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)

For communication with the general public, I created a brochure system for CASA of Allegheny County that used an insert approach. Using die-cut tabs, any in a series of information cards can be substituted for the different types of audiences CASA reaches out to, including potential advocacy volunteers, donors or the general community.

View all the CASA materials >

/ CASA Background /
CASA of Allegheny County is a truly special client. CASA works hard for one sole purpose…children. They act as a child’s advocate in the courts, in situations of abuse, neglect and family-centered issues, when children otherwise would have no voice.

Visit CASA’s Website >

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 >

I have a confession to make. I have been picking up way more books lately, but reading very little.

Q:
Why is this?

A:
I have been succumbing to a habit I have nurtured for years, where I blow right by the text and zero in on the images. I go through phases with material where I ignore all context and flip rapid-fire style through the pages, taking in as much of the visual information as I can.

This is not, mind you, merely a childish “I get bored by too much text” thing. No, this is a ravenous skimming to find the visuals so I can “soak” them up. It’s the kind of thing I starting doing hardcore in college, and now I revert to this behavior in periods of high inspiration.

This time it has been the work of Massimo Vignelli and Michael Bierut and the partners at Pentagram. All it took was a few hallway discussions about Vignelli with a co-worker about the new archive collection at my alma mater, RIT, and I was off spinning. At this very moment – directly behind me as I type this post – I have no fewer than 22 books towering in the stack on the table. Vignelli had me digging again, as I had years ago, and I uncovered yet another gem from my past interests, the work from the Pentagram office. Pentagram, by way of partner Michael Bierut, has a Vignelli connection as Bierut was once a principle designer in Vignelli’s studio, his first job fresh out of University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. And ‘round and ‘round it goes…

So, in this stack is everything from Vignelli’s Vignelli from A to Z (published in 2007) to The Compendium: Pentagram, their voluminous historical collection of work that illustrates their key tenets as they relate to their approach to work. It has all come full circle again for me as I have rediscovered this volume of work. Once the cornerstone of my instruction as well as a key source of inspiration early in my career, their work has taken on new meaning as I now have more than a decade behind me in the discipline as a designer.

Q:
Your work hardly resembles theirs…so what’s this got to do with a “work in progress by you?”

A:
Their work has reminded me of precisely what I found in it that was once important to me, and what is easily lost, overlooked or discarded as the years (and priorities) go by. Why I work. What is the work doing, and for whom? What is it communicating, really? What value and impact does it have on our surroundings? Our culture? Our values? Is it valuable at all? It has prompted me to ask myself these questions again. Everyday.

So this brings me to the concept. A personal capabilities piece that functions as a summary of my work experience, while also folding in complimentary narative to illustrate the importance of this work as it relates to key motivating forces. The reasons “why I work.”

Over the next…however long…I will be posting some sketches of concepts, layouts, etc. as I begin to form ideas for the piece.

Check back soon and often for more!

————–

Sketches

5ive Reasons

Forgive the crudeness of these napkin sketches.

Using an eight column grid (w/4 rows = 32 modules) for structure, this gives a a fairly flexible range of layout parameters. Lots of room for variation if needed, but plenty of structure. With type fit in proportionally, I am hoping to end up with harmonious balance of image and type, with some interesting type “as form” to keep things dressed up.

I will plan to use this grid framework to hold a few kinds of information, including “hero” (headline) text, smaller narrative copy and perhaps caption copy to act as image callout / project summary.

Update:

I have given thought to two distinct approaches for this first concept. The first was, admittedly, one most like my usual line of thinking, using imagery consistent with what I have been using thus far in my identity.

The second was a decidedly different take, and a deviation even for me. This idea is directly influenced by Vignelli’s point that a cover should sometimes be quieter or simpler regardless of what may lie beyond it.

As he writes about covers in Vignelli: From A to Z:

…They all scream for attention, and in that noise nothing is noticeable. That is why I prefer covers that are silent, because a pause of silence is more noticeable.

This week is AIGA Pittsburgh’s showcase of the finest in Pittsburgh graphic design work. I am hoping to see some great work and run into some old friends.

Visit the website for CONTEXT: AIGA PITTSBURGH >

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

In cooperation with Riverside Design Group, I crafted an invitation for a special fundraiser event for which CASA commissioned design of custom platters and plates. With photography supplied by Riverside Design Group, the invitation design established a thematic direction and became a marquee piece on which the event and other materials were based.

View all the CASA materials >

/ CASA Background /
CASA of Allegheny County is a truly special client. CASA works hard for one sole purpose…children. They act as a child’s advocate in the courts, in situations of abuse, neglect and family-centered issues, when children otherwise would have no voice.
Visit CASA’s Website >

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

I was responsible for all concepts, design and production coordination for the CASA Volunteer Poster series, used to recruit potential advocacy volunteers and donors.

View all the CASA materials >

/ Award /
2005 ADDY
Public Service | Campaign Elements

/ CASA Background /
CASA of Allegheny County is a truly special client. CASA works hard for one sole purpose…children. They act as a child’s advocate in the courts, in situations of abuse, neglect and family-centered issues, when children otherwise would have no voice.
Visit CASA’s Website >

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

Working directly and closely with the artist, Ben Cox, I was responsible for translating his musical vision across the packaging and artwork for his debut CD, On Water on the Lotuspike music label.

Artists Statement:
“The music on this album rejects the notion that music must make a narrative statement, and instead embraces the idea of music as an organized sonic experience. These pieces are not portraits; they are rather landscapes or still-lifes.”

/ Ben Cox Background /
Ben Cox has been a musician for twenty-five years and a recording engineer for fifteen years. His lifelong interest in music has taken many forms over time, from playing trumpet in jazz bands to singing bass in an informal renaissance music group. His interest in electronic music follows from interest in experimentation with musical formal structures, metrical and rhythmic complexity, and the wide sonic palettes made possible by electronic instruments and electronic manipulation of acoustic sound sources. His musical works reflect these interests, and have been heard in television and radio advertisements, installation projects, and at trade shows, in locations ranging from Indiana to Australia.

Visit Ben Cox on the Lotuspike Website >

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

I provide an entire corporate identity solution, including concepts, final logotype, and a full suite of business papers with monarch stationery for executives.

/ Client Background /
Conway E&S is an insurance brokerage located in suburban Wexford, PA, who’s vision is:

“To be the best independent insurance wholesaler in the state of Pennsylvania and one of the leading independent insurance wholesalers in the nation.”

Conway E&S is a faith-based business who believes that people are more important than money, and they strive to demonstrate that belief by serving those around us in kindness and with respect.

Visit the Conway E&S website >

Firm: Giant Ideas

I handled all asset design and maintenance of the Pittsburgh Opera website for the 2005–2006 seasons. Much of the artwork is based on the illustration of Michael Gibbs.

/ Award /
2005 ADDY
Illustration Campaign

View all Pittsburgh Opera Materials >

/ Pittsburgh Opera Background /
Pittsburgh Opera is a world-class opera company with some of the brightest vocal and music talent of our time. Each season is a fresh new lineup of operas, both classics and reinterpretations, presented on a grand scale.

Visit the Pittsburgh Opera Website >