When you have a friend get hit by, then run over by, a box truck while wearing a red coat that she says makes her look like a red tomato, you really can’t find a card for that. So make one!
Thankfully, while recouperating has been painful, she only broke a toe and will be fine.
Our boss bought an old restaurant across the pond from our rented office this year. He then renovated it into a state-of-the-art IT facility with all sorts of amenities, not the least of which is a huge back deck that will be in much use next summer, I am sure.
We moved in Thanksgiving week. This view is looking from the old office across the pond to the back (and deck) of the new place.
I love giving these types of gifts (that capture an important moment in someone’s life) more than any other. It is probably why I have continued doing this for over 30 years.
Excitement abounds when Amazon delivers.
Earlier this month was the grand opening for a new store in the small town of Hagerstown, Indiana, Every Day Is Christmas.
I had the privilege to work with the owner, Robin, in crafting the brand and logo.
This brand was such a delight to craft a logo for. The owner has a vision for her store that goes beyond offering Christmas gifts all year long. She is building a location where the community can come together, as well as welcome travelers from around the country as they visit small individual holiday stores.
In the back section is The Sidewalk Cafe and classes are being offered in the store where children and adults alike can come and make holiday crafts.
In addition, over the coming years, she will be adding one-of-a-kind local artist’s items. With those items, her vision is to tell the story behind the craft to bring a depth to the gift giving that sometimes gets lost in our harried era.
Christmas holds a special nostalgic place in my heart also, as you have seen by the ornaments and gifts I have made over the years. It was pure pleasure to craft a logo that embodies the joyful whimsy of Christmas, and yet is also classy and contemporary.
Congratulations to a wonderful new store spreading joy all year around!
To link to their Facebook page click: Every Day Is Christmas
– Quentin Blake, British, English, UK, illustrator, drawing, writer, author (illustration by Quentin Blake)
Trying out a cool app called InstaQuote. Expect to see more quotes from books I am reading because I am an avid quote collector!
Quote from Lettering & Type
– Website
I went back to college full-time in 2009. By 2012 I was wrapping up my degree and looking for corporate work once again. A 7 month contract presented itself, during my last 6 months of classes, which married my years of IT communications with my newly acquired graphic design skills.
(I love organizing projects!) My portion of the project was to build the communication plan for the IT team running the program, as well as the process flow and work breakdown structure. It was fun to apply a simple branding to what can often be “blah” business documents.
Note: While I guided the discussions for our team name (Desktop Refresh), the in-house marketing group created the logo.
I took the logo we were given (a simple logo with blue and gold colors) and built out the brand for the team. They were skeptical about the creative brief and brand guide, finding them quite foreign at first, but once they grasped the idea, they appreciated how it simplified communication and visual decisions.
The business was preparing to do a company-wide revamp of their computer systems. That included rolling out around 10,000 new computers across the company. As the project’s Communication Director, I was tasked with creating email blasts as well as their corporate newsletter for the project. This was a Microsoft project, so I leaned on some of Microsoft’s graphics and added some of my own illustrations.
Note: Marketing had a tight hold on anything going outside of the team, so I believe they nixed the illustrations before this was actually published. It was a bit odd working with a Marketing group that was not familiar with trained graphic designers and their processes. I was told their designers were raised up in-house from the sales team. This was a real-world eye-opener.
I also created the language, including an easy-to-understand phased rollout approach, around our process and built a poster sized infographic that made it easy for the team to explain the process to the hundreds of managers this project would be impacting.
Organizing is always an exciting challenge, but this was also the first time I was able to bring my graphic design training into the corporate mix. The project was a perfect way to wrap up my degree and give me real world experience in using design within a corporate setting.
Can I say that it was a thrill to see it all come together?
A 12 year old project management training business rebrand.
In discussions with the client, the important piece of the logo is the directional arrows (they have solid meaning behind them when she speaks to a classroom.)
Your Guide to Effective Project Management
The new logo creates the sense of movement, as well as the hint of a compass.
My task was to create a logo and stationery for a world renowned pediatric dental surgeon (from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital) who was opening his own private practice.
Bouncing off his first name, Murray, and the business name, Montgomery Pediatric Dentistry, I proposed using the an M and adding some whimsy.
Front of Business Card
Back of Business Card
Dr. Dock took the concepts, embraced them and expanded upon them beyond my own imagination, designing his new office to support and reinforce his brand. It is such a thrill to see a client do this.
And what kid would not love a dentist like this? Colorful, basic shapes, bright arcade games, puppies, sports. So much fun. (For a 360 view of the office click here.)
Commissioned art work:
His branding welcomes his patients and families from the moment they enter the office.
Notice the toons on the walls and the circles on the chairs and floor.
Benches for the parents have backrests that are blue circles (and squares). Genius.
Matching art of dogs, kids and matching themes.
A youthful patient’s contribution is perfection.
Flexing My Wings 