Graphic Design Inspiration
My favorite part of the holiday season, besides spending time with family and friends, are all the vibrant strings of lights. Natalie and I went on a little trek south to the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield to see their “Trail of Lights.” They claim to have over a million individual light bulbs wrapped around the trees and old buildings there:
Happy holidays to you and yours!
Probably the most incredible part of my recent trip to Europe was the abundance of museums I visited. As an artist and designer, it was a very inspirational trip.
Here’s a list of the museums in each city of my vacation:
London
• The National Gallery
• The National Portrait Gallery
• The British Museum
• The Tower of London Museum
• The Tate Modern
Amsterdam
• The Van Gogh Museum
• The Stedelijk Museum
Prague
• The Mucha Museum
Barcelona
• The Picasso Museum
• The Miro Museum
European Museum Collage
My boyfriend, Josh, and I are staying in Tabernash, Colorado for a few days this week. We went up Cottonwood Pass in search of fall foliage. On the way, we stopped to check out a couple dilapidated log buildings.
As I was looking around, I noticed a broken-up barbed wire fence. I thought that all it’s twists and casted shadows made for some interesting design and composition.
The biggest treat of the abandoned cabin was a junked piano laying outside one of the doors. I began to imagine all the stories behind the ivory. Whom did this belong to and what music graced the keys?
I love getting feedback on my work. Here’s a follow-up my previous post, Wedding Season.
A client asked that I design a wedding poster for her friends. The piece turned out great in my mind, and it turns out that the happy couple loved it as well.
Here’s a photo of the framed poster:
If you have questions about how to reach your clients with all the online technology out there, ask Susan Bateman of Live Human Being. She will give you a personal tour of special software programs designed to keep you connected with your growing customer base.
I’ve had a fantastic time working with Susan on her corporate identity for Live Human Being. Here’s what we came up with and my execution:
I used a handwritten typeface and EKG line to represent the fact that when you call Susan, you’ll be talking to her directly, as opposed to an automated system. Please take a look at a previous post to learn more about my logo design process.
A custom invitation design adds a special touch to all one’s wedding materials. I’ve had the pleasure designing several invitations and announcements for happy couples in the past year or so. Often times, my work is found through Etsy and a request is made for a gig poster style for the announcement:
I also get requests for the more traditional invitation design with a monogram of the couple’s initials:
It’s a great honor to design for someone’s wedding. Knowing that I have a part in helping make their big day special is very cool!
It was a thrill hanging my poster art at The Cup in Boulder today. I want to thank Wendy for allowing me to display my work in her shop, as it’s the best place for coffee and collaborating. I’ve been frequenting The Cup for over a year now with my laptop. It’s a great place to work, relax and enjoy Pearl Street.
All my poster art is original art, illustrated digitally for various indie rock shows. They are all for sale at The Cup as well as on Etsy. Please stop by and check them out. Your support is greatly appreciated!
Here are some photos of me and my “crew” setting up the display:
It’s such a thrill to receive an email from someone who finds my work on Etsy. They fancy my style and request a customized poster or invitation of their own. I am honored to design for these special requests.
Here’s a recent design I did for a guy in Texas who attended an Ira Glass reading:
The request was quite unique since I usually design for the rock genre. It was a really fun project.
The most enjoyable projects for designers are the ones where the client let’s us run wild. It’s music to my ears when a client says, in so many words, “I trust your creativity.” For me, this happens most often when the assignment is to create an invitation or flier for an event. The main objective for most announcements is to make it “fun” and represent the party aspect of the event, so there’s a little less structure. I can really let my design style speak in these pieces.
Below are a few examples of some recent invitations…
My grandfather’s home is full of Black Forest art. He grew up in southern Germany and emigrated to the U.S. in the late 1940s. Many of the pieces evoke nostalgia for me as I remember visits to my grandparents’ as a kid and begging my grandma to “make the cuckoo clock go.” I would also stare at the carved scene of the coffee table for hours as we sat around the living room during holidays. The detail in these wood carvings are beautiful and capture the culture from the Black Forest region of Germany:
