About
flex. change. grow. dcalcify.
dcalcify design was started in 2010 when three friends and coworkers pulled themselves free from the rubble of the Washington Blade and joined their artistic talents to create a nimble design team capable of tackling a huge array of constructive challenges.
Michael Key
Photographer. Editor.
Michael was a microbiology student, working in the pharmacology and physiology labs of George Washington University with a fellowship from the National Science Foundation to unlock the secrets of the glycene receptor. His future might have been very different had he not stepped in to help his friend, Aram, when the Washington Blade found itself without a photographer. Michael also worked with Aram Vartian to produce and edit Blade TV, an online news/features video program with two to four episodes a week. Michael’s photography filled the pages of the Blade in its last months and his work from the National Equality March could be seen in publications as far from his home as Atlanta’s Southern Voice. When the Washington Blade’s parent company, Window Media, shuttered all of its affiliate papers in November of 2009, Michael joined with the other former employees of the Blade in founding the DC Agenda. He continues to serve as the staff photographer for the Agenda. In 2010, Michael joined with Aram Vartian to found the creative design firm, dcalcify, to better display his work and take on freelance projects.
Aram Vartian
Videographer. Editor. Graphic / Web Designer.
Starting out his design career as a freelancer, Aram joined the Washington Blade and worked in their D.C. office for the next six years. While there, he honed his print skills with the help of the Washington Blade’s Art Director, Rob Boeger. With the help of Washington Blade Photographer Michael Key, he created a video division of the newspaper and dubbed it BladeTV. With his trusty Canon XH A1 and a lot of time, Aram has developed a style of his own and brings his critical eye from many years of web and print design to his video work. He is a founding member of dcalcify.