March 7 — Amid the Covid19 chaos, we were able to fly down to Venice, Florida for a great four-day photoshoot. Our brand photographer, Jeremy Frechette and his assistant Austin operated cameras, video and drones with amazing easy. A dozen Sea Tow Captains joined us for another amazing project.
Winner of Judge’s Choice at the AIGA Nebraska Show
Thank you to the Nebraska AIGA, Phim Her (Marketing Solutions Manager for the Washington Post), Terry Mark (AIGA National), Douglas Daves (The Davis Group) for selecting my Nebraska Appleseed poster, “A Threat to Justice” for the Judge’s Choice award at the AIGA Nebraska SHOW awards. Thank you all for recognizing and supporting communication around the topic of racial injustice. #aiga #awards
It is widely believed that many of our anti-drug laws have racially disfavored African Americans and low-income communities. While recent bipartisan legislation begins to reform some of the sentencing laws that have wrongly and disproportionately harmed African-Americans – “A Threat to Justice” is a call to action, a reminder, and a rally for America to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. words, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
RELEASE — Nebraska Appleseed Unveils 2019 Art + Justice Posters
The 2019 Art + Justice Posters were unveiled on October 10,2019 at the Nebraska Livestock Exchange Building Ballroom at the 2019 Good Apple Awards.
Every year, a new crop of Nebraska artists design limited edition poster prints for Nebraska Appleseed. With only 35 prints made of each, each poster is truly a one of a kind. Posters are printed at Lincoln’s own Screen Ink, on American-made paper from family-owned French Paper Co. All proceeds from your poster purchase go to Nebraska Appleseed, a non-profit that works to support strong, vibrant, inclusive and engaged Nebraska communities.
2019 Theme: Sowing the Seeds of Justice
Curated by Colleen Syron designers included A Threat to Justice by Colleen Syron, Big Change by Oxide Design Co., Just by Quentin Lueninghoener, New Politics by Ella Durham, Now It Is Not The Time by Sam Rapien, Wheels of Justice by Cathy Solarana, Humans by Justin Kemerling, Keep Your Huddled Masses by Geoff Silverstein.
2019 Good Apple Award Recipients
Jim Wolf Equal Justice Award: Marty Ramirez
Marty Ramirez is a third-generation Nebraskan from Scottsbluff. During the Vietnam War, he served and rose to the rank of sergeant when he was wounded in 1969 while helping guard a bridge near Saigon. He was awarded a Purple Heart for his service. After returning to Nebraska, Marty earned his master’s degree and a doctorate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). He first began to work at UNL in 1973 as a mental health counselor at the Department of Minority Affairs. After receiving his Ph.D., he worked with UNL’s Counseling Center and later worked for the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services as a Counseling Psychologist. In this role, he was able to provide a support system and promote changes at the university to better accommodate students of color.
Now Marty continues to serve as an advocate and supporter of the Latino/Hispanic community and serve as a voice for the elderly, veterans, students and all underrepresented communities in Nebraska.
Milo Mumgaard Emerging Leader Award: Misty Frazier
Throughout her career, Misty Frazier has made an indelible mark in her journey to promote and protect her Native American culture, finding her past, present, and future linked in special, sacred ways, and through it all, helping countless Native children along the way.
Roots of Justice Award: Omaha Together One Community (OTOC)
OTOC exists to recreate community in our fragmented society. People are often disconnected and conversations about important issues are difficult. OTOC seeks to reweave the frayed social fabric and connect people across the lines that tend to divide them: race and ethnicity, economics, religion, geography and language.
Omaha Together One Community (OTOC) teaches people to become effective leaders, explore their legitimate interests, do solid research, engage in sometimes tough, but always respectful public discourse, hold elected officials accountable and create positive change through collective action. Through the practice of these skills, people build relationships of trust and, by acting collaboratively, become part of solving their own problems rather than expecting someone else to take care of them.
Seeds of Justice Award: Legal Aid of Nebraska
In the early morning hours of Presidents Day 2018, a three alarm fire destroyed Legal Aid of Nebraska’s office in Lincoln. In an instant, offices, personal belongings, and years of organizational history had turned to ash, and for their team of attorneys and staff, an otherwise typical morning had turned into a disaster. But what the fire could not destroy was Legal Aid’s commitment to justice: the next day, without an office, Legal Aid attorneys were back in court, working for the clients they serve. In the midst of tragedy, Legal Aid’s mission of providing high-quality legal services to low-income Nebraskans went undeterred.
Over the last year, it’s been an odyssey of hope, perseverance, and an unyielding commitment to the mission of advancing justice for all. These very themes are nothing new for Legal Aid, but rather, they have been at the center of the organization for over five decades.
