||||| JDK Design

AIGA, the professional association for design, and Sappi Paper have selected some of JDK's work for their "75 Selections from the AIGA Design Archives" promotion. The book features creative that embodies the best in communication design and strategy from AIGA's annual juried competitions dating back to 1980. They chose to highlight one of our favorite pieces of animation, referred to around here as the "snow monkey" piece. True, it's more than a few years old now—but it's still pretty cool. Check it out.

It's always interesting how one thing leads to another, how every connection can lead to a new opportunity. The fine people at Bicycle Retailer & Industry News learned about the Rapha Continental rides that JDK CEO Steve Francisco participated in this past spring and decided to interview him about the experience as part of the broader feature story they had begun crafting for their August 2009 issue. The extensive conversations they had with Steve, in turn, led to an invitation to write a guest editorial that eventually appeared in the September issue.
In that editorial—written in collaboration with JDK Brand Director Cris DaBica—Steve discussed JDK's take on branding and marketing in the cycling industry, as well as the studio's overall approach to building powerful, relevant brands. The key is understanding the culture: whether it's snowboards, footwear, or bicycles, you have to know it, live it and love it.

Creative Director Michael Jager and CEO Steve Francisco surprised JDKers at afternoon staff meeting on Friday, August 7, by showing up in an ice-cream truck in the back parking lot of JDK's Burlington headquarters. With an impressive display of exuberance and skill that suggested a potential new career path if this whole "design" thing doesn't work out, Michael and Steve delivered free ice cream to all those on hand. But they weren't done yet. When everyone was adequately supplied with cones, cups, and sandwiches, they led a round of "Happy Birthday" in honor of JDK Editor Darren Higgins (whose birthday was that very day). Then, furthering the spirit of celebration, they managed to convince the summer interns to engage in an impromptu ice-cream-eating contest. It's hard to think of a better way to spend an August afternoon at work.

At this year's staff picnic on August 14, Burlington JDKers competed in a tug-of-war, raced each other in potato sacks, got soaked during a water-balloon toss, and eschewed proper table manners during a pie-eating contest. All this old-school fun was complemented by a commitment to greening up the annual celebration: everything at the 2009 picnic was compostable or recyclable.
The warm weather and the sunny skies over Burlington's beautiful North Beach, not to mention the fine food and cold beer, made for a memorable day.

What began four years ago as a fun summer stunt, a way for JDKers to relax and enjoy themselves every Thursday night, has grown into a city-wide league of eleven teams and about two hundred players. Who knew that kickball, a gym-class classic, would become so popular among adults? While JDK employees are still well-represented, they are now most certainly in the minority—other companies and organizations from all around Burlington began fielding teams of their own once the league opened its doors to non-JDKers a few seasons back. Local media outlets have taken notice of this lighthearted sporting phenomenon, running numerous articles and TV-news reports over the years.
The 2009 season, plagued with rainouts and soggy fields, culminated in an epic championship battle on a beautiful night at the end of August. The Toki-yo Go-Go's, one of the original JDK franchises and a perennial kickball powerhouse, lost to Das Boot, a relatively new but very formidable crew from elsewhere in Burlington. Toki-yo, with darkness descending, had the tying run at the plate when Das Boot was finally able to close out a well-fought 15-12 victory.
For now the kickballers rest, and wait for next year.

Burlington's Conant Metal & Light and The Soda Plant sponsored a design/build challenge, timed to coincide with the 2009 Art Hop (September 11 and 12), to benefit two local nonprofits—SEABA (Art Hop's parent organization) and ReCycle North (a second-hand household-goods store, building-materials supply, and job-skills training center). Artists had to design and build a functional chair with recycled or repurposed materials.
With only a few days to complete her project, JDK Designer Allison Ross found her inspiration in cardboard. "I can't cut, let alone lift, wood. I don't own a screwdriver, or even a hammer," she said. "So…I started off just cutting small pieces of paper to figure what form the chair would have. Then I realized, with good mathematics, that I could cut a single piece of cardboard in two pieces that would create what I needed for the seat and arms without any waste."
Allison's chair won "Best Remake" and was quickly snatched up in the charity auction. Congratulations, Allison!

