March 30, 2007
Adobe’s largest software release ever, CS3
NEW YORK—On Tuesday, Adobe Systems announced its soon-to-be-released Adobe Creative Suite 3 product line live from New York.

Included on its list of goodies is the Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, a creative toolkit for print, web, interactive and mobile design. This software package includes the new CS3 versions of InDesign, Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, Flash Professional, Dreamweaver and Acrobat 8.

“Our new Design editions are anchored by powerhouse upgrades to InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator,” said John Loiacono, senior vice president of creative solutions at Adobe, in a released statement. “And by bringing Flash and Dreamweaver into the mix, we’re ensuring that interactive design is now front and center in today’s creative workflows. Creatives will do back-flips over the new levels of integration between their favorite Adobe and Macromedia tools.”

The estimated street price for the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium edition is US$1799 and US$1199 for Creative Suite 3 Design Standard edition.

See the review of CS3 InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator featured in the May/June issue of Design Edge Canada, which mails mid-April. The new software is expected to ship this spring. Contact: www.adobe.com

Employez le francais dans le Quark
DENVER—Quark is launching a Canadian edition of QuarkXPress 7. The new release includes English and French manuals, spell check and hyphenation functionality in French, U.S. English and International English.

Quark to release a Canadian version of Quark 7

“Quark is responding to the requirements of Canadian customers, as well as the French language requirements of the Quebec government, by providing software that fully supports both French and English-speaking users,” said Richard Pasewark, Quark’s senior vice-president of sales (Americas), in a released statement.

Customers who purchase the U.S. English version of Quark 7 after Jan.1 and until Sept. 30, 2007 can exchange their license to the Canadian edition at no charge. The new software will be available in Q2. Contact: www.quark.com

March 21, 2007
Rare Method makes large State-side purchase
CALGARY—In its biggest acquisition to date, interactive marketing firm Rare Method is purchasing Blain Olsen White Gurr Advertising, a 12-year-old ad agency in Salt Lake City.

Yesterday, Rare Method announced that it has signed an agreement and plan of merger to acquire BBCJ Ventures, which operates as BOWG. Upon completion of transferring all shares, BOWG will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Rare Method.

“This deal is an important step in our plan to increase our presence in the western United States through strategic acquisitions,” explains Rare Method president Roger Jewett, in a released statement. “Our plan is to develop a network of offices that will include rapidly growing cities such as Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Denver.”

BOWG clients include Telcordia Technologies, 3M Health Information Systems and Salt Lake City Convention and Visitors Bureau. With 23 employees, BOWG made US$2.9 million in annual revenues last year. If all considerations of the acquisition are met, the transaction will be worth a total of US$1.6 million. Contact: www.raremethod.com

March 20, 2007
Brand packaging firm divides to conquer
MISSISSAUGA, Ont.—After growing to more than 100 employees, local branding and design firm Davis decided to launch a new agency last November. Bridgemark, which is wholly owned by Glenn A. Davis & Associates but operates autonomously from Davis, is now ready to move into its new Mississauga office next month.

One of Bridgemark's winning entries in the 2007 National Packaging Competition for client Vincor

Approximately 40 former Davis staffers moved over to Bridgemark with one-third of its business, including Schick Wilkinson Sword, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, Vincor and Scotts.

Bridgemark president Ron Davis says the creative culture at Davis was getting uncomfortably large and launching a new agency would allow for new opportunities for some of its senior staff members. The split would also help to serve its clients better, he says.

“We had a lot of clients over the last five to ten years, through mergers and acquisitions or by launching into new categories, actually bring themselves into competitive conflict with other clients that we have,” says Davis. As a result, the company had to resign clients to competitors or turn down business in the past. Creating a second firm allows Davis to retain or seek out previously unobtainable clientele by referring them to its sister agency. Over 40% of Bridgemark’s business is U.S. or North American-based. Both agencies specialize in brand packaging.

