Our design process centers on relationships. When we design for you, our client, we don’t just want to design for you; we want to get to know you, and we want to know you long after we finish collaborating with you. 

Our relationship with Marion Philharmonic Orchestra began in 2018, just before their company turned fifty, when their leadership determined they needed to reinvent their company identity to better serve Marion and the broader Grant County community. As we created their new brand identity, we met with Joy Frecker, the orchestra’s executive director, and Matthew Kraemer, the orchestra’s current conductor. As we continued to share in conversation with these two leaders, we found we had a better understanding of the story of their company not just as an orchestra but as a collective of musicians sharing their craft with their communities. 

While our collaboration began by designing a new brand identity for the company nearly two years ago, we have continued to maintain our relationship with the orchestra. Each concert season, we create promotional materials for their shows. Most recently, we designed postcards for their upcoming October 31 show, Disney in Concert: Around the World, working closely with Disney’s own designers to ensure that our proposals aligned with their brand standards.

We are grateful for MPO, as well as our other clients, who continue to participate in the Marion Design Co. Community long after our initial design work is complete. It is a privilege to call our clients friends. 

You can visit MPO’s website, mpomarion.org, to learn more about how you can connect with them and experience one of their upcoming concerts!

We appreciate your patience and grace as we continue to discover all that Marion Made can be in the coming months.

We have loved celebrating alongside Marion Health, and can’t wait to watch the brand continue to come to life! Check out our case study to learn more.

 Allie shared with us that the most valuable thing she learned during her time at MDCO was how to take risks. “I’m naturally a risk-averse person,” she said, “but being swept up in the ethos of MDCO showed me how embracing the unknown can help propel your work beyond what you ever would have expected.” She also shared that her time with MDCO helped root her design process in research, with has been foundational for the knowledge she is gaining from her research-based MFA program. 

As she works toward her MFA, Allie is finding inspiration in the work of her peers. Allie expressed that seeing the design work other 2020 and 2021 graduates are creating is a source of joy and excitement for her. Watching her friends be creative fuels her own creativity.

Recently, I was asked to speak to a class at IWU about the branding process of Marion Health. It gave me a pause to step back to see the work we do as a whole and all that goes into the relationships we form as we develop work that is meaningful and intentional to the client. The entire design process is a learning experience where we serve as both educator and student, and our clients educate and learn in tandem with us. The students I spoke to listened and asked inquisitive questions - desiring to better their practice and continue on the never-ending path of learning.

We are constant students of our surroundings and always welcome new relationships which push us to research new areas and design through the lens of lifelong learning. As we come to sit with our clients we come to be not just masters of design but educated in the industry of our clients. Soon we become knowledgeable about music, healthcare, basketball, cabinet construction, and space planning. What new area could you introduce us to?

• Peter Troutner, Creative Director and Chief Creative Officer

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