Strategy for a Stalwart

The crew at Trampoline is primed to create a message and design support materials for the final phase of the Crandall Public Library's capital campaign. The library is located downtown, practically across the street from our offices at 196 Glen Street. We're over there all the time. And we're not alone: over 265,000 people made their way through the library doors last year. Where else can you have access to books and research materials, the internet, and historical archives? You can listen to CDs, rent DVDs or attend a film series screening. ALL FOR FREE. The place is great, and it's getting better.

Construction has begun on an enormous library expansion. The Crandall Public Library Trustees and Capital Project Leadership Team have headed the initiative to raise over $6 million in private support toward the capital renovation project. To date, close to 75% of the total goal has been raised by generous contributors throughout our region.

It's our job to help raise the rest.

A rendering from the city park side that showcases the original portion of the library.


The view from Glen Street


The library staff is excited about how bright and airy the new building will be.


A scale model from Ann Beha Architects in Boston.


Construction in November.

Why Trampolines are so dangerous:

Thanks to Dan Moynehan at Riverside Gas & Oil for the blogfodder.

Dude. Come on. Put it back.

George and Larry are furious.

The Online Ask

Internet marketing pros Donor Digital and Target Analysis teamed up to complete a new study that outlines some interesting benchmarks for internet giving.

The Study includes key findings on the rapid growth of online donations, the demographics of online givers (younger and richer, but less loyal), and the integration of online fundraising with traditional direct marketing efforts.

It also touches briefly on lapses (frequent) and opportunities for better cultivation and renewal of online donors.

The Reader's Digest version: Online donors average higher gifts, but traditional fundraising methods actually yield higher revenue per donor over several years.

Vocabulous

Think your vocabulary is as superlative as the Trampoline staff? Feeling a little guilty about all those masticated mashed potatos?

We have the perfect diversion for you.

This FreeRice Vocabulary Game gives us all the opportunity to get smart and do some good at the same time.

The premise is simple: for every word you correctly define, 10 grains of rice are donated (through the U.N.) to help end world hunger.

Get going, Wordsworth. Happy Thanksgiving.

The Intern Strikes Back.

From June to August the Trampoline offices were graced with the creative talents of one Dylan Lindstadt, a design student at the College of Saint Rose in Albany. Dylan was a trip, and we miss his curly mop and morose death metal around here. Our day was brightened when we received the following in an email—reproduced for your viewing pleasure with additional descriptions and explanations.

Here Dylan takes creative license with Derek's five o'clock shadow, aka the Adirondack Soul Patch.


Dylan was also astute enough to notice that Sean's sunglasses spent a considerable amount of time on his head this summer, in an attempt to mask the inevitable onslaught of male pattern baldness (nobody was fooled). How observant.


Derek and Sean cop to spending a frequent amount of time checking the stats of the designtramp website. It's responsible data harvesting. Not obsession.



Noob is derived from the word 'new' it implies that you are inexperienced sometimes it is used as slang for 'you suck'.

Example: I once knew this noob named Dylan.


Again, the artist makes good use of Derek's werewolf-like appearance and Sean's beady-little rat eyes. Quite an editorial.


Let's not forget the matching beaver teeth.



Dylan makes a Christ-like appearance in a dream sequence. Very holiday apropos.


And Trina and Raeanne appear in a judgmental cameo.

In-box: SaraBear Baskets

Raeanne capped the week off with a beautifully designed html email for SaraBear Baskets. The crew here at Trampoline was doubly pumped because the email blast was to alert boutique buyers that their Sarabear orders would now be shipping in new boxes, recently designed by Derek. Special thanks to Amanda for the writing (and the work).

If you want to find the message in your inbox, or learn the latest about Sarabear products click here to register. For more about the baskets, how they help new moms and what all the buzz is about, visit the SaraBear Baskets Web site.

Alta Your Tees

Leave a comment to let us know which ones you like.

Giving Online Sales a KABOOST™

Amir Levin, a Manhattan based entrepreneur/inventor developed KABOOST, a child's booster seat alternative, after spending some time with a group of kiddos at the dinner table.

KABOOST’s spring-loaded arms grip chair legs into place and elevate the chair so children can sit at the table just like adults.

The design was based on the premise that children want to be just like mom and dad and their older brothers and sisters. They reach a point where they no longer want to sit in a high chair or booster seat for babies anymore. We're told many children would rather sit on their knees and eat rather than use a booster seat.

Amir asked us to design an html email to send out to his loyal customers, scheduled to hit just before Thanksgiving. This year, scrap the kid's table concept and put a KABOOST under their chairs. Visit kaboost.com for specs, information and ordering. Now, will someone pass the mashed potatoes?

Poor, Pitiful Papyrus

CAUTION: Design Rant, dead ahead.

We do business in the Adirondacks of New York State. The region is full of log home builders, fishing guides, lumberjacks, beauticians, jewelers, orthodontists, and street performers—all using the same font to help position themselves as earthy and accessible: Papyrus.

This has to stop. Paging through local publications, we see the same tired approach time and time again. It's tough to watch.

Sometimes the same folks use a "Got Milk" knock-off for their ad campaign. Or try to duplicate the Mastercard "Priceless" approach—but that's another rant altogether.

Papyrus is a bit of a thing in the office. We all have our own design pet peeves. Sean doesn't like letterspaced lower case letters. Derek is offended by coated paper, Trina hates off-the-shelf patterns, Raeanne has a conspiracy theory involving Pantone colors, but we all pretty-much agree that Papyrus is overused, and bad to begin with.

And should be phased out immediately.

At which point Zapfino will assume the role of horribly-designed-yet-incredibly-asscessible, and overused, typeface.

Seriously, where else?

More Alta

Excited for ski season? We are.
How cool is this? Rent skis right on the mountain. Don't lug your gear across the country (or the parking lot, for that matter). Pick your skis, take some runs and then swap them out—for different terrain, or just to try something new. Thirty-five bucks. Snowboarders, eat your heart out.