My goal with the branding for the Museum was to communicate the attributes of the music, without imitating or reinforcing any particular musical genre. The solution was to reference a more historic England, one which came before Rock music was even around. Industrial Revolution and Victorian era inspired graphics and typography suggest more than the strength and power of Rock and Roll, but also serve to reinforce the decadance, boldness, and unapolagetic attitude of an entire genre of music.

The first platform to communicate those ideas is through the company’s logo and identity system. The logo was designed in two forms, the first being a three-dimiensional stand-alone icon, based on directional arrows which become the British flag, appearing as if a piece of metal type. The second application of the mark is within a red horizontal pattern, which includes the name of the Museum in a typographic lockup. This red, repeated pattern can then be overlayed on any item that needs to bear the Museum’s name.

The power of hard rock is referenced through the aggressive printing techniques of letterpress and hand-applied rubber stamps. The business cards are printed on rolls as tickets would have been, with the employee using a rubber stamp to personalize each piece. The lower edge of the letterhead and back flap of the envelope are both torn with a zig-zag die, much like the top edge of a newspaper. All of these elements combine to give the brand a sense of urgency, strength, and aggression balanced with the grace and beauty 
of delicate patterns from the Victorian period.

Collector’s Box Set

“Carry Me Back” is an collector’s book for an exhibit on the music of Led Zeppelin. The abundance of type styles and sizes, as well as the range of vibrant colors, are a play on the decadence, boldness, and unapologetic attitude of their hard rock music. The collector’s box is covered by a paper sleeve. Within is a clam-shell box covered in red book cloth with a clear foil stamp on the cover of the exhibition title. The inside of the box is lined with a gold, Victorian-era pattern. A sleeve on the left holds several limited edition prints from the exhibit.

Exhibition Catalog

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Collector’s Box Set

“Carry Me Back” is a collector’s book for an exhibit on the music of Led Zeppelin. The abundance of type styles and sizes, as well as the range of vibrant colors, are a play on the decadence, boldness, and unapologetic attitude of their hard rock music. The collector’s box is covered by a paper sleeve. Within is a clam-shell box covered in red book cloth with a clear foil stamp on the cover of the exhibition title. The inside of the box is lined with a gold, Victorian-era pattern. A sleeve on the left holds several limited edition prints from the exhibit.

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Detail of ad copy.

When Silicon Valley based technology law firm Gray Cary merged with the much larger DLA Piper, there was strong concern that the perception of being “too big” would chase away their smaller clients due to the misconception that the bigger the firm, the harder they are to work with. These ads were created as a humorous and blunt way to address that issue. Yes, they were now bigger than ever, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Work performed at Cahan & Associates

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Close-up of characters creating the image

Close up of copy

Silicon Valley based technology law firm Gray Cary was merging with the much larger, international DLA Piper. There was much concern locally about what that would mean for Gray Cary and their current clients. Would the still be around? Doing the same thing? Offering the same expertise? or would this merger mean the end of what Gray Cary had built? These vibrantly colored ads were created to get the word out in the community that, in reality, nothing had changed. The new DLA Piper Gray Cary would be everything they were before. And more. The visuals for the ads are faces of attorneys created entirely out of snipets of programming code.

Work performed at Cahan & Associates

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When McCarter & English needed to run advertisements announcing their merger with Gadsby Hannah, we decided to create a series of type-only ads (two versions of which are shown here) that were based on previous ads we had done for McCarter. The previous ads looked very similar, using the headline “Great clients choose great law firms.” We had written that line for them and it had become a slogan or tagline for them. For the merger ad, we made a slight adjustment to that line, adding the sub-headline “And great law firm choose each other.”

Work performed at Cahan & Associates

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Close-up of ad copy

Silicon Valley based technology law firm Gray Cary was merging with the much larger, international DLA Piper. There was much concern locally about what that would mean for Gray Cary and their current clients. Would the still be around? Doing the same thing? Offering the same expertise? or would this merger mean the end of what Gray Cary had built? These vibrantly colored ads were created to get the word out in the community that, in reality, nothing had changed. The new DLA Piper Gray Cary would be everything they were before. And more.

Work performed at Cahan & Associates

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Each year Cahan & Associates throws a big party during the holiday season. And like any good design firm, the invitation is treated as important as the party itself. One year, the design of the invitation had been put off until the last minute. As I left the office one evening, I was asked to “whip something up” for tomorrow, as it needed to be sent out the following day. As I began my 45 minute commute the next morning—with no luck thinking of ideas throughout the evening—I reached into my bag to retrieve my sketchbook to begin writing down some ideas, only to find I had left my book at home and had nothing to write on. In that instant the idea came to me and I began to write out all the information for the invitation on the palm of my hand. Once at the office, I simply scanned my hand; invitation completed. After a day or so of wear and fading I tied a string to my finger and rescanned my hand — this second image would be used on the reminder card that would be sent out a week later.

Work performed at Cahan & Associates

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Slide is a new speakeasy/nightclub which recently opened on Mason Street in San Francisco. For this ad, which announced the club’s Cocktail Hour, the words “Tiger Milk, Eel Juice, Hooch, and Rye”—all slang terms for alcohol in the prohibition—sit quietly at the bottom of the ad, almost as a whisper.

Work performed at Cahan & Associates

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SWA Group, recognized as one of the world’s design leaders in the fields of landscape architecture, planning and urban design, wanted a flexible and artfully designed website to capture new clients, new recruits, and provide existing clients with more information about the firm. The wish list included featuring over 2000 large-scale images of their projects, as well as, complete flexibility with the content.

Work performed at Cahan & Associates

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Law students and laterals have become cynical about the recruiting process, yet they also tend to be anxious about choosing the right firm at which to start or continue their careers. They find it difficult to discern among firms that appear quite similar. Our challenge was to create an informative website that was lively and distinctive and face squarely this prevailing cynicism. We start with the confidence that Morrison & Foerster is exceptional. That the firm has outstanding lawyers dedicated to making the firm stand for something in its profession: a commitment to integrity, quality, teamwork and collaboration, serving communities, and, most important, delivering results for their clients. This all-flash site makes use of video to help prospects “meet the people”.

Work performed at Cahan & Associates

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