Profile: Marc Friedland

Over the last 2 weeks, television has given the general public an opportunity to witness two milestone celebrity birthday parties. First came Oprah's 50th, which she televised on her daytime show. Then came Entertainment Tonight and Good Morning America with John Travolta's Surprise 50th birthday party bash in Mexico. Long before these parties took shape, one individual had the daunting challenge of creating the invitations that would monogram these events. I think it is fair to say that when Hollywood types want to make an impression, they will look high and low to seek out the most creative and innovative types to deliver whatever it is that they wish to convey. There seems to be a trend in Hollywood when it comes to selecting an individual to trademark and distinguish an event, and that trend is to select Marc Friedland, who has come to be known as the “stationer to the stars.” Marc has been responsible for creating some of the most distinctive invitations and collateral materials for events that frankly only Hollywood can produce. From his stationery collection featured in Bergdorf Goodman to his book, Invitations ' The Quintessential Guide for Creating Amazing Invitations for Every Occasion (Clarkson N. Potter, publisher) to his celebrity client list, Marc Friedland is a stand-out in the world of event planning and corporate communications. But Hollywood is not Marc's only beat. Through his corporate organization, Creative Intelligence Incorporated, Marc and his team develop everything from logos to business systems, including brochures and collateral materials to branding to press kits. The company's Customer Services Division provides a wide range of services, including addressing and hand calligraphy to custom packaging and gift-wrapping.

When I was doing my research for the law firm makeover article, I had the pleasure of speaking with Marc in relation to his work with Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler LLP. Subsequently, he and I had a couple of discussions. In one of those conversations I asked Marc if I could see a couple of samples of his work ranging from the event planning to the corporate side. A couple of days later I received a box of the most unbelievable collection of materials ' literally a feast for the eyes. In the box were samples of invitations ' and yes, Oprah's and John Travolta's birthday invitations were in there, together with an entire series of pieces Marc designed for the opening-week events of the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and a wonderful series of invitations to corporate events in New York.

Also included were some very classy and distinctive law firm brochures in addition to the materials done for Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler. I could only imagine the events that surrounded the fabulous invitations and the type of law firm that would have a Marc Friedland work with it. Besides the Greene Broillet pieces, one other notable law firm brochure stood out as cutting edge ' Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan, a Los Angeles-based firm that has a national reputation in complex business litigation and business. Here was another law firm, like Greene Broillet, that was not an AmLaw 100 or 200 firm ' the usual cadre of firms that one might think would hire someone like Marc Friedland. Alschuler's brochure provided still another glimpse of how Marc and his team were able to translate the profession of law into something that was conservative yet striking, and relevant in today's competitive legal market. The Alschuler brochure's cover was a charcoal pinstripe. The content of the brochure was a written profile with few graphics and mostly text. It was clearly not meant to be glossy, and it portrayed Alschuler much like one would depict a Wall Street law firm ' and that clearly was the message the firm sought to convey. Graphic design is extremely personal. When I spoke with Marc, he said that when doing corporate materials, it is very important to project a consistent point of view so that the appeal is to a larger segment of the population rather than to a controlled list of invitees. In going through the process of conveying a message that will be accepted by the partners or owners of a law practice and will be accepted by existing and perspective clients, you need to recognize the fact that the audience is purchasing professional services and not buying a product or coming to an event. The words make the difference and the graphics, while important, are proportionately important to the message. While the brochure needs to “look good,” it is the content that will lure the audience. This is a departure from the world of event planning. Graphic designers become instantly aware of how lawyers think and how they believe their professionalism should be conveyed. What a graphic designer brings to the table is how to visually impart information that will have a universal appeal to the reader. When you want to deliver the best message ' whether an event or a corporate identity ' you need to hire a graphic designer that will customize the seller's ' in this case law firm's ' point of view.

As I perused the portfolio of public relations materials on Marc and Creative Intelligence, and looked at the firm's individual Hollywood star-filled client list, it became more evident to me that although the bedrock of Marc's work has been in the mainstream of Hollywood, there are many professional service firms that understand the value of a brochure as their calling card that can define their firm and its people. In his biography there is a definition of Marc's philosophy as “anything inviting will heighten attention and attendance creating the much sought after buzz.” As Marc points out, “this applies to virtually anything requiring the production of cutting-edge collateral materials from advertising and public relations to special events and luxury consumer items.”

Having worked in another life as a corporate event planner and having planned events at law firms and, yes, having had the responsibility of developing new corporate identities for law firms, I can testify to the fact that the design team makes all the difference in the world. To go outside of the traditional corporate or professional service-oriented graphic designer may not use up a law firm's entire marketing budget. What you get in return can be unique and different than what law firm's are used to, that other will surely follow, as we can see from the non-Hollywood firms with which Marc has worked. And besides, maybe there is some tangible value to be able to say your firm's marketing and client communication pieces come from the same pen that designed the invites to Oprah's well-publicized birthday event.

[Marc Friedland is the Founder and Creative Director of Creative Intelligence, Inc., in New York and Los Angeles. He can be reached at [email protected] and 323-936-9009.]

