About The Killswitch Collective Digital Design company in Chicago, United States
Originally collaboration started with design work for BrightNest which was later acquired by Angies List. Since the acquisition the BrightNest founders have continued to work with Killswitch on select projects for Angies List.
Over the years we have worked on a wide range of projects for ArtPower! at UC San Diego. Projects include a long line of performance brochures diverse print projects and the design and development of several websites.
Weve worked on a number of projects for this large international law firm including a website review to help streamline interaction and several design projects such as event invitations and the design of their first ever employee magazine.
We developed the BET Awards 2010 website delivering a rich experience for site visitors and providing the BET team with the back end tools they needed to manage the application easily.
This architecture firm approached us for help with hosting a charity event for which we created all of the design work including the branding the invitation materials a brochure signage and a multimedia presentation. Weve continued to work with them on interactive projects over the years.
While working with the Jazz Institute of Chicago we created the website for the 32nd annual Chicago Jazz Festival informing visitors and fusing the spirit of jazz into our design. Keeping the vibe fun and fresh the website offered visitors a sound preview of the artists.
Continuing our relationship with Viacom we were tasked with developing a new white label trivia engine that can easily be plugged into various Comedy Central properties. Flexible and easy to customize this system has been used on popular sites such as the Daily Show.
In collaboration with the augmented reality firm Total Immersion we built a microsite for Disneys Halloween Nights an online application that allows users to select villains and play assorted games via augmented reality. Using the devices web camera graphics are transposed over the user.
The Drake Hotel is a historic Chicago landmark. Killswitch designed and developed the hotels website providing The Drake with a CMS so they can regularly update their menus events wedding galleries packages and more.
Killswitch has helped Finchs Beer to stand out in the crowded craft beer market. We have worked with Finchs on a wide range of projects since they were a startup seeking investment and have continued our relationship now that their product can be purchased in multiple states.
This leading arts and entertainment organization asked us to produce a variety of design work including magazine ads web banners and event invitations. After seeing such great success in our work with the Chicago office the Los Angeles San Francisco and New York branches hired us to work with them as well.
This non-profit backed by the Bill amp; Melinda Gates Foundation approached us for a brand new website to better connect with students. We designed and developed a compelling and highly interactive experience that let schools compete with each other for academic success.
Sophisticated and modern The James is a boutique hotel group for which we created a rich set of holiday cards representing the three sections of the Chicago hotel—the hotel the bar and the restaurant. The cards were printed on silver paper mirroring the hotels minimalist style.
We developed the website for this national law firm headquartered in Chicago. The application features unique functionality and an easy to use administration interface.
Mahalo aims to make search more relevant and easy to use. We had been asked to design a new look with an aim to streamline their content and make it easy for users to find what theyre looking for. Our approach was to keep things very clean and simple while using subtle elements to spark a little fun.
We have developed several web properties for MTV including a casting platform that is extremely customizable and can be deployed for any MTV show that requires public casting. Fast reliable and highly interactive users vote and share their thoughts on who should be on MTV.
NIKEiD lets customers design their own shoes. We produced a set of interactive banner ads that show off this revolutionary capability and entice the user to order their customized designs.
We collaborated with Pitchfork before their site relaunch to help them come up with ways to make their content-heavy site more organized finding a good balance and clear hierarchy in terms of showcasing a lot of different types of content in ways that are clean and compelling.
To encourage prospective students SAIC sends out physical printed mailers each year. We were hired to design a unique piece that would capture attention so we focused on bringing value to the school and highlighting the opportunities waiting with a 9-panel brochure that folded out into a poster.
We were tasked with designing four catalog covers for the universitys Extension program one cover for each course period. UCSD requested that the cover art for each quarter reflect both the appropriate season and a series of corresponding themes resulting in an exploration of a fresh unique approach that UCSD Extension had not done in the past.
We have developed several community-driven websites that target specific VH1 shows classics such as Flavor of Love and The Pickup Artist. The sites are managed through a custom built content management system that is extremely flexible and allows for a rich user experience.
Killswitch and Vosges Haut-Chocolat have partnered up on several occasions working on various catalogs to showcase the companys wide array of products. With each set of catalogs we developed a clean well-organized design (and not to mention a taste for exotic truffles!).
The Wicker Park amp; Bucktown Chamber of Commerce approached us to create a walking map. The map was included as an insert in an issue of Time Out Chicago so beyond serving as a guide for those walking the streets of the two neighborhoods it needed to fit seamlessly with the motif of the hip monthly.
