Soulellis Studio

The spring issue of our twice-yearly magazine for Cornell University is finally printed. This one's a beauty, perhaps our best yet. Working with gorgeous photography — like the James Turrell cover shot (by Florian Holzherr), and the 58 images of contemporary Portuguese architecture — made an incredible difference in the overall design.

Here's some freshly-printed letterhead of a freshly-designed identity for a totally new non-profit by the author of this (and founder of this). But the real home of this brand is going to be online, not in print. More soon, after it launches.

AAP, Spring 2008. NEWS04 coming soon. Take a look at NEWS03, NEWS02, and the first issue.

Richard Saul Wurman just spoke at TED and introduced 19.20.21., his latest mega-creation/passion/project. (The fantastic Flash site is by @radical.media.) Here's our mini contribution (so far) — a cute little thing that isn't sure if it's a pamphlet or a business card.

Here's a little book we just designed. The remarkable cover — the entire front and back unfolds ingeniously to reveal Cornell students at a Katrina disaster clean-up scene — was the idea of Dan Geva, who worked with us briefly last year. The elegant piece will be used to attract new students to the graduate program in City and Regional Planning at Cornell AAP.

In addition to a new identity and all of the print communications for the Council on Competitiveness, we've been redesigning the Council's website at Compete.org. And this is a total top-to-bottom overhaul — including new content and strategic focus. It launched quietly earlier this week and it's really satisfying to see a non-profit brand fully rejuvenated, from web to print. More screenshots after the jump.

The spring 08 Cornell AAP events poster — freshly printed.

Spring 2008, that is. The printer's proof for this semester's AAP events poster (Cornell University). It's scheduled to print in Rochester next week; we'll post it again when we get our samples.

I just remembered our typography project with American Leftees from four years ago: we reinterpreted some brilliant old campaign buttons, and they put them on t-shirts. Today, U.S. campaign graphics are complicated and corporate and very much about selling "the brand." The Obama system works, but it's painfully safe and fussy. In use, the graphics are certainly friendly and fresh, especially in relation to other candidates. (Gotham helps.) I'm revealing my high expectations here, but I'd love to see real "change" embodied in political brand communications — not just the usual slick product campaign.

Freshly printed: our third issue of the alumni newsletter for Cornell Architecture, Art, and Planning. Pantone 805 is next in our series of neons, and it's really a gorgeous ink (these JPGs don't do it justice). Zaha Hadid's work and unmistakable silhouette grace the cover (after the jump). O.M. Ungers, who died in September, is remembered with a beautiful 1970s photo featuring Werner Seligmann, Fred Koetter and Jerry Wells. AAP NEWS, in its current form, was Dean Mostafavi's creation, and he really gave us tremendous freedom to experiment with image and typography. This is his last issue, before he leaves for the Harvard GSD in a few weeks.

Download the full issue (1.7MB PDF).

We installed this fresh new identity on a Mercedes-Benz near the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn and the vinyl took to the surface fine, even in the cold. There's even a huge "Skinner" on the roof, for helicopter viewing (seriously).

And here it is, fresh from the printer (Monroe Litho). More pics after the jump.

Julián Varas, architect and critic, is co-editor of "Archipelagos: A Manual for Peripheral Buenos Aires" with Cary Siress and Marc Angélil—a book of interdisciplinary research dealing with the recent transformation of urban form in the periphery of Buenos Aires. We designed a graphic concept for the book and we're currently working with Julián to get it ready for publication. More concept spreads 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.

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).

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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]

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.

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'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.

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 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.

"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 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.

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.

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

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.

"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.

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

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.

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