I don't know about you but the buttery goodness of a phenomenal shortbread cookie can make me weak in the knees. So when a Napa Valley-based company approached me with their line of shortbread cokies, made with organic ingredients and deliciously intoxicating hints of cinnamon (with basil!!), cardamo… Read full post »

I’ve received everything from accolades to threats sharing these images over this seven-day window. The accolades for reminding you of how good it can get. Threats because we didn’t overnight ship each of you a sandwich, ready-to-eat. But it’s been fun.

Don't Hate Me… Read full post »

Images only to show new packaging, too late for words:

Good night!

  Read full post »

While New York is many things to many people, it is widely recognized as one of the food centers of the world where the finest of any cuisine can be found and savored.

At the same time, those seeking culinary bliss may be led down a less-than-savory path only to/… Read full post »

"Safeguard the young ones from artificial deli!"

"Get that cardboard-like crap out of here!"

"You can harm me! Harm my family! Tear off my toe nails! But, don't make eat another piece of that bland deli fare!!!!!!"

Those were the cries being heard from neighborhoods around the the US.… Read full post »

This installment is about SIZE.

In order to help NYDP’s founder (whose title now became Chief Flavor Officer) see “the bigger picture,” we developed the following poster to get a sense of S-C-A-L-E.

My thinking kind of went like this: “I… Read full post »

OK, ok, I know. I'm a few hours late. But that means you not only get one this morning, but also later or tonight (and depending on the subject, that could a very welcome communication). Same day, double the fun.

Steeped in history, the NYDP Deli Patrol brand quickly… Read full post »

This is the start of SEVEN DAYS in a row that I will share with you, my salon buddies, a neat project I was thrilled to work on recently. You'll see some great food photography, fun design, outrageously crazy promotion and simply some great deli porn, all to which I… Read full post »

Somewhere toward the end of the last decade, this musician from Europe came up with terrific promotional idea: Offer one jingle per day starting with $1 on January 1st and increasing each day until the year was filled. If you wanted, he'd do a more elaborate video for $100 (adding 2… Read full post »

Who knew that cocoa beans that "look cool" are moldy and useless to the trained connoisseur? That's what I learned this past week when we shot these cocoa beans for an upcoming show in San Francisco. Some times you feel like a nut...

Here is the image in all its glory.… Read full post »

I'll keep this brief since I lost my previous post in a moment of "browser denial."

 Two shots from yesterday's photoshoot for the upcoming line of deliciously decadent chocolate bars.

The other one (there are six package designs) for our immediate upcoming Fancy Food show is this one:

%… Read full post »

From the Land of the World's Finest Vanilla Comes the Next Great Flavor...
Well, today was a packed day, filled with shooting some rather remarkable chocolate: pink peppercorn infused, spicy pepper infused, and here's a new one: combava (a citrus-like spice from Madagascar)... yum.

Well, we spent abou… Read full post »

Hello everyone.

For those not familiar with what I do, I am a "branding dude." To clarify, this does not mean I work on a farm. Far from it for this NYC native. I create brands, like stuff you buy, and "dude" is just a fun term. Better than "guru" though some/… Read full post »

Last night, my wife and I watched with great delight, Julie and Julia. Terrific performances, and an overall great story and flick. As I have blogs on Fast Company, and other sites as well as my own which you can find at www.famousnapkin.com , I was intrigued by this "inside community"… Read full post »