I know what you’re thinking… how was ki involved in the grand opening? Ki teamed with Spank! Music and Sound Design to create music and video content to run throughout the store on plasma screens.

The peeps store debuted in a mall just south of Washington, DC on December 10, 2009.

Find out more in an article featured in the Chicago Tribune.
Click here to view

Here is a long overdue post from a night of employee appreciation. We celebrated being appreciated with dinner and drinks on the veranda at Pegasus in Greek Town.

OPA!

The ki Artist Series brings you our very own man of many faces, Jeff Schwartz!

He’s an editor, drummer, Harley rider, and world record holder just to name a few. But really, he’s just a guy you’d like to grab a beer with.

I know what you’re thinking.. World record holder? You can’t be serious? See for yourself. A good barista never serves a lie..

On to the questions already!

Barista: What made you pursue this career?

Jeff: This career pursued me. I just couldn’t make it as a stock boy.

Barista: What do you like most about working at ki?

Jeff: Hands down, it’s the people. The way we synergistically create and craft every project into a work of art. Seamlessly and effortlessly working together like a hand-crafted Swiss timepiece. It’s really quite amazing. It’s either that or the aromatic hand soap in the bathrooms.

Barista: What is your favorite word?

Jeff: Lozenge. Go ahead, say it with me, “lozenge”. See, it’s fun, isn’t it?

Barista: What sound do you love?

Jeff: Too many to mention in this space, but here are my top five:

Barista: What sound do you hate?

Jeff: I’m not a hater. It’s such a wasted emotion.

Barista: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

Jeff: I was once asked to join a circus. That would’ve been fun. But I think I’d be a good astronaut. I really love Tang.

Barista: What profession would you not like to do?

Jeff: I wouldn’t last a day as a school teacher. If you ask me, patience isn’t a virtue, it’s just a waste of time.

Barista: Favorite commercial currently on the air?

Jeff: Is this a trick question? The best commercial on TV is the last one I worked on.

Barista: Television show you try not to miss?

Jeff: Historically, I’ve tried to catch The Simpsons and Spongebob whenever they’re on. But lately, I’m getting into Weeds and Entourage.

Barista: Favorite Quote?

Jeff: Well, Grandpa John had a million of ‘em, but this one has held true for as long as I can remember, “No matter where you go or what you do, there’s always a son of a bitch involved.” Grandpa John had a way with words.

It’s almost time for the All-Star break and we’ve all got baseball on the brain. So what better way to celebrate the spirit of baseball than by teaming up with the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox on a project inspired by President Obama’s call to service and volunteerism.

The White Sox were looking for some heavy hitters to help them send some strong and positive messages in the Chicago community. The project features 4 broadcast PSAs and 10 online videos. Each piece features White Sox players such as outfielder Carlos Quentin and Sox General Manager Kenny Williams. These sports role models really stepped up to the plate with messages encouraging literacy, education, good health, and drug free living.

ki provided full creative for the project. “It was outstanding work,” says Lou Hernandez from Chicago White Sox Public Relations. ki’s Pete Hendricks, editor and project supervisor says, “It was an honor to be chosen by the Chicago White Sox to help with such an important community inspired project.”

Joining Hendricks on this project were lead designer Cassie Scroggins and co-designer Rachel White handling graphics along with Thadchai Sattayatam and myself serving as editors for the online content.

Check out the project on the main page of our website www.kieditdesign.com. It’s a home run!

The ki Cafe would like to welcome our first Designer to the ki Artist Series… (drum roll please)… Design Director Cassie Scroggins!

Barista: What made you pursue this career?

Cassie: I knew that I wanted to study art in college but it wasn’t until my brother who is also a designer told me “if your going to be a designer you better like working with type.”  I took my very first typography class my freshman year of college and I was hooked.

Barista: What do you like most about working at ki?

Cassie: We eat lunch together everyday around a big table like a family!

Barista: What is your favorite word?

Cassie: Janky! A fellow creative director I used to work with used this to describe something that was done half-ass.

Barista: What sound do you love?

Cassie: Crickets on a summer night.

Barista: What sound do you hate?

Cassie: Last call.

Barista: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

Cassie: I’d love a job like Anthony Bourdain’s.

Barista: What profession would you not like to do?

Cassie: I wouldn’t like anything that put me in pantyhose or a cubicle.

Barista: Favorite commercial currently on the air?

Cassie: Well my  least favorite commercial is that stupid “He went to Jarred” spot.  And I’m sure I’m not alone on this one.

Barista: Television show you try not to miss?

