about

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COLOR:GRAY is the ongoing project of designer Andy Rinehart, providing web design-development-architecture and multimedia authoring including programmed animation, design-for-print and sound design. Starting in 1998 and going full time in 2005 COLOR:GRAY has served a wide and unique variety of clients, from musicians and artists, to pre schools and architects, to guitar sales and circus projects, doing everything from small brochure sites to full-blown content management system developments with commerce, interactivity and endless content.

Clients
COLOR:GRAY has been incredibly fortunate to work for an array of luminaries within the music industry such as David Torn, Rob Mathes, Donna Lewis and Ronnie Montrose not to mention Anil Prasad (of Innerviews.org) and a battery of film composers (Joey Newman, Wayne Sharpe, BC Smith, Christopher Libertino, Quentin Chiapetta). Small and medium businesses have come aboard too (green architecture, floral design, realtor-attorney, pre-school, local church, Alexander Technique) and some of the most prominent boutique guitar sales sites of our day (DestroyAllGuitars, CR Guitars, Henman Guitars). COLOR:GRAY clients reside everywhere, from LA to New York.

Content creation
COLOR:GRAY provides all manner of content creation, including copywriting, photography, sound design, animation and video editing. It is a COLOR:GRAY priority--to assist clients in developing the clearest or craziest, or just the best possible content for their project, content that gets the message across, content that invites.

Identity development
COLOR:GRAY will help develop your presence, your flavor and your logo whether you want to go against the grain or with it we'll help you think, imagine and hone.

Relevancy of design
Design is relevant even when muted. These days design soemtimes takes a back seat to the technology it's displayed on. That's OK. Sometimes design needs to get out of the way, but at COLOR:GRAY we CARE about design. People seek COLOR:GRAY out because of design, and we're willing to put that foot forward, because we believe in it. In short, COLOR:GRAY is willing to allow artwork to play a prominent part in structure.

Andy Rinehart
about ANDY RINEHART
Principal Andy Rinehart has been designing things since a very young age. His parents were particularly alarmed to find that he frequently took brand new toys apart in order to make modifications. When he was age eleven Rinehart formulated a concise language complete with vocabulary and grammar. At age seventeen Rinehart found he could not afford to buy an electric guitar - so he built one. Later, finding himself in need of a turntable, Rinehart fashioned one from laminated woods, paper clips, and coins.

Rinehart's explorative nature led him into several design-oriented fields. In his twenties, Rinehart pursued formal training in musical instrument building and became a journeyman luthier. Later, Rinehart attended the S.U.N.Y. Purchase college of music as a student of composition, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Rinehart spent his years in the conservatory honing his sense of arrangement, timing and pedagogy.

Rinehart was signed to the German record label CMP during their twilight years as an experimental jazz and ethnic music label. His album "Jason's Chord" was produced by noted film composer David Torn with musicians Mick Karn and Kurt Wortman and was hailed by JAZZIZ as one of the best progressive albums of the decade. Somewhere in there Rinehart found himself living a contemplative life as a pastry chef during which he made it his task to design cakes and pastries of jaw-dropping beauty. During these various transitions Rinehart never skipped a beat. Design is design whether it is food or abstract art, instruments or composed music.

The world of computers has provided exciting tools for the extension of Rinehart's design pursuits into the realm of graphics and web functionality. Rinehart applies his years of understanding composition and relationship, structure and aesthetics to the realm of multimedia design.

branch out

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when: 2009 / 2011 / 2018
client: Leighsa Montrose
site: branchoutflowers.com

For roughly 30 years Leighsa Montrose has been a San Francisco based event designer with an uncanny sense of intuition and a special gift for adaptability. Her design concepts make use of everything from exotic flowers to found objects and have made their way into a wide array of publications such as People, Lucky, and Bride and Bloom. COLOR:GRAY was brought on board to reinvent Leighsa's branding and provide a clean, compelling site with lots of class and tons of personality. The most recent reinvention of Leighsa's site includes full screen galleries, auto-scrolling and innovative background transitions.

metropoulos amplification

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when: 2017
client: George Metropoulos
site: metropoulos.net

