The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio is a public charity that works to enrich the current and future quality of life in the 32 counties of Appalachian Ohio. Origo Branding Company was recently approached by the FAO to create a video that would honor their 2012 Child of Appalachia® honoree, Bill Morgan.

The Child of Appalachia award is an annual distinction given to members of the Appalachian community who have dedicated their time, energy and resources to the betterment of the Appalachian region. In the past, the Foundation has shared awardees’ stories through print and news media, but decided this year to take a new, digital approach to storytelling. Origo set out to create a video of biographical highlights, incorporating graphics and testimonial footage, to honor Bill Morgan’s career milestones and accomplishments.

The final result is an uplifting and inspiring piece that celebrates the history of the Foundation For Appalachian Ohio, as well as the individuals who have given of themselves to advance the Foundation’s mission. The video was met with tremendous applause at the Child of Appalachia gala on October 25, and we were extremely glad to help the FAO grow their message of giving back.

Elliott Cennamo is Origo’s new motion graphics designer and animator! Recently working with Origo in a number of capacities, Elliott’s past collaborations with the Origo team have included those with MediGold, Battelle For Kids, Abbott Nutrition and Elmer’s, to name a few. (Take a look at our Vimeo page for a more complete list.)

His unique skill set will surely be instrumental in expanding our agency’s capabilities, allowing us to offer more solutions for all of our clients’ marketing objectives.

Join us in getting to know Elliott a little better! Here are some quick facts:

• Hometown: Austin, Texas! Through way of Indiana, southeast Ohio, Virginia and Tennessee. Usually I just say “Appalachia”, since that’s where I grew up.
• Interests: Food, current events, design, making things. Art, culture. I like to build stuff and use big power tools.
• Inspirations: There are a ton of great motion studios out there doing beautiful work. It’s hard not to get inspired by some of the old masters, of course, but I like drawing inspiration from some of the images evoked by good literature the most.
• How would you describe your design style (few words)? Pretty minimalist. One or two well-selected colors or typefaces can make a strong enough statement on their own.
• Best job you’ve ever had: Spontaneous volunteer bartender.
• Worst job you’ve ever had: One summer it was my job to repair all of the desks and chairs at a 60,000 sqft computer lab. It was so big you could see the curve of the earth when you looked out over it. And it was filthy.
• Favorite movie/genre: I’m notoriously picky about movies. Some sort of intellectual commentary I usually like. Contact, Thank You For Smoking, or Ratatouille are old favorites.
• Favorite music/genre: When I’m working on something, something urban and instrumental like Explosions in the Sky or RJD2. When I’m driving or doing something that doesn’t require intense concentration, NPR.
• Something interesting about yourself (quirky/fun): I absolutely love southern cooking. One of my absolutely favorite creative releases is to cook up something with way too much gravy. If it gives me an excuse to buy pecans, even better!

Ratatouille is always a good pick. And as for southern cooking, we’re sold! We certainly look forward to working with Elliott in the future, and encourage our friends and partners to stop by and say ‘hello’ on their next Origo visit.

Follow Elliott’s many creative musings on Twitter: @DigitalElliott 

The creative guys and ghouls at Origo were hard at work in preparation for Monster Party 2012, this year’s take on our annual Halloween Party, inspired by the classic monster movies, motifs and characters of the 1980s. Casts of creatures turned out in droves to get a piece of the action!

Live jazz music filled our downtown office, where guests maneuvered their way through a macabre maze of attractions that included everything from party buttons to local craft brews and aptly named monster cocktails. Of course, nobody’s night was complete without a screen-printed t-shirt with the Monster Party 2012 logo. Partygoers were dying to pose with our picture perfect skeleton pal in the Monster Party photo booth. Check out our Flickr or Facebook for photographic evidence!

Our Halloween party is always one of our most anticipated events of the year, when we get to invite our friends and creative partners into our space and show them what makes the Origo team unique. Behind our signature branding process and strong client relationships is a team of fun-loving individuals, ready to have a great time in the spooky spirit of Halloween.

We want to say one more big thanks to everyone who turned out this year! It’s always a joy and we can’t wait to do it again in 2013. We’ll see you then!

Happy Halloween!

Revolutionary Schools aims to increase and deepen student learning through the cumulative impact of coordinated, student-centric instruction. They offer innovative solutions to school districts’ curriculum initiatives through an effective method known as Curriculum Mapping.

Based in New Hampshire, the education consulting company uses a unique line of electronic tools that helps teachers and administrators identify learning gaps and redundancies among their students, and tailor their lesson plans for more effective – and creative – teaching strategies.

Origo Branding Company recently designed Revolutionary Schools’ new brand identity and website to help market their comprehensive services to new audiences. We had a great time designing the elegantly streamlined, content-driven site.

The creative team did an outstanding job of delivering the client’s request for clean and simple imagery that reflects Revolutionary Schools’ consultative expertise, as well as the energy and diversity of the school districts they serve. With limited use of color and graphics, fresh environmental photography drives the central message, while tab navigation makes the site straightforward and easy to use for new visitors.

We always enjoy the chance to work with education-focused brands, and we look forward to more collaboration with Revolutionary Schools in the future!

