concept from holidogs past

Here’s one of those hidden gems you come back across every now and then. This was a holiday communication concept for Razorfish in 07 (When it was AA|RF). The whole idea revolved around the name and it’s audible similarity to a dog’s bark. Which is why it was killed. No one liked the connection between our company and the adorable canine. But I did. Oh man this was so adorable. This was the card concept that was to go out to our clients. At copy’s bottom you’ll notice a URL. HappyHolidogs was an interactive sound generator that let you play freely or in time to select holiday favorites. And of course it was in a chorus of dog barks. We were all set to bring in our own employee’s best friends to keep down cost. I even ordered a dozen of those charming antlers. Man I wish we’d just done it anyway.

healthcare 2020

Ah to design such acclaimed magazine covers. What an honor. BUT unfortunately, that’s not the case here. We’re working with one of our clients to show them how there company could be perceived in the year 2020 if they get on top of their digital presence. These Economist and GQ examples spotlight a possible collaboration with Nike to develop bio-metric clothing to analyze your health and increasing future connections to consumers. NOTE: This information is published for the sole purpose of demonstrating the design process. Any misuse of this material is strictly prohibited.

charts & graphs

Sometimes I get the opportunity to help out with our internal reports and documentation. This could be seen as tedious and devoid of creative focus. On the contrary, I think projects like this really tap into my internal mixture of form vs. function… alignment and color. The analytical mind with a desire  to play dress-up. My design mantra has been described as aesthetic order. At least by me. I probably over-think these, with every pixel under such harsh scrutiny. But I feed off it. These are just two pages our Web Analytics team needed for a new interface to spotlight our clients web presence and performance. I was supposed to provide a series of 15 colors that could flow nicely with our core brand palette. But the layouts were so sloppy. So I cleaned them up.

chocolate kitchen

My cousin John bought the house I grew up in. For the past few years it’s been kinda weird. Mostly due to the fact that he hasn’t updated a thing. I mean the moment I walk into that house it’s as if I just hoped off the school bus and came home for an early lunch. Bringing back those memories is nice… but not always. It’s time for him to make the house his own and he’s sparing no expense doing just that. So this remodeling issue takes us to the kitchen. He kept the same layout but updated all the cabinets, floors, countertops, backsplash and appliances. So now there’s this neutral tone that’s everywhere. Except the room adjacent to it still has the 80’s teal rug and that won’t be replaced for some time. So keeping a neutral was a must. He likes bold, vivid colors but the more color we added the distracting it became. So we went dark. The other issue was that with the wrong color, the cabinets take on a very obvious pink hue. So bringing the coffee (tan) under the soffits really help, again, to neutralize it. I can’t wait to see this finished.

beige or blue?

The question is just how will I know unless i apply 8 different coats of paint until I’m finally satisfied with the outcome? Well to help friends and family along the way with that very question, over the years I’ve been taking snapshots of their living spaces and applying color before ever having to step foot in a hardware store. In this case, my sister and her husband recently bought a new home. They love the space but are having a hard time deciding which colors work best. After hanging out by her fireplace, gingerly sipping my glass of Cabernet and moving a few pieces of new furniture around, I came to the conclusion that having heavy furniture against that wall just doesn’t accommodate the space best. Sitting adjacent to the kitchen, and being the very first wall you see coming up the stairs into their living space, I felt a bold splash of color and an artistic showcase of their family photography could be a good start at a conversation piece. This was nothing more than an experiment in color. Personally I like the Aqua and Chocolate. But then, they are really big right now. Click image to enlarge.

catapult logo exploration

So yes, the logo swoosh has been over done. but I thought it ignorant of me not to at least attempt the illusion of an object literally being catapulted threw the air. Catapult, LLC is the holding company for Maltese Hockey. A brand I’ve been working with for many years now. Their emphasis is on the ever supportive edge of a fast-paced games security. They provide gel-padding products that further aid in the protection of goaltenders and players alike. I wanted a mark that eluded to a fast-forward momentum. But this may be over the top. Will post others as I produce.

steak’em up the jingle

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So. Steak’em Up. The South Philly Legend owned and operated by my cousin Mike. He had a very specific idea to produce a local cable commercial spotlighting his new steak shop that cast his employees working and his dogster mascot singing. His only request from me was to re-create the pop classic Shake it up into a jingle for this commercial. I warned him over and over that it’s probably not the most legal thing to do. But suffice it to say, the jingle was created. What you’re hearing is the second take. It was only meant to be listened to as a proof. But when I sent it he replied: Perfect! From there he took it and before I knew: the jingle, along side an interestingly edited spot, made its way on-air. Amidst every locally televised sporting event in the Philadelphia area, which if you know Philly is a lot of air time. It’s strange being out at a pub hearing it played on TV as barflys sing along. It’s surreal. Admittedly, this is probably the most cheesy recording I’ve ever made. Go ahead and laugh. I encourage it. Am I proud? Well, I’ve never one to be full of myself so; yeah… Good for him and his shop. Go Mike! The lyrics read as: “Well you dance all night and work all day… I know what I wanna eat today. Steak’em Up! Woo Woo, Steak’em Up!”

smartones campaign final

Final campaign. Yogurt concept selected. Oatmeal and Toast versions created to complete campaign. NOTE: This information is published for the sole purpose of demonstrating the design process. Any misuse of this material is strictly prohibited.

smartones ad concepts

Our Heinz client has a brand in the Frozen Nutritionals category called Smart Ones. Maybe you’ve seen them in your supermarket’s freezer section. Their new line of breakfast products called “Morning Express” offers four selections for those who are on a diet yet want something tasty to eat. Our approach to the online advertising was to focus on the indulgence factor. We came up with these three approaches. One that pokes fun at the “Cheesy” nature of the product. One that compares it to other, bland breakfasts and another that asks our viewers to be a little bad since they’ve started out the day so good. All emphasize a breakfast option that’s not only good for you, but also tastes good. NOTE: This information is published for the sole purpose of demonstrating the design process. Any misuse of this material is strictly prohibited.

pnc global investment servicing

 

PNC Global Investment Servicing. Banking micro-site to announce the name change from PFPC, broadcast video of their CEO delivering the announcement, allow user to interact with their timeline history and provide a place for the networks to download any related material for publishing the news. The design was simple, clean, corporate and makes mention to PNC without over emphasizing its presence. This needed to launch fast. We went from concept to production in only two weeks. Just my example of a clean, business interface. NOTE: This information is published for the sole purpose of demonstrating the design process. Any misuse of this material is strictly prohibited.