Longtime client Peter Myers of Stand & Deliver enlisted Elixir to design and launch a new website in conjunction with the release of his book As We Speak. The dynamic consulting group includes experts from the realms of theater and media. Through highly customized workshops, either in person or via the web, they coach businesspeople all over the world in the art of communicating more effectively. Stand & Deliver is dedicated to the idea that making yourself heard is not simply a matter of volume, but depends on three critical components: content, state and delivery.
If you’d like to communicate more effectively or significantly raise your game when speaking in front of an audience, check out this extraordinary team of consultants. We have learned much from them. Here are our three freshest tips: Always end a Q & A with “dessert”, never speak in front of an audience with your hands in your pockets, and never, ever try to create and launch a new website in three weeks.
Looking to reposition itself in the financial marketplace, Opes Advisors came to Elixir for help shaping their brand and perception via new messaging and a visual language. Opes is an innovative financial advisory firm that integrates wealth management and mortgage services to help clients make better financial decisions throughout their lifetimes. Its founders have insight from first-hand experience on how real estate is an essential component of good financial health. Their expertise and life experiences spurred them to build a company of immense integrity and unprecedented approach to financial planning, one that considers the impact of financial decisions now and into the future.
In a marketplace full of hollow promises and marketing mumbo-jumbo, Elixir’s greatest challenge with this project was communicating the truth. With a team of writers and illustrators, Elixir created a new website and collateral material to tell Opes’ story in both print and online, and further complemented this with a new company Intranet used by more than 400 employees every day. The new site and collateral have helped Opes Advisors to better articulate their unique offer of integrated wealth management, retirement planning and real estate financing services through their mortgage bank. Elixir’s strategy and design included helping the company redefine their brand voice, and a warm look and feel for their new design style.
Check out www.opesadvisors.com. The universe is conspiring to help you.
Elixir was recruited to design the website for Beauty Army, a new subscription service of premium samples for the beauty obsessed. For just $12, members receive six samples of makeup, hair- and skincare products, and more each month. What really sets Beauty Army apart is personalization—once you discover your unique Beauty Profile you can hand select which samples you’d like to receive or let Beauty Army’s team of renowned industry experts choose for you.
The site’s sophisticated and modern design expresses the high-end luxury of its showcased brands, while speaking directly to the beauty-savvy users who frequent the site for tips, techniques, and the latest in beauty products and trends.
Visit the site now become a part of the beauty revolution.
Elixir recently had the pleasure of collaborating with publisher Chronicle Books and Kokkari Estiatorio on the design of a cookbook for this acclaimed San Francisco restaurant. Kokkari: Contemporary Greek Flavors, authored by Executive Chef Erik Cosselmon and Janet Fletcher, presents almost 100 of the restaurant’s most popular recipes and illuminates the Greek traditions that inspired them. Photographs by Sara Remington are featured throughout.
Kokkari’s limited edition cookbook is available for $40 at the restaurant (or via faxed order). We encourage you to book a table and experience the old-country style and wide-ranging Mediterranean repertoire—a “marriage of classic Greek cuisine with a fresh, Left Coast sensibility” — that has earned Kokkari a place in the San Francisco Chronicle’s “Top 100 Restaurants” every year since opening in 1998.
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The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) held its annual East Coast fundraising event in Greenwich, Connecticut on September 25, 2010. Celebrating the Great Outdoors is the third NFWF fundraiser Elixir has worked on, having developed materials for both the 2009 and 2010 successful West Coast fundraising events in San Francisco.
Elixir designed the Celebrating the Great Outdoors event mark, stationery, save-the-date, apparel, invitation, tickets and program. Most pieces featured photography by Andrew Zuckerman.
Via grants to myriad organizations, NFWF has funded conservation projects in all 50 states and around the world. Over the past 26 years, NFWF’s environmental stewardship has earned it a reputation as a global conservation leader. Currently, the organization is on the front lines in the Gulf of Mexico, working to reduce losses and increase reproduction among threatened species.
Unfolded, the invitation measures 15.5″ x 23.125″. It was printed on recycled newsprint in San Francisco by Oscar Printing Company.
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prAna brought Elixir in to establish the brand’s visual language and, in tandem, to begin developing prAna’s first direct-to-consumer catalog. The company had built a loyal following among climbers and yoga practitioners who valued the brand’s authenticity. Without compromising the soulfulness that defined its first 17 years in business, prAna wanted to attract a broader audience of outdoor enthusiasts, artists, and other “cultural creatives” to drive significant growth. The management team described prAna’s desired revitalized brand position as balancing “the thrilling tension between mindful living and living on the edge.”
prAna’s primary sales channel was through retail partners in over 40 countries (from REI and Amazon to independent yoga studios and climbing gyms). The company wanted to increase direct sales, via a catalog to complement its website and new retail outlets, including prAna’s store-within-a-store in Santa Barbara—for which Elixir designed various aspects of the in-store experience.
The Fall and Holiday 2010 catalog mailings include many prospective customers unfamiliar with the brand. To infuse the books with the spirit of prAna without sacrificing selling space, Elixir paired product and lifestyle shots with hand-crafted touches. These include hand-drawn shadows behind merchandise; hand-lettered titles and text; and the juxtaposition of illustrations by Jeremy Collins with images from a host of specialized photographers: Andrew Burr, Mario Covic, Jeffrey Cunningham, Tim Kemple, Amir Magal, Ben Moon, Richard Seagraves, Boone Speed, Rich Van Every, and Jeremiah Watt. If you aren’t on the mailing list and would like to receive the Holiday issue, you can sign up here.
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Elixir recently designed the logo for The OutCast Agency, a premier PR firm with offices in San Francisco and New York. Founded in 1997 as OutCast Communications, the company changed its name earlier this month. The agency boasts an all-star clientele, including Amazon, Facebook, Autodesk, Netflix, Yahoo!, Intuit, Jawbone and Salesforce.
Elixir’s solution presents the new name in a clean, direct manner. In application, “OutCast” is designed to recede, letting “The Agency” take the fore, in keeping with the company’s focus on its clients. “OutCast” can also be transparent, as shown on the website—an understated way to represent the agency’s approach to building relationships.
L to R: Lavender, Rosemary and Orange Blossom Lotion; Meyer Lemon and Sage Shampoo; Lavender, Jasmine and Blood Orange Conditioner; Meyer Lemon and Sage Bath Gel.
The fruits of Elixir’s recent packaging project for The Spa Hotel Healdsburg are now available. The custom botanical blends are all 100% natural. Experience the products at the spa or as a guest at the hotel (or its sister, h2hotel, which opened in July). Located 67 scenic miles north of San Francisco, Hotel Healdsburg continues to be rated one of the world’s best hotels by both Condé Nast Traveler and Travel+Leisure. To enjoy these products farther afield, order online.
Elixir has completed a logo and packaging for From the Fields’, based in Mill Valley. Founder Betsy Fields came to Elixir in 2009 with her first bag of homemade granola … and, one short year later, From the Fields’ (which Elixir also named) is producing more than a ton of artisanal granola every month—still in small batches—for selected stores around the San Francisco Bay Area.
Fields’ flavors (Original, Orange Ginger, Cardamom Rose, Cherry Almond, Honey Lavender, Pineapple Coconut, Currant and Nut-Free) have grown out of recipes she’s collected over the years from family and friends. All ingredients are organic, sourced directly from local family farms. You can pick up a bag at Rainbow Grocery or Marina Market in San Francisco and at Whole Foods in Novato (among other locations).
