JL: Studio Fuse isn’t actually our original name. We started out as Fuse Design, but were forced to change it about 10 years ago. In the end I’m grateful for the hiccup. That change, having the name start with an “S,” spawned an identity that has been a great foundation for us.

The idea behind the name, specifically Fuse, was collaboration. When my former partner and I first started the business, it was about the fusion of our design thinking, but later it took on a much bigger, and more appropriate meaning: the collaborative way we approach working with clients.

NS: How has your passion for the arts directly influenced your career?

JL: I don’t know if I could do the work we do if I didn’t truly love it. The arts is an incredibly rewarding niche for design, but it’s also very stressful. You’re constantly having to adapt to change so your problem-solving brain has to be dialed in at all times. I think it helps that I have a somewhat unique perspective as a designer. I’m also a dancer and not only perform regularly, but help run the company I dance for, so I understand the chaos from both sides. I suppose that empathy and respect for the process makes me want to help that much more.

NS: Did you always want to have a company of your own, and if so, how important is that for you as a creative designer?

JL: Yes. It was my goal to have my own studio from my first year of college. My plan was to go out on my own by age 30. I did it at 25, and I’m glad I did. I think at that age I was too naive to know that what I was doing was crazy. I was naive and a little cocky. I truly believed that what my former partner and I had to offer the arts world was better than what they were getting and I wanted to prove it. We had had great opportunities to show and hone our design skills at Center Theatre Group where we both worked for four years, but I wanted to do more. I wanted to push further and see where we could take those skills with others arts organizations.

NS: What type of projects inspire you the most?

JL: That’s a tough question. I love any design project. Even the most mundane piece presents its own design challenges. That’s part of the fun…pushing something simple to make it more meaningful. But, to answer your question, personally I have two things that I could happily do 24 hours a day: key art and identity development, specifically logo design. Both are rewarding in different ways. They both involve complete immersion in the project: deep research, intense collaboration with the client, heavy reliance on symbolism and concept, iteration, and refinement. I love that process, it’s something I can live in for a while. And when it clicks, when you see the ah-ha moment when someone gets what you’ve done…there’s nothing like it.

NS: What’s most rewarding about being a creative leader?

JL: I don’t really see myself that way. I love to teach. I enjoy giving just enough guidance to steer something along so that my team retains authorship of their work. You’ll often hear me say, “This is not the Jenn show.” If I had all the ideas and skill (and all the time), I’d do this myself, but I don’t. I hired my team because they’re great at what they do, and they all bring something unique to the table… things I can’t do. It’s my job to give them the space to create, to be their advocate to the client and often vice versa.

NS: As founder and CEO you must always be on the look out for new talent. What qualities do you look for when building your design team?

JL: I suppose you could refer to the previous question for a partial answer, but more than talent I look for personality. We’re a quirky bunch here, and we’re really a small family. The creative process can get loud, messy and at times hysterical so it’s very important to me that anyone new fit our dynamic. A sense of humor is an absolute must.

NS: What do you tell aspiring designers who want to build a career in this industry?

JL: Make your mistakes under someone else’s roof. Find a mentor and ask questions until you’re blue in the face. Watch, listen, read between the lines. 90% of this job is hearing what a client isn’t saying. Take ownership of your work, but know when to let go. Be humble.

NS: What do you like best about working with the non-profit arts community?

JL: The answer is in the question: community. Maybe it’s because I’m an only child from a tiny family, but I never felt more a part of something than I have working within this bunch of crazy, beautiful, visionary people that make up the art community in LA.

NS: What motivates you on a daily basis?

JL: It sounds cheesy, but it’s honest: helping people.

NS: If you weren’t a successful designer, what would your second career choice be?

JL: Hmmm. That’s tough. I already do so many other things beyond my “designer” role, which is probably one of the reasons I still love it so much. I suppose I’d fall back on some of my other loves more: choreography and dance, writing, photography.

