Talent on Display

February 2, 2023

Talent on Display

A family of logos and websites

For over 35 years, Displaycraft has been making excellent custom displays and fixtures. They engineer every aspect of permanent display and fixtures creation with worry-free, full service capabilities, regardless of project scale. Over time the company has expanded its array of services, and the new ownership group decided to showcase that by bringing three companies under one umbrella, DCI Manufacturing.

Widgets & Stone used the long standing Displaycraft logo as a jumping off point for the look of the entire logo family. New websites for each entity followed soon after, with streamlined graphics and content.

DCI Manufacturing is a family of companies built to meet manufacturing needs. It consists of Displaycraft, K2 Metals, and DC Lab. K2 Metals offers complete metal fabrication — design, production, and assembly services to customers across a wide variety of industries. DC Lab is result of their unique ability to work alongside entrepreneurs and craftsman to offer advice and expertise as they develop and scale their product.

Creative Director: Paul Rustand; Design Director: Liz Tapp; Designers: Liz Tapp, Mark Walter, Brad Dicharry; Writer: Ross Hagan.

Tinkering with Space, Online

January 19, 2022

Tinkering with Space, Online

Web site for Tinker Ma

Tinker Ma offers clients their more than 60 years of combined expertise in architecture and design. The name is a play on words, as architects tinker with space (‘ma’ is japanese for “space”). Widgets & Stone created the adaptive logo and identity system for the firm in 2019, and returned to help build a functional and dependable web site in 2021.

Tinker Ma is prolific, with many team members producing many projects around the southeast. With their old web site, they could not update it themselves and had to rely on developers to do it for them, and as a result, the site did not showcase newer work. We set them up on a new platform and gave them a tutorial on how to add and change information themselves, allowing Tinker Ma to stay up to date.

Visit the web site.

Design Direction: Liz Tapp; Design: Liz Tapp, Noah Marlowe; Photography: provided by Tinker Ma.

A Bright Start

November 12, 2021

A Bright Start

BrightBase Identity Design

BrightBase Management was founded by the grandson of what is now known as Republic Parking Services. With over 50 years of combined experience, the BrightBase team serves the Chattanooga area with a southern charm that is wise and welcoming.

As an new entity, BrightBase needed branding that reflected the expertise and insight that accompanies decades of management experience, while capturing the loyal, neighborly essence to be expected of a Chattanooga local’s entrepreneurial venture. Widgets & Stone helped guide the new company through naming and identity design. The typographic logomark, the brand’s jumping off point, subtly connotes driving lanes or parking lines, while grounding itself with a highly legible sans serif font.

The website guides customers and potential employees with bold buttons and simple drop-down menus. BrightBases’ web presence is so instinctive, a user could navigate it while driving—though we don’t recommend it!

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design: Brad Dicharry, Emily Ricks; Photography: Unsplash.

The Opposite of Egocentric

October 31, 2021

The Opposite of Egocentric

The AlloHire identity design

Founded by Hudson Brock, AlloHire is a boutique tech recruiting agency. They are relationship-driven, they believe in quality over quantity, and they are distinctly tech-centric. For these reasons they drew their name from the little known word “allocentric” which means “having one’s interest and attention centered on others.” It is the exact opposite of egocentric and totally fits the young company’s personality.

We created a plainspoken, type-only logo for AlloHire. The macron (the line over the vowel that makes you say “its name”) puts the focus on a single character, centered in the name, hinting at how AlloHire focuses on each individual client. The macron also has connotations of “raising the bar” and moving upward, just like what the recruiters do for their customers.

To go with the logo, we built an extremely minimal web site and helped AlloHire put what they do into just the right words.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design: Brad Dicharry, Liz Tapp; Writing: Paul Rustand, Liz Tapp, Hudson Brock.

To Wit

January 6, 2021

To Wit

Designs for Five Wits Brewery

In 2019 Nathan Michaels, Elliott Kehoe, Brian Harris and Mike & Taylor Monen launched a new brewery: Five Wits. The team brought brewing know-how from Colorado to add to the growing craft-brewing scene in Chattanooga.

