WORK: BLM x FUBU
It’s a Black Lives Matter Global Network and FUBU collabo! The two came together to create limited-edition merchandise that was released in early November at ComplexCon. At the exclusive Long Beach release, event goers had the opportunity to register to vote as we gear up for the 2020 Presidential election.
Our design team had the pleasure of assisting with producing the limited-edition t-shirts as well as developing the 2020 brand identity. We look forward to continuing to help build the brand by developing a social media activation plan and designing impactful marketing materials. To date, the opportunities with BLM have been limitless and that’s what we’re most excited about. Until then, thanks for checking this out.
WORK: Verizon Media
Have you heard of Verizon Media? Obviously, Verizon alone is huge, however their digital media arm is behind some of your favorite sites like including Tumblr, Huff Post, and Yahoo just to name a few. Back in 2018, we were hired to help VM develop the look for an internal program focused on increasing leadership and cultural competencies. This project included multiple phases and is still on going.
Prior to rolling up our sleeves and getting busy with Phase I, we worked with members from their team to study Verizon’s 100-page brand book (that’s a joke, but not really LOL). It was important for us to understand how far we could go with design. We also took the opportunity to review what other VM internal programs did when it came to design and branding. This initial process wasn’t all fun, but it’s necessary to help us learn about the client, team and project.
In summary, we helped with:
- Logo and Branding
- Impactful Tagline
- Merchandise Design (Apparel & Accessories, and
Printed Materials, just to name a few) - Content Creation
- Photography & Videography
Phase II of our engagement culminated with a trip to California to document the start of the program and to develop content to help them tell their story. Now this… is the fun part!
The Artoholik Team had to determine which resources, including team members, would be needed to accomplish the job. We had to review things like which light kit to pack, cameras to bring, how many, where we’d stay and what we’d do once we got there. Stressful right?
The event was hosted at the Yahoo Sunnyvale Campus which was only a few miles away from the infamous Silicon Valley. During our daily commute, we passed the offices of Google Cloud, Microsoft and Texas Instruments. But the real highlight came once we stepped foot on the Yahoo campus. We got to tour each building and it’s offices while scouting shooting locations.
During the workshop sessions were it felt like we documented word for word. There were so many interesting dialogs and events, so we just tried to cover every. After a few sessions, we were reminded that the added bonuses of working with our lineup of clients is amount of new information we are exposed to. It’s a lot easier to create content for brands when you can really get behind what they’re “selling”.
After spending the workdays documenting for VM, we made sure we took advantage of being in Cali. We braved the traffic and headed north to San Francisco. We stopped off at the Painted Ladies, took a walk down Haight Street, and then hit the Mission district for some Urban Exploring. The other evenings we made our way through downtown San Jose and fell in love with a two Mixology bars Paper Planes and 55 South. Both known for their innovative cocktails and good vibes.
Overall, the trip was a success! And in case you have a strange affinity for workplace food options like we do, you should know that we gave the Yahoo cafeteria, URL’s Café, 5-stars! They literally serve everything, like everything… There were so many options that we won’t even bother to give you a short list.
Sounds fun right? Here are a few fun facts about this project and our trip…
- It was Rasheedah’s first trip to Cali
- We shot over (1000) images and over (200) video clips
- We ate at Carl’s Jr. twice and didn’t go to In-N-Out Burger (in case you didn’t know, it’s a unwritten law that you must stop into an In-N-Out Burger during a Cali trip. Especially if your eating fast food)
- We went to bed every night after 1AM and got up for work at 6AM
- We sat in traffic for a combined 60 minutes each way (yup, that’s Cali traffic for ya’)
Stay tuned for a more in-depth showcase of the project. We’re still working with this awesome team!
2018 STATE CHAMPS
If you keep going, eventually you’ll undoubtedly get to where you set out to go. That’s what has been happening for us here at THE ARTOHOLIKS. In 2016, two creatives with a common goal, to carry out their childhood dream of building an agency threw caution to the wind and went for it. In order to take on such big goals, we’ve had to take them one day at a time and build a winning team.
Over the past three years we’ve put in the work, in and outside the studio, with our proverbial blood, sweat, and tears dripping down our faces. We’ve had our share of challenges in a world where big agencies typically get all the glory but that didn’t stop us. We kept pressing forward, surprising even ourselves at times. Small agency, small client list, small clients… No Big Deal!