NS: What inspired the Fusimal Project?

JL: Ah the Fusimals, our little pet project. They started off as a funny idea for a self-promo piece, a way to play off of our name. If you remember the books we all had as kids that had the split pages with pictures of animals—you could have the top half of a giraffe and the bottom half of a duck. Well, it was a riff on that. The first version was photo-real, and forgive me Scott, kind of terrifying. He didn’t give up on it though, and during some infrequent downtime he came up with the idea to use our logo as the point of fusion. It was brilliant. It took a long time to get the style of the animals down and get the combinations to work from a design perspective. It has been such a fun way for us to express our more humorous, irreverent side; and to showcase our copy writing skills as well. The Fusimal Project itself is a faux nonprofit we created to showcase the creatures. It’s all for fun now, but we’ve got plans in the works for the characters to become much more than icons on shirts.

NS: 15 years is a long time… congrats! What do you attribute most to making Studio Fuse a success?

JL: Dogged determination, great relationships with our clients, and unwavering passion for both the arts and design as a process.

As a studio that’s known for its interactive print (at least in our minds), we immediately knew we’d use this technique for a project someday, even if it might be far off down the road.

As it happened, a few months after watching the video, we were gearing up to begin the Dance at The Music Center season brochure. To our delight, The Music Center wanted to try something different from the use of straight production photography—an approach they had used for the last few seasons. Ombro immediately sprang to mind as the perfect “something different.” What better way to express dance than through movement? Fortunately, The Music Center was as excited as we were about the prospect of an animated brochure.

Of course, the solution also had to work for cases where there would be no fence: ads, 3-sheets, postcards, etc. So we determined that we’d use a mix of moving dancers, and static dancers paired with moving type to be prepared for all scenarios.

Initially, we had simply planned to animate the word “moving” itself in a different way for each image. However, as we experimented, we realized the series of unfenced frames were like afterimages, or impressions. That led us to change “moving” to multiple adjectives describing the varied lasting impressions the viewer could be left with by experiencing the companies this season.

With the idea solidified, we worked out each page and built a digital demo to share them with The Music Center (You can still play with it here.) After a bit of back-and-forth involving changes to the color and a couple of new adjectives, the brochure was approved.

The only problem with a piece like this is, after working on it for so long, you begin to lose perspective; by the time it went to print, we weren’t sure if anyone would find it compelling. Thankfully, when it got into people’s hands, our fears were allayed. Indeed, the response was positive, and The Music Center saw an increase in subscriptions over last season. While we surely can’t take all of the credit, we’d like to think this novel delivery of dance captured some minds, and perhaps moved some people to hop over the fence and get closer to the stage. And for those who weren’t moved, well, here’s a cat video. @scottfuse

UPDATE: 9/18/13
We’re pleased to announce the brochure just garnered us a Gold Award in the Creativity 43rd Print & Packaging Awards!

The artwork was spectacular – but of course it was… what else would you expect from the people who create the cool concepts and amazing visuals that bring LoL to life? Not only did we get to see what these artists do for personal expression, we were able to take a piece of their talent home. Creations from the Riot artists were available as part of the evening’s silent auction to benefit the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, an organization that funds research for a cure. The event coordinator, also a Rioter, holds a very special place in her heart for this cause, as do all of the artists who participated in the event. 

“Unseen” by Edmundo Sanchez

“Unseen” by Edmundo Sanchez

“Unseen” by Edmundo Sanchez

Highlights of the show and auction were a sweet yet sinister-looking illustration, “Unseen” by Edmundo Sanchez (senior concept artist), which is reminiscent of classic large skull illusions, and a giclee print entitled “Rusty”, by Justin Albers (concept artist), which features a small robot character hiding behind a large tree being pursued by a rider atop a monstrously huge T-Rex-like creature. I bought a copy of the the former, while the latter was JP’s auction win. What sold the piece for me was that this giclee print on wood had been custom-cut into a puzzle! So I’ll have to earn the right to hang it up as it did in the gallery, no matter how many hours, days, or even years it may take me. (UPDATE! Aless unceremoniously completed it one night.)

