May 2008

Show Department, rebranded

25 years is a major milestone for any company. Our client decided to celebrate in style on May 22 with a red-carpet party at its U.S. headquarters in the Kinzie Industrial Corridor, with about 600 event management, production, and agency professionals in attendance. The celebration also offered the perfect venue for Show Department’s new logo and brand position: “Event Driven Communications.” The company has been staging events huge and small around the world for a very long time, but has grown substantially, with a cutting-edge affiliate offering production (Resolution Digital Studios) and one of the world’s leading supplier of projection screens (The Screen Works). The new position was clear: Show Department is all about events — great events.

Staging is still their specialty, but we needed to tell the world that Show Department could enter at early stages of the game to offer brainstorming, guidance, and support for every aspect of the event at hand — even broadcast and mobile video production. Their spectrum of services, all focused on the power of the special moment, is nicely captured with the tagline (“Event Driven Communications”), but we went one step further in the slogan: “Make Great Happen.”

The anniversary party was a hit, with plenty of longtime clients taking a fresh look at Show Department — as well as Resolution Digital Studios and The Screen Works. Handouts included branded sports bottles and a multidisc brochure highlighting recent projects for Walgreens, Starcom/Kellogs, Intersport, and Bravo/Top Chef.

Mile one: launching Marathon Pharmaceuticals

“Taking Pharmaceuticals Further” — that’s the vision of Marathon Pharmaceutical’s founder Robert Altman, an industry veteran who has worked his way from a chemistry PhD at Harvard and an MBA at The University of Chicago through sales, marketing, and management positions at major players like Astellas Pharma US. Marathon, based in Northbrook, is on the acquisition trail and plans to grow through strategic partnerships and targeted commercialization of niche products. Jell worked with Marathon to round out the brand and evoke the corporate vision online.

April 2008

More soon!

We’re looking forward to June. By then, we’ll be able to stop at a new shop in the One East Delaware building and buy a box of designer cupcakes crafted by Gail Gand, the famous pastry chef of Tru. In anticipation of the grand opening, we recently posted a teaser page for More Cupcakes , LCC with the full-blast Web site to follow. Owner Patty Rothman has assembled an all-star cast to create the unique look and feel of More — decidedly more Miesian and high-style than your typical bakery — and we’re happy to lend a hand. Cupcake fanatics in Chicago will have much to talk about this summer.

Finally: the Brown Line Metalworks secret is out

It can be hard to keep a secret, but we’ve done it for a year and a half now. We’ve been looking at some very cool prototypes of a fairly revolutionary hand tool invented and engineered by Chicago’s Brown Line Metalworks that will change the market for torque wrenches. Until now, weekend mechanics who didn't have a grand or more to shell out on a professional digital torque wrench were stuck with just a few low-end non-digital options at the local hardware store. The new Brown Line model, which combines a microprocessor, LCD and LED controls, and their Double Gear Sensing System (patent pending), offers a level of precision that only professionals enjoy now. And the price is right — but that part is still a secret. If you want to see the tool and you like Vegas, here’s where to go.

March 2008

Levant Capital Management launched

We’re excited to announce the arrival of a new investment management firm for institutional investors. Levant Capital Management, LCC focuses on providing absolute returns on capital. The firm is the creation of Peter Levant, formerly of Northern Advisors, his first independent investment research firm covering commodity futures markets. Peter is extremely hands-on; his research has taken him to more than 35 countries on four continents.

Jell Creative developed the Levant Capital Management corporate identity and Web site.

February 2008

Bridge Strategy Group makes global headlines

Over the past five months, Jell has been working on a new look for Bridge Strategy Group LLC. As we tweaked the existing identity, developed a new capabilities brochure, designed a Web site makeover, and engineered an advanced content management system, our client was up to even larger things.

At the end of January, just weeks before the new site was launched, Satyam announced its purchase of Bridge. As Ramalinga Raju, founder and chairman of Satyam, said: “Bridge Strategy Group is a highly respected organization that is well known for its exceptional professionals and its acumen in seven key industries. By absorbing the company, we gain an immediate influx of 36 brilliant and experienced strategy consultants, most of whom are alumni of the world's best strategy consulting firms and business schools. We also significantly bolster our ability to provide the entire spectrum of services to global customers.”

