with more color combinations than you could ever dream of. Flipping through this book is a great way to get inspiration for a new project. Color combos are sorted by theme and number of colors, and feature both CMYK and RGB formulas. Just don’t blame me if you have the urge to repaint your entire house after picking this one up.

Thinking With Type by Ellen Lupton
I first found this book because it was on the materials list for one of my college classes, but believe me, this is not your average textbook. The first line reads “This is not a book about fonts. It is a book about how to use them.” You will come away from this book with a whole new appreciation for typography, not to mention utter loathing for Comic Sans (ptooey!). I loved this book so much, I didn’t even sell it back at the end of the semester!

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
Tharp is a well-known dancer-choreographer who approaches creativity not as some sort of innate skill, but as something that is achieved through a daily routine and nurtured by practice and exercise. Through various examples and personal stories, she aims to inspire readers of all professions to develop their own habits for “practicing” creativity.

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So there you have it—quite the compendium. Enjoy the summer.
Oh, by the way, I expect a 500-word essay from each of you come August 31.

In the field of advertising, our bread and butter is Creativity. Whether we’re crafting a thought-provoking headline or devising a new way to portray a product, we pride ourselves on coming up with effective solutions to the unique marketing challenges of our clients. Being creative is my favorite part of what we do.

It has been written that creative people are successful simply because they believe they are creative. And because they believe this, they put themselves in positions which demand creative thinking. They then do something creative to reinforce the belief that they are creative. And so it goes, on and on.

But is it possible to develop a creative mind?

Recently, I ran across the following quote from American author Christopher Morley:

“Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.”

Although I don’t know the context for Mr. Morley’s words, I believe if taken to heart, his words could lead to a more rewarding life for anyone. But his words can also be a recipe for bringing more creativity into our daily lives.

“Read, every day, something no one else is reading.”

Change up the input of information to your mind. Input affects output. We find solutions to problems by drawing from our accumulated knowledge and experiences. It stands to reason that the more varied our experiences and knowledge, the better equipped we’ll be to solve complex problems.

Continually stimulate your mind in new ways. Break old habits. If your evening routine involves watching TV, make a conscious decision to read or listen to a CD instead. If you really want to be bold, try listening to an artist or a music genre you’ve never listened to before. Visit a museum or watch a puppet show at your local library.

“Think, every day, something no one else is thinking.”

Be original. Creativity comes from innovative thinking, so explore your own thinking process. Ask why and then find out. Sketch. Doodle. Keep a journal or write a blog. Think about thinking. If you’re trying to solve a problem, try a different perspective. Look at it from the perspective of someone in another profession, or from someone in a different century.

“Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do.”

Take risks. Be courageous and persistent. Sometimes this means giving yourself permission to be imaginative and to have fun. In essence, giving yourself permission to be childlike. Maybe that’s why we find such delight in watching children as they play, pretend, explore and discover.

“It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.”

Think for a just a moment about all of the gadgets and inventions that are part of our daily life. Think about the vast amount of dramatic works, published novels and poems, and the galleries full of artistic works around the world. None of these would exist if not for the heroic, creative individual who stepped out of line and gave birth to a thought that was new or different from those around him.

Forgive the tired expression, but Creativity truly is “thinking outside the box.” I believe Mr. Morley is exhorting us to not only think outside the box, but to live outside it as well. He is challenging us to expand our horizons and to live beyond the ordinary each day.

This is a noble and worthwhile challenge.

For further reading on the subject of creativity, I suggest “A Whack On The Side Of The Head” by Roger von Oech.

Kevin here. It’s my turn once again to take the helm of Blog-ship VANGEL. You won’t find anything profound in today’s post, just a little fun and imagination.

Take a look at this classified ad that showed up a few years ago:

I find this ad to be fascinating, although it does provoke a few questions:

1. If this guy possesses the ‘Science’ to break the bonds of time, why doesn’t he own a telephone? (Maybe cellular reception is bad when you visit The Renaissance.)

2. What kind of publication did this ad appear in? If I learned to time travel and needed some assistance, I would surely reach out to my fellow scientists, an astronaut, an historian, or maybe someone from the National Geographic Society. I most certainly would not place an ad in the Weekly Trader.

3. Could this have merely been a publicity stunt for a Hollywood sci-fi movie? I don’t think so. The advertiser states unequivocally, “This is not a joke.”

4. Why is he is willing to pay you? He could be charging folks for this opportunity. I can see a tie-in with Expedia.com for this. (And maybe he should have said you’ll get paid if we get back.)

5. How many responses did he get? I’m really curious about this one. Perhaps enough for more than one trip? Who knows?

6. Lastly, whatever happened to this guy? Is he a courageous explorer forever lost to a space/time wormhole? Could he have traveled back in time and decided to stay? Think about that for a second. Perhaps he is someone our history textbooks called “ahead of his time”—a genius like Galileo, Edison, or Don Rickles.

Unfortunately, mankind may never know the answers to these questions. But you’ll have to admit it’s fun to wonder. In the final analysis, this was a very clever hoax…or was it?