FEATURES | rare design
CREATIVE FIRM
GIVES NEW LIFE
TO HISTORIC
HATTIESBURG
BUILDING
I
TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAYLA ESSARY
In the mid-1990s, fresh out of
college and working in a three-
person design studio in
Hattiesburg, graphic designer
Rodney Richardson pitched
himself to the Nike Corporation
without a portfolio or extensive
experience.
Instead it was a single
resume that turned the heads of
company executives.
“I realized I needed to make
mine stand out so I designed it
in a way that was unique and
composed the information in a
way that was unusual,” recalled
Richardson. “They told me
they’d never seen a resume like
it.”
The company eventually
offered Richardson a job in
Portland, Ore., immersing the
young artist into the early
design phase of a professional
team identity campaign.
“One of the first projects I
got to be a part of was the
design for the Denver Broncos
organization,” said Richardson.
“It was the first time a profes-
22 a cc e n t s o u t h m i s s i s s i p p i
sional sporting organization
used a retail corporation for
that role. Being a part of that
process was clearly where my
education in branding started. I
had actually hated logo projects
before and now the identity
work is the foundation for
everything I do.”
In 1999, Richardson moved
his family back to Hattiesburg
to launch Rare Design, a com-
pany he conceptualized as a
senior project in college.
“I used my initials R-A-R for
the first three letters, and used
the word ‘rare’ because that
word means raw but also
unique,” said Richardson,
explaining how Rare Design
has fulfilled what he envisioned
years ago, as a forward think-
ing, edgy creative venture. “I
wanted those qualities to be
reflected in our logo and that
logo I designed then is still the
logo we have today.”
BEHIND THE RED DOOR
Rare Design doesn’t exactly
rely on foot traffic for business,
so the fact that it’s tucked away
on the side of a 30,000 square
foot building on Buschman
Street in downtown Hattiesburg
isn’t exactly surprising. But one
glimpse inside the business
behind the scarlet red door
reveals interior design elements
that are anything but ordinary.
“We like being off the beaten
path, tucked away with our red
door,” Richardson said. “Then
you walk in and there’s this
massive, curved, corrugated
wall that sets a tone for the
vision we are trying to project.
The space is what we call mod-
ern, urban, industrial living.”
Because of the creative
nature of their work, downtown
seemed to be the best fit for the
company.
“There was never any ques-
tion about it — our office
would be downtown. It’s a cre-
ative agency, and with creative
people you have to be able to
get up from your desk and
move around and do different
things. I think other creative
people thrive with a greater
sense of community, and where
else can you get out, go down
the street, and go to an eatery,
go to a shop, go to a gallery
and experience residential and
commercial blended together so
well?”
Richardson said he looked
at this 30,000 square foot build-
ing about a year after
Hurricane Katrina, realizing
that it needed a lot of repairs
along with a new look and feel.
“It had lots of damage,”
Richardson said. “There were
literally gaping holes in the
ceiling, but I immediately saw
the multi-use potential of the
building. There’s a legacy of
people already here in down-
town doing wonderful things
with the spaces here and we
wanted to join in, to contribute
to this community.”
The Buschman Street build-
ing is a part of what is now
described as the Depot District.
“Downtown Hattiesburg has
begun to describe areas in
regard to districts and the
Depot District gets its name
because of the proximity to the
newly renovated train depot,”
said Betsy Rowell, director of
the Historic Hattiesburg
Downtown Association. “It’s
wonderful to see this building
and the entire district preserve
its history, while at the same
time creating an exciting future
by choosing this important cor-
ridor in downtown.”
“It’s an eclectic blend of life
here,” Richardson said. “We are
proud that we are a part of the
investment going on in down-
town.”
And that investment now
continues with a current
remodeling effort involving
more than 10,000 square feet of
space, dedicated to creating an
unparalleled event room.
