As an art director at LA-based Razorfish, Jonathan Notaro says he chafed under the established hierarchy. And so, in July 2000, he broke away to "create a space for a collective of new-style thinkers".

Three years on, Brand New School is a 45-person, bicoastal live-action and design company that recently completed a street-smart network package for FUEL, Fox Cable Networks' new 24/7 action sports channel, which launched July 1, and a repositioning of DirecTV with Deutsch.

The graphically rebellious FUEL package was inspired by the concept of signature skateboard decks. The BNS team, led by West Coast creative director Jens Gehlhaar, produced 10 drastically different station identifiers, written and directed by 10 directors including Notaro, video and installation artist Doug Aitken, skater-industry creative director Andy Jenkins, and BNS art director/designer Saiman Chow.

The result is an unpredictable series of techniques and attitudes, using live-action, stop-motion, cell animation, 3D animation, slide shows and QuickTime VRs. BNS also oversaw FUEL's print campaign, which launched concurrently.

Notaro opened the Manhattan office in September 2001 - three days before 9/11. "Jobs were slipping through our fingers because we didn't have a New York presence," he says. "I also had some designers who wanted to live in New York and I always thought it would be cool to have an office here to fuel inspiration."

Meanwhile, the LA studio has outgrown its 5,500-square-foot space and is currently searching for new digs to house staff that can balloon geared to a project.

Notaro says the company's work, predominantly design and branding, splits 70/30 between agency and broadcast clients. Both studios run flame, Maya, Cinema 4D, After Effects and Final Cut Pro.

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Brand New School> http://www.brandnewschool.com