A new letterhead design for Christian rockers The Jesus Band Los Angeles, which has its own uniquely cataclysmic view of the message of the Bible (see our recent design for their record “1:1″ to see more of their vision realized).  The brooding clouds are cut only by a cooling image of a cross, delivering their central belief: that the only way to avoid the pain of Judgment Day is through being saved.

You may or may not agree with this, but hopefully you will agree that this is a striking bit of letterhead, printed on brilliant white premium bond for a nice pop.

When Rich McCulley approached us about creating a cover for his fifth Americana record “Starting All Over Again,” we jumped right into it.  This is our third album together now, and the last two have seen quite a bit of radio play and placement activity on TV and in film. 2009 was a tough year for Rich, in which he lost not only a close friend but also a former girlfriend, both of which were music partners too.  So this record carries the theme of loss and inevitable change, not always for the best.

Typically we begin with me listening to his master recordings and sketching out dozens of ideas, a process that works well for artists that don’t come with set image or theme ideas out of the box.  I keep my sketch pad handy in the car and in the studio and just spin the record as much as possible.  All in all I presented about 30 finished sketches to Rich and this one struck a chord right away:  a little toy house burning right to the ground.

We had some difficulty locating just the right plastic house, but finally an Echo Park 99 cent store turned up two packages of the structure seen on the cover, allowing us to burn one as a test and use the other for the final shots (and only cost $1.98).  As it turned out, both sets of shots yielded some great stuff, so we ended up using one set for an animated film on the splash page of his website, and the other for the cover.  Who would have thought it would be so tough to burn down a little plastic house?  But it is, probably for kid safety I suppose, and it took an entire box of wooden matches set aflame inside to get the houses burning correctly.

The inside photo was taken on a concrete staircase nearby to Rich’s recording studio, showing him in a reflective mood that matches the vibe of the record.  All the album notes fitted neatly under the cd face, allowing the rest to remain relatively untouched.  On the back cover we placed a closeup of a match, which also appears from a different angle on the cd face.  The texture and color of the asphalt adds a nice grey tone to the whole package.

This album drops on March 16, 2010 with a full press campaign, so listen for it on a station near you soon…

A large print branding ad for an auto technology company thanking customers for the reviews they’ve posted about the company on a popular auto industry social media site. The ad is to be placed in an awards brochure at an event put on by the social media site.

The ad uses actual snippets from reviews as a backdrop, with certain phrases highlighted for emphasis.

This was a very fun 6 panel digipak (with 16 page booklet) project for Christian rockers Jesus Band Los Angeles, which is putting out this debut record this spring.  Their vision of the message of the Bible is not exactly a happy one for those “not in the fold,” so this artwork was intended to show a dramatic, somewhat terrifying world in which the cross appears as a saving grace.

No matter what your religious bent, you are sure to enjoy the heavily manipulated original images and photo collages I created for this package, showing famous LA landmarks (Capitol Records, City Hall, Union Station, the Hollywood Sign, etc) with crosses blazing out their windows and key Biblical verses replacing the familiar lettering, all underneath extremely forbidding and stormy skies.  It is a rare thing to see as much as a shred of cloud in Los Angeles, so of course there was a need to replace the skies with something more interesting. There was also some interesting touches thrown in at the suggestion of the band, including a plane flying over LA with a banner reading “Jesus loves Los Angeles,” a carpenter tacking up an addition to the Hollywood Sign, and lots of lightning.  You’ll see flaming letters, a blue planet crashing into the Earth, and more.

The band that will be touring the project is different from those heard in the studio (except for singer Pat Rettig), so there were two separate musician credit sections with pictures to be shown.  Sadly, we had only low res pictures to work with on the musicians, so there was a fair bit of editing that needed to happen to bring them up to snuff.

The LA landmark shots were originally photographed to be displayed in large format on the walls of a Los Angeles legal practice, and it was great to be able to extend their use here.  The shot of Union Station with the palm tree shadows is not a digital manipulation (though the landscape behind is of course) — I just caught the right moment of sunset when the tree aligned exactly with the clock.

The CD face has an aerial shot of the Los Angeles grid screened over black, and the letters of the band name cut through to the silver disc — a very powerful, impressive looking disc to hold in your hand.  Around the edge are the names of all the tracks, also cut through to silver.

Christian rock fans, keep your ears peeled for JBLA!

A new album cover design for “Find A Way,” the debut recording of modern rock band Sugarwall.  The band came to me with a set of gorgeous photographs by Rian Flynn taken waaay out in the high desert (to the point where the production assistant found a tarantula climbing up her leg).  I probably would have suggested a composite shot from an air conditioned LA studio for this one, but you have to admire all their dedication to getting something very unique and cool.

Laying out the album was all about letting the imagery speak for itself, so we carefully chose some elegant fonts and laid them out in colors that complimented the photos.  There was only a small need for some photo editing (not telling where!), and the package was done.

These guys are old friends and I wish them well with this great sounding record.

A half-moon logo for new country music label DeW Note Records, based out of Nashville and Los Angeles.

Uses the twin motifs of a country hat and a font that invokes the old West, with some notes incorporated inside.  We like to think of it as depicting the virtual country soundtrack that plays in the mind of the avid country listener.

Classic country crooner David Wood will be sending his fans off after shows with these cool bumper stickers, with distressed lettering and old school country coloring.

A baby tee for the LA rock band Sugarwall.

This design sold out on their recent West Coast tour with Jason Boland and the Stragglers.

A trifold marketing brochure for an auto industry technology client, laying out their SEO and online reputation management offering complete with numerous testimonials and two charts showing their success. This client uses an avatar to “humanize” what can be a confusing and intimidating area, so the design integrates her and the power of her arm-mounted supercomputer.

Selling cars begins now with customers reading about the dealership online long before they call or show up, so dealers are increasingly monitoring their online reputation and seeking out systems like this to make tracking their online presence more systematic.  Saves money and boosts marketing impact.

This tri-fold prints simply and fold in threes, and is intended as a takeaway at conferences or a leave behind after a dealership visit.

Who doesn’t love receiving a cheery baby announcement in the mail?

These 4″ x 6″ postcards are easy on the budget, mail cheaper than letters, and look really great.

Colors can match the clothing of the baby (in this case, light green and pink) or come from any palette.  Fonts can also change to match the family’s style.  They can also be upgraded with envelopes, with a short message from the parents (or better yet, from the baby!) on the reverse.

The picture shown was taken in Pasadena’s gorgeous Huntingdon Gardens, but any nearby park can be a great photo location that babies love.