AND THE BIG NEWS

After 6 months of design and development, The Agency Collective launched the new portal for Miami Parking Authority. Jim Cipriani of Cipriani Design led the graphics and information architecture, and Erik Kelly was the lead programmer. Christian Cipriani, owner of The Agency Collective, was the project manager, writer and account executive. Thanks for everyone who helped on this company’s first and largest undertaking – we’re very proud of the results!

But this past Christmas Day I was haunted.

Late last Thursday, Christmas Eve, I was at my parents’ house in Pittsburgh rushing to finish reading Bret Easton Ellis’s Lunar Park. For those who aren’t familiar, the novel is more or less a phantasmagorical thriller about fathers and sons. A key plot device throughout the book is the time 2:40am. Every morning at this exact time, the protagonist receives an email from a Bank of America where his father’s ashes are stored, and the time – which happens to be the exact minute of his father’s death – becomes a continuous thread driving the paranormal horror that ensues.

I finished the book and went to sleep. On Friday morning, Christmas Day, I woke up to a voicemail from a blocked number. It was 30 seconds of total silence. The time of the call was exactly 2:40am. This is not a lie, nor did anyone else know I was reading this book. There is no explanation for the voicemail other than terrifying coincidence, and when one considers all the circumstances and variables, the chances of this being an orchestrated practical joke are infinitely small.

Below is a screen shot from my phone’s voicemail bank showing a record of the call:

As we gear up to start development on the Miami Parking Authority’s new web portal – after 7 months of RFP-ing! – I’d like to take a minute to look back on The Agency Collective’s first year in business. As president and creative director, I must thank our clients and associates for exciting projects and opportunities to produce great work.

First, thank you to Chef Jeremiah at gastroPod for having us develop his brand from the ground up. Miami’s first gourmet street food operation is on its way, and if you thought the buzz since Basel has been hot, we’re cooking up ambitious, delicious stuff for 2010. We look forward to working with you more. Also, thank you for referring us to Claudio Picasso and giving us the chance to build a website for Miami’s finest fine artist.

Thank you and congratulations to Miami’s Independent Thinkers. We were happy to sponsor your branding and marketing and proud to work with such a talented group of cultural professionals – no one throws a first-time, locals-only fair during Art Basel and causes that much of a commotion. Looking forward to helping you guys stage it again next year, and to more great events throughout 2010. Also thanks to Miguel Bravo and everyone at The Florida Recording & Entertainment Council for letting our agency sponsor design work for the Star Gala. Your continued efforts to connect South Florida’s cultural stakeholders is a service to the community.

I did a ton of copywriting this year, too – which is, after all, my original skill in this marketing game. Thank you Impress/DC Media Graphics on Miami Beach, Benchmark Realty Group and Coral Gables Rentals for knowing where to go for the best writing in South Florida. And to NewArtist.com, a client as of December 2009, I look forward to shaping the voice of your innovative new concept. If you don’t know what NewArtist.com is, just wait – Fred K. is the Simon Cowell of the Internet, except he puts the star-making power in the hands of the people. Also, cheers to Arthur, Annie-Laurie and the talented designers at by_number studio – happy to help with your PR. Keep it up, I want to see more of your stuff at Design Within Reach.

Lastly, a giant thank you to Jayson, David, Isis, Herman and the rest of the gang at Nobox Marketing Group. I’ve had the chance to provide copywriting services to Nobox for the past few months and helped execute some of the most cutting-edge projects of my career. They’re almost all in production so I have to keep my lips zipped, but my writing for Nobox will be among my career’s best. Looking forward to continued collaboration with you guys in 2010.

Happy Holidays everyone.

Christian Cipriani

The Agency Collective / Visit Online / Follow on twitter

Here are some pics found on the web from the closing day with G. Love, more to come…

(New business card fliers – click to view full size)

(Stickers for takeout boxes – click to view full size)