How the Best Perform
When it comes to performance, quality and expertise, Hu-Friedy is the dental professional’s go-to resource for high-precision instruments, instrument management systems and infection prevention products. The dental manufacturing leader engaged 50,000feet to redesign its website and develop a scalable content framework and web platform to support its sales and marketing initiatives worldwide. 50,000feet built the site on Magento Enterprise and Drupal and integrated the system with SAP and Hu-Friedy’s document management system, MasterControl. With the newly launched site, Hu-Friedy can manage site content easily, achieve sales and customer service efficiencies and launch future site enhancements and functionality. The result: more timely and cost-effective communications, improved sales and service support and opportunities to enhance customer relationships. Setting new standards for industry excellence.
From form to finish, curator to collaborator, sense to sensibility, KnollTextiles has created the industry’s most versatile and technically advanced textiles, helping design professionals weave color, texture and pattern across seating, walls and windows. In So Happy. Together., an integrated campaign that revels in KnollTextiles’ unforgettable designs for upholstery, wallcoverings and draperies, readers find new products and patterns while watching the history of modern design unfold. Appearing in the April 2013 issue of Interior Design, the story continues as captured in the iconic photography of Ilan Rubin, playfully bringing together the subtlety and dimension of the fabric of modernism. 
Everyone has connections, but not everyone has Sony Concierge. To herald the launch of Sony’s private shopping program, 50,000feet developed a brand identity to set the standard across all consumer channels and communications. Positioning Sony Concierge as the preeminent shopping experience, our work speaks to a clientele who can enjoy an unrivaled caliber of services, including access to limited-release products, masterful installation, private technology support, exclusive shopping assistance and a world of luxurious benefits—all overseen by a personal account manager. The technology you love, the service you expect, the access you deserve—
The SRAM XX1 1×11 drivetrain is built on a dedicated design philosophy: make it simpler, lighter and more durable. For riders, SRAM XX1 represents the latest breakthrough in a long line of precise, lightweight riding components for the trails. To launch this game-changing new product, SRAM tasked 50,000feet with developing an integrated campaign that includes online, retail and print. Part race-day grit, part intelligence briefing, the campaign mixes race-day footage with detailed CAD renderings, designed to educate and inspire consumers while showing how SRAM technology delivers riders flawless precision and unrelenting performance. No matter where you ride, no matter what you’re up against: 
Maybe it was a concert poster. Or your first iPod. Or even a breakfast cereal mascot. No matter what made you love design in the first place, this is your chance to learn the creative process behind it. 50,000feet is looking for a talented design intern for our 2013 Summer Internship Program. Open to current graphic design students and recent graduates, this paid, 3-month opportunity will have you working alongside senior designers, writers, developers, creative directors and strategists in our Chicago office. The internship will help you build practical industry skills by following (and participating in) the real, day-to-day process of creative agency work, from exploration to client presentations to production. 
Bringing a wholly new experience to Midtown Manhattan, Archer Hotel has a personality all his own. The new-build boutique hotel will rise 21 stories above the Garment District, weaving the neighborhood’s rich history into the very fabric of the property. Archer is the world traveler’s home away from home, with 180 lofts that boast personalities as unique as the guests themselves. A rooftop bar with panoramic views, curated art collection and restaurant concepted by an A-list chef are among the many reasons why you’ll want to know Archer. Reflective of a new American classicism, Archer Hotel is a simple yet bold approach to luxury, stepping forth in early 2014. 
In investing, there are few simple answers — and even fewer in times of volatility. At its best, the search for insight is a conversation, a back-and-forth exchange of data and ideas. T. Rowe Price’s integrated campaign Where the Conversation Begins eschews lofty, aspirational promises for a wiser, more grounded approach to the fund-advisor relationship. In a conversational approach that encourages financial professionals to bring their questions, 50,000feet helped the asset management firm achieve its goals of generating a healthy, inclusive and informative discussion, creating a cross-channel, trans-media platform for print, digital and video. The result was a bold communications strategy that is relatable yet authoritative, inviting yet savvy. Financial advisors are compelled to watch, listen, read, share, friend, follow and start talking. 
After tallying votes from all three offices, 50,000feet is proud to name Lawrence Hall Youth Services as the recipient of our 2012 company gift. More than just a child welfare agency, the 147-year-old Lawrence Hall is a statewide leader in highly effective, evidence-based therapeutic treatment for at-risk youth. Through its four programs—Therapeutic Day School, Foster Care, Residential Treatment and Older Adolescent—Lawrence Hall helps victims of trauma develop the self-worth, knowledge and skills they need to lead independent and productive lives. Making a difference to last a lifetime. Please visit 
Days grow shorter. Lights glow brighter. And imagination runs free. At the most wonderful time of the year, Sony shines bright with the finest gifts of the season—the perfect find, the perfect fit, the perfect gift. In an unprecedented integrated Holiday campaign, Sony invites consumers to find gifts that everyone will love to give–and love to get. 50,000feet partnered with Sony to develop the creative strategy that informed the concept and execution of the Love to Give campaign across print, web, mobile and retail. For Sony, the campaign delivers a unifying platform that brings the consumer retail experience together—across channels and media—and invites consumers to fall in love with Sony, all over again. In the spirit of the season, Sony helps consumers find perfect gifts that will help bring the holidays to life. 
