We’re proud to be able to donate our talents to important community projects. Of course, we can’t commit our time to every worthy cause, but we are able to support at least a few organizations each year in meaningful ways.
This year we had the privilege of helping revamp the look for the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. Executive Director Linda Nervick asked us to give the race a fresh face with a new logo and a 2010 commemorative poster.
What an exciting project! I have volunteered at the Beargrease for several years and supported my father as he ran the Iditarod in Alaska, so it was a pure joy to dig into this.
We heard very clearly from the client:
-It’s all about the dogs.
-We need to capture the spirituality of being on the trail.
During future discussions, we added:
-It’s a race, so speed is vital.
-Capturing the essence of solitude and the excitement of being in a race is important.
The first step was redesigning the logo, which Creative Director Ken Zakovich did a great job with. (And I’m not just saying that because he’s my boss.) He created an updated look by simplifying it and modernizing the colors.
Paul Grenwood and I then dove into the poster design. We looked through some inspiration paying special attention to what creative was like in similar areas such as the Iditarod and the Discovery Channel and developed the idea of a very light poster with the illustration of a dog team. We chose to utilize a watercolor technique because we knew it would help capture that spirituality the client talked about.
To add to the effect, we printed on feltweave paper at Stewart-Taylor Printing, to really give it the feel of an original watercolor. So, without further ado, here’s the final poster:
The race begins on January 31, 2010. Information on attending the race start, mushers and/or volunteering can be found at www.beargrease.com. (You can order a poster print from the site, too.) We’re excited to not only donate our creative talents, but you can be sure that at least a few of us from WestmorelandFlint and the Flint Group will be on the front lines during the race, lending more helping hands.
Happy trails!
