Project Sighting!

La Marzocco Strada MP: 3 groups of pressure-profiled espresso perfection.It's been waaaay too long since I've posted anything up here, but that's because I've been busy busy busy! I got hit with a landslide of projects in November and kept thinking I'd post something when I came up for air. Now it's late June and the slide is still rolling on … but I just had to take a moment and post this sweet time-lapse video by Charley Voorhis on the recent Caffè Mela remodel. 

I was quite involved in consulting on the design aspects of the project – how the new space should look, feel and flow, as well as some additional graphic design projects which will be arriving soon. Ben Field of Be,Clearly also provided incredibly valuable insight on refining the direction for the company. I also used a sledge hammer to consult the walls during the tearout… Keep an eye out here and at the shop for more design projects over the coming weeks, including a couple new T-shirts.

Darren & Emily Reynolds, the owners, and their solid team of baristi worked a near miracle in totally revamping the space in only 8 days, all while still serving coffee & great local food in the entry of the shop. 

Now the cafe is fully open again, serving even better espresso out of their brand-new La Marzocco Strada MP (and will soon be serving premium locally-crafted Snowdrift Cider as well as tapas-style tasty eats). There's an incredibly uplifting buzz about the place! It's open, clean, airy and authentic with the original brick walls now re-exposed. You get a more intimate experience with the expert barista staff and their process of making your coffee, whether it's a perfectly pressure-profiled single-origin espresso, vac pot, or pourover brew. And the live music experience is going to really shine now with more seating and great visibility from anywhere in the shop. Go check it out!

Pie Pops!

Ok when I first checked out these things I just thought they sounded tasty. But I was immediately impressed with the way they were presented! They say a picture is worth a thousand words, right? Check out this 29,000-odd word essay. The photography's solid and I love the unexpected food/design combination…

Pie Pops via Luxirare

Project Sighting!

So I just happened across this post on The SunBreak. A case of being at the right place at the right time I guess, I wouldn't say I'm a frequent reader, but living near Seattle and being a former Seattleite I do like keeping up on what's happening just over the hills from me. I dabble in photography and have huge respect for Chase Jarvis's work, so when I saw this video was shot on the big brother to my Nikon, I decided to watch it. It looked creative, had some sweet smooth image quality, then at 0:47 into it I saw a bag I designed a couple years ago for Ride Snowboards. A lot of times as a freelance designer you'll design a project and it'll slip into the recesses of a development file somewhere, or run for a year and fade away. So while it's fun to create these products, it's way cool to see them out in real life when you're not expecting it!

Project notes: the bag seen here is the Ride Snowboards 07-08 season (if I remember right) Frantic Duffel. Additional credit goes to Joe Florence, Robin Mavis and the rest of the Ride team who contributed to the concept and style development here. It's always been one of my faves, with wet/dry gear separation (also good for catching spray paint drips), vents, and a "Welcome" zip fold-out mat. All that and a cavernous volume to carry loads of gear.

Letterpress Coasters

This last weekend the Northwest Cider Association made their first public appearance in Seattle at Cider Summit NW. With any new organization, it's essential to communicate who you are and what you're about from the very start. NW Cider Assn. stands for high-quality ciders crafted with love from whole fruit in the northwest. In this case, we chose simple branded coasters as one of the pieces to build brand recognition. Coasters to go with your cider, because it's all about the cider, and brand it by association whether it's carrying a NW Cider or not (and remind you that you should be drinking NW Cider). Letterpress because it's a high-touch process, crafted by hand (in the northwest) just like the ciders NWCA represents – and you can't help but run your fingers over the embossed texture, cherish it, and fall in love with the brand at the same time.

New Logo – Northwest Cider Association

Hot off the presses and right out into the world, Northwest Cider Association is sporting the results of my most recent collaboration projects. Working with David White, one of the world's most knowledgeable cider buffs, and incredibly talented designer and photographer, was an absolute joy and we definitely spurred each other on and challenged each other through the process.