MCRAE CREATIVE BLOG

New Strategic Alliance with Mark Kamin & Associates

pmcrae — Sun, 23 May 2010 15:45:03 +0000

McRae Creative is proud and pleased to announce a strategic alliance with Mark Kamin & Associates, a world leading Management Consulting firm based in Houston, TX, with offices in North Carolina, Utah, Minnesota, Florida, Michigan, Canada and Isreal. McRae Creative’s founder, Peter McRae, has joined Mark Kamin & Associates and can now offer consulting, education, training and coaching engagements through that firm along with the branding and design services we continue to offer at McRae Creative.

Information about Mark Kamin & Associates can be found at www.mka-world.com.

Information about Peter McRae and his new offerings can be found at www.petermcrae.com. This site will list services and products across the entire scope of his offering, while McRae Creative will continue to focus on offering great corporate branding.

Charlotte Business Owners Group Logo

pmcrae — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:59:40 +0000

I was recently asked to design a logo for a new LinkedIn Group: Charlotte Business Owners. This is a quick and simple solution that I like.

Swine Flu - Deadly Disease or Brilliant Branding?

pmcrae — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:22:31 +0000

Reading the Charlotte Observer this morning, I was struck by the fervor around the H1N1 flu, better know as the swine flu. I know nothing about the science or medical nature of the virus, but I was struck by it’s branding. There is no logo for swine flu, but the name itself is a brilliant piece of naming. Sure, there was a bird flu before, but how deadly can a bird disease be?

Swine flu, on the other hand, just sounds so… well… dirty. Pigs are reputed to be very dirty creatures, so their flu must be nasty. Some portion of the panic around it must be connected to it’s name.

Resource for young designers

pmcrae — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:24:37 +0000

Rookie Designer is a nice resource for young designers. Adam Hayes has a website with forum, but the podcast is probably the most useful. He also has a video podcast called AppClinic, which has some very useful video tutorials.

Faison Capital logo selected for new LogoLounge book

pmcrae — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:26:56 +0000

Our logo for Faison Capital has been selected for inclusion in the LogoLounge Master Library Series book: Initials and Crests. According to the publisher, this series will “bring you plenty of exemplary logo design work from creatives around the world.” The books are due to go on sale in 2010 and will be available at Rockport Publishers.

beCause - building social capital

pmcrae — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:57:53 +0000

This is not a branding post, per se, but is worth noting. A friend recently gave me a “beCause” calendar and I wanted to share about it with others. The concept is simple - do one great thing every day. It might be as simple as smile at someone, or go somewhere you’ve never been, or go a whole day with no gossip. 90% of the profits from the calendar do to non-profits and youth projects. Go to beCause Calendars to read more or order some as gifts.

The power of authenticity

pmcrae — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:18:26 +0000

I recently finished reading the cover story for Charlotte’s Uptown Magazine. It starts with the headline “This magazine was started by a guy who knew nothing.” written by the editor, Todd Trimakas. When I finished reading, I noticed I felt more positive about the magazine than I ever have. All because he let me behind the scenes and was somewhat vulnerable. It reminded me again of the power of authenticity, and of the inner conflict I have in writing this blog. Should I be “professional” and stick to things I know a lot about, or do I expose my vulnerabilities and insecurities to be real? Count one vote for the later.

Brand Identity and Obama

pmcrae — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:51:20 +0000

The AdCharlotte blog posted and interesting interview on the effect branding is having on the presidential campaign of Barack Obama. In short, his campaign is using design more effectively than any of the other major candidates. Read the full story on Obama and Typography.

SpeakUp for great design commentary

pmcrae — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:30:44 +0000

One of the more interesting blogs talking about design in a thoughtful way is SpeakUp design dialog by Under Consideration. Armin Vit, Debbie Millman and Charlotte’s own Jason Tselentis are among the writers and contributors. Definitely check it out.

GigPosters.com

pmcrae — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:33:50 +0000

Wow. What a cool site. Check out all kinds of gig poster designs at GigPosters.com. Some of the samples stink, of course, but there are also a whole bunch that are very interesting.