We are very pleased to announce that we have received FIVE 2013 AVA Digital Awards! Marstudio won in several different categories including corporate website, website homepage, Facebook page, and promotional video. We worked extremely hard on each of these projects, and are thrilled with the recognition we have gotten for them. Here’s our haul:
 
PLATINUM AWARD
Corporate Website - Marstudio Inc.
Website Homepage - Art By Susan Levin (client)
 

GOLD AWARD
Facebook Page - Marstudio Inc.

 
HONORABLE MENTION AWARD
Promotional Video – Art By Susan Levin  (client)
Website - Kellogg Conference Hotel  (client)
 
The AVA Digital Awards is a prominent international creative competition that celebrates the evolving role that digital work is playing in modern day communication. The competition honors outstanding work around the world for excellence in digital and online communications in the form of text, graphics, animation, video, audio and more. All work is professionally judged based on its quality, creativity, concept, design, production and resourcefulness.
 
The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP) administers and judges the AVA Awards, and also oversees the MarCom Awards and the Hermes Creative Awards, two of the largest competitions in the world for marketing and communication professionals. Marstudio, Inc. won two MarCom Awards in 2012 in the categories of brochure design and branding.
 
We are very excited to be listed among the other AVA winners, which include the projects of clients such as AMC’s The Walking Dead, Coca Cola, Nintendo, Cooper Union, Domino’s Pizza, Hilton, Intel, Kaiser Permanente, YMCA, Samsung, and Mercedes Benz. Our recognition and praise for these projects is proof that our work at Marstudio continues to exceed not only our clients’ expectations, but is also being recognized by our peers and industry competitors.
 
Stop by our studio to see our AVA platinum and gold statuettes, and honorable mention certificates on display!
 
To see the list of this year’s winners (including us!), visit AVAawards.com.
 
Click to explore our AWARD-WINNING Marstudio Corporate Website!
 

At one point or another you have been the target of pharmaceutical ads that attempt to inspire you to run straight to your doctor’s office to ask for a certain drug. The ad asks “Do you ever feel like blah blah blah?” or “If you have experienced x, y, or z, you may want to talk to your doctor about [insert drug name here].”  Upon looking at the medication’s logo, have you ever thought to yourself, “How can I trust this drug when that logo is so awful?”

Pharmaceutical companies spend millions upon millions of dollars promoting each new drug they produce. What bothers us here at Marstudio is the fact that essentially none of those dollars is spent on proper branding that can accurately represent the product these companies have worked so hard to create. Most of the logos in this industry are very predictable, and have little to do with the actual function of the medication. The majority of the logos are either a swish, stroke or a squiggly line depicting, well, nothing. Generally they give the impression that no creativity, thought or time was put into the design, which makes us wonder: if they didn’t bother to put much effort into the drug’s marketing, what makes us think that the drug itself is any good? Is it as safe and effective as it is supposed to be? Most logos for drugs these days seem like weak attempts at whipping up a quick logo just to get the medication on the market as soon as possible. We assume that branding a consumable, body or mind-altering substance would warrant at least a small bit of a creativity to give it a better chance of instilling confidence in its users. Branding is all about the perception of the product, service or company and it should reflect the quality of what it’s representing.

Exceptional brands have exceptional integrity and a well-organized effort behind them. How much integrity can be behind some drug branding that would surely fail as a student project in any descent design school? There is bountiful design talent everywhere, and incredible designers and creative firms that would jump at the chance to create identities for pharmaceuticals. These drug companies are clearly failing to take advantage of that talent.

Provided below are examples of these horrendous pharmaceutical logo designs:

Spiriva is a treatment intended to help one suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Unfortunately a person suffering from COPD may not believe this cure to be the best fit for them due to the atrocious logo design. The branding of Spiriva is revealing exactly the opposite of what the drug is supposed to do by creating a stuffy and cluttered setting for the logo.

Brovana, also used to treat COPD, currently has a logo that is making us slightly dizzy. Does someone want to get a magnifying glass to help us read the words below the name? We’re having a little bit of a hard time and it hurts our eyes (which doesn’t help our COPD, by the way). The dots laying on the line connected to the “r” seem to be growing as they move right, which indicated a raise in blood pressure or heart rate, neither of which is a positive thing.

And Chantix, the “proven to work” pill is supposed to help someone stop smoking? This. Must. Be. A. Joke. Nothing about the logo design is appealing as it contains an accurate depiction of an actual cigarette, and a dreadful oblique font that becomes difficult to read with the cramped text accompanying it below. Those looking to stop smoking are most likely searching for a convincing reason to stop this habit and do not want to see a picture of their vice during this time of moving forward.

Cialis, the famous erectile dysfunction medication, does not seem attractive in the slightest bit to someone searching for a solution to this personal issue. Ideally, this logo should instill a sense of reassurance, confidence, and comfort but the color choices (green and yellow), according to tons of color theory research,  green represents envy, jealousy and a lack of experience. And yellow stands for hope, deceit, and anxiety. Also, what does the brush stroke swish have to do with anything? Better luck next time, Cialis.

Prozac should really take some tips from a professional for a complete redesign. Their current logo seems extremely outdated. The font is just awful, and the sphere (?) of an “O” is very retro. If their logo is still hanging out in the 90’s does that mean that their cure for depression is, too? It really makes one wonder why a simple thing such as a design cannot be updated but the medical pill is required to be.