George Metropoulos had been assembling a multi-faceted Internet empire for years in support of his boutique amplifier manufacturing business before coming to COLOR:GRAY with several critical website security problems. Once aboard, COLOR:GRAY helped to hone Metropoulos' sprauling web presence by focussing his branding, consolodating sites, redesigning everything and getting security issues under control. No small task considering an overwhealming amount of traffic and popularity. George's amps now have a cohesive home, a cohesive brand and have been rescued from the wild west of Internet attacks.

symbios

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when: 2009, 2016
client: Kevin Falkerson
site: symbiosdesign.com

Symbios is a Northern California based architectural firm that specializes in green property planning and construction, and living roof installations. Their work is full of elegant curves and integrates with the natural surroundings in stunning ways. They refer to their process as "building with life" and it is easy to see that this notion touches everything they do, from design to green systems implementation. Symbios came to COLOR:GRAY with an old website badly in need of help and re-branding. The result is a new identity from the ground up that attempts to capture the complex nature of what Symbios does while maintaining enough elegance to provide wide appeal. The project was delivered with a carefully crafted content management system that allows Symbios complete access to every aspect of their site.

westside children's theatre

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when: 2016
client: Westside Children's Theatre
site: westsidechildrenstheatre.com

An actress with a passion for education, Jerelyn Newman started a theatre school for children in the Los Angeles area with an inspiring lineup of instructors. Jerelyn needed a site that could promote her efforts along with a registration system for the classes themselves. COLOR:GRAY provided all the setup work in assembling the software array for the Westside Children's Theatre and of course, a website with enough personality to attract parents and children alike, without being "cute!"

compass ars

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when: 2012, 2016
client: Compass Arts
site: compassarts.org

Gina Samardge is an educational force in the New York area, from her highly praised music classes for children to her formal musical instruction at various public and private schools, and from her work in the New York clowning, theater, music and vaudeville communities. Gina needed a website and class registration system in support of her most recent venture - an enrichment space in Beacon, NY that provides inspired, integrative classes and events for all ages. Using the Wild Apricot system COLOR:GRAY assembled a highly functional website that is a registration hub for everything Compass Arts offers.

donna lewis

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when: 2015
client: Donna Lewis
site: donnalewis.com

The latest incarnation of Donna Lewis' website is the second full site that COLOR:GRAY has created for her, preceeded by several years of COLOR:GRAY design contributions to previous websites, social media, and general promotional efforts. Donna Lewis (of 'I Love You Always Forever' fame) has come out with a new David Torn-produced album entitled Brand New Day and needed the look of her new website to match. This time the approach was a minimal one-page site with auto scrolling and full responsive coding. You can also visit the Peruzzi Music site (another COLOR:GRAY creation in support of Donna's management/label: peruzzimusic.com).

rob mathes

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when: 2010, 2015
client: Rob Mathes
site: robmathes.com

Rob Mathes may be the music world's best kept musical secret. Not quite a household name, but if you've been on the planet you've surely heard his work. Rob was the arranger and musical director for the Obama Inauguration Concert at the Lincoln Memorial and has a long history of arranging, composing or producing for such artists as Elton John, Tony Bennett, Mary J Blige, Lou Reed, Eric Clapton, Jay Z, Avril Lavigne, Fall Out Boy, Beck, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Yo Yo Ma, Sting and Pavarotti. Rob came to COLOR:GRAY with an aging website and a critical need for a revised web presence. Utilizing a carefully crafted mashup of the ExpressionEngine content management system and Flash COLOR:GRAY provided a site with all the impact of Flash but in a fully search engine friendly format. Floating transitions and dramatically embedded media delivery round out the package.

lunch witch

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when: 2015
client: Papercutz
site: lunchwitch.com

Illustrator and writer Deb Lucke has an incredible knack for making bad behavior and horribly embarrassing incidents inspiring and engaging for young readers. The Lunch Witch website is in support of Deb's graphic novel of the same title, a lavishly illustrated and brilliantly told story that required an equally lavish approach for the website. With Deb's artistic guidance, layouts closely matching the book were assembled into a website that is both introductory and supplemental. The Lunch Witch herself would be proud, if she weren't so displeased with the publicity.

larry goldings

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when: 2015
client: Larry Goldings
site: larrygoldings.com

