Like our name, it’s the paradoxes that make us special. We’re a small design studio made up of folks with big agency and corporate experience. We’re just two people, yet each of our skillsets and outside relationships allow us to do the work of many. We’re trained as graphic designers, but we love to create work that lives beyond two dimensions. We are the designers of things that have an impact on the planet, yet we seek to reduce those impacts. We have a long track record of successful, award-winning work, yet we remain as curious and driven as we were when we started out. And, while we’re always serious when it comes to the success of our clients and their brands, we approach each new project with a playful mindset—ready to learn, question, collaborate and create something that delights us all.
Introducing… the Folly-maker.
Step 1. Hello.
Our creative process starts to spin up with a chat about your idea, your brand vision, your problem—and probably a bit about the weather (we’re in Minnesota, after all). From there, we add creative research, gather insights and begin to formulate a creative strategy and criteria to measure success.
Step 2. That’s the one!
With a clear plan in hand, we start making by making a mess. We gather inspiration, brainstorm (kinda like improvisation) and select some promising areas to explore. Then we conceptualize, visualize, critique and refine solutions—all to find the solution that’s just right.
Step 3. Give it a whirl.
Once a direction is chosen, we fine-tune it and put on the finishing touches. We can help you roll it out, including business cards, collateral, websites, signage or packaging—whatever. We also can provide the tools you need to help you maintain and grow what we made together.
Stuff we do.
One of the things that makes us—us—is the breadth of stuff we can do. How many design studios, big or small, are staffed with a sustainability expert, or a graphic designer that can also work in CAD? Our diverse skillsets and experiences enable us to take your project from sketch to launch seamlessly, whether you need a brand identity, website, package or a storefront.
Brand strategy, positioning & creative strategy
Brand & product naming
Visual brand identity development
Brand guidelines & standards
Print collateral & annual reports
Packaging design
Web design
Branded environments, exhibit design, event design
Signage & wayfinding design
3D visualization
Sustainable design & consulting
Copywriting & more
Our experience.
Throughout our careers, we’ve been fortunate to work with clients, big and small, across a wide range of categories. Here’s a sample of the collective experience we’ll bring to your project.
Agile Frameworks
Apple
Bario Neal
Blue Earth Innovation/Torrch
Bluedog Design
Bluestem Heritage Group
Capitol Region Watershed District
Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center
City of St. Paul Innovation Team
Currents
Digital River
Ditto Cups/Meson
Google
Great MN Schools
Green America
Happy Human Fitness
Heart Yoga
Ikaati
Jack's Caregiver Coalition
Lerner Publishing
Maplewood Area Historical Society
Mills Gregory
Minneapolis Downtown Council
Minnesota Phenology Network
Mortenson
Oxbox/Action Batteries
Pollywog
Public Art Saint Paul
Simple Science
Smart Set
Target
U of M: Bee Lab, LTER, School of Public Health
Unity Temple Restoration Fdn.
West 7th Veterinarian
Workshop On Wheels (WOW)
“We could never find the necessary confidence, skill, or clarity to build a brand that did justice to our message. They [TIF] showed us that we did, in fact, have a very refreshing and needed approach to fitness.”
~ Amber & Jesse, Happy Human Fitness
Behind the Folly.
Holly Robbins
Partner / Creative Director
Road to Folly: Birth. South Bend. Learn to walk. Alma. Lost in corn field. Chippewa Falls. Bikes. Bit by uncle's dog. Hobby farm. Menomonie. Cuts class. Art. Horses. UW-Stout. Art metal. Blacksmithing. Graphic Design. Works. No sleep. Exchange year in Fachhochschule in Hildesheim, Germany. Beer. Design. Travels to Paris, eastern Germany, Prague, Italy. Minneapolis. Advertising agency. Does penance at Greenpeace. Grunge. North Shore. John. Opens “Eco-minded” design partnership Studio Flux. Makes award-winning work. Kayaks. Gardner Design/Shea. Helps start MCAD Sustainable Design Online program. Target. Adopts Willow, the Plott/Border Collie/Labrapup. Starts This Is Folly with John. Teaching grad school. Designing.
Holly in Hollywood. Marie-Antoinette's "Hameau". Taking off. Masters in Sustainable Design Instructor at MCAD. Floating.
Has an irritatingly deep memory for geeky facts, but no short term memory whatsoever. Possesses no ability to recognize faces.
Doesn't believe in astrology, but finds that she is a water baby just as her Pisces sign would suggest.
Favorite folly: Marie-Antoinette's "Hameau", her charmingly rustic Disney-esque faux peasant village on the grounds of the Petit Trianon at Versailles.
John Moes
Partner / Creative Director
Road to Folly: Born in Green Bay. Legos. An industrial-sized roll of paper. Drawing. Dreams of being a long haul trucker. Truck drawings. Science fiction. Makes a Millennium Falcon and Enterprise out of cardboard and tape. Model kits. Wisconsin Rapids. BMX. Drafting. Graduation. UW-Stout. Beer. Design. Eco-design (aka: sustainability). LOTS of caffeine. Holly. Minneapolis. Works at Tilka. Starts “Eco-minded” design partnership Studio Flux with Holly. Makes award-winning work. Hired at Design Guys. Works for big-shot clients. Freelance. Starts Organic Design Operatives (ODO). Learns CAD. Does Prairie style and modern furniture. Designs furniture for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple. Willow arrives. Lots of walks. Realizes This Is Folly with Holly. Designing.
John. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Romeo & Juliet windmill. Unity Temple Furniture. Johnny. Paper objects. Drift House.
Has an unhealthy obsession with architect Frank Lloyd Wright and organic architecture.
Escapes the computer to build stuff for fun. This recently included building a modern passive/active solar home with Holly.
Favorite folly: Wright's 1896 Romeo and Juliet windmill.
Let’s chat.
We’d love to hear about your brand, project or business challenges. Drop us a line.
