As a new designer at Azul 7, I have found myself spending a lot of quality time with Pantone® swatches – choosing just the right hue, in the right value, with the right saturation to fit the brand of a given company. This of course got me thinking about color and how it often times communicates an emotion or idea better than words ever could. Then, somewhere between Warm Red U and 431 U, I began to wonder what my day would look like if told it through the eyes of Pantone® colors. Could it possibly be the beginning of a secondary color palette for Azul 7?

Azul 7 has been recognized by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal as one of the Twin Cities’ Best Places to Work. The award was given based on responses to a confidential survey by Azul 7 employees.

“We’re a young, quickly growing company with all the joys and tribulations that growth brings,” said Chris Cortilet, principal and co-founder. “To be recognized as a great place to work affirms that we are creating the kind of culture that we intended to create”.

Azul 7 will be officially recognized along with the other honorees at a luncheon in September.

Many moons ago I found myself walking down a narrow, crowded street in Brussels. Brussels is a vast city full of mixed cultures stemming from the Dutch, Belgian and, of course, the French. We all know what they say about the French.

I was a youngster at the time, about 19 years-old, fresh out of my first year at the University of Minnesota. At the time, I was an aspiring broadcast-journalist. I wanted to absorb all of the diverse culture I would encounter in my voyage across the pond. My home in Europe was the one and only - the home of Anne Frank, a never-ending chain of canals, windmills, tulips, red lights and those ridiculously funny looking shoes. Yes, oh yes, Amsterdam.

Contrary to popular belief, Amsterdam has much more to offer than just coffee shops, women, thick dark beer and euthanasia. But, only in Brussels do you see the Dutch and French butting heads and challenging each other to see who can be the most inappropriate. Only in Brussels would I find the most outrageous form of advertising. In my voyage, it became clear that Western Europeans are not afraid to show naked bodies and use profanities and drugs. There is nothing but honesty – sugar coating is absent and unheard of.

I peered up at a brightly lit advertisement in a store window. I did not take a double take, not a triple take, but a quadruple take. That’s right. Had I sat at that coffee shop too long? Because I swear that sign says… (insert your favorite curse phrase consisting of f!%$ing h$ll).

That was the single most eye-catching advertisement I had ever seen! How many times do you look at a banner ad four times? How many billboards have made your jaw drop?

At the time, I had no clue that three years later I would be working for a digital media/advertising agency. Today I look back at this moment and consider how censorship impacts advertising and society on various levels throughout different countries.

In the U.S., we would never use profanities to attract professional attention because we are a society driven by political correctness. It is a commonality throughout the U.S. that the media must avoid offending any person on any level. Are people really offended or harmed by the use of profanities and nudity or is the nation, as a whole, a little too sensitive? Consequently, does this sensitivity hinder or help society? It is as if through this “principle” of political correctness we create our own version of a naïve bubble-cushioned reality.

It is essential to point out that this meticulous censorship does not only impact advertising strategies, but also journalism. For example, I once attended a lecture given by a photographer for a well-known Minneapolis-based newspaper. He was in Iraq when an Iraqi family got blown up in a land mine. One small boy survived with critical limb injuries. The boy’s legs were gone. There was nothing but blood and tears. This was all captured by the photographer. The photographer was determined to have these photos in full color on the front page of the newspaper. But, they were not. Instead, the photos were cropped, faded to black and white and put on page 7.

Media, specifically journalism, is supposed to be society’s gatekeeper. News organizations are supposed to be bi-partisans reporting the truth and facts. But, how can this happen if our culture is so sensitive to the brutality that honesty may bring?

History and media coincide with one another as our media tactics and tendencies have evolved over time. Events in American history have dictated a large part of our media’s characteristics as the media consistently reached turning points as the nation did.

(Please note that it is not only in the U.S. where such censorship is found. But, there is stark contrast between censorship in the U.S. and Western European countries as mentioned.)

Censorship impacts our perception, knowledge and awareness. It may prevent personal offense, but it ultimately neglects society because it deters media from relaying the truth and demonstrating honesty.

After a month in Europe I became accustomed to the bluntness of the culture. It was something short of culture shock to return to the bubble cushion that is the U.S. Perhaps it is all perception, everyone’s perception is different and every perception is questionable. But, it is these varied perceptions that create the necessary discussion to mold the future of our media’s landscape.

So, let’s butt heads (oops, can I say butt?).

Azul 7 is a sponsor of the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce’s 21st Annual Golf Classic on Monday, August 18 at North Oaks Country Club.

As a sponsor, Azul 7 representatives will be available at Hole # 7 to cheer on participants and provide information about Azul 7. Golfers who shoot a “7″ on the Par 4 hole will be eligible for a special prize.

Azul 7’s sponsorship is part of the firm’s ongoing support for the Chamber. The firm is also currently redesigning their website which should launch in January 2009.