On February 23, the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce proudly launched their new site, which was designed and programmed by us at Morvil Advertising+Design. The project, which took nearly two years to finish, is a proud accomplishment for our company. The old site needed an update, and Morvil is thrilled about its redesign.

Many business owners and entrepreneurs look at the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce–the site gets around 25,000 hits a month–to see whether or not Wilmington is a good location for business. The new site properly reflects our great city with its clean, modern design. Even the logo, also designed here at Morvil, has changed from an old Greek pillar to a new blue “W”. The site is colored by a pristine white background and blue hues. The blue provides striking in contrast to the white and helps to symbolize the coastal aspect of our city, which is a major factor in bringing in outside businesses.

In addition, the new site takes a more communal approach, with blogs from members of the organization that are constantly updated. The site also has both YouTube and Facebook pages, which are modern ways of reaching a younger audience. One feature that I appreciate is the sliding front page, which shows local entrepreneurs and their ideas/products. We find that this is a fantastic way to showcase local success stories and talent.

Also noteworthy are the cleanliness and simplicity of the site. Too often, local sites are cluttered with too much information and are a hassle to navigate. Not so with the new Wilmington Chamber of Commerce site.

First impressions are everything and the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce is often the first thing many outside business see. Morvil hopes that this new design will properly reflect the youth and vibrancy of Wilmington and, in turn, drive more business to our community. Please visit the site and tell us what you think in the comment section below.

With our nation’s second holiday of the year, Super Bowl XLVI, behind us it’s time for us to analyze the most important factor of the big, huge, enormous game…the ads. Yes, the game between the Giants and Patriots was an exciting nail-biter that had us captivated to the last fleeting seconds, but we at Morvil were watching for the Super Bowl ads. Were they a disappointment or a resounding success? Find out below.

The theme that dominated this year’s ads was undoubtedly of the canine variety. From them getting fit, running with Sketchers sneakers to fetching Bud Light, we all experienced our more than necessary, in my opinion, dose of dogs. I felt so bad for the pup that had to continually fetch Bud Lights at the call of “Here We Go,” knowing that the abundance of beer guzzlers at the party would lead to shear exhaustion. Poor guy.

I’ve gone around the office a week after the big game to ask my co-workers about their favorite Super Bowl ads. One thing I found out was that those at Morvil weren’t that impressed with the ads this year. Generally, I wasn’t amazed either. However, I managed to get the crew to tell me which one’s they enjoyed  and their opinion on them.

Odette, who sits next to me, found the Sketcher’s French Bulldog ad to be her favorite. The point behind her decision being that, besides being cute and funny, the commercial actually incorporated what it was selling into the ad. I couldn’t agree more, some ads are just trying to be humorous and not sell a product. This did both.

Maria found the Honda Ferris Bueller commercial funny because it reminded her of the original film. I thought this was a good ad, but it needed more original characters! Where was Cameron!?

Brian Fenderbosch liked this Toyota ad because it was completely zany. He particularly liked the ice cream DMV part and the baby time machine that doesn’t poop. All of those would be nice to have in the real world, actually.

Amy loved the E-Trade baby commercial with the father looking in on the newborns. I have to admit this to someone, so why not the entire Internet? Those babies creep me out.

Brian Reed didn’t even see the Super Bowl! What!? And he calls himself an American! Oh well, he said he was driving and got caught in traffic. I guess he was in Tennessee or something…?

David and Jenna all like the Dorito’s ad with the Great Dane killing the cat while keeping the owner quiet with bags of Doritos. These two Morvil workers are just sick, depraved people. We keep them together in a wing downstairs. No, I’m totally kidding.

Finally, the main man Jeff Morvil enjoyed the Clint Eastwood Chrysler ad because it was bold, political and social. But he did admit he didn’t care for the fact that it was actually filmed in Hollywood and not Detroit. Someone on Twitter made a funny comment after this originally aired. “Is Clint Eastwood running for President? Of Detroit!?” he tweeted. I thought that was hilarious.

As for me? Well I enjoyed the movie spot for The Avengers. I’m a huge nerd. But I also really like the America’s Got Talent ad with Howard Stern. I’m a fan of his and this was directly to the point and quite funny.

So what was your favorite Super Bowl ad this year? Were you disappointed or happy with them? Post in the comments below.

It seems that everyone loves the Super Bowl. Come February 5, 2012 people will crowd around their televisions to witness the most important spectacle in US sports. The Super Bowl is a religion to some folks and tradition for others. The event is as close to a national holiday as anything else that isn’t actually a national holiday.

There are three categories of people who watch the Super Bowl: 1. The fans of the two teams playing. 2. Those who love football no matter who’s playing. 3. The folks who love to watch the lucrative ads.