Behind every online retail success story is a platform that enables businesses to attract and retain customers, makes buying easier and helps build brand awareness. Magento’s eCommerce platform does all of that and more, offering powerful and flexible features and tools to customize retail experiences and connect with consumers. As a Magento Silver Solutions Partner, 50,000feet will discuss the versatility of the platform across a range of consumer and B2B categories and applications at the Magento eCommerce Forum in Salt Lake City on November 7th. To join us, please 
Stop in for seasonal brews and holiday fare and view an exhibit featuring Chicago artists working in film, photography, bronze and glass, including work by Charlie Simokaitis, Chris Strong and the artist collective at West Supply. Festivities begin at 6:00 pm at our offices at 1700 W. Irving Park Road (at the corner of Hermitage). Please RSVP with Sandy at 
The story of Henry & Belle begins with the eponymous couple whose love of style and philanthropy laid the foundation for the company that it is today. Belle was the muse for the young designer and the inspiration for his collections. As the company grew, it embraced the couple’s commitment to helping those in need, and their philanthropy became the heart of their business and helped set them apart for three generations. Building on a heritage of quality tailoring, the use of innovative materials and unerring attention to detail, 50,00feet established a digital platform for the company and the launch of its philanthropic program, Right Amount of Give. When the line between inner and outer beauty is erased, that’s the 
Sappi Fine Paper’s Ideas that Matter has become one of the industry’s most respected design competitions, awarding more than $12 million to designers to support their work for nonprofit programs and organizations. An independent panel of leaders from the design community, including 50,000feet Creative Director Tracy West, reviewed this year’s inspiring proposals and selected 13 grant recipients. The programs that Sappi will fund in 2012 demonstrate the design community’s commitment to using design-driven innovation to solve social problems and instill positive social, cultural and environmental change. Since the program’s inception in 1999, Sappi has funded more than 500 nonprofit projects worldwide. 50,000feet congratulates Sappi for continuing its tradition of supporting design excellence and all of this year’s recipients.
50,000feet is pleased to announce that The Society of Typographic Arts has selected our most recent work for KnollTextiles as a winner in this year’s 
It began with a great 2011 launch—and hasn’t slowed down since. Sappi Digital Design Center, which gives printers and merchants the ability to showcase their digital printing capabilities, is stepping out new features that include targeted content customization, optimized PDF generation, updated business metrics and digital printing facts. Targeting both new and existing customers, the campaign has helped increase traffic while reinforcing Sappi’s brand promise: unstoppable benefits with screaming results.
50,000feet is joining the ranks of what innovation consultancy PSFK calls “New Idea Agencies,” whose teams help launch high-growth startups. In 2011, when a small group of seasoned women marketers invited us to partner with them to establish a children’s wellness platform to combat childhood obesity, we couldn’t resist. Our joint collaboration produced Vivi LeDish™, a branded character and online portal for education, games, recipes and parent-child activities that foster healthy eating and exercise habits among children ages 3 to 8. Since its April 2012 launch, traffic has grown, and momentum is building. The site has gained the support of celebrity chefs, such as Barefoot Contessa’s Ina Garten, The Food Network’s Guy Fieri and Karen Le Billon, author of French Kids Eat Everything, and the ad platform is drawing national advertisers and generating revenues. Inspiration. Incubation. Innovation. Opportunities such as Vivi enable us to join and help shape the conversations, currents and dynamic markets where media, technology and creativity meet. Daughter of Invention.
Featured in an August 6th 
On May 22, 2011, a mile-wide, cataclysmic tornado changed Joplin, Missouri forever, leaving 160 dead and 900 injured. Chicago resident Hannah Simpson Jefferies, who was visiting her hometown when the tornado hit, was moved to action. She and her coworkers organized 
Teachers need other teachers to help them become better teachers. And that’s where MyGroupGenius comes in. An initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, MyGroupGenius is an online space that gives educators nationwide a place to meet up, swap assignments, offer feedback and build professional networks. As MyGroupGenius prepares to open its doors to a broader audience, 50,000feet is joining forces with the Gates Foundation to enhance the website’s user experience and build a project road map for the coming years. This is our kind of homework.
