Archive for the 'Events' Category
Marty Neumeier at Brand ManageCamp 2010.

Brand ManageCamp 2010 is an intensive two-day conference that features the most engaging and dynamic speakers in branding. This year, Marty Neumeier, Director of Transformation at Liquid Agency has been selected along with twelve peers to speak at this renowned event in Las Vegas, September 21-22.
Created by experienced branders over eight years ago, the Brand ManageCamp marketing conference has become a place to generate new ideas today’s brands need in order to survive. Industry mavericks, best-selling authors, world-renowned experts – these leaders in innovative brand thinking will cover a wide variety of topics to help broaden perspectives, generate fresh, actionable ideas, and become a stronger marketer and a more dynamic leader. Some topics will include: Determine where to spend your precious marketing dollars, Drive innovation and creativity through a discipline of inspiration, Get big results by thinking and acting small, and much more.
“Industry professionals attend this conference because they want fresh inspirations on how to take their brand to the next level,” said Marty Neumeier. “I’m both honored and excited to be able to share what I’ve learned at an event like this.”
Marty will be speaking on Wednesday, September 22 about “How to build a culture of nonstop innovation” from his latest book, The Designful Company. In an era of fast-moving markets and leap-frogging innovators, companies can no longer merely “unlock” wealth. Today they have to actively “create” wealth, or end up in the fossil layers of business history. As a result, brand-builders have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play a key role in the next management revolution.
Find out more about Brand ManageCamp 2010 here.
No commentsAlfredo is invited to Colombia for World Graphics Day 2010.

Alfredo Muccino, Chief Creative Officer of Liquid Agency, has been invited by the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, a university in Cali, Colombia to participate in their celebration of World Graphics Day.
Alfredo will help lead a workshop involving students enrolled in the design program. The focus of the workshop is to create posters based on the theme “The Value of Design”. The program is being offered in conjunction with Icograda (the International Council of Graphic Design Associations).
The Pontificia Universidad Javeriana is a private higher education institution founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest and most traditional Colombian universities with its main facilities in Bogotá and a sectional division in Cali. Since its creation in 1950, the School of Architecture and Design has established itself as a leading center for learning about the habitat, communications and design. Many of its students, faculty and school management have received national and international awards and recognition.
World Graphics Day takes place on April 27, and has been celebrated annually since 1995. As a way to participate in this global event, the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana is inviting students to design posters that best express the theme. The exercise will be guided by the university faculty along with a select group of designers representing various parts of the world. Alfredo Muccino will be representing the United States. A panel of judges will select the top posters, and these will be submitted to Icograda, to represent the work being done by design students in Colombia. Alfredo will also hold a seminar to present the branding and design work that he has lead over the last 30 years and discuss the type of assignments that are being delivered by Liquid today.
“I’m very excited about getting a chance to speak to the students at this university. Their programs are very different than the ones offered in the US, and I look forward to sharing my experiences in the field, while learning about how designers are being taught in Colombia,” said Alfredo Muccino. “I am very excited to visit Cali and Bogota…and I am sure that I will return inspired and refreshed”.
Of course, most people know that Alfredo Muccino is an Italian citizen…but not many know that he was born in Bogota. He left Colombia to live in Italy when he was very young, and never returned. This will be his first time visiting his birthplace…which is another reason he’s excited about this particular trip.
No commentsLiquid Agency wins 12 ADDY awards.

Liquid Agency took home 12 awards at this year’s ADDY Awards Gala, including two of the coveted ADDY Statuettes, representing work that was considered the best in its category. The ADDYs honor creative excellence by recognizing the best work of local agencies, as judged by a panel of peers. The party and awards ceremony was hosted by the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Advertising Federation, on March 4 at the Marriott Hotel, downtown San Jose. This year’s party was smaller than in previous years – a reflection of the tough economic climate – yet the mood was festive, as it seems that Silicon Valley is starting to show signs of recovery.

Liquid Agency received a Best of Category ADDY award for the brand identity refresh we delivered for the Golden Gate Chapter of the Young President’s Organization – a global network of CEOs. The YPO GG Chapter includes mostly CEOs from the technology sector, so we created a visual style that reflects the dynamic and progressive nature of the members.

“We’re happy that the judges have selected to give us these awards,” said Alfredo Muccino, Chief Creative Officer of Liquid Agency. “We participate every year because we believe that it is important to play an active role in our local creative community – especially during times like these, when many clients have cut their budgets and agencies have struggled to survive.”