The Five Wits identity and original packaging designs were created by Charleston designer Gil Shuler. But as the brewery opened in late 2019 and marketing needs grew, Five Wits turned to help from the local designers at Widgets & Stone.

Widgets & Stone built and expanded on the lively design styles Shuler established, then supplied much needed materials like sales sheets, product photography, web design, vehicle wraps and concept art.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design: Mark Slawson; Photography: John Le; Web Design: Mark Slawson, Liz Tapp.

Adams Litho Web Design

October 21, 2020

The Best at What We Do

Adams Litho Web Design

Adams Lithographing Company is an international award-winning, third-generation family-owned printing business. They offer a full range of printing services for businesses of every size. From color digital printing to custom UV offset lithographic printing, they consistently deliver the highest quality work, on-time, and on-budget. Their combination of quality craftsmanship and state-of-the-art technical proficiency is grounded in the day-to-day quality that Adams has been producing since 1886.

Adams is long time collaborator with Widgets & Stone, and they asked us to update their web site in 2017 – to simplify the site structure, to improve their messaging and to showcase new capabilities.

In mid-2020, in the midst of repercussions from COVID-19 and subsequent lock downs, Adams decided to invest in improving the site yet again. This time Widgets & Stone helped to refine messaging and photography and to create a showcase video that fit into the already existing site structure.

The final design is an effective sales tool that shows exactly how good Adams Litho is – the best. Visit the site by clicking here.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design Direction: Liz Tapp; Design: Liz Tapp; Photograhy and video: John Le; Writing: Jacob Biba.

You Dream It, We Build It

December 13, 2019

You dream it, we build it

Stribling & Company Identity + Web

Strib Stribling is the experienced guide for the unforgettable trip that you didn’t know you needed. Whether it’s fly fishing in Patagonia, hunting for quail in South Georgia, or trekking the Himalayas in Tibet, Strib has the know-how to craft the perfect adventure tailored for you.

We helped with naming, then created a logo and brand identity for Stribling & Company, along with helping to write and build a one page web site. We can’t wait to hear stories from all the once-in-a-lifetime trips Strib has lined up for next year.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design Direction: Liz Tapp; Design: John Le, Stephanie Fast; Writing: Jacob Biba; Photo/Video: Various stock.

https://www.striblingandcompany.com

In Good Company

October 4, 2019

In Good Company

CSCo Web Site & Video

Chattanooga Shoe Co. needed a custom retail site that could both convey their curated expertise on comfort-focused, imported footwear (typically from Spain, Portugal & Italy) for the fashion-conscious consumer, and create a unique and easy shopping experience for the user.

Widgets’ Liz Tapp (Design Direction) and John Le (Designer) designed and built the site over a series of immersive creative sessions with the Chattanooga Shoe Co. team. Liz and John also created, shot and edited a video for the header of the site, starring model Hannah. Collaborating with photographer Graham Yelton to catalog CSCo’s fall collection was an amazing experience.

Design Direction: Liz Tapp; Design: Liz Tapp, John Le; Photography: Dotson Commercial; Video: John Le.

All in the Family

September 17, 2019

All in the Family

Monen Family Restaurant Group’s family of web sites

The Monen Family Restaurant Group owns ten restaurants and one brewery. Having grown organically over the years, the company had many different web sites on many different web platforms. As they launched their newest endeavor, Market South, a “food hall” with four restaurants, a café and a brewery, they wanted to create separate web sites for each entity.

Widgets & Stone created a structure to unify all the sites while still allowing each brand to have its own look and feel. Having designed many of the identities as well, the Widgets team was able to quickly translate them to responsive web designs.

The results are a family of web sites that celebrate unity in diversity.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design Direction: Liz Tapp; Design & Development: Liz Tapp, Athene Ruiz, Mark Slawson, Travis Hitchcock, John Le; Photography: Dotson Commercial; Writing: Zach Plating.

Inside AND Outside the Box

August 21, 2019

Inside AND Outside the Box

Adhesive Squares micro-site

Adhesive Squares™ brand adhesives is a double-sided tape made with pressure-sensitive adhesives available in many sizes, thicknesses, and tack levels.

