THIS IS OUR BLOG.
Newsletter 015
Marion Design Co., Marion Arts Commission, and IWU Art + Design Faculty partner together for the first time to represent Marion at the Harrison Art Center Speck Gallery! You’re invited to our Opening Reception this Friday, 6:00 to 9:00 pm. The work will be on display for the month of June. Peter Troutner’s work is a series of collages that bring hope and satire through found images and words. Wendy rethinks Marion’s landscape utilizing its map. Shifting color, form, and shape she transforms Marion’s map to prompt questions of transparency, division, and story.
Friday, June 3rd
6-9pm
Harrison Center
1505 N Delaware St,
Indianapolis, IN 46202
While we tend to focus on increasing retail and dining establishments on the downtown square as we work toward revitalization, it’s important to maintain the strength and stability of our civic spaces. Marion’s library, courthouse, and government offices are critical places for ensuring the history and constancy of activity that these places bring on a daily basis. Listen in on the first of a series of conversations that Wendy, Tim, and Ed have on Marion’s downtown civic spaces here. The second conversation is Monday morning, 8:35 am on June 27th on the web at Good Morning Grant County, WBAT.
We spend 90% of our day indoors. Therefore, a well-designed built environment is
critical to your everyday life.
Look around you. Lift you eyes from the screen for a moment and take a look at your surroundings. Does your environment bring you joy? Does your office or home inspire you to do your best work? Here are some quick interior design methods if your answer isn’t a quick YES!
Shift your view so you have some access to daylight. It doesn’t have to be sunlight…just some daylight. Studies prove that daylight in workspaces improves mood, increases morale, reduces fatigue, and minimizes eye strain.
Color makes a difference. Red affects the body. Blue affects the mind. Yellow affects self confidence. Choosing the right color, color combination, and finish can impact your work quality.
Hire a space planner. Whether your area is a small office or large multi-user, multi-level office, space planning is critical to ensuring time isn’t wasted due to inefficient use of one of the most under recognized assets we have…space. Even a small shift can change your whole perspective on your workflow.
These are just a few of the simple considerations that can save you and your organization time and money. An interior designers purpose is to create spaces for the Life, Safety, and Well-being of her clients. Hire an interior designer and you might actually save money by improving your business’ work quality through well designed spaces for your employees and families.
You should begin seeing some activity again at our future downtown location. With every jot and tittle uncovered, we’re nearing the commence of renovations on the ground floor. We’ll keep you updated as things happen!
Wendy Puffer, Co-Founder & Chief Design Officer
I have to admit, I didn’t want to move to Marion in 1991. The drive down Nebraska heading south toward the IWU campus felt unfamiliar and wasn’t the “welcome” I was looking for. I lived the first 15 years in Marion skipping from our home in the Oak HIll district on the north end of town to campus on the opposite, south end of town. With the exception of weekly visits to the Marion Public LIbrary, we were able to live outside the stories that needed to be seen.
But all that changed in 2016. As I completed my MFA in Design Thinking, I began seeing the world through a human-centered lens. This new view caused me to crane my “empathy neck” 180°. I began reading differently, watching different media, and listening to different influential voices. As a result, my language has changed.
I’m excited about the future of this community I now spend most of my time in the spaces between campus and home. The very places I avoided previously are now the places I live and work most days. I shared my story on a recent podcast, Where We Landed, answering questions about my journey to make Marion our family’s home and what my experience is in our community
Listening to that recording reminded me of the importance of shifting my own lens to see my surroundings in a new way. This isn’t a “one-and-done” process, but a daily muscle that has to be exercised. So, whatever your circumstances, I encourage you to keep looking intently…and be ready to see differently!
Newsletter 014
What do board games, innovation, and the church have in common? Their unifying thread was the brainchild of Amanda Drury in 2019 called Imaginarium. Marion Design Co. was hired to brand this new project funded by a Lilly Grant to help churches imagine new ways of doing church and studying the Bible. What began as a branding project has emerged as a partnership whose influence continues to flow into crevices of the church enlarged by the pandemic’s challenges.
