the local, artisanal coffee movement has made its way to midtown east in the form of a beautiful new watsons client called demarco coffee. picture the euro coffee culture in a large, elegant manhattan cafe. its walls covered in a mural of beautiful black and white photography (photographed by aimee herring ryan), showcasing the watsons handiwork and hands (paul ‘sonny watson’ orefice did the creative direction, design and the hand modeling). signage and packaging are euro-retro-modern and speak a language all their own. and as customers enjoy excellent service and artistry in every cup, we endeavor to make the experience of the brand as arousing as the taste.

for our much-loved client, fresh&co, we’re rebranding every inch of every glorious restaurant. from newly designed signage, menus, wall art, and window clings, to our latest adventure in branding paradise: package design. along with the appearance of the newly-minted tagline, “just made. just for you”, the design incorporates a happy little system of icons as fresh and delightful as the food they contain. check them out, will ya?

jennifer “money watson” williams recently said it best when she said that the watsons started with a mission not only to do good work, but to also work to do good. we’re especially proud of the nonprofits we’ve worked with over the past ten years and the child abuse prevention program (capp) is one such example. at their annual benefit this year,  they raised over $400,000 and, for our part, we designed everything from signage to the invitation—using adorably strong kids to really ground their mission of teaching school children how to recognize, resist and report physical and sexual abuse. it was an incredible evening with a room full of worthy supporters, with the watsons standing by, prouder than ever of the work our clients do day in and day out.

whether you’re enrolled or not, you can learn a lot from spending the day on a college campus. for instance, when we shot photos for montclair state university‘s new student life brochure, we realized that while we’re living in an incredible age of technology, campus life isn’t all that different than it was 30 years ago: it’s still about the community. and that community is thriving. to best illustrate this, we used the students’ own instagram photos and words to help tell this remarkable story. the result: a cool, dynamic brochure that encourages prospective students to create compelling stories of their own one day.

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you might remember that, a little ways back, we launched a campaign for cabot creamery—makers of the most delicious cheddar this side of anywhere. now that’s it’s complete, we want to fill you in on what came to be a nyc-branded ‘friendsgiving’ dinner giveaway, complete with the chance to win a fully catered dinner for 10, posters throughout the city, shareable art, a new facebook presence and a really cool event at the hearst cafeteria. in just 10 weeks, we added nearly 4,500 nyc/tri-state area fans to a spin-off fan page with the help of some facebook sponsored posts and banner ads that appeared on grub street, time out new york, new york magazine, and chowhound. we even had a few full page takeovers with tony and grub street, which highlighted both the contest and the brand’s local farms.

we were also able to bring a taste of the big prize to hundreds of hearst corporation employees right in their own cafeteria. chef jimmy kennedy came down and cooked up some delicious cheesy grub and, in tandem with the free cheese samples the publishing peeps were loving it (include publishing pro and oprah bestie, gayle king)! we’re getting ready to host the grand prize winner’s fully catered dinners for 10 next month, so stay tuned for more fun pics and cheese filled fun!

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awards season is in full swing and our friends over at madison square garden are preparing for the greatest awards show of all: the 137th westminster kennel club dog show. okay, we may be a little biased on account of all the pooch-tastic love we’ve got going on over here, but hey, it’s the gold standard. for our part, we revamped the logo to reflect the prestige and glamour that comes with being an award winning pup. be sure to see the best of the best february 11-12—only at the garden.

fact: happy employees beget happy customers. which may explain why whole foods market’s customer service is among the best in the world. it’s an incredible place to work, so says fortune magazine, who named them one of the 100 best companies to work for (for the tenth year in a row). and they’re not alone. you know who concurs? the people who work there every day making sure you have the very best food and experience possible. for our part, we wanted to showcase these great employees and profile them in a way that does justice to their energy and passion, while highlighting the perks that come with a whole foods market career. we even included qr codes that link to current employees’ favorite recipes. yep, if we didn’t work at the watsons, whole foods market would be next on our list. more

time flies when you’re the jewel of new york city. grand central terminal turns 100 years old this year and we’re honored to a part of this milestone.  this iconic structure has been the pinnacle of architectural, historical, and inspirational discourse for a century, and today, it’s never been buzzier. we dipped deeply into their archives of beautiful photos and designed a campaign that evokes the majesty and of the building and humanity of the lives who pass through it. we were careful to ensure every piece (from website, to signage, to out of home) was worthy of this grand centennial celebration. our partnership with grand central continues to transport us. we hope the works does the same for you. more

when fresh&co opened a new store at 729 broadway @ waverly, the watsons made sure the word was out and the neighborhood was abuzz. from teaser ads that covered the windows during construction to the first, fully-branded interior, every inch of real estate was made to excite and showcase the freshest quick service experience in town. this included a menu board design, wall mural design, opening day postcards and swag, an ad campaign for ny students including digital, social and display, pre-opening parties and sidewalk tasting. and since the store services nyu and other neighboring colleges, we suggested the restaurant remain open for 24 hours during finals week. as for the interior branding, the design will soon be appearing in fresh & co.’s. current and future. that’s what we call keeping it fresh. more

the new year is for new beginnings, and that’s just what we’re about to embark on with a host of wonderful new clients. keep an eye out for projects from the likes of demarco coffee, the ramaz school, the american academy of pediatrics (aap), new york harm reduction educators (nyhre), and a website for a dc-based law firm. here’s to 2013 being the best year yet.