Following on the heels of firmly establishing a fulfilling hobby in homebrewing, I’ve evolved what started out as a “sandbox” for my brewery-related creative endeavors into a notional “pseudo-brewery” with a more fully-formed brand expression.

Reforming an identity and extending it to a microsite/blog and packaging design for updated and refined recipes became a “relaunch” of sorts for my homebrewing efforts, and a more serious approach to what “could be” in the unlikely event that Straw Bale Brewing lived a life beyond our basement.

The concept behind Straw Bale Brewing is centered on the idea that “simple,” “local,” and “quality” can all exist simultaneously in ways that benefit the maker, consumer and ultimately local economies. Straw Bale Brewery (myself, my wife and my son) seek ingredients in our own back yard (seriously, like our own garden – right there in the back yard) and tend to each part of the process with conservation, quality and simplicity.

While we aren’t selling products (yet), Straw Bale Brewing focuses on doing things in ways that would be beneficial to our community if they were being done on a larger scale. We capture all water used for cleaning and brewing and reuse it. We source ingredients from our local farm markets and grow some of them ourselves. We even use spent grain from brewing in homemade breads and soap.

To Straw Bale Brewing, staying locally-focused and making things with care is not only better for us as makers and consumers, but is also more delicious. We’re committed to making sure that people know, understand and appreciate that they do have a choice to make a better decision, and a tasty one, too.

As a brand, Straw Bale Brewing has a rustic personality, with a consistent warm and farm-friendly voice. Each release flirts with concepts that seem to jump from the pages of the Farmers Almanac, with both a nod to tradition and a modern reinterpretation of age-old ideas.

The type figures used in the Straw Bale Brewing mark (and display type on labels) were digitized by our friends at Bearded Studio – straight from their letterpress. These were printed using wood type, which we feel lends a classic and timeless character and an extra layer of interesting texture. Thanks, guys! (check out the Wood Type Revival website to keep up with the Beardeds while they secure the future wood type)

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

Laura Roman is a psychotherapist / hypnotherapy who is passionately results-focused. She uses an integrative mind–body approach to help trauma clients heal, helping them to replace automatic, defensive reactions to threats and fear with more productive responses. She also treats a broad spectrum of children, adults and couples, helping them overcome challenges, manage weight, quit smoking and improve their overall wellness.

Her identity highlights her practice’s unique approach to treatment – helping each client uniquely embrace their strengths, discard their limitations, solve their problems and live more successfully.

As a brand new practice with a limited operating budget, Laura Roman needed to focus her efforts carefully – first on an identity and and extending it to a brochure and business paper system and holding off on larger branding initiatives until costs can be recovered. By keeping expenses low and production simple, I helped her practice get off the ground while allowing them the breathing room to redirect much of their start-up capital to other much needed expenditures.

UPDATE: Posters and event pics online now! >

UPDATE: If you bid on a poster but were not present for the announcement of the winners, please check this listing for your name / number and claim yours! >

USE #CREHAITIVE and add yours to the Flickr Group >

I have teamed up with PRSA Pittsburgh, AIGA Pittsburgh, IABC Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh AdFed and Frank Parsons Paper to plan a benefit event to help raise funds and contribute to the Haiti relief effort. The event will be generously supported with donations of paper by Frank Parsons Paper, printing by Reed and Witting Co., video support by Uppercut and hosted by Villa Southside Restaurant.

CREHAITIVE : PGH Creatives Mobilizing for Haiti + Poster Auction Benefit Event
Thursday, February 4, 2010
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at Villa Southside

UPDATE:
Ali and Jamie McMutrie from the Bresma orphanage in Haiti will be joining us for the CREHAITIVES event next week! Don’t miss it!

As a creative community, when we see catastrophic events, like the earthquake in Haiti, we have an overwhelming urge to do whatever we can to help.

We send money. We send prayers. Yet we all feel helpless—Like there’s something more we could be doing.

We can’t always board a plane and lend our skills to the relief effort. But we are creators, makers and thinkers and we CAN respond sympathetically with art and prose. We can engage with each other. We can encourage discussion. We can come together and contribute our ideas.

As the Haitian people begin turning from searching and rescuing to recovering and rebuilding, there are many things they need. Most critical among them are money, food, water, shelter and medical assistance. In addition to these basic and immediate needs, there is also a resource that will be critical to long-term success in their efforts to rebuild—hope.

As part of this fund raising event we’re encouraging Pittsburgh’s creative community to design posters representing the rebuilding of communities and restoration of hope in Haiti. The posters that are submitted will be exhibited and auctioned off during the event.

About Red Cross Donations:
Your financial gift to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief will help those affected by this crisis. The American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund provides immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to those in need.