Whoopsie is a colorful board game that helps organizations creatively examine sustainability of current or new programming and initiatives. Complete with cards, game playing pieces, score pad, instruction booklet, game board and box, this fun action packed game makes collaboration and examination fun for your organizations team!
Since the launch of Imaginarium and Whoopsie, we’ve worked with Dr. Drury to brand and develop Discipleship by Design, design thinking methods such as Journey Map, 16 Systems Calendar, Scripture Squared, Actors Map, Prayer Squares, Creative Conversations, and more! Through Hatchathons and other national conferences, we’ve traveled to several national and statewide conferences to introduce these tools to church leadership. We look forward to sharing more of these DBD and Imaginarium projects through this longtime partnership!
Angelica Oles, Food Photographer and owner of Lush Food Photography and the Lush Foods Pretty Things account on Instagram, worked as a Placemaking Design intern during her junior and senior years of college at Indiana Wesleyan University.
Now two years after graduation, she shares that the most valuable lesson she learned was listening…that listening is not only essential in design, but in leadership. Her favorite memory is working alongside Grace Woodard as creative directors for the Marion Made Fashion Show during her senior year. She states, I have never experienced such effortless collaboration and partnership, we had so much fun and worked so hard for each other!
Her favorite project was co-leading with Wendy Puffer a design thinking session on placemaking in Chattanooga, TN at the Project for Public Places Placemaking Conference. Through connecting our play practice as children to teaching community development leaders how to innovate, we simulated playing house with blankets, plastic play food, and cardboard boxes to encourage creative collaboration. Angelica carries her training in leadership skills and establishing confidence in business at Marion Design Co. into operating her own business. In September 2021, she took the leap and began to intentionally pursue food photography and launched her business, Lush Food Photography.
Angelica shares, “The idea stemmed from an instagram account I had started in July of 2020, @lushfoodnprettithings It was a place for me to express my creativity and share photos of all the food I was making. Eventually I realized that this was much more than a hobby, I was excited about creating in a way that I had never experienced before. Manically cooking and baking everyday, I started taking online courses on food photography, styling, and photo editing, developing my skills. Once I committed to pursuing this as a career, I knew I needed to hustle. I emailed countless brands, companies, and small businesses asking them if they needed photography and attaching a media kit I had created. That was how I found my first clients and continued to secure work. It also enabled me to establish relationships with brands and get hired for multiple projects. The fact that I am making money doing something I love still feels surreal. I am also an instructor and social media manager at a barre3 fitness studio. The combination of these 3 positions fulfills me beyond anything I could have ever dreamed for myself!”
Angie Thompson, Chief Financial Officer
I’ve been working for Marion Design Co for 8 months now as the company’s financial manager, completing their invoices, payroll, and overall financial organization. One of my jobs is to make sure we are assigning the correct value to the correct item. Some things in my job are easy to put value to and some things are a bit harder. Resale product for example, is easy to assign value.
Design services, on the other hand, can be more challenging to assign value. There are many factors to include in this process, such as time spent with the customer learning about the individual or organization, hours spent transforming that information into ideas, and then ideas into a tangible process that we give back to the customer. One of the things I’ve been so impressed with is the way MDCO gets to know their clients before advising them on their design, their brand, or their overall presence. With each contract that comes across my laptop I see a description of the client, who they are, and what they are looking for from us. Wendy and the team truly want to know what brand or message the customer is wanting to portrait. So how do we assign a value to that?
Think about how important space and a brand is to a business or organization as a customer. Walking into a room that’s pleasing and clearly states what their business is and what they believe in provides familiarity and comfort to a customer. Seeing a brand on billboard is an expression of that business. When a customer starts to recognize an organization’s brand and space, then they hopefully become loyal to your business. That is where the value lies in our services. MDCO cares about the businesses and organizations in our community and wants them to perform well. There are opportunities upon opportunities that come from healthy organizations in communities. Whether it’s designing a space, a logo, a website, or video, MDCO can add value to an organization through thoughtful meetings, research, and action plans. That value keeps on giving.
