Kevin Cornell’s “Manda” | 2007©, Gouache on 300 lb. Cold Press

About the Interview

Yesterday we featured a fascinating website called, The Superest where A List Apart’s illustrator/designer Kevin Cornell wages an illustrious and ongoing battle of super heroic one-upmanship with animator/designer Matthew Sutter.

Kevin Cornell took time out of his busy schedule to talk to .think about The Superest site and his life as an illustrator.

.think | 1. What initially inspired you to create The Superest site?

Kevin Cornell: Well, Matt and I had come across Andy Haven’s post about the game “My Team, Your Team.” The game sounded really interesting, so we played it a couple of times. One particular game we posted to our websites; after which we realized it would probably be a fun site all its own, and a good proportion of other people agreed. So a couple months later we built The Superest site, and there ya go.

.think | 2. Although you and Matthew generally handle the majority of the illustration battles, if you could have anyone as a guest illustrator, who would it be?

Kevin Cornell: Hmmm… well, we both wanted to see the fellows from Wulffmorgenthaler do one. But their agent never wrote me back.

“The game itself is
just the perfect formula for
inspiring the next hero.”

.think | 3. How has the ubiquity of the web changed or challenged you as an illustrator?

Kevin Cornell: I think the web has made it much easier to get work in front of people than it is in print. But then, it also tends to pick up and spit out individual portfolio pieces quicker—one day you’ve got 5,000 people looking at your work, the next day 10. This aspect probably unconsciously led me—and other web illustrators—to change the way we promote and produce work.

Instead of disappearing down a hole and emerging a year later with a big portfolio piece, we take small projects that can quickly be put in a public forum or weblog, maintaining the frequency of exposure. Or, if one DID have a large, year-long project, they’d be more apt to give updates to an audience throughout the process.

.think | 4. What’s your favorite super hero creation and why?

Kevin Cornell: I think my favorite that I created was Figleif. I like the text, the hero is well-drafted and has good contrast, the reply itself was (from my perspective, at least) clever, and I was quite excited to have been able to add the runes that actually spell something.

It just all came together. What’s more, it came together without a huge amount of effort; some things you really have to sit and noodle with for hours before it gets right, and some things just miraculously happen right the first time.

Who doesn’t enjoy a bit of luck every now and then?

.think | 5. Describe your sense of humor; is it as well-developed as it seems or do you just muster one for the sake of The Superest site?

Kevin Cornell: Well, I couldn’t say whether it’s well-developed or not. I can’t stand political jokes or jokes about celebrities. I like jokes to be about universal things, things most everyone has experienced. Yet I can’t stand jokes about flatulence. I just don’t find it funny. I was actually pretty disappointed when I made Wind Breaker and everyone thought I was making a fart joke. And jokes about animals are pretty funny. But animals that are animated to sing, talk, and dance are NOT funny.

.think | 6. Has Pixar come calling, wanting to animate any of your super heroes, and what will you say when they do?

Kevin Cornell: Haha—no, no calls. And I expect if they DO call, it would be lawyers saying “Hey, stop ripping off our ideas.” Or to extend Matt’s restraining order another 30 feet.

.think | 7. You’ve created so many super heroes in such a short timeframe; where do you draw your inspiration from?

Kevin Cornell: Well, that’s what first excited Matt and I about creating the site; the game itself is just the perfect formula for inspiring the next hero. There have only been a handful of instances where I didn’t know how to beat the previous hero. Most of the time, the way to beat your opponent is just thinking about how that hero’s strength could also be a weakness.

.think | 8. Can you envision creating the ultimate super hero–one with such unparalleled powers–that it could end the series?

Kevin Cornell: Sure, it’s Chet The Commenter. That’s the guy who lists every possible hero reply in the comments before Sutter or I have a chance to draw it. When he strikes, we’re screwed.

.think | 9. Within arm’s length, what work-related item do you feel is most important to you and why?

Kevin Cornell: Probably this computer. I’d have a hell of a time getting the drawings online without it. Though the chair plays a big part in my day as well. Hmmm… this is a tough choice.

.think | 9-1/2. What’s your super power?

