Tuesday, June 8, 2021

DR2’s inception story


 

In 1998 a former co-worker who moved to the West Coast was not happy with the quality of copy and design he was getting.

 

He suggested that another former co-worker, Dave (not his real name), and I start a partnership, with me doing design and Dave doing copy. He promised he would throw us some work.

 

Dave had been doing catalogs for an automobile company on the side while working for an association. I was working for a large government contractor and keeping my sanity by doing nonprofit fundraising packages on the side for museums, symphonies and cultural organizations.

 

Dave came up with the name DR2, meaning Direct Response, Direct Results.

 

It was brilliant. I decided DR2 should be written like an element or chemical symbol because DR2 was an “essential” element for any client.

 

I designed a great brochure, Dave wrote it and got a printer to print it for free. We got business cards, put together a Powerpoint introduction largely featuring my work and off to California we went to pitch DR2.

 


 


 


We got the work. Not as much as we would have liked but our client list was off to a good start/was bolstered by this addition to the canon.

 

It was to be a limited partnership. Dave would still write copy on his own and I would design on my own and we would work together with clients who needed both.

 

Dave had been sent a newsletter for Wachovia Wealth Management to bid on for us, but never mentioned it to me since he disliked writing newsletters.

 

We both went down to North Carolina to pitch work to Wachovia and after the pitch one person in the room said to us, “How can you say you’re responsive and deliver my work in a timely fashion, when you can’t even give me a price quote on my newsletter in three months.”

 

I was completely floored. I didn’t know about the newsletter but couldn’t say that to the client. I just got back in my car and drove seven hours back home.

 

The so-called partnership had turned out to be not much of a partnership and I lost a lucrative potential client.  After a brief conversation, I learned that after just a few short weeks Dave had decided he didn’t like not having a steady paycheck and never intended to work with Wachovia.  The partnership was dissolved on the spot and I kept the name DR2 for my solo business.

 

The logo I designed for DR2 back in 1998 to symbolize a PMS chip and a postage stamp becomes something new for 2021, It still keeps the symbolism of those two but adds the symbolism of a pixel as well.

 

The original logo was black—grounded and solid. The characters DR were cut out because I like to let my audience in on what's behind the curtain.


This new logo keeps those elements but is sky blue for optimism and creativity.

Since 1998 DR2 have worked with these amazing clients and more:


 
  • AARP
  • AARP Foundation
  • Adventure Aquarium
  • Advocate Charitable Foundation
  • African Wildlife Foundation
  • All Children’s Hospital
  • Alley Cat Allies
  • ALS Association
  • American Farmland Trust
  • American Friends Service Committee
  • American Foundation for the Blind
  • American Heart Association
  • Americares
  • Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
  • Born Free USA
  • Boston Foundation for Sight
  • Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Bridgeport Hospital Foundation
  • Bronx Zoo
  • Capital Area Foodbank
  • Carnegie Hall
  • The Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh
  • Center for Victims of Torture
  • Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Children’s Inn at NIH
  • Children’s National Hospital
  • Cincinnati Zoo
  • Clean Water Action
  • Conservancy of Southwest Florida
  • Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  • Dallas Zoo
  • Defenders of Wildlife
  • Environmental Defense Fund
  • Experience Music Project
  • FINCA
  • Foodbank of Central and Eastern North Carolina
  • Friends of the Earth
  • Foxchase Cancer Center
  • George Mason University
  • Goodwill Industries International, Inc.
  • Greenpeace
  • Green-Wood Cemetery
  • Hanna Boys Center
  • HealthWell Foundation
  • High Museum of Art
  • Human Rights Watch
  • Humane Society of the United States
  • International Campaign for Tibet
  • International Rescue Committee
  • Isaac Walton League
  • John Ball Zoo
  • League of Women Voters
  • LGBTQ Task Force
  • Lincoln Park Zoo
  • Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
  • McNay Art Museum
  • Miami Cancer Institute
  • National Audubon Society
  • National Trust for Historic Preservation
  • National Wildlife Federation
  • The Nature Conservancy
  • Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
  • New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
  • Oakland Zoo
  • Optometry Cares AOA
  • OUTSERVE/Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
  • Partnership with Native Americans
  • Philadelphia Zoo
  • Phelps Regional Medical Center
  • Physicians for Human Rights
  • Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
  • The Planetary Society
  • Planned Parenthood of Southern New England
  • Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains
  • Potomac Conservancy
  • Potawatomi Zoo
  • Public Citizen
  • Rainforest Alliance
  • Rehabilitation Opportunities, Inc.
  • Rush-Copley Medical Foundation
  • St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital/ALSAC
  • Save The Chimps
  • Seneca Park Zoo
  • Sonoma Humane Society
  • Special Olympics of Southern Maryland
  • Student Conservation Association
  • Students First
  • Temple University
  • Toledo Zoo Pals
  • Trust for Public Land
  • University of Maryland
  • University of Virginia
  • USA for UNHCR
  • Vermont Foodbank
  • Victorian Society of New York
  • Washington National Cathedral
  • WETA
  • White Coat Waste Project
  • Whitman-Walker Health
  • The Wilderness Society
  • Wilderness Conservation Society
  • World Wildlife Fund
  • Year Up


 

 

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Fantastic backstory Steve and impressive client list. I've enjoyed seeing your work in a variety of formats all tailored to your customers needs. Great fresh update on the DR2 logo!