This week, over at my day job at Version-X, we were notified that some of our work won Gold in the Graphis Best In Design 2012 competition. The I.C.O.N. Product Brochure & I.C.O.N. Education Brochure that I designed were among the VX projects that received this award. Graphis is (The International Journal of Visual Communication) is a design magazine/journal which has been published since 1944. Each year, they also put out their Design Annual, which showcases some of the best design from the year. The book is available for pre-order now over at the Graphis Store. I’m excited to be able to play around with creative photography and printing techniques in my day job – I love what I do!

I’ve recently had the pleasure of establishing a brand new look for a favorite local LA hangout, Cahuenga General Store. After I came to the store (which is really a café) the first time, I fell in love with it and quickly became friends with the owner, Anita. She’s been in business for over 15 years, here in the Valley and she runs a business that feels really old-school and personable, which is so rare in LA these days. Like most small businesses, over the years, the place has changed a lot, with variations of the name, logo, menu, etc.

I really wanted this place to have a strong identity and a quality online presence that matches the quality you get in the store. Starting with the logo, I took a long time come up with many different type treatments, some hand-rendered and some derived from existing typefaces. In the end, I went with something that’s a mix of both. It has a vintage feel, but there’s still something contemporary about it.

The new logo is now slowly but surely being introduced to the store on new menus, business cards and even a new website. There’s a lot more in store for… the store in the coming months and I’m excited to have the opportunity to take part in it all. If you’re in the LA area, definitely stop by and check this place out!

About 3 months ago, my brother told me that he was going to propose to his long-time girlfriend and he asked that Mike and I be there to help him capture the moment with some photos and video. He decided to pop the question at her favorite place – Disneyland – which made for some really magical (yes, pun intended!) moments for the two of them. All in all it was a really fun day and I’m glad we were there to capture it for them.