art270 blog

Introducing the Curtis Institute of Music

As a graphic design company we are constantly being introduced to amazing people and the work that they do every day. This is the third in a series of our monthly newsletters where we’ll introduce you to some of these companies and organizations. I think you’ll find their stories intriguing.

The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians to engage a local and global community through the highest level of artistry.

One of the most selective schools in the United States, Curtis accepts four percent of applicants each year on average, and a tuition-free policy ensures that talent and artistic promise are the only considerations for admission.

With a small student body of about 175, Curtis ensures that each young musician receives an education of unparalleled quality, distinguished by a “learn by doing” philosophy and personalized attention from a faculty that includes a high proportion of actively performing musicians. 

Curtis students hone their craft through more than 200 orchestra, opera, and solo and chamber music offerings each year and programs that bring arts access and education to the community. This real-world training allows these extraordinary young musicians to join the front rank of performers, composers, conductors, and musical leaders, making a profound impact on music onstage and in their communities. 

art270 has had the great fortune and privilege to serve this world-renowned organization for more than 30 years. Working with the communications and marketing staff, art270 has designed and produced everything from identity and branding, to newsletters, magazines, annual reports, brochures, books, posters, and lots and lots of marketing collateral—and we continue to work on new projects every day. If you’ve never heard of this Philadelphia-based gem of a school for music and the performing arts, I invite you to visit their website and then run to the next performance. These are no ordinary musicians. The students of Curtis will graduate to become members of the world’s leading performing arts companies and orchestras, including our own Philadelphia Orchestra. 

To learn more about this amazing organization visit their site. 

Does your company have an important message you need to deliver? Call or write Dana Breslin at 215-885-2756, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Making the Headlines in 2019

Once again, art270 has been named a top graphic design firm by the Philadelphia Business Journal for 2018. art270 is one of just four graphic design companies to be recognized in the PBJ’s annual Book of Lists. We’re proud of this accomplishment and know that only through dedicated, personal service and hard work will we continue to make “the list.” 

Here are just a few of the many projects we completed in the past year: 
• Eastern National: A new custom-illustrated Junior Ranger Passport to our National Parks 
• Better Business Bureau: Three editions of Wise Giving magazine 
• Princeton University: Alumni videos, a travel program magazine titled Journeys, and Int’l, an international studies magazine 
• University of Pennsylvania: A new look for Penn Priority, an undergraduate financial aid publication, and two issues of Pillars, an alumni magazine 
• Curtis Institute of Music: Two issues of Overtones magazine, and their season programs 
• Bartol Foundation: A “Teaching Artists” workbook 
• Philadelphia Futures : The 2018-2019 College Guide, an annual report, and more 
• As You Sow: Environmental and social corporate responsibility reports 
• Villanova University: A view book, plus campaign close and special project reports including a report from the president 
• Websites, branding, writing…and so much more. 

Thank you, happy new year, and best wishes for continued success!

Does your company have an important message you need to deliver? Call or write Dana Breslin at 215-885-2756, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Introducing the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation 

This is the second in our series of introductions to the unique companies and organizations that we have the privilege to work with each day. As a graphic design company we are constantly being introduced to amazing people and the work that they do. We think you’ll find their stories intriguing.

Based in center-city Philadelphia, the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation loves Philadelphia and the arts. They work hard to support and celebrate the arts in local communities. Their work includes grants to small arts organizations who are making a big impact, and regular professional training events to help artists who teach better share their gifts and support their careers. The director and staff at Bartol are all artists too, so they know how challenging and rewarding a life in art can be.

The Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation was founded in 1984 by George Bartol, a lover of the arts and Philadelphia. Mr. Bartol was the Chairman and CEO of Hunt Manufacturing Co. in Philadelphia, maker of X-ACTO knives, Boston Staplers, and Speedball inks, among other office supplies and art materials. He believed that Philadelphia’s cultural assets differentiated it from other cities, making it more attractive to businesses and individuals as a place to live and work. His children say he was especially committed to arts education, much to their chagrin as small children being toted off to museums every weekend. Like many of you, we imagine, art270 has made good use of the products produced by Hunt Manufacturing.

The Foundation is named after Mr. Bartol's brother, Stockton Rush, who was killed while serving as a bombardier in World War II. George Bartol died in 1989 and his family now supports the George Bartol Arts Education Award in his name. The Award is given to an organization that provides sustained, meaningful exposure and participation in the arts; that demonstrates an active engagement in the lives of its students and community; and that maintains high artistic standards for its faculty and students. Previous winners include Philadanco, Philly Youth Poetry Movement, Fleisher Art Memorial, Taller Puertorriqueño, Spiral Q Puppet Theater, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, and many other esteemed community arts institutions.

The Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation has utilized the talents of the art270 staff to create their current logo, past and present websites, and other collateral to support their mission. Most recently, we created a new teaching guide: Trauma-Informed Practice for Teaching Artists.

To learn more about this amazing organization and the work they support every day, visit their site that was designed and programmed by art270.

Does your company have an important message you need to deliver? Call or write Dana Breslin at 215-885-2756, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Introducing As You Sow

As a graphic design company we are constantly being introduced to amazing people and the work that they do every day. This is the first in a series of our monthly newsletters where we’ll introduce you to some of these companies and organizations. I think you’ll find their stories intriguing.

As You Sow is the nation’s non-profit leader in shareholder advocacy. Founded in 1992, they harness shareholder power to create lasting change that benefits people, our planet, and profit. The mission of As You Sow is to promote environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies. Their everyday vision is for a safe, just, and sustainable world in which protecting the environment and human rights is central to corporate decision making.

As You Sow believes that corporations (large businesses) must be a willing part of the solutions to the pressing social and environmental problems we face today. As You Sow, utilizing graphic design solutions by art270, makes that happen. Several times each year, As You Sow engages art270 to create reports on corporate business practices as they relate to environmental responsibility and doing what is right for our planet. Reports have focused on fracking, CEO compensation, the uncertainty and risks of oil and coal investments, Paris compliant engagement, nanomaterials in our food, glyphosate in our food system, helping shareholders vote their values via proxy, plastics and post-consumer packaging, and more. And with each of these projects we have had the opportunity to learn more about what is both right and wrong with how we manage our world. We feel privileged to help deliver the messages. To learn more, visit their site.

Does your company have an important message you need to deliver? Call or write Dana Breslin at 215-885-2756, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

When I use the term “graffiti,” I bet your first reaction is negative. If I use the term “street art,” does that negative gut reaction settle a little bit? Does your mind open up to possibilities?

The street art included in this newsletter came to me via an email chain letter. I enjoyed the creativity of the anonymous “artists" so I thought I’d share these photos with you unsolicited—the way these artists wanted to share their ideas with their respective neighborhoods. No one likes it when people use public space as a canvas for scrawled names or initials called tagging—but when the ideas and messages are genuinely creative, positive and entertaining we tend to let our guard down and maybe have a laugh. Does that mean I’m getting soft in my typically anti-graffiti sentiment, or is this NOT graffiti? You be the judge. 

Hope you’re having a happy summer.

Could your next campaign or publication use a little creative spark? Call or write Dana Breslin at 215-885-2756, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

By now you should be receiving card #5 in our new postcard series covering design and communication trivia.

Cards 1-4 have covered:

1. What Design is and isn’t. There is good design and bad design.

2. You need the art as what? Do I need an eps, a jpg, a gif? The acronym alphabet of file types.

3. e.g. vs. ie. Do you know the difference?

4. Black and White. A review of the color systems employed by graphic designers.

Card number 5—if you haven’t received it yet—touches on Hyphens, en dashes and em dashes. Which do I use and when?

We love to use design speak over here at art270—but what do you think? Have you learned something new from our postcards? Have a topic you’d like us to cover? Would you prefer that we just send you our thoughts via email? We’d love to hear from you. Be one of the first ten to reply to this email with your thoughts on our postcards and we’ll send you a $10.00 Starbucks Gift Card. Just be sure to supply your address when you write back. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

P.S. If you haven’t been receiving the cards, please let us know and we’ll send you the cards you’ve missed.

Could your business benefit from a postcard series like this one? Call or write Dana Breslin at 215-885-2756, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

When I recall these words taken from a quote by the renowned graphic designer Paul Rand, I tend to change the spelling and the meaning slightly to say “...make it big...make it ‘read,’ ” as inspiration for designing a promotion that needs to quickly catch the eye of an urban audience. At one time, a graphic designer’s tried and true method for promoting an event or advertising a product was the poster. From the mid-19th century through the mid-20th century, posters dominated communications. From dynamic, single-color letterpress creations, to beautiful full-color stone lithographs, posters were an opportunity to make a graphic impact on a wide audience. Today, with new production technology, the poster has grown both exponentially larger, appearing as huge banners that can cover the entire side of a building, or they have succumbed to miniature sizing on phones and tablets for electronic advertising like Facebook and Instagram.

Every once in a while, however, there is an opportunity to revitalize the pedestrian-scaled poster. Colleges still recognize the power of the poster to advertise to a continuous flow of foot traffic, pulling the attention of students away from micro-size phone images. Check out these two posters, designed by art270 Vice President Dianne Mill, for recent Montgomery County Community College art exhibitions. The faculty art show poster has a little fun mimicking renaissance still life paintings, and the student art show poster highlights the actual art students for the imagery. Both solutions helped to create conversation and drive a larger show turnout. 