Larry Goldings is one of those musicians you've probably heard hundreds of times without realizing it. Having worked with James Taylor, De La Soul, India Arie, Tracy Chapman, Madeleine Peyroux, Luciana Souza, Melody Gardot, Walter Becker, Robben Ford, Steve Gadd, Leon Russell, Rickie Lee Jones, Till Brönner, Priscilla Ahn, Jesse Harris, Sia, John Mayer, and Norah Jones he's about as ubiquitous as they come. In late 2014, Larry wanted a new website in support of his shift in emphasis towards film and TV composing and came to COLOR:GRAY with a request for a clean, photo backdrop site with comprehensive content and full device compatibility.

barry cleveland

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when: 2015
client: Barry Cleveland
site: barrycleveland.com

Longtime editor of Guitar Player Magazine and brilliant musician Barry Cleveland was seeking a website to promote his efforts as a musician and writer and needed a site that could deliver easy access for him to update frequently with interviews, album releases and travel photos. Wordpress was an obvious choice and Barry makes good use of it - the site is always evolving.

dena seidel

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when: 2015
client: Dena Seidel
site: denaseidel.com

Dena Seidel is a filmmaker with a deep dedication to education, having pioneered programs at Rutgers University that allowed students to fully participate in the production of professional films. Her efforts, which regularly include student editors, cammera operators, editors, script writers, etc. have found exposure on Netflix, PBS and numerous film festivals worldwide. The website, built in Wordpress, is an in-depth look at Seidel's efforts including numerous film clips and photos.

innerviews

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when: 2008, 2012 and ongoing
client: Anil Prasad
site: innerviews.org

For over twenty years Innerviews has been a mainstay of the online music journalism world that is acclaimed by many musicians for its in-depth approach that enables artists to speak at length about topics that matter to them without the constraints of advertising-based editorial requirements. With more than 350,000 visitors to the website monthly and an archive of hundreds of interviews with "music's most vital and original voices" there is no question of Innerviews unique and wide-ranging contribution to the world of music. For the 20th anniversary of Innerviews, COLOR:GRAY completed a second complete redesign of the site with responsive coding, accommodation for larger scalable graphics and a new content management framework. COLOR:GRAY has made other contributions in the form the design of the highly acclaimed Innerviews book. Thanks to Anil Prasad for his tireless work as the immensely talented and visionary journalist behind Innerviews.

Posthorn Music

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when: 2014
client: Christopher Anderson-Bazzoli
site: posthornmusic.com

Christopher Anderson-Bazzoli is a remarkable composer with an equally remarkable range. He is as at home conducting a symphony orchestra as he is with electronic manipulation and song structures. He has composed for numerous TV shows and films and has a compelling body of classical works, not to mention functioning in multiple roles (conductor, orchestrator, copyist) for many albums by very visible artists (M Ward, Michael Buble, Christina Aguilera, Beck, Dr Dre, Jonas Brothers, Dido, Goo Goo Dolls). Christopher wanted a site that conveys his range without seeming cluttered or overwhealming so COLOR:GRAY delivered with a clean but edgy photo-background layout with multiple sliders, overlays and end pages that slip in and out of the screen as needed.

acme tracks

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when: 2012
client: Jeff Resnick
site: acmetracks.com

Executive producer Jeff Resnick approached COLOR:GRAY with a concept for promoting his efforts as a venue programmer. Utilizing a set of linked websites Resnick wanted to promote his venue programming work along with promoting the shows themselves. Names such as Steven Page, Joan Osborn, Rita Wilson, John Lloyd Young, Buster Poindexter, Alexa Ray Joel and Kurt Elling indicate the caliber of artists that Resnick books at the Cafe Carlyle in New York City. Resnick needed a content managed site that would mimic the look of the Carlyle's own site while selling his own efforts in true New York style.

destroyallguitars

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when: 2005, 2008, 2013 and ongoing
client: Cliff Cultreri
site: destroyallguitars.com