Working to Solve Rural Addiction
Congratulations to the REACH lab.
Sometimes a real connection means partnering with clients to create a big impact. Syron Design is please to be working with the University of Nebraska – Lincoln’s, Rural Drug Addiction Research Center (RDAR). Thanks to a $11.85 million grant from the National Institues of Health – National Institute of General Medical Science’s Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence program. The RDAR center brings together researchers who focus on brain chemistry, social patterns of drug use, epigenetic understandings of biology and experience, and others. Working together, our goal is to understand the full range of the effects of substance use from the synapse through society. Our hope is that this research will help rural communities in our region understand regional substance use experiences and inform outreach, prevention, and treatment efforts.
RELEASE — Syron Design wins AIGA Silver Medal
Syron Design was awarded a Silver Medal from the American Institute for the Graphic Arts (AIGA) on October 13, 2018, in Omaha, Nebraska. The poster was selected from entries across the state.
Colleen Syron, curator of the 2018 Art + Justice Poster Show, and University of Nebraska – Lincoln Professor, was awarded the medal at the AIGA Show.
Her Poster entitled “Rural Addiction” focused on the impact opioid addiction is having on rural populations across the Midwest. The poster features an ear of corn made of prescription drugs. Below the corn reads, “Rural Addiction: A Backyard Reality”
The poster, created for Nebraska Appleseed, a nonprofit organization that fights for justice and opportunity for all Nebraskans by taking a systemic approach to complex issues – child welfare, immigration policy, affordable health care, and poverty – and working wherever it will do the most good, whether that’s at the courthouse, in the statehouse or on the streets of our communities.
RELEASE — Nebraska Appleseed Unveils 2018 Art + Justice Posters
The 2018 Art + Justice Posters were unveiled on October 11,2018 at the Nebraska Livestock Exchange Building Ballroom at the 2018 Good Apple Awards.
Every year, a new crop of Nebraska artists design limited edition poster prints for Nebraska Appleseed. With only 35 prints made of each, each poster is truly a one of a kind. Posters are printed at Lincoln’s own Screen Ink, on American-made paper from family-owned French Paper Co. All proceeds from your poster purchase go to Nebraska Appleseed, a non-profit that works to support strong, vibrant, inclusive and engaged Nebraska communities.
2018 Theme: For All of Us
In 2018, we approach our first real checkpoint, our first measure of the pendulum’s swing. We can’t know, for sure, what will happen next. But no matter what the outcome, we see the urgency, the necessity of this fight on an intimate level. Because this fight is for us. And that means all of us. Justice is not done if only some are considered and included. Our communities, our neighbors, our friends, our families: we suffer when we are divided.
Curated by Colleen Syron designers included Colleen Syron from Syron Design, Ben Welstead from Screen Ink, Justin Kemerling from JKDC, Breanne Marsh from Bozell Advertising, Kevin Fitzgerald from Carson & Co, Code Fenske from Clark Creative Group, Emily Tran from Syron Design, Ashley McFeely from the University of Nebraska – Omaha, Joshua Lowe from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and Jason Davis from Screen Ink.
2018 Good Apple Award Recipients
Seeds of Justice Award: Heaney Family Service and Justice Law Program
Created in 2017, the Heaney Family Service & Justice Law Program aims to strengthen the culture of pro bono law in Nebraska and is a commitment to our state’s law colleges’ responsibility to teach and grow the next generation of attorneys who will dedicate their careers to expanding justice for all Nebraskans. The program, which was created with a generous gift from the Heaney Family Fund, was developed “to further integrate the Jesuit mission of social justice into Creighton Law School’s curriculum,” said Muirne Heaney. It will train aspiring attorneys in aspects of poverty law and fund externships for students to work with nonprofit legal organizations such as Legal Aid of Nebraska, ACLU of Nebraska, Immigrant Legal Center, and Nebraska Appleseed, organizations which fight the causes of poverty through the legal system.
Milo Mumgaard Emerging Leader Award: Keren Bell-Dancy, Executive Director of the YWCA Lincoln.
For more than 30 years, Karen has devoted her career to education – from elementary to higher education – and models herself, and her work, by her motto: “Lest we forget.” In 2016, Karen transitioned from the Lincoln YWCA’s Financial Development Committee to become the Lincoln YWCA’s first African American Executive Director. Since then she has grown the organization’s mission, purpose, and efficacy. Her passion for eliminating racism and empowering women and girls is mirrored in every level of the team at YWCA, and her leadership has inspired a true commitment to revamping and improving the collective approach to race equity work in the community.
Roots of Justice Award: Edison Red Nest III
Edison Red Nest III, founder of Native Futures and Native Dreams, uses his organizing skills to bring people together, identify community needs, engage people in advocacy, and develop innovative solutions to improve the quality of life of Native Americans in the panhandle region.
