After months of cross-country collaboration, we are excited to officially launch a veritable treasure trove of work for a delightful new client, Swash & Buckler.

The young start-up launched itself into 2012 with a spiffy new identity featuring a set of custom icons and gorgeously letterpressed stationery (shout out to our friends at Copper Dog Press!) The tagline “Adventure is Waiting” stakes a claim in the world of learning and entertainment while allowing them room to explore new markets.

Finally, we brought Swash & Buckler online with a whimsical video introducing their app to health care providers. Built with mobile devices and tablets in mind, the site is adaptive and scales seamlessly. Complete with floating clouds and undulating waves, the nautical theme was carried throughout their site.

This past Saturday we wrapped our latest video project for a bright and shiny new client, Swash & Buckler. Based on the West Coast, we’ve been loving every cross-country minute of working together. Kisa, the owner and visionary behind the progressive new start-up, possesses an uncanny blend of bubbly and brilliant.

Big thanks to the Williams family for allowing us to shoot in the beautifully restored, historic Cotton Factory. And a very special thanks to the Sharp family, local dentists extraordinaire, for bringing their natural talents to the set.

Scheduled to launch with a new identity and website before the holidays, the video will be a whimsical introduction to an app for health care providers. As we say at Swash & Buckler, adventure is waiting!

‘Tis the season for all things magical and our latest collaboration with Paul Frank (yes, that Paul Frank) and his savvy sidekick, Susan, has been nothing short of dreamy!

Without exception, Paul and Susan are the sweetest, most gracious clients we’ve worked with to date. Our ideas were always embraced — such as the subtle stitched element that runs through the site or our request for a hand-sewn “Paul” to adorn the “about” page. The veritable grab bag of imagery that was at our disposal, from lovely vector textures to adorable characters, helped us co-create a site showcasing Paul’s whimsical, handcrafted artwork & accessories.

In addition to keeping the design minimal, we labored to create an adaptive site that functions seamlessly on mobile devices and iPads. We also shared DIY video tutorials with the dynamic duo, making it easy for them to update all aspects of the site going forward.

If collecting amazing art and supporting deserving artists is on your wish list this holiday season then head on over and get you some parklafun.com!

We’re super proud to finally show off months of hard work for Revolution Clothing located at the Epicenter in Uptown Charlotte.

Social partnered with Revolution to fashion a new online shopping experience to expand sales beyond the Queen City. We handled all aspects of design, development, product photography and video as we introduced the brick-and-mortar brand to the world of e-commerce.

The team at Revolution proved to be capable collaborators. Hard at work adding new content daily, they are readily embracing new ideas and technologies to bring their vision to life.

In need of a little high fashion, retail therapy? Visit the site at shoprevolution.com

This past Friday night we attended the AIGA InShow awards ceremony at the Riverbanks Zoo & Botanical Gardens in Columbia, SC. Contrary to typical design competitions that have a huge category structure with many tiers and multiple awards, InShow’s concept is a simple one: You’re either “In” or you’re “Out.”

The AIGA InShow, a statewide design competition in South Carolina, has built a reputation of being a tough competition and one that designers are eager to have their work selected for. The show, now in its 17th year, began in 1995 with a simple concept of wanting to create an awards show for “designers.”

We ended up bringing home six fluffy pillow cube awards for work across multiple categories including:

• Social website (socialdesignhouse.com)
• Tim Biskup website (timbiskup.com)
• Old Town Tender for Old Town Rock Hill
• Social T-Shirt Invitational Packaging
• Social T-Shirt Invitation Promotional Video
• Rock Hill Police Department Recruitment Videos

There was some amazing work on display and we were honored to be part of the “In” crowd. A big thank you to our clients for trusting us to stretch our creative muscle — these awards are as much for you as they are for us.

Taking out the trash, fetching coffee, alphabetizing the owner’s cd collection* — an intern’s job is never done. Fortunately for Social, we have two of the most agreeable blokes on staff and our lawns have never been so manicured.

Returning after a stint with us last fall, Alex Miles, has returned to grace Social with his dazzling mix of left and right brain abilities. With a Digital Information Design, concentration in Interactive Media degree in sight, Alex flows nicely between the world of print and web. He’s also ridiculously good at sports that require boards and waxing philosophic about such topics as Moore’s Law and augmented reality.

All bright and shiny, the always punctual Aaron Rich is in hot pursuit of an Information Design degree from Winthrop University with a specialty in Web Applications. An infectious laugh and eager attitude, Aaron has been bounced from the world of IA to managing the set of high fashion shoots. Check out his mug above — are we the only ones that think he’s trying to give Eric a run for his money?

*We are joking about alphabetizing the cds of course, it’s mp3′s only around here.

We just wrapped up production on a wonderous video for the Culture & Heritage Museums’ newest hands-on exhibit, the Naturalist Center.

Thanks to a special partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, the space is loaded with a plethora of intriguing specimens — from freeze-dried birds to jars of preserved sea creatures, it was the perfect opportunity to pair titles with whimsical audio.

That the staff, teachers and families could remain focused on exploration as we scurried about with our camera and lights is a testament to how engrossing the Center can be. Check out the video and see for yourself…

Consider this blog post the official wrap of our latest Blue Rose video! Big thanks to Kim for letting us temporarily mess up his beautiful home, Joce and Rach for taking the day to let us shoot their anonymous midsections and Cameron for lending a very capable audio hand.

It was fun introducing our new “talent” to the clapper, sticks and ever mysterious C-47. It was a full day on set — Hollywood time must be measured in dog years — but we kept the mood light with risqué “muffin” jokes and the blood sugar steady with regular visits to the craft services table.

In the end, we walked away with a swanky video for a unique client and, bonus, a slightly mauled over roast chicken. Not a bad day on set!

About BuzZ

AIGA Charlotte BuzZ is a meet-up event geared toward Charlotte area creatives and small business owners/employees. Please come join us for coffee as we discuss a different topic each month. Come to learn or come to share the knowledge you already have. Either way, just come see what all the BuzZ is all about.

About the Topic

We work with clients every day. They are the ones who write the checks that keep our doors open. They are the reason we fire up the ol’ Creative Suite day in and day out. Let’s talk about how to create a good client, a client that doesn’t make you cringe when their name pops up on the caller ID. So often, clients are the topic of our complaints but let’s stop complaining and start figuring out ways to to actually enjoy who we work with.

We just finished some really fun banners for Old Town Rock Hill to promote the upcoming Oktoberfest in Old Town event. We’re super happy with how everything turned out and can’t wait to get our hands on some of that craft brew on October 15th. Time to bust out the lederhosen!