Everyone Needs a Personal Concierge

If you are not sure what a "Personal Concierge" is, visit this website I just designed for the lovely Chelsea Namkung. I imagine that Chelsea has a 100% satisfaction rating from all of her clients because working with Chelsea was a dream: she is decisive, has great taste and is ultra-organized. Exactly the kind of person who should be in her line of work!

Holiday Gift Ideas

I have never met anyone who didn't love these cookies. Even the strange people like me who aren't fond of sweets. I think the small boxes make perfect little gifts and they only cost slightly more than a nice greeting card! The large boxes make perfect gifts period.

Fans of typography will appreciate these neighborhood posters. I hope she does Los Angeles one day, although I suppose we are so spread out that could make for a series of posters.

I have a growing collection of the magnetic finger puppets from these guys. So far Vincent (Van Gogh), Siggy (Freud), Nelly (Mandela), Ma' (Gandhi), and Bert (Einstein) hang out in my office on these colorful magnetic boards.

I am thinking about getting my mom one of these TomTom automotive gps devices but honestly fear that she may be too scared to use it. Better than getting lost though.

One of my best friends got me a signed copy of this book last Christmas. It made me weep. To me, this novel is Eggers' true heartbreaking work of staggering genius. Also, you can never go wrong with McSweeney's Quarterly. Unless someone has been kind enough to give you a subscription, I don't think I can accurately describe the Quarterly. I guess it's like a bookworm/designer/geek trifecta?

Merry holidays!

Old Friends

I've known these friends for almost a decade. In web years, that is practically vintage.



Presentations is an in-house independent packaging contractor at Nestle USA corporate headquarters in Glendale, CA. The founders, Deb and Sigrid, create gift baskets and special event product and gift packaging for Nestle nationwide.

Below is an idea I had for their holiday home page. They decided to go with something slightly different, but I figured I could use the image here and not let it feel completely rejected.

The city I live in, the city of angels

If you live in Los Angeles, and especially if you grew up here, I highly recommend this exhibit at the Central Library.

Photographer Julius Shulman's images were originally shot for commercial purposes, but now they are iconic. If you grew up in Los Angeles, viewing his photos are like looking through an old family album and seeing your mother in a new light. She's young and you didn't know her then, but you recognize some features you've always taken for granted.

"I do."

These are programs I did for my best friend's wedding last year. More photos to come; the happy couple also had me design matching bar menus, cookie bag labels...all inspired by their invitation, which used a semi-circle opening and that beautiful Italian paper you see on the program.

Oh, and the image above is by their magnificent wedding photographer, Mel Barlow.

I am alive!

This is something I worked on recently for a Race for the Cure Team. Brandy is a friend of a friend and although I don't know her personally, she was a very strong inspiration for this logo. She was born in the Year of the Rabbit, loves the color green and her middle name, "Lien" means lotus flower. This is what I came up with:



You can read Brandy's inspiring blog here or support Brandy and The Race for the Cure by ordering some Brandy's Babes merchandise.

I Heart Pinko

Pinko Cookies is my most delicious project. I designed all of Pinko's identity pieces, including the logo, packaging and website, pinkocookies.com.



While I tend to have an affinity for all things salty, I must say these cookies are sweet buttery pecan slabs of delight. I highly recommend them.