The Matt Talbot Center, in conjunction with the Columbia Tower Club, hosted a fundraiser October 23, 2007 to raise money for a new facility to assist women. Sponsored by maoStudios and many well-known Northwest companies, the event is a black tie affair, held at the Columbia Tower. Local celebrity Shaun Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks was the keynote speaker and John Curley of King 5’s Evening Magazine emceed the silent auction. The event is now an annual signature event of the Columbia Tower Club and maoStudios is proud to be a key sponsor, providing graphic design and brand consulting services.

Michael Olson (left), Shaun Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks (center), and Hans Guelker, maoStudios' VP of Business Development.

More About The Matt Talbot Center

The Matt Talbot Center is a recovery program and treatment center for the addicted, the homeless and the mentally ill. Located in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood, the Matt Talbot Center offers hope, services and support to individuals ready to commit to their recovery with an intensive clinical outpatient treatment program offered in a Christian context.

Michael Olson, Creative Director of maoStudios (left) and Greg Alex, co-founder of the Matt Talbot Center.

Genuinsanity is an independent publisher from Seattle featuring creative literature focused on social commentary and philosophy. Publications include “Transcending Rent” and the forthcoming book “Training for Fame.”

The final decision to include the logo in Logo Lounge Volume 4 was made by an international panel of judges, including Louis Lygo of Wolff Olins, Jerry Kuyper of Jerry Kuyper Partners, Jason Schulte of Jason Schulte Design, Gaby de Abreu of Switch Branding & Design, Haley Johnson of Haley Johnson Design, Neville Brody of Research Studios, Janet Martin of Communication Arts, Inc., and Chris Campbell of Interbrand.

Logo Lounge Volume 4 is scheduled to release in winter of 2008 and will be available at national bookstores such as Barnes n’ Noble and Borders as well as on Amazon.com.

“I have seen members of my family and friends diagnosed with cancer. Watching the deterioration from treatments, both emotionally and physically is extremely painful. Crafting Compassion is offering some form of support and a sense of accomplishment for these individuals who have nothing but their worried thoughts,” states Andrea Jensen, maoStudios’ CFO and Communication Manager.

Allison Parrott, a 23-year-old avid crafter, had a big-hearted idea. She founded the group called Crafting Compassion, which with the help of many volunteers, is creating 200 activity booklets for the patients at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance’s Child Life Playroom. These booklets will be custom designed for three age brackets: children, teenagers, and young adults. The booklets will include games, coloring pages, and writing prompts to craft projects, complete with instructions. Crafting Compassion will donate all of the craft supplies needed for the projects.

Parrott was inspired to reach out to cancer patients by her sister Lesley’s struggle with leukemia as a baby. Eighteen years have passed but she vividly remembers the long hours in the hospital visiting her sister.

“I wanted to create a way for the crafting community to reach out and make a difference in the lives of cancer patients – what better way to do that than through crafts! These booklets and craft supplies are going to provide many hours of fun and healing through creativity,” said Parrott.

Crafting Compassion is currently collecting donations for new craft supplies and gift cards, as well as printing costs for the booklets. Donors can contribute cash or actual items. All donated items must be new and unopened. Craft supplies must be non-toxic. For the complete wish list please see the Crafting Compassion website, www.craftingcompassion.org.

Crafting Compassion also will be the featured guest at this month’s “I Heart Rummage,” noon-4 p.m. May 6 at the Crocodile Café in Seattle. At the Crafting Compassion booth, visitors can donate craft supplies, cash, or purchase a wide selection of items donated by local artists and I Heart Rummage vendors (100% of the proceeds go towards this project).

About I Heart Rummage

From crocheted clutches to stuffed animal scarves, beaded platforms to wire tension chokers, “I Heart Rummage” has it all. IHR features 45 of the Northwest’s most innovative indie designers and urban crafters at the Crocodile Café from noon-4p.m. the first Sunday of most every month. Admission is free; the event has a live DJ, and the Café serves an affordable brunch for visitors who’d like to eat and shop. Please visit www.iheartrummage.com for more information.

About Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, established in 1998, unites the adult and pediatric cancer-care services of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington Academic Medical Center and Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center. A major focus of the SCCA is to speed the transfer of new diagnostic and treatment techniques from the research setting to the patient bedside while providing premier, patient-focused cancer care. Patients who come to the SCCA receive the latest research-based cancer therapies as well as cutting-edge treatments for a number of non-malignant diseases under development by its partner organizations. The SCCA has three clinical-care sites: an outpatient clinic on the Fred Hutchinson campus, a pediatric-inpatient unit at Children’s and an adult-inpatient unit at UW Medical Center. For more information about the SCCA, visit www.seattlecca.org.

maoStudios appears in the Nov/Dec issue of Graphic Design USA, which is available now. The current issue showcases winners from the 2006 American Graphic Design Awards, sponsored by Adobe. The 330-page Annual features the best and brightest of more than 11,000 entries from design firms and studios across the nation. maoStudios will also be listed as a winner on GDUSA.com and is eligible to be a showcased creative project on Adobe’s web site.

maoStudios is represented in the Logos, Trademarks and Symbols chapter for their company logo. Michael Olson, the designer of the logo and creative director at maoStudios states, “It’s a real honor to be recognized by such a prestigious group of industry professionals. To be included in such a great publication beside the best of our industry is very exciting for us.”

View more of maoStudios’ award-winning work in our logo design portfolio.

Seattle, WA – maoStudios is now riding bikes as an alternative commute option, thanks to Urban Mobility Group and their vision to convince developers to incorporate flexcar, vanpool, carpool, and bicycle facilities in downtown skyscrapers.

Inspired by an illustrated design piece they developed for the non-profit, a stress-free commute is now top priority for the owners of maoStudios. “We were very excited to work with Urban Mobility Group; their work is so important and will have a heavy impact on the future of downtown Seattle. I personally don’t want to sit in traffic the rest of my life,” smirks maoStudios co-owner Andrea Jensen, atop her Columbia hybrid bike.

UMG hired several other designers to develop a killer sales piece that would sell developer’s and their leasing options – but had no luck. When they finally began work with maoStudios, there were only 3 weeks left to develop an entire 10” x 14” illustration of a future “Utopia Tower.”

Michael Olson, co-owner of maoStudios, recalls the difficult task. “I worked long hours for those few weeks; illustration is a long and tedious process. You also have to consider the revision process. Fortunately, UMG loved what we presented.”

The Utopia Tower brochure’s function is to illustrate how each floor of a building in downtown Seattle could look after the developer rewards commuters who choose alternatives to single car occupancy.

The lowest floor, “Garage C” is entirely single-occupant vehicles. The second floor up, “Garage B” is reserved for FlexCar, Vanpool, and carpool commuters. “Garage A” supports bike facilities, with lockers, racks, and showers for men and women. Floor 2 carries an information desk about commute options and how to plan for that, as well as a café. Floor 10 illustrates the “Commute Options Fair” which UMG will organize for the tenants and employees of the building. Floor 54 shows how these commute options are integrated into property management and function as an effective selling tool for tenants.

“It’s been great working with Urban Mobility Group. It always feels good to work on a project that benefits the public at large.” says Michael.

View more of maoStudios’ award-winning work in our print design portfolio .