Newsletter 013
MARCH 15TH: MDCO’S one year birthday as an LLC
While we’ve been in existence since the summer of 2016, March 15, 2021 marks the launch of MDCO as an LLC. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year. We have so much to celebrate! Our list of projects indicate increased partnerships from new startups to established organizations located in Marion and beyond the state of Indiana. Here’s a run down of projects that we’ve accomplished this year!
14 Graphic Design projects (branding, books, programs, brochures, DT session materials, etc.)
12 Interior design and Placemaking projects (from space planning to urban planning)
6 Design Thinking sessions (for businesses, nonprofits, and churches)
3 Websites (for businesses and nonprofits)
2 FIlm production (for education and businesses)
2 Community events (local partnerships in Marion’s downtown)
We’ve accomplished this work with an amazing leadership team, three MDCO alumni (Visual Communication Design, Design for Social Impact, and Interior Design) and three cohorts (15) interns from IWU and Taylor University.
We’re extremely grateful to YOU for supporting our efforts to bring the power of design to Marion and Grant County through meaningful work.
As spring approaches, it’s a great time to expand and explore fresh ideas. Here are a few podcasts we listen to. They’re inspiring, funny, thoughtful, and sometimes irreverent. We hope you’ll find inspiration somewhere in the list! You can find them on your phone’s podcast app.
Where We Landed
Local people telling local stories. Imagine sitting on the porch with neighbors over a cup of coffee, having a casual conversation.
99% Invisible
This podcast will open your eyes to the stories and systems of the spaces we inhabit.
Song Exploder
Each episode tells the story of inspiration, collaboration, and rhythm of a song from the performers point of view.
Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me
A hilarious game show featuring comedians who attempt to answer questions that inform and enlighten the listener to current news headlines.
Beef and Dairy Network
A comedy podcast that has very little to do about beef and will be enjoyed by those who appreciate British humor.
Articles of Interest
A limited run series about clothing and fashion and the meaning of it all.
Sporkful
A podcast for people who like to eat!
The Bottom Up Revolution
A Strong Towns Podcast by movers and shakers about design, the built environment, and community development.
We would love to hear what you’re listening that’s inspiring you! Send your inspirational resources to hello@mariondesign.co.
Brittany Long, Chief Operations Officer and Project Manager
If you’ve ever flown standby then you know the rollercoaster that it can be. Cheaper flights, but no guarantee of a seat. The possibility of sitting in business class or waving goodbye to the plane as you watch from the airport. This week I was supposed to be in Colorado. We were one of those people who were waving goodbye to planes, many planes.
My husband and I spent the better part of Sunday trying to figure out how to get to Denver and still make the trip worth it. In the end, we chose to scrap the trip and stay home. It was probably for the best in the long run but having a plan and seeing it not work out is frustrating.
As I ponder what could have been this week, I think about too - what has happened as a result of getting to stay home. I went back to Marion to visit family and pick up my puppy from my parent’s home. In doing so, I got to walk through our new building now that most of the demolition has been done. I got to see it back in December when we knew of the plans - but to see it actually start to come to life was so fun! The first floor has been stripped of all the walls and the clutter. It’s a big open space with high ceilings and lots of windows. There’s this beautiful bright orange beam that follows the length of the room. There’s space for a future gallery and meetings and gatherings. The possibilities are endless. And I thought to myself at that moment, sometimes things don’t work out like my flight or all of the other buildings MDCO has lived in. But sometimes things do work out and they are greater than we could ever imagine. I’m excited for you all to see our new building when it’s ready!
Newsletter 012
We’re excited to announce that Marion Design Co. will have a new home! After six years of moving to four different locations, we will soon make our final move to our new studio at 326 South Washington. Located on the southwest corner of Marion’s downtown square (across from Larks Song and Ridley Tower at the intersection of 18 and Washington), this building is an ideal space for our new home. It’s been just two weeks since the announcement and demolition is well underway.
