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Project in the Books: The Adventure Activist

2/25/2017

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Colors & Branding - How Wheelie Can Help!

1/18/2017

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By Amanda Guy -- Our Designer
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Color Theory from graf1x.com
If the image above stresses you out or gives you anxiety, you're not the only one! Chances are you are not a designer and you've started working with a creative agency to bring your visions to life.

You've decided to put your business plan into action. Congrats! Then your creative agency asks you the one question you really haven't thought about. They ask, "What colors do you have in mind, and what are you hoping your logo will convey?" You immediately think, "Um...I have no idea where to even begin."

There are so many colors out there, but it's nothing to panic about.

At Wheelie, most of our clients want some kind of input on the colors they want, but then again, some do not. Sometimes it's just easier to leave it up to the designers. In the end, you have to be in love with your brand and your brand's colors, so here is are a few ways that Wheelie can help you consider when it comes to color and the psychology of color.

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Go away 2016...We're over you

12/27/2016

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by Amanda Guy --Our Design Unicorn
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Hey there WheelHeads! It’s been a while since my last blog post and I know you’ve all really been missing my pithy comments and updates, so in an attempt to be artsy and poetic, with a touch of refined, I tried to write a poem and I tried to write some rhymes—See what I did there?—anyway, please enjoy this hilarious attempt at poetry. I wanted to do something festive that relates to graphic design and all that we do here at the WheelHouse, which is pretty impossible to cover in a short poem, but here it goes anyway!

​ I hope you’ve all had an amazing Holiday season and here’s to the end of 2016…we’re over you 2016…go away.


ENJOY!

Twas the end of 2016 and all through the WheelHouse
Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse

The skateboards and bikes were hung in the conference room with care
in hopes that several clients soon would be there

Several meetings were planned for the first week of the year
Amanda and Dan planned to stock the fridge with delicious beer

Creativity flowed through office and out the door
several of our clients hollered, “more designs…MORE!”

The advent had finished with a snowball to the face
here’s hoping we sent some giggles to the whole human race

We reflected on the year and the projects completed
the videos we shot and the logo processes repeated

Jessica is managing the office and two adorable little boys
a new addition to our team she brings us lots of joy

Lisa and Travis built a new standing desk for the crew
we officially got rid of those old principle desks, just ugly, so ew.

Dan is in deep competition for collecting the most vertical this year
But Jessica, Lisa and myself aren’t giving up yet, we will shred with no fear

My two year work-a-versary is coming in quick
Lisa says, "No way in 2017 can I top that Star Wars bit"


This poem is getting ridiculous, I’m terrible at this stuff
I hope you at least enjoyed it a little? Okay Amanda, enough.

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Here’s to another rocking year at the WheelHouse! I’m sorry 2016, it’s not us, it’s you, you just need to be done and we are more than ready to crush 2017! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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Case Study: Spotted Bear Spirits

11/18/2016

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Last week we talked about the importance of a good story in developing your brand. This week we’re going to put our money where our mouth is and show you a startup client that grew to success thanks to maintaining a clear vision, a great story and the right way to tell it. So sit back, relax and join us as we explore an adventure in branding.

When Lauren Oscilowski approached Wheelie Creative for her new project, a distillery in the heart of downtown Whitefish, she had an idea, but needed help turning that into reality. With a deep background and knowledge for high-quality handcrafted spirits and cocktails, she wanted to bring her passion to life with a warm, inviting spot where locals and tourist alike could sit and enjoy a cocktail after a long day of adventuring in the surrounding wilderness that we all love. Spotted Bear Spirits was still in its infancy but the clock was ticking. She needed a logo, branding, label design, merchandise, and much, much more to get this project off the ground and get drinks in customers’ hands.

