This quarter’s featured case study is: Lane 1919
We were approached to help create a marketing package for this mixed-use real estate venture by Birtcher Development, and subsequently were introduced to the Lane family, who has held the property since the early 1920s. The family was looking to re-develop their printing building into a creative work space and then build a high quality, but human scale apartment building on the portion of the property that had previously been used for inventory storage.
We got excited when Birtcher started explaining the sustainable building practices they would be applying throughout the re-development process, and in the design of the new building. We were also pleased to hear that the unique architecture of the original building, and its hexagon tower, were going to remain intact and be on the National Register of Historic Places. Our own studio used to be just a few blocks away, and we had traveled past the building for many years.
We got even more excited when they took us into the basement of the building, and we were shown the large collection of old wood and metal type that had been stored there for generations. We immediately thought these could create some great imagery to tie in the family’s history with the property and the new vision to re-purpose the buildings use and prepare it for the next century.
The Lane-Miles Standish printing company was founded in 1919, with offices originally in downtown Portland. This date became the address of the residental tower, and so became the name for Lane1919. The font style of the logo stems from some of the metal type samples that were found in the basement.
This lead us to brainstorm about printing history, and in talking with the Lane family further, we helped to direct the interior themes of each floor of the building to be named after a major contributer of typography design. We ceated artistic display panels that show examples of some of their fonts with a brief history of each, and these greet residents and visitors in each main hallway.
We created many materials for the use in pre-leasing, and now the leasing of the office, retail and apartments. Along with the identity, brochures, direct mail, signage and displays — the most inclusive part of any marketing package today is its web site. The Lane1919.com web site has served many purposes, and can expand as needed to continue to drive traffic to lease the high quality and energy efficiency apartments.
We are currently in the process of creating and compiling a historical display of the printing business and the building for the lobby of the apartment tower. We thank Birtcher for introducing us to this unique project. Getting to know and working with the Lane family has been a wonderful experience at every step!
To find out more about what Red Studio can do for you, call or email us. We’d love to meet with you in person to get to know about all your needs and ideas.
