The office is getting smaller.

Stan Can Design™ is proud to welcome Nikki Velez, recent University of Nevada, Reno graduate , into our ever-shrinking design office. No matter how big or small the picture, everything needs to have a purpose according to Nikki. Otherwise it’s not worth doing. Both her tenacity and her passion for life are readily apparent upon meeting her, and clearly benefit those around her. (Present company included.) That’s why she’s here. Pluggin’ away! Read her full bio here. 

A little gold bottle.

You can really tell a when a client knows what they want, when they show up to the first meeting with a 3-ring Binder, filled with pages of mood boards, style guides and paper samples that they spent hours working on, getting it perfect.

That was the case with Mr. Blake Williams. Blake came to StanCan™ Design because he knew that we would be able to deliver a logo that was clean, simple and powerful. After an hour long synopsis of his newly created entertainment company, Gold Bottle, Williams decided to hire us. In fact, he knew he was going to hire us from the start. He explained his google search technique that brought him to every design shop’s site in town. Our site, he explained, was clean and simple, exactly what he wanted from a logo.

“I looked at every design shop in town. But your work was clean and simple and I knew it was meant to be,” said Blake. The logo we created is based on the infamous gold bottle champagne, Armand de Brignac Brut Gold. It wasn’t too long after we presented the logo that we received a letter in the mail from Blake. We helped him get his dream started. What an awesome feeling.

Promise beyond the brand.

Most of the time we think a “brand” as being the image or the promise portrayed in a business marketing messaging. Some brands are great at living their promise. I have never seen or experienced a better example of brand living up to their promise than in a recent project we did for the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority.

The RSCVA recently got a cool new 4-wheel drive Willy’s Panel to help remind people of the outdoor adventures here in Reno/Tahoe. They set up a shoot to show off their cool car and in a conversation, it dawned on me that it would be great to feature people that represent the various activities, biking, hiking, boarding etc.

But…the shoot was in two days and I really didn’t have a great model/talent pool readily available.

Out of desperation, I suggested that we call the people at Scheel’s and see if they could help us with some props. Scheel’s jumped at the opportunity and provided the shoot with props and avid bikers, skiers, golfers, fisherman, all employees of the sports store posing as models. Being educated in the Old School of Advertising, I was taught to never use friends, family and non-professional talent. I was quite nervous (and felt like a carpetbagger). We had to use them, there was no other option available.

Part of Sheel’s promise as a store is that their employees are involved in the activities that they sell the goods for. Also, employees are actively involved in their community. The “talent” did not seem rushed to get back to work or put out that management forced them to represent the company. They were a real joy to work with and the result is obvious in the photography.

Terrin Hicks, Golfer | Calor Pearson, Skier

Aubrey Matteson, Biker | Chris Pyrah, Fisherman

Scheel's Crew

The price? Four sandwiches, four bags of chips and four sodas. Thank you Scheel’s, Calor Pearson, Aubrey Matteson, Terrin Hicks and Chris Pyrah.

Are you sure these are not models sent by the Ford Agency?

Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center

Stan Can Design™ recently finished working on the rebrand of the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center. The work was commissioned by the Reno-Sparks Visitors and Convention Authority because the old mark was outdated and very difficult to reproduce.

“We created a design for the facility that is contemporary and very usable, but at the same time honoring its rich Western heritage.” said Stan Byers, owner of Stancan™ Design, of the new logo.

When researching the history of the center, we discovered it’s establishment date of 1887.  That gave us a credible claim for using visual references of wood type and hand-painted signage from that era. Otherwise, it would just be another kitschy logo.

“We are very pleased with the result, I just wish we had more things to put it on!” said Esther Isaac, Assistant Marketing Director of the RSCVA.

Stan Byers awarded Influencer of the Year by Reno AMA.

In 2010-2011, Stan worked on several campaigns that had major impacts on not only the design community but community at large. Artown 2011, AIGA’s Designosaurs, RSCVA, SPCA and DesignMatters are among the many influential campaigns completed during this time. 2011′s Artown campaign, where he played an integral role in choosing that year’s artist, Kelly Peyton, helped bring more people to more events than any other year. His work for DesignMatters helped land keynote speaker Steve Frykholm, creative director for Herman Miller, for the sold-out event at the Nevada Museum of Art. Stancan™ Design is looking forward to another successful year in helping our community grow.