We’re excited to announce a very special event taking place this month! On May 21st, Roanne will give a talk at the SoHo Apple store in New York City. Ro will speak about her professional journey as a graphic designer, from art school, to working at Wolff Olins, to founding her own design studio where she now serves as creative director. She will discuss the work we do here at RoAndCo, which extends well beyond graphic design services, and will explain our processes and inspiration.  The event, in association with ADC Young Guns, is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!

Monday, May 21, 2012
6:30 – 8:00 PM
Apple Store SoHo
72 Greene St., 2nd Floor, NYC 

Event details on the ADC Calendar.

Here at RoAndCo, we’re not shy about sharing the accomplishments of our team. We’re thrilled to share that our project manager, Amy Woodside, and her husband, Jason Woodside, were featured in a New Museum project that launched May 1st: CNNCTD+100.

CNNCTD+100 is an interactive show featuring 100 of the city’s influencers. Participants include Cindy Sherman, Yoko Ono, as well as RoAndCo friends, LEGS and Waris Ahluwalia, and collaborator Todd Cole. Those involved recorded pretty much whatever they wanted onto buttons functioning as MP3 players, which exhibit coordinator Roman Grandinetti likens to “sound graffiti.” A sample of selected audio can be heard on Nowness. Amy, whose work was recently featured on Dossier Journal had Mark Borthwick’s 14 year old son read a piece of work she had written, and for promotion of the show, Jason created an interactive mural on Kenmare St. between Elizabeth and Bowery.

The show is up for 3 more weeks – we highly recommend taking a listen!

Last week we attended AIGA‘s Bright Lights event. We joined others in the design community to honor designers whose lifetime achievements have proven worthy of the AIGA “Medalist” title. The event’s theme took inspiration from the 1931 Beaux Arts Ball in New York, where architects came dressed as buildings they designed. We, too, donned funny skyscraper hats and had a blast celebrating the careers of Ralph Caplan, Elaine Lustig Cohen, Armin Hofmann, and Robert Vogele. Looking back at the careers of these amazing designers truly gave us something to aspire to. We think it’s great for designers to get involved in the design community, which includes attending events like this. The AIGA has a wealth of knowledge and resources to share and it’s a great way to keep up with what other designers are doing. If you aren’t already, get involved in the AIGA—they might someday grant you with a design medal!

Such a hard (but fun!) task to pick only a few things that inspire me the most—there are so many! I thought the best way would be to choose my newest favorite things in different fields of interest: arts, fashion, typography and music. Ever since I came across the video showcasing the detailed production of Hella Jongerius vases in The Netherlands, I became obsessed with their colors, shape and graphics. On the fashion side, UK’s stylist Robbie Spencer is keeping it fresh through his bold, subversive looks, where coats can be worn as pants, wigs or even skirts. I’ve been wanting to find a nice floral hoodie for Spring and this one by the Brazilian label Osklen would be my favorite pick, if it weren’t sold out. When Im searching for a new typeface to work with, I first hit up DSType by Dino dos Santos, a type designer from Portugal. I’m also in love with the photo realistic paintings of Lee Price, featuring girls eating forbidden desserts during their most vulnerable moments. Lastly, I can’t wait for Summer to start so I can enjoy a drink on the beach while playing the new Blondes album.

1. Hella Jongerius’ Coloured Vases
2. Robbie Spencer – Stylist (London UK)
3. Floral hoodies
4. DSType, by Dino dos Santos
5. Lee Price’s Figurative Realist Oil Paintings
6. Blondes – “Blondes” album

The latest book to feature our work is an exciting publication from Gestalten—Introducing: Visual Identities for Small Businesses. Our work for Honor, the Playlist Generation, and TenOverSix is represented alongside a host of brand projects from a variety of industries. Introducing even showcases a selection of branded paraphernalia for the African King Bansah, a Ghanaian king who rules his subjects remotely from Germany. It’s a visually pleasing and entertaining read and we’re proud to be included within its pages.

Having worked with many independent fashion designers, we’re quite familiar with the costs of launching a brand. A well-designed site is an essential feature and a beautiful e-commerce shop the cherry on top—however e-commerce costs can be prohibitive for smaller brands. We wanted to provide an elegant yet practical solution for these clients. We’ve teamed up with Portable and have designed a template for their e-commerce platform Portable Shops. Portable Shops users can install our minimal and easy-to-navigate theme to their own online store. Portable’s tiered plans accommodate everyone from the smallest retailers to much larger. You can see our template in use for our client Kelly Bergin and install it to your own Portable Shop here.

While we usually bring you fashion and lifestyle related news, today we’re offering something different but equally as dear to our hearts.

When we were introduced to non-profit joinFITE at a Women’s Entrepreneurial event hosted by Jane Wurwand, the founder of both Deramologica and joinFITE, we knew it was something we had to be a part of. joinFITE (Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship) is an organization that connects you with women entrepreneurs in developing countries. At the event, Jane spoke of the importance in supporting women in entrepreneurial endeavors.

Microfinance programs provide people with small loans and sensible terms. Generally, these programs have targeted poor women and grant them access to financial services that could otherwise be impossible to attain. Through these loans they are able to improve the well being of their families and their status as women within their communities. According to joinFITE.org, 1 billion people (1 in 6) live in extreme poverty — on less than 1$ per day, and 70% of these are women.

We are excited to share that RoAndCo took action and made a loan to the KONDOKPO group through Kiva, which powers joinFITE.

KONDOKPO is a group of three women who also happen to be friends. They are from Benin, a small West African country next to Nigeria, and they requested a loan in order to stock up on clothing items to sell in Benin. Sophiatou, the group’s representative, shared that her goal was to increase her turnover and revenue.

You can read more about their story here. If you’d like to learn more about JoinFITE and support their worthy cause, see joinfite.org.

RoAndCo is pleased to announce that three of our projects have been featured in Big Brand Theory. The book is a discerning collection of high-profile and clever branding campaigns and includes our work for 11th Moon, Honor, and Timo Weiland. We’re thrilled to see our work alongside other notable brands. You can purchase or read more about the book here.

ADC Young Guns kicked off its 10th anniversary call for entries with a party and an exhibition of X posters (the X represents 10). We had the pleasure of attending as well as participating in the poster exhibition.

Roanne along with other past Young Guns were given a letter pressed poster with “Youth Fades” and were instructed to apply their own “X” over it. Proceeds from the prints will benefit ADC Education Programs.

RoAndCo has brand new artwork on Society6! Our psychedelic marble prints are available in 3 different color combinations for iPhones, iPads and more. These can be purchased online here.