“Rusty” by Justin Albers

“Rusty” by Justin Albers

“Rusty” by Justin Albers

A little more about the gallery itself: Nucleus is a combination art/event/boutique shop space in downtown Alhambra, CA, and is always open to the public. The store front features apparel, books, toys and neat little accessories as well as prints from previous shows for sale. JP and I each actually ended up with additional prints: He with a neat, polygonal deer illustration, “Deer” by Laura Bifano, and I with an adorable watercolor piece “Dogs Being Dogs” by an artist who just so happens to be the next upcoming show. “If Dogs Run Free” by Scott C celebrates his latest book release of the same name. The opening reception welcomes both humans and dogs, complete with free refreshments for both species, and dog adoption opportunities with event partner What’s Up Dog! L.A.! Almost makes a good excuse for me to get a dog just to bring him to this show, doesn’t it? The show itself runs until September 15.

Check out Gallery Nucleus’s website for more future exhibitions, and level up your exposure to some art and culture why don’t you? @alessfuse

Ford Theatres, aka the John Anson Ford Theatre or Ford Amphitheater, is an intimate, open-air performance space nestled into the Hollywood Hills. This hidden gem of a venue with its eclectic programming and expansive community outreach brings the arts to those who want to be close enough to touch it.

When I met the LA County Arts Commission, who operates the venue, I was struck by how much was working in their favor: great location, beautiful surroundings, strong mission, brilliant lineup of artists from every corner of LA’s cultural landscape, and the most impressive string of Yelp reviews I’ve ever read. And yet… if I mentioned the Ford to other Angelenos I’d be greeted with a blank stare. Perhaps it was the plethora of outdoor entertainment happening in LA, particularly at the neighboring Hollywood Bowl that was keeping them a secret? More likely it was their lack of identity. We were determined to bring Ford Theatres out of the shadows.

The audience familiar with the Ford love it, and aren’t shy about it. In fact, the audience had already successfully created a brand for the venue through surprisingly consistent language. We needed to create a visual world to go with it. We started with the logo – a self-contained, totally organic, hand drawn logotype designed to encapsulate the descriptives we heard over and over again: Laid Back, Friendly, Fun, Playful, Romantic, Cozy, and Welcoming. Couple the logo with a color palette sampled from the surrounding landscape and things started to take shape.

The Campaign

The Communications team had already been batting around a few campaign ideas for their summer series when we met. “Find Yourself at the Ford” was buried at the end of the list. It jumped out to me as an empowering call to action – not only to get butts in seats, but to find people like you on stage and in the seats around you. It was the perfect way to sum up the Ford’s mission to reflect the diverse cultures of LA County. And, it was memorable!

With a new look, clear message, and a small stockpile of carefully selected audience and performance images; we were poised for implementation. We designed a system of icons to reflect the look of the logo and a variety of foundation materials including a pocket calendar, postcards, web ads, digital billboards, invites, programs and more that would act as a launching point for their new visual dialogue. All materials were tied together with consistent placement of the new logo, all new typography guidelines, and a bold color palette that used the new Ford green as its base. So far the identity is hit! Staff, artists and audiences are enthusiastically embracing it and we’re excited to see how it continues to evolve.

Learn more about Ford Theatres here. @jennfuse

IOTA Brew Cafe was buzzing with activity when we arrived. The amount of people showing up for a ‘coffee competition’ on a week night was surprising. How special was this event? How exciting could pouring steamed milk into an espresso shot contained in an 8oz. cup to create patterns be? Flanked by my barista roommates I was about to find out.

