Wagner Design Associates Blog

Wagner Design Associates has been in the graphic design business for over twenty years. Our reputation for excellent customer service and high-quality creative work has attracted clients from virtually every industry. In fact, our clients’ recommendations are our greatest endorsement. Over the years we’ve done work for economic development organizations like Ann Arbor SPARK and Lenawee Economic Development Corporation (LEDC). We’ve created websites for Bioscience companies like Michbio and the University of Michigan Life Science Institute. We work with consulting companies like Dataspace and we also have clients in the Arts, including The Faber Piano Institute and the Cecchetti Council of America. Our client base is pretty diverse and we rather like it that way.

But we also enjoy doing a pro bono work for selected local organizations. We feel strongly that part of being a community is giving back. So, each partner here at Wagner has chosen to do design work for a non-profit organization that is close to her heart. Laura works with Leslie Science Center to improve nature education. Kathy helps fight breast cancer with the 60 Mile Men.  And Jill is committed to fighting domestic violence and sexual assault through her work with Safehouse Center. This year, we encouraged local area artists to donate images of their work to be included in a calendar that, when purchased, will help offset the drastic funding cuts at Safehouse.

Our graphic design firm in Ann Arbor was pleased to contribute to the design and production of that calendar and that great cause. Please contact us if you would be willing to donate $15 for one calendar or $40 for three. Your generosity would make a difference in the lives of thousands of women and children in Washtenaw county.

Last week I posted about some of the economic growth happening here in Ann Arbor.  So, now that I’ve got you thinking positively, I thought I’d keep up the momentum.  Wagner Design Associates has recently designed identity materials for MLSIC.  What is MLSIC, you ask?  Well, according to the Ann Arbor Spark website, it’s a recipe for business success:

“Start with a group of entrepreneurs and economic development agencies determined to make Michigan a hub for the life sciences. Add a 57,000+ square foot life science incubator complete with state-of-the-art labs, well-appointed offices and conference rooms, a loading dock, ample parking, and every possible business amenity. Recruit tenants that include not only start-ups but business accelerator organizations and life science leaders. Provide plenty of opportunities for networking, mentoring and expertise sharing. The result is the Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center (MLSIC) – southeastern Michigan’s newest home for innovation-based business.”

Wagner is proud to play a small role in this effort to keep businesses growing and thriving. As a graphic design company in Ann Arbor, we enjoy being a part of this community. Part of the fun of this particular project was having our resident photographer, Kristin, take photos of the facility.  We’re lucky to have a staff photographer with her caliber of talent.

For design work, contact:
Kathy Roeser-Nordling
Wagner Design Associates LLC
Office: 734.662.9500
Fax: 734.662.6590
Email: kathy@wagdesign.com

For more info on MLSIC, contact:
Frederick Earl
Facility Manager
Office: 734-233-3099 or 734-233-3050
Email: Fred@AnnArborUSA.org

And this time I don’t mean color.  Here at Wagner Design Associates, an advertising agency in Ann Arbor, we try to be ecologically correct by doing things like recycling our office papers and equipment, asking our printers to use recycled paper or FSC certified paper, as we recently did with the newest edition of Biomatters Magazine for Michbio.

But what more could we be doing? Well, for starters, a little research.

At WattzOn, you can take a short survey, which is free and easy, and you can compare your energy consumption to others. The average American uses 11,000 watts.  I found I used 6,563 watts. I commute more than average, but travel by air far less than average.  While I like this site, I wished I could see how Wagner Design Associates stacked up to other businesses, but so far the only way to use the site is to look at individual consumption. Still, it’s good information.

You can also attend a Compostmodern event. An annual conference takes place in San Francisco, or you can check out their website and blog to find a webcast or other information. One article I saw there was very interesting.  Recapping one of the conference talks by Saul Griffith, these four points about green design were particularly interesting:

1. Get used to numbers. It’s not possible to calculate the impact of a product or building you design without knowing some math.

2. The client is no longer the client; the planet is the client. Always. Designers must work with clients to understand that priorities revolve around doing what’s needed in order to reduce energy consumption and prevent further warming.

3. We need an heirloom culture, meaning that designers should be creating products that last so long they can be handed down from generation to generation. Griffith said he plans to give a Rolex watch and a Mont Blanc pen to his newborn son this year with the intention that they be his only timepiece and writing implement for the next 100 years.

4. We need to transform into a share economy, in which objects that we only use on occasion are co-owned or borrowed from a central source, reducing the number that need to be produced while benefiting from the service the object provides. This model is being played out in car-sharing services and tool-lending libraries but could extend much more broadly.