When was the last time you used the power of the poster to promote your event or advertise your products and services? If you work in a high foot traffic area, you should think about posters. Do you ride the train every day or take a bus to work? How many times have you read that same poster at the end of the train car or on the train platform day in and day out?

Could your business benefit from well-placed poster exposure? Call or write Dana Breslin at 215-885-2756/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I’m sure you, and especially the Temple faithful, have heard enough Owl puns, but I couldn’t resist.

Introducing Inspire, a spanking-new, never-before-seen magazine for Temple University’s Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts, which includes Boyer College of Music and Dance, the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts, and Temple Performing Arts Center. This 32-page plus cover magazine highlights all that is new and happening in the performing arts at Temple University including feature articles, student highlights, performance schedules, reviews, and lots of great reading for Temple Arts alumni. This very first edition, designed by art270’s Dana Breslin, focuses on potential new building initiatives meant to handle the unprecedented growth of Temple’s arts programs. The early response to the new magazine has been overwhelmingly positive with hoots and hollers for more. Take a look at the magazine here and stay tuned for more new magazines designed by art270 coming this Spring.

Ready to get started on a new magazine or another publication for your organization? Call or write Dana Breslin at 215-885-2756/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

One of the things I like most about the graphic design profession is that I am continually meeting new people, learning about new subjects, and being immersed into other worlds. This past fall was no exception when art270 had the opportunity to redesign and produce Princeton International Magazine (int’l) an annual publication that highlights Princeton University’s international initiatives and projects. The publication introduces readers to the innovative and multifaceted learning, research, and teaching being conducted across the globe by undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty members. The freshly updated magazine designed by art270’s Senior Designer, John Opet, is full of great photography, great storytelling, and now an easy-to-read and compelling layout that brings it all to life. Go to here to read stories from this issue and more.

Ready to bring new life to your publication? Call 
or write Dana Breslin at 215-885-2756/ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Have an idea for a new video? Need someone to take that rough concept and run with it? Check out this new video work from art270 in partnership with John Welsh. We’ve put together a “teaser” of video shorts to give you a sense of our creativity and capabilities. We can develop a storyboard, write the copy, interview subjects, provide voice-over talent, add music and soundtracks, shoot and edit—using still cameras or video. We’re story tellers and we want to help you tell your story.

The cuts included in this composite video include scenes from videos for TGW Conveyor, a leading manufacturer of warehouse automation equipment, spectacular fly-through drone videography of an abandoned coal breaker, a poignant interview with an “accidental” art model, cool time lapse video of the Philadelphia landscape, and a mini-documentary on Pennsylvania mine fires. Production included both stationary, hand-held, and drone mounted video and still photography.

Copy was developed in collaboration with the client, and voice talent, music and editing were provided by art270.

Ready to put your project in motion? Call or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to request to see the complete videos. Be sure to ask what we can do for your company.

Admit it, you know you’ve been anxiously waiting for it…introducing a new and improved art270 website. It’s live, it’s fresh, and it’s different! Like the shoemaker with worn shoes, this has been much too long in the making. We’ve been so busy building websites for everyone else that re-making our own site has been on the back burner since, um, forever. If nothing else, the fact that our last website has functioned effectively this long should tell you a little something about our ability to create and build sites that last. Take a look around and give it a test-drive and let us know what you think. We've added new case studies including more interactive, video, and branding. Want to see more of our work? We need to hear from you. Designing for yourself is about the hardest thing you can do. We need your eyes and ears. You know best.

Looking for an update to your website? Call This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.to talk up ideas for a fresh new site.

This past summer, art270 was represented in the California Enduro Mountain Bike Series by Ryan Mill who rode for Team art270. The races that took place over two consecutive days in the California mountains proved to be challenging and bone rattling competitions. The first race in June tackled China Peak California, a beautiful ski mountain south of Yosemite National Park in the Sierra National Forest. Race two took place in late August at North Star Ski Resort, near Lake Tahoe, California, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

An enduro race involves riding a mountain bike up a steep mountain trail to the start of the race where you barrel back downhill racing against the clock through boulder fields (affectionately called Rock Gardens) across table tops and around fast, tree root and rock-filled single track paths to reach the finish gate at the bottom. Then you do it all over again, typically five times in a row, riding different routes down the mountain to challenge your riding skills and your endurance. Imagine if you had to ski to the top of a mountain each time you planned to ski back down—with no breather between runs!

Ryan represented art270 well, racing in the Expert Class and finishing injury-free, tired and dirty, but with a smile on his face. Ryan is now training for future races on Mt. Rose California, a 10,000 foot plus mountain just south of Reno, Nevada. Stay tuned for updates as Team art270 strives for a place on the winner’s podium.

Looking for a creative way to expand your brand or get your message out to a new audience? Call This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to talk up ideas about a new approach to your marketing.