This long, narrow three floor building whose storefront stretches from the street to the alley, was originally a Hooks Drug Store. It then became a men’s clothing shop, followed by a trophy shop. The Pregnancy Help Center resided there until 2020 and it sat vacant until Chris Kennedy (Hartson-Kennedy Cabinet Top Company) and the BDP Group made an offer to purchase it through a condo partnership. It’s only fitting that this investment is a partnership of three different stakeholders. BDP will develop the second floor into apartments and the Kennedy’s will build out the first floor and basement as the Kennedy Art Center and Marion Design Co’s studio. Marion Design Co. will lease out the space and serve as the project manager for the community art gallery (a longtime vision of Chris and Kim Kennedy) and other ancillary uses of the two floors.
We’ll be posting the construction process on social media and keep you updated in our newsletters of the progress of the renovation. If you were one of our first 17 interns who helped us launch in 2016, you probably remember the 20 foot long oak table that we carried from the second floor to the bank lobby as a “community table”? That same concept will continue in this new space. When you open the front door of our new studio, you’ll be greeted by a table that stretches 20 feet, inviting you to sit down and have a conversation. We’re excited about the relationships that will be generated over conversations in this new space at the table!
If you’re reading this newsletter, you’ve likely had some influence on the revitalization of Marion’s downtown and possibly even worked with Marion Design Co. To you…we express a deep gratitude for the part you’ve played in the process of helping Marion Design Co. use design to empower our community toward a new vision! We have a great future ahead and will work hard to continue strengthening our relationship with you!
In 2020, the Community Foundation asked us to create a Design Thinking Session to launch The Third Path grant in an effort to strengthen partnerships between local nonprofits who were ready to work collaboratively on a project. Thirty five people from 10 different organizations joined us on Zoom (yes, the pandemic hit, affording us the opportunity to prototype a virtual design thinking experience) for a four hour design thinking session in preparation for applying for the grant.
Three projects engaging seven different organizations won the grant, earning them a three year award to help fund their projects. Now, in year two, they asked us again to help the teams envision how they might creatively continue their mission through a design thinking session. The completely new DT process was created by one of our alumni, Jenna Beemer (2020). She led the MDCO team through developing the methods, design materials, and overall experience for the participants. Her leadership set the stage for a very successful, engaging, and inspiring four hour session. We were able to meet face to face in the new Co Fo community building where teams worked through Snowballing, Storyboards, a Future Wheel and more! At the conclusion of the session, one participant from Carey Services asked, “Can I keep this future wheel in a frame and put it in my office?” It’s so rewarding to witness how the tool of design inspires vision and mission!
Three projects engaging seven organizations continues as Carey Services now provides accessibility equipment on behalf of the GC Society for Crippled Children and Adults, Thriving Mill Township and the GC Rescue Mission serve the community through a new building, and Hope House, College Wesleyan Church, and the GC YMCA are creating an outdoor community space with programming to meet the needs of local residents.
Peter Troutner, Creative Director and Chief Creative Officer
Presence permeates. When I first walked into Marion Design Co. in 2017 I was about to experience firsthand what I’ve come to know as the Marion Design Co difference “Presence changes perception.” That was true for me as I began to see the daily life of Marion from the Old Salin Bank. As I met the people of Marion I came to see a city alive and as I used the skills I have been given. I saw my own value to the community and that even my presence is important.
As we prepare for permanent presence in our downtown, I want to reflect and challenge. Each building or space which Marion Design Co has occupied has developed specific relationships, given life to new meanings, or cultivated interactions that brought insight into our downtown.
Salin Bank - The OG MDC, when we entered it was an empty space we made it our own - in that space we became the tellers of a new story for Marion brought to life by the voices our community brought forward to invest in our storytelling bank. No longer an actual bank (despite the multiple people who came in to deposit checks), but a metaphorical bank where investments blossomed.
Ride ’N Leather - The Design Dojo, when we moved in there was only a dream of a storefront and we filled the back of the space overflowing with creativity. Here we found some of our projects syncing to the relationships with those in the Ride ’n Leather community and the newspaper clippings in the back hallway. The space had an effect on us and we had an effect on the space as the store opened and grew.
Our homes - during COVID I remember Friday afternoon Zooms with interns and although we were all isolated from each other these calls became spaces for growth and desperately needed connection. Even here our presence virtually changed how we came to exist and show up in the rest of our lives.