Over the last 2 weeks, television has given the general public an opportunity to witness two milestone celebrity birthday parties. First came Oprah's 50th, which she televised on her daytime show. Then came Entertainment Tonight and Good Morning America with John Travolta's Surprise 50th birthday party bash in Mexico. Long before these parties took shape, one individual had the daunting challenge of creating the invitations that would monogram these events. I think it is fair to say that when Hollywood types want to make an impression, they will look high and low to seek out the most creative and innovative types to deliver whatever it is that they wish to convey. There seems to be a trend in Hollywood when it comes to selecting an individual to trademark and distinguish an event, and that trend is to select Marc Friedland, who has come to be known as the “stationer to the stars.” Marc has been responsible for creating some of the most distinctive invitations and collateral materials for events that frankly only Hollywood can produce. From his stationery collection featured in Bergdorf Goodman to his book, Invitations ' The Quintessential Guide for Creating Amazing Invitations for Every Occasion (Clarkson N. Potter, publisher) to his celebrity client list, Marc Friedland is a stand-out in the world of event planning and corporate communications. But Hollywood is not Marc's only beat. Through his corporate organization, Creative Intelligence Incorporated, Marc and his team develop everything from logos to business systems, including brochures and collateral materials to branding to press kits. The company's Customer Services Division provides a wide range of services, including addressing and hand calligraphy to custom packaging and gift-wrapping.

When I was doing my research for the law firm makeover article, I had the pleasure of speaking with Marc in relation to his work with Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler LLP. Subsequently, he and I had a couple of discussions. In one of those conversations I asked Marc if I could see a couple of samples of his work ranging from the event planning to the corporate side. A couple of days later I received a box of the most unbelievable collection of materials ' literally a feast for the eyes. In the box were samples of invitations ' and yes, Oprah's and John Travolta's birthday invitations were in there, together with an entire series of pieces Marc designed for the opening-week events of the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and a wonderful series of invitations to corporate events in New York.

Also included were some very classy and distinctive law firm brochures in addition to the materials done for Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler. I could only imagine the events that surrounded the fabulous invitations and the type of law firm that would have a Marc Friedland work with it. Besides the Greene Broillet pieces, one other notable law firm brochure stood out as cutting edge ' Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan, a Los Angeles-based firm that has a national reputation in complex business litigation and business. Here was another law firm, like Greene Broillet, that was not an AmLaw 100 or 200 firm ' the usual cadre of firms that one might think would hire someone like Marc Friedland. Alschuler's brochure provided still another glimpse of how Marc and his team were able to translate the profession of law into something that was conservative yet striking, and relevant in today's competitive legal market. The Alschuler brochure's cover was a charcoal pinstripe. The content of the brochure was a written profile with few graphics and mostly text. It was clearly not meant to be glossy, and it portrayed Alschuler much like one would depict a Wall Street law firm ' and that clearly was the message the firm sought to convey. Graphic design is extremely personal. When I spoke with Marc, he said that when doing corporate materials, it is very important to project a consistent point of view so that the appeal is to a larger segment of the population rather than to a controlled list of invitees. In going through the process of conveying a message that will be accepted by the partners or owners of a law practice and will be accepted by existing and perspective clients, you need to recognize the fact that the audience is purchasing professional services and not buying a product or coming to an event. The words make the difference and the graphics, while important, are proportionately important to the message. While the brochure needs to “look good,” it is the content that will lure the audience. This is a departure from the world of event planning. Graphic designers become instantly aware of how lawyers think and how they believe their professionalism should be conveyed. What a graphic designer brings to the table is how to visually impart information that will have a universal appeal to the reader. When you want to deliver the best message ' whether an event or a corporate identity ' you need to hire a graphic designer that will customize the seller's ' in this case law firm's ' point of view.

As I perused the portfolio of public relations materials on Marc and Creative Intelligence, and looked at the firm's individual Hollywood star-filled client list, it became more evident to me that although the bedrock of Marc's work has been in the mainstream of Hollywood, there are many professional service firms that understand the value of a brochure as their calling card that can define their firm and its people. In his biography there is a definition of Marc's philosophy as “anything inviting will heighten attention and attendance creating the much sought after buzz.” As Marc points out, “this applies to virtually anything requiring the production of cutting-edge collateral materials from advertising and public relations to special events and luxury consumer items.”

Having worked in another life as a corporate event planner and having planned events at law firms and, yes, having had the responsibility of developing new corporate identities for law firms, I can testify to the fact that the design team makes all the difference in the world. To go outside of the traditional corporate or professional service-oriented graphic designer may not use up a law firm's entire marketing budget. What you get in return can be unique and different than what law firm's are used to, that other will surely follow, as we can see from the non-Hollywood firms with which Marc has worked. And besides, maybe there is some tangible value to be able to say your firm's marketing and client communication pieces come from the same pen that designed the invites to Oprah's well-publicized birthday event.

[Marc Friedland is the Founder and Creative Director of Creative Intelligence, Inc., in New York and Los Angeles. He can be reached at [email protected] and 323-936-9009.]