Making an impression as a small independent design firm in New York is a challenge. One strategy is to go big. Exactly what Frank DeRose did for the opening announcement for his new studio, Zut Alors!, where he created big Z to carry around the streets of the city and then placed that in a big sheet of paper to send out as a promotion.
The project was produced to introduce the studio to potential clients. This turned out to be the most difficult thing ever… we built the six foot styrofoam Z in November of 2008 (November 1, in fact, that is my mother’s birthday) and photographed it a week later. I then spent the next year trying to come up with something that could go on the other side of the piece of paper that the Z image is printed on. In the end what happened is that every idea I had over the course of said year ended up as the reverse side of the image of the Z.
The main thing was getting as big of a sheet to print on as possible… this led us to get quotes from European printers as they just ended up being more economical. We are a New York based shop and the local printers were simply more expensive, or could not handle a large enough sheet.
The result is an enjoyably hectic poster filled with clever details to discover. And if you are wondering about the studio’s name, Facing Sideways had an interview with Frank:
The process of incorporating a business in NY State requires that you send the bureaucrats 3 options and they tell you which of those 3 you can use, they start with the first, et cetera. We sent, literally, 3 lists of 3, and all of those 9 names were taken. So, eventually, Zut Alors! It is just a phrase that stuck in mind from an elementary school French class. And it is funny to have an office which is basically named “Darn it.”
Bonus business card shots.

Editor of FPO and co-founder of UnderConsideration LLC.
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UnderConsideration is a graphic design enterprise that runs a network of blogs, publishes books, organizes live events and judged competitions, and designs for clients.
online
Brand New / Displaying opinions and focusing solely on corporate and brand identity work.
Art of the Menu / Cataloguing the underrated creativity of menus from around the world.
Quipsologies / Chronicling the most curious, creative, and notable projects, stories, and events of the graphic design industry on a daily basis.
Speak Up (2002 – 2009) / Discussing, and looking for, what is relevant in, and the relevance of, graphic design. Archives Only.
Word It (2003 – 2010) / Encouraging creative diversity in the community through monthly, one-word challenges. Archives Only.
Brand New Classroom (2010 – 2011) / Providing a space for critique and opinions on student identity workArchives Only.
graphic design
Department of Design / Designing corporate and brand identities and full development of printed and digital matter for clients.
publishing
The 2010 FPO Awards / 2011, self-published.
The 2010 Brand New Awards / 2011, self-published.
Flaunt: Designing effective, compelling and memorable portfolios of creative work / 2010, self-published.
Events & Judged Competitions
Brand New Conference / A one-day event on the development of corporate and brand identity projects by some of today’s most active and influential practitioners from around the world.
Brand New Awards / Celebrating the best identity work produced around the world.
FPO Awards / Celebrating the best print work from around the world.
Writing
Graphic Design, Referenced: A Visual Guide to the Language, Applications, and History of Graphic Design / 2009, Rockport.
Women of Design: Influence and Inspiration from the Original Trailblazers to the New Groundbreakers / 2008, HOW Books.
The Word It Book: Speak Up Presents a Gallery of Interpreted Words / 2007, HOW Books.
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