12×6 Winter ’21 Edition
First and foremost, we hope you and your loved ones are safe and well this holiday season. We’re sprinting towards the finish of a peculiar 2021 and we’re excited to share some behind-the-scenes looks at what we’ve been up to lately.
The New Standard for Standards
Brand guidelines can be such an important piece of the puzzle for companies like Wegmans. We helped their creative team interpret a seemingly countless number of printed guides to screen for easy editability and improved access.
Something’s Brewing, Alright
We were excited to see Strange Design Public House open its doors in Geneseo, NY this September. The brand identity system we created is already working hard for them, and SDPH sure looks like it’s quickly becoming everyone’s favorite local hang.
There’s No Turning Back Now
Hormel Foods Spirit Week also hit in September, and we were happy to help put “Onward” in the front seat of the event. We teamed up with Corporate Communications on an uplifting and celebratory kit for company employees.
Only Goods Will Come From This
In October, we formalized a venture we’ve spent years dabbling with: crafting and curating studio gear, now under the umbrella of “Adjacent Design Goods”. We shipped out some kits to our friends and we’re particularly psyched about our 2022 plans for ADG.
A Clearer View
Our team loved Clarity Conference in 2019, and this year’s virtual event made a solid impact as well. Of all the topics we’re still thinking about, the wonderfully presented Design Systems Burnout by Lauren LoPrete is something we’re pledging to be mindful of in the coming year.
You Get an Update! And You Get an Update!
Back in Q1, we helped launch a considerable style update to hormelfoods.com. The continued work on this project also resulted in a refreshed Features section: the storytelling powerhouse of the site.
Just Needs a Sound Effect
An assignment with heavy 90’s videogame influence? Yes, please. We helped Hidden Level name and brand their intranet “Checkpoint”, the place where knowledge gets saved, you know? Excited to see this roll out to their design system-sponsored microsite.
Something Big is Headed This Way
By now, you know we’re not the teasing type. But we just spent a “Hack Week” cooking up something we’re particularly psyched about launching in early 2022, so keep an eagle eye out for a sneak peek or two until then.
And Then There Were Three
We’ve been lucky not to experience many bittersweet days in the studio, but we had one in early November. We said farewell to our Partner & Technical Director, Tom McCaffery, as he started a new chapter in his career with VMWare. He had a significant influence on many things Adjacent, including the code we start our projects with. Hall of Fame run, Tom.
But First, We Celebrate
If there were ever a reason to move all kinds of furniture and flip the studio into a cozy dinner venue, ThankTomsGiving was it. We brought out all the local hits, from Prison City beer to Oh My Darling entrees, and wished Tom & Liz the very best of luck on their new adventure.
And Then There Were Four
It didn’t take long before we determined Adjacent works better as a Barbershop Quartet than a Jazz Trio. Welcome to the troupe, Senior Full-Stack Developer Steve Sabatini: our first fully-remote studiomate, coming to us live from Vancouver. We’re giving him a few weeks to get settled before we hit 2022 hard.