Archive for April, 2010
Alfredo is invited to Colombia for World Graphics Day 2010.
Alfredo Muccino, Chief Creative Officer of Liquid Agency, has been invited by the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, a university in Cali, Colombia to participate in their celebration of World Graphics Day.
Alfredo will help lead a workshop involving students enrolled in the design program. The focus of the workshop is to create posters based on the theme “The Value of Design”. The program is being offered in conjunction with Icograda (the International Council of Graphic Design Associations).
The Pontificia Universidad Javeriana is a private higher education institution founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest and most traditional Colombian universities with its main facilities in Bogotá and a sectional division in Cali. Since its creation in 1950, the School of Architecture and Design has established itself as a leading center for learning about the habitat, communications and design. Many of its students, faculty and school management have received national and international awards and recognition.
World Graphics Day takes place on April 27, and has been celebrated annually since 1995. As a way to participate in this global event, the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana is inviting students to design posters that best express the theme. The exercise will be guided by the university faculty along with a select group of designers representing various parts of the world. Alfredo Muccino will be representing the United States. A panel of judges will select the top posters, and these will be submitted to Icograda, to represent the work being done by design students in Colombia. Alfredo will also hold a seminar to present the branding and design work that he has lead over the last 30 years and discuss the type of assignments that are being delivered by Liquid today.
“I’m very excited about getting a chance to speak to the students at this university. Their programs are very different than the ones offered in the US, and I look forward to sharing my experiences in the field, while learning about how designers are being taught in Colombia,” said Alfredo Muccino. “I am very excited to visit Cali and Bogota…and I am sure that I will return inspired and refreshed”.
Of course, most people know that Alfredo Muccino is an Italian citizen…but not many know that he was born in Bogota. He left Colombia to live in Italy when he was very young, and never returned. This will be his first time visiting his birthplace…which is another reason he’s excited about this particular trip.
No commentsSlice and Eton are recognized by GDUSA.
Two of Liquid Agency’s packaging projects were recognized for their outstanding design by the Graphic Design USA through their annual American Package Design Awards competition.Liquid Agency received an award for the packaging system the company designed for Eton Corporation, which included packaging for the Eton brand, the American Red Cross brand, and the Grundig brand. Based in Palo Alto, Eton Corporation is globally recognized famous for its award-winning line of shortwave and emergency crank radios. Most of its radios are either hand or solar powered.
Liquid also received an award for the packaging design it delivered for Slice. Based in San Jose, Slice develops innovative products for the home and office, literally focusing on cutting edge design. Slice products include knives, box cutters, peelers and scissors, as well as line of manicure and pedicure accessories. Liquid has been responsible for the Slice brand since the company’s inception, and it has helped develop relationships with world class designers and architects such as Karim Rashid, Michael Graves, Yves Behar, and others.
“We are very proud of these two awards. This is a difficult and prestigious competition, with entries representing major brands in many categories across the US. Winning one award is not easy. We’re thrilled that our work landed us two – and much of the credit goes to our clients, Eton and Slice, who are both committed to fostering design innovation at every brand touchpoint” said, Alfredo Muccino, Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of Liquid Agency.
For more than four decades, Graphic Design USA has sponsored national design competitions that spotlight areas of excellence, growth and opportunity for creative professionals. One of the biggest annual competitions is the American Package Design Awards, which recognizes the country’s best package design. According to Graphic Design USA, “In this era of challenge and change, effective package, p-o-p and instore graphics are increasingly the “difference makers” in the success of a brand, a campaign, a product, a sale”. This year, entries in the competition grew by more than 20 percent, raising the total to over 1,500 entries.In the end, less than 150 firms and organizations were honored with a Certificate of Excellence and Liquid Agency was among them.They winning entries are featured in the March issue of Graphic Design USA. Both designs will also be published on the online version of the Design Annual. See more: www.gdusa.com
No commentsAlfredo Muccino talks about design trends at the upcoming PINC Show 2010.
Attended by over 1,000 people, the PINC Show is the event of the year for printers, creative professionals, marketers, and web designers in Northern California. The PINC Show speaks to how, why, and what’s new. The day-long event features a trade exhibition showcasing the latest professional software, technologies, and trends as well as a series of cutting-edge seminars.
