JOSEPH GRACEFFA

MY CREATIVE SERVICES FOR HIRE

E&O Digital is my business offering user-centered creative services. I’ve been contracted for creative direction, copywriting, digital product concepting, illustration, brand strategy, graphic design, and typography. The following is a sampling of clients and challenges that I’ve taken on over the last few years:

+ Capital One: Developed the bank’s “Mobile Experience” - the brand’s first tangible, on-the-street embodiment.

+ Vessel: Synthesized, wrote, and designed the company’s first comprehensive community pitch deck for low-cost, high-quality, prefab housing.

+ 3Pillar Global: Co-founded Studio3, an internal Design Consulting venture and grew the company’s FinTech portfolio by 3x in 12 months.

+ AirDNA: Re-designed and directed the building of all AirDNA’s 2023 Conference assets including booths, marketing materials, and social media.

+ The Climb: Full design of Christian-based, digital workbook for parents dealing with children suffering from mental health & addiction issues.

DESIGNING A NEW FAN EXPERIENCE

The Chicago Fire, the Windy City's Major League Soccer team, approached IDEO with a simple request - Help us put butts in seats. While they’re past MLS champions, Chicago is a huge sports town, and competition for fans’ attention - and their wallets - is fierce. We agreed we needed to develop new fan experiences and a marketing campaign to fire up Chicagoans and start filling the seats.

Within a week of starting the project, we determined we needed a fresh approach to the Chicago pro sport experience—one that amped up the team’s scrappy, left-of-center, unpredictable, and anti-corporate vibe. With that as our mindset, we focused our attention on three areas of opportunity: The Gameday Experience, Alternative Marketing Campaigns, and a look and feel for the then, yet to be built, Chicago Fire Soccer Center.

Since our work with the club, the Fire’s new, fan-centered approach has stoked interest, both inside and outside the stadium. “Fans are engaging with us in larger numbers than before,” said Atul Khosla, Chicago Fire’s Chief Operating Officer, and according to Crain’s, ticket sales are up nearly 21 percent over the same point last season. For more information, see the full case study on ideo.com. 

Project Duration: 12 weeks

My Role: Project Lead, Art Direction, Designer

Team: Zach Hobbs, Neil Stevenson

DESIGNING A HELPING HAND

When my cousin and her husband reached out for a helping hand with a project dear to their heart, I was more than happy to offer my services. The project was to design a Christ-centered guide for parents dealing with children suffering from mental illness and/or addiction. My cousin had, over the previous 12 months, written a full script of the guide with a light organization of how it would come together.

My first design task was to read the entire manuscript and conceptualize how it would be structured. The decision was made to build on the analogy of a climb - an arduous task involving deep struggles and rewarding achievements. To provide clear “way finding”, a color palette was designed for each step: Basecamp, The Valley, The Ascent, and The Summit. To offer a visual break in the system, biblical phrases (with relevant climbing/mountainous imagery) were integrated throughout the guide. 

This project (as of October, 2024) is currently in progress. We have recently completed a qualitative research phase and are beginning to refine the guide based on feedback received. We are on target to have printed guides and initial group sessions by January, 2025.

Project Duration: 3 Months

My Role: Creative Director, Editor, Designer

INJECTING RAW DESIGN ENERGY INTO A  STUDIO

In the Fall of 2013, we launched the first IDEO designer-in-residence program: Fortnight. Fortnight 1.0, based in the IDEO Chicago office, offered 8 wickedly talented designers the opportunity to each stretch their creative muscles for 2 weeks inside our studio. Intended to inspire the Fortnighters AND the studio itself, the 9 week program was a complete success. Fortnighters built a crazy array of projects -  ranging from dreamy puffy clouds floating above workspaces to a weather balloon happiness swing to an ever-changing mad libs-inspired story telling clock to even an installation obsessed with DNA contained within bird poo. Yes. Poo.

Not at all intended as a recruiting tool, Fortnight 1.0 alone still resulted in 2 terrific design interns and one incredible full-time office hire.

It was easily one of the most rewarding and fun experiences I’ve ever had as a designer. 

Since the first Fortnight, it has been repeated in the Chicago office and has been adopted by the Cambridge, New York, and London IDEO studios. 