Now in its third incarnation, the DestroyAllGuitars website is a mainstay of the boutique guitar sales industry. During his 30 years at the top of the music industry as an A&R man, producer and artist Cliff Cultreri's influence garnered 18 Grammy nominations and 27 gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards. Now he is working at the forefront of a golden age in boutique guitar building. Cliff Cultreri's DAG collective is a worldwide group of many of the finest luthiers alive today and the DAG website is the central hub, not only of the collective, but of the golden age itself. COLOR:GRAY has been there from the beginning with Destroy All Guitars, having built the first iteration of the site and all the various subsequent rebuilds/redesigns. This 500+ page site has an open-source, comprehensive content management system and lots of complex functionality with an emphasis on lush photo and video delivery. COLOR:GRAY administers the Destroy All Guitars site on an ongoing basis, attending to every listing and every expansion. Since its start in 2005 the site has grown to museum-like size and is a remarkable success story because of the great teamwork and fluent working relationship of Cliff Cultreri and COLOR:GRAY.

david torn

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when: 2007
client: David Torn
site: davidtorn.net

Noted film composer (Friday Night Lights, Believe in Me, The Order) producer, and avant-garde guitarist David Torn (ECM, Windham Hill, CMP) inspired a site as unique as his work. Animations of fog, moving anitique film grit, a flock of birds and a roaming view window that follows mouse movements populate a site that is simultaneously soothing and challenging. A full featured audio player was constructed from the ground up with distressed design attributes as was a special random load area that when activated fills a view area with a puff of smoke that recedes to reveal a random photo or some other surprise. The site was delivered with a content management system to allow Torn to update certain areas himself. It was an immense pleasure to build this Flash site as Torn allowed COLOR:GRAY to pull out all the stops to create something uniquuely Torn.

cr guitars

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when: 2011
client: Craig and Renee Snyder
site: crguitars.com

Craig and Renee Snyder are a New York music house success story. Their clients have included American Express, Tribeca Film Festival, Nokia, Bank of America, Miller Beer, Coca Cola, Mercedes, Jaguar, IBM and many more (really, MANY!). After winning the commercial music production game for 20 years they decided to try something new and they're bringing their uncanny knack for success with them. Just a few weeks after going live with their COLOR:GRAY designed CR Guitars website instruments were selling almost faster than they could be posted to the site. One of Renee's opening lines when she first called COLOR:GRAY was "most musical instrument sales sites look like a Sunday insert." That set the tone for the pursuit of something greater and the trend-setting CR Guitars was born, a guitar sales site that's truly unique and built with one of the most sophisticated and integrated systems to date from COLOR:GRAY.

joey newman

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when: 2010, 2012
client: Joey Newman Productions
site: joeynewman.com

Joey Newman comes from a long line of composers, his gradfather Lionel Newman and great uncle Alfred Newman having been part of the very definition of film music. Joey is carrying on the tradition, composing for films such as Legacy and The Space Between, and for TV shows such as The Middle and Little People, Big World (Emmy nominated for composition). Joey came to COLOR:GRAY bravely looking for something different from the stock film composer's website--and got it! The site uses Flash for generating atmosphere but is fully viewable on and responsive to mobile devices and was also delivered with a well tailored content management system.

phil and joan

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when: 2010
client: Phil Sylvester / Joan Findlay
site: philandjoanworld.com

Phil and Joan are two Portland, Oregon based artists who embody the very definition of "outside the box." Having managed a tangle of websites for some time, Phil and Joan approached COLOR:GRAY with the task of unifying their world in one place, and there is no question that this was an outstanding idea. The Phil and Joan World site provides a seamless artistic experience, from Joan's hand-woven rugs and bold paintings to Phil's conglomerate of incarnations including Pheo Guitars (uncanny guitar-creations made from found objects), The Drawing Studio (Phil's teaching studio and gallery), and Phil's own artworks in the drawing and painting mediums. Using multiple domains that all run from the same content management installation the term "world" in the site's name has more than just a cursory meaning. The site provides an in-depth, even sensual look at a very special pair of artists.

libertino

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when: 2007
client: Christopher Libertino
site: christopherlibertino.com

Brilliant film composer, recording artist and guitarist Christopher Libertino needed a site as visually unique as his compositional approach. The site's main feature apart from it's visual appeal is the multiple custom skinned and distressed audio and video players created from the ground up using COLOR:GRAY's Flash player coding.

christine kim

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when: 2012
client: Christine Kim
site: christinekimhomes.com