As the clock struck 7:30pm, the DJ lowered the volume of the fill music and the MC began to chat with the already sizable crowd. The audience then took this as their cue to surge forward towards the coffee bar and huddle en masse as the first challengers made themselves comfortable behind their espresso machines. My roommates and myself being of the shorter variety clamored as close to the front as possible to get a better look at the action. One thing I can guarantee you, if anyone even whispered the word ‘Starbucks’ they would have been immediately pitched outside.

Two baristas face off competing head to head in pouring a design-by-request. The rounds go as follows: hearts, tulips, rosettas. Whoever’s latte is chosen as the winner advances to the next round. Each round lasts between five to ten minutes as the baristas steam and pour their milk, awaiting the judges’ decision. The three judges, selected for their coffee-making prowess, look for aesthetic qualities such as the contrast of color, the consistency of color, crispness of design, proportion of design, cleanliness of pour, the ‘ripple’, and if the beverage meets the top rim of the cup. If the winning cup is questioned by the audience, the judges give the crowd the reasoning behind their choice.

Being entirely unfamiliar with this ‘sport’ and its festivities I was pleased to spot complimentary macaroons and beer while the crowd of baristas and on-lookers thickened. According to my roommates, these ‘throwdowns’ are taken very seriously because you represent the cafe and fellow staff members that you work with. Some competitors are so dedicated that they come prepared with their own steam cup, so as not to be thrown by using unfamiliar materials. But really, the best part of the entire night was being able to consume complimentary lattes since they don’t want to let them go to waste just in the name of competition.

These coffee enthusiasts have definitely found the best way to espresso themselves through the art of competition, and I must say I learned a latte from this unique experience and plan on attending more. Who wouldn’t love a night of watching people hone their craft while consuming a million free lattes? If you’re interested, the next TNT is September 12 at Republic of Pie. Visit lacoffeeclub.com for details. @GraceAhlizabeth

The crowd gathers at IOTA Brew Cafe. Photo by LosAngelesTNT

The crowd gathers at IOTA Brew Cafe. Photo by LosAngelesTNT

Rosettas. Photo by nuttynomads

Rosettas. Photo by nuttynomads

Every year the museum puts on a themed Haunted Museum for their members, bringing together science and scares—and for the past several years, we’ve designed the invitations for them. Last year, it was “Fairy Tales and Scary Tales,” for which we created a two-sided book featuring a mix of characters from ogres to dire wolves.

This year, the museum decided to turn the Haunted Museum into a travel destination of sorts: the “Land of Awes” (as in The Wizard of Oz). This destination concept delivered the design direction to us on a platter: we would turn the invitation into a travel brochure. Fleshing the idea out, we designed one side to be a poster inspired by travel posters from the thirties, while the other side became a metaphoric map of the evening’s itinerary. Naturally, both sides included a hybrid of Oz characters and museum specimens, such as a tin Thomas the T. Rex, a cowardly saber-toothed tiger, flying monkeys, and Fruitaden Munchkins. It was a lot of work, but fortunately Grace the intern was here to help us illustrate Thomas and the tiger.

While it is just one invitation to one event in one city, we feel proud that we were able to do our part to keep Halloween from falling completely into the evil clutches of post-adolescent party culture and keep it just a little bit fun for the kids (however doomed they may be). Plus, it was just awes-fully fun to create. @scottfuse

Take a look at the gallery, and let us know what you think. >>

]]> http://blog.studiofuse.biz/no-surrender-dorothy/feed/ 0 http://blog.studiofuse.biz/extreme-makeover-website-edition/ http://blog.studiofuse.biz/extreme-makeover-website-edition/#comments Fri, 20 Jul 2012 21:31:03 +0000 http://blog.studiofuse.biz/?p=2701
Continue reading →]]> Most of you know Studio Fuse as a print design studio, or perhaps, as a link you accidentally clicked. However, we’ve also been known to design websites on occasion.

This past spring, in fact, we were hired to rebrand the newly renamed Association for Women in Architecture + Design (formed in 1948, they recently added the “+ Design” to “AWA” to better reflect the scope of their mission).

