Desert Rose Design Snags 10 GDUSA Awards

Desert Rose Design took home ten Certificates of Excellence in the 2009 American Graphic Design Awards. Presented by Graphic Design USA and sponsored by NewPage®, this national competition is open to the entire creative community and honors outstanding work across 23 categories.

The ten winning designs we submitted beat out over 8,000 entries and are now eligible for publication in the American Graphic Awards Design Annual, a 350-page special edition of their monthly magazine, as well as the GDUSA website.

We are pleased to announce our recognition for the following projects.

Desert Rose Design—A Cooler 2008 Calendar
Art Director
Kathy Steele

Graphic Designer
Kyle Anderson

As a marketing firm, we’re always coming up with creative ways to not only promote our clients, but ourselves as well. We were in need of a creative marketing piece that would keep our name on our clients’ minds, and we thought a calendar was the perfect idea.

But our calendar isn’t like all other calendars. Nope. Our calendar contains unusual and quirky holidays, and each month, our lucky calendar recipients receive a friendly reminder to celebrate one of those unheard-of holidays. It could be something as normal as chocolate mints for Chocolate Mint Day, or as obscure as a troll for No Pants Day. Either way, we like it—and so do our clients.
Desert Rose Design—Creating a Buzz
Art Director
Kathy Steele

Graphic Designer
Kyle Anderson
Casey Matetich

Copywriter
Kristi Munno

Since we’re lucky enough to have a strong list of clients, and since we’ve created such a wide array of collateral and we’re such an amazing marketing firm (for the record, yes, that is a shameless plug), we have a very vigorous portfolio. And since we are a marketing firm, it would be an embarrassment to showcase our portfolio in a mundane fashion.

Enter Creating a Buzz, the theme behind our interactive portfolio. A CD containing our portfolio is sent to current and potential clients in a fancy CD carrier.
Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra—2009-2010 Season Guide
Art Director
Tim True

Graphic Designers
Kyle Anderson
Angie Brown

Copywriter
Kristi Munno

Whether you prefer classical or contemporary, the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra is the place to be to hear symphonic music. The Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra is a non-for-profit organization comprised of volunteer musicians who supply the western suburbs of Chicago with quality symphonic music and a seamless end-to-end experience.

We created the 2009-2010 Season Guide for Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra as an eight-page self-mailing brochure. The Season Guide was being mailed to registered visitors as well as residents of surrounding communities, and it was intended to promote the upcoming concerts, showcase a new venue and introduce a new ticket ordering system.
TurboEats.com—Website
Art Director
Kathy Steele

Graphic Designer
Kyle Anderson

Technical Director
Helen Levinson

Programmer
Emre Biberoglu

Wish your favorite fast food restaurant delivered? They do now! The idea of Turboeats.com was created by two brothers who were tired of the same old delivery options: pizza and Chinese food. So they started Turboeats.com, an online fast food delivery service where customers can order online and someone else will pick up and deliver their food.

We created the website, which encompasses a custom database with an ecommerce shopping cart. The site was created to be both user friendly and easily maintained by the company.
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago—Bold Moves for Bold Women Invite
Art Director
Kathy Steele

Graphic Designer
Kristen Pitcher

Shake your groove thing, shake your groove thing! Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is one of the most renowned dance institutions in the world. They were in need of invitations for their Bold Moves for Bold Women event, a networking event for women featuring a cocktail reception and a performance by HSDC dancers. Proceeds from the event went to support the dancers of HSDC and the nationally recognized education and outreach programs.

Desert Rose Design sponsored Bold Moves for Bold Women and donated our services to provide all graphic design needs for the event.
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago—Celebrity Cast Party Invite
Art Director
Kathy Steele

Graphic Designer
Laura Kubycheck

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago was also in need of invitations for their Celebrity Cast Party, a celebration honoring Chicago’s GLBT Community that included an HSDC performance followed by a cast party. Proceeds from the event went to support the dancers of HSDC and the nationally recognized education and outreach programs.

Desert Rose Design also sponsored the Celebrity Cast Party and donated our services to provide all graphic design needs for the event.
A Hardy USA—Red Corner Label
Art Director
Kathy Steele

Graphic Designer
Clarissa Johnstone
Lauren Baldoni

Get your drink on! A. Hardy VS Red Corner Cognac is a select blend that is aged a minimum of five years in limousine oak. This traditional, medium-bodied Cognac has a soft taste and is well balanced with a slight suggestion of honey and caramel.

With their current branding lacking nostalgia and a classic emblem, we created a new label for Red Corner specific to the client’s needs. This label had an old world charm and was created to look like parchment paper.
Naperville Reads—Website
Art Director
Kathy Steele

Graphic Designer
Clarissa Johnstone
Lauren Baldoni

Copywriter
Kristi Munno

Technical Director
Helen Levinson

Programmer
Nathan Henry

Sit back, relax and enjoy a good book…with Naperville READS. Naperville READS is a variation of the “one city, one book” reading programs popular around the country, seeking to promote the pleasures of reading as a family and community activity.

We created a website for Naperville READS that gave information on the program and showcased upcoming events as well as featured artists. The site was designed to be very simplistic and user friendly while providing visitors with a great deal of information.
Valtech! Co.—Magna-Tiles® Website
Art Director
Tim True

Graphic Designer
Kyle Anderson
Clarissa Johnstone

Technical Director
Helen Levinson

Programmer
Emre Biberoglu

Want to know where math, science and creativity meet? Check out the MagnaTiles® website. Valtech! Company, the creator of Magna-Tiles®, was in need of a user-friendly website to help promote and sell their product. MagnaTiles® are colorful building toys that turn flat objects into wonderful 3D masterpieces.

We developed the website to have a user end for customers and a back end for Valtech! administration, and it included a custom shopping cart so products could be purchased directly from the website. We also incorporated Flash elements to give the website a fun and appealing look and feel.
Mario Tricoci—2008 Mario Make Me a Model Website
Art Director
Kathy Steele

Graphic Designer
Kyle Anderson
Clarissa Johnstone
Casey Matetich

Technical Director
Helen Levinson

Programmer
Emre Biberoglu

Do you have what it takes to be a model? Mario Tricoci, a full-service hair salon and spa, started Mario Make Me a Model in 2008, a modeling competition open to women and men 18 and older.

Desert Rose Design created an entire campaign for this program, including coordinating vendors and developing event identity. We designed postcards, interactive advertisements, email blasts, e-invites, in-salon signage, mirror clings and event signage. We also developed a three-phase website.

Phase I contained information on the competition, model call locations, rules and prizes. Phase II featured the five finalists, bios, blog posts, real-time online voting and mobile marketing. Phase III announced the winner and showcased video and photography from the final judging.

Desert Rose Design also designed and developed the Mario Make Me a Model website for the 2009 competition.

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