Tag Archives: Mark Oliver Inc

Graphis honors MOI for brand work.

We are pleased to announce that our branding work for Bellwether Farms has been awarded a Gold Award in Graphis Branding 6.

Graphis Branding 6 presents the work of some of the biggest names in design today. Hundreds of images from the year’s award-winning branding campaigns are displayed in a lavishly produced publication and on their website. Graphis publishes the world’s most significant and influential works from the greatest talent in Design, Advertising, and Photography.

49 design agencies from 18 countries (22 from the USA) were selected for Platinum and Gold awards. Only three firms from California were recipients. To see all of the award-winning work for Bellwether Farms, visit: http://www.graphis.com/entry/d02e2090-4b30-11e2-a2c9-f23c91dffdec/

Selections of the work of Mark Oliver, Inc. are in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress. It has received more than 450 international and national awards. Mr. Oliver is a recipient of the AIGA/Santa Barbara Fellow recognition. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Brooks Institute http://www.brooks.edu/.

Bellwether Farms branding & packaging: a short case study.

Bellwether Farms branding

“The teller of stories has everywhere and always found eager listeners” Stith Thompson, “The Folktale”

Bellwether Farms Yogurt Flexo printed yogurt cups.

Bellwether Farms is California’s original sheep dairy. The family-owned creamery, located in the hills of western Sonoma County, is an award-winning pioneer in the production of sheep and cow milk aged farmstead cheeses and yogurts. The objective for the team at MOI (Mark Oliver, Inc.) was to create a memorable branding program that projected the character of the Callahan family farm and the artisan quality of the products.

Bellwether Farms Ricotta A sleeve over the cup creates a prominent billboard. A warm ivory color adds to the natural look of the line.

Our solution was to create a brand story which conveyed the hand-crafted qualities of the products. The use of charming illustrations and a muted color palette had the advantage of not only reflecting the values of the country farm, it also kept the reproduction to an affordable three-colors. The art was easily reproduced on a variety of structures and stocks using flexography or lithography. It graphically stands out on a web page.

Bellwether Farms Creme Fraiche The lid of the cup is printed so the product can be identified once opened.

Bellwether Farms Fromage Blanc

But mainly, we created a stylish and approachable brand which stood out from a crowd of look-alike products. We went the opposite direction from the competition. We zigged when everyone else zagged.

Since the rollout of the brand and packaging, Bellwether Farms has grown to be one of the most successful producers of artisan cheeses and yogurts in the country. As an added bonus, the branding and design have been recognized with dozens of awards from every major magazine, website, and competition, receiving most recently a Gold Award for branding from Graphis.

Bellwether Farms Cheese Wheels These artisan cheese wheels are shipped whole to specialty shops and retailers. After considerable searching, we found a food-grade paper stock that was opaque enough to print on, that would also adhere to the surface of the cheese, and could easily be cut without tearing. The cheeses are sliced along the radiating lines, providing the consumer with a brand label on the piece they take home.

Credits: Illustrations by Sudi McCollum; photography by Alan Campbell and Eric Gordon. Photography © of the photographers.

Mark Oliver receives AIGA Fellow Award.

The honor the is highest from American Institute of Graphic Arts chapter.

Mark Oliver received the first Santa Barbara Fellow Award, the American Institute of Graphic Art’s highest honor. The award was presented in recognition of Mr. Oliver’s significant personal and professional contribution to raising the standards of excellence within the design community, and for his contributions to his community at large.

“I am delighted that the AIGA has recognized one of our legendary creatives. Mark Oliver is the perfect fit for this honor, demonstrating that great design has no boundaries,” said Patty Devlin-Driskel, president of the Santa Barbara chapter.

A member of the AIGA since 1983, Oliver’s design career has spanned more than three decades. His firm, Mark Oliver, Inc., has clients throughout the United States. In addition to receiving more than 450 national and international awards, his work is included in the permanent collection of the U.S. Library of Congress.

His work is “some of the freshest, clearest, and most strategic design… Santa Barbara would not be the place you see today were it not for the vision, style, and hard work that Mr. Oliver brought to it. He’s a true Santa Barbara legend,” noted Marty Neumeier, designer and author of the best-selling business books “The Brand Gap” and “Zag.”

Over the years, Oliver has given back to his community by co-founding the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and working with more than 20 nonprofit groups. He is board president of the Santa Ynez Valley Alliance and a member of the Brooks Institute Board of Trustees.

“It is a great honor to be presented with the Fellow Award,” Oliver said in accepting the medallion. “I am thankful for how wonderfully the design community has appreciated my work, and I owe a debt of gratitude to the AIGA.”

Founded in 1914, the AIGA is the nation’s largest association for professional design,with 22,000 members. AIGA Santa Barbara is one of 67 chapters nationwide.

Mark Oliver, Inc. is a full-service brand communications design firm. It specializes in consumer packaged goods brand-building and packaging design.