We all know that the democratic process isn’t always fast or pretty, but none of us would choose the expediency of authoritarian rule.

The process for developing public art is equally time consuming and sometimes messy, but neither would we favor the efficiency of a single art buyer.

As more and more communities work to reap the cultural and economic benefits of public art, we thought you might like to peak behind the canvas a bit to get an idea of how you get something of the people without looking like it was created by the people.

Grab a caffeinated drink and journey on with us.

The Long and Winding Road

Five years ago, Sonia, then president of the City of Wichita Design Council, met at City Hall’s Idea Center with the council and a team of Wichita visionaries and leaders. Their task: determining the theme and design guidelines for a new terminal at Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport. As you might imagine, much discussion ensued.

We considered many good ideas, but the one that won the day was to fully claim the title the world has so long known us by: Air Capital.

The group said it wanted to both celebrate and educate people about our aviation heritage so that everyone passing through the terminal came away amazed by our past accomplishments and impressed by our current industry leadership. The group expressed interest in modern materials that evoke a future-forward, almost Buck Rogers feeling. And we’re getting there.

The project is now in the construction-documents phase, which should be wrapped up by mid 2009. Scheduled completion for a new, aviation-themed terminal that proclaims our Air Capital heritage: 2011.

Greteman Group in concert with architectural firms GLA and HNTB competed with an array of nationally prominent firms to design the city’s new airport terminal, coordinate the development of a history exhibit, and oversee the integration of public art.

Start With Discovery

Two years ago we began spearheading the public art. Our first task was to meet with the airport staff, design team and a City of Wichita public art representative. Determining their vision of public art. Learning what they wanted to see in the new terminal. Showing best-practice examples from other communities. We conducted a discovery workshop that included a visual-mapping exercise to not only unearth design expectations and preferences, but to help imagine possibilities.

Due to the large nature of the project, City of Wichita Cultural Director John D’Angelo requested we add an experienced public art consultant to help identify potential artists and public art opportunities in the new terminal. Greteman Group, advised by D’Angelo, researched various public art consultants, reviewed resumes and called references. This process led us to Gretchen Freeman in Phoenix, Arizona.

Learn From Those Who’ve Walked the Road Before

Freeman’s background in public arts includes founding the Phoenix Arts Commission’s Public Art Program in 1987 (and acting as director until 1993). She developed public art programs for a variety of cities including El Paso, Texas; Scottsdale, Arizona; and San Jose, California. She also worked with the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on a public art project that included sculpture, paintings and photographic work. Freeman came to Wichita for an immersion visit – exploring our museums, checking out our public art collection, talking to citizens. We brought her to the GG Launch Pad, too, a room we’ve dedicated to the aviation-history displays we’re creating. (More about those in a later post.)

Before Freeman started researching portfolios, the team decided that all the candidates must have experience in large-scale projects, and have a design vocabulary that evokes a feeling of flight and aviation. Everyone was on board, pulling the same direction, looking for something that would be integrated with the architecture and reinforce the Air Capital theme.

Applying Qualitative Measures to a Subjective Search

Freeman recommended the addition of a public art selection panel to assist with recommending and selecting artists. The panel included Patricia McDonnell, director of the Ulrich Museum; Howard Ellington, an architect and director of the Wichita Center for the Arts; and local artist Dan Gegen. And since every community is different when it comes to tastes in art, the panel also briefed Freeman on Wichita’s art scene and local artists so she could include local talent in our finalists.

Using this information, Freeman researched numerous artists (local, regional, national and international) narrowed the selection and presented close to 30 artist portfolios to the design team and artist selection panel. The group then narrowed the list down to five artists and ranked them:

1. Tara Donovan
2. Anne Lindberg
3. Sarah Morris
4. Pae White
5. Ralph Helmick and Stuart Schechter

Keeping our Heads in the Clouds

Freeman presented this short list to the City of Wichita Design Council. Dave Wells made the motion to approve the direction and process to secure Donovan. Stan Sheldon seconded and the motion was unanimously approved. Freeman notified Donovan of the decision and confirmed her interest in the project.

