Prize Fight

Over the past year I've had the sincere pleasure of working with one of my childhood heros, pro skater and serial entrepreneur
Tony Magnusson. Tony and his wife Monica own a San Diego based Toy & Game company called Mindtwister USA which was started after Tony and his partner Mathias Ringstrom discovered a Swedish game called Pentago. Today MTUSA has grown into a unique and prolific Toy & Game company with over 1 million copies of Pentago sold as of 2011.

Last year was the debut of the Annual Pentago Tourney at Gen Con in Indianapolis. I had the opportunity to design the branding for this epic event.

All Images ©MindtwisterUSA

Socially responsible toys designed by you...

My two young boys love heirloom toys and puzzles… Finding open-ended educational toys that nurture their creativity is important to us as young parents. Over the past year I have had the pleasure of working with Barbera Aimes, founder and president of ImagiPLAY Toys of Boulder, CO. ImagiPLAY was first in the toy industry to launch an eco-friendly line. Her mission was to create a company that would inspire children's imaginations while staying socially responsible in all aspects of the business...



Once in awhile a company will come up with a great idea that brings together strong entrepreneurial vision, social responsibility and product innovation all wrapped up in well defined business model. For a great idea to take shape it usually needs to consist of a team who's whole is greater than the sum of all their talents. The leader of this team will see all of the players as key contributors not just dispensable employees. ImagiPLAY is a progressive company that is about to put product design and creation back into the hands of the consumers themselves.
Imagiplay believes in the power of parents, grandparents, student, old and young using their creativity to help children develop (not just the toy executives in a board room).... so keep your eyes peeled for the launch of their new progressive community.

About ImagiPLAY
ImagiPLAY products have been recognized by the media, children’s advocacy groups, and parents’ organizations for their outstanding quality, design and ability to inspire imagination. It has received awards from Parenting Magazine, Creative Child Magazine, Dr. Toy, Parents’ Choice Foundation and many other well-respected groups. But most importantly, ImagiPLAY’s products have helped thousands of children worldwide to discover themselves and their world as they navigate the waters of the human Age of Exploration.
So allow us to inspire YOUR creativity and we’ll produce YOUR toys!

For more info more info on the upcoming launch, check out:
Facebook/Imagiplay
Twitter @Imagiplay
Blog/ImagiplayToys.com

DHD in Novum Magazine

The July issue of Novum Magazine arrived this week and there is a 4 page showroom of DHD! I'm so honored to have my work in this incredible publication. A big thanks to Lanny Sommese and Betina Schultz for making it happen. Novum has been winning awards in Europe for it's beautiful print production techniques for years... get your hands on an issue, it's a true work of art. You can also download archives at Novumnet.de.

Download a pdf of the full DHD article here.







The History of Novum

We would like to invite you to take a jouney through time. Into an era when toasters, steam irons, electric shavers and sellotape had not yet been invited. There were no antibiotics , no quartz watches, no autobahns and no biros. That year was 1924, and Germany still had not a single traffic light (that came later, in 1926 in Berlin). It was the year of the first flight around the world – even though it was in 57 stages! And it was the year Gebrauchsgrafik was founded, the year today's novum World of Graphic Design was born.

Eighty five years are for novum much more than a long period of ups and downs, they are eightyfive years of outstanding design services and life stories. A look into the novum archive reveals a broad swathe of contemporary and design history, a collection of well researched articles on people who have had a common goal – to design their invironment, to give it form, to shape the zeitgeist, and thus perhaps to make their mark on history.

-Novum Magazine

The Mysterious Creatures Project :: A Multi-Cultural Adventure

When I was a young boy, (before my interest in skateboards or girls) I liked to collect insects, play with Legos, and draw pictures of dinosaurs. When I went to school my very first book report was on the “Loch Ness” monster. I was so intrigued by this mysterious creature, and would spend hours in the library looking for info on its possible existence. After that report I wanted more than anything, for Nessie to be real, and wondered what other mysteries of nature existed in other parts of the world. What became so exciting for me wasn’t just the elusive creature, but the search itself...



