Situated on more than 70 acres of land in the heart of Umbria, La Segreta (The Secret) operates two luxury rental properties – and produces fine local wines and olive oil. Our friends Eileen and Lorenzo asked us to design a website and packaging to support their entire operation. Featuring a new wordmark, “The Secret Grove” line of olive oil is the first project seen through to completion – a revamped website and original wine labels are well underway. What did our friends in Italy think of the olive oil labels? “Bellissima!” See more here.

We just arrived back from the launch of Le Creuset's new flagship store in Montreal. Viva & Co. was responsible for the environmental design, the point-of-purchase displays – and writing and translating all of the copy. Only three doors down from Apple, we think our friends in Cupertino will sit up and take notice. See more here.

It started with a conversation: "I’ve always loved it when my headlights hit one of those reflective signs on a quiet road at night. And I also like green," said Joel. “You're speaking our language," said Frank. From that odd and fragmented conversation quite a bit of meaningful information was conveyed. And so, a new brand for Joel Loblaw was born. We started with a wordmark that speaks to what Joel is known for – creating unique, modern and thoughtfully designed landscapes for his clients. Then we did the writing, design and programming for his smart new website. Once the site was live, we sent a custom email announcement to his customers, suppliers and friends. How's it all going so far? The stationery isn't even back from the printer and already Joel's phone is ringing. And that green reflective sign we designed to grace all Joel Loblaw worksites? It’s also on the way.

Arguably the most knowledgeable (certainly the most passionate) importer of fine wines in Bermuda, Discovery Wines asked us to design a new online store that would be easy for their staff to manage in-house. The site includes separate sections for news, events, reviews and the Discovery Wines Club. Most important, the wine list includes hundreds of handpicked artisanal wines from nine countries – all available at the click of a mouse.

When the good people at SimpleLogic realized they needed help to create a new website, they began searching for a partner that shared their passion for great information design, logical hierarchies and precise communication. Viva & Co. fit the bill. “Viva helped us create a website that reflects the unique personality of our firm and captures the essence of what we do. We’re perfectly happy – and happy to say the website was delivered on time and on budget!” To get a clearer picture, visit the new site.

We've designed a new logo and stationery system for a prominent literary agency in Manhattan. The Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency is happy with their curly bracket “eyebrow mark” and the complementary psychedelic pattern (also created using curly brackets). We are now busy helping them with a new website for the agency.

Viva & Co. has created a new website for Earth Inc. After successfully hosting HGTV’s Dirty Business, the partners felt it was time for a proper website that showcased their work. The end result? A contemporary site that is easy to navigate and shows examples of some of the most compelling residential landscape design in Canada today. The partners had this to say: “Viva & Co. made things easy for us. They took our initial brief and ran with things. This site has everything we wanted and more!” Click here to visit Earth.

Titled Into the Green, Frank Viva’s latest cover for The New Yorker is on newsstands this week. His first, Great Expectations, is a winner in the 2011 British Design & Art Direction (D&AD) awards. His first two covers were selected for American Illustration 30 and will be published in the annual this fall. More covers here.

After almost three years, it is finally time to post about Frank Viva's first children's picture book here on our news page. Reviews have been great and we were told that sales have been pretty good too. We received notification that the book has been accepted into the AIGA's 50 Books/50 Covers show. We are keeping track of notices, reviews, interviews, events and anything else of interest on the site we created for the book. If you would like to find out more about recent Viva & Co. projects and awards (D&AD, AIGA, America Illustration, Applied Arts and others), sign up for our newsletter here.

One thing led to another. After Frank Viva's new book, Along a Long Road, received a "terrific" review, the art director at The New York Times invited him to illustrate the cover of the Book Review for the summer reading issue (above). Then they interviewed him. To see more of Frank's work for The New York Times click here.

The team at Viva & Co. has created a new logo and online store for Fluf, a Canadian manufacturer of sophisticated and durable fabric-based merchandise. From day one, Fluf’s mission has been (and remains) to design and print original, sustainable fabrics. With six years of exceptional growth and products now available at hundreds of international stores, it was time for a rebranding. The rounded contemporary logo reflects the true nature of this environmentally friendly business, while the ultra-secure online store provides an easy-to-navigate platform for wholesale and retail clients alike. Moreover, the intuitive content management system makes this new site quick and easy to manage. In addition to rebranding Fluf, designing their website and providing the top-level marketing copy, the team at Viva & Co. photographed, styled and close-cropped the product shots in-house (a new service we offer to help e-commerce clients establish a professional and consistent online image). How do the partners at Fluf feel about their new site? “We couldn't be happier – and it was such a pleasure working with everyone at Viva & Co.” Learn more about Fluf and their new online store here.

Above is the wordmark Viva & Co. designed to help commemorate Marshall McLuhan’s centenary. We also created the new WordPress site – the online hub for all the activities being planned throughout 2011 to celebrate the man and his ideas. In order to build a global strategy for McLuhan100, the collective behind the campaign (the City of Toronto’s Economic Development & Culture Division, the University of Toronto and Mozilla) began collaborating with “McLuhan in Europe 2011,” the estate of McLuhan and Canada’s embassies worldwide. Plus, for the first time ever, all four Toronto universities joined the McLuhan100 initiative, ensuring a whole new generation of young scholars will become aware of his legacy.

Mental Landscape is Frank Viva's third cover for The New Yorker. To see the first two go here.