Today marks 25 years since we opened FUEL’s doors in January 2001. What began as a small team with ambitious dreams has grown into two-and-a-half decades of meaningful work, strong partnerships, and lessons learned through every new challenge.
FUEL client ALMACO took home 2nd Place in the Website category at the AMA NOVA Awards
See which FUEL entries, including web design, were included in the Art Directors Association of Iowa’s ADAI 67th Annual Design Exhibition held on April 11th, 2025, in Des Moines.
After 24 years in the same location, FUEL is stretching our legs and spreading our wings.
A Tech Stack is the engine that makes a creative agency go. Learn what to look for as you evaluate who to partner with.
See which FUEL entries were included in the Art Directors Association of Iowa’s ADAI 66th Design Exhibition held on April 19th, 2024, in Des Moines.
Branding Agency is Presenting Sponsor for track’s 2024 NHRA Summit Racing Series.
Your original logo got you this far. When does it start holding you back?
Logos are on just about absolutely everything that is made or touched by humans and they end up in so many bad places. Taking good care of your logo is vital to protecting your brand.
Several FUEL entries are included in the Art Directors Association of Iowa’s ADAI Design Exhibition 2023 held on April 21st in Des Moines. See which entries won.
FUEL honored for 21 years of volunteer service with the Metro Youth Football (MYFA).
During a couple of our recent new business pursuits, we were asked if interns would be working on the account. At FUEL, you always get our “A” team because there is no “B” team.
FUEL has assumed the role of primary sponsor for driver Afton Swanson and her NHRA Top Dragster race car for the remainder of the 2022 racing season.
You’ve not been meeting sales goals and it seems like you’re not being noticed in your market space. It’s not necessarily your website’s fault; it may be that you need to build your brand strategy.
Is FUEL a good fit for your company? These tough questions get to the heart of agency/client relationships.
Those surrounding your company will sense its essence whether you’re communicating it or not. Be sure you are defining and broadcasting it clearly.
A solid brand uniquely positions you in the marketplace and will be your ticket to greater prosperity and leverage in competitive business pursuits. FUEL has been helping companies do this for over 20 years.
You’ve got a great product or service offering. You’ve hired intelligent, thoughtful, and driven people, each with a burning desire to make a positive difference. The hard work is all done now, right? Maybe not.
The Art Directors Association of Iowa’s (ADAI) held its 64th Annual ADAI Design Exhibition on April 22 in Des Moines. And FUEL cleaned up.
You’ve reviewed our proposal. Now you need to make sense of it all. Your company has one chance to make a first impression with your customers, but you only have so much capital. Be sure to include your brand in the equation.
As much as FUEL is a collaborative studio, we never forget that the collaborative magic originates with the individual. This is our latest designer poster project.
At the age of 21, it was time for FUEL to officially retire the identity they’ve used since 2001. It was time to tighten the bolts on the brand and position themselves for the next 20 years.
FUEL started out 20 years ago as a collaboration between a creative and a marketer. Eventually we used our own successful formula to build our own brand.
FUEL earned a Best of Category Award in addition to a collection of Excellence Awards at the Art Directors Association of Iowa’s ADAI Design Exhibition 2021 held on July 23 in Des Moines. See which entries won.
FUEL earned a pair of EXCELLENCE Awards at the Art Directors Association of Iowa’s ADAI Design Exhibition 2020 held August 28th. See which entries won.
Brands can grow dependent on shiny objects. Focus instead on building a foundation for the long haul.
Owner John Moes used to bristle at even the suggestion that FUEL was an “agency”. Now he’s coming around.
How does our era of social distancing impact a team that’s built around proximity?
Owner John Moes reflects on a FUEL milestone while pondering life, loss, teamwork, and innovation.
FUEL was approached by the Deutsch Langhaar – Gruppe Nordamerika (DL-GNA) to develop an updated logo that would raise the prestige of the breed and help further the club’s mission.
For the third straight year, FUEL made a strong showing at the Art Directors Association of Iowa’s ADAI Design Exhibition.
We felt that just sending Bob Zeidler off to a retirement filled with painting and teaching, celebrated only by a nice dinner outing wasn’t enough, so we created a FUEL Hall of Fame.
After having a good night at last year’s ADDY Awards Banquet, we wondered… “How will we top it?” We answered that question at this year’s awards.
Before man could walk on the moon, the astronauts first needed the ability to talk.
Meet MAX POWER, a walking attraction at fairs and events.
Despite being one of the busiest municipal airports in the state, many people in the community are unaware of the Iowa City Municipal Airport’s (IOW) storied history and the amazing things that have occurred there over the years.
FUEL brought home more recognition for the Eastern Iowa design community at the 60th Design Exhibition held April 27th in Des Moines.
FUEL designers helped lead On Your Mark — a yearly creative competition hosted by AAF:CR-IC for collegiate design students from across the state of Iowa.
This year marked the 50th Anniversary for the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Club (AAF:CR-IC) and a decade since we’d been there, so we decided to dip our toe back into the fray.
Early last year, one of our clients introduced us to a new organization.
As we began to peel back the layers, we quickly realized it’s not every day we’re given the opportunity to help save lives.
Around the studio, we talk daily about the power that design thinking can bring to our world. How might it impact a middle school education?
All business starts with an idea. It’s usually a product or service that’s exceptional, unique, or needed in the marketplace. Eventually, those businesses hit a plateau. Or even a wall.
When the call came in from the local ad club and they mentioned one of our founders name in the same sentence as “Hall of Fame”, two thoughts immediately entered his mind.
