Olive’s products by Karim Rashid in HOW!
We were flipping through the pages of one of our favorite trade publications - HOW Magazine - and were pleasantly surprised to see some of Olive’s products featured in the June issue. Liquid is the branding firm behind the Olive brand…and it is our goal to make sure the brand gets noticed and is differentiated.
We have worked closely with Olive’s management since the inception of the company in the development of its brand identity, product design, interface, website, marketing, etc. Although the company is still small, it has built huge awareness amongst audiences interested in high quality sound – and we’re happy to see that the brand is starting to also reach the design community.
As part of the effort to build brand differentiation we suggested working with notable designers to further evolve how Olive’s products looked. The first one that came to mind was Karim Rashid. We’ve worked with Karim on other projects and we enjoyed it very much. Karim is not only one of the world’s best known designers of furniture, architecture and objects of desire…but is also an accomplished musician who DJs at events all over the globe. He agreed to collaborate on one of Olive’s products, the OPUS No.5, and the result is a series featuring Karim’s complex techno-patterns and singularly vibrant color palette.
To learn more about Olive and the latest products we’ve designed for them, visit olive.us…or check out the Olive Case Study on our site. And to wonder at the latest creations by Karim Rashid, visit karimrashid.com, you will find that this prolific designer is set on changing the way that we interact with just about everything around us.
Of course, if you’re a designer you probably already subscribe to HOW Magazine…but if you don’t here’s a link to sign up: HOW Magazine.com
No commentsThe Liquid Brand Breakfast
On Tuesday, June 17 a crowd of brand marketers from a broad range of tech companies attended the Liquid Brand Breakfast featuring Tim and Ben Bajarin from Creative Strategies, who shared their insight about the future of mobile technology. The event is invitation-only and it was attended by senior branding and marketing execs from Adobe, Cadence, Nvidia, Intel, and other respected tech companies.
Tim and Ben Bajarin are from Creative Strategies - one of the most respected analyst and consulting firms in the valley.
Tim is the elder of the two and the President of the company - and he started the morning by giving us his perspective on the state of Silicon Valley. The good news is that - according to Tim - Silicon Valley is poised to remain the leading source of innovation on the globe. This is due not just to the culture that has been created in the valley, but also because of the infrastructure that has been built here over the last 25 years. And the next wave of innovation is all about mobility.
Ben is Tim’s son - although you would not be able to tell by the way he looks. He provided us with an in-depth evaluation of where mobile technology is heading - and offered the attendees with very valuable insights around the branding challenges and opportunities ahead. His presentation included some interesting examples demonstrating how companies can create brand experiences that are valuable and non-intrusive through mobile technology.
The presentation included a lively Q&A session where attendees where able to ask very specific questions about issues relevant to their companies or their interests. It was obvious by the nature of the questions that this topic was quite timely for all that attended.
To learn more about Tim and Ben Bajarin, please visit Creative Strategies.com. They are fascinating individuals who work with leading tech firms helping them stay ahead of trends.
Also, they’ve provided us with a PDF of their presentation, and you can download that right here.
To learn more about the Liquid Brand Breakfast and get on our invite list, please click on this link and we’ll be glad to let you know when we organize the next one.
As a note, I’d like to thank Ron Gonzales of Presencia Technology for being our sponsor at the Capital Club. To learn more about Presencia and the services it offers to its clients, please visit PresenciaInvestments.com
Lastly, if you have any comments about the topic of Mobile Technology and how brands can leverage it to reach their audiences in relevant ways, please respond to this blog - and we’ll be glad to keep the conversation going.
Don’t forget to check out our pictures from the event as well!
No commentsOlive included in ultimate “Logo” book!
We’re very happy to have been included in what is being billed as “the ultimate designer’s reference” book on logos - the book “Logo” by Michael Evamy.
According to Michael Bierut of Pentagram, “this wonderful resource will make better designers of all of us”. Now, that’s a pretty impressive statement from a very accomplished designer!
The Olive logo shares the same space as the logos for Disney, Ford and Harrods…which is pretty amazing.
“Logo” is a thick book, mostly in B&W…offering a great overview of some of the best identities in the world. For more information about the author, please take a look at his site www.evamy.co.uk …or head out to the nearest bookstore and add this book to your library!
1 comment01SJ + PechaKucha = FUN!

Last Friday night two of us from Liquid were included in the lineup of presenters during PechaKucha night in San Jose. It was the first time for each of us…and we enjoyed participating as well as catching the presentations of other speakers.
Alex Littlewood presented a behind-the-scenes look at the branding work that was developed for 01SJ by Liquid…sharing with the audiences some of the work that did not make the cut, and a few pieces that no one has ever seen. Alex did a great job.
Alfredo Muccino shared some of his most recent work - which consisted of words and images superimposed on the picture of an ancient statue of an amazon. The artwork deals with the transformational effect that different words or symbols have on the viewer when associated with the same image.
The rest of the presenters included a wide variety of work…from industrial design by Scott Herbst and interactive artwork by Chris Wiedmann, to a thought provoking visual essay exploring the relationship between pornography and patriotism by Joe Miller.
For those of you who were not able to attend, here are links to each of our two presentations:
Alfredo: The meaning of words and symbols
Alex: The story behind 01SJ
Enjoy!!!
