2012 marks Anabliss’ 15th year in business! So, to celebrate we partnered with our friends over at Tewell Warren Printing (it’s their 50th year in business) to create a very special calendar.

Each month features advice, wise words or ideas that have helped us succeed over the years. Paired with each quote is a beautiful, distinctive image. But you really need to hold this year’s calendar in your hands to get the full effect. We used different printing techniques to create a unique, tactile experience every month.

It’s hard to do it justice with only photos and my limited descriptive vocabulary. So, email us and we will send you one for free. I have a feeling you’ll like it.

Please send your name and address to calendar@anabliss.com and we will get your calendar* in the mail as soon as possible.

*While supplies last.

“We were thrilled at the opportunity to breathe new life into such an important institution in the Denver community,” said Matt Coffman, founder of Anabliss. “Our assignment was to refresh the essential elements of the logo while retaining the brand recognition the logo had established over the last 35+ years. Determining what elements to keep within the new solution was an essential discussion in the development process.”

The new DPS logo integrates the tagline Discover a World of Opportunity and removes the repetitive “Denver” used in the previous mark. While in one DPS focus group we noticed an employee with the DPS logo embroidered on his shirt. The logo had to be 5 inches tall for the type and graphics to be legible – It was extremely validating to see the need for a more usable logo. The new identity can now be used on smaller-scale applications and has a Spanish version that can be used in Spanish-specific communities.

“It has been so exciting to launch a refreshed logo for Denver Public Schools,” Said DPS’s Director of Marketing. “It was very important to us to honor the history and tradition associated with our former logo, while giving our identify a modern and approachable feel that our families can relate to now and in the future. Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’ve heard, we feel our updated logo does just that!”

In addition to the usage challenges, the DPS logo had progressed without the guidance of a brand manager or corporate standards. As a result, the identity components lacked consistency or any real adherence to brand standards. This, in turn, diminishes the credibility and professionalism of such an institution. Anabliss was able to create a brand standards guide and a logo toolkit which will allow key users and outside vendors to implement the new logo with fidelity and consistency.

Anabliss is excited about the potential of the new identity and is currently working on additional collateral to help re-establish the credibly and recognition of the Denver Public Schools brand in the Denver community.

In the Archetypes handbook, we chose 21 different well-known and commonly used brand archetypes to represent. What’s an archetype, you ask? The dictionary defines it as, “A very typical example of a certain person or thing.” But we define it as a component or characteristic that is essential to every brand, because it’s what connects brands with their particular set of values and beliefs. It’s a brand’s character. And whether the audience is aware or not, every brand has one. That’s what makes great brands so successful! Because brands aren’t just a name and a logo. They’re an attitude. They’re a feeling. They’re a personality.

Download the Archetypes PDF here.

Since 2004, Anabliss has partnered with Girls Inc. of Metro Denver to design collateral for their largest fundraising event of the year, Girls & Guys Night Out. In the past eight years, the event has hosted over 6,600 guests, and has raised over $2,382,000 for Girls Inc. of Metro Denver and the girls they support. With the help of Anabliss, Girls Inc. of Metro Denver has produced the Girls & Guys Night Out event to such success that it funds almost 15% of their yearly operating budget.

“Girls Inc. of Metro Denver couldn’t be more grateful for the partnership with Anabliss, and for the hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars they have donated to GIMD, and to our girls,” said Brenda Stewart, Girls Inc. of Metro Denver Director of Development. “We thank them for helping our events become stronger, smarter and bolder with their amazing talent! From every last minute cry for changes to the tiniest detail, to the patience of the Anabliss staff with our evolving needs, we couldn’t be more grateful to the truly amazing Anabliss team.”

Anabliss couldn’t be more humbled by and impressed with the outstanding work of Girls Inc. of Metro Denver. We are thankful we can be a part of it and we enjoy supporting Denver non-profits. Thank you Girls Inc. for helping us become strong, smart and bold.

Matt, Scott, Margie, Lauren, Gressa and their guests were treated to an evening of cocktails, food and laughter. While they ate the delicious meal, the festivities started. Girls Inc. President and CEO, Carol Bowar, welcomed everybody and opened the evening with a haiku. Then three, now-grown, Girls Inc. “girls” shared their inspiring success stories and their journeys over the past decade, including serving time in the Air Force, attending college, and planning to go to law school.