Earlier this year, Bridgemark won five 2007 National Packaging Competition awards. Davis was awarded nine, to be received at the Packaging Association of Canada’s biennial awards gala on April 17. Contact: www.davisdesign.ca

March 19, 2007
Live from New York, it’s CS3
NEW YORK—Next Tuesday, Adobe Systems will announce the launch of Creative Suite 3, the largest and most significant product launch in Adobe history. Webcast live from New York at 3:30pm ET, Adobe will reveal feature details and suite configurations, giving online viewers a sneak peek at the new product offerings. Contact: http://www.adobe.com/go/cs3launch

Get your projects published
GLOUCESTER, Mass.—Rockport Publishers wants to publish your winning information design in its upcoming publication: Information Design Workbook—A Comprehensive Guide to Beautiful and Effective Communication Design. Slated to launch in spring 2008, the text will feature innovative graphics for clients large and small. Los Angeles design firm KBDA will be selecting the pieces and designing the hardcover book. Deadline for entries is March 23. Contact: www.rockpub.com/entries.asp

March 7, 2007
AIGA honours Bruce Mau, among others
NEW YORK—Last week, AIGA, the American professional association for design, announced the 2007 recipients of the AIGA medal: Edward Fella, Ellen Lupton, Georg Olden and home-grown design star Bruce Mau.

Bruce Mau is a 2007 AIGA Medal recipient

The medal recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the field of design and visual communication. Although Mau is Toronto-based, the association noted that his work is influential in the United States and worldwide.

It also noted that the Sudbury-native’s collaborations with leading artists, scholars, architects and business leaders have produced a diverse portfolio, which includes signage, identity, print, exhibition and product design as well as research and programming.

In its announcement, the AIGA states: “His recent establishment of the Institute without Boundaries—a combination school, studio and think tank—and its inaugural project “Massive Change” tackle the most enormous challenge of all: the design of our world.”

The AIGA Medal, awarded since 1920, is regarded as the highest honour in the graphic design profession. Contact: www.aiga.org/aigamedalists

Fuel Industries creates Mazda Canada advergame
OTTAWA—Using social media and consumer-generated content, Fuel Industries created an interactive online game for Mazda Canada.

Fuel Industries' Mazda advergame melds various platforms to target students

The Campus Joyride advergame, targeted at post-secondary students, allows players to virtually drive the track around three fictional campuses. Students receive ballots for every Mazda they spot on the track and for forwarding the game to friends, for a chance to win a 2007 Mazda3 Sport in a draw at the end of the campaign.

The soundtrack for the game was created from a previous contest, the Mazda Rockin’ Roll Call, which encouraged university and college bands to upload their tracks and fans voted for their top 25 favourite tunes. A panel of judges including Spin Magazine executive editor Doug Brod narrowed the selection down to five bands, whose songs appear in the game.

The campaign is scheduled to run until May 1 with on-campus advertising support and interactive video kiosks at select Canadian universities. Contact: www.campusjoyride.ca

Helvetica documentary to screen at Hot Docs
TORONTO—The Canadian premiere of the type documentary, Helvetica, will screen during Toronto’s Hot Docs festival, April 19 to 29.

The film is also being shown during Logo Cities Symposium, a conference on signage, branding and lettering in public space, at Concordia University in Montreal, May 4 to 5.

Dates for Vancouver and Calgary have not yet been posted. Contact: www.helveticafilm.com

March 2, 2007
Kaldor is commissioned by Vancouver Art Gallery
VANCOUVER—Kaldor Brand Strategy + Design has been hired to create the marketing materials for all of Vancouver Art Gallery’s major shows this year.

Kaldor to market Vancouver Art Gallery's 2007 exhibits

“The Vancouver Art Gallery routinely commissions a variety of design studios to craft a distinct identity for a particular exhibition,” said Dana Sullivant, the Vancouver Art Gallery’s director of marketing and communications, in a released statement. “This year, we felt Kaldor’s emphasis on branding and strategically-informed design made them the clear choice to create a unified but distinct look for all of our major exhibitions in 2007.”

The first show is a collection of work by Vancouver photographer Fred Herzog. Kaldor’s entire campaign for this exhibit includes print materials, billboards, posters, sandwich boards, banners and bus signage.
Later this year, Kaldor will create advertising materials for Acting the Part: Photography as Theatre and Monet to Dali: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The art gallery has been a client of Kaldor’s since 2005. Contact: www.kaldor.com