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Tomorrow’s Weekend magazine cover.

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My new year’s resolutions.

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Me, Andrew McMahon & Kate McGinty.

For Brian

In life, Brian Maibaum taught me so much.

When I first started designing, Brian would pull me aside late at night and offer me tips and suggestions. They were little suggestions, but meant the world to me.

When I graduated college, he checked up on me to see how I was doing.

When I lost my job and started working retail, he encouraged me to keep my head up. He told me there was nothing wrong with figuring out what I wanted to do.

When I started designing for a newspaper again, he’d email me critiques of my work. He always encouraged me to take chances.

Two weeks ago, I was featured on a blog about a page I had designed. When something similar showed up in The Onion, Brian emailed me and told me they copied me. I laughed, thanked him for the email but told him The Onion illustration was better.

That was the last time I spoke with him.

He was a calming force in my life even if our interactions were few and far between. And I never got to thank him for any of that. I never told him how much he meant to me and how important he was to keeping me sane. I wish I had told him that. And all this makes me realize how short life is. And how we can’t take anyone or anything for granted.

Even in death, he’s teaching me so much.

Screen grab from the Phoenix Design Studio newsletter. ;)

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My last sports cover for the Star-Ledger.