We’ve gotten good at setting goals and accomplishing them. We’ve gotten good at believing in ourselves and even better at motivating each other. It’s been working for us because we live the words we say: WE ARE ALWAYS ON; THIS IS AN OPEN FORUM FOR CREATIVITY; AND ART TRULY IS DOPE!
Our success, this journey, has taught us that what we want is always possible when met with the right attitude. We are a winning team and each of us has the stuff that champions are made of.
ABOUT THE COLLECTION:
State Champs is our self-proclaimed title. Over the past three years, we set quarterly goals that added up to end of season goals, that then lead to big finishes. Each year, the goals became bigger and we answered! Thanks to our friends, families, clients, and fellow Artoholiks, 2016 through 2018 has been more than a figment of our imaginations.
103 – In 2016 we kicked off the NEW Artoholiks with Scotch Porter, our 223rd client. By the end of 2018, we inked in client number 333.
100 clients in 3 years, that’s 103!
There’s no “I” in team. Whoever, created that quote ain’t never lie. During the 2016-2018 journey, we worked with consultants, interns and our growing core team. Special thanks to Dominque, Kevin, Samia, Cheyonne, Ron, Aleesha, Migdale, Justin, Aaron, Rasheedah and Iquan for crushing 2018. In this graphic, we wanted to put our spin on the classic 90’s championship tees.
Astro, our mascot, has been the pulse to our culture. Astro, reminds us everyday that we’re cool, unique and fresh. Astro also reminds us to explore, to be free and creative. Most importantly, Astro is super cool and makes for killer graphics. What better way to display championship rings?
SHOP THE COLLECTION
Recap: The Unveil Party
It’s done! We created it, we planned it, we were excited about it and we lived it. Now it’s time to share it!
We must admit, the title “Unveil Party” left a lot of you wondering… WTH?
For the record, that wasn’t done purposely. We got so caught up into the name and what it meant to us & our event partner Van Gogh’s Ear, which in turn made us totally drop the ball on marketing the event as our annual holiday party. And all while the artwork spoke to Holidays, we sorta just threw it out there.
How selfish of us!?! LOL
But, luckily for us… It all worked out. Folks showed up, enjoyed themselves, were impressed and surprised. Just the way we planned.
The reason for the event title “The Unveil Party” had a major purpose. We worked with our Stuyvesant Avenue neighbor Van Gogh’s Ear just a few months prior to the party and helped them develop a new brand identity. While working together, we realized that we had an opportunity to do something cool.
We thought…
“Why not host our holiday party together and at the party, Van Gogh Ear’s could unveil their new branding to their friends & family while we get to show off our latest work to our peeps?”
The team at Van Gogh’s Ear loved the idea, so we got to work! They did what they do best which is catering and hosting, while we did the all of the cool stuff like, booking a DJ, getting a photo booth and designing the event tees.
It was a night of joy! Everyone was happy and all of our guests mix and mingled. Who would of thought that a cafe on Stuyvesant Avenue in Union, NJ could look like a bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn?
There were three exciting things about the night:
- The Unveiling of Van Gogh’s new logo
- Van Gogh’s amazing food spread and drinks, which featured a 2011 White Wine that somehow became the talk of the party. (insider joke)
- The photo booth! A free photo booth at that. It didn’t experience one second of downtime which means it was a hit! And we have the pictures to prove it. See the images here
We were having such a good time that we forgot to giveaway the giveaways. While cleaning up, we were already talking about next year’s party. To date, every time we head to grab food or coffee from Van Gogh, somehow, someway we always relive the night.
All that to say, check out Van Gogh’s Ear and make sure you’re in the know surrounding our future events and collaborations.
Recap: Arto Day 2018
Arto Day 2018 was pretty amazing. We planned the day with hopes of sharing a good time with everyone that The Artoholiks holds near and dear, fellow Artoholiks and clients (past and current). We called it “the Field Day you’ve been waiting for…” And that’s exactly what it was, but the adult version. Yes, there was even a ‘field-day-shirt’. After working our asses off in the first half of 2018, we wanted a chance to kick back and unwind with the whole crew.
We ate, drank, played an INTENSE game of volleyball, it got really real, really quick. There was slick talk, diving, sliding, and a few collisions. And to top it all off, we gave out Artoholik trophies. Everyone had a great time and we have the pictures to prove it.
We’ve started something that we hope never stops. We’re already planning the 2nd Annual Arto Day, more friends, more sports, more games, more music, and more drinks. Coming?
