Creative inspiration from the Guru of Printing
New York City boasts hundreds of museums, but you can literally count those that attract the lion’s share of visitors—tourists and residents alike—on one hand. Every year, smaller and lesser known museums in neighborhoods throughout the entire city offer eye-opening, educational, moving and quirky exhibits that deserve a much larger audience. One of them, the […]
Every season has its whirl of A List social and corporate events. Some are tony, like Art Basel Miami Beach, others make for great storytelling (“Did I tell you about the time I played poker with Warren Buffett?). But they all have one thing in common: The highly coveted invitation that beckons the recipient to […]
Video killed the radio star, but e-commerce has not killed the hard copy catalog. And today, they come in all shapes, sizes and formats. Here’s a collection of some of my favorites. These are “coffee-table catalogs”—luxurious, eye-catching and too impressive to toss in the trash. Hong Kong-based Tai Ping Carpets, which designs and manufactures to-the-trade bespoke […]
Chelsea-based advertising agency Flint and Steel came to us to consult about custom packaging for a promotion they were working on for their client, luxury spirits distiller William Grant & Sons. “William Grant & Sons conducts periodic sales blitzes for their innovation brands, and contacted us to help develop an all-in-one kit to showcase four […]
Did you ever wonder how an establish model or an up-and-coming “fresh face” gets cast in a runway show? It’s not a spur-of-the moment decision by casting agents or design house. Venerable modeling agency Ford Models sends promotional packages to agents and designers months before show seasons in New York, London, Milan and Paris to […]
The reactant was a mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico; the reagent was inoperable lung cancer. From these ingredients Vince Gilligan cooked up the compelling, ground-breaking crime drama “Breaking Bad” for AMCtv. One morning in August 2013, out of the blue, I received a call from AMCtv to discuss a production. highresolution […]
The summer tradeshow season is almost here, and marketers are already busy creating booth exhibits that best showcase their products and services–and lure potential clients and customers like a moth to a flame. But after you’ve grabbed the attention of a prospect and finished your show-and-tell, you want to leave her or him with a […]
Attention, Creatives! Get “published”! The Guru is pleased to announce a new design contest: That’s right, it’s on, and we know you’ll crush it. All you have to do is design a Thanksgiving card – a card that is a visual expression of gratitude. Entrants and winners will get all kinds of great exposure for […]
It all started with some very posh and glittering tomato red and aubergine menu covers we made for the highly acclaimed New York restaurant SD26, and it ended up with the chef generously sharing a coveted and seasonally perfect SD26 recipe for caponata and a free, 5-course, Chef’s tasting dinner for two, maybe for you! […]
We’ll be bringing the third dimension to the Paper Expo at The Art Director’s Club this Thursday, May 8 in New York City. You’ll see amazing examples of our work in paper, acrylic, glass, canvas, mixed media and much more. We’re bringing tremendous creative inspiration and all the capabilities in our tool kit – from […]
In the digital age, luxury brands are smart to set themselves apart with a sumptuous printed corporate identity suite. We did this one for Carelle, a jewelry brand, focused on simple, clean, beautiful, organized, color-coordinated materials that make a statement. A 5-1/4″ square, 48-page overview brochure fits perfectly into a hand-applied floating pocket. This […]
This multi-part, interactive invitation to the reopening of the Chevy Chase Pavilion was a collaboration with our clever and creative client, the multi-disciplinary design collective Street Sense. This highly customized piece was specified in a quantity of less than 500 pieces, so creating a cost-effective way to produce it took some imagination. We love projects […]
Thanks to the prolific Weinstein Company and Sony Pictures, there’s a bright spot in our snowy, slushy cabin-fever winter of 2014. It’s the indie film The Art of the Steal, now offered on Amazon Digital and maybe also by your local cable provider before it hits theaters in March. The Guru gives it two thumbs up! […]
A great way to make custom packaging out of stock containers is labels. We love these labels we make for Brooklyn’s super-hip juicerie Tiny Empire. They shout GREEN and the graphics are hip and all of the labels have the brand’s ethos imprinted on them, which we love, because it answers the question on every […]
We’re honored that some world-changing organizations count on us to get their mission critical messages out via printed pieces, digital strategies, invitations and all manner of creative marketing collateral materials. At this time of year, as you ponder your year-end giving, holiday season volunteering or both, we’re inspired to share with you three charities that […]
OK, we admit, we love gazing at cool, money-themed rarities such as an 18-karat solid gold and jewel encrusted Monopoly set, a certificate from the first federal bond issue signed by President George Washington and an original ticker tape from the Crash of 1929, all of which are on permanent exhibit at the Museum of American […]
Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe help to make the season bright, but for corporate marketing teams a bright spot this holiday season could be how easy it is to create holiday cards that reflect their brand’s point of view while making customers, vendors, investors and other key influencers feel special. The Guru of Printing, […]