Members of FUEL were in attendance at the Art Directors Association of Iowa’s 59th Annual ADAI Design Exhibition.
When we launched FUEL 16 years ago, one of the goals was to ensure that Eastern Iowa maintained a healthy design community.
Last spring, we were asked to design apparel for two of the John Deere factories.
FUEL at 16: A look back. A look forward. And a look at the common thread that connects it all.
Earlier this summer, FUEL was honored by the Corridor Business Journal as one of the Coolest Places to Work in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area.
When you’re about to launch a new coffee house, how do you ensure success in the face of fierce competition from convenience stores, gargantuan corporate outposts and other independent coffee houses already established in town?
What happens when the two premier architecture firms in the Quad Cities merge? You need to find common ground. And a new identity.
It’s been a few years since we began working with Blink Vision, an eye care and vision clinic in North Liberty, Iowa. We recently helped them refresh their online presence with a focus on three objectives.
Late last year, we received word that some of our work was selected into Print Magazine’s 2015 Regional Design Annual (Print RDA).
With assistance from FUEL, a new wellness company is realizing its goal of helping customers benefit from body composition analysis.
FUEL created a buzz among up-and-coming designers at a recent college career event.
A new identity is helping an outdoor apparel store build its business in a spectacular new space.
FUEL puts air under an extreme martial arts team’s national marketing launch.
FUEL helps Blink Vision communicate its customer-centric character through revitalized identity and marketing.
After a dozen years, we’re still creating purposeful and powerful design.
FUEL helped an established ad agency create a new vibe with a sharpened visual identity.
You’ve seen our work. Maybe you’ve even seen us at work. Now you can get a behind-the-scenes look at the FUEL team.
A FUEL-directed grand opening celebration wowed the community while building connections for a new business center.
Cedar Ridge Vineyards labels recognized once again at the 2012 Mid-American Wine Competition.
FUEL ignites a fast start for a dynamic new powersports company.
Three FUEL designs were selected for inclusion in the prestigious Rockport Letterhead + Logo Design 12.
A series of thematically linked posters showcases the diverse talents of FUEL’s designers.
FUEL created an identity system that captures a high-tech company’s creative problem-solving prowess.
FUEL meets with future design professionals at Iowa State career day event.
FUEL teamed up with StoryLounge Media to showcase one of the sport’s worlds most influential success stories.
A video developed to generate buzz for an award-winning young juggler is also garnering kudos for its creators.
This January FUEL celebrated its first decade of transforming companies into powerful brands.
The founder of White Cross Cellars recaptures his heritage while reshaping the image of Amana wines.
After a dozen years, we’re still creating purposeful and powerful design.
The maker of the first bourbon whiskey produced in Iowa since Prohibition wanted to make sure that the launch of his long-anticipated product would perpetuate the superior reputation of his winery and distillery.
FUEL helps generate big league excitement for a youth sports program celebrating a major anniversary.
Getting in the water was the first step on a journey to achieve a long-held goal for FUEL designer Bill Bollman.
A cutting-edge educational series builds image and financial backing with assistance from FUEL.
A new website created by FUEL for construction equipment dealer Nortrax captures the customer experience.
FUEL’s creative environment was the main attraction at a seminar on redesigning workspaces to attract young talent.
A young juggler’s professional career is on the ascendancy thanks to his attention-grabbing, FUEL-designed brand.
A website for a cutting-edge department combines riveting design with user-friendly interface.
FUEL designers partnered with local PR students to build support for the flooded Cedar Rapids Library.
FUEL designers critique portfolios created by next-generation designers.
New Luther College athletics website conveys Norse pride and prowess.
New Arenson & Maas identity sets dynamic tone for progressive attorney group.
Career event provides opportunity to connect with college design students.
Cedar Ridge Vineyards labels recognized for second consecutive year at 2008 Mid-American Wine Competition.
FUEL has taken its place among the best graphic designers in the world with the inclusion of two of its business card designs in Rockport Publishers’ The Best of Business Card Design 8.
Diverse awards–including three Best of Category honors–recognize FUEL’s wide-ranging capabilities.
Recent renovation aligns FUEL’s workspace with its design approach and makes room for an expanding staff.
FUEL helps Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery expand and update its flagship brand.
FUEL-designed wine label continues to gain recognition at the 2007 Mid-American Wine Competition.
FUEL carried home seven Gold and three Silver ADDYs from the 38th Annual Cedar Rapids Addy award ceremony.
Intimately acquainted with the pleasure and pain of the tattoo chair, FUEL client Ronnie Fangman had often fantasized about a product that would soothe and speed the tattoo healing process.
FUEL recently unveiled a series of eleven new labels for Cedar Ridge Vineyard’s family of wines and spirits.
The decision to re-name an established company is not one that any business owner takes lightly.
Graphic design studio FUEL was honored with one of three Judge’s Choice Awards, along with three gold and five silver ADDYs, at the Cedar Rapids Advertising Federation’s recent awards banquet.
As experts in the design field, Kim Chayet and Mary Piazzon Segriff knew that a distinctive identity would be pivotal to the successful launch of their commercial interior design business.
FUEL’s iconic representation of John Deere Construction and Forestry’s Davenport Works earns recognition.
When Luther College asked FUEL for help in designing a website for their renowned music program, they wanted it to be attractive and intellectual, with a high aesthetic value.
HOW Magazine includes two FUEL pieces in its 2003 International Design Annual.