Historytelling
Grande Cheese Company Timeline | Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
This timeline represents a unique opportunity to showcase the history of a proud Wisconsin agricultural producer in a visual display. Working through interviews with the CEO and staff, our storyboarding process mapped a history of Grande Cheese. With research assistance from copy writer Lora Reynolds, we outlined the company’s progress from immigrant origin story to industry-leading maker of premium Italian cheese for restaurants nationwide. Adding context and color with photography and infographics created an engaging “historytelling” moment. Located near the company board room, it has become a popular introduction for those new to the company, as well as a point of pride for long-time staffers.
Grande’s move to their new home office, a signature building designed by Overland Partners, San Antonio, marked its 75th anniversary year. Organizing roughly a century of history, the timeline display creates a relatable conversation piece. It has become a touchpoint for members of the corporate team, as well as for visitors to home office. The timeline installation provides a fitting home for the company’s guiding philosophies of Mission, Culture, and of “the Fulfillment of a Purpose Greater Than Ourselves.”
Heritage Room at Grande home office, with view out to marketing wing and landscape. Built-in display case provides space for up to 48 panels of company narrative. The current series is just over 20 panels – leaving plenty of room for future look-backs. Photo (c) Dror Baldinger.
Opening chapter of Grande Timeline establishing early family roots of the Candela family, who were swept up in the large immigration wave from Italy to the US around the turn of the 20th century. Discher Millwork.
Panel showcasing "Greater Purpose," a sculpture dedicated to a core principal of company leadership. Photo (c) Christina Klaussen.
Panels dedicated to Mission and Culture statements, with a graphic identifying key leadership initiatives.
Images of modern Italian cheese making at enterprise scale still reflect a human element. Photo (c) Ansen Seale.
Historic images give the company's origin story context. Image courtesy Shutterstock.
A rare photo from the Grande company archive puts a time stamp on its early days.
Two-panel spread detailing the early family story in context of European migration to America around the time of the world wars.
Detail of location map for the ancestral home of the Candela family.
Detail of simple infographic emphasizing the importance of the Italian-American community.