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Project Duration: 4 months

Fortnight Duration: 9 weeks

My Role: Project Lead, Mentor, Design Guide

IDEO Team: Neil Stevenson, Zach Hobbs, Megan Weibler

Fortnighters: Abby Vanmuijen, Alyssa Jongsma, Annie Wu, Chelsea Heather Tan, Hannah VanderWeide, Minjoo Kim, Tina Snow Le, Zeke Markshausen

THE MODERN DAY CORNER PHARMACY

Perrigo Co, one of the world’s largest manufacturer of private label over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, came to IDEO to develop its first company-owned brand. The brand needed to play in the OTC space, utilize existing Perrigo products and, at least initially, be sold exclusively in the digital marketplace. 

Over the course of 12 weeks, our IDEO team developed numerous concepts and finally landed on a final offering: L. Perrigo & Co - Your Modern Day Corner Pharmacy. Initially designed as a heritage/apothecary brand, the concept was refined to be a modern twist on old-time values due to numerous inputs from potential consumers looking for something more than “just reviving the old”.

The final brand offering consisted of four product families:  

Maintain: Vitamins & Supplements                                                     

Repair: Analgesics (Ibuprofen and Aspirin)

Enhance: Skin & Dental Care

Accessories: Toothbrushes, Travel Items & Containers

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Project Duration: 10 weeks

My Role: Project Lead, Designer

Team: Kyle Fletcher, Jerry O'Leary, Annette Ferrara, Zach Hobbs, Paolo Lorenzoni, Josh Sin

CHARTING A NEW COURSE

Within the first month of joining, I was asked to create a document that would lay out the future plans for the newly formed Design Innovation Group - A Design Manifesto.

The major challenge of creating such a document was that I was, as of then, uneducated in the practices and tendencies of a massive CPG company such as Frito Lay. I very quickly learned that it was NOT about coming up with with ways to change (those were abundantly clear) - it was about deciding WHERE TO START. Where we landed was a document that revolved around seven themes that the design group held close to their hearts - OUR BELIEF SYSTEM. Each was described in human terms and explained what each of them meant going forward as we put them into practice.

Over the course of 5 months, I researched, wrote, re-wrote, and wrote some more until we landed at a place that we all agreed felt right to us AND would push the organization in a healthy manner. I then art directed the final production of the book which was released to the entire marketing and research teams within the walls of Frito Lay HQ - a total of approximately 1200 employees. As stated in the manifesto, the book was not a culmination of work but a STARTING POINT. Much work was to come for the organization if true change was what they desired. Following the release, action began - a lecture series, design thinking workshops, tools for project efficiency, and newly structured design briefs.

Project Duration: 5 Months

My Role: Creative Director, Copywriter, Researcher

Print Production by Studio Bueno (Jenny Kraemer & Martin Dominguez)

FROM PROCESSED TO PREMIUM

Early in 2011, Forbes Magazine released their list of “10 Companies Most Likely To Disappear this Year”. 

Sara Lee Foods landed at #3. In defiance of the bleak opinion, a new Sara Lee chairman partnered with IDEO to guide the transformation of the processed foods giant into a premium meats company. 

Over a 5 month period, the team produced a brand portfolio vision which included refreshes to the company’s three major brands (Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, and Jimmy Dean) along with the creation of six new discrete brands.

With 30 of the company’s future leadership, the IDEO team worked hand-in-hand guiding the large and enthusiastic group throughout the entire design process. Led by the Sara Lee chairman’s initial directive to “Get out of your seat and go see what is truly happening out there....” - the project began with tours of some the finest food markets, restaurants and butcher shops the world had to offer. Groups comprised of IDEO and Sara Lee team members set out to be inspired - watching the bustle of early morning Tokyo fish markets, grazing on Jamon Iberico in Barcelona, strolling in amazement through the fresh meat and vegetable markets of London and even butchering plump pigs in a San Francisco neighborhood butcher shop.

Then it was was time to get to work. Group synthesis sessions, full team Deep Dives, rough prototype after rough prototype, numerous full-day updates with the CEO and Chairman, brainstorms, brand tone and language debates, video shoots, renderings - even a tattooing of a pork shank - all led to the creation a wonderful, rich collection of brands that would reposition Sara Lee as a true provider of premium meats for years to come. 

Key to the portfolio of brands proposed, was the conscious decision to create a range of business sizes and revenue targets. The 9 proposed brands ranged from large (1 Billion), to medium (500 Million), to small (50-250 Million) - creating a healthy, intelligent portfolio integral to securing future shareholder confidence and investment. 

A few of the future offerings....

Smith & Smith - an ultra-premium charcuterie selection. 

Flat Iron Ranch - fresh, tender meats from locally raised, hormone-free chickens, pigs, and cows. 

Mallet & Bone - an aggressive, punky aesthetic whole muscle beef jerky brand.