Kevin Cornell: I once went fishing with a bamboo pole and caught 5 fish, while the people next to me caught nothing. So I imagine it’s some sort of fishing power, which is a real shame because my weakness is handling bait.

Kevin’s wit and work can be viewed at his site, Bearskinrug.com. He is also the staff illustrator at A List Apart.

Check out The Superest’s ongoing battle here.

The new ferocious face of the Hamilton Southeastern High School Royals

“Our identity was fragmented; it lacked the presence a class 5A high school athletics program ought to project.”

-Greg Habegger, Hamilton Southeastern Athletic Director

Big Stakes

Brainstorm has branded many sports teams, venues, and organizations over the years: The Indianapolis 500, the U.S. Grand Prix Formula 1 race, the Brickyard 400 and 3M Performance 400 NASCAR races, the Disney 200, Conseco Fieldhouse, the NCAA Hardwood Cafe, RCA Dome, soccer associations…and now, the local high school?

Professional and college sports programs have become increasingly aware and protective of brand equity and the revenue it generates. High school sport programs that “borrow” identity elements in part or in whole from collegiate or professional teams often meet with threats of litigation.

Big Vision

With that in mind, and a desire to create an identity that transcended standard high school fare, Hamilton Southeastern High School’s athletic director, Greg Habegger, tapped Brainstorm to create the new Royals identity system.

Redesigned all-sports program cover and football helmet—click to see larger view.

The Brand Audit

Brainstorm reviewed Hamilton Southeastern High School’s (HSE) brand identity and found a pencil rendering—loosely based on a piece of clip art—being used in a myriad of graphic styles in more than 15 interpretations to depict the Royal’s lion mascot, “Roarie.”

The artwork was too soft and detailed to reproduce properly at smaller sizes and across various mediums. But even more importantly, Roarie was not fearsome-looking but rather passive and friendly.

“Brainstorm’s branding elevated our Royals identity to a professional or collegiate level.”

-Jim Self, Hamilton Southeastern Athletic Director

What’s in a Name?

Hamilton Southeastern High School Royals is a mouthful to say. Taking a cue from fans who generally refer to the school teams as the Royals, Southeastern, or HSE, we opted to drop the county name, Hamilton, in conjunction with the school’s athletic team identities.

Branding 101

Unlike professional team identities which are designed for a single sport, out of necessity, we approached the project more like a collegiate mark needing to encompass many sports. The identity needed to be flexible enough to allow for individual sport identification while retaining a strong core brand identity. We designed a system that worked as a family based on the core mark above.

Broad-based Deliverables

Brainstorm created a media cd and usage guidelines to assist the athletic directors in managing the brand rollout. We also re-graphicized the gymnasium floor, created back-lit dimensional entryway signs to the Royals sports complex, and designed a variety of logowear apparel.

In addition, we created over 35 logomark variations to give individual sports a unique identity within the Royals brand.

To see more brand deliverables click to play.

Between booster clubs, coach’s and team apparel, sports venues, signage and the like, a large high school has nearly as many branding needs as a collegiate program. (Trust us on that.) The rebranding effort began in December, 2005 and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Related Brainstorm Project Articles

XM Satellite Radio: A Packaging Process Overview

The B Series

Camino de la Universidad (The Road to College)
And to Making a Difference

A successful HTML-based email campaign
may mean tabling the whole idea.

Back to the Future

Many of today’s email clients function like mid-90s browsers. To consistently display HTML-based, asset-laden HTML email designs and layouts, we often turn to font tags and tables instead of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to finesse creative boundaries and ensure consistent browser display.

Web-based and desktop email clients interpret HTML-based email differently. Some even strip CSS styles altogether, necessitating extensive testing and modifications during the development process.

Cheaters Never Prosper?

Beyond the arcane cheats and excessive work arounds, there are other concerns that may dissuade the faint of heart or non-technical professional from embracing the medium: Email authentication, white-listing, audience acceptance, and—should it actually run the gauntlet unscathed—trust, proper brand messaging, and design.

For all its idiosyncrasies, delivery issues, and purists like Jeffrey Zeldman who deplore graphically enhanced email, ours is a visually responsive culture. And HTML email response rates bear that out.

