2009 AIGA New Orleans Fellow: Christy Hackenberg

December 8, 2009
by Weston McWhorter

Congratulations to Christy Hackenberg, our 2009 AIGA New Orleans Fellow.

Christy founded award-winning New Orleans–based branding and communication design company Creative Zumo along with business partner Gaby Tillero in 2005. Prior to that, she was an instructor in the Visual Communications department at Delgado Community College and had worked at several prominent design and advertising firms in New Orleans.

In 2007, Christy was named a New Orleans Magazine “Person to Watch” for co-founding Women & Wine on Wednesday, a women’s networking organization that provides an opportunity for women to share resources and discover new opportunities.

She is a founding member and past president of the AIGA New Orleans chapter and continues to stay active. Christy moved to New Orleans in 1992 after graduating with a BFA from Florida State University and attributes her association with AIGA as an important factor in the development of her graphic design career.

Please join us in congratulating Christy on receiving this honor as a leader in New Orleans’ design community, not just as a designer per se, but as motivator, organizer, and general ball o’ fire. Her tireless efforts have benefited us all many times over.

New Web Sites Launched

The last few months we’ve been busy with websites. We launched 4 in the past month.

NOCGI | New Orleans Creative Glass Institute - http://www.nocgi.org/

METRO | Metropolitan Center for Women & Children, an organization to break the cycle of domestic violence and aid survivors of sexual assault - http://mcwcgno.org/

Breakthrough New Orleans, a program helping at-risk students reach their full potential and placing them on the path towards college. - http://www.btnola.org/

Zeus’ Place "Your pet's home away from home" - http://www.zeusplace.com/

This web site is a little different because it is built on the WordPress platform.

We also design the new Zeus' Place logo seen on the web site.

Web Design Kudos

Our web site design for Katy Beh Contemporary Jewelry got a nod recently in the Times-Picayune's special shopping section "Wish." (link)

Hot off the Press!

Now available the latest neighborhood guide from StayLocal! and the Urban Conservancy featuring Gentilly. Download a PDF of the complete guide and also for other neighborhoods such as Old Algiers, Carrollton, Freret, Plaquemines Parish, Mid-City and Viet Village. More guide coming this Fall. Stay tuned and Stay Local!

Happy Earth Day

We at Creative Zumo try to be as "green" as we can. It's more effort but we think it's worth it. Today we sent out out latest issue of "Squeeze" that talks about this.

Business Cards

We did an issue of Squeeze that addressed business card design. While they maybe small, they are still important even in today's digital age.

In the video below is a man, not a designer, ragging on bad business cards. His card is way over the top but I guarantee you, no one will forget him or his card.



This scene from the movie "American Psycho" is the antithesis to the above.

(Hat tip to Steven Heller)

A Zumo client gets Lucky!

One of our clients, Katy Beh Contemporary Jewelry, has appeared in Lucky "the magazine about style and shopping" in "Lucky Picks" and in a 2007 article about shopping in New Orleans. Recently, the web site - that we designed - was proclaimed one of Lucky's "Sites We Love."

Offering a well-curated selection of cool names (Annette Ferdinandsen, Jamie Joseph), this New Orleans boutique photographs all of one designer's items together, in beautiful vignettes, so you don't have to scroll through tons of pages to see everything.

How much is that doggy in the window?

There will be times when someone calls us and ask, “What do you charge for a brochure?” or “How much is a web site?” That’s sort of like calling a contractor and asking “How much to build a house?” With a house, you have to consider how many bedrooms and bathrooms you need. One-story or two? Do you want top of the line appliances and finishes or just the bare basics? The same is true with brochures, web sites and other marketing and communication pieces.

Creative Zumo offers a free, initial consultation. We want to sit down with you, face-to-face, and talk to you about your business, your customers, your goals and your budget. We can make recommendations if you’re not sure what you need but know what you want to accomplish. Afterwards, we’ll send you a proposal and estimate. Branding and marketing is a process and everything we design is custom, so don’t expect a one or two week turn-around; it’s not realistic.

4 Years and New Work

This month, Creative Zumo celebrates 4 years in business. We have also (finally) updated our web site with new work. We've added the work we've done for StayLocal!, Metro, La Boca and Scout and added new work for the JCC and Susan Campbell Jewelry. So check it out and let us know what you think.

Welcome to the Creative Zumo Blog

What is Zumo? Zumo translates to "juice" so Creative Zumo is Creative Juice! I spied this Zum(m)o juicer (is that redundent?) at a cafe in Florida.

The blog is to post tidbits we find interesting that may not make it into our periodic e-newsletter "Squeeze."