Yes, some people are fine with admitting that they sit around the TV just for the ads. For them, the actual game is the long, annoying part. But it’s fun to see which companies shell out so much money just to grab 30 seconds to 1 minute of your attention. They literally spend hundreds of millions of dollars to sell you their product. The insanity of the commercials is just as much of an American tradition as the game itself.

At Morvil, we have our football lovers, but it’s hard to deny the fact that we will be watching the ads a little more intensely than the game. The ads are our Super Bowl. I’ve scoured the office and found some of our staff’s favorite ads from the Super Bowls of the past. Personally, I’ve always loved the various movie trailers that debut–usually the popcorn sellers you see during the summer.

Amy Miller, Graphic Designer and Social Media Developer, loves this fan-made Doritos ad. That kid has a strong hand.

Both Odette Arnold and Jenna Ricketts love the Volkswagen ad from last year. Das auto company is trying to trump last year’s winner with this canine commercial from a similar universe. I admit that both of these ads are great, but what is it with Volkswagen’s obsession with the evil empire from Star Wars?

David Southerland loves this cat herding one. Here’s a challenge, try to connect what they’re actually selling to the theme of the commercial. Alas, some companies must have a hilarious idea for a commercial and don’t know how to connect it to what they are selling. That’s what I think happened here.

Creative Director Maria Hamilton loves this classic beer ad and this goofy Embassy Suite commercial. Brief, funny and to the point: what an ad should be. Mrs. Hamilton is our Creative Director for a reason!

I’m kind of a mixed bag when it comes to the Super Bowl as I am a combination of category 2 and 3. I will be watching the game, yet I don’t really care who wins. I feel as though the Patriots have won enough and the Giants are one of the biggest football franchises in the history of the sport. It’s hard to find the real underdog since both teams have such outstanding histories.

So that leads me to you, the audience. What are some of your favorite Super Bowl ads? Which of the undesirable teams (sorry fans) can you stomach to win? Leave your comments below!

Like many companies, we send a special gift of appreciation to our clients at the end of each year. The gift is an original piece of art made by all of us and, in our opinion, sure beats the usual corporate t-shirt or coffee mug.

The initial brainstorming session stemmed from an office-wide ice cream binge. The entire team met in the lobby, various ice cream flavors in hand, intending to come up with the annual client appreciation art piece. The first concept  was to illustrate an ampersand or “&”,  filled with meaningful words that illustrate the relationship between us at Morvil and our clients.

However, the idea hit a rough spot once we began to be split the large ampersand into sections our artists were to design. Namely, it was too difficult to get all of the words to work together to allow the eye to complete the shape of the Ampersand. Each individual artist’s section began to compete with the adjacent, fighting the very concept of working together. The 50 percent chance of the piece actually working in the allotted time was the straw that broke the camel’s back. We had to scrap our first idea.

Expanding on the concept of things that bring Morvil and our clients together, we set out to create a list of things, places, sounds, sights and smells that resound and inspire our lives.  We were excited to see several overlapping items that held a special place in our lives. The result was a listing of things we appreciate at Morvil, each in a hand-crafted typographical style. To enrich the words even more was be our next challenge to tackle.

Combing through the list of words, we selected phrases and words that allowed the interactive element of the poster to come to life. Careful positioning of the key letters was important to give your eye a natural progression to decipher the message. Bringing this order to the letter arrangement helped us suggest that there was a hidden message. And like all things that are good and bright, we just need to take the time to stop and really look. So if you look closely, the highlighted letters in each item spells out “All Things Good & Bright”. The theme of the art poster, “All Things Good & Bright” was inspired by the hymn “All Things Bright and Beautiful” by Cecil Frances Alexander.

We used unique typographical characters to illustrate the meaning behind each word. With the second line, “Tiny White Lights,” you can notice that the letters are compiled of tiny white dots. “Outdoor showers,” has an upper-case “t” raining water from its ends while the “i” in “family” is surrounded by loved ones and the family pet.

Some of the lines give the viewer sensory memory. The line “freshly baked bread” is encased in an outline of hot bread, which triggers a delicious culinary memory. Another line has the “N” in “bonfire” outlined by an illustrated fire, giving the reader a warm sensation. These little illustrations and sensory memories make the piece a pleasure to view multiple times.

Sadly, our piece only had room for eleven items, leaving many other items on the cutting room floor. Here are a few that barely missed the cut:

•  double…no, triple rainbow!
•  Carolina basketball
•  sleeping in
•  i-EVERYTHING
•  chocolate
•  adventure
•  the cold side of the pillow

This is the third consecutive year that Morvil has put out an art piece for the holidays, so you’ll have to wait until the end of 2012 to see what we cook up next. For the time being, have a happy new year and check out the 2009 and 2010 pieces on our Facebook page. Please feel free to list some of your favorite things in the comment section below or post it to our  wall!