To Table or not to Table

Like any marketing medium, proper strategy, integration, appropriateness and understanding of design limitations are key.

We sometimes advocate the use of text-based email to drive recipients to a landing site where graphically intensive design is more appropriate. And yet, we’re just as likely to use HTML email when the circumstances warrant it.

Whether HTML or text-based, never table the idea of integrating permission-based email into your brand marketing planning.

1 : 20 An appealing ratio.

The Story of Stuff Teaser #1

This one minute video employs the old adage: “Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. Then tell them what you told them.”

A simple storyline, childlike line art, straightforward logic, and narration combine verbally and visually to reduce a complex issue to an easily understood, engaging message.

Turning Less to More

The video culminates in an opt-in question designed to entice the viewer to engage in a 20-minute video that expounds on the basic communication. It’s served up in manageable segments at the viewer’s discretion. Nothing is forced or difficult to understand, just the way we like it—a concealed appeal.

See the longer video, produced by Free Range Studios, at storyofstuff.com.

[ via: Pat Coyle ]

Brainstorm created a proprietary online tool to track B Series activity including offer page visits, video views, downloads, survey data and much more.

39% increase in average daily hits
on BrainstormBrand.com during the
B Series promotion.

Objectives, Then Numbers

The B Series was created as the initial step in an ongoing awareness campaign targeted to a group of C-level marketing executives and decision makers with little or no previous knowledge of Brainstorm. Our goal for the multiple-component B2B campaign was simply to build name recognition and knowledge of our firm’s capabilities.

All statistics and results were measured with that primary objective in mind, but we were also interested in how each piece performed. Because of the nature of the campaign and the protracted sales cycle in our industry, an accurate ROI measurement isn’t yet feasible; however we created a unique offer landing page for each recipient and an online tool to track their individual responses. With a total response rate of 14%, unique visits to the offer site looked like this:

B Series Response Rates

What Worked

Our mass HTML email had a 22% open rate and 3% unique click-throughs; however, the fourth piece in the series, the personal email, was the most effective with 7.5% of recipients visiting the offer page. This strong response confirms that multiple touchpoints built name recognition. After several contacts, recipients felt comfortable opening an email from someone they didn’t know and clicking through to learn more about our company.

18% of the respondents
visited the offer site multiple times.

Visitor Activity

Once visitors were at the offer site, 29% watched a video, 50% downloaded the Web 2.0 Summary Sheet and 50% downloaded the MediaSphere.

Telling Numbers

In addition to traffic to the offer page, during the three initial mailers and the mass HTML email, average hits per day on our corporate website increased 50% over the preceding 15 days. After the personal email, average hits per day were up 79% over pre-campaign traffic. Across the two and a half-month promotion, average daily hits increased 39% overall.

25% increase in
direct traffic to BrainstormBrand.com
during the promotion.

What We’d Do Differently

Two weeks toward the end of the campaign were reserved for three of Brainstorm’s principals to make personal follow-up phone calls—not to hard sell, but to merely introduce themselves. It proved difficult to connect with a live person. We left voicemail and spoke to several people, but the results weren’t worth the effort of calling the entire list. Next time, we’ll follow up via phone with only individuals who have expressed a tacit interest by taking specific action while visiting the offer site.

Qualitative Metrics

Relying on percentages and numbers alone is ill-advised when measuring objectives. A myriad of variables affect the success of any consumer or B2B marketing campaign: need, timing, industry, execution, audience, and messaging are just a few.

Our initial effort exceeded our expectations by creating awareness and developing relationships that have resulted in new work and ongoing discussions with an audience previously unaware of us. We will continue to reach out to these individuals throughout 2008 in an attempt to build trust and relationship equity through various means.

B Series Resources

To read previous installments in this series or download one of the marketing tools from the offer, click on a link below or “B Series” under topics:

The B Series Part 1: Awareness Overview
The B Series Part 2: Strategic Design & Messaging
The B Series Part 3: The Componentry
The B Series Part 4: Personalization
The B Series Part 5: Offers and Incentives

Web 2.0 and Generation Me | 524 KB .pdf

The MediaSphere | 1.1 MB .pdf

B Series timeline: personal touchpoints, destination points