Cassie: MAD MEN! Hands down.

Barista: Favorite Quote?

Cassie: I don’t know if I have a favorite but growing up my father always used to say “If you watch your pennies the dollars will take care of themselves.”   –And I wait.

We collaborated with RealWorld productions on two projects that would end in a larger than life format.

The first was a project that included 3 large format videos for SCCM’s (Society of Critical Care Medicine) 2009 annual conference in Nashville, TN. The challenge of this project was to balance stunning motion graphics with a highly technical workflow. While the footage came to us shot on green screen using the Sony HDCAM at 1080i resolution, the project was worked on in a hefty 3600×1080 pixel aspect ratio. Why such a super sized order? The final presentation was projected at 60ft x 20ft. To paint a clearer picture for you, that’s almost (but not quite) the size of the Wrigley Field scoreboard!

Dual HD projectors were used to project the images to the ginormous screen.

SCCM Conference – Nashville, TN

Once we were able to serve up the SCCM order, RealWorld Productions came back for a second project with similar specs. This time it was for the McDonald’s Owner-Operator Conference(CROA) in Las Vegas. With the SCCM project under our belt, we at ki were eager for the challenge.  We set the plan in motion with Cassie Scroggins designing the style boards and executing some sample animations for the team to follow.  We provided several template animations and a style guide for the internal production staff of McDonald’s creative services to make the vision a reality.

In essence, there’s no order too big for ki

Each year here at ki we hold a food drive for one week and donate our goods to the Lakeview Pantry. I think it’s more important now than ever to do whatever we can for people struggling to feed their families. The Lakeview Pantry distributes 2 tons of food each week. Each month, over 2,100 clients visit their sites and 160 disabled clients receive food through their Home Delivery Program.

Ki is proud to be a part of their effort in eliminating hunger in Chicago.

To learn more about the Lakeview Pantry visit their website at www.lakeviewpantry.org

Here are some snapshots of our collection and the volunteers at the pantry setting up for distribution.

So this is a little awkward considering I am the interviewer, and the interviewee. Kinda feels like I’m filling out a Facebook survey or something. Anyway, to avoid confusion, we’ll have to imagine the Barista is someone else.

Barista: What made you pursue this career?

Michelle: I remember being really young and my Dad showing me how to edit our home videos via VCR to VCR editing. I thought it was awesome, got my own camera, and kept playing with pictures and video. In college my friends convinced me to turn a hobby into a career and I’ve been playing ever since.

Barista: What do you like most about working at ki?

Michelle: I love the opportunities I have in more than just one creative area. There’s a lot freedom to get involved in different things which makes it a great place to learn and grow professionally. But truthfully, I think it’s the M&Ms.

Barista: What is your favorite word?
Michelle: Pumpkin

Barista: What sound do you love?
Michelle: Morning birds and the crack of a baseball bat.

Barista: What sound do you hate?
Michelle: Sounds that interrupt me, like El trains, motorcycles, and sirens.

Barista: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
Michelle: Teacher

Barista: What profession would you not like to do?
Michelle: Those terrible yellow vest people who spend all day writing parking tickets.

Barista: Favorite commercial currently on the air?
Michelle: I really like that Quaker Oats “Go Humans Go” spot. Maybe its just cause I’ve always wanted a jet pack.

Barista: Television show you try not to miss?
Michelle: The Bachelor/Bachelorette. I’m a shameless reality TV junkie.

Barista: Favorite Quote?
Michelle: “Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.” – John Updike

The ki cafe is a comfortable place for you to get to know us. We’ll be blending a little bit of everything from projects, to people, and even the cream and sugar of our social calendar. Go ahead and spill the beans with a comment. We love the feedback!

Enjoy!

Michelle

Ki Cafe Barista

Once a month here at ki, we transform our space into a movie a theater for ki movie night! We’ve chosen our favorite Oscar nominated films and each month screen someone’s pick.

In March we viewed Alaric’s pick. Here’s what Alaric had to say about his choice…

“This choice was tough for me, but I chose the sometimes maudlin by today’s standards, Casablanca.  A 1940’s film noir that shouldn’t have won a thing and caused long lasting Hollywood relationships to end.  A total “studio picture” in every sense of the word.  It won for best picture, director and adapted screenplay in 1944. The film is listed as #2 on AFI’s top 100 greatest movies list.  Citizen Kane is number one. As Roger Ebert once said, ‘While Citizen Kane is greater, Casablanca is more loved.’  And I do love this film.”

ki gives Casablanca a thumb’s way up!