Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

June 12, 2010 by Tony Chadwick

Cancer has affected the lives of nearly everyone we know and although great strides have been made, there is no cure. Susan G. Komen fought hard to change that. The nonprofit Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, working together to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Karen and I were proud to participate in this year's Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure event — a celebration for those that survived and a commemoration of our loved ones that succumbed to cancer.

» MORE: Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Fisk Marine Insurance International

Web Site & Corporate Identity

May 20, 2010 by Karen Chadwick

As a small but agile company, Fisk Marine Insurance has the daunting task of competing with a large array entrenched competitors in the Marine Insurance space. Recognizing the key role of a strong Web presence as part of an effective marketing program, principal Johnny Fisk engaged us to build it. Having worked together previously, we were honored to be given another opportunity to create the corporate identity and Web site to effectively represent and promote his marine insurance company. Our colaboration resulted in a strong, memorable logo design complimented by a colorful, visually engaging Web presence. Designed with usability in mind for human patrons, the site was also built to be attractive to Web spiders with additional search engine marketing projects planned to follow in the next few months.

» MORE: Fisk Marine Insurance Web Site | Business Cards

HoseHandle Logo Design

April 3, 2010 by Chadwick Design

Widely revered as the protectors of our safety and well-being, firefighters must be fast and efficient in one of the most demanding occupations to which one can aspire. Marketer, idea man and ex-firefighter Tom McKearney needed a brand mark to represent his invention that enables firemen to do their jobs more efficiently. The HoseHandle device aids the second man in the two man team to better control the high-pressure water hose.

As the high-pressure industrial fire hose is essential to firefighting and a widely recognized symbol of the trade, it is fitting that it is a central theme of the HoseHandle logo design as well. In the descriptive final brand mark, the descenders of the second H of the HoseHandle text aptly grip the fire hose graphic to illustrate to an observer how the actual product functions.

» LOGO DESIGN: Check out the HoseHandle Logo design

American Red Cross Aquatics CD-Rom

March 10, 2010 by Chadwick Design

Designed to save aquatic facility managers time and money, the Marketing CD-ROM for Aquatic Professionals includes promotional tools that support the American Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety program. Chadwick Design was honored to be approached by the creative team of ARC and chosen to produce this CD under budget and just in time for summer.

Although traditionally laid out in Director, the twist this year we proposed was a switch to an Adobe Flash authoring environment which would give the flexibility of internet deployment at a future time. In addition, many of the pixel-based graphics used in past were replaced with efficient vector art. The interesting part is that even with the conceptual decisions off the table, there's something about a designer's busy mind that continually seeks efficiency and improvement — and has fun doing it!

The Marketing CD-ROM for Aquatics Professionals will be available from Red Cross chapters later this year.

» MARKETING CD: Limited Project Demo | American Red Cross

Why Hire A Freelance Graphic Designer?

February 2, 2010 by Tony Chadwick

Businesses hire freelance graphic designers for many reasons. Hiring a permanent employee is an expensive, time consuming process fraught with tax and insurance hassles. Freelance graphic designers or Web designers are typically contracted on a per project basis without the aforementioned headaches or the continuous overhead of a full-time staffer.

Some businesses avoid the expense of funding an in-house marketing department altogether by utilizing freelance designer(s). Companies may have tight deadlines or temporary surges in business that can not be adequately served by current personnel. Freelance graphic and Web designers are expected to burn the midnight oil and rapidly turnaround creative projects under tight deadlines. Often using their own facilities and equipment with little or no supervision, these creative professionals alternately collaborate with full-time staff to meet business objectives.

» MORE: Get more info or request a project estimate

2009 : Kiss It Goodbye

Jan 1, 2010 by Chadwick Design

It's that time of the year when we power down to spend some much needed time with our loved ones and marvel at how quickly another year has flown past. It's also an appropriate time to reflect on the business of design that we love and the clients and organizations that enabled us to ply our passion in 2009.

Our thanks to the Raleigh chapters of AIGA, the professional association for graphic design, and AMA, the American Marketing Association. We appreciate the hard work and enrichment these organizations have poured into our profession this past year and look forward eagerly to 2010.

2009 was a great year for exciting and challenging design projects. Chadwick Design would like to express our gratitude to our clients. From Web and interactive design to logo designs, business cards, brochures and other projects, we've loved the challenges in each one and want to say thanks. We appreciate your trust in us and look forward to future collaborations.

To visitors, associates and fellow artists, we wish you a happy and prosperous 2010.