That moment when you discover a jar in the far reaches of the cupboard that has not seen the light of day in 20 years – and you realize it adds the perfect touch to your new kitchen decor.
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Category Archives: Design and Art
The War of the Wooden Soldiers
Old children’s books hold such fascination for me. Mostly it is the illustrations, so pure in their execution, so honest in their depictions. I wonder about the artists. This one caught my eye so I snagged it from a pile to be sold at an estate sale. What a little treasure.
The War of the Wooden Soldiers by F.M.H. (not sure what that means)
Illustrated by M.L. and W.C. Wheeler
1933 edition
I like to research the illustrators, but was unable to find much on these two other than they have illustrated another book called The House that Jack Built.
InSite Solutions Brand Update 1
Insite Solutions is a project management consulting company that has been around for over 10 years. They are growing their business and going through a brand expansion.
The first (visual) step after the initial brand planning meetings was to update their old logo to reflect their direction and allow for future growth.
OLD
NEW
The directional arrows coming from the center are important as they tie into the mission of the company, so I developed a hint of a compass and gave the arrows a softer look to indicate outward movement. I also offset the arrow direction to show that the company is flexible and can move easily as they help their clients “find their own true north.”
With Wordmark
The Building of a Brand Mark
So what is a logo? A logo is only a representation of a brand, yet the graphic designer must gather what they can of a brand from the representatives of the company (or the owner of the business), from research, and sometimes even the customers or clients, and develop a mark that is representative of the essence of that brand.
Thus a pediatric dentistry will appear as…
It is not an easy task.
Once the logo is created, then the fun part (in my mind) is taking that mark and developing it further. At the same time, the client has their own constraints (such as specific content that is required to appear on a business card) and the designer must balance the client’s needs with the creative inspiration that strikes.
In the end, if the client is happy, then so am I.
Holiday Designing
I was giving out hot chocolate in my gift baskets this year, so I added a little something extra (designed especially for my pet loving and farming relatives.)
Birth of a Logo Simplified
Rough Ideas
Refinement – multiple fonts and positions for example
The client makes their choice and the round of detailed options follow.
Color Study
Tweak and Refine
Holiday Painting III
One order completed this season was for 9 dogs (some previously posted). Here is the set in it’s entirety with 3 showing the full ornament and all closeup. Keep in mind, these paintings are the size of the average thumb.
Holiday Painting II
Holiday Painting
Bailey – a gift that started the dog ornaments
The blog suffers during the holidays, especially when I am painting Christmas ornaments. These are oil on frosted glass ornaments.
This is a tradition I started thirty years ago and, while I took a break for several years, I am back at it. I believe in creating keepsakes and capturing memories. Ornaments I painted 30 years ago, when stored properly, look as new today as they did back then, so I am back to painting them.
For some reason, this is the year of the dog. Most of my ornaments have been of homes people were raised in or of their grandparent’s home. I painted one of our pets (Bailey, above) and the idea took off.
First one closest to completion this year is Marla…
With the tiniest lines, I have been known to use a hair or even my cat’s whisker (after he voluntarily dropped it!)
Various stages of completion… (I love the variety!!!)
Advertising: UR Doin’ it Wrong
How to waste a lot of money lesson #1. Place a billboard at one of the busiest intersections in the city and do not mention the name of the business. Oh, and make the location so small you can’t read it.
Notice: the folks sitting at the light have their back to the board.
The folks facing the board are too far away to really read it, as well as busy navigating the scary intersection or managing the confusing bridge that has various off ramps.
And when curiosity finally gets the best of the passenger in the car and she takes a photo and enlarges it, we still do not know exactly what is being advertised.
Except that Indianapolis has outdoor gear… somewhere… all in one place (the Castleton Mall if you look close enough at the blown up photo.)
a vacation in my mind 