iPhone Brady-Bunch-Style Family Photo
On New Years 2010 our family created this image using all of our iPhone4s. Enjoy:
P.S. We thought about putting my iPad in the middle with my big face, but decided otherwise. Probably better that way. 
Latest Logo Design: Managed Custom Solutions
Managed Custom Solutions approached me to design their logo. From the get-go they were clear that they wanted a logo that was simple, clean and elegant, more modern than classical. They wanted something that communicated completeness, trust and knowledge, but in a serious mood that conveyed calm and soothing feelings. Their main target market were blue collar males, self-employed in the U.S. They also wanted a font that was approachable, vs. harsh.
Given all that and the information gained during our chat over hor dourves and margaritas, this is the logo design that was created and accepted:
Circles were chosen for their sense of completeness and trust. The three interlocking circles represent the three main facets of their company found in the title: Managed, Custom and Solutions—all working together to give their clients what they need.
The main color blue was chosen for its softness as well as a homage to their intended market, namely blue collar workers. The secondary colors were chosen to compliment the blue and allow for more flexibility in future branding design (namely their website and any promotional material).
The typeface is Avenir and was selected for its modern, elegant feel with rounded, geometric shapes. It was set in all lowercase to flow with the circles and keep the softer sense; uppercase was too stark and angular.
When creating the logotype (name of the company) I chose to make “Managed” more prominent. I felt, after thinking more about what they shared about their company and what their clients are looking for, that managed was the biggest player. They mentioned that their non-tech clients are looking for a company to manage the software for them. I kept “Custom Solutions” together as one phrase as that is what they help manage and provide.
Book Grids I Designed
When faced with a paramount book design challenge, a versatile grid is essential. A well designed grid will help maintain a level of consistency from page to page and make our jobs as designers a whole lot easier. Below are a few grid spreads I have designed for books. Some are more suited for large books with lots of parts and details; Others are for simpler designs. But all of them can be used to help create an engaging and visually stunning book.
Versatile Complex Grid:
Module Grid:
Column Grid #1:
Column Grid #2:
Great Design: What is Design? Posters
Great Design: Frank Chimero Illustrations
Source: The Office of Frank Chimero
Generate Love Poster
What if we all carried around a 1 foot by 1 foot piece of plexiglass held out at arm’s length. Through it we viewed our world. On it is a symbol, or word, for what we wanted our lives to ultimately generate. Every moment of every day our plexiglass window evoked our personal life mission. It reminded us how we should view others. It steered us in the choices we should make. All according to our expressed—or desired—mission. Money? Hate? Peace?
What if that mission was love? How would we view our world? Ourselves? How would we treat others if viewed through our love-generating plexiglass window? How would we view and treat strangers? Harder yet, our “enemies”?
Here is a poster I designed around that very concept (with two other variations):
Great Design: 9/11 Poster by Christoffer Erneholm
A gentle and subdued memorial poster of 9/11 by Christoffer Erneholm. I love the gradient slices, clouds, and soft colors. It makes you remember without defaulting to familiar images of planes, holes and debris.
The text seems to be homage to the Guy Fawks Night Poem: “Remember, Remember, the 5th of November”, when Fawks tried to assassinate the King of England by blowing up the parliament. One thing I also like about this statement is the date is never mentioned in the verbiage. Just “That Day in September”, with the numbers 9 and 11 in the circle above.
