Boulder studio tours | Denver studio tours | International poster show
Boulder studio tours
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Morning tour: 8:00 a.m.–1:15 p.m.
Afternoon tour: 11: 00 a.m.–4:15 p.m.
Each tour was $125.
Tucked in against the majestic backdrop of the Flatirons, Boulder’s proximity to the foothills and its college town status provide ample inspiration and recreation to spark creative genius. As your bus heads West, you’ll be privy to sweeping views of the Rockies, pass through a budding silicon valley, and land in the area’s most fertile creative landscape. Whether you’re combing through a complex wayfinding system or a spiritual course catalog, it’s a trip that will inspire. All aboard for Boulder!
Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s client list includes Burger King, Coke Zero, Sprite, Volkswagen, Geek Squad, Haggar, Virgin Atlantic Airways, and the ‘truth’ anti-tobacco campaign. Based in Miami and Boulder, the agency and its work has been profiled in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Businessweek, Forbes, Fast Company, Business 2.0, Time, Newsweek, Advertising Age, Creativity and Archive as well as on national and international television and radio. CP+B is one of the world’s most awarded agencies, and the only agency to win the Grand Prix in every category at Cannes. www.cpbgroup.com
Vermilion
Vermilion is about as Boulder as it comes: they're big into natural products, nonprofits, educational and environmental projects. Clients include Twenty Ninth Street retail center, IZZE beverages, and the University of Colorado. Their work spans the gamut from identity to packaging to web design. The sixteen person firm occupies a striking two-story wide-open studio. www.vermilion.com
TDA Advertising & Design
TDA started from scratch 18 years ago as a design firm working with small companies they believed in. Their common-sense approach has allowed them to become a successful creative branding shop, which specializes in nothing and tries to be good at everything—from design to advertising and everything in between. www.tdaadvertising.com
CommArts
CommArts is an integrated design firm that applies design as a strategic service in shaping the client’s vision, differentiating a project and attracting patronage to increase the client's market share. Services offered include masterplanning, visioning, design, identity/branding, environmental graphics and place-making. The Colorado firm was founded in 1973 by Henry Beer and Richard Foy. Managing Partner Janet Martin joined the firm in 1977. The company has 56 employees. www.commartsdesign.com
Denver studio tours
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Morning tour: 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Afternoon tour: 12:00–4:00 p.m.
Each tour was $125.
The center of the West, Denver boasts a myriad of cultural attractions including a world-class art museum whose architecture put New York on the defensive. But it’s the diverse pockets of creative firms that sculpt the voice of culture here. You’ll explore one neighborhood with the sordid past that you’d expect of the Wild West, but is now home to four firms of very different origins. From a long established powerhouse, to the eclectic partnership of individuals, Denver’s creative community is developing as rapidly as the land it sits on. Come along for the ride.
McClain Finlon Advertising
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, McClain Finlon is the largest independently-owned, full-service agency in the Rocky Mountain West. Located in Denver’s Historic Ballpark District, the agency’s contemporary interior reflects its consistent focus on creativity across multiple communications disciplines. With more than 200 talented employees, the agency provides fresh, pioneering ideas to its many clients including Qwest Communications, Western Union, Breckenridge Ski Resort and more. www.mcclainfinlon.com
Cultivator Advertising & Design
Cultivator Advertising & Design is a roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty, let the work speak for itself kind of agency. The firm's clients include Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Keystone Resort, the Professional Ski Instructors of America, New Belgium Brewing Company, Breckenridge Brewery, ink! Coffee, Lowry Redevelopment Authority, Pronghorn Club and others. www.cultivatorads.com
Ellen Bruss Design
Founded in 1990, EBD's award-winning team specializes in branding, print, web and environmental design. Their clients include The Laboratory of Art and Ideas, Continuum Partners (including the Union Station redevelopment and Belmar), OPUS Corporation, Cherry Creek Shopping Center, The Oven pizza e vino, Marczyk Fine Foods, and The Press Coffee Company. www.ebd.com
Object+Thought
Object+Thought is collective design studio made up of four entities: Johnny Klein, Ekstrand Creative, The Design Loophole, and Art & Anthropology, Inc. Housed in a self-renovated studio in Denver, their team of envisioners and designers specialize in ferreting out concept identity and working through awareness campaigns for enterprises. Their collective design capabilities include brand strategy, promotional print & collateral, publication, signage & wayfinding, industrial & product, motion graphics & interactive, and more. www.objectandthought.com
International poster show and a beer chaser
Fort Collins Tour
Thursday, October 11, 2007
8:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
This event was $125.
Travel at 75 mph to Fort Collins for pre-conference inspiration at the International Poster Show. Expansive views of the Rockies and the world’s best poster designs will ready your mind for the weekend’s events. And a microbrew can’t hurt either.
The Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition, founded in 1979, promotes excellence in international poster design. Mounted biennially at Colorado State University, the exhibition features contemporary work of graphic artists from around the globe to bring outstanding examples of visual communication to an American audience, and promote international dialogue through the graphic arts.
New Belgium Brewing Company of Fort Collins, Colorado is a diverse collection of exuberant brewers, microbiologists, artists, cowboys, musicians and everyday folks. The philosophy on the side of their beer packaging still best captures the spirit of New Belgium: “In this box is our labor of love. We feel incredibly lucky to be creating something fine that enhances people's lives…stop by…we'd love to see you!”
Part kitchen, part lab, part playground, Odell Brewing’s 5-barrel pilot system gives their brewers the freedom to create and experiment with new beer recipes. All Odell beers begin this way—poured into a pint glass and passed around the brewery for tasting and input. And every few weeks, they create a new specialty beer to share only in the Tasting Room. Take the tour and try out these special, experimental brews.
Note: Participants will tour only one brewery listed, as the capacity is 25 people per brewery.
