House of Tears Design - Latest News & Press

House of Tears Design Takes Top International Design Award - The 2009 Summit Creative Awards

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:18:00 +0000

House of Tears Design recently won a bronze award in the 2009 Summit Creative Award competition for its creative work for The Ovid Bell Press, a magazine and publication printing company. The awarded piece produced by the studio was a sixteen page promotional brochure for the printer to introduce customers and potential clients to the printer's history, philosophy, advanced technologies, and commitment to the environment.

The Summit Creative Awards recognizes and celebrates the creative accomplishments of small and medium sized advertising agencies and other creative groups with annual billings of $30 million or less. Over the fifteen years, the competition has established itself as the premier arbiter of creative excellence for firms of this size.

This year's panel of international judges included:
- Lisa Charlesbois, Senior Copywriter, Ogilvy One Worldwide – United States
- Louai Alasfahani, Managing Director/Creative Director, Paragon Marketing Communications – Kuwait
- Dan Geva, Senior Art Director, Harrison & Star – United States
- Ethan Jameson, Senior Copywriter, United States
- Ian Schwey, Associate Creative Director, doug agency - Canada
- Tom Roychoudhury, Chief Innovations Officer, MCN | Middle East Communications Network an Interpublic Group Company
- Christopher Jones, Principal & Creative Director, Stellar Debris Creative Studios – Japan
- Liam Wielopolski, Executive Creative Director, Bloom – Ireland
- David Ross, Associate Creative Director, EvoLogue – United States
- Kevin Hersh, Creative Director, MFX, Inc. – United States
- Tony Adamic, Owner/Creative Director, Elevator – Croatia
- Imelda Suriato, Creative Director, Squeaky Wheel Media – United States
- Ravinder Singh, Director, Strategy and Online Marketing, Kulwant Advisory – Kenya

Entries in 22 creative categories are judged against a stringent set of standards. During the blind judging events (entering company names withheld) judges search for innovative and creative concepts, strong executions and the ability to communicate and persuade.

“Winning a Summit Creative Award is a significant accomplishment. The combination of our excellent judges and the tough judging criteria ensures that only deserving entries receive Summit recognized.” Said Jocelyn Luciano, Executive Director for the Summit International Awards. “It was an exciting year to watch and listen to the judges’ debate the details of individual entries. Making the decisions of which ones receive the top spots is hard.”

This year's creative competition included companies from the following twenty-six countries: Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, India, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Martinique - French West Indies, Oman, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States and United Kingdom.

Winners were selected in categories that include print, broadcast, emerging media, online advertising, marketing materials, direct mail, green marketing, political, corporate video, public service, best idea never produced, industry self-promotion, and brand redesign.

The Summit International Awards (SIA) organization was founded in 1994. The organization conducts the Summit Creative Award, the Summit Marketing Effectiveness Award and the Summit Emerging Media Award. The 2009 competition is the 15th year for the creative competition. Additional information about the Summit International Awards organization, its competitions and winning firms can be found on the Summit Awards web site at www.summitawards.com.

House of Tears Design is a progressive design studio specializing in web & interactive solutions for contemporary brands. Design is a visual language, and House of Tears Design strategically establishes complete visual identities for clients that effectively communicates whatever it is that sets the client and their products and services apart. Areas of impact include websites and online presence, as well as all other key visual touchpoints such as logos, print collateral, print advertisements, identity systems, and beyond.

Based in Kansas City, House of Tears Design has been providing award-winning, strategically-driven creative services for over eight years to clients across the USA.

More information about House of Tears Design and to view many samples of the studio's work, visit their web site at www.houseoftearsdesign.com.
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Check Us Out in the Latest Issue of Advanced Photoshop Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:15:00 +0000

Our work and a couple quotes from a recent interview with Advanced Photoshop Magazine (UK) were just published in their May issue (#56). Check it out here.

Peep Our Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Wanna peek behind our door, know what we're thinking, listening to, or drawing creative inspiration from? Follow us on Twitter.com at www.twitter.com/houseoftears - it'll be great, we promise!

Client Spotlight: The Jacob Group (Dallas, TX)

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:25:00 +0000

We have been working with a select few executive search/recruiting firms recently who realize the importance of being well-dressed in their visual identity, as first impressions are everything. We're proud of the results of our most recent efforts, a flashy new website for The Jacob Group, a Dallas-based firm. Check it out at www.jacobgroup.com.

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:04:00 +0000

Two new speaking engagements have been confirmed:

March 6-7 @ University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (AIGA Event) - our design staff will be hosting and leading two different sessions at the 5th Annual 2009 Nowhere Design Conference. Our first session (Friday) will be an all-day workshop, and the second session will be a discussion on our work, our process, every day issues faced within a design studio when doing commercial work, and more!

