Fresh from the beach… and happy the dogs will smell of salt air for a couple of days. Sigh.

To keep the summer glow longer, I threw together an eclectic mix tape with a happy vibe to set the tone in the studio. A chill summer groove that starts mellow and builds. Carefree, optimistic and playful… reminding me of my days living on South Beach. When many a lazy afternoon on the beach turned into dancing all night – leaving only to watch the sun rise. Nap on beach. Rinse and repeat! A well spent youth. Enjoy and have a great summer!

Download audio file (SummerMix042610.mp3)

Unemployed in Summertime Emiliana Torrini
Yesterday was a Lie Telepopmusic
Une Very Stylish Fille Dimitri from Paris
Bow Down Mister (2B Polite Mix) Boy George & Culture Club
We Are Trying to Stay Alive Wyclef Jean
Trouble of this World Nappy Roots
What’s my Name DJ Earworm
Time of Our Lives Paul Van Dyk
Asereje (Hip Hop Trippin Mix) Las Ketchup
Generations of Love (La La Gone Gaga Mix) Boy George & Culture Club
Express Yourself Charles Wright & the 103rd Street Rhythm Band
Lotta Love (Get Up Thry Da Night’99) The Freshmaka
Cabo Parado (Main Mix) Martin Solveig & Stephy Haik
Alibi (featureing Darien) Chuck Mosely
Look of Love (Madison Park vs. Lenny B Remix) Nina Simone
ZDRLT Rewind (Pogo Remix) Digitalism

In this design pitch, we were tasked with developing a new system for HBO’s on air branding. Of course, it also had to be filmic and modular at the same time, so our solution was to adapt the film gate to cinematically frame footage and the HBO logo itself which was locked down into the same position in the middle of the frame. We also sought to make every element a small story telling opportunity. To that end we adapted the ratings cards to tease the card of content warnings with matching flashes of photography… Adult content? How about a flasher? Violence? How about a sucker punch?

The result ties into their online graphic system, creating a seamless branding experience as various elements naturally connect to each other by match cutting to the HBO logo.

This quicktime is a proof of concept to demonstrate how seamless the on air experience can become by laying down a few simple rules and sticking to them. If they had chosen this concept, we would have shot elements for each show to play off of the letterbox.

For Citi, we created a branded campaign to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Women & Co. – their division dedicated to wealth management for women. As a brand that prides itself on listening and learning from its members, we wanted to craft a sophisticated and elegant design suitable to the category while putting a real face on the brand.

Real members. Their words.

This was the perfect launch item for the campaign as it celebrates Citi’s commitment to innovating “firsts” – in context of women’s “firsts” and their place in history. The timeline weaves between both numerical and historical figures creating a sense of connection with women and their wisdom on wealth.

This “Book of Insights” was the final element in the campaign, where insights from Citi’s Women & Co. membership meets both insider data and “best practices” from industry experts. We continued the theme of the interwoven timeline and gave the book more personality with illustrations that personify the memberships imagination… their hopes… their daydreams.

Always connected to the Women & Co. timeline they act as persistent branding elements while allowing for infinite shifts in personality or points of view.

Everyone knows True Blood by now. And the beautiful title the team at Digital Kitchen made for it. This was my treatment for that title…

One of the tasks given us by Alan Ball was to transport the audience from the world they know – to a world they don’t know. In rural Louisiana.

Seeking to refer to vampires without showing them, this concept studies man’s seeking of the everlasting. Of the transcendent. By hitting a balance between the everlasting and the carnal we struck a tone where Vampires seem to be a natural extension of our own quest for sustenance. A world where the everyday is mythic and barbaric.

Our approach was to cut together sequences of simple savagery. Everyday folk eating. Couples grinding away in a juke joint. A swamp revival. And a few frames of our more “extreme” passions edited in for punctuation.

Limiting the color palette to black, white and yellow creates a visual through-line. Burning yellow light dances over high contrast images. The effect to evoke the struggle between the seen and the unseen – our struggle to illuminate… or destroy.

For the reference frames I borrowed heavily from William Steber. He captured iconic images in Juke Joints that capture the tribal spirit of a rural juke joint. Dancing like that, I think they’ve certainly caught some kind of “spirit”!

The agency was looking to freshen up their look and create a system that could brand the franchise while providing a strong template for easy turnaround on the huge quantity of spots they produce. Our solution was to use the iconic shape of the franchise stores as the motif and place it in the rolling hills of farm country. Real food. Real fresh.

Monet’s gardens in Giverny inspired me to squint a little and see things the way he did! To help make the shots feel more ethereal and impressionistic I used a Lensbaby with only the bellows attached resulting in these super-soft images. The effect, combined with abstract framing, forces the viewer to hunt for solid ground… something familiar.

Three different homes in Paris set the stage for drama in quintessentially franco-fashion. Catching the Paris Opera House the day after a performance of La Bayadère Opéra Bastille Paris leaves a cross section on stage reflecting the architecture of the theatre itself. This shot aims to highlight the juxtaposition of the classical architecture with Marc Chagall’s modern (1964) painting for the ceiling.

In the second shot of the series, Versailles is the backdrop for three kids playing chase in a garden that is designed for just that – while always reminding you that the crown is watching. I guess that’s why Marie had to build her own house a little farther away!

The last one shows two dogs in repose – waiting for their owner in Giverny. I imagine someone is going to appear through the open doorway with their Louis Vuitton.

This collaboration with Tim Barker was an homage to Calvin Klein for Ron’s modeling portfolio.

Chasing the American dream in the big apple sometimes seems like there’s money flying around everywhere – but just out of reach! It’s like being put in one of those 1950′s games show’s where contestants see how much money they can grab in 30 seconds. This title creates that impression by showing dollar bills floating around everywhere in normal life. The people with money seem oblivious to the flurry of cash while the “have nots” scurry madly in pursuit.