We worked side by side with the Zorch team to strengthen their brand through differentiation and creativity completely redesigning and building a renewed and fresh web presence.
ZS Associates is a global leader in sales and marketing consulting outsourcing technology and software. We have worked with ZS on a wide array of projects from software logos and interface designs to brochures and trade show signage.
The Downtown Austin Alliance is a partnership of downtown property owners individuals and businesses devoted to preserving and enhancing the value and vitality of downtown Austin. DAA reached out to us in an effort to visually unify both their web and print presence as well as internal presentations and other marketing efforts. In this post we are highlighting the digital 2020 Annual Report. A stand alone page that outlines the past present and future of downtown Austin. The challenge was to organize this massive amount of data make it easy to navigate and visually stunning. Throughout the report are interactive elements as well as subtle animations to keep the user engaged. The report was heavily optimized to load quickly and look good on all types of devices. View the report here
Working with Travel Mindset we created an interactive map for Travel Nevada. With a vast network of open roads and breathtaking scenic byways theres no better way to explore Nevada than by car. The map showcases five road trips and serves as a hub for detailed travel diaries and convenient Google Maps itineraries. Customized maps were also created for influencer marketing via Instagram. View the maps here
Taking healthcare in a new direction. We partnered with Segura Inc. who handled the company rebrand including a new visual language for the web which we then implemented. Illuminate is a healthcare company that provides innovative methodologies and procedures on post-hospital care. In order to stay aligned with the company values and philosophy we choose to break the traditionally rigid and pre-fabricated visuals for something more approachable real and human. View the new site at illuminate-hc.com
The Texas Public Policy foundation has grown from humble beginnings in 1989 to one of the major forces in Texas promoting liberty personal responsibility and free enterprise. With that growth came a website that no longer fulfilled the needs of the various departments and a total do over was necessary. The sites content structure was greatly simplified to make it much easier to discover content and great care was taken on the back end to make it easy for staff to update including automatic imports from third party sources like Youtube. View the new site at texaspolicy.com
Late last year we launched BridgeArrow.com spearheaded by Karen Brown a project to connect professionals in the Diversity amp; Inclusion space. Bridge Arrow provides consulting services but at its core it#39;s a collaborative effort a global hub to bridge the gap between people seeking Damp;I and Human Capital services and experts who have a wealth of knowledge. The site provides access to resources as well as allows users to sign up and create their own profiles to advertise their expertise. Users can then directly interact with experts and procure their services. You can check it out at bridgearrow.com
Atlas Network is a nonprofit organization connecting a global network of more than 450 free-market organizations in over 90 countries to the ideas and resources needed to advance liberty around the world. Weve recently partnered with them on a new microsite aimed at educating people about the big solution to global poverty. By empowering the poor to lift themselves up making it easier to them to exercise their economic rights the less likely you are to find poverty in that country. Filled with facts and stories about how some of Atlas Networks partners have helped combat poverty in their own countries—from restoring property rights to generational apartheid victims in South Africa to helping slash business requirements in Nepal—this site makes a strong case for how best to alleviate poverty throughout the world. We can all make a difference.
Following our launch of the new travelmindset.com last year we recently launched a secondary site with a more specific focus on Travel Mindset influencers. With 200+ travel campaigns 1000+ trusted influencers and millions of engagements Travel Mindset is the top strategic partner for influencer marketing in the travel industry. The new Travel Mindset agency site encompasses a portfolio of their work services and what it takes to become an influencer for the travel industry. Check it out.
ISEN is the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern University. ISEN partners with industry nonprofits universities and government labs to pursue cutting-edge research and student engagement projects. Through transformational research interdisciplinary education and public engagement ISENs mission is to advance global sustainability and energy solutions. A few months ago we completed the design for their five-year strategic plan which outlines the institutes leadership research programs and goals. We loved collaborating with the ISEN team on this project and are quite pleased with the final result. You can check out the entire brochure here.