Jim Wolf Equal Justice Award: Dianna Schimek
During her 20 years as a state senator in the Nebraska Legislature, DiAnna Schimek was a visionary leader responsible for passing many bills protecting justice and opportunity for all Nebraskans. She was a champion for Nebraska women and families, with a focus on health care, accessible elections, consumer protections, and Native American rights. Some of the amazing things about DiAnna are that she is never afraid to be the first one to champion an idea, she always looks for, and generally finds, common ground among people from all different backgrounds and perspectives, and has a dogged persistence to advance progress on the pressing problems that Nebraska communities face.
Summer Graphic Design Internship Available
The ideal candidate will have lots of energy, enthusiasm and a true passion for design. You’ll have a strong sense of design, an eye for typography and the ability to work on multiple projects.
Excellent opportunity to work on launching a National advertising campaign across all media (print advertising, outdoor advertising, digital advertising). Student must be self-motivated, well organized and able to work independently.
Proficiency within the Adobe Creative Suite is a must, specifically InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. Experience in HTML, CSS, Google Web Design is a plus. Experience with social media platforms (Google Adwords, DoubleClick Ad Manager, Facebook Advertising) a plus.
This paid summer internship will include:
- Print design work
- Web design/editing work
- Social media design
- Outdoor advertising
Requirements
- Must be able to commit to a consistent working schedule
- Must work 16-36 hours a week (negotiable at interview)
- Must be a student enrolled in a current college program
Hours:
Monday – Thursday: 9am-5pm; 2-4 days a week depending on availability (ideally 4 days a week)
If you’re right for the job, please email a resume and submit a link or a pdf of your work when applying.
Email: syron@syrondesign.com
Salary: $10-14 depending on experience
Syron Design Wins 4th Consecutive Neptune Award
Syron Design Wins Neptune Award for Design & Marketing Excellence for the Fourth Year in a Row.
New York, N.Y. – February 29, 2015 – Syron Design, a corporate branding & interactive agency, is proud to announce that it has been honored with a 2016 Neptune Award for marketing excellence by Marine Marketers of America (MMA). The Neptune Awards were presented by the National Marine Manufacturer’s Association (NMMA) on February 11th at the Miami International Boat Show.
Syron Design won the following 2015 Neptune Awards:
Best Event Marketing or Sales Promotion: for the “Designated Skipper Program”, designed by Syron Design and Sea Tow Services International Inc., for the nonprofit Sea Tow Foundation.
The foundation’s Designated Skipper Program seeks to improve boating safety by encouraging boaters to help prevent BUI (Boating Under the Influence). By asking boaters to “Take the Pledge” to Designate A Sober Skipper, the Sea Tow Foundation has launched a cross-platform marketing campaign, including social media, print advertisements, video, and promotional products to aid in the distribution of helpful reminders about the dangers of boating under the influence.
Syron Design is proud to be a part of this important program designed to help keep everyone on the water safe. BUI claims an average of 111 lives each year, a statistic we all hope to reduce through the Designated Skipper program.
Thank you to the Marine Marketers of America for recognizing this program and Sea Tow Services International and the Sea Tow Foundation for their continuing dedication to boating safety.
Neptune Award Winner ~ Third Year in a Row
Syron Design Wins Neptune Award for Design & Marketing Excellence for the Third Year in a Row
New York, N.Y. – March 3, 2015 – Syron Design, a corporate branding & interactive agency, is proud to announce that it has been honored with a 2015 Neptune Award for marketing excellence by Marine Marketers of America (MMA). The Neptune Awards were presented during the National Marine Manufacturer’s Association (NMMA) State of the Boating Industry Breakfast on February 12th during the Miami International Boat Show.
“There were 122 entries in 14 categories, our largest field ever,” said Wanda Kenton Smith, president of MMA. “There were great diversity entries came from companies large and small, sail and power, from insurance to fishing tournaments and everything in between. The standard of work overall was very high, and in the seven years of the Neptune Awards, this was the toughest competition yet.”
Syron Design won the following 2015 Neptune Awards:
Best Regional/Local Marketing: the Sea Tow Foundation for “Life Jacket Loaner Program”, designed by Syron Design for Sea Tow Services International Inc.
Syron Design is honored that the Marine Marketers of America has recognized and supported this innovative program designed to put a life jacket on every child in need. Sea Tow Services International continues to be an innovative industry leader in boating safety. “Congratulations to Kristen Frohnhoefer, Sea Tow Chief Administration Officer and Vanessa Krauss, Sea Tow Marketing Director for their dedication, passion and insight,” said Colleen Syron, Owner & Creative Director for Syron Design.