We work with some of the
San Francisco Art Institute: FORT MASON OPENING
The San Francisco Art Institute needed to develop a creative and compelling campaign to launch the opening of their new campus at Fort Mason. We worked with them to name and develop the campaign’s graphic identity and to develop four commissioned art projects for a yearlong campaign that brought attention to both the new facility and SFAI’s continued commitment to both San Francisco and the arts.
We developed and managed a marketing plan that included graphic identity creation, identification of artists for the campaign (including Alicia McCarthy, Jon Rubin, Sans facon, and Bill Fontana), start-to-finish production management of their commissioned work, compelling video/photo documentation of their work in the space, and strategy on PR messaging and content.
In keeping with the school’s philosophy of fostering interdisciplinary creativity and critical thinking, our goal was to make the medium the message. The result was a campaign that brought attention to the new campus through the commissioned artworks inside, while maintaining the school's historic role in supporting the creative landscape of San Francisco.
Levi's Made and Crafted
Levi’s Made and Crafted (LMC) asked us to work with them to produce a summer/fall 2013 out-of-home advertising campaign that would engage the creative classes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City and London.
We proposed a campaign entitled “Good Things Take Time,” and worked with LMC to create a three-part project inspired by both the campaign’s tagline and artist Dan Graham’s advertising interventions from the 1960’s, in which he purchased ad space in magazines in order to create art pieces. The campaign consisted of:
- Commissioned artworks installed as public interventions on billboards, bus shelters, and other advertising spaces in cities around the world.
- A selection of these pieces inserted into the paid advertising space of magazines as standalone works in like-minded publications.
- A free newspaper featuring the artworks, made available in the locations where you could find Levi’s Made & Crafted and The Thing Quarterly.
- Digital media, including a website documenting the campaign, as well as two videos that played in Levi's stores worldwide.
Nike x Ryan Gander
Nike was interested in expanding the link between their design innovations and the worlds of fine art and design. They approached us to help them forge alliances in a thoughtful and creative way.
We worked with Nike to commission a limited edition artwork by internationally-renowned artist Ryan Gander, who created a handmade Japanese puzzle box edition that visually and conceptually expressed Nike’s new flyknit technology. We coordinated with the artist and the various points of manufacturing along the way, from concept development to packaging design. By solving and opening the puzzle box, recipients of this piece revealed a pair of shoes selected and sized just for them.
NIKE: ON DESIGN
Nike asked us to work with them on creating a limited edition design book, something that would capture the creative spirit and innovative drive of the company. We recruited graphic designer Brian Roettinger and together worked with the Nike News team to create a beautiful and simple limited run of 500 books.
The book, On Design, offers an insider's look into Nike’s design ethos while simultaneously placing the company in conversation with other industry leaders across various design disciplines. Featuring original essays, illustrations, artworks, design archives and more, the book explores design, generally and specifically through the Nike lens.
Content includes essays from internal partners Mark Parker (President & CEO, NIKE, Inc.), John Hoke (VP Global Design, NIKE, Inc.) and Hannah Jones (Chief Sustainability Officer and VP, Innovation Accelerator, NIKE, Inc.), as well as contributions from external partners.
Celebrated author/illustrator Maira Kalman contributes a piece on the inspiration process while Paolo Casati, co-founder of Fuorisalone.it and the award-winning Milanese design studio Studiolabo, converses with Nike about the etymology and current character of design.
Glenn Adamson, Director of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, digs into the details of making and how it has evolved, while Matthew Kolodziej, a professor of art and founding member of the Biomimicry Research and Innovation Center (BRIC) at the University of Akron, explains why nature is our richest design resource.
Finally, Andrew Blauvelt (award-winning graphic designer, creative director and current Director of the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan) ruminates on the unmapped design landscape of tomorrow.
KINGSFORD CAPITAL / PARTICK THISTLE FOOTBALL CLUB
Kingsford Capital, sponsors of the Scottish premier league football team Partick Thistle, wanted to take a creative approach to team-themed giveaways at games throughout the 2015 season, and asked us to work with them to create 5 limited edition artist projects that would given away to fans at five games during the regular season.
We worked with Kingsford Capital to identify and recruit five artists for five unique giveaway projects. We also managed aspects of project design and production. At five games, Partick football fans received free artist projects by Martin Parr, Barry McGee, David Shrigley, Kota Ezawa, and Jonathan Monk. The project bolstered the team’s reputation as scrappy underdogs whose fans appreciate both art and the art of football.
Nike Miniatures
For Nike Innovation 2016, we worked with Nike to help create a limited edition set of miniatures featuring their key innovations for the year.
The result was a boxed set of six miniature gold shoes in a limited run of 72. The boxed sets were distributed at the event to members of the press. The miniatures were created with 3D printers and hand painted.
San Francisco Art Institute Artist Documentary
The San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) needed a short video documentary on their artist-in-residence Alejandro Almanza Pereda as he prepared for his installation in the Diego Rivera Gallery during the Summer of 2015.
SFAI was interested in a simple, yet compelling documentary that captured the details and timeline of Alejandro's work. They wanted a video that could exist as archival documentation as well as social media promotion. For this project, we enlisted THE OTHER THING's Jonn Herschend to direct and edit the film alongside cinematographer Tavon Bolourchi and composer Silas Hite.
About THE OTHER THING
THE OTHER THING is a small San Francisco-based creative direction studio. Formed in 2013 as an offshoot of THE THING Quarterly, our approach puts art at the core of everything we do. We work directly with some of the world's best artists, writers, designers, and filmmakers to think through new ideas and create innovative projects, campaigns, and objects for brands large and small.
Our clients have included Nike, Levi’s, San Francisco Art Institute, and Kingsford Capital.
THE TEAM
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