Friday, January 21, 2011

save the date postcard

This morning I picked up my samples of the save-the-date card for the University of Oregon's Pioneer Award Gala (a black-tie gala honoring leaders in our community) and I thought I'd share it with you here.

Since the event takes place in late spring, the color palette needed to reflect that freshness so we chose a warm yellow and cool silver combined with stately black (a more elegant interpretation of the bright yellow and green Duck colors).

The heavy cover stock has a wonderfully textural finish (Via Felt by Mohawk Fine Papers) and did a great job reproducing the fine serifs, small print, and other details.

This save-the-date was mailed as a postcard to save the cost of envelopes; this allowed us to explore some unique details for the actual invitation (think square and layered – more to come later!)

Monday, January 17, 2011

keeping it together

When I first started working with RFM Seating last summer, they asked me to redesign their overview brochure of in-stock office chairs. Their direction was to keep it ultra clean and simple, almost minimalist in its design. The result: one big chair on the cover, lots of smaller chairs on each interior page. Easy to read, clear communication – mission accomplished!

So when it came time to redesign RFM's big binder that holds all of their product specs and sales collateral, we continued along the same theme and maximized the use of white space. A row of small product photos wrapping from front to back quickly communicates two key messages: (1) we sell chairs, and (2) we have lots of options.

The binders turned out beautifully and were well worth the long lead time the printer needed to produce them.

Monday, January 10, 2011

low budget, high ROI

Last spring I was asked by Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon to help them design a logo and some basic print materials for their new high-level giving society. I gladly accepted the challenge to create some pieces that would not look (nor be!) expensive to produce will still conveying a warm and personal touch to potential donors.

By using the iconic "P" and adding a glow radiating from the center, I created a logo that's unique to the Visionary Society, yet still relates strongly to Planned Parenthood's official logo mark. Typography was kept clean and simple and set the tone for all related print materials.

All the pieces were printed digitally in one color on recycled paper to keep costs down. To customize the pre-made kraft presentation folder, I designed a sticker to adorn the front and fold around the right front edge. This allows for a little graphic touch on the inside as well.

The glowing burst from the logo is repeated on all the printed elements, such as the brochure and note card shown here.

To learn more about PPSO, please visit their website.

Friday, January 7, 2011

blog love: illustration pages

Since I've been doing more and more illustrating these past few years, I've started exploring several sites and blogs for tips and inspiration. Illustration Pages is one of the blogs I've been following for a while now and thoroughly enjoy for the many featured illustrators and variety of styles and subjects.

And if you take a peek today, you'll see that they've featured some of my logo work!
Thanks, Lou!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

the new big book of layouts

My goal as a designer is to make sure my clients are happy and my designs are effective.

That said, I'm always thrilled when I get some validation from my design peers, as happened last week, when I found out several of my designs were included in The New Big Book of Layouts (produced by Crescent Hill Books and published by Harper Collins).

I immediately ordered a copy and while I haven't had a chance to look through the book at my leisure, I did flip to the pages that included my work. All the greeting card designs shown below were done when I still had my paper goods company, Cecily Ink:

And this fun invitation was done for a style lounge at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival:

It was a bit awe-inspiring to realize that these invites were sent out to major stars like Dennis Quaid, John Legend, and Felicity Huffman (all of whom I had the pleasure of meeting at the event)! You can read more about it here and here.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

happy new year!

I hope 2011 is off to a great start for everyone! Did you put all the decorations away yet?

One of my clients is keeping the holiday spirit going a little longer by sending out a happy new year card to all their business associates. For years now, Peterson Sullivan has avoided the traditional "season's greetings" card and instead sends out their best wishes in the new year. This a great marketing strategy since it avoids getting lost in the piles of holiday cards and instead kicks off the new year on a great note.

After showing Peterson Sullivan several concepts, I designed a horizontal card to fit in a standard #10 envelope (yes, I've done a lot of those lately!). Ideally, I would create custom art for all of my clients' projects but often, due to time and budget constraints, we end up including some stock imagery instead.

The card uses stock illustration for the snowy landscape and I then added red and green ornaments, with the largest ornament including the Peterson Sullivan logo.

I typeset the message on the inside of the card to follow the rolling hills, using different fonts and colors for the list of adjectives. To keep the printing costs down, I designed the envelope to be two-color (black and green) and repeated the tree image faintly in the background for continuity.

So here's to a healthy, happy, prosperous 2011 for all of you!