Sara Whiteley Design gets a makeover

If you’ve purchased a condo in a large development recently, you probably remember “selection day.” That’s the day you return to the sales center to choose everything — carpet, countertops, fixtures, you name it.

As we learned, the leading firm in this field (Residential Development Selection) in the Chicago and Boston markets is Sara Whiteley Design. Jell developed an entirely new corporate identity system for the firm, a capabilities brochure, and a matching Web site. The new look, a blend of corporate sensibility and art-school-edgy, cleanly separates SWD from their competitors, where stodgy is often the norm.

Online reel for Ben Vance

We’ve worked with video artist Ben Vance on several exciting projects over the past 10 years, including the King of Bluegrass DVD published by Straight Six Films and the Times Square Supersign for Wells Fargo. Ben currently produces motion graphics for broadcast and concert tours in Los Angeles. If you’re looking for amazing After Effects from a very bright animator, check out Ben Vance's reel.

January 2008

Sid Lubitsch premieres

Sid has been a well-respected, widely-known DP (that’s Director of Photography, aka “shooter” or “cameraman”) for 25 years, travelling the world and shooting a wide range of commercials, documentaries, and corporate videos. But until now, Sid lacked a Web site. Jell is please to announce the premiere of Sid Lubitsch’s online portfolio, as well as his new identity system.

Author Julia Bachrach
interviewed on Chicago Tonight regarding
Inspired by Nature and the Garfield centennial

It’s always thrilling to see one of your longtime clients interviewed on TV, especially when the topic is a project like Inspired by Nature, the book that we developed with Julia and coauthor Jo Ann Nathan over the course of the past couple of years.

On the January 9th edition of Chicago Tonight, Phil Ponce interviewed Julia about the book and the history of the Garfield Park Conservatory. The interview came on the heels of a wonderful review in the Chicago Tribune Books section, which said “...just in the nick of time, the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance has published a book filled with reminiscences, historical accounts and stunning photos of the West Side’s crown jewel...Bachrach and Nathan’s book shows the landmark for what it truly is: a reflection of Chicago — perpetually in transition, its demography in flux, but fundamentally true to an identity planted long ago, its thick roots now inexorably entwined with history.”

December 2007

Join us at Lincoln Park Conservancy’s Hothouse Holiday

Jell Creative has worked with the Lincoln Park Conservancy for a number of years, promoting awareness of the Lincoln Park Conservatory and the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool. We have also periodically helped with their annual Hothouse Holiday fundraising event.

This year’s event on Tuesday December 4 is special: it’s the Tenth Anniversary of the Hothouse Holiday. In addition to a Live Auction of work by Dale Chihuly, Richard Hunt, and Victor Skrebneski, LPC will offer a Silent Auction of Wreathart — over 60 holiday-inspired creations by local artists and designers. Jell’s Joe Grossmann created the entry shown here. Please bid high. Supporting the Lincoln Park Conservatory is a great cause.

November 2007

Book celebrating Garfield centennial,
Inspired by Nature, released

For the past year and a half, Jell Creative has been working closely with authors Julia Bachrach (historian for the Chicago Park District) and Jo Ann Nathan (director of the Jens Jensen Legacy Project) to produce a book celebrating the centennial of the Garfield Conservatory. Julia and Jo Ann have produced an amazing history.

Inspired by Nature: The Garfield Park Conservatory and Chicago’s West Side, with a wonderful foreword by Alex Kotlowitz, explores the relationship between this oasis of nature and the surrounding community, and features the reflections of both young and old residents of the neighborhood. The book is rich in names, dates, and anecdotes, but it is also a stunning photo album capturing nearly 140 years of urban society, development, and nature.

In addition to design and proofreading, Jell scanned and painstakingly restored over 135 archival photos of Garfield Park, the Conservatory, and the surrounding West Side community. We also worked with photographer Brook Collins to select 47 full-color contemporary photos.

Inspired by Nature, published by the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance and distributed by The University of Chicago Press, is now widely available in Chicago stores and online at Amazon. We hope you’ll pick up a copy and learn about Chicago’s West Side and early visionaries like William Le Baron Jenney and Jens Jensen.

And yes, between readings, this book will look great on your coffee table. Let us know what you think.