Soulellis Studio

Product images art directed and produced for Nina McLemore, shot by the superb still life photographers Riley and Riley.

Found downstairs, in the thrift shop directly underneath our office: Vignelli's first Knoll catalog, almost 40 years old. Tight Helvetica, strict grid, black-and-white photography and Pantone Warm Red: the classic Vignelli vocabulary. Inspiring. More after the jump.

What are the design criteria when proposing a new identity for a $50 billion retail giant that operates 3,800 stores? Creative possibilities were limited, but in the end we were able to push a very imposing and corporate identity — one they had used ubiquitously for 25 years — to a slightly warmer and friendlier place. At the time, we lobbied (unsuccessfully) against the swoosh, a mandate from the client. After a few years they've now finally dropped it from national advertising, and I must admit: I miss it.

We launched a new corporate website design for TorranceCo, a New York marketing communications firm, in late 2006.

"Competitiveness Index: Where America Stands" is the first book designed by Soulellis Studio using our new publications system and brand identity for the Council on Competitiveness in Washington DC. Professor Michael E. Porter of Harvard University co-authored the book with the Council. Heavy-duty data benchmarks America's economic position domestically and globally, 20 years past and 20 years forward. Richard Saul Wurman consulted with us in the design of over 100 charts and information graphics that tell the story with clarity and impact. Some of those graphics, after the jump.

This was one of several concepts for a new identity proposed to the Open Space Institute, an established non-profit land-conservancy in New York. They pursued a different approach, but the punch of these icons still seems appealing.

Our poster for Cornell University's Graduate Studies in Architecture.

Amy Lau is an immensely talented interior designer who runs a tight shop here in NYC. We've been honored to work with her to create a new identity and collateral materials for her debut at this year's Kips Bay event. Stationery, photo cards, portfolio boxes and press kits are built around a four-color palette and Gotham. More images soon.

We worked with The Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television & Radio) on their "she made it" initiative in 2005. This special collection of television and radio programming was created around a multi-year initiative to celebrate the achievements of great women writers, directors, producers, journalists and executives. Our website design and development (the program's identity was not designed by Soulellis Studio) is built around a custom CMS that manages information, video clips and imagery, searched by category, decade or honoree year. Now in its second year, the site is the primary public face of "she made it" and makes the work of 200 important woman available to an audience of millions.

"Transform" and "Illuminate" — two books created for the Council on Competitiveness using the new brand identity and publications system. We've asked the Council to condense each publication down to a one-word message — as a title for the book, but also as a strategic call-to-action that builds upon the one-word mission of the Council itself: Compete.

We collaborated with Nancye Green to create a friendly brand identity for Naomi Judd, who sells her skincare products through direct response marketing (paid television and web). Naomi's actual signature was our inspiration for the logo, which we applied to products, packaging and print. Calligraphic illustration by Iskra.

Our cover design for the exhibition catalog "Critical Art: Faculty of the Cornell University Department of Art." The interior was designed by Fei Jun. The show opened at the School of Art at Hangzhou Normal University in Hangzhou, and traveled to the Academy of Art and Design at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

We've had a terrific long-term relationship with the Council on Competitiveness, a non-partisan think-tank in Washington, D.C. They recently agreed to a strategic identity overhaul, so we set out to give them a highly legible graphic system that builds on their existing assets. We retained the gold star that they've used for years, but placed it in a new context, with more weight and impact. Times New Roman is out — Akzidenz Grotesk is in. We recommended integrating "Compete" into the identity as a one-word mission statement and a critical call-to-action for its audiences. We're now systematizing the identity program across a complete range of publications, signage, stationery and website. A totally redesigned Compete.org will launch in December 2007.

The Spring 2007 issue of AAP NEWS, the oversized magazine/newsletter for Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art and Planning. Hot neon green kept AAP buzzing. More images after the jump, including spreads from Doris von Drathen's essay "Ethical Iconology." Download the entire issue here (7.5MB).

We envisioned the alumni newsletter for Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art and Planning as a design magazine and rebuilt it from the ground up. The premier issue was wrapped with a huge poster that debuted OMA's Milstein Hall, and we paired hot fluorescent pink with Helvetica Neue to establish a new personality for AAP.

Richard Saul Wurman is a legend in many worlds. When the creator of TED launched his new annual conference in 2006 (eg — the entertainment gathering) he worked with Soulellis Studio to create an event logo that was easily applied to screen, program, baseball cap, bag and badge. Judged by many as the best conference of his career, we're now part of the team bringing eg'07 to life at the Getty Center in LA. Event branding by Soulellis Studio, website by Krate. [pictured — Richard Saul Wurman with Frank Gehry and Sidney Poitier at eg2006]

Swiss pasta packaging, found in Zürich.

A simple postcard invitation designed and printed for Cornell University, announcing a presentation by OMA/Rem Koolhaas.

For the Spring 2007 events poster for Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art and Planning we fell in love with "hot green" — Pantone 802. The reverse side, after the jump.

The website for Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art and Planning was a heroic effort, the result of great work by designers, programmers (Krate), writers and content managers at Soulellis Studio. Seven websites were consolidated under one central structure, identity and editorial voice. Behind these 300+ pages is a robust content management system (Paperthin's CommonSpot) that allows the client total control over the site's maintenance and growth. And it grows: Soulellis Studio and Krate continue to work with AAP to expand the site and enhance its functionality. More shots after the jump.

Our first print piece for Dean Mohsen Mostafavi at the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, Cornell University. Lectures and events, Fall 2006. The other side, after the jump.

The van's dirty, it's not the greatest photo, and I risked my life taking it while driving, but it's a perfect "in situ" shot of the A&E identity and van that we designed for Sears. They inherited the brand from Montgomery Ward and it's the second largest fleet of home repair service vehicles in the US (the first being Sears' own Parts & Repair Services vans, which we also branded). The graphics were designed to be as visible as possible when the vans pull up in driveways for a service call.

For the design of the first issue of Waterworks' new quarterly magazine we created a graphic, tabloid format and asked Marian Bantjes to reinterpret a water study by Leonardo di Vinci. Her splendid illustration graces the cover and opening pages. Interior spreads feature product stories and news, and the Architectonics tile poster folds up into the centerfold (after the jump).

Our design for this Waterworks poster illustrates the entire Architectonics collection of tile. Shape silhouettes flow down one side, all 99 colors in the full palette stack up on the other (after the jump). Illustrations by Eileen Hahn.