When we mentioned last week that we’d post a few photos from the CAM Gala, this isn’t what we had in mind… But here you are, anyway: A frozen half-second from KSDK’s Gala coverage, showing (clockwise from bottom, all with forks in hand), yours truly, Geoff Story, Bruce Burton, and my wife, Tamara. Not pictured: Eric and Mary Thoelke and (thanks to my head) Annette Gleason. Bon appétit!

As the firm behind every one of the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts‘ exhibition catalogues to date, we were pleased by this tweet from well-known visual arts journalist and critic Tyler Green. The Pulitzer has been a wonderful partner. Thanks, Tyler!

Though we were sad to see longtime Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis Director Paul Ha make the move from St. Louis to Cambridge, we’re looking forward to helping celebrate his legacy this Saturday at the CAM Gala at the Four Seasons.

TOKY is proud to be a Gold Sponsor of the CAM Gala, and we’re eager for the design work we’ve done for it to get in the hands of so many supporters of the institution.

Next week, we’ll post a few photos from the evening (though the dance floor’s off limits) and provide a more detailed look at the full collateral we designed.

Cheers, Paul! Consider this an an early toast for contributing so much to St. Louis’ cultural landscape.

In January, TOKY launched the web catalogue for Reflections of the Buddha, the current exhibition at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. Yesterday, we launched a companion site for “Staging Reflections of the Buddha,” an innovative project that “unites theater, visual arts, and social work to build connections between the art and all audiences while transforming lives and fostering connections between communities.” It’s a highly original program — built on a partnership between the Pulitzer, Prison Performing Arts, St. Patrick Center, and Employment Connection — with free events and performances happening through March. TOKY built the site using WordPress, helping the Pulitzer offer an integrated event calendar that offers, for the first time, seamless ticket reservations through Eventbrite.

The Graphis Poster Annual 2012 winners have been announced, and TOKY’s poster for “Staging Old Masters: Former Prisoners Perform at the Pulitzer” (above right) — the innovative theatre/community program at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts — has been given the Gold. This is a tough, international competition, and we’re thrilled with the recognition — especially since TOKY was responsible not just for the design but for the original photography on this project as well.

Here’s a bit about the book:

Graphis Poster Annual 2012 features some of the most visually compelling posters from the past year chosen from thousands of international entries, including Platinum award-winning entries from Thomas Wedell and Nancy Skolos, Paul Garbett, Hei Yiyang, Carlo Fiore, Kasai Noriyuki, Andrea Castelletti, Guy Mastrion, Fritz Klaetke and Mike Barker. The 185 posters selected for this volume clearly demonstrate the potency of this medium. This year’s edition also includes a revealing interview with Stephan Bundi, an accomplished professional art director and designer who is internationally renowned for his poster work.

You can pick up the new book at the Graphis Store. Congrats to all the winners!

Here’s a look at the TOKY work that’s being recognized this year:

1. “Texts in the City” Invitation, St. Louis Public Library Foundation (related blog post)

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2. Contemporary Fund Mailer, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis

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3. “Share the Season” Packaging, Panera Bread (related blog post)

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4. stylus box/catalogue, The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

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5. Grab grassy this moment your I’s catalogue, Laumeier Sculpture Park (related blog post)

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6. 2011 Season Poster, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

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7. Dreamscapes website, The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

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Click here to view the embedded video.

8. “Design Legends of St. Louis“ Video Series, AIGA St. Louis (one of five videos is shown above)

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9. “Return to Summer” In-Store, Panera Bread (related gallery at Facebook)

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10. “Share the Season” In-Store, Panera Bread (related blog post)

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11. “A Tasteful Affair” Invitation, Food Outreach

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Our thanks to the ADDY judges who have recognized this work! We’re looking forward to celebrating St. Louis creativity with our colleagues at the February ceremony.

For the fourth year in a row, TOKY has provided the design work for marketing Mardi Gras St. Louis, a series of a dozen major events celebrated for six weeks during January and February. It’s one of the most exciting national Mardi Gras celebrations outside of New Orleans itself. While this year’s identity is completely new, we’ve continued last year’s efforts at communicating that Mardi Gras St. Louis is much more than the massively attended Grand Parade. From the Cajun Cook-Off to the Wiener Dog Derby, the series is packed with events for all types of audiences. Find out more above, and at the website, designed and developed by TOKY.

Last week, I had the opportunity to give a presentation — “InDesign CS5 Tips & Techniques” — for the Society for Marketing Professional Services St. Louis (SMPS ). My talk featured examples of ways to be more efficient in the leading desktop publishing application, and how to do better work faster. I spoke about creating documents, using images, handling text effectively, using color, and saving, exporting and printing files.

There were about 30 people in attendance, ranging in age and, from what I could tell, experience with InDesign. (Also, geography: one gentleman drove all the way in from Columbia, Mo.!) My thanks to those who attended and the SMPS team, who provided a large pre-talk breakfast buffet for all and gifted a nifty little bamboo thumb drive to me.

You’re welcome to view a video of the seminar above or on Vimeo’s website.