Rhoost is a new company, breaking ground in the category of modern and stylish child safety products. In the span of just over a year, they have gone from concept to having product in hand. Run by two ambitious and business-savvy first-time entrepreneurs, the business is sure to be a success. They are already getting the attention of some big names in the children’s retail market.

Designed to appeal to the young, fashionable and urban mom, the site echos the clean and modern characteristics of the products themselves. In addition to showcasing the products, the site provides multiple opportunities for consumers to interact with the business owners via a blog, Twitter and Facebook feeds. The current live version has a fully functioning e-commerce solution.

One aspect that I don’t often get to do during the web design process was a set of bird illustrations that are featured throughout the site. They birds have also been used on collateral pieces and the product packaging.

An innovator in the virtual goods market, viximo needed a logo revamp. During the initial exploration and research, we chose to focus on the use of the word mark as the primary identity. I chose to create the type from scratch, and built it over quite a few different iterations. I’m happy with the final logo, but I also like a few of the other direction quite a bit as well. Below are a few other options, with the wireframe that shows the construction.

Done at Alphabet Arm.

In addition to the printed materials, which included a save the date, an invitation and a welcome kit, the campaign included a mini-site for the event. With a registration form and information on the details of the event, the site covered all facets of the function for the attendees.

Done at Roycroft Design. Additional website pages designed by Emily Chionchio.

I had worked with New Collisions before on their début CD. While that release got some great press, the band had a bit of a regroup afterwards. Dropping the “The” from their band name, and embracing a bit darker image, the change is pretty dramatic.

The artwork reflects that pretty directly, and is based on some of the lyrics from one of the songs. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy to get that robin to hang out on that femur.

In addition to the CD packaging, I also designed a complimentary ad mat and postcard. One of my favorite parts of this project was using it as an exercise in pushing a typeface. I used Garamond exclusively for all the type, though I used several different weights and styles. If you start with something of high quality, it’s amazing what you can do.

Materials shot by Tony Luong.

MocoSpace is a wildly popular mobile social network, targeted at the hip 20-something crowd. The client came to us looking for a media kit, and we pitched them an idea of a booklet contained within a folder.

Among the many challenges with this project, one of the largest was their lack of a consistant brand. The media kit uses a cut and paste aesthetic to convey the brand’s roots, but walks a fine line of restraint, as the target audience for the kit is really investors. The other aspect of the project that I’m proud of: a user chart infographic executed in spray paint.

Designed at Alphabet Arm. Thanks to Tony Luong for the photography.

While working at Alphabet Arm Design, I redesigned and implemented a new website for the studio. There were a whole suite of challenges with the project, including a large back catalog of projects that spanned a large client base. I implemented a site architecture that cleanly presented the content, and enabled users to see the depth of work. I also designed the user interface for the site, and implemented the design through an easily updated content management system. The new site increase traffic more than 300% and allowed us to better serve our audience.

Designer at Alphabet Arm Design.

The New Collisions commissioned Alphabet Arm to design the packaging for their first official release: the EP “Invisible Embraces.” Even though they’re fairly new to the scene, they’re already causing waves opening for Blondie and the B-52’s. With a great New Wave sound, it’s obvious that there are good things on the horizon for them. As part of the direction for the package, the band wanted it to really say “New Wave.” The final product uses a lot more saturated color than I normally use, but it was a good exercise to get out of my comfort zone.

Part of the fun for this project was that after the album design was done, I executed an entire press kit. This kind of stuff doesn’t happen much these days, so it was quite enjoyable.

Designed at Alphabet Arm. Thanks to Tony Luong for the photography.

This is a logo project that the client never really got off the ground. We did some pretty killer concepts, but I think the client just didn’t have it together. Some people are like that I guess. Either way, I can’t let these just sit in the dark. I was stoked on them at the time, and I’m still pretty fond of them. Never got far enough to do color, but maybe they’ll get used sometime.

Done at Alphabet Arm.

A premium package that went out to campaign participants, the box contained a guide, make-up bag and product samples. The box features a fold-out panel and spot silver which highlight its exclusivity. The guide has a wrap-around, self-sealing cover and two spots throughout—including spot silver.

Designed at Alphabet Arm Design. Thanks to Tony Luong for the photography.

Camp Harbor View is located on Long Island (in the Boston Harbor Islands), and provides a safe place for area urban youth to get away from the city and enjoy the summer. The camp was started several years ago as a joint project of The Connors Family Office and Mayor Thomas Menino.

The annual report is their main piece of printed marketing, and is widely distributed. Our design captures the fun spirit of the event, without pandering and being “kiddy”. After several different concepts were pitched to The Connors Family Office, we settled on a direction that uses the camp’s bold orange color, as well as a complimentary palette. The type contrasts both lightheartedness as well as a more refined approach, reflecting the camp’s attendees and seriousness of the mission. Finally, the design features far more photography of the previous year’s activities of the camp than it does graphs and financial statistics, since it is the kids and the impact that the camp has on their lives which remains the true focus of the report.

Done at Roycroft Design.

On occation, clients say things like, “Do whatever. Just make it really cool.” Those jobs are usually pretty rough, cause it’s hard to get the ball rolling. Even though the client for this job said something to that effect, this turned out to be be a really fun job. Really, when you start with a company name like Let’s Make It Awesome, how can you go wrong.

Sadly, these logos are all concepts. Fun to do, but ultimately didn’t make it to the final round.

Done at Alphabet Arm.

Daily Grommet is a curated social commerce website that features really interesting and unique products. They hand-pick items that interesting stories, and present them for their users. I worked with the company founders to create a brand that would have similarly interesting characteristics. Hand-crafted and custom were some of the core values that we discussed a lot, and these ideas became central to the branding.

We decided to design the business cards as the centerpiece of system, so I pulled out the stops. It’s letterpress on one side, with a custom pattern that I designed. Each employee’s information is applied by way of a printed, die-cut sticker.

Done at Alphabet Arm Design.