When my wife and I found out we were having our first son Jonah, I was inspired to do something with some old sketches I had of Bigfoot, the Loch-Ness monster, and giant squids. I wanted to create a unique brand that would nurture his curiosity in other cultures and embrace his creativity. The sketchpad concept shortly evolved into a new collection of multi-cultural, iconic, graphical characters from 16 different countries. What’s so fascinating about these 16 creatures is that fact that some are scientifically proven and some are yet to be discovered, but all of them are iconic to their country or region and have fascinating stories behind them.






I also wanted to create a hip kid’s brand that was socially responsible and could help support some worthy causes like CommonThreadz.org… We’re currently working on a program that will truly engage both the consumer and the retailer in making a difference in the lives of impoverished children globally.

Stay tuned for some great new products from the Mysterious Creatures™ project, including coloring books, a travel game, organic wood puzzle sets, kids clothing and some custom graphic textiles… (Travel game set to debut this summer, and be available in specialty boutiques by Christmas)… Check out MysteriousCreaturesPlay.com for more info and project updates….



Mysterious Creatures™ and all associated logos and illustrations are trademarks of DenHerder Design. ©2010 DenHerder Design LLC

The DFG Project :: ActionProfiles.com

Thanks to everyone who helped get the Design for Good project off the ground. We have been getting submissions from all over the world. It's great to see the youth stepping up to support a good cause. A big thanks to Zac Folk and Monica Staniec for the extra PR muscle. Check out the press from Transworld and WIAS.

Design For Good – Get Creative for African Orphans

Common Threadz a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, has partnered with Action Profiles to create the Design For Good campaign to benefit orphans and vulnerable children in South Africa. Action Profiles will be hosting a design contest with its action sports community to create a new shirt design for Common Threadz’s line of stylish, eco-friendly apparel. The theme of the contest is “hope”. Common Threadz will sell the winning designs, with 100% of funds raised going to the orphans; no funds will be diverted for administration.

“Common Threadz is one of those rare non-profits that is extremely effective in their mission while staying relevant to youth culture,” explains AP Co-Owner Jesse DenHerder. “Action sports athletes are creative by nature and ActionProfiles is a perfect venue to harness it.” Zac Folk, founder of CommonThreadz added, “It’s great to be working with Action Profiles on this project and to witness how the nonprofit and private sector can work together in a win-win fashion. We’re excited to see the designs and hope to make this an annual contest.” AP has also put together an elite team of judges who will be announcing the winning design including:

Monica Staniec - Board member of WIAS (Women in Action Sports) and VP of Marketing at iMa, a marketing and PR agency that targets the actions sports, art, music and fashion markets. Monica is also an active Snowboarder and enjoys surfing.

Luiz Calado – Photographer, writer and award winning editor, Luiz’s work has been published in many US and Brazilian publications including Thrasher, Tribo, SKT, Veja, and Yeah! Magazine. With degrees in Communications and Photojournalism, Luiz blends insight and ingenuity in his reporting, while remaining true to his skateboarding roots.

Wendy Burkman – Co-Founder/producer of the Wanda Show and media personality for ActionProfiles.com. Wendy is also a talented singer/songwriter and model.

The Design For Good T-shirt design competition kicks off on Nov. 1st. Submissions are welcome from November through January 20th, 2009 and we encourage artists from all over the world to submit their entries. The winner will receive national exposure as an artist/humanitarian, and a generous prize package from our sponsors, including watches, headphones, apparel and much more. Presentations to the winner and commercialization of the T-shirt designs will take place in January. For more info go to: www.actionprofiles.com/designforgood or www.commonthreadz.org

There's still time to submit some artwork... for more info check out: ActionProfiles.com/DesignForGood or CommonThreadz.org/DesignForGood.