Lark Song - Once again downtown and birthed as a business, we found our presence important in the life of downtown. New relationships formed and with Marion Made Mini our rhythms overlapped with people in our downtown and community.
The Jay house - Tucked behind the Library we kept on plugging along. New surroundings and new neighbors. Our neighbors different than previous locations but we brought to life the space and as I type I am seeing interaction in almost every room. Life is forming.
Kennedy Arts Center - Here we look forward, in many ways if you do a scatter plot of our locations this becomes the average and I find that a beautiful revelation. Interns who drew up plans in 2019 are now seeing the presence they had permeate. And we are excited about the new ways our presence permeates.
Since I first came to downtown I’ve watched it bloom as people - movers and shakers - stepped into the downtown with renewed vision and filled empty buildings and brought life back to our downtown. There is much more ahead.
And now a challenge: No matter where you find yourself today, take stock. Look around you - your presence has the ability to permeate and change perception. How are you showing up? In what ways does the way you show up change perception of those you are around? How are you bringing new life to the people and places you occupy? Good things can come from presence.
Go and be.
Newsletter 011
Do you miss shaking hands at the entrance of an initial greeting or closing of a meeting? There’s something to be said in this small gesture we’ve taken for granted before COVID (or The VID, a nickname we were recently introduced to). Handshakes communicate an affirmation, a mutual agreement, a professional approval. It's a gesture that’s acceptable even after an argument. It calms the waters and it levels the playing field. It doesn’t discriminate and it doesn’t separate. Our efforts to replace the handshake with an elbow bump seems to trivialize the vulnerability that comes from the physical posture of offering. The body turns away from the person when you reach an elbow which is very different from the open, front-facing posture of the handshake. Your hands are connected to your whole body, and especially your brain. "Your hands tell everything about your emotions and reveal how you're feeling at the moment," says body-language expert Bianca Cobb, PsyD.
In full disclosure, we’ve been shaking hands quite a bit in recent weeks. We’re carefully following CDC guidelines as a company, respecting and caring for the health and well-being of everyone we interact with. But as we’ve begun and continued partnerships with cafes, artists, manufacturers, government, not-for-profits, and educational institutions, we’re wisely building relationships from a place of openness and a gesture of mutuality. We plan on these relationships lasting long after The Vid dominates top news headlines. Through challenges and celebrations, our foundation is built on relationships. So, let’s continue with the long view in mind. In fact, let’s shake on it!
Caring for our mind, body, and soul is a journey that entails responding to the environment, elements of time, and circumstances out of our control. Towards the end of 2021 we took on a project from a Marion local who is setting out to try and provide services for those needs by coaching and guiding women through the journey of holistic health. As our client was wrapping up her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, we journeyed with her into strategic naming and branding for her new business. In the process, we gathered research and explored Sanskrit meaning that connected to her heritage. In the end we arrived at Sodashisoul which is derived from the Sanskrit word for wholeness and is then tied to the soul. This idea of wholeness plays into the final mark as the parts align and form together as the sum of the parts to represent the balance Sodashisoul provides to her clients’ mind, body, and soul on the path to wholeness.
With over 70 Marion Design Co. alumni scattered all over the world, we want to share your stories. We’re planning our Alumni Highlight schedule for 2022 so if you list MDCO on your resume, send us an email at hello@mariondesign.co and we’ll be sure to include you in our publication!
Wendy Puffer, Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer
I was watching Ryan Chetiyawardana give a demo on how to make a Mojito. My daughter, Brittany, and I often enjoy sharing a Mojito during our regular dinners so this Masterclass workshop sparked my interest. The Mojito is made of lime juice, sugar water, white rum, mint, and ice. What intrigues me is not only the blend of ingredients, but the beautiful methodology to bring the concoction together.
Proportions of lime to water, rum and mint, but in particular, the vital overabundance of crushed (not cubed) ice to bring the temperature down quickly is key to experiencing the flavors. A room temperature Mojito is not refreshing. It’s the drastic cold drop in temperature produced by the ice crushed that makes the flavors sing.