Most real estate agents just have a photo and blurb on the website of the firm they work for but Christine Kim wanted a more tailor made solution that would set her apart as an individual while still relating her to the Prudential name. Additionally, her extra skills as an attorney and her specialization in high end markets demand some alternative framing that COLOR:GRAY was able to provide. Chrisitine's website is unique among realtors for its interesting and inviting design; time was spent honing this to establish just the right feel. The site was delivered with a full in-site search area for finding your new home.

montrose

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when: 2012
client: Ronnie and Leighsa Montrose
site: ronniemontrose.com/merchandise/

Ronnie Montrose was a guitar hero of epic proportions and a soul with a planet-sized heart. Having worked with a dizzying array of names such as Sammy Hagar, Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, The Beau Brummels, Boz Scaggs, Beaver & Krause, Gary Wright, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Dan Hartman, Marc Bonilla, Edgar Winter, and Johnny Winter, in addition to his own bands Montrose and Gamma, Ronnie Montrose had an extended and broad-ranging career, and was still performing regularly. Ronnie came to COLOR:GRAY in late 2011 wanting an online store to match his existing website and COLOR:GRAY provided a fully tailor-made solution for online purchase of Ronnie Montrose concert merchandise. A few months later Ronnie left us in tragic fashion, but his legacy and heart are still with everyone he touched.

henman guitars

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when: 2009
client: Graham and Paris Henman
site: henmanguitars.com

The design team of Graham and Paris Henman has some of the most unified, minimal and sexy branding in the guitar world. Drawing on many years experience producing music videos, Holywood special effects, star-studded high fashion ads and editorials for the likes of Elle, Vogue, The Face, FHM and I.D., and high end commercials for a who's who list of the largest global advertisers - Graham and Paris Henman are making a bold attempt at re-writing guitar building history. Henman Guitars enlisted COLOR:GRAY to take their well-designed, but not-so-web-functional website and bring it into the 21st century with standards compliant re-coding throughout, a ground-up content management system, newly lavish page layouts and expanded access to information. It was a pleasure to work within the Henman team's minimalist design ethic to re-produce a site with a truly comfortable emphasis on function.

sluggos goon

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when: 2008
client: Sluggos Goon Music
site: sluggosgoonmusic.com

Sluggos Goon Music is a New York - based indie record label that is setting trends with its collective structure, vibrant roster of artists and no-fee downloads. The Sluggos Goon site was conceived as a Flash environment with a smokey, morphing interior that is populated with a selection of customized, user-updatable audio players and various ambient background sounds that are set to fire randomly. The site utilizes a smooth, Flash-based content management system so the collective can do independent updates.

mary padilla

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when: 2014
client: Mary Padilla
site: northcastlevet.com

Mary Padilla has practiced as a highly skilled veterinarian for many many years in Westchester County New York and after working with COLOR:GRAY for her Alexander Technique practice website she decided to finally have a simple website dedicated to her veterinary hospital as well. This site was not designed by COLOR:GRAY. Instead, under Marey Padilla's direction COLOR:GRAY utilized her drawing and layout to create a screen-responsive website in record time. Half a day from conception to going live!

mary padilla

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when: 2012
client: Mary Padilla
site: alexandertechniqueinarmonk.com

Mary Padilla has practiced as a highly skilled veterinarian for many many years in Westchester County New York. When she discovered Alexander Technique, a holistic method for generating enhanced body awareness, she felt she had found her second calling, one that drew on her artistic sensibilities as well as her immense technical and biological knowledge. Mary came to COLOR:GRAY for a simple website to support her new business venture and COLOR:GRAY delivered a site that draws heavily from her own self-published book for its design, and conveys a Zen-like quality sure to inspire potential clients to pay this vetrinarian turned mind-body specialist an adventurous visit.

andy rinehart

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when: 2005
client: Andy Rinehart
site: andyrinehart.com

COLOR:GRAY designer Andy Rinehart created this site to give fans of his music a place to visit to hear song samples, read articles and view past album art. The site uses ambient animation techniques and mouse-over javascripting to allow the presentation of several pages of information within the scope of one evolving page. Artwork is based on the work of brilliant found object artist Keith LoBue.

inquiries

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Please feel free to contact us directly or use the form below. We love talking about websites and other design projects!

Contact Andy Rinehardt:

COLOR:GRAY is located in Beacon, New York, USA. We work with clients in any location.