We're closed for business—After 6 years of consulting and creative for BBC Motion Gallery, I have been named Head of Digital for BBC Motion Gallery based out of London, and that means the agency is closed for business and not taking any new assignments. My responsibilities for BBC Motion Gallery include global marketing and creative direction, ownership of web site properties and management of strategic partnerships. Thank you so much for all your support over the years! Meanwhile, my brilliant and extremely talented colleagues can still help with your projects.

We were delighted to work with the wonderful And Advertising on concepts and copy for the teaser campaign for the second season of HBO's True Blood.

Print ad for a magician's instructional video.

Cover for Advantage Play: The Manager's Guide to Creative Problem Solving. The book uses the practice of developing and performing magic as a means to help corporate managers create and implement innovative solutions to business problems.

We recently designed this book by Dai Vernon, considered the greatest sleight-of-hand artist who ever lived. Happily, it received glowing reviews, with critics calling it a "work of art" and a "masterpiece." Don't know about that, but it did turn out pretty well. Copies on eBay are selling for $1,000+. Insane.

The BBC Motion Gallery site is the access point to 2.5 million hours of BBC footage, not counting that of its content partners such as CBS News. We streamlined the UI, simplified search and reorganized the navigation, laying the foundation for an aggressive 2009 expansion plan. We also designed and marketed BBC Motion Gallery's new Entertainment section, featuring red carpet footage from Hollywood's hottest events.

See the before and after.

Visit bbcmotiongallery.com.

I especially love the analog clock and the muffler. T-shirts are available here.

On this date in 1984, during the 3rd Quarter of Superbowl XVII, Apple ran the famous Ridley Scott directed "1984" spot, which is pretty much recognized as the best commercial ever made. A few weeks prior to its release, I recall sitting wide-eyed in the offices of Chiat/Day talking to its thoughtful creator, Steve Hayden, who told me that everybody at the agency believed their Apple advertising would make history. They were right. The "1984" spot was so different than anything any of us had ever seen, the experience was transformative.
For me, personally, it changed everything. The commercial—and the rest of the early Macintosh advertising—inspired me to leave a big, bland agency in favor of a young, highly-creative shop. It caused me to rethink all the principles I had learned; traditional, conformist rationale as espoused in books like Ogilvy on Advertising. Steve's writing was genius, serving as the focal point of my studies for years. The rhythm of his words, his conversational style, his insightful turn of phrase ("The computer for the rest of us." Usurped a billion times since to the point of becoming a cliché.) Of course, none of it would have been possible without the visionary brilliance and courage of Steve Jobs.

People tend to forget that social media mimics real relationships. The drama might be less, but it's still not a bad idea to know how things are done on a service you're using, especially if you're new to that service.

There are some great tips here.