From the Roman Colosseum to the rings of the Olympic Games, circles have long symbolized the spirit of competition and served as a badge of honor. As we designed the logomark for this year’s Muscular Dystrophy Association Chicago Muscle Team event, it seemed only natural to evoke this classical trope. Now in its 15th year, this event brings professional athletes together to put their muscle behind a worthy cause: conquering the 43 neuromuscular diseases that affect more than one million Americans. 50,000feet is proud to support the MDA, which has helped generate more research on neuromuscular diseases than any other private sector organization in the world.
Situated between Adobe’s new technology campus and Robert Redford’s Sundance Resort, our sister company, 5dk, is opening her doors to a new and expanded office. Home to our engineering development team, this office was chosen to accommodate our rapidly expanding technical capabilities across web, mobile and e-commerce. Specializing in Magento planning, design and implementation, this team plays a major role in 50,000feet’s approach to developing branded, cross-platform experiences. Whether interaction design or corporate identity, marketing communications and advertising, Fortune 1000 companies and high-growth start-ups turn to us. Go West.
From form to finish, curator to collaborator, sense to sensibility, KnollTextiles has created the industry’s most versatile and technically advanced textiles, helping design professionals weave color, texture and pattern across seating, walls and windows. In So Happy. Together., an integrated campaign that revels in KnollTextiles’ unforgettable designs for upholstery, wallcoverings and draperies, readers find new products and patterns while watching the history of modern design unfold. Appearing in the May issue of Interior Design, the second installment of the series continues the campaign metaphor as captured in the iconic photography of Ilan Rubin, playfully bringing together the subtlety and dimension of the fabric of modernism.
Even at a young age, Tracy West’s curiosity turned to larger questions that are fundamental to the advancement of design. For her, the power of design lies in its ability to address important questions and act as a catalyst for change. As a Creative Director at 50,000feet, that same inquisitive drive has pushed her to roll up her sleeves and seek out what makes brands soar. On the completion of Tracy’s tenure on the Board of the Chicago Chapter of AIGA, we at 50,000feet thank her for her contributions to the Chicago design community. As Programming Co-Chair, Tracy has helped to uphold AIGA’s mission, manifest in the Chapter’s diverse and dynamic programming over the past two years. By introducing and evolving programs, initiatives and partnerships, she has helped bring new ideas and perspectives—all which have helped AIGA remain a vital and relevant voice.
SRAM takes home the gold. 50,000feet congratulates SRAM on receiving this year’s AIGA Chicago Corporate Design Leadership Award. With a dynamic community of 1,600 members—including designers, communications professionals, design educators and students—the AIGA Chicago chapter created this honor to recognize organizations who have shown leadership by promoting excellence in design as a meaningful business policy. Passionate innovators of cycling technology, SRAM joins the ranks of Morningstar, FLOR and other distinguished firms, using design as a means to advance both their businesses and and their brands.
Since 1947, KnollTextiles has created the industry’s most versatile and technically advanced textiles, helping design professionals weave color, texture and pattern across seating, walls and windows. In the debut of So Happy. Together., an integrated campaign that revels in KnollTextiles’ unforgettable designs for upholstery, wallcoverings and draperies, readers find new products and patterns while watching the history of modern design unfold. Appearing in the April issue of Interior Design, the first installment of the series creates a bold and iconic tapestry captured in the photography of Ilan Rubin. From classic to contemporary, the portrait playfully brings together the subtlety and dimension of the fabric of modernism, all dressed in Knoll’s signature red.
Dubbed “the food basket of the world,” California’s San Joaquin Valley is home to nearly 9,000 square miles of vineyards, citrus orchards, dairies and ranches. Like its namesake, Bakersfield evokes the taste of fresh, locally grown ingredients, paired with a romantic, western style. Sand-struck brick. Walk-in wine room. Outdoor fire pits. Tasked with developing a brand identity system for the restaurant, our work also entailed developing supporting communications, including building a website with easy-to-use content management capabilities for weekly menu updates.
Its time has come. Introducing the all-new Grip Shift by SRAM. Reengineered from the inside out, it’s one of the most technically advanced twist shifters ever created. For this global product launch, SRAM tasked 50,000feet with developing a fully integrated campaign that includes video, online, retail and print. Seizing on the fascinating brand story of Jaroslav Kulhavý’s victory at the 2011 World XC Championship using only a Grip Shift prototype, the new campaign mixes race-day footage with detailed CAD renderings, designed to inspire new riders while showing off functional improvements to XC and DH veterans.
Since 1935, Perkins+Will has been guided by a single mission: to develop ideas and create spaces that honor the broader goals of society. The firm’s architects and designers believe that environments should be regenerative and reflect the context, history and culture of the communities of which they are a part. To capture the voice of the world’s largest sustainable design firm, Perkins+Will asked 50,000feet to develop a brand communications system for use throughout its 23 offices—modular enough to accommodate regional differences yet distinct enough to communicate a world-class level of experience.