“I need to start winning some tennis games so I can get some respect around here.” -Wes Wilson
The Wii Sports tennis matches have hit a fever pitch in the Brandstack office. Wait, let me try that again. The Wii Sports tennis matches have hit a fever serve in the Brandstack office. I’m so clever. What we’ve learned is that if you don’t bring it on the court, you lose all clout in the office. Wes learned this the hard way today when he dropped a couple matches to Pear Analytics’ Ryan Kelly and our very own Robert McGuire.
Ryan v. Wes
Over the past couple of weeks we added two new folks to the Brandstack Team! They’re both working on a fun new projects hitting Brandstack in the coming months and helping build the designer community we started over a year ago.
To introduce the Brandstack world to Pablo, we asked him a few straight forward questions. Here are his answers:
Q: In less than 8 words: Where are you from? What do you enjoy? What do you want?
A. In less than eight words I… oh crap.
Q: So honestly, how annoyed are you by the music in the office?
A. You’re lucky I grew up in the 90s. Plus, there’s always headphones.
Q: Have you ever seen anyone taller than Ryan Kelly (@pearanalytics) in person… seriously?
A. Do NBA players count? No, right? Then, no. I’m actually in the process of hiring some Sherpas to lead an expedition to the peak of Mt. Kelly. If I don’t make it back alive, tell my kids I died doing what I loved.
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Over the past couple of weeks we added two new folks to the Brandstack Team! They’re both working on a fun new projects hitting Brandstack in the coming months and helping build the designer community we started over a year ago. To introduce the Brandstack world to Sydney, we asked her a few straight forward questions. Here are her answers:
Q: In less than 8 words: Where are you from? What do you enjoy? What do you want?
A: Navy brat, most family from South or Colorado, Irish/Scottish descent …Enjoy: Music, reading, writing ATVs, horseback riding.
Q: So honestly, how annoyed are you by the music in the office?
A: I’m not annoyed at all by the music in the office. Having A.D.D. I need background noise; and thankfully, it’s all music that I like and grew up with.
Q: Have you ever seen anyone taller than Ryan Kelly (@pearanalytics) in person… seriously?
A: Yes, but only one. I went to school with a kid that was 6’8.
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After painfully watching everyone try to figure out an easy way to get feedback on logos that are not for sale, we decided it was time to add a Critiques section to Brandstack. (Sorry it took soooo long to do so.)
When you are logged in as a seller, you will see a new option when you clikc on the “Logos” tab that reads “Critique”. You can access that section directly at http://brandstack.com/logos/gallery/critique/
Here are the key points to remember about this section:
1. This is Phase 1, we are working on new features so please bare with us.
2. This section is only viewable by Sellers. Users who are considered Buyers will still only see approved/for sale logos when they try to access this section.
3. When you upload a logo to Brandstack, you will see two options: “I want to sell this logo” and “I want to get critiques on this logo.”
4. If your logo is not approved for sale and you want to get user feedback, simply change the status of your logo to “critiques” in the edit brands section.
5. This section will show ALL logos that were previously uploaded as Not For Sale. If you don’t want to show your logos in this section, please remove it from your portfolio.
On top of helping you get constructive criticism on your designs, this will also help us determine when we’ve messed up! We will keep an eye on design feedback and Springs in this section. When the community says a logo whould be approved as an item for sale, then we will listen!
As always, thanks for all of your support and feedback! Please let us know if there are any other ways we can improve Brandstack.
It’s always interesting to see how creatives bring new ideas to Brandstack. Initially we saw designers “step outside of the box” (sorry for the cliche) by offering domains and websites for sale. Then we watched as collateral designs were added to the mix. More recently we’ve seen sesigners step take another step by offering things such as splash pages, facebook and even twitter profiles!
One of the most intriguing trends I’ve seen develop recently is how designs are being brought to life… more accurately, designers are showing their creations in real life situations by displaying them on cups, shirts, plates, and trucks to name a few. Rather than talk about them all, here are a few that caught my eye.
So we moved into our new office space early last week and while I’ve tweeted little tidbits about the space, I’ve hesitated to show pictures since we’re not quite finished. Enough people have asked to see the new digs, so here’s a peek. We just added some paint to the walls, a combo of blue, green and red. There’s definitely a hint of RGB in the air. We’re looking for some cool art and need to add the corporate signage (I think that’s mandatory, right?!?)
I took this photo without notice, from my desk... as you can tell by the picture, Robert is really excited to be with us! Ha!
Please join me in welcoming Robert McGuire to the Brandstack Team!
Robert has over 12 years experience as a graphic designer, working both as a freelancer and with various design & ad agencies. Robert graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas State University with a BFA in Communication Design. Later he worked with agencies such as Toolbox Studios, The Clockwork Group, Blue Clover, and Ideagin. His work has garnished several awards from Graphis Annual, Logo Lounge Annuals, Print Design Annual, Step Inside Design Magazine, CMYK Magazine, Art Directors Club, AIGA, and ADDYs, among others.
Robert will be acting as our Chief Creative Officer (CCO), taking on Brandstack’s variety of creative responsibilities. Robert will be tasked with defining Brandstack’s role in the creative community, helping mold us into a community built for designers. His focus will be to make sure Brandstack is constantly looking at our mission through the seller’s eyes. He’s been asked to handle some of our long-term changes such as improving our UI and designer experience. He’s also taking on the controversial role of approving uploaded designs to be placed for sale. To quote Robert himself on day 1 of approving uploads, “There’s a new sheriff in town.” I’m sure this is great news for everyone! We’ll be posting a more indepth interview with Robert soon, so keep an eye out for that.
Join me in welcoming Robert to the team on his Brandstack profile, Twitter or email him directly at robert@brandstack.com.
