What eventually emerged as DemiGraphics grew out of the dust and ashes of tragedy.
On July 11, 1996 a massive granite slab slid off a cliff at Yosemite National Park and crushed a young man to death. Emiliano "Emi" Morales, a 20 year old art student attending Loyola Marymount University and an aspiring comic book artist, was crushed beneath a tree and killed that Wednesday night. 14 people were injured, but only one died. Only one.
The death of Emi Morales was the catalyst that would profoundly change the lives of a few young men whose paths would have never converged if it had not been for this tragic event. Brian Sanchez, close friend and fellow college classmate of Emi Morales, had dreams of becoming a professional comic book artist along with Emi. It was Emi's unselfishness and graciousness that led to both Brian and Emi's break in the comic book industry as artists for the ill-fated independent publishing company, Kult Komics. However, the summer of 1996 would mark an end to those dreams upon news of Emi's untimely death. With Emi gone, Brian no longer had the passion and desire to become a comic book artist. Knowing that he would never again see his friend walk the halls of Loyola Marymount University, Brian dropped out of LMU altogether, never to return as a student again. With Emi's passing, Kult Komics inevitably collapsed as well.
At 19 years of age, Brian Sanchez would begin a new chapter in his life that would lead him to working several odd jobs before finally landing himself an artist position at a design company called GFN Graphics, located in Canoga Park, California in 1997. It was at GFN Graphics where he not only learned the ins and outs of running a graphic design firm, but also became close friends with his fellow colleagues. It would be these very friends that would join him in 1999, when Brian left GFN to start an entirely new graphic design company with partners Jeffrey Merza and Bryan Cotton from the ground up -- DemiGraphics.
DemiGraphics is a fulfillment of a dream once held by a good friend, and a dream that continues on through the artists that make DemiGraphics what it is today. Named after Emi Morales, DemiGraphics does not simply carry on the memory of our dear friend. We believe that every work of art we create for our clients -- every advertisement we design, every billboard we make, every logo we conceptualize, every web site we develop, and every T-shirt we screen print -- holds the indelible imprint of Emiliano Morales. In a way, Emi never died and never will die. His love was so strong and his spirit so profound that his body could not contain it, and so he lives on through all of us and through DemiGraphics for as long as time permits us.
Thank you, Emi. We miss you and we'll never forget you, but we know that you're always with us. This one's for you, old friend.
