You like us! You really, really like us.

Sometimes, we totally fall in love with a project and are blessed enough to have the world (or at least the local ad industry) love them as well. Such was the case at this year's AAF-Orlando Awards, when we scored two ADDY's for projects that are especially near and dear to our hearts. The Moment Jars scooped up a Gold in the interactive category, and the late night dining poster from Emory Dining campaign picked up a Silver. Go, us!

The Moment Jars

Every year, our team collaborates on a winter book. Mark writes the story, Lure Design designs the book, Kim Fox does the illustrations, and Drive New Media develops the website. This year's book, The Moment Jars, is about a man who captures the special moments in his life and places them in a jar. It's a wonderful story, probably my favorite one yet (though I seem to say that every year) and a beautiful book, but what really set this year apart from the others was the success and far-reaching impact of the website.

The Moment Jars is a pretty simple site, with a pretty simple idea: share your own special moment and add your virtual Moment Jar to the collection.

 

The response has been amazing. First, we shared it with friends and family, who were great about adding their own moments and memories. But it was the mention in Swiss Miss (recently named one of the world's most influential design blogs) that really gave us our big break. Soon there were moments rolling in from all over the world. We had Italian moments. Spanish moments. Even one from all the way in Japan. There were moments about having kids, and moments and about being a kid. Moments about leaving home for the first time and moments about finding home in unexpected places. There were many, many moments about falling in love. Almost as many about falling out of it. At last count, there were over 500 moments in all. Most were short and sweet, though one was too long to leave in a jar. As one blogger pointed out (in a very sweet post which I can't seem to find again), not a single one was about money, possessions, or any other material thing. A great reminder, especially at this time of year, that life's most precious gifts aren't anything you pick up at a store.

Now here's the funny thing. While the website proves that people all over the world want to capture the moments of their life in a tangible way, the story the book tells makes you question that desire. How? You'll just have to read it to find out.

Share your moment, and purchase The Moment Jars book here.

New Work: Emory University Dining

When we were called by Emory University in 2008, their objective was clear: create a brand that helps establish Emory Dining as one of the top five dining programs in the country. So we met with their team in Atlanta, feasted on hand cut potato chips and learned a lot about what really defined Emory Dining: quality, diversity, freshness, a firm commitment to sustainability. It was a great program that needed a great brand, and we think that's what they got.

Green Reading

Just in time to celebrate Earth Day, we found out that our winter book The Reds, The Greens and the Sweetest Honey Anyone Had Ever Tasted scored an honorable mention in the Green Book Festival, an annual competition honoring books that contribute to greater understanding, respect and positive action on the changing worldwide environment.

The Reds, The Greens... is just one of our winter storybooks, an annual collaboration with Lure Design, Drive New Media and Doug Scaletta Photography. All these limited-edition winter storybooks will soon be available for sale at Urban Think! in Orlando. Stay tuned for details...in the meantime, check out the companion website, Visitmasonville.com.