2015 has arrived; a time of resolutions, hoverboards, and new beginnings. So, it seems more than appropriate that we take this time to announce the changes here at Hexanine.

It’s been nearly six amazing years, and we’ve had the pleasure and good fortune to work with dozens of great clients on amazing projects that inspired others, won awards, and moved the needle for organizations large and small. And now it’s time for a change.

After thousands of miles, millions of Skype sessions, and tons of wonderful memories, we are are bidding Hexanine a fond farewell, and moving on to new opportunities.

Both of us are heading off in different directions, with new challenges and other teams, as well as exciting solo endeavors. You can keep in touch with both of us in a variety of ways, so please drop a line or give a call.

Best wishes, adios, good night, and good luck!

“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.”

— Frank Herbert

Over the holiday weekend, word leaked that video game industry rock star Cliff Bleszinski (lead designer of the Gears of War franchise) is launching a new studio, Boss Key Productions. The brand new identity we created for Boss Key also found its way into the daylight as well.

But now it’s officially live, and we’re excited to show the world – just a prelude to the amazing things Boss Key has in store for gamers.

Along with a talented slate of new Board Members, Hexanine co-founder Jason Adam has been elected as the new President of AIGA Los Angeles. With the help of the passionate and talented chapter membership, he is excited to lead the organization to even greater heights during the next two years. Composed of 68 chapters and over 28,000 members across the nation, AIGA, the professional association for design, is committed to advancing design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force.

Inspiration is at the heart of what we do on a daily basis at Hexanine, and it’s something we love to talk about. That’s exactly what our co-founder, Jason Adam, did with the great folks at Western Digital’s Ventito in a wide-ranging interview. Here’s a snippet:

“My attitude now is the same as it was before: Opportunities need to be uncovered. And the best way to do that is by consistently making unreasonable requests. There’s almost always nothing to lose, and wild and incredible experiences to gain.”

You can check out the rest of the interview at the link above, and hear from other experts in creativity at Ventito.

We mentioned back in August that our work for AIGA Chicago and Unisource had been selected as an FPO Award winner. Our copy of the award book finally arrived in the mail a little while back, and we’re so superjazzed that we had to share. Another great shout out is due to Armin and Bryony for all the great work they do with FPO and all their other design-loving endeavors. You can purchase your copy of the book here. Or you could also set one of the images in this post as your desktop wallpaper. We did.

More beautiful pics after the jump.

AIGA, the professional association for design, is the country’s largest community of design advocates, uniting practitioners, students, and enthusiasts to behind common goal: advancing design as a professional craft and a vital cultural force. It was founded in 1914 in New York City, and has since grown to encompass 68 chapters including over 25,000 members. Here in Los Angeles, our chapter has a rich history dating back 30 years, involving such design legends as Saul Bass, Deborah Sussman, April Greiman, and Sean Adams, among many others.

Last month, while serving as Vice President of AIGA Los Angeles, I was asked by Noreen Morioka to assume the role of President as she stepped down to focus on personal and business matters. It was my great privilege to say yes, and I want to thank Noreen for the countless hours she’s devoted to our chapter over the past few years; AIGA Los Angeles is where it is today because of her leadership.

I joined AIGA four years ago because I wanted to see change in our local design community. We live in exciting times. Design is everywhere, and has crept into the public consciousness and everyday language. People are more aware of design and designers, and there are many more opportunities to make a difference with design, both inside and outside of the industry. This is also a transformational time for the design field which presents unique challenges: the increasingly-fractured nature of the profession, the rise of crowdsourcing, and ongoing economic struggles. LA itself suffers from segmented creative industries and distant communities.

Now, surrounded by a fantastic board of directors and dozens of talented, amazing volunteers, I’m excited to help chart a new course in the history of our organization while facing those challenges head-on. Through a strong and united design community, we can address these issues directly — through relevant resources, events, and partnerships.

Together, we can elevate the profile of our profession, benefiting everyone in the creative community, no matter their role, whether they’re students, in-house designers, freelancers, studio owners, art/creative directors, or anyone in between. 

If you’re a design professional, I invite you to join AIGA, and add your voice to the mix. Our community is what we make it, and there’s plenty of room for more.

Onward,

Jason Adam

It’s wonderful when your passion for a particular niche blossoms into something tangible. In my case, the art of classic video game brand Atari has influenced me since childhood. It engrossed me so much that I’ve spent quite a few hours researching, interviewing, and collecting examples of the illustration, graphic design, and industrial design of this pioneering company. I’ve had the privilege to talk to many artists, designers, and even co-founder Nolan Bushnell about the creative legacy of Atari. That work is beginning to take shape as a book, and as word has gotten out about it, I’ve gotten quite a few questions. So I took the opportunity to talk with Michael Gapper at Edge Magazine and answer some of them. If you also have fond memories of Missile Command and Pitfall Harry, you might enjoy checking out the full interview.

At Hexanine, we are huge film buffs, so it’s with great pride that we finally showcase our work with Laemmle Theatres. This great group of movie theaters in the LA area are stalwarts of excellent foreign, indy, and art house film. We were recruited by Three Thirty and Innfusion Studios to help expand their brand identity and design the current website. Check out the portfolio entry for more deets.

Great work is the lifeblood of what we do, so it’s always fun to showcase work, even if it has been hiding behind the curtains for a while. Here are a couple such projects: Website design and branding work for Ashley Furniture, and an identity redesign for ILC. More details of these projects follow at their respective portfolio pages, so check ‘em out.

“The game-playing wasn’t 100 percent of the experience. Part of what made the world complete was the artwork that conjured up this other place. I wasn’t sitting in my living room anymore; I was on this desolate planet or in space. And it was mostly because of that art.” – Tim Lapetino, quoted at The Verge

I have written before about my love for Atari, and how it morphed into a career and passion for design. It’s funny how some influential moments keep echoing throughout one’s life. I had the great privilege to be interviewed by The Verge’s Andrew Webster about the art of Atari, alongside some of the great artistic talents behind Atari’s amazing package illustrations. I am in great company, as some of the others interviewed for this story are now friends of mine, including amazing Atari artists Cliff Spohn, Steve Hendricks, John Enright, and Susan Jaekel. Definitely worth a read for another look behind the packaging of those great retro games.