The annual Chameleon Adventure Race, co-sponsored by Merrell (a longtime JDK client), lured JDK's Director of Account Services, Erica Danford, out to Michigan this year to take on the roads, the ropes, and the water. Sascha Mayer, JDK's Senior Brand Strategist, accompanied her in a support role.
The event, designed for both new and experienced racers, features mountain biking, trail running, a high ropes course, a climbing wall, orienteering, and a "water element" (paddling, swimming, or wading)—not to mention some "surprise elements" just to make things even more unpredictable and fun.
Erica had never done an adventure race before, but she had a great time. When asked why she did it, Erica said that she just loves getting outside. Congratulations, Erica!

On a fine September day, JDK's New York team left its urban and urbane Manhattan surroundings behind and took a train north to something of an organic/agricultural oasis: the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. The Stone Barns Center, whose mission is to “celebrate, teach, and advance community-based food production and enjoyment, from farm to classroom to table,” boasts a wide array of organic produce and livestock on its historic 80-acre farm. The grounds include a green market, a store, and a cafe and sister restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
After much fun in the fresh air and greenery, all returned to the city refreshed, well stocked with eggs—and perhaps just a little heartbroken (they had to leave a particularly cute black-and-white piglet behind). A few celebratory cocktails, though, helped ease the pain.

Frends, a group of professional snowboarders—Mason Aguirre, Danny Davis, Keir Dillon, Jack and Luke Mitrani, and Kevin Pearce—devoted to fun, camaraderie, and collaboration, approached JDK to create a visual identity that would communicate the group’s positioning and personality…and look good on a range of products launched under the Frends brand. JDK has known these riders for years, so we worked on an ID that would be simple, but with a punch; that would exude optimism, loyalty, inclusiveness, and (above all) fun. The resulting ID, further inspired by the concept of blood brothers, celebrates and champions the bonds of "frendship."

Have we lost our capacity for curiosity? If so, what does that mean for the work we do, for the people we're trying to reach? These issues, and many more, are investigated by JDK in "Killing Curiosity," the first in a series of semi-annual explorations that use curiosity as a filter through which to view the world.
Digging into subjects such as "Curiosity + Commerce," "Questioning Curiosity," and "Curiosity vs. Complacency," JDK makes the argument that curiosity must be honored—that it still matters, perhaps now more than ever. "Curiosity is being co-opted, contorted, prostituted, pushed, and pulled in all the wrong directions. So what state does this tug of war leave it in today? Stretched beyond recognition? Or flexible and formable and ready for more?"
It's easy to proclaim our support for curiosity. Following through on it, of course, is far more difficult. All of us are confronted with some complicated choices in our work and lives, and taking a shortcut can be an appealing option. For everyone out there who wants to do the right thing, JDK wants you to ask yourself: Are you killing curiosity? Or are you celebrating it at every turn?

Each year, Burlington, Vt.'s South End neighborhood (where JDK's headquarters are located) puts on one of the most innovative and boisterous art exhibitions/festivals in New England. JDK, in its ongoing relationship with Art Hop, throws open its doors for all sorts of events and shows. In 2009, the studio hosted Totem, a showcase of the various printed artwork-design-celebrations-declarations of Justin Fines and Steven Harrington.
Though separated by a continent (Fines is based in New York City, Harrington in Los Angeles), the two artists share a visual camaraderie rooted in suburban Americana, youth culture, and a twenty-first-century attention span combined with an appreciation for twentieth-century design. Both artists create work that is unafraid to bear its lineage, while stubbornly refusing to be anything but personal. And each works with a handful of personal "totems" that tend to pop up and surprise in all of their creations.
Totem debuted on September 11, Art Hop's opening night, at the JDK Gallery. The event featured performances by BLOWTORCH and Barbacoa and an open skate ramp. The show ran through September 26.