For more information and to register for the event, please visit:

• Facebook Event page >
• PRSA Pittsburgh’s website >

To contribute to the poster project, put your brainstorming hat on and design posters that:

• Represent your response to the earthquake in Haiti
• Highlight, if possible, the importance of the rebuilding of communities and the restoration of hope

Submission guidelines can be found HERE >

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

Results Unlimited Universal is a classic example of a business reviving its formal self and reinventing its presence. After a long hiatus, RUU has asked me to help them reemerge into the event and meeting planning marketplace with a fresh identity. Ready to take on the challenges of planning amidst global logistical and technological complexity, RUU requested a clever mixing of its own personality with a wide-reaching perspective for its new mark.

With help from the illustrative talents of friend Kurt Hess, the delicate “world-in-your-hands” rendering was achieved with strong graphical weight, while also hinting at RUU’s identity from years earlier, helping with recognition.

I’ll be rolling out other materials for RUU in the near future, so be sure to keep your eyes on this feed for more.

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (Freelance – Pro Bono)

The friendly group at Greater Harmony Chorus in Pittsburgh, PA (a division of the Sweet Adelines International singing group) asked for a bit of help sprucing up their identity. I agreed, and donated a bit of logo development.

Using an abbreviated version of the brand exploration process used with Emmanuel Christian Church, I was able to expedite the process for them, making responsible use of everyone’s time. It was a great way to field-test this process again, and I can’t say enough about the ability of this approach to uncover some great insight about a brand’s personality. Thanks again, DK Holland!

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

The identity for Emmanuel Christian Church marks the first step in their approach towards an entirely new branding program. With a renewed focus on outreach and engaging their community in Pittsburgh’s Northside neighborhood of Brighton Heights, Emmanuel is committed to reshaping their church, making themselves more accessible, inviting and becoming a bright spot in their community.

Leading up to this identity redesign, I worked together with Emmanuel’s pastoral staff to carefully consider a range of branding “markers,” including:

Reputation: How well is your organization known?
Esteem: How highly regarded are you?
Relevance: How important are your organization’s mission and activities to the concerns of the audience?
Differentiation: Are there others that do what you do? What makes you different than them? What  makes you the same? Where are the points of  “alignment”?

We also underwent an in-depth profiling exercise (as outlined by DK Holland in her book, Branding for Nonprofits), where we looked closely across a spectrum of issues in order to craft ourselves a creative brief to work against. These items we examined were:

• Profile
• Context
• Positioning
• Audiences
• Personality
• Current  Situation
• Budget
• Schedule
• Design Media
• Technical / Practical Requirements

Following through on this examination proved incredibly valuable in helping us uncover many of the reasons why Emmanuel stands out among many established and emerging churches. The results of our preliminary work together provided the basis for an identity and branding program that not only stands out among other Christian evangelical churches, but has made Emmanuel confident they now possess a voice that expresses their core values and personality as closely as possible.

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

Taking into account the founder’s “vision,” an identity was created surrounding the idea of that Vision Marketing Group (VMG) is committed to working with clients who “understand the value of strategic thinking and appreciate how far our vision can take them.”

With this in mind, an identity was created to help launch VMG into their market with a clear focus and the ability to make an immediate emotional connection with potential clients. An enlightened feel and emotive “sunburst” graphical approach carry the identity.

/ VMG Background /

While their roots are planted in Western Pennsylvania, Vision Marketing Group’s reach extends far beyond. From their base in Punxsutawney, and with offices just outside Pittsburgh, the founder and his three sons work with an array of specialists in fields from branding to broadband, from market positioning to multimedia, from copywriting to corporate identity.

Visit VMG on the web >

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

Previously, Advanticom already had a well-established name for itself nationally as a leader in IT services, consultation and technology infrastructure.

With a shift in focus and a new value proposition, Advanticom sought to reinvent themselves with a new identity to set them apart even more so.

I first participated in an intensive market research study and the crafting of a comprehensive communication plan. Once a clear strategy emerged, I began by creating the new identity system and worked with Advanticom to integrate the new mark into their corporate culture.

/ Advanticom Background /

Advanticom is in the business of designing, engineering, assembling and servicing IT solutions that help organizations become more efficient and more productive. Their strategy is simple: recruit people with the right experience and talent, cultivate knowledge and business savvy, and create a culture of excellence from top to bottom. It’s a strategy that produces powerful solutions for their clients.

Visit Advanticom >

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

A fresh identity was created for Revolution Wellness to introduce the health and wellness start-up to potential investors, subscribers and used for all marketing materials, including sales / proof-of-concept presentations.

“Active lifestyle” and “lightness of being” were the watchwords for this identity’s creation. An important requirement was for the mark to become a personality that struggling dieters might be able to connect with on an emotional level easily and without intimidation.

Exercise and nutritional awareness are the keys to this plan, but they make no promises it will be easy. Revolution Wellness offers a strategy for holistic wellness through a total lifestyle shift.

/ RevolutionWellness Background /

RevolutionWellness is the result of one man’s heartfelt desire for wellness. A personal search for a balance in diet, exercise and emotional well being led to a platform from which he could share his research and plan for healthful success.

Visit RevolutionWellness.com >