Powerwash Equals Mural Makeover

Our client Pioneer, is headquartered in the smalltown hub of Kingfisher, Oklahoma. The town's main street strip still holds the charm of days-gone-by combined with all the signs of a thriving rural community. So when a recent powerwashing of Pioneer's mural resulted in a little more paint removal than dirt removal, on the one hand it could have just passed as well, retro... really retro...



...or the slight mishap could present itself as an opportunity for a fresh coat of paint and a refresh of the Pioneer brand look.



We had just put out a new annual report for Pioneer, a telecommunications company that's been serving western Okahoma for over 50 years.



So we decided to draw some inspiration from the annual report cover as we designed the new mural.



And presto chango! Our muralist did it in like two days. We didn't want it to look too new, so we designed it to look pre-distressed. You know, like when you buy jeans with the holes already in them.



We convinced the Pioneer marketing ladies to trek out to the mural with us for a photo op. It was 104 degrees outside and the bleached out concrete parking lot really reflected a lot of sun during this afternoon shot. I photo-adjusted this one, but it still looks like we're posing for a party pic on the surface of Mars.



I wasn't even allowed in the group picture because my beyond white skin was creating too much glare. Maybe I should take a cue from the brick wall behind me and get a new coat of paint... spray-on-tan style.

Meet Liz

So, once in a while I like to take a moment to give you a little peek into the goings on of one of our creative individuals here at Third Degree.  Remember Meet Brian?

Well, meet our designer Liz.  Her demeanor at work is quiet, thoughtful and calm.  

The photo above isn't actually a picture of Liz, but it's a stock photo we use for some of our Third Degree diner materials sometimes, and I always think the girl is a spitting image of Liz in a retro green dress.

This is a real photo of Liz's desk.  So neat and tidy.  The cleanest in the office.

A pleasantly maintained facade, until all our colleagues at Third Degree are invited to the wedding of the year.  Seems like a harmless enough festivity. The toasts are made, the spirits start flowing, the DJ winds up, and holy-freakin-moly!  Liz it seems, is a firecracker.*

*Literally on fire, as she exclaimed to Jeff,  a fire chief by occupation, husband to Mickie our EVP, and known to take an occasional spin on the dance floor, pictured above.   Photos by Simon Hurst.

That bright copper hair atop that cool head on her shoulders should have been a giveaway from the start.  Known to down an Irish Car Bomb quicker than you can say top o' the mornin' to ya (that's the name of a drink I've learned from Hallie, our other resident Irish lass), Liz even wrote and handcrafted this really cleverly made and perfectly designed St. Patrick's day drinking guide and conversation starter to give to all her friends and family.

Liz is a master of the Xacto knife.  Her personal passion is creating handmade books which are really difficult to execute cleanly.  And you've seen her desk, so um, yeah, little threads of hanging-on paper and uneven borders aren't really going to be good enough for one of her little creations.  

If cutting paper is one of her greatest skills, it's matched only by her cutting wit.  Liz has been with Third Degree a couple of years, and one of her most memorable portfolio pieces when interviewing for the job, was this book – a collection of Wu-Tang Clan explicit rap lyrics bound up and annotated as if they were prose from a former century, in the most ironic interpretation of "old school" I've ever seen. 

Oklahoma Blood Institute probably didn't realize that while Liz was practicing her typography with words you wouldn't want to say in front of your mom, she was unknowingly just gearing up to design this Gold Addy award-winning annual report she created for them this past year. Don't stop honing your craft, Liz.  And never stop cutting that rug.