The Challenge: Create a brand identity from the ground up
While most people in Lancaster, PA had never heard of coworking it’s something the folks at NBD have been eying for years. Since we would be bringing a new business and a new concept in the way people work to the area we decided to create strong visuals that would come to represent both.
from top left: logo, outdoor sign, postcard, alternative logo and sticker designs
The Candy Factory is a coworking space providing a professional yet relaxed work environment for people looking for a creative, affordable way to work in Lancaster, PA.
It is a community of small business owners, freelancers, students and other professional who are looking for a cool downtown location on the 300 block of Queen Street. The brainchild of NBD Creative Partners, Anne Kirby and Max Phillips, The Candy Factory is also home to Not Bad Design, providing our agency the flexibility to remain small and nimble while drawing on the strengths and collaboration of our coworkers.
As we dove into the process of building Lancaster’s first coworking facility we realized that this would be an opportunity to create a new brand that had absolutely no history in the area. After many hours of brainstorming (and some real “groaners” in the name department) we came up with The Candy Factory. The building we occupy, 323 North Queen, in fact used to be a candy factory, and it appealed to us to pay homage to the building’s heritage. But more importantly we wanted a name that spoke to the environment we’d hope to create among the members: fun yet relaxed. “Candy” brings out the kid in all of us (the fun) while “factory” reminds us that this is indeed a place to work. And trust us, it is a pretty sweet place to work.
The Challenge: Create a colorful brand and spread the word for Lancaster’s Pride Festival
After years of hard work by many individuals, Lancaster had its first Pride Festival in June of 2008 — and it was a huge success. As part of NBD’s pro-bono work we offered our design and marketing skills to help Lancaster PA Pride make 2009 and 2010’s events even more successful.
Beginning in 2009 NBD started working with Lancaster PA Pride to brand their annual Festival. This year we updated the festival logo and created a colorful brand that would represent all the “colors” of Lancaster’s LGBT community. We also worked with Tony Gibble Photography — who did all the fabulous photography — to create the “Celebrate” campaign and spread the word about the annual festival to the community at large. More than two dozen Lancasterians appeared in 16 photos that were featured on an electronic billboard along Manheim Pike. The images were also featured on the group’s Web site along with stories from the individuals featured in the campaign.
The Challenge: Create awareness for a local non-profit
Lancaster PA has a thriving farm market culture and the phrase “buy fresh, buy local” has become almost ubiquitous in the County. Still the local chapter of Buy Fresh Buy Local struggled with an identity crisis, often hearing from the public “who are you?” or “what is it you do?” NBD helped BFBL reach a wider audience and tell the story that answers both of those questions.
from top left: documentary, "Guide to Local Foods" 2009 & 2010, "21 Day Challenge" social media campaign
We began our work with the Lancaster Chapter of Buy Fresh Buy Local back in 2008. While we brainstormed many concepts, when we hit on the idea of telling their story with video we knew we were on to something. We teamed up with local video studio Otaku Motion (now Postage VFX) and created a 30 minute documentary from the perspective of the farmer, the restaurateur and a local family. The film was released in 2008 and was premiered as part of Buy Fresh Buy Local week at Lancaster’s historic Eastern Market. The film won a Communicator Award in 2009, is used by BFBL as an educational and marketing tool at screenings around the county and is available for sale on their Web site.
We have continued to work with BFBL on various projects including their “21 Day Challenge” social media campaign, and “Guide to Local Foods” guides for 2009 and 2010.
Update:
The trailer for “Buy Fresh, Buy Local, By Lancaster” has been submitted to Current.tv. Go there now and give it the thumbs up!
A new start-up in late 2009, NBD helped create a clean, sophisticated look for this local event and wedding planner.
from top left: logo, business card, Web site and card designs
NBD helped Jessica build the brand identity for her new business and created a simple yet stylish and functional Web site to market her services. Additional material created for the campaign includes uniquely shaped business cards and palm card.
The Challenge: Retool the brand for a firm operating in Lancaster over the last quarter century
Community Heritage Partners, an architectural firm in downtown Lancaster, was facing a crossroads in late 2008. Should it radically change its branding — even consider a name change — or would a refresh be enough to get them through the next quarter century? We worked with them to find a happy medium that honors its past while looking to the company’s future.
Update
Here is the latest of our efforts for Community Heritage Partners; a web video highlighting CHP’s newest development project, Expressly Local Foods. Enjoy!
The Challenge: Generate new buzz around old buildings about to undergo restorations to turn the clock back more that 100 years
The Stevens & Smith Historic Site project already had a brand in place when NBD met them in 2008. The problem was very few people knew that five buildings surrounding the new Convention Center, along Queen and Vine Streets, were actually part of an historic preservation project to restore the façades to their appearances when they were owned by Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith.
Part of the challenge for The Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County was that they needed to let the public know what was going on at the historic site, but they also needed to convey that the buildings were available for commercial lease. Working with the existing branding, NBD created 17 large outdoor banners — some as tall as 20 feet — that would adorn the five historic buildings. The larger-than-life images of Stevens and Smith, along with the slogan “discover the past, engage the future” helped to draw media attention, pique the community’s curiosity and broadcast the commercial viability of the site.
The Challenge: Brand and market the premiere of an original, historic stage production
Seed of a Nation, presented by Theater of the Seventh Sister, follows William Penn’s “Holy Experiment” and five families through several generations. The problem was that, since this was a brand new production written by one of the theater’s founding members, no one had ever heard of it. NBD helped finalize the show’s branding and created a marketing campaign designed to tell the characters’ individual stories.