I'm also very honored to have the original DFG logo used for one of CommonThreadz new line of African inspired shirts. With every Africa Series T-Shirt you purchase, Commonthreadz is able To feed an orphan for 1 month. An awesome gift idea this Holiday season!

Jeremy Mason

As an overprotective big brother, I've been very blessed to have cool brother in-laws. My younger sister Kristen married a pretty neat guy named Jeremy Mason. Jeremy's a great catch, he has everything I could want in a brother-in-law: he's funny, in a band, likes handcrafted beer, has awesome taste in music & films, good fashion sense, etc... oh yeah and most importantly, he's really good to my little sis.
Jeremy also happens to be a very talented up & coming artist. I love the rawness of his work, and his use of graphical elements. I was lucky enough to get a piece of his work for our living room, and I'm hoping to get my hands on some more at his upcoming show...



Jeremy will be having his first solo show in Nov. at the Creole Gallery in Lansing , MI

Event: Creole Opening Show
Start Time: Sunday, November 1 at 1:00pm
End Time: Sunday, November 1 at 4:00pm
Where: 1218 Turner St, Lansing, MI, 48906

Check out his Blog or Facebook/JeremyMasonGallery

Cover Illustration :: Brain, Child Magazine

I was recently asked to illustrate the cover for the upcoming Fall issue of Brain, Child Magazine. I pulled my inspiration from a recent situation that revealed the true vulnerability of our son Jonah. The Illustration was created with pencil, acrylic ink, scanned images and Photoshop. A big thanks the the talented staff at Brain, Child for consistently creating such an honest and relevant publication for Moms and Dads. Not many Family magazines have the courage to write about real-life parenting issues. Brain, Child is distributed in independent bookstores, Barnes & Noble superstores and Borders, with subscribers from every state and as far away as Sweden, Egypt, and Hong Kong.

Give a Dam :: Updates

Thanks to everyone who has stepped up to support the Give a Dam project. The response from the AP community has been tremendous, and we're happy to finally have some images up from Shawn's trip: ActionProfiles.com/GiveaDam. It's inspiring to see so many youth get behind this effort. In less than 1 month the first fresh water reservoir dam will be in full production. The 4 acre dam will feed newly engineered irrigation lines and sustain over 8,500 men, women, and children. Stay tuned for more info on the progression of the campaign, including availability of the limited edition T-shirts, and wakeboards.

Its $10 a year to rent space on the side of a building in Kebweze, Kenya, that includes the paint and labor. Our team paid more because they did such a great job... I love this image!

For more info check out: InOurOwnQuietWay.org
Be sure to follow the GAD project on Twitter: @SupportGiveaDam

Give a Dam :: Kenya, Africa 2009

Here's a sneak peak at ActionProfiles.com humanitarian campaign for InOurOwnQuietWay.org. Building reservoir dams in Kenya and filming an action sports film to promote the cause. What an honor to be part of this....



ActionProfiles.com along with Quiet Way will be raising money and awareness to the drought problem in Kenya. Every day young Kenyan people (mostly female) have to travel up to 10 miles each way to retrieve water for cooking and drinking. (Which is where the silhouette of the Kenyan women with the water jug on her head become so recognizable.) QW is working to build dams that would take water from the streams a create a reservoir in the dry season to eliminate the need for leaving children behind most of the time unattended for hours to fetch more water, not to mention the sickness and exhaustion experienced by these women during the trek. These reservoirs would keep fresh water during the drought season to make life for Kenyans healthier, more convenient, and most importantly eliminate the need for leaving children unattended unnecessarily. The quality of the water in our dam's will be 200 times more sanitary as well.
For more info check out: InOurOwnQuietway.org

Editorial Illustration :: No-Fly List

I recently had the pleasure of illustrating an essay for Brain, Child Magazine's summer issue. The essay was called "Baby Grounded" written by Sarah Zapolsky, who tells the story of her innocent, 11 month old son who gets put on the TSA No-Fly list. Unreal...