Ologie design firm visit

Today I visited the downtown Columbus location of the locally-based design firm, Ologie with some other members of OSU's Design Circle. Two of the designers, Kelly Ruoff and Jeff Packard took us on a tour of their office - a revamped car dealership on Main St. The scape of the business is a really inspirational space in and of itself. Walking through the building, we peeked at designers working on various projects, gawked at their wall of archives, and looked at their design processes that literally filled the wall space - made of cork, they have post-it notes, inspiration, concept pieces, etc. thumb-tacked all over the place.

Their selling point was really that the way they design is focused on STRATEGY, and these 6 key words (that are printed on the back of each business card): DRIVEN - SMART - INSIGHTFUL - DELIBERATE - INNOVATIVE - PASSIONATE

I jotted down some notes throughout the Q&A session and I want to post them here for posterity:

- work experience
- intern experience
- study abroad
- Switzerland
- Swiss design is the basis of OSU's design program
- post grad, travel & do your own thing for 4-6 months..real jobs have a degree of permanence
- think outside the box - non-traditional design will turn heads
- think of the bigger picture; how would this idea look in an array of media?
- selling your idea (*i wrote this because i want to touch on it an essay for my exam) - my sales background and experience in photography have helped me to think about the client and what they want and how i can use my skills and resources to create something aligned with their goal, that will ultimately benefit them and help them to achieve that goal
- packaging lots of information into a small, usable and cohesive one
- keep other hobbies and interests .. inspired design ideas and thought-processes about your work will come to you when you step away from the work
- creating and placing the design in local, recognizable areas; non-profits (museums, organizations, etc.)
- think CONCEPTUALLY, OPTIMISTICALLY, and think about the CLIENT
- design isn't just about taking what you're given and making it pretty, it's about being an expert on everything, doing research, understanding and exploring all facets of a design project.
- photo/media/video/animation/print/writing
- design production, art direction, creative director
- ologie = the study of things
- logical and methodical - methodology
- good design stems from being open to experimentation
- develop your reputation, get your name out there, connect with people, network
- build a strong book/portfolio/resume
- CSCA
- it's about CONCEPT, not just cool visuals
- go above and beyond and always ask yourself "what else can we do?"


Take a look around Columbus. You've undoubtedly seen Ologie's work. --- the giant campus gateway scapes with slick photography and color, cityscape - they branded the entire Jeffrey community; Ohio Wesleyan & Capitol University's catalog/brochures, Huntington & National City bank branding, the Columbus Museum of Art, the Columbus Metropolitan Library systems branding, the Wellington School, CCAD, Big Lots, Lowe's, Express, Lifestyle Communities, Nationwide Insurance .... the list goes on & on!