Nest Studio is a lifestyle firm created by Jessica Davis specializing in luxury hardware and interior design. The initial website launched in 2012 with one product line and a generic theme hosted on Shopify. Over the years we had helped to modify the site as best as we could but now that the business has grown to over six collections with hardware available internationally in over thirty showrooms it was finally time to redo the site from scratch. The new site not only features a much cleaner and easier to use interface it also makes use of high res photography so customers can view every little detail of Jessicas beautiful hardware they are about to purchase.
nest-studio-home.com
Following our website refresh for Dallas-based Buda Juice we recently designed some cool packaging for their Zen Ginger Zen Turmeric and Zen Ginger/Turmeric combo pack in Costco. The bold blue box with our sketch of the bottle wrapping around the top and front sides pops on the shelf but our favorite angle is the back which houses a word cloud and window cutout revealing a cute little glass bottle of raw organic goodness. We just cant get enough of these tasty little shots!
budajuice.com
Travel Mindset was created by experienced travelers who like to explore the world and are looking for life changing and life shaping experiences. Through first hand travel narratives and unexpected travel lists TravelMindset.com is meant to inspire your next great travel experience. We designed the original Travel Mindset a few years ago when it was a new start-up. Now that the site has a solid user base and strong community of social influencers it was time for a refresh so we just launched a new design and took on the development for it as well. This new site puts more of a focus on the voices behind the stories. You can browse by theme destination or experience. Now what are you waiting for? Go live out your travel dreams.
Weve just launched a new story section on atlasnetwork.org that highlights the positive changes going on in Brazil right now. Atlas Network is a nonprofit organization connecting a global network of more than 400 free-market organizations in over 80 countries to the ideas and resources needed to advance the cause of liberty.
This first story written by Eric D. Dixon highlights some of the networks partners in Brazil and how theyre using their influence to bring about long-term change to a country that has endured so many problems and so much suffering over the years. Its a story of hope and we hope youll enjoy it. Weve woven in beautiful photography videos tweetable pull quotes and Brazil-inspired elements to pull readers in and encourage them to share so that the Brazilian freedom movement can continue to grow.
Well be working on more stories with Atlas Network and expand on and tightly integrate these with their existing website. In the meantime you can read the first story here.
Go check it out at endcorporatehandouts.com
Tessoro is an inspiring Minnesota jewelry studio founded by Deborah Bushinski. Moved by the earth sky and sea of the Mediterranean coast in Spain her aim is to design modern pieces of jewelry heavily influenced by nature. We had originally built her website in 2008 and it was time for some updates. Tessoro is still extremely happy with the way the website looked but wanted a mobile version. Of course in 2008 it was only one year after the iPhone had been released and no accommodations for mobile had been made. This was an interesting challenge but the clean html markup enabled us to add a responsive mobile layout to the site with relative ease.
The entire site is now easily usable on phones and in addition we also integrated Shopify for retail e-commerce. We elected to use Shopifys ’Buy Button’ which is placed directly on the website and enables slick purchasing integration and the products on Tessoros site are easily synced up to the Shopify platform avoiding any manual busy work.
Check it out at tessorojewelry.com
Nearly 16 years ago I moved to the Windy City to study graphic design at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Two and a half years later The Killswitch Collective was born and Chicago has been a wonderful home for us all these years. Weve worked with so many great people—designers programmers and clients alike—and weve been fortunate to be involved with some pretty amazing projects along the way. Weve covered a full spectrum of work from corporate to creative and with every unique project weve learned something new.
Recently I decided it was time for a change and although it wasnt an easy decision Ive moved Killswitch back to my home state of Texas. Austin to be precise. Land of breakfast tacos the largest bat colony in North America and Live Music Capital of the World. I will always love Chicago for its culture the experiences and the people Ive met along the way. And yes I might even miss running on the lakefront in the dead of winter when theres no other soul in sight except for a few Canadian geese resting on the ice. But Im a Texan at heart (even though it may have taken me a few too many brutal winters to realize that) and I look forward to seeing how ATX will inspire our work and life moving forward.
Well keep yall posted!
m.
Weve just wrapped up an identity project for Empowered Business Solutions (EBS) a sub company of RPT Toner for which we created the identity packaging and website awhile ago. The primary focus of EBS is to bring diversity and innovative strategy to the world of office products. At the same time EBS strives to be a customer friendly experience as opposed to traditional big box retail which is static and unaccommodating. So in creating the new identity for EBS we teamed up with our friends Enric Turull and Carlos Segura with the aim of establishing a solid mark that is fresh bold and speaks to the ideas of empowerment uplifting and inclusion. The final mark takes one of the most iconic symbols of the office supply sector the handy little paper clip and turns it into a mark of humanity and empowerment.
