This Is Folly

We're a Minneapolis-based boutique branding and graphic design partnership.

Branding, Graphic Design, Logos, Environments and Signage, Packaging Design, Publication Design, Website Design.

03/25/2025

FOLLY HOT TAKE:
Just say no to brand assets made using AI.

According to the US Copyright Office’s 2025 Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, “Copyright does not extend to purely AI-generated material, or material where there is insufficient human control over the expressive elements.” And, “copyright protection in the United States requires human authorship.”

Simply put, beyond the social, ethical and ecological problems associated with AI, there are ownership issues with content generated using it. Depending on the extent of AI use in creative workflows, either the result cannot be copyrighted, or copyrightability may fall into a legal gray area, requiring records of the creative process to document the extent of AI usage, what system(s) were used, how they generated that “material” and more.

Like the US Copyright Office, we too value human creativity and problem solving over the artificial stuff. AI and its use has opened up huge legal and ethical gray areas yet to be understood and tested. We suggest you save yourself the trouble, protect your brand I.P., and stick to us humans.

Learn more:
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/client-alert-us-copyright-office-issues-9361549/

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10/31/2024

Discover Westopolis!

We teamed up with naming firm Pollywog to rename and rebrand “Discover St. Louis Park”, the destination marketing organization that attracts visitors to St. Louis Park and Golden Valley, Minnesota. The new name and visual brand identity better captures the vibrant, cosmopolitan feel and convenient location of these two cities that lay directly west of downtown Minneapolis and will make it easier to market the two cities as one great destination.

Why “Westopolis”? The name is a contraction of “West of Minneapolis” and proudly positions the area as a lively, urban place. The name emphasizes one of their key attributes: being the closest cities to downtown Minneapolis with super convenient access to the city and the rest of the Metro. As a bonus, the new name also helps dispel any confusion with St. Louis, Missouri — and it’s just fun to say!

The bold, poppy visual identity hints at the fabulous view of the city skyline from the near West side and a denser, bustling vibe. The angles of the letterforms also suggest that one can stay in St. Louis Park and Golden Valley and sample all Minneapolis has to offer, or the reverse. The fun goes both ways.

The teams at Discover St. Louis Park and Pollywog were engaged, thoughtful, and full of valuable insights and a drive to get it right, which helped make this project such a success. “Westopolis perfectly represents the vibrancy of our community and its proximity to downtown Minneapolis," Becky Bakken, President and CEO of , said in their press release. "This name change is more than just a new identity; it's a powerful statement about our destination's strategic location and compelling offerings."

More of this project to come. If you haven’t been to the St. Louis Park-Golden Valley area for a while, you should check it out! Learn more at www.westopolis.org/festivals-events.

10/10/2023

Our friends at Heart Yoga recently moved their practice from Uptown Minneapolis, MN to Mission Beach, CA. Wow, what a change! We welcomed the challenge to refocus their brand voice and create a website for their new location and local community. We love the vibe of the new site and are pretty proud of the brand's flexibility.

09/27/2023

This Is Folly attended Capital Region Watershed District’s 25th Anniversary Celebration last Friday in Saint Paul. It was great to talk with the CRWD crew about the work they have been doing to protect, manage and improve the water resources in their area. We also got to check out the newly installed interpretive signing we designed that illustrates all of the ways they have managed rain water on their own building site. Who knew there were that many ways to use rainwater on site and divert runoff from lakes and rivers!

09/08/2023

ONLINE EVENT!
AIGA Design Educators Community (DEC) Special Edition: Teaching Ecological Sustainable Design

Join design educators Holly Robbins, Rebeca Mendez and Eric Benson for an online, audience-led conversation about practical ways to inspire climate justice awareness and action in your design classrooms and projects.

Holly Robbins is a This Is Folly partner, and instructor for the Minneapolis College of Art and Design's Master of Arts in Sustainable Design program.

Zoom Link: https://lnkd.in/ggS_q8fd
Date/Time: Sept.14th, 6 PM CST/ 7 PM EST

07/18/2023

Listen to This Is Folly's own Holly Robbins on the Climify podcast in discussion with Rebeca Méndez of and Eric Benson of the about their experiences teaching sustainable design for the AIGA Design Educators Special Edition podcast!

https://www.climatedesigners.org/edu/climifypodcast/aiga-design-educators-special-edition-teaching-ecological-sustainable-design

03/10/2023

Folly is back! Check out our new website and work. 👀 👉www.thisisfolly.com

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