 

 

Part of the rebrand included giving their website a makeover. Not only did the look need to be updated to reflect the new identity, they also wanted a backend that was easier to maintain, as well as a blog that they could manage themselves. You can see the before and after screengrabs in this post, or check out the site here (note: the pages may load slowly—this is due to their host, not our code! The site ran quite speedily on a test host).

Executing the website was a walk in the park, if that park is Yosemite National Park and you are a double amputee with a bad sense of direction. I won’t bore you with the details like I bored myself with them in previous versions of this post, but I will share a short list of lessons learned along the way:

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• Software marketing language is, unfortunately, not a programming language. “Easy and powerful integration with WordPress” does sound nice, though, doesn’t it?

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• Internet Explorer 9 is by far the worst browser at rendering pages correctly, after Internet Explorers 8, 7 and 6.

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• There are varying levels of ignorance and stupidity in web development. Find your level, and ask questions with the appropriate humility.

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• Being the third person to work with a site’s undocumented code is difficult, but still better than being the fourth person (Sorry fourth person. I tried).

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Challenges aside, AWA+D now has an online presence that’s easy to use and that they’re proud of. Insert rousing cheer here… or use the one we’ve inserted for you below. @scottfuse


The old AWA homepage



The old AWA homepage


The old AWA homepage


The old AWA homepage

The new AWA+D homepage


The new AWA+D homepage


The new AWA+D homepage


The new AWA+D homepage

]]> http://blog.studiofuse.biz/extreme-makeover-website-edition/feed/ 0 http://blog.studiofuse.biz/lacma-muse-artwalk/ http://blog.studiofuse.biz/lacma-muse-artwalk/#comments Fri, 15 Jun 2012 00:53:13 +0000 http://blog.studiofuse.biz/?p=2551
Continue reading →]]> Hey lazy legs, aren’t you tired of always sitting around, not looking at art? You are? Good! Fortunately, you can resolve both of your life’s failings this Saturday with LACMA’s annual ArtWalk.

If you can throw on a pair of shoes (perhaps like the ones in the invite we designed), you can take advantage of FREE admission to LACMA, the Craft and Folk Art Museum, and the Architecture + Design Museum, as well as more than twenty galleries along the Miracle Mile. From 12 to 8 pm, there will be dance performances, live music, and interactive art projects—and just regular old art too.

That’s not all. You can also join in on the ForYourArt aMUSEment Hunt. Get a sticker for each of the museums and galleries you visit and redeem them for prizes—from original prints to memberships.

Still want more? Sheesh, I might have to start calling you crazy legs… You can also head back to LACMA for the ArtWalk After Party from 8:30 to 11 pm, featuring the Joshua Light Show and music by Dublab and Silent Disco. @scottfuse

Saturday, June 16

LACMA + Miracle Mile  |  Info

Saturday, June 16
LACMA + Miracle Mile  |  Info

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ArtWalk
12 – 8 pm
FREE

After Party
8:30 – 11 pm
$15 – $25

]]> http://blog.studiofuse.biz/lacma-muse-artwalk/feed/ 0 http://blog.studiofuse.biz/and-now-for-something-completely-different/ http://blog.studiofuse.biz/and-now-for-something-completely-different/#comments Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:23:06 +0000 http://blog.studiofuse.biz/?p=2421
Continue reading →]]> Going from one sun-drenched state to another doesn’t usually pose much of a culture shock—unless you’re going cross-country to do so. Which happens to be the exact thing I decided to do for my last true ‘summer vacation’. Once the break started, I quickly picked up my life and shuffled off to California to grow artistically anywhere else but where I was. The biggest difference for me was going from my comfortably small college town of Sarasota, Florida with the average population of 52,000 and the average age of 65, to Pasadena’s 137,000 strong and the average age being somewhere in the 30’s. Thankfully, being raised predominantly on this side of the US, I was already accustomed to many ways of the West Coast culture. Now I’m just left to figure out how to continue functioning in this city without a car. I count my lucky stars for ending up in Pasadena, because I don’t know of anywhere else in LA that is this walking accessible.