Adhesive Squares came to Widgets to design and code a landing page that could educate e-commerce clients on their product capabilities and advantages. Designer Travis Hitchcock created custom narrative illustrations for the page to make the educational aspect as engaging as possible!

Visit https://www.ecommerce.adhesivesquares.com/ and see the page in action.

Networking Magic

April 17, 2019

Network Transport

Web site design

Network Transport offers truckload, less-than-truckload, and intermodal transportation services, along with warehousing for customers of all types. As an asset-based operation they have a competitive advantage in the industry. Not only do they manage and maintain their equipment, they also have a vast network of over 15,000 qualified local, regional, and national carrier partners.

Network Transport saw impressive growth as a company due to the excellent quality of their service – but their web site was not reflecting that quality to customers. Widgets & Stone designed a beautifully simple site that presents the Network Transport brand in manner that reflects their expertise and service.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Designer: Athene Ruiz; Writing: Jacob Biba.

Have a Seat

March 20, 2019

Have a Seat

Web site design

SeatMyTrucks is an advertising agency specializing in truck driver recruiting. They provide services like: Hiring Guidelines, Recruiter Compensation, Database Marketing, Tenstreet Use, Driver Pay, Onboarding Processes, and of course, Advertising Strategy.

Widgets & Stone created a straightforward and handsome web design to help the company launch.

Design Direction: Liz Tapp; Design: Travis Hitchcock; Writing: Jacob Biba.

Leading the Way

November 9, 2017

Leading the Way in Commercial Real Estate

Web design for Healy & Company

Healy & Company, LLC is a boutique commercial brokerage firm with a national reach based in Chattanooga, TN. With deep roots within the community, Healy & Co. is consistently among the leading commercial real estate firms in the greater Chattanooga area and successfully represented our clients in hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions. Since 2002, Healy & Company has been among the top producers in the region in commercial transactions.

After collaborating with Widgets & Stone to remodel the Elkins Building, developer John Healy asked our team to update his web site. We produced a straightforward Squarespace site to present the company and its services in the most direct manner.

Visit the site.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design Direction/Design: Liz Tapp; Photography: Dotson Commercial.

Good and Simple

May 23, 2017

Good and Simple

2 Sons Kitchen Web Design

Chef Nathan Flynt decided to expand from his successful food truck into a full-fledged brick and mortar restaurant, and he asked Widgets & Stone to help him establish a clean and simple web site.

Our designers worked with closely Nathan to create an easy-to-update site. The tasty photography works well with the straightforward design to present all the necessary information in a no-nonsense manner that fits perfectly with the 2 Sons’ Kitchen & Market personality.

Design: Travis Hitchcock, Liz Tapp

Lovely & Delicious

September 22, 2015

Lovely & Delicious

New Web Design for Chadwick Boyd

Chadwick Boyd has one mission: to change the world for good through food and words. He has been in the consumer food and storytelling world for more than 20 years. He regularly appears on ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS and networks, like Lifetime, and was a featured guest on the PBS special, Heirloom Meals. In addition to being TV talent, developing recipes and writing, Chadwick owns and manages a brand consulting practice that collaborates to develop business and product innovations and build strategic relationship networks for food and lifestyle brands.

Chadwick’s belief that “innovation and collaboration creates a better and more delicious world for all of us” was put into practice as he worked with Widgets & Stone to redesign his web site.

Together with Chadwick and the web development team (and a handful of trusted advisers), Mandy Meredith and Amy Harmon worked through several design iterations to land in just the right place for the Chadwick brand. All the hard work done by the design team – along with developers Bill Brock and Brett Wise – resulted in a comprehensive new design that works on tablets and smart phones as well as on desktops.

A rousing endorsement of the redesign came from the head of entertainment at a prominent network:

“That site says that you are an established brand and folks are going to think ‘Why don’t I know him?’ You come across better than your competitors because you pop more. Your site feels more vibrant.”

chadwickboydlifestyle.com

Creative Direction: Mandy Meredith; Design: Amy Harmon; Web Development: Bill Brock V, Brett Wise; Photography: Alli Royce Soble, Sweetlife Photography, Josh Okun.