The selection team embraced Donovan’s flight-evoking art and the sublime feeling it gives you. Think of how you felt as a child, laying on the ground, billowy clouds overhead. Or of the times you’ve flown and looked out the cabin window to find yourself breaking through a dense white-cotton ceiling, rising up through the opaque brilliance until you’re free, looking down on the creamy-white mounds. Donovan’s monumentally scaled, interior-lit forms similarly seem to transport you to a dreamlike, always changing world.

Donovan describes herself as “fascinated with creating chaos out of something and then restructuring it and giving it new order.” This is evident in her ability to transform quantities of commonplace manufactured materials into sculptural installations that suggest the wonders of nature. The director of interiors at HNTB Architecture is so entranced by Donovan’s work, he uses an image of one of her creations as his computer screensaver.

During the contracting process, Donovan’s success and notoriety increased even more – a situation that simultaneously thrilled and terrified us. Would she still be interested in our small project?

Our Artist Takes Wing

In September, Donovan received a $500,000 MacArthur Foundation Genius Award, which she can use to continue developing her art. Her first major museum show, a traveling retrospective, opened on October 10 at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. In conjunction with her solo show, Donovan recently published a book of her work over the past 10 years.

Despite all this national attention, Donovan remains committed to Wichita. She made her first visit here in October to meet the design team and airport staff. She reviewed the terminal plans and started her process of determining an appropriate site to integrate her art into the fabric of the facility. She also met with members from the Wichita City Council and Design Council, and listened to their thoughts and ideas about art integration in the new terminal. We scheduled tours of Spirit AeroSystems and the Kansas Aviation Museum to inspire and educate her on our community’s aviation heritage. Now, it’s back to the drawing board for Donovan as she begins conceptualizing a truly custom, integrated piece for our new terminal.

Moving Forward

We’ll keep you apprised. Meanwhile, learn more about Donovan in a recent full-page article in the New York Times titled “The Genius of Little Things” and be sure to check out her work at Ace Gallery.

He had a single, voter-resonating message – change – and stuck with it. And he bolstered traditional tactics by using new media in ways never before seen in an election. Working with chief strategist David Axelrod and campaign manager David Plouffe, Obama crafted a strategy that made him Advertising Age’s “Marketer of the Year.”

Businesses Can Learn Much from Obama’s Campaign

Here are just a few of the lessons:

1. Consistency. Obama’s branded “change” campaign set him apart from the pack. As branding guru Al Ries points out, do you even remember Hillary Clinton’s creative? Here she was, the beneficiary of Bill Clinton’s eight years in office, with the most experienced campaign team, yet her message kept morphing into something different. (If you can’t remember, you’re not alone. There’s a number to keep track of. First, came “Experience,” then “Countdown to change,” then “Solutions for America.”) McCain threw out numerous branded images and hoped one stuck. Maverick. Straight talker. American hero.The public and media’s infatuation with Sarah Palin drowned out McCain and, at times, made it feel like he was second on the ticket. Obama, meanwhile, stayed with his message: Change.
2. Resonance. Obama had the luxury of distance from George W. Bush’s policies. McCain did not. And if McCain tried to create that same distance, Obama would remind us how often McCain voted Bush’s position. You heard it often enough to recite it, too: 90 percent.
3. Tactics. Obama successfully employed social media to speak directly to his supporters and, equally important, to get their feedback. He listened. And learned. Obama created a groundswell of support at the micro level and communicated with his base via what insiders call MyBO, or “MyBarackObama.com.” He used email, text messages and Twitter. If you attended an event, he sent an email saying thanks. If a candidate attacked him, he refuted the attack with a video, delivered directly to your inbox. These tactics helped him earn votes. But they also helped him harvest an unprecedented $650 million from more than three million supporters. That war chest allowed him to purchase the ads he needed to win: $160 million on broadcast media, almost $14 million on print, $12 million on digital media. Note that while his social media campaign was phenomenally innovative and effective, he still spent the bulk of his outreach dollars on traditional media.

Applying the Principles
Whether you voted red or blue, remember that branding principles, properly executed, can help you succeed. Know your audience. Speak to their dreams. Create a vision of what you will do. Choose the right message and stay with it. Work tirelessly and well using both traditional and new media tactics. Reach out and energize new customers. Give them the tools to convert others to your product or service.