At the heart of the challenge lies the hyper-competitive local market that Lauren was looking to call home for the new distillery and tasting room in downtown Whitefish, Montana. In addition to bars, breweries and general entertainment, there are a number of other distilleries within a short drive. With this in mind, we had to craft something fresh that would differentiate SBS from the numerous other offerings in the area while appealing to both locals and tourists alike.
Just as the Spotted Bear Wilderness (upon which Spotted Bear Spirits draws its name) is the launching point for countless adventures, this project was an adventure in design. Since we were starting with a blank slate, it presented an amazing opportunity to customize exactly to our client’s needs and desires. By listening to initial ideas and concepts, we were able to craft fun, refreshing, hand-drawn artwork that brought the logo to life.
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How did it go? Outstanding, to put it mildly. This was the largest project we had ever undertaken and we couldn’t be happier with the results! In addition to an overall logo and branding package, we developed a ton of other fun elements to help Lauren create a fun, welcoming environment.
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Multiple bottle label designs, apparel items and wallpaper patterns were designed to carry on the look and feel of the overall experience Lauren was trying to create in her distillery. And yes, you read that correctly. The tasting room needed to have just the right look so, rather than just picking a wallpaper design off a shelf at a box store, two custom wallpapers were designed and printed that now adorn her walls. And for the perfect finishing touch, a 5-foot-tall logo was drawn into the (wet) concrete floor of her production space. Yes, Lisa can now add “concrete artist” to her diverse set of skills.

Once the space was up and running, we had the opportunity to conduct multiple photo shoots, both of the tasting room and distillery space as well as lifestyle shoots reflecting both winter and summer “lookbook-style” photos. These turned out fantastic and help showcase how much heart and soul has gone into bringing this project to life. And finally, to help her showcase her space to the virtual world, a website was created utilizing numerous hand-drawn designs to continue the overall look and feel of her space.

With so many elements taking place and overlapping, this project required heaps of project management to keep everything running smoothly. Luckily, this was an area where we were able to keep a clear head and keep pumping out quality work. Lauren is by far one of our favorite clients and we’re happy to report that her business is thriving in the heart of downtown Whitefish.
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We are hiring!

10/14/2016

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Creative Project Manager

Wheelie Creative is looking for a Project Manager to be the primary point of contact with our clients on managing the strategy, relationship, details, and extreme creativity that go into all of of our projects.

We love our clients. And we love our crew. That’s why the Project Manager position is very important to us. This position requires management of projects and attention to detail while maintaining the culture of Wheelie and the high-level creativity it produces. This position manages our creative team and is the point of contact for our clients. This position is best suited for the rare “creative Type A” personality because it balances business with creativity. To be blunt, this job is not an easy one, but it is rewarding, dynamic, and there is never a dull moment at the Wheelie HQ.

Job Summary: 
  • Be the project leader and primary client contact in managing all phases of creative and marketing projects.
  • Develop a strong relationship with the client and provide insight and strategy
  • Provides leadership and direction for day-to-day project operations as well as administrative activities.
  • Participates in the planning, design and development of project requirements, strategy, analysis and development process.


Job Accountabilities:
  • Assists Creative Director with formulating project objectives, functional requirements and technical specifications.
  • Works with Sales Team and Creative Director to plan, organize and schedule activities to meet objectives.
  • Develops and implements operating policies, procedures and systems to support planned operations.
  • Extreme attention to detail when entering, recording, and analyzing information within our project management software.
  • Administrative duties as needed such as ordering supplies for projects, answering the phone, etc.
  • Ensures policies are well-documented and communicated to project personnel.
  • Contributes to the design of technical standards and project processes.
  • Develops and manages project budgets, including writing change orders.
  • Authorizes expenditures and monitors account reconciliation and status to ensure compliance with fiscal guidelines and project profitability.
  • Prepares and/or directs the preparation of financial reports as required.
  • Manages staff assigned to project. (ie, manages the creative team)
  • Provides training and technical supervision to staff if applicable.
  • Motivates and monitors the progress of work performed by project staff.
  • Responds to external requests for information.
  • Serves as key resource for project information and resolves problems or questions referred by internal and external sources.
  • Establishes and maintains an active network of professional contacts.
  • Performs other related duties as assigned or requested.
 