4 Corners - a collection of local-favorite meat-based dishes curated from around the world

Nothing But - a chilled, whole muscle, “untainted” chicken, pork, or beef snack

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Project Duration: 5 months

My Role: Project Lead, Art Direction, Writer, Designer

Team: Paul Bennett, Nick Dupey, Jin Ko, Chris Meirling, Melissa Dalrymple, Ross Lockwood, Scottie Gambil, Zach Hobbs, Sara Frisk, Mary Foyder, Elaine Fong, Matt Stiffler, Matt Brown, Jerry O'Leary, David Stychno, Annette Ferrara, Aggie Toppins, Johnny Sampson

BREATHING LIFE INTO AUSTRALIAN BEER

Lion Brewing, Australia’s largest beer producer, approached IDEO with a request - Help us make beer relevant again. See, over the past 10 years, younger Australians (18-26 year olds) had been increasingly moving to spirits and wine as their drinks of choice. Beer was seen as “their dad’s drink”. It was our job to help Lion turn the tide.

Over the next 12 weeks, the IDEO team worked hand in hand with our Lion colleagues understanding the mindset of Australian Millennials, investigating internal capabilities of Lion, and co-designing fresh and intriguing new beer offerings. At the conclusion, the IDEO team had filled Lion’s future pipeline with 6 brand refreshes and the creation of 2 new beer lines. 

Project Duration: 3 months

My Role: Project Lead, Art Direction, Designer

Team: Paul Bennett, Lishan Soh, Wilfred Castillo, Ryan Fitzgibbon

DESIGNING AN ICON

When Miller gives you the chance to redesign their flagship bottle, you jump at the opportunity. Quickly debriefed in regards to where Miller Lite lived in the marketplace and the lifelong challenges competing with Bud Light and the “Big Red Machine”, we were off and running.

The new Miller Lite bottle was to be iconic and capture the essence of three predetermined brand principles. What resulted was a series of concepts that ventured into the provocative world of utilizing materials and colors in honest and simple ways rather than traveling down the well worn path of generating ambiguously shaped glass bottles.

At the core of our argument was the belief that due to their position in the marketplace, an annual distant #2, Miller had to truly change the game to succeed. You want to play with the big boys? Act like it.

Project Duration: 2 weeks

My Role: Project Lead, Writer, Designer

Team: Martin Bone, Jerry O'Leary

DESIGNING THE MOBILE EXPERIENCE OF A BRAND

Capital One is an interesting institution - especially in the banking industry. It’s brand comes to life in two forms - digital (thru their app) and in their cafes (specifically designed to be NOT like banking brick-and-mortars). Having had success in both contexts up to that point, they reached out in need of help answering a question aimed at growing their presence - What does Capital One look/feel/sound like when it lives in between the digital and brick-and-mortar world? Or put another way - What does it become when it “hits the streets?

Over the next 3 months, the Capital One Design team and I got to work answering that provocative question. Our eventual proposed solutions were all based on one major point - What makes Capital Ones successful is that it tries it’s best to NOT act like a bank. Rather it does it’s best work when it acts like a HUMAN.

With that established, our conceptual work grew from an answer to a new human-centered question - How does Capital One ESTABLISH MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS at the street level. Concepts were wide-ranging in approach but all offered an interesting answer to the new question at hand.

Project Duration: 3 Months

My Role: Project Leader, Creative Director, Designer, Researcher

Team: Aradhana Goel, Brett Bishop

A JERKY BRAND FROM SCRATCH

IDEO was asked to focus their attention on a concept brand that had been created during a previous Sara Lee program - Mallet & Bone - a whole-muscle dried meat snack offering. Our task was to develop the brand - from scratch. Our tasks included naming, brand personas, ideal consumer demographics, flavor profiles, merchandise, marketing campaigns, and development of a launch plan. 

With the whole-muscle dried meat snack segment growing rapidly, Mallet & Bone was developed to live in the sweet spot between lower-end mass brands and premium, boutique brands. Our target consumer? He’s what we referred to as A MAN OF ACTION. What does that mean? Here is an excerpt from our work…..

“It seems like we always hear about men who are either sitting on the couch doing nothing or men who are big wave surfing in Indonesia. Our man is all for the idea of big wave surfing in Indonesia, but the majority of his actions are of a humbler nature. Basically, we can categorize our man as a man of action because he takes actions. Sometimes those actions entail travel by air: other times they entail travel via the musty camper van his buddy borrowed from someone’s dad. Borrowing a musty camper van under any circumstances is an action. Walking somewhere where you can’t see anyone else walking is an action. Driving without a destination? Definitely an action. Cutting wood? Anything involving an axe is an action. Hell, buying an axe is an action (and should be commended as such).

