Billboards with a strong message

by Chuck on September 23rd, 2008

The City of Salinas in partnership with Casella Creative launched the first phase of the anti-violence campaign. Below are links and articles of the media coverage.

View the KSBW coverage here

Below is the article for the Salinas Californian.

Coming to a billboard near you: four thought-provoking scenes aimed at persuading young wayward gang members to leave the road they’re on.
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The billboards are newest campaign by the city of Salinas to fight gangs. One billboard features two panels; in one, an image of a big toe on a body tagged at the morgue next to a college identification card. The message is “Choose your identity.”

Another billboard features scenes from a funeral and a graduation with the caption, “choose your ceremony.”

“Part of our game plan is to work on all the different levels such as prevention and …” said Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue on Thursday. “None of these things are in response to current events; we’re rolling out the game plan.”

The billboards will be erected at these locations: John Street at Spring Street, Market Street at Clark Street, Abbott Street at Romie Lane and Sherwood Drive at Market Street.

Donohue said the campaign is a collaboration between the business community and students at Heald College through the city’s Community Awareness group’s communication committee.

The campaign is privately financed by Foxy produce company, he said.
Billboards target gang culture
Message on Salinas signs brutally honest
Communication committee members Shelly Smith, an instructor at Heald College in Salinas, and Chuck Casella of Salinas-based Casella Creative, came up with the campaign. Smith said she brought in 50 students from criminal justice and business classes to help conceive the idea in March.

Because many of her students came from a background of having to make “difficult choices” in their own lives, Smith said that makes the effort and resulting work all the more powerful.

Casella said the billboards are focused on raising community awareness and aimed at those submerged in gang activity.

“Basically, you can’t tell kids not to join the gangs,” he said. “The only thing you can do is state the brutal facts.”

Casella said more billboard and campaign ideas are dependent on fundraising through corporate donations.

“It makes people think about it and be aware of it,” said Salinas police Cmdr. Trevor Iida, the city’s Community Safety Alliance director. “The more people are aware, the more they will want to help change. I don’t think the majority of the community understands the gravity of the gang problem.”

By Sunita Vijayan

Monterey Chamber of Commerce Showcase 2008

by Chuck on September 8th, 2008

Casella Creative supports the Monterey and Salinas Chambers of Commerce by sponsoring the Fall Showcase 2008. We rebranded the whole event, from brochures to tickets. The first step was to create the tagline “The power of Local.” It represents the idea that local businesses could provide better value and service than big conglomerates. Next the tagline was incorporated into an illustrated mark that displays the Monterey and Salinas chambers.

Info on the Event:

The Salinas Valley and Monterey Peninsula Chambers of Commerce will present “Showcase 2008 – The Power of Local!” on Thursday, October 23 from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the Monterey Conference Center. More than one hundred Chamber members will display their products and services, and approximately one thousand guests are expected to attend. Members of the public are invited to attend Showcase 2008 and see what their local business community has to off er, while also having an opportunity to network with hundreds of other potential customers. In addition to the potential business opportunities, guests will be able to participate in food and wine tastings.

Great Logo Experiment

by Chuck on September 7th, 2008

Here is a great article by designer, Doug Bartow, on what happens when companies try to cut corners on branding. Doug wasted $1000 on 4 online logo company’s.

The Challenge: Hire four online logo design companies, give them the same visual identity problem to solve, then critique the results.

The Kitty: Spend less than $1,000 USD total on all four companies, getting as many distinct variations as possible.

The Players: But how to choose? Simply googling logo design returns 11.7M hits in a mind-boggling .13 seconds. However, companies that play in this online space must successfully manage their search engine optimization, or SEO, to ensure that they appear at or near the top of search engine results consistently. Their business development depends upon it. Acknowledging this, I chose the top four non-sponsored returns from my Google search. The contestants, in search results order, are: the Logo Loft, Logo Design Pros, LogoBee and the notorious thousand-pound gorilla of online logo companies, Logoworks.

The Task: Invent a fictional client in need of a new logo. It should be fun, fast, colorful and kick-ass…rollerderby, of course! It’s a ‘sport’ familiar to most, but not so actively followed by the masses to make for an easy identity job without a modicum of research into the history and aesthetic of what is known in the biz as flat track derby. I found a rich collection of active clubs on the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association www site. There’s also a great Q & A section on the official rules for rollerderby, which are much more complex than I ever imagined. e.g. Q: “When do referees stop the jam-in-progress for a jammerless jam?” No, I’m not making this stuff up.

The Client: Troy, NY (id29′s hometown) was one of the original nine cities that in 1871 formed the National Association of Professional Baseball Players, which survives today as Major League Baseball’s National League. Although Troy’s team only lasted two years, they did sport a winning record (28-25,) and I discovered with some amazement that the domain name was available—perfect for my fictional upstart rollerderby team—the Troy Haymakers Flat Track Derby Club.

Let the games begin.

view the full article

http://www.underconsideration.com/speakup/archives/005099.html

So the bottom line is hire a design firm and spend $2000-$10,000 on a logo. If it’s done right the logo will last you 5-10 years. The logo will be paid off in a couple of years, if you consider the useage.

CasellaCreative

New Self-Promo Mailer

by Chuck on June 29th, 2008

Casella Creative released a new self promotion to showcase the capabilities of the studio. Fresh from the printer, the flash cards are drilled and bound by an aluminum rivet. They can hold from 10 to 18 project photos and descriptions. The mailers are custom built to meet prospective client needs. To Request one call Casella Creative direct 831.676.3502 or email us with the following info.

