Seasoned Design Company Stays Young at Heart

As far as tenure goes, SOHO-based EyeballNYC is a dinosaur in the creative boutique world.

And yet, for a design company founded in 1991, EyeballNYC has succeeded in keeping their ideas fresh and their clients coming back for more.

Theirs is an impressive, fast-paced reel, with work including the new Duracell campaign for BBDO/New York, a NASCAR-inspired ad for Coca-Cola D'Arcy/St. Louis, and spots for Taylor Made out of FCB/Irvine, Calif. While nearly half of the work comes from advertising agents, business also generates in the form of music videos, corporate work for customers like Nike and NBA Entertainment, and broadcast giants like Bravo, HBO, Metro Channel and Showtime Networks.

A native of Cincinnati, Limore Shur, founder and creative director of EyeballNYC, describes his company and their work as "forward-thinking."

"We live in New York City, but none of us [at EyeballNYC] are from here," says Shur, 33. "We all left somewhere else to be here"

That love to be a part of what's happening is also the driving force keeping the EyeballNYC team in tune with pop culture and tapping into its (multi-media) possibilities.

"We get very involved with pop culture," Shur says. "It's still our lifestyle."

"It's the same reason we don't sit down and design for design's sake," he says. "We like to sit down and talk about movie and trivia and it encompasses what our projects become."

Shur's full-time staff is comprised of 14 people, ranging in age from 23-37, with up to five freelancers on board at a time to work on various projects. Using technology as their tool, the self-dubbed "thinking design company" does every from graphic design to producing their own live-action and original compositions all in-house. Like many boutiques popping up, EyeballNYC prefers to -- and can -- do everything under one roof.

"We don't actually say, 'We do it all,'" says Mike Eastwood, executive producer at EyeballNYC. "But when you see our reel, you can guess just as well."

"It was a singular vision, not really a business decision," adds Shur on the idea of doing everything in one place. "It just made sense."

Proven records of EyeballNYC's in-house collaborative creativity include Nike's "Presto" spot and their ID package for New York Central. Live action, graphic design, editing and original score were all part of the package.

"A lot of our clients come to us for a specific reason, but often leave with a lot more than they bargained for," says Shur. And unlike their early days, Shur explains, "We don't need to spend time proving ourselves to our clients: It's now apparent."

The best projects, he says, are the ones that allow EyeballNYC the most stylistic freedom. Shur cites their 10-part package, "Disc Jockey," for Showtime Networks' ShoNext Channel as one of his favorites. Inspired by Staff Director Alex Moulton, who is himself a DJ, "Disc Jockey" welcomes viewers into the crazy world of breakbeats and turntables by combining documentary footage of each profiled DJ with wacky animation transforming him into his superhero alter ego. Moulton wanted to tell more of the story behind American DJs and capture a moment of their lives, Eastwood says.

Another proud accomplishment, says Shur, is their billboard for HSBC in Times Square. The installation allows you to have your photo taken for free in the Times Square Visitor Center and a couple of minutes later it's composited on the head of a 45-second animation on a 52x45 ft.LED screen, 28 stories above Broadway attached to the Renaissance Hotel. A favorite among tourists, the entire content (more than 60 minutes of animation and branding imagery) of the sign was created by Eyeball.

"We take a lot of pride in that one because it was a departure from the usual type or design-based projects that we executed in 2001," Eastwood says. "It's nice to see your work in one of the busiest places in the world. It's rewarding to be involved in a project that gives something back to New York City."

Shur and Eastwood recognize the anonymity of their work: usually no one besides the media-men acknowledge the talent behind these productions. "Our parents don't even understand what it is we do," says Shur. "But still, it's important for us to do a great job and stay exceptional."

Says Eastwood: "We're not for everyone and don't try to be. We find that a lot of the creatives that we work with -- from music videos to advertising -- have done their homework on us and are coming to us with a specific project in mind that's tailored to us. They're the clients that we have the most fun with and they're also the clients that like coming back for more."

For more information on EyeballNYC, go to http://www.eyeballnyc.com.

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