Job Qualifications:
  • Agency experience: 2 years
  • Minimum Education: Bachelors Degree or Related Field
  • Minimum Experience: 2-4 Years
  • Minimum Field of Expertise: Directly related project administration experience in specialized field represented by project
  • Preferred Education: Ideally, in our dream world: an MBA with a minor in design.


Competencies:
  • Problem Solving - Identifies and resolves problems time efficiently; Gathers and analyzes information; Develops solutions; Uses reason.
  • Managing People - This is a management position. Includes staff in planning and decision-making processes; Makes self accessible to staff; Develops subordinates' skills and encourages growth; Seeks to improve processes, products and services.
  • Cost Consciousness - Works within approved budget; Develops and implements cost saving measures; Conserves company resources.
  • Oral Communication - Speaks clearly and persuasively; Listens and gets clarification when necessary; Responds informatively to questions and concerns. 
  • Written Communication - Writes clearly and concisely; Edits work; Varies writing style to meet specific needs; Presents data effectively; Able to read and interpret written information.
  • Planning/Organizing - Prioritizes and plans work activities; Uses time efficiently; Plans for additional resources; Sets goals and objectives.
  • Design - Produces creative solutions; Translates concepts and information into images; Demonstrates attention to detail. Able to speak about design to our clients in a way that resonates with them. A high level of intuition is required for this.
  • Project Management - Develops project plans; Coordinates projects; Communicates changes and progress; Manages project team activities.
  • Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, and percentages, change orders.
  • Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
  • Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals and professional journals.
  • Extensive knowledge of the outdoor industry. 
  • Ability to write reports and business correspondence.
  • Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from supervisors, clients, customers, and the general public.
 
How to Apply:
Send a cover letter and resume to lisa@wheeliecreative.com


Application closes: October 28, 2016
Start Date: Preferably ASAP, but we are seeking the right fit over the right timeframe.
Salary: DOE, either 32 hours per week or 40 hours per week. (Flexible) 
We are closed on Fridays.
Benefits: Employee IRA beginning 2017, ski pass to WFMR.
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Hello, Technology. You can call me Steph.

10/6/2016

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By: Stephanie Shomperlen, our kickass intern
stephanie shomperlen
self-portrait by Stephanie.
Exactly 1 year ago, I decided to go back to school. I traded in my cowboy boots, leather chaps and callused hands for a MacbookPro, an external hard drive, and a heavy, oversized, book-filled backpack.

Hi, my name is Stephanie Shomperlen. I am a 32-year-old Arizona girl that picked up her life 6 years ago and moved to Montana to pursue a romantic fantasy of being a cowgirl in the Big Sky country. Horses, cows, and leather are what made my heart sing. Waking up early just to saddle up and ride out as the sun was cresting the ridge brought me inspiration and a deep connection to my soul. I was living the dream. My dream.

A few years ago, I was riding a young horse and got in a wreck. I got bucked off and launched like an eggo waffle flying out of a hot toaster. My head made contact with the corral fence as did my spine. After experiencing yet another horse-related head injury and pinching a few nerves in my back, I began to fear what I loved. I began to withdraw from my own horses and had a deep knowing that I needed a change in my lifestyle. If I wanted to take care of my head and love my brain, something need to shift. It took me two years, a lot of digging deep within, forgiving, and letting go, but I finally took the leap, and the net appeared. 

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SKI PASS TIME!

9/29/2016

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By Amanda Guy -- Our Designer
CHAIRLIFT MEETINGS
Hey there, WheelHeads! Hope everyone is having a killer last week of September. It's already that time of week again where I update you on the Wheelie happenings around here. We've had a lot going on this week, and we are stoked about the recent changes in the weather.

