DESIGN IS A STATE OF MIND: We love our work and have found that integrating life and work makes both better. Just about every day begins not in front of the computer, but in front of the Pacific Ocean. We use the morning coffee routine as an extremely productive relaxed thinking period in which we simply look at colors, patterns, signs, people, behaviors, graphics that have been tumbled in the sand and waves… and find unusual but valuable connections and solutions for our work. It works so well for us that at the end of the workday whatever challenge we’re facing is gently placed in the back of our minds to ponder as we meander along the coast or sketch in our books.

CLIENT ANTHROPOLOGY:Every client has a history, a culture, artifacts, and routines. By becoming a client anthropologist who looks at everything phenomenologically, asks questions, and carefully documents the answers, we hope to discover and understand what we need to be a good partner. We listen for what people are excited about and proud of in their companies and organizations, what and who they want to be. Before we construct visual iconography, we strive to understand the boundaries that are formed by connecting the dots between audience, purpose, timelines, core strengths, unique qualities, industry benchmarks, and competition. And, once the boundaries are understood, we can determine when we must absolutely abide by them, how to push them, and when to hop right over.

STRATEGY: Combining two bi-polar opposites to create a third surprising and original thing is a creative strategy. Devising formulas that employ chance operations to combine known and random content is another strategy. Being aware enough to capitalize on what’s self-evident works pretty well too… We approach our work organically, ritualistically, scientifically - whatever it takes to keep it fresh, concept driven, and unique to each client and each project

COMMUNICATION: Good client communication starts at the door with the receptionist, the secretary, the engineer who built the system, the bio-scientist who developed what is now the foundation of a whole product line, the production floor logistics planner who moves the ten thousand units every day. We make it our business to know yours.

Clients have ideas. They know their business. They know their audience.Our client anthropology is often the first step towards being an extension of the project manager, whether that is a Marketing Director, CEO or VP of Sales. Sometimes clients totally depend on designer vision, and sometimes clients really want to direct. We make it our business to intuit and internalize the client vision, fusing it with our own, to realize the project in a truly collaborative way.

Whether we’re working independently or closely with a client under their direction, we keep dialog open and informative. Clients do not have to communicate through a customer service or sales representative; they speak directly to the Creative working on their project, and have access to the key decision-makers within 451 – at any time.

OBSESSIVE ATTENTION TO DETAIL: Once the creative process yields a direction, it is rigorously critiqued and conditioned to be exacting according to rules of production. It’s elements are classified and analyzed. Teams lock down on the project blueprint. Established motifs and themes are guarded for consistency. We fully comprehend the intersection between compelling designs, the level of technologies required to realize them, and the often tight deadlines in which they must be delivered. Our comprehension is punctuated by our obsessive attention to detail.

Through maintaining the love of our work, strategy, attention to detail, communication, and client anthropology we approach everyday with the intent of creating a lighthouse in a storm of information. back to top

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