Next, everybody was treated to “celebration cupcakes” as John Heffron took the stage. A winner of the second season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing and featured on several Comedy Central specials, his material was fresh and funny. He covered the gamut of relationship woes (“Did you know that when you get married, your wife makes you get rid of stuff … like your roommate?”) and had everybody choking back tears with childhood anecdotes about cross-country car rides with chain-smoking parents (with the windows rolled up, of course) and enduring “the middle hump suck seat.”

Like good design, we encourage all girls to be strong, smart, and bold, and look forward to next year’s Girls & Guys Night Out!

The new site makes it easy for them to add content and photos, helping to keep the site current and accurate. And Salt Lake Smile Design’s attention to detail is represented throughout the site with customer testimonials and reviews, step-by-step explanations of their processes and before and after pictures. The subtle design details help illustrate the in-depth approach they take with each patient, and also help create a comfortable, professional site.

If you have a chance, take a look through the site. The transformations in some of the before and after pictures are hard to believe!

I don’t know about you, but I sure want to schedule an appointment.

I searched for “mouse click counter for Mac” to no avail. I searched “carpal tunnel syndrome” and got worried. Then I searched for an app to measure my mouse’s movements and found a program called IOGraphica. It follows your cursor across the screen, creates a circle when your cursor is still and the longer it’s still the larger the circle gets.

I installed the app at work and let it run during a regular day of programming. What was created was very impressive. In a weird way, it’s beautiful. It reminds me of the airline maps in the back of an in-flight magazine.

So what do you think? Does my mouse get a workout or what? Oh, and in case you’re wondering about the big dot on the left… that was lunch.

Chad Scroggins, a lead designer at Anabliss, recently had the opportunity to surprise his father with a trip to Yellowstone National Park for his 60th birthday. Chad took about 1200 photos on the trip and was kind enough to share them with us.

“There is no shortage of sights when traveling throughout the park as each corner offers a new landscape to be discovered,” Chad said. “From the geysers in the thermal basin to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, you can’t help but be inspired to snap a photo or make a quick sketch.”

Needless to say, we have all found inspiration in his amazing photos. His panoramic of the Tetons, for example, is simply breathtaking.

If you have not had the opportunity to experience this magnificent part of the country, we highly recommend it! You might just get inspired.

We are very results-driven here at Anabliss, and we often show you the results of our efforts through beautiful design solutions. However, sometimes the results are even more impressive when you see where the project started. Here are a four recent examples of our identity expertise—showcased in a nice before and after presentation.

As you’ll see, rebranding a company is more than slapping on some fresh paint. In many cases it’s evaluating the current equity of a logo before designing (the strategy comes before design). In the examples you can see how certain themes remain consistent from the old logos to the new ones. Whether it’s an updated icon in the ‘V’ swoosh in ViaWest or carrying through a common design element such as the beams of light in Rays. In other cases, like the Jerry Built and the yours truly logos, it’s important to start from scratch.

We saw a demand for quality Christian gameplay to be introduced on the Smartphone market, but had limited knowledge about smartphone technology. So, after spending many long hours working together over Skype (we’re 3,000 miles apart) and with a little faith, we succeeded. We’re pleased to announce the creation of the Android application, Sword of the Spirit!

What is the Sword of the Spirit?
The Apostle Paul petitions believers to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power; To put on the full armor of God which includes the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph 6: 17). This application was developed specifically to help believers memorize the 100-most searched for scriptures in the NIV (New International Version) Bible so you can successfully and powerfully wield the sword of the Spirit through the knowledge of the word of God.

In the game, each player is given 20 random scriptures selected from the top 100-most searched for NIV Bible verses. Choose the appropriate verse for each scripture. For each correct answer you get one point. After 20 questions, you will be given a Sword of the Spirit ranking based on your overall performance. Get 5 answers in a row to unlock treasures in the trophy case.

The application was officially launched Thursday, July 7th, 2011 and it received over 100 downloads the first day! People from India, China, Russia, Greece and Africa are now playing our Bible-based scripture challenge.

Test your knowledge of bible verses. Download the app and tell us how you rank!