As we launch a new 2022 spring season at Marion Design Co. our studio’s ingredients and proportions are vital to creating the flavor that makes our design studio unique. Blending a strong internship pool, collaborative leadership team, loyal industry partners, amazing client friendships, and a balanced mix of project types, the flavors integrate for a rich experience. But it’s the mission of empowerment and revitalization of our rural community that intensifies the ingredients and makes the work sing! When we see those around us succeed, we share in their success. As new businesses launch, buildings are revitalized, and stories are shared, we celebrate alongside those who persevere to reach toward a shared vision. So, let's raise a glass and celebrate success throughout Marion and Grant County as we launch a new year! Here’s to the emerging stories of 2022!
Newsletter 010
Over the past year, our company has seen many changes, from moving locations in downtown Marion to transitioning from a nonprofit to an LLC. We have collaborated with several cohorts of interns, and completed projects that have pushed our innovation and design work, from design thinking sessions to branding identity projects. Throughout all of these changes, big and small, our mission has remained the same as when we founded Marion Design Co: to revive, empower, and propel community forward with design.
While our mission emphasizes strong actions like revival and empowerment, these actions depend on you--our community. Every facet of our creative work depends on community members willing to collaborate as we work towards accomplishing our mission, together. And, the past year is a testament to the ways our tenacious community has consistently embraced our work as their own, providing us with encouragement, opportunities, and resources to continue working towards our mission. We are endlessly grateful for our community, for you.
We are grateful for the way our community shows us warm hospitality and provides us with studio space.
We are grateful for the way our community entrusts us with their business identities and transitions.
We are grateful for the way our community welcomes us into their homes and workplaces to transform their interior spaces.
We are grateful for the way our community invites us to share in developing public spaces to grow in together.
We are grateful for the way our community collaborates with us in envisioning all that our city can become.
We are grateful for the way our community sustains our collective passions for innovation and design, persisting into the future.
We are grateful for you.
Becca Kleppinger was a Marion Design Co. intern from January 2019 to September 2020. During her time with MDCO, Becca played an integral role in the Imaginarium project led and inspired by Dr. Amanda Drury. She described the experience as being magical, and Becca loved being able to bring Dr. Drury’s ideas to life through design, working on the entire process from initial sketches and prototypes to final production.
Becca also shared that working at MDCO shaped her into a stronger leader. Looking back, she recollected different moments where projects allowed her to step into the role of “leader” at moments. While at times challenging, these opportunities empowered her with more self-confidence. Additionally, Becca shared that creating with MDCO sharpened her analytical and organizational skills, which she has found allows her to be her truest self in any work setting.
Currently, Becca is in graduate school at Indiana Wesleyan University where she studies Student Development. She is grateful that continuing her education comes with remaining connected to the Marion community. As she is discerning where her passions for design and college-aged students will lead her, she is finding inspiration in everyday life. Becca shared that her goal is to create every day, whether she is creating physical art or organizing her dishes creatively, remembering that creativity does not have to be limited.
Brittany Long, COO and Project Manager
The month of November is my favorite time of the year. The weather is cool, the leaves have changed, and the excitement of the holidays is beginning to build. I absolutely love the anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love wearing cozy sweaters, drinking hot cocoa, and watching all of those holiday movies that I’ve been waiting all year to watch. Even school is wrapping up for the semester. The students are preparing for finals and are readying their bags to head back home. As our world winds down and heads back indoors to wait out the cold, I think to myself - how can we continue to build community even in these winter months?
At Marion Design Co, our mission is to “revive, empower, and propel community forward by creating sustainable design solutions developed through education and collaboration with local students and community.” This can look like so many different things. For us at MDCO, it looks like partnering with the city of Marion to enrich our downtown area or conducting design thinking sessions with a local church. It also looks like designing window treatments for downtown apartments or building a website for a local business. We are working to connect with people all across our city.
Maybe our next project will be collaborating with you! Reach out to us if you have a project or a big idea. We would love to partner with you. Check out our website, share this newsletter, follow us on Instagram. Join with us and together we can work to revive, empower, and propel our community forward.
