Co-Founder/EP Saffron Case and Co-Founder/Director Mikon van Gastel of renowned NY-based production house A Very Small Office (AVSO) have opened design and animation company Offspring. Case and van Gastel, who have spent many years with both the LA and New York offices of Imaginary Forces are taking their progressive vision and years of design-based production experience into a new realm.
“Offspring is a logical next step for Mikon and myself. We’ve developed such long-standing, deep relationships over the years it just seemed natural to offer those clients another creative opportunity,” noted Case. “AVSO was built on the passion to create highly original, game-changing work and we’re taking that same approach and applying it to design and motion graphics.”

Offspring will be lead by newly minted Creative Director, acclaimed Designer Adam Levite who has worked directly with Beck to design the cover for the Grammy-nominated album, Guero, designed the logo for the Undefeated sneaker brand, and designed the poster for Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights. Levite adds, “Offspring is a place of broad skill-sets, capable of a variety of creative solutions. It’s important to offer a full range of services under one roof and to more than just our friends at AVSO.”

In addition to Levite, Offspring boasts an impressive array of talent including Joanna Fillie who has joined the ranks as executive producer. Fillie has worked with Case over the last seven years, first at Imaginary Forces, then as supervising producer at AVSO. Wes Richardson is also on board as Art Director/Lead Animator.

Case comments. “We’re thrilled about the strength in our collective ability to offer both live action and post for a single project, but we’re equally enthused with the opportunity to provide high-end design and animation to agencies, production companies, film studios, and record labels independent of AVSO having had a hand in it.” Van Gastel remarks, “Saffron and I have always had a clear vision of being an idea-driven company without a singular style of design and animation as some other shops out there. Great ideas have longevity and we want to create intelligent, memorable work to support them.”

Offspring’s first high profile spot project titled, Let There Be Rock Band for MTV and the Rock Band 2 video game will be airing sometime in September. Additional projects include a major campaign for an energy company out of Euro RSCG Worldwide, and well as a high profile effort for American automaker Ford.

About Offspring:
Founded by Co-Founder/Executive Producer Saffron Case and Co-Founder/Director Mikon van Gastel of AVSO, Offspring is a New York-based design and animation company led by Creative Director Adam Levite, Art Director/Lead Animator Wes Richardson and Executive Producer Joanna Fillie. Offspring creates award winning design and motion graphics for TV commercials, music videos, broadcast, installations, integrated and interactive media across all platforms.

About Adam Levite:
Offspring Creative Director Adam Levite has helmed music videos for Beck, Interpol, Queens of the Stone Age, Regina Spektor, The Stills, Ted Leo and Pharmacists, Taking Back Sunday, Tortoise, and many others. Adam worked directly with Beck to design the cover for Grammy-nominated album, Guero, designed the logo for the Undefeated sneaker brand, and designed the poster for Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights.

An internationally recognized graphic designer, Adam is skilled in motion graphics, instillations, interactive, print, branding, and book design. His print design has been included in the Type Directors Club, the American Center for Design, the Art Directors Club, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, as well lauded trades such as Graphis, Print, I.D., HOW, Archive, Paper and Arbitare magazines. His poster design for the movie, Happiness is a part of the permanent collection at the Library of Congress. Additionally, Adam’s has worked with brands such as MTV, VH1, SciFi Channel, Burton Snowboards, Undefeated, Interscope Records, New Line Cinema, and the Guggenheim Museum, as well as books for artists Doug Aitken and Thomas Demand.

Prior to Offspring, Adam was a Creative Director at Prologue Films in Los Angeles. Previously, he was an art director/designer at several New York agencies including Kirshenbaum Bond and Partners and Berlin Cameron. Adam has been bestowed with several advertising awards including Creativity’s Best New Directors in 2006, as well as Saatchi & Saatchi and Shot’s Best New Directors in 2005.

About Joanna Fillie:
Offspring Executive Producer Joanna Fillie was most recently a senior producer at New York-based A Very Small Office (AVSO) for the past 3 years. Before AVSO, Fillie worked alongside AVSO Co-Founders Saffron Case and Mikon van Gastel at Imaginary Forces. During her time with Imaginary Forces, Fillie produced AICP honored work for many brands including Dove and Smirnoff. Prior to Imaginary Forces, Joanna produced TV graphics packages at Lee Hunt Associates before they were bought by Razorfish.

In her free time, Joanna stays active with yoga and tennis, and hopes to launch her homemade dog food brand for mass distribution in the upcoming years.

About Saffron Case:
Co-Founder/Executive Producer Saffron Case launched A Very Small Office (AVSO) in the spring of 2005 with CD/Director Mikon van Gastel. Most recently, Case and van Gastel opened design, animation and VFX company Offspring to support AVSO directors as well as agencies and production companies. Saffron has executive produced campaigns for brands such as MTV, Smirnoff, Dove and Target to name a few for agencies such as Ogilvy, Peterson Milla Hooks, and JWT. Prior to AVSO, Saffron served as Head of Production and VFX Post Producer at Imaginary Forces, Los Angeles before moving to New York to open and run the brand out east. Prior, Saffron worked for RGA and Disney.

With a law degree from London School of Economics, Saffron is no stranger to elite performance under unusual mounds of pressure. Likewise, the world of advertising has been known for its stresses; however, Saffron finds the necessary solace in her one and five-year-old children. Many consider raising toddlers a career in itself, but Saffron considers it an essential for equilibrium.

About Mikon van Gastel:
A Very Small Office (AVSO) Co-Founder/Creative Director/Director Mikon van Gastel is a Holland native and international talent who brings to the design process an expertise in film, new media and architecture as well as an openness to embrace new forms of collaboration and emerging technologies.

As creative director, van Gastel has worked extensively in the film and advertising business, designing title sequences for feature films and theatrical trailers. As a director Mikon has directed commercial campaigns for such brands as Target, Nike, Reebok, Olympus, Acura, GMC, L’Oreal, Dove, Heineken, Absolut and Smirnoff.
Van Gastel’s explorations in architecture and motion have resulted in the design of the electronic signage for the new Museum of Modern Art in New York. He has collaborated with architects Coop Himmelb(l)au on the experience design for BMW’s Event & Delivery Center in Germany, and with United Architects as one of six finalists for the redevelopment of the former World Trade Center site.

His work has been recognized by the American Institute of Graphic Arts, AICP, BDA, the Type Directors Club of New York, the NY Art Directors’ Club and British D&AD and appeared in numerous publications, most recently in The New York Times, Creative Review, RES and The New Yorker. His work is part of the permanent collection in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
Mikon began his career at Imaginary Forces’ Los Angeles offices in 1997, and moved to New York in 2001 to launch the firm’s East Coast Office. In 2005 he and his partner Executive Producer Saffron Case started AVSO