Just in residing here for a little over two weeks, I’ve already been enamored by the different things going on around me.

Deerfoot lamp from T.L. Gurley Odd and Unusual Antiques

Deerfoot lamp from T.L. Gurley Odd and Unusual Antiques

After meeting Jenn and the crew for the first time, I meandered a little ways down the road to be completely surrounded by antique shops. Some even boasting “strange and unusual” items. This is something that doesn’t really exist in Florida, let alone the small town of Sarasota. Of course there are antique shops, but never with the variety of items I saw displayed in my three-hour stint (and again when I trekked to the Rose Bowl). I believe you natural-born Californians really take for granted how much better the resale shopping is when you have that extra 80,000 people contributing their things from grandma’s attic.

Jenn & Monica Buckner performing ‘Shifting Sands: Age vs. Time’

Jenn and Monica Buckner (wife of 2nd intern Daniel) performing ‘Shifting Sands: Age vs. Time’

By working at the studio, I’ve become more aware of the various cultural activities happening in the LA area, some of which team Fuse are involved with personally. For example, last weekend I attended Jenn’s dance performance (Works 2012) being put on in a newly converted space in a still functioning church. Not only was the performance fantastic, but also being in a new, and unconventional space added an extra sprinkle of awesome to the overall experience. There is definitely no church/dance theatre hybrid lurking anywhere in SRQ. 
But honestly, the thing I’m most star-struck from by living here in Pasadena is the food. As a self-proclaimed foodie, I’m not ashamed to say that one of the reasons I was so excited in coming here was to have the option for a variety of meals again. Florida, but especially Sarasota is a very homogenized area and trying to get a meal that isn’t from a chain can be difficult—and healthy? Try somewhere else. But here, there is usually a separate vegetarian menu and practically everything comes with avocado! Which as you can tell, makes this person a very happy camper.

A vegetarian sandwich from Aux Delices French Bakery and Café

A vegetarian sandwich from Aux Delices French Bakery and Café

My overall goal for these next few months was experience, and because of the internship I was lucky enough to land and the area I am lucky enough to live in, it seems like getting myself involved in what’s going on around me shouldn’t be too daunting of a task. (This weekend you can find me at the Pasadena Chalk Festival and Make Music Pasadena. Art + 100 live bands, all for free! @GraceAhlizabeth)

]]> http://blog.studiofuse.biz/and-now-for-something-completely-different/feed/ 0 http://blog.studiofuse.biz/do-you-roller-derby/ http://blog.studiofuse.biz/do-you-roller-derby/#comments Fri, 08 Jun 2012 22:18:20 +0000 http://blog.studiofuse.biz/?p=2273
Continue reading →]]> Last week, Jenn revealed her out-of-office alter ego and now it’s my turn to share. Four and a half years ago, I answered a Craigslist ad and showed up at a nondescript warehouse near downtown Los Angeles. Shady as this scene may seem, it was the beginning of my after-hours career as a member of the L.A. Derby Dolls. As a DIY endeavor, everyone has to pitch in and help the league function and I was able to lend my 9-to-5 talents to my 6-to-11-and-weekend hobby as the head of the Art Department. Over the course of two and a half years, I wrangled artists, sent files to print, soothed flustered department heads and massaged production schedules. I even managed to sneak in some of my own flyer art.

If you’d like to see actual real life roller derby, you’re in luck! Saturday, June 16, in an inter-league all-star event, the L.A. Ri-Ettes will take on the Rat City Roller Girls from Seattle, while on Sunday, June 17, our newest recruits get their turn on the track with a “Baby Doll Brawl”, featuring an exhibition Junior Derby Doll game during halftime. Get tickets here. @jes_fuse

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Take a look at the flyers, and let me know what you think. >>

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