By Katie Makal

Jun 11, 2003, 15:57 PST

New York-based design firm Meccanica completed promo packaging for USA Network's detective series, "Monk." The promos, which are scheduled to roll out in mid-June, announce the second season of the show, which debuts June 20 on USA.

Meccanica collaborated with USA Network senior vice president/on-air creative Chris McCumber and senior writer/producer Paul Iannacchino on the project, which incorporated a live-action shoot, directed by Iannacchino, and a variety of typographic treatments.

The promos feature obsessive-compulsive title character Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) shot in a minimalist setting. Stark white backgrounds and monochromatic, contemporary furniture set the stage for Shalhoub to bring the "Monk" persona to life. The few carefully chosen set pieces are straightened, cleaned, rearranged and rearranged again by Shalhoub in an effort to satisfy his obsessive-compulsive needs.

Iannacchino commented, "I wanted to convey the awkward relationship that Monk has with his surroundings. Even in a sterile environment like this set, he's never at ease. To this end, we chose to focus on odd croppings/framings and use lots of extreme close-ups. We just had fun with the execution."

Monk's special brand of wit plays through in Meccanica's understated typography, which allows Shalhoub to remain the star while still effectively conveying important information. Riss added, "The footage came out beautifully, and we wanted to design an understated solution to complement the live-action. We decided that the type would interact with the live-action elements. To accomplish this goal, we played with the depth of field and focus, for example, and tracked the animation to the live-action foreground elements."