Ski season is upon us, and this week was Wheelie Ski Pass week!
Each September, we head to a local business in Whitefish to get our season passes--Lisa buys everybody at Wheelie a season pass as part of a job perk. This year was no different, and Lisa surprised us on Monday morning by saying it was officially ski pass day. We were pretty much stoked beyond all reason.

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The Wheelie Calendar & Biking

9/22/2016

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by Amanda Guy -- Our Designer
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As most of you may know, for the last few years, Lisa has put together a really fun wall calendar filled with bicycle artwork and Wheelie Creative branding.​

Recently Lisa went to the 2016 OR Conference in Salt Lake City and was pleased to hear from several companies that, "I already know you! We have your calendar hanging in our office." How awesome is that?! 

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September WheelHouse Happenings

9/14/2016

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By Amanda Guy -- Our Designer

We have  a Fall Intern!

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Meet Stephanie!
The weather is turning cooler, the leaves are starting to change, and school is officially back in session all over. With school back in session we now have a brand new intern for the Fall Semester. I’d like to introduce you all to Stephanie Shomperlen. She's a badass horse trainer who decided to add a graphic design degree to her bag of tricks.

So far Stephanie has been kicking it with us for two weeks. She’s slowly getting integrated into the Wheelie atmosphere and is crushing it right now. She got to have her first official meeting with one of our favorite non-profits this week, CRYJ. The Center for Restorative Youth Justice will give Stephanie some super fun projects for the semester and we can’t wait to see what she does during her time with us. The Wheelie Internship program is something we are very proud of and we’ve had some great success stories from our previous interns.

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The 4 Part process to my hand drawn designs

9/8/2016

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By Amanda Guy -- Our Designer
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So here I am, addressing hand drawings, again, in this week's post. I know we've talked about hand drawings a lot lately, especially in our Instagram posts, but I wanted to fill you in a little on how my drawing process works. Plus, hand drawing is a huge part of graphic design whether you're really good at drawing or not. 

When a new project presents itself I begin to look through books and online for new ideas or inspiration. When it comes to hand drawings, online tends to work the best for me. It's too hard to look at a shape, animal, object, or whatever other noun you thing you can think of, on a brightly lit computer screen the whole time I'm trying to draw it. So here are the top four things I do when getting ready to do a drawing.

1. Search for and print out the inspiration!

Obviously I print it out. It's nice to have it right there, I can print it the size I want or know that I want to draw it and it can lay on my desk for inspiration. 

I always open the office, I get here at 7am and when Dan gets here he's always noticing the weird stuff that I'm printing out to help me with whatever graphic needs to be hand drawn that day. "Say Amanda, why is there a chicken in the printer?" or, "What's with all the monkeys?" I know there is a bit of an animal pattern here, but that's what I've been printing out the most of lately. That, and tricycles. Anyway to get back on track here it is nice to work on hand drawings in the morning when I'm alone. It's quiet in here, and I turn up the music as loud as I want.
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Dan might laugh at some of the weird stuff sitting in the printer, but he actually secretly loves it, I think he's obsessed with scratch paper. He has a whole drawer full of the stuff we've printed out and don't need anymore. The more I think about it though, maybe I should start a file of these weird animals and objects I've printed out for drawing purposes. But I don't want to ruin Dan's scratch paper collection.

2. Bust out the pencils & microns

Sometimes you just have to start with an initial sketch. This is what all designers should do. I never start a drawing thinking, this will be THE drawing. I recommend getting a sketch book or a journal that you don't really care too much about for this part. I have some really nice marker paper that absorbs the ink to prevent runs, but I don't want to waste this paper on a silly pencil sketch! Lisa loves drawing with pencils and is really good at it, but I have to do my final drawings with a micron. The dark ink on the super white paper makes this design nerd super happy. 

Once I have an initial sketch--and sometimes the initial sketch might be some stick figures with some really sloppy text strictly for layout purposes--the fancy paper gets to come out and I carefully start adding the first lines of the drawing. The details come after the outlines of larger shapes, and the drawings adapt from there.