Once the awards ceremony had come to a close, we celebrated in true Liquid style with friends, family and some of the other agencies that participated in the competition. It was a night of camaraderie and friendship shared with many of the agencies that keep Silicon Valley a center of world-class creativity and innovation.
Below is a complete list of all the awards received by Liquid Agency:
ADDY Young Presidents Organization Branding
Gold ADDY Sezmi Packaging
Silver ADDY Microsoft Office for Mac Retail Merchandising
Silver ADDY Aviat Logo
Silver ADDY Aviat Website
Silver ADDY Adidas Motorsports Microsite
Silver ADDY Olive Advertising Campaign
Silver ADDY HP Advertising Campaign
Bronze ADDY Alex Logo / Brand Identity
Bronze ADDY Addison Avenue
Bronze ADDY HP Microsite
To see the all of projects that won at this year, as well as past awards and competitions, click here.
No commentsGreat design from our friends at WSDIA in NY.
WSDIA: A very talented group of people that take design seriously.

On a recent trip to New York I was introduced to a small, but very talented firm: WSDIA.According to their website: “Our name WeShouldDoItAll (WSDIA) is simply a goal. Designers and all other professionals alike should not feel constrained to some singular expertise. To survive our own creative game, it is imperative to know that there is not one absolute solution to a given problem. To immerse oneself within different avenues of creative production and mediums forces you to consider the otherwise unconsidered. It’s that method of working that’s exciting and motivating to look forward to the next transition.”
Nice people. Lots of talent. And plenty of ambition.
I was introduced to Jonathan Jackson & Sarah Nelson, two of the three principals at WSDIA, by my very good friend (and also very talented designer), Chris Vivion. In the course of my travels and my work I meet a lot of designers. Sometimes I meet people who are exceptionally talented…on occasion I meet folks who are really smart…and at times I meet designers who are very nice people - alas, they’re personality does not always match up to their work. Meeting Jonathan and Sarah was refreshing because they represented a combination of the best qualities I find in true designers: talent, curiosity, passion, intelligence and ambition. On top of all these great qualities, they struck me as unassuming, approachable, and extremely nice people. BTW: By “ambition” I don’t mean a drive to make a lot of money. No, no, no. I mean the ambition to keep pushing the limits, and the desire to do bigger, better, more interesting and more meaningful projects. That’s the kind of ambition that people that end up being really, really good must have. And the folks at WSDIA have plenty of it.
New Practices New York
Jonathan and Sarah shared with me several projects that I thought were really smart and exceptionally executed. I really enjoyed the New Practices New York exhibition design.



This project exemplifies the firms ability to create striking solutions that blend the aesthetics of architecture and graphics in a combination that is visually fresh and dimensionally interesting. I learned that WSDIA is made up of people that come from backgrounds that include architecture, graphics and fashion…which may explain why their work is so multifaceted. I love the physical nature of the signage and the attention to detail that went into the execution.
Young Guns Live
Another project I really liked is the Young Guns Live project for the Art Directors Club of New York.



For this assignment the team created a set that they photographed as the key visual for the marketing materials. The typography was created from brown fabric and stuffed with cotton (now named, ‘Gotham Stuffed’). The end result is whimsical and sophisticated…and although it is definitely avant-garde, it evokes a certain level of craftsmanship that is not all too often part of today’s design aesthetics…which is what makes it so special and fresh.I look forward to seeing what this talented team will be designing next. In the meanwhile, if you have any thoughts, please feel free to share them.
Thanks,
Alfredo Muccino
Chief Creative Officer
Liquid Agency
Alfredo Muccino and Scott Gardner featured in Joe Claus portrait exhibition.
Joe Claus lives in downtown San Jose. He is a photographer residing in Silicon Valley, yet he likes to work with what many considered antiquated equipment…a film camera. For the last few months he has been building a portfolio of portraits of business people that work downtown San Jose. The range of his subjects is vast - both in terms of ethnic background, ages and types of businesses.

As part of this body of work, he shot portraits of Scott Gardner, the President and CEO of Liquid Agency, and his business partner – Alfredo Muccino – the agency’s Chief Creative Officer. The black and white portraits turned out great - and they are part of an exhibition titled “My Neighbors” currently being held at Dr. Martin Luther King Library in San Jose. Click here to find out more.
Alfredo Muccino’s picture was used to promote the event…which was very flattering to Alfredo.
If you’re in town, go see the exhibition. It’s been getting great reviews. Below are both Alfredo and Scott’s photos.

Here’s a link to Joe Claus’ site: www.joeclaus.com
Justin Vandeberghe
Marketing Designer
Liquid Agency | Brand Marketing
The 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 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 commentsWhat 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.
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