Thinking about buying an axe? Sorry…that would be a thought. You have to draw the line somewhere.”  (Writing Credits: David Berthy)

Project Duration: 6 weeks

My Role: Project Lead, Designer, Writer, Art Direction

Team: Adam Geremia, David Berthy, Jerry O'Leary, Clark Scheffy, Scott Campbell, Zach Hobbs, Matt Brown, Nick Dupey

WHAT GOT IT ALL STARTED

This is a letter I penned and delivered to the President and CMO of Frito Lay during the first week of my employment with PepsiCo. It is written from the perspective of the CONSUMER and is directed at ALL COMPANIES such as Frito Lay. It’s intent was to get a healthy design conversation going between the newly formed Innovation Group and company leadership. It did just that. And more.

This letter single handedly created my pipeline of work for two years to come. During a meeting with the company president, it was decided that I would focus all my future energies creating a culture of innovation within the walls of Frito Lay. That broad remit played out in a myriad of ways - a lecture series, design thinking workshops, leading design programs, identifying and engaging with new, progressive design partners, and finally - the creation of a Design Manifesto - the first of it’s kind within the walls of Frito Lay.

My Role: Author, Designer

MY KIND OF SERIF

I’ve been playing around with creating a font of my own for years and I’ve sketched out more font ideas than I care to admit. Recently, I ventured into “font land” once again but THIS TIME I created something I’m truly happy with - DOXEN. Inspired by a couple of my favorite fonts (DIN & Goldplay specifically), I challenged myself to construct a font that both had an approachable softness AND was a serif.

After many tedious design nights, I arrived at DOXEN. Based on a simple grid structure, DOXEN is assembled with straight lines, clipped circles and subtle, soft radii.

In the end, the most simple font idea I’ve ever had turned out to be the one that made the biggest impact. Well, at least with me.

My Role: Designer

A NEW LIGHTING SILHOUETTE

Dario Buzzini and I designed a lamp over a cup of coffee (well, more like 3 or 4 cups) - a light constructed simply of a braided electric cord. 

The flexible wire, once passed thru an aluminum clamp, undergoes a “change of state,” elegantly transforming into the structural body of the lamp itself. Following this simple construction method, the lamp's illumination levels and power are controlled by a light touch to the aluminum clamp. 

We built a working prototype and jumped on a plane to Milan where we released the concept at the Salone de Mobile to rave reviews from the public and professional lighting industry. 

Project Duration: 3 weeks

My Role: Designer and Modelmaker

Team: Dario Buzzini, John Grimley

AN HOMAGE TO THE NUGGET

Fast food is such a downer, right?. Well, a colleague and I decided to challenge that perception. We thought it would be cool to see what would happen if we mashed up the stuffy characteristics of fine dining with the goofy story of an infamous fast food character - the McNugget.

Some quick research revealed some fun stuff: the mental picture of metal dome covers lifted to reveal pretentious menu items, the fact that there are only four shapes of McNuggets produced, AND that the blogging community referred to those 4 nugget shapes according to the American state that they most closely resembled. What followed was little sketching, a little modeling, and a few weeks of waiting for 3D ceramic printed parts to arrive. The result was FAST & FINE - our Homage to the McNugget.

Project Duration: 4 hours

My Role: Designer

Team: Jerry O'Leary, Shapeways (www.shapeways.com)

A LIGHT FOR AN ENDANGERED SPECIES

As a longtime resident of Chicago, I grew accustomed to the skyline speckled with water tanks. Built in response to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, they have been slowly disappearing - torn down due to, ironically, the fire hazard they have become. 

To memorialize their existence, a design colleague and I designed a lamp that was meant to capture the recognizable iconic form. The frosted glass shade mimics the tank profile while the octagonal support plate and long vertical supports capture the essence of the tank structure. The sky blue power cord descends through the middle of the structure - reminiscent of working tank water pipes. The name was derived from the fact that at the time of our work, there still existed 153 working tanks. We simply added one to the list.  

Project Duration: 1 week

My Role: Designer and Modelmaker

Team: Jerry O'Leary

THE IDEA OF ALZHEIMER’S

Eli Lilly approached IDEO to submit a proposal for the design of Alzheimer’s Treatment Centers. At the time, Lilly was in the midst of clinical studies with a drug, coined “SOLA”, which they hoped would be the company’s next flag-bearing drug. SOLA was aimed at slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s and would need to be delivered by licensed physicians bi-monthly at yet-to-be designed treatment centers.