Think for a second about the concept of free image sharing. Some savvy companies have certainly seen the potential in this idea. It’s free advertising! Let’s take a look at Starbucks, for example. Starbucks has over 90,000 followers on Instagram. In other words, every time Starbucks posts a photograph, that photograph pops up on the computer screen of 90,000 potential customers. Not only that, but Starbucks also encourages users to attach the Starbucks hashtag (#Starbucks) to any photograph in which a Starbucks beverage appears. Bravo, Starbucks. Let the consumers do the advertising for you. No wonder brands around the world are jumping on this bandwagon.

Take a look at this website to see more examples of the ways various brands are using Instagram. While we’re on the subject, why don’t you share a few photographs with us?

Her depictions of the small chickadees…

“Early in the morning, their chirping wakes me, as if to tweet ‘Seed Please’. The chickadees come often, sometimes while sketching outside on my porch. They get pretty close to me as if to check out their portraits for themselves. Inspired by nature, birds have frequently flown into many of my compositions. Their features and characteristics so intricate to explore with pen, ink, paint and sometimes a collage of mixed media including fabric or photo transfers. It was neat to see this set of chickadees come to life.”

Recently Kim participated in the fall Art at the Arboretum, where the Wilmington locale was filled with art and music featuring well-known local artists. Not only were there works on canvas but also present was pottery, wood work, sculptures and woven baskets. The gardens were alive with artists demonstrating and music from local musicians. Something tells us that Kim’s bright and cheery chickadee fit in perfectly.

You can read the article online here or pick up the latest edition, Volume 12, Number 21 on the news stands. Also you can check out more information about all 6 logos and see them in action in our August 25th blog. We are honored to be a part of “Symbols” and now “The Greater Wilmington Business Journal” as well. Keep your eyes out for us or shoot us a tweet @MorvilDesign!

Here are some (we think are) doing it well:

• Burger King  • Adobe  • Pepsi  • FujiFilm  • Old Spice • Wells Fargo

Wanna know why? Or just more? Shoot us a message on Facebook

The idea behind Symbol is to strip the language of symbolism down to the most basic element of form. This simplification allows for the reader to appreciate each symbol’s absolute form, devoid of all meanings and messages normally associated. Readers are encouraged to appreciate the beginning and most simplistic stages of an image, idea and brand.

“We are so honored to be in such esteemed company,” said Jeff Morvil, founder and president of Morvil Advertising + Design. “I have always admired Angus Hyland’s work, and have been very aware of the reputation of Pentagram.”

Alongside case studies on companies such as Apple and Shell, clients of Morvil Advertising + Design Group included in the book are Coastal Thoracic Surgical Associates, Blue Ginger Spa, Landscapes Unique, Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, Talk Inc. and Watermark Mortgage Group. Individuals interested in learning more about Symbol, or seeing Morvil Advertising + Design Group’s contribution, can visit Pentagram Design Ltd.’s website, or visit morvil.com.

In the video below, Pentagram partner, Angus Hyland, gives a lecture on symbols at the Design Museum in London to coincide with the launch of his book ‘Symbol’ (co-authored by Steven Bateman).

Modeled after the paletas of Central America, LunaPop’s are gourmet, small batch frozen ice pops sure to tickle your taste buds. The 80+ flavors, sorted into the categories of Fruit pops, Cream pops and Coconut Milk-based pops, range from the exotic Mango Chili pop to the sweet and savory Cookies and Cream pop. The Mills have even figured out a way to reach their four-legged customers with the Doggie Pop, a beef broth, banana, soymilk and peanut butter pop served on, what else but, a rawhide chew.

In the next 1.5 years, LunaPops is planning to expand their business – this is where Morvil Advertising + Design Group’s assistance comes into play. Their current growth plan includes the increased sale of “onesies” out of master cases. They would also like to expand the brand into a retail 4-pack that would be sold in the freezer section of specialty food and grocery stores. With such an expansion, LunaPops is in need of a revamping and rebranding. Having a trendier image will give them the competitive edge needed to move into a more recognized sector of frozen goods.

The new logo will be showcased this summer at the Fancy Food Show in Washington D.C. This exhibit is America’s largest speciality food and beverage event which includes 2,400 exhibitors, 80 countries represented and 24,000 attendees.

Be on the lookout for the growth of LunaPops in the next year, with a new image but the same unique and mouthwatering taste!