One of the seminars is being presented by our very own Alfredo Muccino. Titled “Design for the New Decade”, the session will explore the design trends that are becoming more prevalent today and that will continue to grow in importance over the next ten years. As brands seek to engage their audiences in the physical world as well as in digital environments, companies need to embrace the latest digital and print technologies as well as issues such as environmental impact and sustainability, integrated campaigns, mobile technologies, augmented reality, widgets and apps, etc. The presentation will include a showcase of some of the most progressive and inspiring work being created today…and thoughts on how this work may evolve in the future.“
The industry is changing at a very rapid pace and our community needs to embrace new technologies and a fresh approach. Companies that innovate and adapt to the new ways that people are consuming media are the ones that will survive – while the others will go the way of dinosaurs” said Alfredo Muccino.
The PINC show takes place on Thursday, May 6, 2010 from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM at the UCSF Mission Bay / William J. Rutter Conference Center 1675 Owens Street, San Francisco, CA 94158. The “Design for the New Decade” seminar goes from 2:15pm-3:30pm in Room 213. To register for the seminar, please visit the PINC site.
No commentsProduct design by Liquid debuts at 2010 HouseWares Show.
In March, I attended the HouseWares Show in Chicago along with our our client, Slice, who was debuting a new logo, new booth, and a whole bunch of new products – including a new box cutter I co-designed with Scot Herbst. In terms of product design, this is a first for Liquid, and it was a very exciting event. Slice is a small company that makes a very cool set of products that cut, grate, chop…and, of course…slice. The product line includes peelers, graters, scissors, utility knives, kitchen knives, nail clippers..and now a box cutter. Liquid has been involved with Slice since the very start, when I helped design the product that launched the company – the iSlice – a simple one-sheet cutter with a very small ceramic blade. This product is still a best seller today, although it is now marketed as the “Safety Cutter”. From the beginning we’ve worked closely with TJ Scimone, a very dear friend, and the Founder / CEO of Slice. Over many breakfast meetings we worked together to defined the company’s brand strategy and business direction, and as the Brand Architect for Slice I have had the pleasure to be involved with every possible manifestation of the brand.
Most importantly, Liquid has helped develop relationships with some of the world’s most celebrated designers, including Karim Rashid, Michael Graves, and Yves Behar. We’ve also been instrumental in identifying fresh talent, like Scot Herbst – who is the man behind the popular Kaiku brand, and is now helping develop many of Slice’s new products. At the beginning, Liquid provided all of the design services necessary to launch the company, including the logo, packaging, literature and website. Today, Slice continues to grow at a rapid pace, and we remain integrally involved in every aspect of the brand’s evolution – with a great emphasis on product development – and as the Brand Architect for Slice, Alfredo Muccino provides high-level strategic and creative direction to a very diverse and very talented group of independent designers. For example, we worked on the packaging with Tom Crabtree, creative director of Manual in San Francisco (Tom designed the iPhone packaging at Apple) who collaborated with one of Liquid’s former Creative Directors, the very talented Joshua Swanbeck. They both put their considerable skills to work for Slice and revamped the entire packaging system as well as refining the Slice identity and creating new literature. We also tapped the talents of Jan Habraken, a multi-disciplinary designer originally from the Netherlands, now working in NY. Jan designed the new Slice booth – which got almost as much attention as the products. Good work, Jan!
The 2010 International HouseWares Show was a great success for Slice. According to Phil Brandl, president of the International Housewares Association, “We were encouraged by the significant increase in international buyer attendance this year as well as by the reports that U.S. retailers and senior executives were present in large numbers.” The Slice booth was visited by buyers from all over the world, including Japan, Korea, Australia, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Brazil and more. All of the visitors lauded the Slice brand for the quality of its product design as well as for the elegance of its presentation.
To much acclaim, Slice introduced a new Salt and Pepper Grinder by Karim Rashid – who showed up at our booth and helped introduce the new product. Slice also launched a complete set of personal care accessories by Michael Graves – the acclaimed architect who is also well-known for his product designs for Target and Alessi. Being able to introduce the Box Cutter that I designed along with Scott Herbst in such amazing company was quite an honor.
The Box Cutter uses ceramic blades that last 10X longer than traditional metal blades, while its unique shape offers a better grip and improved safety features. Without a question, the design of this product sets it apart from all other utility knifes on the market. We are currently at work on a number of new products and look forward to sharing them with you as soon as we make progress. In the meanwhile, please let us know what you think of the work we’re doing for Slice.We’d love to get your feedback…and any suggestions for new product extensions!!!