And once you’ve made the sale, remember to keep building and deepening the relationship. What’s happening now that Obama won the election? The millions who used MyBarackObama to organize 35,000+ groups and host more that 200,000 events are now being encouraged to continue the community, to stay connected, to collaborate, to add members and to move forward. Together.

Winning Is Only the Beginning
Check out the new transition social media site, appropriately named Change.gov. It lets you upload your ideas for the country, apply for a job, check out the developing face of the new administration and more. Want to see images of the election? You can view them on Flickr.

A brand is what people think of you. And that perception constantly shifts. So you must keep building your brand. Every day. It will be interesting to watch Obama these coming weeks and months.

Talk To Us
What social media strategy do you think was most successful in this past campaign?

Something happens to certain people when they go online. All decency and kindness leaves them, and they transform into angry trolls, stomping all those who dare get in their way. Having a troll loose on a blog, forum or even the newspaper comment section can derail meaningful exchange and chase off more reasonable commentators.

But you don’t have to let the trolls ruin your day and deny you the numerous benefits a blog affords. A few simple steps will help keep the trolls under the bridge where they belong.

Recognize that negativity is different from trolling.
There are going to be some people who just don’t like your brand, a certain position you take on a topic or the way your hair looks in a particular picture. Just because they disagree doesn’t mean that they’re the enemy. In fact, their voice can be the spark you need to generate valuable conversation.

The key to differentiating negativity from trolling is to remember that a troll is simply there to pick a fight. Their comments will be mean, irrelevant and probably anonymous. There’s no reason to publish such comments.

Create a comment policy.
It’s OK to not post every comment that is submitted. While some might claim that moderating a blog stifles authentic dialog, allowing offensive or off-topic comments will have far more damaging effects. But it’s important to have a set of guidelines in place for what will be blocked. Here’s the summarized comment policy we’ve set up for our blog:

Comments may not post immediately. We review them first in an effort to remove foul language, commercial messages, irrelevancies and unfair attacks. Thank you for your patience.

Reach out.
It’s possible that the trolls are individuals who have a valid frustration with your company, and just don’t know how to communicate it. It might be worth your time to send a quick email to the individual explaining why you blocked the comment and asking if there’s anything you can do to remedy the problem. Sometimes a personal communication is all it takes to defuse a thorny situation.

Dealing with trolls can be frustrating, but remember the Three Billy Goats Gruff. They knocked the troll into the river, making the bridge safe for all who followed. Use your wits and you, too, can make your blog a place where people feel free to speak freely without fear of attack.

What advice do you have for beating back the trolls while encouraging lively discussion?

Photo by Ken Davis.

It seems like Pepsi is changing its logo all the time. For many companies, this would be considered a flawed strategy. We think it’s spot on for Pepsi.

Pepsi has always branded itself as the edgy, progressive, youthful opposite of Coca-Cola, the classic, traditional, unchanging cola.

Since a brand is much more than a logo or packaging – it’s the gut feeling people have about a company – it makes sense for Pepsi to constantly evolve.

Agree? Disagree?

We may have looked a little odd doing stretches at our desks, but that made the non-stretchers among us laugh, which added to their stress relief as well.

The YMCA’s traveling corporate cup will grace our offices once again throughout the month of November.

Do you have any tips for staying happy and healthy this winter? We want to hear them!

If Lacy’s name isn’t familiar to you, his work is. He’s shot scenes for everything from such Hollywood blockbusters as Top Gun and The Right Stuff to airline commercials. That coupled with his other flying experience – air race, alrline, experimental, military, private – has racked up 50,000 flight hours, earning him more time flying a jet than any person worldwide. Oh, and did we mention that he was born and raised in Wichita?

The first Learjet 35, now on permanent display at Bombardier Wichita, made a beautiful backdrop for a ceremony that included words by Mayor Carl Brewer, Bombardier Learjet VP and GM David Coleal and VP John Dieker. Employees who worked on the original Learjet 35 program were recognized onstage.

Eleven Bombardier aircraft made for a stop-you-in-your-tracks static display, while a mockup of the new, all-composite Learjet 85 midsize aircraft had everyone talking. The interior, designed by Wichita’s own Bill Goings and Laurie Cox, includes a sleek black and white cabin with a stunning raw silk headliner. This will be one gorgeous, high-performance jet.

