Dana Collins

Dinosaur Magazine: D. Collins Design Co was hired to art direct and redesign Dinosaur Magazine. What you see here are the prototypes for the cover. The magazine looks at culture and what has taken place in the past, what is taking place in the present, and where that trajectory is arcing into the future, all from the perspective of "generation x" (loosely speaking, those of us born between 1961 and 1981). The idea for the "mirror image" logo was discovered when I was at a stop sign and an ambulance pulled up behind me. I looked in my rear view mirror to see the right-reading image of the word "ambulance." And that's when the visual metaphor came to me. I was looking behind me to gather information of what I needed to know in the present moment so that I may proceed into future. This is not unlike how Dinosaur functions as a magazine. Photos by Steven Miller, Greg Dohler

This is the cover of the issue that launched the redesign for Dinosaur Magazine. As of this writing, this issue is being distributed. Even though the issue has not been on the newsstands for long, the redesign has already captured the interest of potential new advertisers. The cover and its relative feature is a photographic tribute to the artist, Egon Schiele. Photo by Steven Miller

Dinosaur Magazine: The feature for Perfume Genius was a tribute to the artist, Egon Schiele. This meticulous photo shoot included make up color matched to Schiele's original art and hand painted clothes that matched the detail of the original Schiele work. Typography was hand done to echo the artists exhibition posters. Photo by Steven Miller

Dinosaur Magazine: A feature article on the musical duo Adult. The couple own a beautiful old house in Detroit, and have opened its doors as a musical residency. Other touring bands collaborate and record during their visit with Adult. The band has actually received funding through an art-driven grant to propel this project even further.

Dinosaur Magazine: This feature covers the performance art group St. Genet, from Seattle Washington. Photo by Steven Miller

Dinosaur Magazine: A photo essay regarding the city of San Francisco. A simple type treatment of the letters "sf" where accentuated in size on the opening spread and then repeated at a more demure size to bring identity throughout the features design. Photo By Jamie Betts

designSimple: A media kit cover for American Public Works Association and their institutional magazine. The idea of infrastructure, civic planning and urban management are explored by way of abstraction and typography.

The Box Crossfit Magazine: When I started art directing The Box Magazine, I pushed to make the CrossFit-oriented magazine look bolder and more striking. (CrossFit is a high-intensity sport with dedicated participants.) This was one of the first designs I did with this intent in mind. I asked the editor to describe premier CrossFit athlete Jason Khalipa in one word. She answered, “Relentless.” I suggested that be the headline, and we went from there. Photo by Robert Reiff.

The Box Crossfit Magazine: The squat, though a highly effective exercise, also strikes me as one of the more uncomfortable, unnatural exercises to look at. With so many “squat” photo sets coming through the magazine’s office, I feel quite confident that I’ve heard every low-to-the-ground joke about this exercise that any roomful of jokers could conjure. The photo is tightly cropped and juxtaposed to a large mound of typography. It is an uncomfortable but accurate portrayal of a less-than-graceful move. Photo by Robert Reiff.

The Box Crossfit Magazine: Though many know Bob Harper as a trainer on the hit television series The Biggest Loser, he was adamant that his portrayal be one of a dedicated trainer and not a celebrity. Very little was mentioned about the show within this article. It was obvious to me that this feature was less about who Bob Harper “is,” and more about what Bob Harper “does.” Photo by Peter Lueders.

Black Belt Magazine: Bong Soo Han is credited by many for bringing the martial art of Hapkido to the mainstream in the western world. In this retrospective article, a student of Han gives his tribute, and explains how Han’s influence has lived beyond his passing.

Black Belt Magazine: Black Belt Magazine lends itself well to negative space. The Cung Le feature is a prime example of this. I think when you are dealing with such a visually arresting subject as the martial arts, often the best solution is to have the design sit back and let the picture tell the story. Photo by Robert Reiff.

Los Angeles CityBeat Weekly Newspaper: CityBeat had a very small budget for freelancers. I was lucky to find some amazing people who delivered beautiful work far above and far beyond the call of duty. I would gladly go to great lengths to present their work in the best light possible. Photo By Maura Lanahan. re

Los Angeles CityBeat Weekly Newspaper: I believe CityBeat is where I really found my voice as a graphic designer. This was the first time in my career that I was able to build the branding and template for a publication from scratch. The art and editorial crew worked on a nonexistent budget and consistently delivered a razor-sharp product that rivaled many others with higher profiles and deeper pockets. I am proud of it, and I miss it. Photo by Melodie McDaniel.

Los Angeles CityBeat Weekly Newspaper: Joe Coleman is one of my favorite contemporary artists. I consider myself lucky to have worked with his art (two times now) in my career. The level of obsession is undeniable; he works on the smallest of detail in the largest paintings with a pair of magnifying goggles and a single hair brush. I believe that someday he will finally get the recognition he deserves from the art world. I also believe it will be about 100 years postmortem. And if he did finally get some art-world sunshine within his lifetime, he wouldn’t care. Art by Joe Coleman.