Learning. Collaboratively. Faithfully.

June 11, 2015

Learning. Collaboratively. Faithfully.

Covenant GSE’s new web site

Covenant College launched a comprehensive new identity in 2004, but its application to the identity of the Graduate School of Education was not fully executed. For 2015 Widgets & Stone and 26 Tools were engaged to build new messaging for the school and Whiteboard was tasked to build the new web site.

The team worked together to create writing and designs that built on the identity of Covenant College, while still creating a sense of differentiation between the undergraduate and graduate programs.

Using styles established by Widgets & Stone, Whiteboard built on the WordPress platform the Covenant staff were familiar with and created a simple, clean design to best serve the needs of the school. The flexible design is highly functional and works on a variety of devices.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design & Development: Whiteboard; Writing: Caleb Ludwick, Keely Stockett; Photography: various source provided by Covenant College.

Engineered for Sport

January 29, 2014

Engineered for Sport

Identity Redesign for NGI Sports

NGI Sports provides surface systems for sport, bringing together a legacy of innovation, enduring performance, and stewardship that reduces impact on the environment. All with a relentless commitment to finding the right materials and methods for each project. Engineered for sport, and installed for harder, higher, faster, longer play.

However, NGI’s existing identity and communications design was many years old and was not reflecting the attributes of the company.

Widgets & Stone, 26 Tools and Tubatomic worked together to bring a fresh new look to the company. A complete web redesign is in the works as well.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design: Bradley Dicharry, Ben Dicks, Nick Turner and Travis Hitchcock. Writing: Caleb Ludwick. Photography: Various found resources for presentation purposes only.

Modern Design, for Your Feet

January 10, 2014

Goodhew/Sockwell Web Redesign

The US manufacturers of Goodhew lifestyle socks and Sockwell graduated compression socks have been steadily growing. While their products are well designed and exceptional, their brand communications weren’t reflecting that quality.

They turned to Widgets & Stone and 26 Tools for help with brand communications needs, and specifically for a redesign of their two product web sites. As 26 Tools worked to develop delightful and informative brand messaging, Widgets & Stone worked to develop a library of lifestyle photography and new design styles.

Previous versions of the web sites tended to be heavy on information and light on product imagery.

Widgets & Stone worked with Dotson Studios to create new photography that captured the lifestyle spirit of the brand and showed the product in use.

Then the team developed a clean web design that shows off the wonderful socks and the great lifestyle photography. Web site information was consolidated and the navigation was simplified.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design Direction: Mandy Meredith; Brand Messaging Strategy & Writing: Caleb Ludwick, 26 Tools; Design: Ben Dicks, Amy Trumbull; Photography: Dotson Studios.

On the Node

September 17, 2013

Brand & Communications Strategy

Variable creates platforms that make the real digital, and make the digital real. Variable is also a leading developer of wireless sensing technology, NODE.

NODE is a Kickstarter success story, turned hardware development company. They are a listening company, a learning company. Experts and innovators. PhDs and MBAs. Users and rethinkers of technology.

NODE’s target market is shifting and expanding, and it is more important than ever that they have a unified and consistent message about who they are, what they do, and why it matters.

Variable’s new CBO Jonathan Bragdon approached the creative partnership of Widgets & Stone, 26 Tools and Tubatomic to help craft a brand and communications strategy for the next phase of the company’s growth.

The team built on the solid identity (created by D+J Brand Consulting) to expand the kit of design and communications tools — with new writing, new photography, a new brand hierarchy and new web tools. Utilizing both broad and narrow strategies: appealing to gadgeteers who can help expand how NODE is used, or to very specific markets in color matching.

“At Variable, we make sensory platforms that connect apps and smart devices to the real world, in new ways.

NODE is a hardware platform, that transforms how apps let us make sense of the world.”

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand, Mandy Meredith; Design: Mandy Meredith, Paul Rustand, Brad Dicharry; Communication Strategy/Writing: Caleb Ludwick; Photography: Grant Dotson; Web Design: Tubatomic.