In June 2009, our firm's Principal, Curt Cuscino, will be leading a workshop on the Adobe Creative Suite and how we weave all these products together in our day-to-day design process and workflow. We'll be discussing how we leverage all pieces of the Adobe Creative Suite to create leading-edge design whether we're doing work for the web, interactive and Flash design, or cooking up our latest print collateral piece. This all-day workship will take place at Cooperative Communicators Association Conference in Kansas City. More details to come!

HIGHLIGHT: Recent Brand Strategy and Design Work with Phoenix International

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:23:00 +0000

In 2008, we were entrusted with the task of developing a new brand strategy for Phoenix International, the largest privately-owned international freight company in the United States, and executing that strategy across a variety of visual assets. One of our favorite pieces from our work together was an e-card that Phoenix International sent out over the holidays to announce their new sustainability program, Phoenix Forward. If you're interested, you can explore the work here.

We introduce you to the independent and fresh online magazine, Branded New

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:16:00 +0000

There has been no shortage of potential distractions in the past few months; including, but not limited to a new James Bond flick, a historic election, and all that wrenching drama on Grey's Anatomy. We've managed to stay focused through the onslaught, however, and even have some new work to show for it. If you'd like to take a peek at one of our more recent launches, you can view it at www.brandednew.com. And yes, we designed that snazzy logo for the Branded New crew too.

Garden Blogging is Our Bag

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:51:00 +0000

This is a historic announcement in the storied history of House of Tears Design. Ready? One of our clients, a feisty and opinionated group of gardeners, was just awarded Best Blog Design at THE big international garden blogging competition. So, on the off chance that you don’t keep up with what is making waves in the world of garden blogging, we thought we’d mention it here.

House of Tears Design Receives Silver 2008 Create Award for Print Work

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:01:00 +0000

While we always like to treat this News updates as a virtual refrigerator with which to hang the pretty drawings we bring home from school, this post is significant because one of our latest got a gold star! We're excited to announce that a recent print piece we designed for The Ovid Bell Press in Fulton, MO has won a 2008 SILVER Create Award in the Design Collateral/Brochure Category. The award is put on by CREATE Magazine and will be featured in their Create Awards 2008 Winners book. If you can't wait for the book, however, we went ahead and featured it in our Portfolio, which you can view here.

Drowning in The Awesome (tm)

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:54:00 +0000

Someone help! We can't stop buying iPhones!

New Website for The Johnny Dare Morning Show Launched

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:39:00 +0000

All of our friends in Kansas City are no doubt very familiar with local legend Johnny Dare and his Morning Show. For those of you who aren't, The Johnny Dare Morning Show is everything that is good about rock 'n' roll radio. So when someone of his status needs his extreme personality captured and displayed online for all the world to see, who would he turn to except House of Tears Design? (The answer is nobody.)

Check out the new site and download a bunch of free Johnny at www.freejohnnydare.com.

New Website for Pet Albums Launched

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:05:00 +0000

We’d like to take a moment to welcome another visual solution into the House of Tears Design family. The proud parent is a Kansas City-based company called Pet Albums that, if you didn’t assume, sells albums...for pictures of pets. If you’re curious, and we hope you are, please visit www.petalbums.com. The best part? We were able to sneak in some photographs of our own furry friends.

House of Tears Design Wins Gold Davey Award

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:31:00 +0000

We were recently awarded a Gold Davey Award for our 2007 promotional piece, a fantastic little print piece that we designed to help introduce potential clients to our firm. If you'd like to take a peek at it, check out the print work contained the Portfolio section of our website at www.houseoftearsdesign.com.

Coffee vs. Tea: The Reckoning + What We've Been Up To

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:28:00 +0000

Many of us have recently switched from drinking buckets of coffee all day long, to politely sipping a variety of herbal teas. Therefore, we come to you today as a much kinder, more sophisticated, and less agitated firm, to give you a taste of what we've been designing these days: Website for Gore Design Completions, Website for Moustache Clothing Co., Website for Hanson and Wright, Direct Mail for Metzler Remodeling, and last but certainly not least, (re)Branding and Website for Heritage Benefit Consultants.

Where Does the Time Go? New Website Launched for Moustache Clothing Co. and more

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 15:12:00 +0000

Where does the time go? Since the last transmission, we have been hard at work for a number of exciting clients. One we cannot say too much about except that they are an architecture firm with some great ideas for their industry. Another is an e-commerce solution for Frankly Basic, a boutique style clothing store with whom you may already be familiar. Last but not least, we are very proud to announce the launch of the Moustache Clothing Co. website. We will let the site speak for itself.

HOTD Receives Nod in CREATE Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 12:54:00 +0000

We are proud to announce that you can find a nod to House of Tears Design in the latest issue of CREATE Magazine (Midwest Edition). This very website at which you look was featured in the new issue's "SURF" column (page 38, to be exact). Thanks CREATE!