Our team had one concern heading into our meeting with Lilly executives - could we adequately communicate the impact and intensity of the disease that needed to be understood in order to design such an important physical space? So, accompanying a detailed proposal of timing, activities, staffing, and budgets - was a video we created with the help of our colleagues. We wanted to understand the IDEA of Alzheimer’s. We took a unique approach - we talked about the aspects of life that Alzheimer’s most greatly effected WITHOUT talking about Alzheimer’s.

We presented the video to kickoff the meeting and it hit home quite well. After a few tears were wiped, we got down to the nitty gritty but our point had been made - the drug could not be at the center of the design - it was about the PEOPLE and their lives.

My Role: Creative Director, Project Lead

Team: Alison Yard Medland, Elaine Fong

A BEER FOR GREEK GODS (AND LATIN AMERICA)

SAB MILLER approached IDEO with a request: Develop an ultra-premium beer suitable for national and regional markets. The product was to elevate the image of the beer category by delivering a complex liquid that connoted exclusivity, superiority, and depth. Initially intended to launch in three cosmopolitan, Latin American cities, the IDEO team got to work.

Three concepts were inspired by mystical thinkers, philosophers, ancient myths, Gnostic iconography, curious art, psychedelia, and a particular piece of writing:

There is a God about whom you know nothing, because we have forgotten him. We call him by his name: ABRAXAS.

Cerveza Abraxas launched in the Peruvian market in Spring, 2015.

Project Duration: 2 weeks

My Role: Project Lead, Designer

Team: Elaine Fong, Jerry O'Leary, David Berthy

DESIGNING A BEAUTY RITUAL

TSG, one of the largest and oldest private equity firms, approached IDEO with a kernel of a design concept - what if beauty-conscious women could invite other like minded women over to their house and sell them hi-end skin care products? It sounded a little too Mary Kay to us but we took on the challenge.

Over the next 10 days we developed a new brand from scratch - ARORA. Balancing elements of, what the team referred to as, “soft science” and bold visual elements, we created “THE RITUAL” - a series of actions that the host would perform in front of her guests. Contained on a beautiful cedar plank, all the elements of THE RITUAL were designed to capture the attention and imagination of the observer. 

Project Duration: 10 days

My Role: Project Lead, Designer, Modelmaker

Team: Zach Hobbs, Annie Wu, Elizabeth Spenko, John Grimley

FRESH PACKAGING PERSPECTIVES

IDEO, in an attempt to drive thinking and discussion around design issues of every stripe and kind, publishes a semi-annual review called Designs On, part personal perspective, part collective manifesto. It addresses tricky, vexing issues of the day ranging from global warming to time, food, and birth. Or in this particular case, packaging. 

For Designs On: Packaging, designers across our global locations were asked to collaborate with a partner (or two) in their home studio. Teams were instructed to choose an everyday object, select a verb, and pick an emotion. 

Using these three interdependent elements (object, verb, and emotion), contributors generated unexpected packaging ideas around everyday tools, objects, or containers. I was a part of 3 concept teams:

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ONCE: Noun: Scent, Verb: Anticipate, Emotion: Longing

Drawing inspiration from the Talipot Palm—a monocarpic plant, native to parts of India and Sri Lanka, which flowers a single time over the course of a 30-to-80-year lifecycle—Once blossoms for 24 hours, one time annually. Only a lucky few are fortunate enough to catch a whiff of the bouquet, every year. Following the dispersion, the product returns to hibernation, inaugurating the energy-storing process for the next year’s blossom.         

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CANDLE: Noun: Scent, Verb: Smell, Emotion: Anticipation

This concept celebrates the notion of waiting. Of anticipation. Of delayed gratification. The scented wax capsule is visible, right out of the box, but inaccessible for a period of ‘burn time.’ Only hints of the scent can be detected until the fragrance center is breached by light, over time. When the scent expires, it leaves behind only cherished memories.        

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98.6/CHOCOLET: Noun: Chocolate, Verb: Warm, Emotion: Love

Hershey’s might have cornered the market on the miniature candy kiss, but lovers of cacao can still find other ways to ‘edibly’ express their feelings for one another. One in particular: this jewelry piece, 98.6 / Chocolet. The pendant grips thin chocolate disks for people to drape around their neck, close to their heart. This softens the candy, improves its texture, and boosts the flavor profile. A loving gesture never felt or tasted quite like it.          

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Project Duration: 1 week

My Role: Designer

Team: Andrew Burroughs, Jerry O'Leary, Carly Price, Blaise Bertrand