No commentsLiquid at PechaKucha Night: Friday June 6th
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Tomorrow night Liquid will be one of the featured presenters at PechaKucha Night…which is part of the 01SJ Festival happening in San Jose through June 8.
Liquid will be presenting a behind-the-scenes view of the development of the 01SJ brand - which offers a rare glimpse at the work that did not make the cut, and the reasons why.
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As part of a separate presentation, Alfredo Muccino, Chief Creative Officer at Liquid will be sharing some of his art work…a series of images dealing with the power of words and symbols.
PechaKucha Night is a series of events that happen all over the globe…and this is the first time that one takes place in San Jose. If you have never attended one of these events, try to make this one. They are fun and dynamic…and offer an opportunity to see a lot of diverse and interesting work from digital designers, artists, architects, etc.
For more information on PechaKucha Night, visit:
http://pechakucha-sf.com
For more information on the 0SJ Festival, please visit:
http://01sj.org
Hope to see you there!!!!
No commentsAlfredo Muccino at PINCshow + Free Stuff!!!
Give Print a Chance!
Last Friday I had the pleasure to be the keynote speaker at the PINCshow - the annual gathering of the Printing Industries of Northern California. Liquid Agency was hired to design this year’s logo and marketing materials…based on a 60’s theme. I worked closely with Z (our senior designer on this project) and we developed a heart shaped logo featuring the words “Peace. Love. Print.”…and with a drip of ink falling from the bottom of the heart. I titled the keynote address “Give Print a Chance”…and spoke about the need for the industry to rally around the idea of collaboration, innovation, uniqueness and quality. The presentation was interrupted by a group of young students carrying colorful protest signs, chanting “Give print a chance!”. OK…the truth is that we planned this it as a bit of subversive distraction to add a little fun to the proceedings…and it did get a few laughs. The PINCshow was attended by over 1,000 people…and indication that the printing community is alive and well in Northern California. To see more photos, just click on this link: PINCphotos.
So, what about the FREE STUFF?
By the way we have a few of these collectible buttons…so, if you like buttons and want one of these, just drop me a note and I’ll send it to you. We also have a few of the limited edition posters we created for the show. Again, drop me a note and I’ll be glad to send you a signed copy.
Photos:
A. The poster being carefully printed by the craftsmen at Curry Graphics.
B. This image graced the cover of the PINCshow program.
C. A photo of me trying to look like a politician - an Italian one :). Photo by Greg Habiby
D. Our colorful student protesters having fun with their crazy posters.
Ciao!
Alfredo Muccino
Chief Creative Officer
Liquid Agency
alfredo@liquidagency.com
We did it.
Putting together the Liquid Brand Summit is no easy task. It takes us months to pull it off…deciding on the session topics, recruiting session leaders, attracting over 100 brand marketers from tech companies, lining up speakers and moderators…etc. However, we did it and were able to pull it off without a hitch. PHEEEWWW!!!!
The event was a lot of fun…with plenty of brilliant people on hand generating lots of stimulating conversations. Now, we’re working on organizing and editing the findings..and soon we’ll publish the Best Practices Report. We’ll also post some videos and tons of photos that we took during the day.
In the meanwhile, please check out the article in Forbes.com:
If any of the participants are reading this blog and would like to comment…please feel free to do so.
I’d love to get your feedback.
Ciao!
Alfredo
Comments are off for this postThe CES2008 Branding Report is out!
If you were not at CES, and you want to take a look at some of the booths and read our notes about what we thought was cool and what was not that great, then you should download our CES2008 Branding Report. It is 25 pages choke full of commentary and photos. Here are a few to wet your appetite. A: This is a photo of the now infamous D-Link girls (We warn you that we don’t have any photos of the D-Link booth!). B: Here’s a picture of Alfredo Muccino, our Chief Creative Officer trying out a pair of video glasses. He’s now a big fan of this technology…and has not taken the glasses off in a week. C: This is an new item we discovered at CES. Not just a phone, but a life-size device that comes with you wherever you go. Meet the new phone-buddy!
Seriously…the report has been very well received by the folks that are on on our mailing list. So you may want to check it out. It’s available through our website - just download the PDF. It’s a lot safer than going to Las Vegas!
Comments are off for this postWhat happens at CES…
What happens at CES…does not stay in Las Vegas.
This year’s show attracted more than 130,000 attendees. The city of Las Vegas was inundated with techno-geeks from all over the world, showing off their new products and drooling over the latest gadgets. Getting a cab was a nightmare…and every restaurant was booked.
But all of this tells us that the technology sector is healthy - and people’s appetite for tech products is still strong.
The convention floor featured venerable tech brands alongside newcomers that are giving established brands a run for their money.
The level of activity - from deal-making to entertainment were as hectic as ever, with each company vying for attention in a very crowded environment. Standing out at CES is no easy feat.
We’re putting together our annual CES Report, with photos of booths and other branding activities that we observed while cruising the show floor. So, stay tuned…and we’ll post it on our site over the next few days.
No commentsSave up to $200 with the Early Bird rate for the Liquid Brand Summit 2008!
Last week we launched the Liquid Brand Summit site…and we’ve opened up the registration process by offering a discounted Early Bird rate to anyone that signs up by December 15th.
The Early Bird rate represents a savings of up to $200 off the Late Registration fee (which is $850). So, if you want to attend, sign up fast!
Check out the site: www.liquidbrandsummit.com
No comments