The Fosamax pill is used by individuals who suffer from osteoporosis and other bone diseases. What do yellow bars behind the word represent? Bones? Isn’t this pill supposed to help strengthen bones not break them into segments? Give us twenty minutes. We’re up for the challenge of making these logos fifty million times better. Thanks for reading our rants. It’s just because we care!

What is the key to a strong, everlasting brand? It’s simple! REBRANDING.
 

 
Large corporate companies that have effectively and regularly adapted their brands to current social and cultural trends are proven to continue their success for years to come. We recently found an article that highlights Ray-Ban’s tips for creating unshakeable, unbeatable branding on inspirationfeed.com. Going strong since 1937 (now 75 years), Ray-Ban has learned to create an iconic, malleable brand for their universal sunglasses that can be worn by people of any age, race, or gender.
 
Here are some lessons we’ve learned from Ray-Ban’s branding experience:

ROLL WITH THE TIMES.

Ray-Ban, and many other brand giants, are known for staying up-to-date and revamping their brands regularly in order to stay “cool.” Companies who look “so last year” and who choose not to adapt to our ever-evolving pop culture tend to fall behind. If you really want people to be interested in you and your business, especially young people, you absolutely must look like you’re on top of things.
 
GET ATTENTION.

Always integrate an arresting image that will have every passerby doing a double take. But still incorporate the history of your brand in every design in order to preserve your original identity and stay true to your brand. For instance, in last year’s 2012 ‘Legends Communication Campaign’, Ray-Ban “featured personal profiles of consumer archetypes from all of the seven decades of existence.” Below is one of their eye-catching poster designs that filled the streets of New York City.
 
 

 
 
SPEAK TO YOUR AUDIENCE AND LET THEM SPEAK BACK.
If you truly want to understand your consumers, listen. Give them what they want, and make it easily accessible. Do your research and take what your consumers say to heart. Ray-Ban has made their purchasing process super simple, and they’ve recently added a virtual “mirror”  functionality to their website. Author of the Inspiration Feed article, Simon Andras says, “It is about communicating with your audience in the way that they communicate with each other.”
 
BE SYNONYMOUS.

When you hear the name “Ray-Ban,” you automatically think of sunglasses. Because of the brand’s success at creating a universal appeal, it has essentially fused with the actual product and has become synonymous with it. This phenomenon can only strengthen a brand and allows it to monopolize its market (similar to calling a tissue a “Kleenex” regardless of the tissue’s actual brand).

BE ACTIVE.

Particularly online. “Be” everywhere that your consumers or clients are sure to look for you. Keep your social media and blogs up to date and participate in as many online platforms as you can.
 
Celebrating their 75 years of success this year, Ray-Ban created this awesome poster design (shown below), which combines hints of their brand history, their sunglasses, logo, creativity, and several other illustrations that unite several past trends since the brand’s birth. They have created a poster that makes an impression, is memorable, easy to read, and original. The message “Never Hide” is strong, universal, and positive and its speaks to everyone at any point in history. Bravo to Ray-Ban for its ongoing achievements in successful branding!

Click here to read the full article from Inspiration Feed.
 
 

After a year filled with innovative originality, we find it a must to celebrate the many designs and wide-ranging creative achievements of the 2012 movie posters. It is a privilege to recognize and appreciate these poster designs as the top 10 best visual communicators. We feel that it is a necessity for these designers to be rewarded for their outstanding originality and talent.
 

A list of the 10 best movie poster designs of 2012 has been compiled by our staff based on the following criteria: Idea or concept / design execution / composition / typography / photography / relevance to movie plot / universal appeal.

The ten that were picked significantly excel in each of these categories and effectively exemplify the criteria above. Each uniquely and suitably convey the message of the movie, thus, after a long and competitive fight for the crown, the Marstudio team has made their final decisions….
 
DRUM ROLL…………

We truly had great year here at Marstudio. Looking back, a lot happened in 2012 and it was a year of growth, excitement, trials, tribulations, hard work, frustration, hugs, laughter, learning experiences, great business, and true creativity. We are very proud of the work we did and the people we were in 2012 and we only hope to continue that trajectory and momentum in 2013. From the whole Marstudio team, a big thank you to our awesome clients, friends, family, and Marstudio fans for a hugely successful year.

Here’s a recap of some of the 2012 highlights:

• In April, our Art Director joined our team
• Our Studio Director came on last August
• We were very pleased to bring on our Executive Intern in September
• 11 new clients began working with us
• The creative team designed over 120 comps for client logos
• We experienced a 90% growth
• Our Marstudio Facebook page started the year with 30 “likes” and ended it with 150
• Over 35 fonts were purchased and downloaded
• We launched 4 websites
• Won 2 prestigious MarCom Awards
• Wrote 52,341 lines of code
• Went through 6 bottles of Aleve
• Sent roughly 11,000 professional emails
• Adobe Creative Suite CS6 was installed on 4 computers
• We purchased our favorite wall clock ever
• Ate approximately 295 cookies (company-wide, of course)
• Designed 8 complete Logos or Logo Rebrands
• Held over 80 client meetings in our studio
• Had the best company holiday dinner ever
• And lastly, we made approximately 976 trips to the Starbucks next door to our studio

Here’s to a happy, healthy 2013!