“By early next year, we hope
to be able to offer a unique
space to local businesses and
organizations,” said Toby
Barker, who serves on staff at
Rare Design and event space
facilitator. “We know that there
is a demand for a space like
this and we are thrilled with
the chance to create a venue
like no other in this area of
downtown.” plinary suspensions at
Southern Miss, yet getting a
SECOND CHANCE second chance at the field he
Faintly painted numbers lin- was pursuing.
ing the lower quadrant of a “A person with a key posi-
brick wall are clear reminders tion at the university let me
of the building’s former life as know that they didn’t think I
a large scale commercial bak- was a bad kid,” Richardson
ery; the old Smith Bakery mark- said. “There was a student
ings are left behind by design. design position that had
Likewise Richardson is quick become available. They knew I
to remember the events in his wasn’t technically supposed to
life that have made lasting be eligible for this position, but
impressions. they thought I deserved anoth-
“It’s not always that picture- er chance.”
perfect business success story; That second chance proved
there have been many struggles to be the big break Richardson
and many defining moments needed.
along the way,” said “When I think about that
Richardson. “In my faith jour- now, it was huge. I was just
ney, I’ve learned to rely on God another kid among thousands
through every step of the way, and they made that effort to
through many ups and downs.” call me back in and give me my
Richardson recalled the rock first design job. You talk about
bottom coming while in college, a light switch that flipped on. I
enduring scholastic and disci- don’t even think I knew what
a cc e n t s o u t h m i s s i s s i p p i 23

the field was about before then.
After I served my disciplinary
time, from that time on, school
was so easy for me.”
Years later, Rare Design still
does work with Nike and was
contracted to create the identity
and logos for the Memphis
Grizzlies and the Houston
Texans, not to mention the cur-
rent design used by the
University of Southern
Mississippi.
“There’s nothing like the
work we do with sporting
organizations,” Richardson
said. “If we design a corporate
identity, outside of the top offi-
cials, not that many people
really care what that logo looks
like. But you get an athletic
identity? People are emotional-
ly invested in that mark and
what it represents; fans connect
with it. If we miss that, it’s
huge. But if we capture it, it’s
even bigger.”
And there’s evidence that
getting it right can affect the
bottom line profits of the com-
pany.
24 a cc e n t s o u t h m i s s i s s i p p i
“There’s a great joy in show-
ing our work to clients and
when we see their eyes light up
and they say, ‘Yes, that’s it’,
you know the work that’s being
done is right and connects with
the client and their audience.
There are case studies that
show it impacts the company’s
bottom line significantly.
There’s great satisfaction in
that.”
Richardson added that as a
designer, it’s more than just
making a logo that looks good.
“A lot of people say, ‘I see
this logo over here and I want
one of those.’ But that logo is
the end result of a lot of work
determining the core values of
a company and its identity. It
starts as a big shotgun explo-
sion of large pieces, but at the
end of the day the branding
ends up very concise and they
say, ‘Wow, that is who we
are.’”
Yet Richardson admits that
getting there doesn’t come
without a price.
“Our goal with our clients is
to help them understand that
there is a connection that has to
be reached with their consumer
and make sure they are willing
to do the tough work to get
there. It’s an arduous, time-
consuming process, and it can
be costly, but it’s front-loaded.
Later, when you have to do a
brochure or release to the pub-
lic, all those decisions are
made. It makes all the choices
easier to make down the road.”
And no doubt Richardson
has his eye on what’s down the
road, at the same time main-
taining the important mile-
stones of the past.
“Rodney’s found a way to be
respectful of the history of the
building his business now
occupies,” Rowell said. “In a
time when there’s so much
emphasis on being environmen-
tally conscious, reviving these
sustainable buildings is really
the ultimate act of being
green.”
Along with being green,
Richardson aims for excellence
in all that he does with the
business and renovation efforts.
“A friend told me the other
day that he thought of our
business when he saw an ad
campaign. It said that a busi-
ness was ‘Rare but exceptional-
ly well done.’
That, Richardson said, goes
beyond the awards or accolades
Rare Design has received, serv-
ing as inspiration for the
decade to come.
More information on Rare
Design can be found at
www.raredesign.com.