another award – creativity 41

I love getting mail. Naturally, when opening my mail box, I prefer to find a lovely handwritten note from a dear friend than a bill or yet another invite to bundle my phone and cable...but best of all is when there's a package.

Seeing a plain brown box waiting patiently at my door step always gets me giddy with excitement. Did someone send me a present? Did I sleep walk and order that as-seen-on-TV gadget?

Last week I found one of these boxes tucked away behind some bushes next to the front door (I must not have been home when the UPS man made his delivery) and I eagerly tore away the tape, revealing my very own copy of Creativity 41.

Having a collection of award-winning designs is always a great design reference but what makes this book special is that it includes one of my award-winning designs! A magazine ad, to be precise, that I worked on with copywriter extraordinaire Erin Codazzi (you may remember reading about it here).

What makes it even more special is that the book itself is actually a pretty cool design. While the use of pattern is a bit much for my taste, I do love the fact that the paper edges were printed with stripes. And, of course, that fabulous diecut "1" on the front cover.

Yep, I love getting mail. Can't wait to see what this week's mail brings me!

one more for my shelf

Last week I practically tripped over a super heavy box delivered to my door step. After hauling it inside and wondering what I might have purchased online that slipped my mind, I discovered it was a winner's trophy from the Summit Awards for the design of my day planner!

This is the fourth year that my collaboration with printer and paper companies has resulted in winning a design award, and every year I've been honored and thrilled to receive this symbol of recognition.

This time the award was for the 2012 day planner I designed. Instead of creating a series of illustrations in my usual style, I decided to use my photography and enhance it with thematic doodles, if you will.  

 

The French fold cover was printed on kraft-colored stock with a double hit of white ink while the rest of the pages were bright white paper. The monthly tabs provided functionality as well as a punch of color.

The planner was well received among my clients last December, and I personally love using it every day! Believe it or not, it's already time to start working on the next one...

Collaborators:
Brown Printing • Neenah Paper • WCP Solutions

LogoLounge 2011 report

For years, I've submitted work to national and international design competitions in the hopes of winning some accolades from my peers in addition to the many kudos my clients bestow upon me. It's always very satisfying and validating to have your work recognized by other designers, and past awards have included Summit, Creativity, and American Corporate Identity as well as How Magazine.


And while this most recent accomplishment is not an actual award, it does feel great to have one of my logos included in the LogoLounge 2011 Trends Report. LogoLounge is an online resource of over 145,000 logos uploaded by designers across the globe. They regularly publish books showcasing the best of the best, in addition to releasing a yearly trend report.

This report is published in the current issue of Graphic Design USA, a news magazine for creative professionals. It's been very interesting to read about today's trends in logo design.

As a designer, I strive to create logos that will stand the test of time, serving companies for years to come. That said, for some clients having a logo that is fresh yet trendy and eye-catching is just as important, as was the case with Candywinkel.

Amy wanted a slightly nostalgic look that incorporated the popular brown-and-pink color palette, appealing to today's sophisticated shopper. The result has not only served her company well, it's now also caught the eye of the LogoLounge trend spotters!

silver summit award

When I went through today's mail, I came across a letter from the Summit Creative Awards. I immediately tore it open – did I win, did I win?

Yes!!!

I'm very excited: my 2011 day planner won a silver award! This is the third time one of my client holiday gifts has won this particular award, and I'm thrilled that my hard work is being recognized by a panel of international judges, all professionals in the field of marketing and design.

If you want a refresher of what the planner looks like, simply click here.

So now I get bragging rights AND a cool trophy to add to my shelf! Can't wait to get started on this year's holiday gift...just have to figure out what exactly it will be – it's only barely May, after all!

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.