Tessoro is an inspiring Minnesota jewelry studio founded by Deborah Bushinski. Moved by the earth sky and sea of the Mediterranean coast in Spain her aim is to create art jewelry for every day every woman. For the photo shoot in this latest brochure we aimed for an icy Scandinavian feel with a little bit of an edge. Strong blacks a cool palette and bold poses in the model shots all come together to highlight Tessoros truly original pieces. We cant stop going gaga over Deborahs jewelry so check it out. tessorojewelry.com
Our work with the Beacon Center of Tennessee has continued since we completely reworked their website from the ground up in 2015. We are now proud to present the next iteration which includes a fully responsive layout so the site looks fantastic on all phones. All content is automatically reformatted without any extra effort from Beacons editorial staff.
Check out it out at beacontn.org
Glenn and Pete were in dire need of help to polish the branding and marketing materials of their hobby turned business Tank2Tap a company that offers financing to start-ups in the beer wine and spirit industries. Their original website was fairly crude quickly slapped together without a proper logo or any sort of branding guidelines. We started with the logo focusing on a clean typographic treatment and then we followed that up with a website and some printed marketing materials that explain what Tank2Tap does in a very clear accessible way.
Located in St. Paul Minnesota Penumbra Theatre creates professional productions that are artistically excellent thought provoking and relevant. Its where transformative art illuminates the human condition through the prism of the African American experience. Weve had the recent pleasure of working with Penumbra to give their website an overhaul in an effort to kickstart the theaters transition to new leadership with Sarah Bellamy taking over the helm. The transition will be complete in the 2016/2017 season when Penumbra Theatre celebrates its fortieth anniversary. Leading up to this big milestone we worked with Penumbra to do an initial redesign of their website. We focused on creating a bold home page that highlights upcoming events and opportunities for patrons giving the events overview a clean format with color-coded genres and subtle interactivity on hovers creating an engaging presence throughout with large photography featured on all pages and having the ability to cross-message different programs throughout the site. This new site is just one of the first steps leading up to Penumbras fortieth anniversary milestone but we think its a fresh move in the right direction.
ArtPower is the University of California at San Diegos most energetic compilation of music dance and spoken word. The program provides exciting opportunities for the UCSD and San Diego communities to engage in discovery and dialogue with creative innovators in the arts. Since 2007 we have continued to work with ArtPower at UC San Diego on a wide array of projects including the design of the performing arts brochure for each new season. Every year we explore a new design theme trying to give each new brochure a more visual push from years past. From pale organic color washes to bold artistic splatters the end goal is always to complement the performance imagery in fresh engaging ways. Our latest design for the 2015-2016 performing arts season incorporates striped shadow textures and a bright color palette to create a bold sense of vibrancy and movement throughout the brochure. Click here to view our ArtPower! brochures from past seasons.
The Beacon Center of Tennessee is a nonprofit nonpartisan and independent organization dedicated to providing concerned citizens and public leaders with expert empirical research and timely free market solutions to public policy issues in Tennessee. Weve had the pleasure of working with them over the past couple months on a complete redesign and rebuild of their website.
Our mission was to help them create a cleaner more engaging digital presence and to help them better connect with the Tennessee community to achieve a freer more prosperous state. Content is organized by Blog Research Articles Stories and Media. Key issues are prominent and easy to explore. Weve created the ability to weave quotes from Beacon Center staff directors and others throughout the site to spark engagement and dialogue. And weve made the donation process extremely short and sweet. beacontn.org
We had previously launched the Atlas Network website designed for desktop computers and tablets. Creating a responsive layout for phones was always part of the plan but Atlas preferred to replace their old outdated site as quickly as possible and employ an iterative approach to get there. Websites are dynamic living things that can be quickly changed and added to with the right planning. The launch of the responsive layout was a huge success and has quickly doubled their mobile traffic.
You can view the site here.
Lucky Peach is a quirky colorful and exceptionally-designed quarterly food magazine based in NYC. Since 2011 the magazine has hooked readers with its wonderful stories playful drawings and delicious recipes. After much popularity in the print realm the peaches decided it was time to make their way into the land of pixels each month focusing on a different theme.
We had the extreme pleasure of teaming up with the very talented folks over at Pitchfork Creative and developed the new LuckyPeach.com. Here youll find original stories dining recommendations from all over the world lots of fabulous recipes interviews cooking videos and of course lots of peachy comics sprinkled throughout.
Check out the print magazine too. Its a real treat!
The ultra comfortable lounge pants appropriately called Robies are the result of Lounge Countys frustration with regular pants and how they just arent suitable for achieving ultimate relaxation both inside and outside the home. Lounge County is an apparel start up that knew how to make terrific pants but was lacking an identity and online presence. We crafted Gary the Jellyfish to be the brands official mascot and part of the logo and we designed the companys website and email marketing templates to fit in with Lounge Countys sense of humor.
The website runs on the popular Shopify e-commerce platform and Killswitch set up the store built with a completely custom theme. Going custom allowed Lounge County to easily educate people about their superior lounge pants and as a result initial customer feedback and sales have been fantastic.
You can check out the store at loungecounty.com. Wed highly recommend buying a pair!
For all you creative types out there this app is definitely worth checking out! Remote collaboration just became so much easier. teameverywhere.com
We recently had the pleasure of working with our friend Bruce Katlin on the design of a wonderful little book he wrote called Birds Like Us: The Pi Phillecroix Story. Full of multifarious characters this colorful and eclectic narrative is about Pi Phillecroix a flightless pigeon who journeys from Paris to England to find a cure for her dying father.
The Phillecroix have long been respected the world over for their daring and flying excellence. Intelligent loving virtuous enormously devoted and reverential to mother and father Pi bears the weight of her parents disappointment when they learn that the familys tradition of flying excellence has ended. When her war-decorated and beloved father becomes seriously ill Pi steals away in the middle of the night to walk from Paris to England in an attempt to find Dr. Allbewell the only one who may have the powers to save his life. Readers from ages twelve to one hundred and twelve will identify with Pis journey and feelings of inadequacy the ridicule she has to endure for being different and ultimately the courage she exhibits in facing her fears one step at a time.
Throughout the book interior pigeon feet wander across the pages. On the cover we took some of the beautiful sketches Bruce drew of pigeons France and lArc de Triomphe and infused them with a rich watercolor element that wraps around the cover from warm reds and yellows on the front to cool blues and purples on the back. We had such fun working on this book design and hope youll check it out.
You can purchase the book here.
And you can learn more about Bruce on his blog.
ArtPower! is the University of California at San Diegos most energetic compilation of music dance and spoken word. The program provides exciting opportunities for the UCSD and San Diego communities to engage in discovery and dialogue with creative innovators in the arts. Since 2007 we have continued to work with ArtPower! at UC San Diego on a wide array of projects including the design of the performing arts brochure for each new season. Every year we explore a new design theme trying to give each new brochure a more visual push from years past. From pale organic color washes to bold artistic splatters the end goal is always to complement the performance imagery in fresh engaging ways. As the 2014-2015 performing arts season catapults ArtPower! into its second decade our latest brochure design incorporates rolled paint textures and a bright color palette for a vibrant yet gritty urban feel. Click here to view our ArtPower! brochures from past seasons.
Buda Juice is a new juice bar start-up in the Dallas metro area the brain child of veteran entrepreneurs Bernard Lucien Nussbaumer and Horatio Lonsdale-Hands. When Horatio came to us quick turn around was of the essence. The first locations were almost set to open but they did not have a website yet and their logo needed quite a bit of help. We came up with an entirely new logo for them and then designed the site around that focusing on what makes Buda Juice truly great: all organic local seasonal and vegan ingredients delicately hand juiced to preserve all nutrients. We cant wait to taste all their menu items next time were in Dallas! We wish the Buda Juice team great success and hopefully youll be able to find one soon in every city! budajuice.com
Pop stars. Fashion trends. Celebrity marriages. Technology. Some things dont last ten years but The Killswitch Collective has. And over this time weve learned a lot. Weve been fortunate to work with a wide range of clients. From start-ups to well-established companies from corporate businesses to creative endeavors weve (almost) seen it all. As we enter our eleventh year we extend a big ’Thank You!’ to all of you. Whether youve followed us on Twitter or Facebook worked for us or used our services we couldnt have done it without you. We are happy and excited to share with you our updated website featuring all the wonderful projects weve been a part of. Wed love to hear what you think! Heres to ten amazing years and hopefully many more!
Chicagos Drake Hotel is a historic icon and naturally when The Drake team approached us to design and build a new website for the hotel we jumped at the opportunity to create something special. Anyone who walks into The Drake will find themselves ensconced in old Chicago style from the architecture and decor to the gorgeous hallways warm and rich with history. The Drake has provided countless experiences to remember and we thought it was time that the website does the same. We were able to take the vision of The Drake Hotel team and create a unique highly captivating website that showcases The Drake Hotel as a historic icon while bringing it in to the modern day. The new sophisticated site offers a contemporary look and a streamlined user experience. With improved navigation and fu