A small evening reception for customers, state officials (including aviation-booster Gov. Kathleen Sibelius) and partners looked ahead to new opportunities while reflecting on all that’s happened since 1963 and that first history-making flight. When the Learjet 23 took to the skies over Wichita, it created a new category of flight. Business aviation. And a new breed of traveler. The jetset.

Sonia had great fun reconnecting with longtime friend Don Grommesh, who helped Bill Lear develop the original Learjet.

LawKingdon – Inspire. Create. Achieve.

We’ve worked with this outstanding architectural firm for years, assisting with environmental graphics on everything from the Provo (Utah) Towne Center to the Keeper of the Plains Plaza at the rivers’ confluence in downtown Wichita. When LawKingdon decided it was time to develop a brand that more truly conveys their architectural philosophy – they turned to us. We’re glad they did.

LawKingdon gutted its offices and completely re-imagined them, creating an innovative, must-experience environment. What walls remain are covered in vibrant yellow, red, gray and black graphics showcasing the firm’s work and approach.

Dennis Smith has grown this employee-owned and managed firm from 27 team members in 1994, when he was named president, to approximately 100 today (six work at the Dallas branch office).

One of his first initiatives was to diversify the company, moving it into health care, hospitality, new retail markets and special projects.

Dennis says our 3D invitation has been a huge hit with customers, who’ve been displaying it on their desks and telling LawKingdon how much they love them (the cards and the firm).

To learn more about LawKingdon, visit their new website. And be sure to check out some more photos from their newly designed space.

A Conversation With Paul Bowen

One look at Paul’s body of work tells you this man is a master. But  what’s not so immediately apparent is an equally important component of Paul’s incredible success. Early in his career, he branded himself as as aviation expert, and even more specifically, an artist who knew how to capture an aircraft in flight. He says, as a freelance photographer, “I’m unemployed until the phone rings.” Constant innovation, a to-die-for Rolodex and a willingness to strap himself into the tailgunner position of a B-25 (practically hanging out of the plane at 10,000 feet) has kept Paul in demand for 30+ years.

Paul blazed new trails, showing us mortals images previously the provenance of angels. His first in a long list of now-famous, otherworldly vortices photographs was of a graceful Learjet rising out of a cloud bank over California. Others have emulated the technique, but Paul will forever be linked with these groundbreaking images. “We’ve milked it for all it’s worth,” Paul laughs.

Wichita Eagle aviation reporter Molly McMillin asked Paul questions we secretly wanted to. Most scared moment? Once when, after half an hour of shooting out of the open back of his B-25, he looked down and saw the strap buckling him in had come undone. He “changed his pants” and went back to shooting, he said.

Today, Paul has published four books and his work has graced the covers of 950 magazines. He has been inducted into the prestigious Canon Explorers of Light program. You can see his work for yourself at his website.

GG brand director Ashley Bowen Cook shares much with her famous pop. Including the fact that they each got airsick the first time they flew. To this day, both are afraid of heights.

If you’re stretching a bit more this holiday season and maybe looking for a new outlet for making a difference, we hope you’ll consider some of these worthy causes supported by our clients.

Give Kids the World (GKTW)
Every year Signature Flight Support helps make magical memories for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. The GKTW 70-acre Orlando-based resort – design-built for children with special needs – has brightened the lives of more than 88,000 families from around the world.

ORBIS
FlightSafety International founder Al Ueltschi has long championed this wonderful organization and serves as chairman of the ORBIS International Board of Directors. As many as 28 million people worldwide have blindness that could have been prevented or treated (out of a total blind population of 37 million). ORBIS takes treatment to where it’s most needed – developing countries, where 90 percent of these cases reside.

Or that you’ll consider spreading the joy to some nonprofit clients we’ve had the privilege of working with.

Kansas Children’s Service League
KCSL has been helping Kansas children and their families since 1893 – working to keep children safe, families strong and communities engaged. Its Kids Now! program helps children in foster care by providing funds for everything from school supplies and graduation gowns to athletic shoes and music lessons.