The Latest: March 12, 2007

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 04:01:00 +0000

Coffee, paper, color, and more are all flying here at HOTD HQ currently. A new visual identity is in the works for KC-based photography outfit JWC Fotos. Several new website launches are pending. New music packaging looms for one of our favorite indie record label clients. The site for another KC-based photographer, Andrea Nigh, is now completed and live for your viewing pleasure at www.andreanigh.com. What more can we say?

Press Release: Design Firm Purchases Prime Real Estate to Support Rapid Growth

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 04:04:00 +0000

House of Tears Design makes strategic move to River Market area

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – House of Tears Design, a progressive graphic and Web design firm, providing comprehensive solutions to brand development, recently purchased 1,425 square feet of office space near the River Market at 522 Locust Street, Suite 104, Kansas City, Mo.

The relocation, which is more than twice the square footage of the company’s former office in Westport, was necessary to accommodate the company’s rapid growth. House of Tears Design added more than 30 clients to their client base in 2006, which resulted in a 60 percent jump in gross revenue. This growth came after a 100 percent increase in revenue in 2004 and a 65 percent hike in 2005.

Curt Cuscino, principal of House of Tears Design, says he chose the new location to position the company for future expansion. “After two and a half years in the same building, we simply outgrew it and needed a change,” Cuscino said. “We selected the River Market area because we felt it was the right environment to bolster our firm’s presence in Kansas City, as well as support the high-end image we portray in our work. This urban area is exploding, and we want to be a part of the energy and excitement that’s occurring here.”

House of Tears Design provides a comprehensive solution to brand development, including print and Web design for clients. “We pride ourselves on being a strategically driven design firm,” Cuscino said. “That means we not only concern ourselves with what we are designing for our clients, but ask ourselves why are we are designing it. Every project is unique and every project requires a unique perspective.”

Cuscino credits the quality of his staff as the reason the company is growing exponentially. “Every employee has lived or traveled abroad,” he said. “This is why our work depicts a global design influence. Our designers adapt many different design styles, which allow us to excel in our industry, drawing critical and distinguished attention to progressive design in many different realms of the media,” Cuscino said. “We have the ability to create timeless materials for clients who want to distinguish themselves from their competitors, rather than trying to emulate them.”

House of Tears Design works with a diverse mix of clients, ranging from arts and entertainment to fashion industries and luxury items. The firm also works in conjunction with several advertising agencies to develop their media strategies. The progressive firm recently wrapped up the design and development of a promotional website for the feature-length film, “Godhead,” produced by Blurgirl Productions. The website is www.godheadthemovie.com.

Rossana Jeran, a Kansas City-based filmmaker and owner of Blurgirl Productions, said she chose House of Tears Design because they listened to what she had to say and worked with her to ensure that her vision became a reality. “It turned out exactly as I had pictured, and I am thrilled with the result,” said Jeran.

House of Tears Design takes great pride in utilizing leading-edge technology to better convey each client’s message. Cuscino says his passion is studying the collision between art and technology and finding a middle ground to make something that is well-designed and beautiful and can effectively communicate the intended message. Two such sites that illustrate this, www.sleightadvertising.com and www.bluebikegear.com, project depth by utilizing a subtle, three-dimensional graphics approach.

But perhaps the biggest advantage that House of Tears Design provides is consistency and cost-savings. “We not only develop a brand for clients, but we carry that branding throughout everything we produce, so the client’s message is never lost in translation,” explained Cuscino. “At the end of the day, we save our clients time and money by producing everything they need to maintain a consistent image. We can do it all.”

About House of Tears Design

House of Tears Design is a progressive graphic and Web design firm, providing comprehensive solutions to brand development. The company represents a diverse mix of clients that include corporate, arts and entertainment, fashion and luxury items. The design firm’s timeless approach to brand identity incorporates a wide-range of design styles from around the world.

New Promotional Website for "Godhead" Launched

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 04:00:00 +0000

We recently launched the new promotional website for "Godhead," a full-length independent film by Kansas City-based Blurgirl Productions. The film was conceived, directed, and produced by Rossana Jeran. Check it out at www.godheadthemovie.com.

We've Moved!

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 00:42:00 +0000

We are proud to announce that as of August 2006 we have moved to a new space in Kansas City's historic River Market. This move has enabled us to double our space, spend more money eating at all the fabulous near-by restaurants, and enjoy the City Market (which is a stone's throw away) more frequently.

Feel free to drop by at any time to say hello and get the nickel-tour of the new space, and/or take the virtual tour.

New Website for far beyond frail Launched

noreply@blogger.com (House of Tears Design (Kansas City)) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 23:13:00 +0000

On Friday, October 6th, 2006, far beyond frail's new website was launched for Still Life Music. Check it out at farbeyondfrail.com. The band also had a variety of print collateral designed, which can be viewed in our Online Portfolio.