Name:
Title:
Business:
Industry:
Address:
City: St: Zip:
Country:
Phone:
Fax:
Email:

Coming in mid-december, the 2009 “a day in Monterey county calendar.”

Casella Creative designs Biomass 2008 Report

by Chuck on April 19th, 2008

Casella Creative has been working with BCurtis Energies and the US Department of Energy to create a 56 page report that states the potential of the next generation of ethanol.  Clients like this reaffirm our commitment to the environment. The total report is still being politically vetted, but it’s almost complete. It’s comprised of 30 color charts and 30 company profiles. Casella Creative specializes in taking complex information and distilling it down to easy to understand charts and graphs.

Download a pdf of the “Biomass 2008: Fueling Our Future slide presentation biomass2008slides-bcurtis

Download Pop-up Die-Cut Template

by Chuck on February 7th, 2008

Salinas, CA. | Due to the number of hits on my POP-UP CARD design for non-profits, I thought I’d share the die-cut template. A pop-up card is a simple cost effective way to create a card that makes a lasting impression. The file has the score and die lines on different layers. The pop-up piece doesn’t have to be a circle, it could be almost any shape just as long as it fits in the perimeter of the card. The template was supplied by Casella Creative , a Salinas design firm.

download

POP-UP CARD design for non-profit

by Chuck on January 22nd, 2008

Salinas, CA | Casella Creative designs a 3D pop-up holiday card for Dorothy’s Place. We have designed a pop up card before,but due to a limited budget and lack off color it wasn’t as effective as planned. With a generous grant from Sappi Paper we were able to pull out all the stops. Printed on thick 120 paper and four colors,the card gives donors something tangible for their donations. To request one go www.dorothysplace.org

New Monterey County Scenic Photo Site

by Chuck on December 15th, 2007

Montery, CA | Casella Creative of Salinas, CA. just posted a new web site dedicated to the beautiful landscapes of Monterey County. The site supports there new promotional calendar for 2008. http://www.adayinmontereyco.com/

Casella Creative Wins Grant to Benefit Dorothy’s Place

by Chuck on October 12th, 2007

Salinas, CA – Casella Creative is pleased to announce that Creative Director, Chuck Casella has been awarded a grant by Sappi Fine Paper’s Ideas that Matter program. The grant will fund a print campaign benefiting 25 Years of Love: Dorothy’s Place. The scope of the project was to develop marketing materials that communicate the need for the organization to grow into a privately-funded entity that provides meals, homes, job training and jobs for Salinas’ chronically homeless. As Dorothy’s Place celebrates 25 years of service to the poor and marginalized, its primary focus is to go out of business – to end chronic homelessness in Salinas by providing its guests with permanent supportive housing, job skills training and long term employment through micro-enterprise and small retail businesses.

Since its inception in 1999, Sappi’s Ideas that Matter program has awarded over $1 million each year in grants and has attracted applications from designers throughout the world.

The Ideas that Matter program recognizes designers who have partnered with a philanthropic organization to develop proposals including campaign concepts, business plans, objectives, costs and possible benefits. Entries were judged by an independent review panel of top North American graphic designers and representatives from leading non-profit organizations including School of Visual Arts, Des Enfants, Inc., VSA Partners, Inc. and Adam & Co. All judges based their decisions on each proposal’s creativity and potential effectiveness, and expressed confidence in the designers’ vision.

“I chose to get involved with Dorothy’s Place because I felt their story of 25 years of assisting the homeless was not being told. Supplying the organization with the right marketing tools could allow them to get properly funded and continue their mission of love and compassion,” said Chuck Casella of Casella Creative.

“This year we received some exceptional and unique designs and campaigns that we know will bring energy and awareness to North America’s most important causes,” said Joe Isaak, Senior Consultant, Sales and Marketing, Sappi Fine Paper North America. “Ideas that Matter is a wonderful outlet for designers to use their passion and creativity to benefit the greater good, and Sappi is honored to be able to help share these powerful messages each year with audiences throughout North America.”

About Sappi Ideas that Matter
Since its inception, the program has funded more than 100 campaigns in North America, and awarded more than $7 million in grants worldwide. Ideas that Matter attracts applications from designers throughout the world. This year, Sappi received more than 100 applications from North American designers, and awarded 13 grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. The grants will be used to develop campaigns for non-profit organizations backing cultural, health, and human rights efforts, as well as supporting the homeless, underprivileged and disabled.

About Dorothy’s Place
It is the mission of Dorothy’s Place to live, to love, and to work in harmony; to serve the marginalized, to create partnerships that are mutually liberating, and to pursue social justice with respect and dignity for all, in the spirit of St. Francis and Dorothy Day.

About Casella Creative
Casella Creative focuses one single word “sustainability.” We believe in being, business, environmentally, and socially conscious is the way to a sustainable future. Casella Creative uses a blend of design ingenuity and strategic thinking that produces connections for your business to grow. We Specialize in corporate identities, marketing collateral, web design and are located in Salinas,California.

For more information contact:
Casella Creative
P.O.Box 7431
Spreckels,CA 93962
Tel: 831.676.3502
Web: www.casellacreative.com

Fine Paper
North America

225 Franklin Street
Boston, MA 02110
Tel +1 617 423 7300
Fax +1 617 423 5494

CasellaRT ReLaunched once again!

by Chuck on August 22nd, 2007

Salinas, CA | I have just posted my new master site. Casellart is the hub to all of my capabilities. After 10 months of working at an agency my web skills started to slip away. This site has allowed me to refresh them.
CasellaRT