Envision
This incredible organization provides choices and resources for people who are blind or low vision. And has for 77 years. It uniquely combines employment opportunities with rehabilitation services and public outreach. Your gift can provide training that enables a senior to stay in her home, adaptive aides for a student with impaired vision, education that helps prevents blindness and much more.

Do you have an amazing nonprofit you’d like to tell us about? We’re all ears (and jaunty caps).

Whether we’re exploring the tradeshow booths or loading up on collateral and light-up-bouncy-ball swag, we’re informed and inspired by what we see every single year – and 2008 was no different. That’s not to say everything at the show was brilliant, but even less-than-great creative serve as nice reminders for what we should stay far, far away from. And, let’s be honest, help reaffirm the directions we’re moving with our clients.

The current economic downturn was certainly on everyone’s mind, but the show still had great energy with more than 30,000 people in attendance. And, despite the concerns about how the credit crunch will affect the booming business aviation industry, strong order backlogs and a robust global market ensure a record number of deliveries for this year and possibly next.

Some of the highlights from this year’s show include:

• FlightSafety International’s booth traffic. A flurry of activity surrounded the FlightSafety booth this year. And they didn’t even have official booth babes. One draw was the new GG-designed seven-panel history wall outlining FlightSafety’s impressive story. (Learning Centers worldwide are currently receiving and installing the display.) The booth also touted supergraphics communicating the FlightSafety Advantage. We witnessed a number of folks reviewing the checklist, no doubt thinking, yes, FightSafety delivers big time.
• The birth of the Wichita Aero Club. This newly formed club will further Wichita’s “Air Capital of the World” status and will provide a much-needed vehicle for addressing issues of concern to Wichita’s aircraft manufacturers: Boeing, Bombardier, Cessna, Hawker Beechraft and Spirit AeroSystems. We were happy to see seasoned industry veteran and dear friend Dave Franson named as the club’s first director. You can bet this is a group we’ll be joining.
• The new all-encompassing BBA booth. This was the first year that parent company BBA Aviation brought its constituent companies under one roof – or, more accurately, into one booth. We welcomed the opportunity to assist with booth graphics that communicate the strength and pedigree of such BBA powerhouses as Signature FlightSupport, Dallas Airmotive and our new client, APPH.
• The Hawker 4000 flight. Sonia and Deanna made it to the show in record GG time, flying in extended-stay hotel pioneer Jack DeBoer’s long-awaited-but-well-worth-it Hawker 4000. Time from take-off to touchdown? 2 hours, 18 minutes. The only thing better was the chance to get caught up with Jack – and to hear his take on the economy.
• The unveiling of the Bombardier Learjet 85 mock-up. This all-composite jet is more than another pretty face. Just as Learjet created the business-jet category and the very term “jetset,” the Learjet 85  is positioned to shake up the midsized jet market. Not only will it be the first all-composite-structure business aircraft to receive FAA FAR Part 25 type certification, its largest-in-class standup cabin and Mach 0.82 high-speed cruise make this beauty a real winner.

Be sure to check out some of our photos from NBAA 2008 – including Sonia fraternizing with her favorite cartoon mouse.

If you attended this year, what were some of your favorite moments? Booths? Swag?

This new app is simple, free and surprisingly powerful. You can stay up-to-date with local Obama-happenings, track the latest campaign news, organize your contacts by key battleground states and, of course, donate to the campaign. With this tool, the campaign has shown it knows how to not just take advantage of great design, but also technology.

Beyond this new application’s slick interface and clever features, it’s perfectly targeted. According to Nielson Mobile, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to take advantage of mobile tools such as text messaging, mobile browsing and picture messaging. Obviously, a major contributor this usage-disparity is demographics. Many younger voters tend to favor the Democratic Party and these Gen Y voters consume digital and mobile media as a part of their day-to-day life.

While the election is still too close to call, Obama has beaten McCain by a landslide in the brand engagement race. Now we just have to wait and see if these informed, mobilized supporters translate into voters on November 4.

Please note that the Greteman Group blog neither denies nor confirms support for Barack Obama, despite the fact we have had two posts dedicated to his campaign. We can confirm that we support his campaign’s branding strategies.