Calyx Design

In Healdsburg, you can’t walk into a shop or hotel without bumping into a stack of brochures offering maps of the Northern California wine country — but there’s a fundamental problem with this. Those ubiquitous maps all direct tourists out of town. »

It had become obvious to Irene that even though her generic blog looked nice, it didn’t really reflect her personality or that of her business. She was ready to take steps to remodel her digital digs — and that’s where I came in. »

A fantastic and quirky guitar maker tucked into an unassuming Sacramento Valley town — to connect with the world of potential customers, Joe Dragony needed a website. »

Stuart Rice is a man with vision. In fact, a man with many visions, not the least of which is a re-imagining of the entire Hindu pantheon. This time around, the gods and goddesses spring into new life as 20th-century pop icons. »

When a charming, potty-mouthed marketing genius sends me an email with the subject “Make me into a sexy logo, please”, I pay attention. And get busy. »

The “Town Crush” is a fundraiser for the Old Town School for Boys, an independent K-8 school in San Francisco. this year, it’s being held at the fabulously gangster-swanky Bimbo’s 365 Club in North Beach, and thus — when the red Emergency Logo Phone started ringin’ off the hook — themes of “Old Las Vegas” and Frank Sinatra came wafting through our heads. »

The “Dissolve-O-Matic” is the latest in the series of illustrations created for Havi Brooks’ self-work products, in the quirky style semi-officially dubbed “Steampunk meets Yellow Submarine”… »

My client calls me from the road, suddenly struck by a marketing vision. “Richard, I know what our next ad’s gotta be!” As he describes this revelation, I see that he’s on to something … »

Steve and his partner Dan are both musicians and artisans, so their brand was constructed to evoke reassuringly been-there-forever master craftsmanship — and a sense of authentic connection with this century’s working musicians … »

“Simmer Down Sprinter” is a fabulous hand-built high-tech art project developed by my old friend and collaborator Steve Lambert. The visual style of the cabinet (like the game itself) casts a knowing backwards wink towards classically tacky ’80s arcade video games … »

I ran across this half-forgotten postcard in my files today, and liked it so much I just thought I’d share. Truth be told it’s been so long that I’ve forgotten what this job was actually about, though the name does evoke an interesting image or three. »

The website’s name translates as “Movies and Stuff”, and that’s what this German-language podcast and blog is all about. It features movie reviews liberally interspersed with thoughts on pop music, Macintosh hardware, and other necessaries of modern life. »

This CD package and illustration of an irritated rhino was created for a sprawling and powerful 12-piece ensemble from California’s East Bay Area. »

… the podcast has made Annik famous; she’s one of the best known internet personalities in the German-speaking world. And the graphic I created — featuring her beloved cat “Tiger” and Munich’s famous Frauenkirche — still sits atop her blog … »

Presenting “Nellie”, pinup girl #3 in the Spicy SinSations brand mascots series. This irreverently good-natured purveyor of adult toys is located in Portland, Oregon, center of a recent explosion of music, arts, and eco-positive hipster street culture. It’s a young and vibrant scene … »

Presenting “Candace”, pinup girl #2 in the series of brand mascots created for Spicy SinSations. I created each of the girls to speak to a different demographic sector, and “Candace “speaks to a suburbanite woman — the mother next door with a bit of sexy flair … »

Presenting the first of the “Spicy Pinup Girls”, a series of mascots created especially for Spicy SinSations “naughty+fun” brand. This first pinup was created especially for use on a sponsorship banner at Portland’s hip new roller derby league, the Rose City Rollers … »

Spicy SinSations is a Portland, Oregon-based business specializing in — how shall I put this — “marital aids”. The existing logo was an undistinguished script typeface, and the owner realized that she needed something that said fun, friendly, and just a little bit naughty. »

The sagging wine-coloured satin of a long-decayed palace, baroquely patterned with foliage, flowers and populated with tiny medieval demons. Suitable for guitar or heavy metal electric lute. »

This acoustic guitar case is inspired by the gorgeous look of a well-loved and much battered vintage guitar, rich flamed maple and varnish darkened by age and scarred by countless belt buckles. As we all know, guitars like this just sound the best. »