Are you hard-working, smart, brave, innovative, humble, and willing to take design to the next level? Go to our website to apply. If you don’t see a position that fits you, create one and send it to us. Candidates who bring a diverse skillset and unbridled creativity will be strongly considered!
Newsletter 009
Our design process centers on relationships. When we design for you, our client, we don’t just want to design for you; we want to get to know you, and we want to know you long after we finish collaborating with you.
Our relationship with Marion Philharmonic Orchestra began in 2018, just before their company turned fifty, when their leadership determined they needed to reinvent their company identity to better serve Marion and the broader Grant County community. As we created their new brand identity, we met with Joy Frecker, the orchestra’s executive director, and Matthew Kraemer, the orchestra’s current conductor. As we continued to share in conversation with these two leaders, we found we had a better understanding of the story of their company not just as an orchestra but as a collective of musicians sharing their craft with their communities.
While our collaboration began by designing a new brand identity for the company nearly two years ago, we have continued to maintain our relationship with the orchestra. Each concert season, we create promotional materials for their shows. Most recently, we designed postcards for their upcoming October 31 show, Disney in Concert: Around the World, working closely with Disney’s own designers to ensure that our proposals aligned with their brand standards.
We are grateful for MPO, as well as our other clients, who continue to participate in the Marion Design Co. Community long after our initial design work is complete. It is a privilege to call our clients friends.
You can visit MPO’s website, mpomarion.org, to learn more about how you can connect with them and experience one of their upcoming concerts!
Marion Made Market and Fashion Show, originating from our own interns’ creativity, are two of our favorite events here at Marion Design Co. We loved celebrating the creativity of our community in 2017 and 2019, exploring their innovation and imagination through the two downtown events. Fall 2021 marked the next Marion Made, but we are sensing more time will provide us greater opportunity to build on what has been accomplished in order to create a more sustainable future for Marion Made.
We appreciate your patience and grace as we continue to discover all that Marion Made can be in the coming months
On October 1, Marion Health officially launched their new brand. We have already seen the brand work to tell Marion Health’s vision of growth with pride and care, continuing to tell their story with empathy. If you drive along the Marion bypass, you may even notice a couple of new billboards featuring the new logo.
We have loved celebrating alongside Marion Health, and can’t wait to watch the brand continue to come to life! Check out our case study to learn more.
Allie Lumpkin
Allie Lumpkin interned with Marion Design Co. in 2018 and was part of the Summer Cohort in 2019. She graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2020 with a B.A. in Graphic Design and is currently working towards her MFA in Design Research and Development at Ohio State University.
Allie shared with us that the most valuable thing she learned during her time at MDCO was how to take risks. “I’m naturally a risk-averse person,” she said, “but being swept up in the ethos of MDCO showed me how embracing the unknown can help propel your work beyond what you ever would have expected.” She also shared that her time with MDCO helped root her design process in research, with has been foundational for the knowledge she is gaining from her research-based MFA program.
As she works toward her MFA, Allie is finding inspiration in the work of her peers. Allie expressed that seeing the design work other 2020 and 2021 graduates are creating is a source of joy and excitement for her. Watching her friends be creative fuels her own creativity.
Peter Troutner, Creative Director and Chief Creative Officer
Ever since Marion Design Co. began there has been an aspect of education involved in the work we do. Whether that’s working with talented interns growing their skills, helping clients to see the importance of space and brand, or expanding our own knowledge of our community.
Recently, I was asked to speak to a class at IWU about the branding process of Marion Health. It gave me a pause to step back to see the work we do as a whole and all that goes into the relationships we form as we develop work that is meaningful and intentional to the client. The entire design process is a learning experience where we serve as both educator and student, and our clients educate and learn in tandem with us. The students I spoke to listened and asked inquisitive questions - desiring to better their practice and continue on the never-ending path of learning.
We are constant students of our surroundings and always welcome new relationships which push us to research new areas and design through the lens of lifelong learning. As we come to sit with our clients we come to be not just masters of design but educated in the industry of our clients. Soon we become knowledgeable about music, healthcare, basketball, cabinet construction, and space planning. What new area could you introduce us to?