3. I don't try and compare my drawing skills to anyone elses

Any time I start a drawing project I have to remind myself that I'm not world's best illustrator, and it's important for me to remember that there are things I can draw, and things I cannot. For all of you designers out there that think you need to be a fine artist to do graphic design, you don't. There are so many ways to get the exact look and feel of a design that you're really looking for without having this ability. It's a nice skill to have, well actually, an amazing skill to have, but not all of us were born with the skill to draw a straight line perfectly. So don't be ashamed if you lack certain drawings skills.

That's what is so great about a design agency and having a team that can work together on projects. You're not just getting one person, you're getting four of us that work together to put your visions into realities. Lisa and I have several occasions where we combine forces. We call these Amanda and Lisa collabs, and with this, Lisa will add something to the design that I may not have thought of, and visa versa. These collabs are my favorite.
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4. Final touches to the drawing and adding it to the design

Once I have my drawing the way I want it, I add it to the design. I scan it and put the drawing into Illustrator, or simply use it in Photoshop, depending on what the final product may be. Then, if necessary, I can color it in, or remove colors I added while drawing. It's really as simple as that, and the best part is, it's totally original. It's something that I literally used my hands and art supplies to create. 
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I love hand drawing, it's a nice change of pace and feels really good to get away from the mouse and keyboard at times.
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Thanks for stopping by the blog this week. I hope everyone out there has a great weekend and feels inspired to draw a little. Grab a piece of scratch paper and mess around. Artist or not, it's just fun to doodle!
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5 Things I Consider When Using Typography

9/1/2016

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By Amanda Guy - our Designer
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What if Android was in comic sans?!
Ah yes, Typography: one of the biggest things to consider in graphic design. The right typeface can make a world of difference in your designs. The typeface you use for your marketing and branding needs to represent your brand and the visuals well, and if you’re using Comic Sans, you should just stop. ​

This is a constant joke with graphic designers. “Why is Comic Sans around? It’s the worst font in the world!” Well fun fact about Comic Sans, it was developed in the 90’s to be paired with a cartoon dog. So if you’re using this typeface for professional purposes, you’re doing it wrong. Can you imagine if well-developed brands started using comic sans? 

Okay, so I'm getting slightly off track here. You are reading this post for a little more information than the do’s and don’ts of Comic Sans.

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Ski Designs and New Techniques

8/25/2016

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by Amanda Guy -- Our Designer
Wheelie Creative Ski Design
​Happy ‘pre-Friday everyone! As we approach the end of yet another week here at the Wheelhouse, I’m happy to report that things have really been coming up Wheelie! From office updates, to fun and new designs, we are fired up for the weeks, months, and year ahead.

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Embrace the Clutter

8/15/2016

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By Dan Hansen, Brand Strategist
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​Like many people out there, I live in various state of clutter. My dinner table at home is the standard receptacle for various pieces of mail, newspapers, magazines, coozies, hats and a laptop. My bookshelves have turned into a makeshift workbench for my bike tools and bearspray. And my spare bedroom… well, last time I attempted cleaning in there it turned into a project that ate an entire weekend. 

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BRAND STORY: THE MONTANA SCENE

8/7/2016

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WheelHouse Summer of Happenings

8/4/2016

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By Amanda Guy -- Our Designer
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Hi Everyone! Welcome to my "Friday" Blog post. Yes, I'm aware it's Thursday, but as it is summertime and we do the majority of our work Monday through Thursday, we have decided to work 4-10's for the rest of the Summer.

With Wheelie closed on Fridays for a few weeks we will be participating in even more adventures, and hopefully adding to our portfolio at the same time! But that's not what I wanted to write about this week. Instead, I would like to update you on the happenings and goings-ons around here the last few weeks.

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    Wheelie Deep Thoughts

    This is where we showcase fun stuff-- new work, case studies, weekly updates, job openings, and general awesomeness from members of the Wheelie Crew.

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