It’s a night of spooky madness! This year to promote our annual Halloween Bash, the Origo creative team branded our event as the Origo Monster Party. To build hype and excitement around the event, we pay homage to ’80s pop culture, utilizing vibrant colors, rad fashion, and gnarly attitude.

Matched with an exciting promo video, we introduce characters such as The Creature from the Rad Lagoon and The Original Party Animal meeting downtown for a night of fun, friends, and scary excitement!

This party is invite only.

Our long-time client and friends at MediGold recently asked us to put their message into motion with a succinct, web-based visual resource to demonstrate “The Path to Medicare Made Easy” for the New to Medicare audience. Taking an educational approach, we set out to create a new motion graphics video to guide individuals nearing Medicare eligibility through the ins and outs of the service, including the benefits of partnering with and advantage plan like MediGold.

The two-minute video guides viewers through the basics of MediCare, explaining and clarifying the process and providing a quick reference for understanding the different options for enrollment. Visual explanations and online application make it adaptable as well as portable.

We think it serves as a strong tool to position MediGold as a forward-thinking and technology-driven company, equipped with new strategies to partner with the Medicare community.

Papel Couture creates premium design paper products through innovative use of precision laser cutting. The result is a uniquely stylish brand of stationery and home décor items. Origo is proud to collaborate with Papel Couture in creating a new brand essence and marketing strategy that keep in mind the essentials of couture – fine design, attention to detail, and superior quality.

New visuals and web features (as seen below) reflect the delicate intricacy in their high-end line of products.

We’ve created a user-friendly website for better e-commerce functionality and navigability. Multi-level categorization sorts items by specific occasion, so users can find what they need quickly and easily. Interactive widgets let e-consumers rate and review items, then share their favorites among their various social networks.

The sophisticated new brand speaks to new audiences who are design-conscious and internet-savvy. Look and feel elements appeal to their eclectic tastes and high fashion sensibility, while new web features let them connect with the Papel Couture brand in a way that’s engaging as well as intuitive.

Overall, it’s been an inspiring project that flexes our retail, web, and branding capabilities. We look forward to watching Papel Couture grow its brand identity online and elsewhere.

We at Origo love to show our creative chops, and as the dog days approach, we hope our Summer Flavors promotion ignites new ideas for months to come. At a time of year when people gather for good food and good company, we’ve decided to celebrate the season with a nod to some of our favorite things.

We had a blast creating the this new package promotion, utilizing a retro illustration style that perfectly captures the essence of backyard barbecues, block parties and bonfires. Two hot and smoky sauces complement each other for the perfect mix of savor and spice.

Check out the stylish package, signed, sealed and delivered with a personal message from the Origo team. We think our friends – old and new – will enjoy the tasty mix of summertime flavors that reflects our attentive branding process: seasoned to perfection and carefully crafted for just the right amount of kick!

• Hometown: Beavercreek, Ohio (about 15 minutes east of Dayton)
• Interests: I love exploring and urban adventures. When I came to Columbus, I immediately took to the streets on foot to get a feel for the city.
• Inspirations: I feel personally and professionally inspired whenever I meet a kind stranger.
• How would you describe your design style (few words)? Simplicity with a twist – I love aesthetic surprises.
• Best job you’ve ever had: I’ve had some internships that I loved. Working with the Short North Business Association and OSU Urban Arts Space gave me a real appreciation for art and creativity.
• Worst job you’ve ever had: I worked at a certain popular ice cream franchise when I was in high school. I was surprised by how rudely some people treat food service workers.
• Favorite movie/genre: I love movies in all genres, but my default is usually comedy. I’m also a big fan of Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan movies.
• Favorite music/genre: I just love music, plain and simple.
• Dislikes/pet peeves: Poor grammar and incorrect word usage.
• Something interesting about yourself (quirky/fun): I love costumes. Halloween is probably my favorite holiday.

Halloween? Urban adventures? Aesthetic surprises? It sounds like she Sarah will fit in just fine! Come by and meet her, as well as follow Sarah’s many adventures at @SarahAnne_G.

Celebrate Teaching is Battelle for Kids’ commitment to identifying highly effective teachers, celebrate their achievements, learn from their practices and share the lessons learned in order to elevate the performance of all teachers in helping children achieve their potential.

This year, Origo had the honor of branding the program to help Celebrate Teaching communicate its mission. Utilizing a very energetic, vibrant, and colorful approach, the brand was received with an exceptionally positive response, helping the program take an inspirational and leadership role in celebrating teachers’ achievements in the classroom.

We were excited to collaborate with our client, starting with the brand logo, to help create a brand essence that was then applied to a collateral system and website that aided in celebrating 83 teachers around Ohio. On the website, Highly Effective Teachers are highlighted by showcasing their profile, story, and the school district in which they achieved their remarkable results. It acts as a hub to share inspirational stories, as well as explain the vision and philosophies behind the program.

The brand was launched at the Celebrate Teaching event on June 28^th at the Ohio Educators Connect for Success 2012 Conference and was attended by approximately 1,000 education professionals. At the celebration, Origo launched the program with an inspirational motion graphic that explained the program benefits and role.

Origo is a strong advocate for education and appreciates our great friends at Battelle for Kids for bringing us on board for such an important initiative. Learn more about Celebrate Teaching here.