Things Are Bloomin'

Things are really taking off around here lately. Around every corner is something new to work on and I couldn't be happier or more appreciative. It's so fulfilling to be doing the work you love. I thought I should start getting back in the habit of blogging and putting up shots of what I'm working on...

I've been working with Bloomin' Delights to finally give them a web presence. They have a farm and nursery in Woodburn and sell flower baskets, live wreaths, fresh cut flowers, herb pots and other bits of eye candy at farmer's markets and places like New Seasons. They had a logo they wanted to stick with, but had me recreate it so that we could actually do something with it. The tiny little .gif was a mess to use at anything bigger than a half-inch. While doing so I changed up their typeface and gave them something more reminiscent of what you'd find on the chalkboards of the very farmer's markets they sell at.

I took all of the photos used on the site. On the right is a slideshow of various things they grow from year to year and on the left are smaller shots that simply show a few bits of what they currently have available. I'll be going back to take photos often and switch those up for them. In addition there is a link to contact them and check out a list of what they have available (which changes biweekly it seems).

I launched the site a few days ago and am moving on to other projects. I'm nearly done with a logo for Steel Mountain Electric and will post the result soon.

Master of my domain

I've had a lot of web domains in my short time as a web designer. Either because I didn't know what my business name should be or I just thought it would be a funny one to add to the repertoire. Most have long ago expired, but now I've added another one to the mix.

www.designinspiredlife.com

I haven't done much with it and I'm not entirely sure what I will do with it, but the possibilities are endless doncha know. It was the result of a wicked 10th anniversary sale with the host I use and allows me enough bells and whistles to start experimenting with Wordpress.

In other news...

My Pixel Dust site has a slideshow...finally. It still needs some fine tuning, but voila.

A custom + handmade jewelry designer asked me to do a logo for her and requested that I somehow incorporate the cherry blossom illustration I did for the wedding invitation project. Since it was only a school project and not for a client I happily agreed. This is the version she chose. I will be making some simple hang tags for her pieces as well as business cards and doing her website + photography.

Taken Under Consideration

Around the time of graduation I submitted my Lexi rebranding project to Brand New Classroom on Under Consideration's website. A classmate had done the same thing and I wanted to give it a shot myself. It's a scary thing. First you have to get them to say it's ok and that they like your stuff enough to show the masses. Then you submit everything you have on it from sketches to photos of the end result. Then you wait.

Finally your turn arrives and you end up vulnerable and exposed as your baby sits out there in cyber space to be critiqued by anyone feeling the urge. They also grade it. I didn't know mine was up yet until I got an email from someone telling me that they don't usually do this, but...they wanted to take the time to tell me how much they enjoyed my work. Really? You like me? You really like me?

I jumped online to take a look and began to read the comments. It takes thick skin to survive in this industry. Not everyone is going to love your work. Heck, you might even be considered mediocre. But there will be some that love your work. People that giggle at something you've done or are actually moved by a piece. There will be people that see something of yours and just have to show someone else, who will show someone else, who will contact you and want you do do work for them. Those are the moments that make this crazy career worth it. Combine that with the satisfaction and the rush of simply doing something you love and you can easily tell the nine people that gave you an F on Brand New Classroom to BEEP the BEEP BEEP.

Here's my overall grade...

And here is a link to my entry.

Mind your business...system

Lexi's business system is complete. The photo doesn't quite capture the essence in its entirety, but I could just lick the business card it's so delicious. I knew my simple design wouldn't become luxurious until I found just the right paper.

The letterhead is printed on 80 lb. text, Ice Gold, Curious Metallics paper. This gives it a nice sheen that isn't too overwhelming. The logo rests in a light purple box that bleeds off the top (seen more clearly on the business card) and creates a nice alignment for the body of a letter. The business card (slurp), has the same paper for the front, but I mounted it onto a silver cardstock from the same line of paper creating a nice thick duplexed business card. I opted for a nice, subdued, dull grey envelope to tone down all the glitterati waiting inside. This makes opening the letter more like an experience; a nice discovery inside.

Collateral Damage

Good news! As long as I do absolutely nothing music related on my laptop...I might be able to get my projects done. I will cast out that demon when the term is over. In other news: I've still been plugging away on the business system and collateral pieces for Lexi. Above is the business card as it stands now (the paper will make the final statement of luxury...white on front and silver on the back).

For collateral I am redesigning Lexi's website. This is the potential home page (rough draft). I will likely also feature the layout of the Events page to show the similarity between site pages. I have to design 2 more collateral pieces and will probably do a poster for an event and...we shall see. Did I mention that I have a week do do all of these pieces as well as things for other classes? Should be fun.

Lexi a logo

This is the latest on the Lexi logo. I'm still playing with the colors and aspects of the L. We are naturally inclined to think of something as being more expensive or high end if it is black so I am using a 90% tint of black. I'm currently sticking with a shade of purple similar to what the logo currently uses for the other text.

Logo revamp...take two

I wasn't happy with my first attempt at the logo revamp. It's important for me to incorporate luxury into this logo. I want it to look like spoiled puppies reign supreme at this place because, well, they do. I've managed to keep it playful with the puppy that's tugging on the last letter and the font change for "Lexi" says luxury instead of trendy. I can't say I'm done, but I can say there's progress.

Undercover logo revamp

I decided to redo the logo for Lexidog Boutique & Social Club. They don't know I'm doing it. It's a class project. I'm actually redoing their logo, business system, and some other collateral pieces. We've done logos for fake campanies and for ourselves, but this is the first time we're doing it for a business that already exists. It's to teach us to research our client and write a logo brief long before the designing begins. Now that those steps are done we are working on our logo. I'm shooting for playful and trendy with this one.