Newsletter 008
The I Have A Dream Preschool Academy, located just south of downtown Marion, is an early-childhood educational program focused on empowering young learners to love their neighbors well through an immersive bilingual curriculum. Over the past year, we have worked alongside the Dream Academy to use placemaking design to create both indoor and outdoor playspaces for young learners. While the outdoor playspace is still in progress, we recently completed the indoor space.
This interactive, interior space celebrates and affirms children of color in different roles or careers. Children of color may not experience similar representations elsewhere, and seeing themselves within different roles allows them to act without limits and dream big.
The IWU Human-Centered Design class, led by Marion Design Co. leadership, sketched iterations of the interactive indoor space, identifying different roles that could be represented throughout the space. After presenting four concepts to Dream Academy leadership, two top ideas rose to the surface. Tashema Davis (Echo Gallery) merged the two concepts together to bring the ideas to life in a four-wall mural covering the whole room. Scattered throughout the room are colorful hooks holding professional costumes such as a doctor's uniform, a scientist’s lab coat, and an artist’s apron that allow the students to strengthen their imagination and physically step into the roles they see on the walls around them. Jared Strand, a former MDCO intern, created stacking wooden boxes that Tashema painted with the same figures illustrated in the murals that the students can use to build their own personas, continuing the interactive goal of the design concept.
This fall, we are thrilled to welcome a new cohort of interns!
Starting in September, we began work with a group of four interns: Mark Fisk (IWU), a graphic design intern from Fishers, IN, Jessica Moore (IWU), a placemaking design intern from New Haven, IN, Isabel Bostick (IWU), a copywriting intern from Brownsburg, IN, and Anna Rodman (Taylor University), a videography intern from Peoria, IL.
We are also welcoming Jenna Beemer back to Marion Design Co. as a designer! She previously worked with us as an intern from 2018-2020, and you may recognize her from a July issue of our newsletter.
This diverse group brings a wide range of gifts and talents to the team and we are looking forward to creating together this fall!
From left to right: Jenna Beemer, Anna Rodman, Isabel Bostick, Mark Fisk, Jessica Moore
Mark your calendars for Marion Made Market and Fashion Show, happening November 20, 2021. It’s going to be unlike any show you’ve seen before! Stay tuned for market applications, event locations, and more. We look forward to seeing you there!
We are excited to share an alumni highlight on Summer Fisher, a member of our very first intern cohort!
Summer interned during our initial launch of 2016, the year Marion Design Co. was founded. Working with MDCO during its most formative year, she played an integral role in the City of Marion branding project, creating some of the first sketches and iterations of the brand. Summer shared that the experience of listening to community members and engaging in conversation with them was life-changing, and the experience continues to influence the ways she solves design problems.
Immediately after her undergrad, she worked as an IWU adjunct professor and a designer for a local church, until Studio Science noticed her portfolio. Today, Summer works as a Brand Designer for Studio Science in Indianapolis, alongside other MDCO alum. The experience she had with MDCO reminds her to investigate her assumptions as she designs, always asking “Why?” throughout her design process. Summer shared that she is continually inspired by her coworkers, as well as designers from around the world--their work broadens her imagination.
Wendy Puffer, Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer
I’m easily bored...and repetition, well, feels too repetitive. As I approach the first September in 21 years as a non-faculty, where I haven’t needed to create a syllabus, craft the perfect learning outcomes, and form a calendar full of events that always gets wiped off the map within the first two weeks, I’m definitely not bored! I’m still considering how students--MDCO Interns--might gain the richest professional experience and build empathetic community relationships, but with a more refined focus for Marion Design Co., the local community, and our clients.
It’s so fun to dream and plan with a long view in mind. In just the few short months since we launched as an LLC, we’ve designed for medical facilities, homes, manufacturers, conferences, performances, exhibits, athletics, schools, small businesses, and philanthropic organizations. We’ve developed and built meaningful relationships with local, regional, and national partners. We’re creating a rich rhythm of quality design development, with repetition that creates value and sustainability! And, with repetition in all the right places, there’s no future for boredom!
