This handy slip of fridge door inspiration is part of a series that so far includes how to make a salad in a jar and mix and match ingredients for a perfect smoothie. For a more detailed report on becoming an expert sandwich stacker, read further on Well Vegan’s blog.
Just in time for the end of summer, here comes another ice cream project (I hear the first project, Gelato by Naia, is available at Zupan’s on Belmont – after tasting 6 flavors I can guarantee they are delicious)!
This gig was for a small home-grown ice cream vendor from Charleston, South Carolina, who works under the name Scoop Love. More grassroots than most, the ice cream is only available at the local farmer’s market with scoops being served from a small ice cream cart.
Inspired by the 50s ice cream culture and parlor style, the branding is as simple as possible in a throwback analog way. Most items are 2 colors and the use of elements is repetitive and straight forward. The entire system relies on only an iconic waffle cone pattern, a circle, and a heart here and there.
Continue reading “Scoop Love Branding”
Here are more illustrations for the Icebreakers book I’ve posted about previously here and here. The illustration style was a new one for me, catering to the client’s need for a large quantity of illustrations that were unique for a small budget. Drawing people can be time consuming, but in this case we substituted the painstaking details such as faces, hands and feet for colors and patterns on bendy-bodies that were easy to contort into many shapes without needing to be realistic.
I enjoyed the challenge of this and the project limitations giving way to something I normally wouldn’t try at first glance. The result was a very easy and functional way of drawing characters in an endless variety of personalities.
Another part of this project was creating vocal symbols that, for the most part, weren’t based in a specific language, since Postyr Project travels all over the world with their a cappella group. The spirals, crosses, dots and hash marks serve their pictographic purpose well, and remind me of the difficulty of pronouncing something your tongue is not used to twisting. For example when anybody Danish tries out the word squirrel – it might as well be a squiggly line in a speech bubble. Don’t worry Danes, we can’t say “rød grød med fløde” so I think we’re even.
The first edition of the book is just about sold out, but you can see the authors’ website here for future editions: www.breaktheice.dk.
The last few years I have lettered phrases for Hanna Andersson’s catalogue (see it here and here). So when the Portland-based childrenswear company with Swedish roots decided to expand with a new line of clothing for mothers called “love, hanna”, they asked me to letter the logo in a similar style.
The usually jumpy and quirky lettering style was toned down a bit for the logo for consistency and legibility, and a Scandinavian woven heart icon was added under the art direction of Lynda Hodge, who also steered the branding of the line.
The line follows suite to their kid’s line motto of “let kids be kids” with classic basics that wear well – definitely not “mom jeans” while still being comfy and versatile.
Hanna Andersson is known for their super soft and quality kidswear, so it’s no surprise that the blogosphere is picking up on the new line of easy but still stylish clothes for mom.
One of my favorite subjects to work with is food. I also love helping people start up their own thing, whether it’s publishing their own book, building a website service, or bringing a new product to market. So when writer Mona Johnson contacted me to create a logo and illustrations for her burgeoning food blog focused on the Pacific Northwest, it was a perfect match.
She wanted a spare and refined look paired with detailed line illustrations to punctuate her stories and beautifully understated and vibrant photography. After the first few posts, I think the combination is a success – check out her site here: www.theflavorprofiles.com.
The logo typography was hand-drawn, a trait Mona and I thought should be consistent throughout inked elements, but derived from didone fonts for cleanness and a sense of professionalism.
The illustrations were created at a detail level so they could be used either large and in charge, or as small icons sprinkled throughout the site.
A close up of the first five large illustrations made for The Flavor Profiles: knife, pitchfork, cast iron pan, chanterelle mushroom, and dungeness crab.
Several years ago I created a logo and packaging for Bar Gelato through Substance. The product did well in stores, which spurred the birth of gelato in a tub. Naia Gelateria requested creative direction for a packaging line that related to the original bars and stood out on the shelves as straightforward and modern.
It was an interesting project with the task of blending the brand recognition of Bar Gelato with the original store brand of Naia Gelateria. To capitalize on shopper recognition for a product that was positioned in two different areas in the grocery store, we repurposed the hand drawn Bar Gelato logotype to read just “Gelato” by Naia.
The results were a packaging series with a strong color presence on shelf and a small ingredient icon to differentiate flavors. Using a universal orange lid reinforced Naia’s hand while the scalloped butcher paper and fonts referenced Bar Gelato.
Currently the tubs are available at specialty markets in Northern California, or you can check out Naia’s selection of Bar Gelato. Similarly to Bar Gelato’s release, interest in carrying the tubs has been positive so expect availability to increase exponentially!
Earlier this spring I wrote about a book project called Icebreakers. I worked on the illustrations, cover design, and page templates for members of Postyr Project, who put together icebreaker activities using music, rhythm and sound as the building blocks for interaction. After getting funding to finish up the content and production of the book, it’s for sale now!
And here are some more illustrations from the project to give you a feel for it.
Here is a book project I have been working on with Kristoffer Fynbo Thorning and Tine Fris, both Danish musicians who also enjoy collaborative group processes. They have combined their interests into a book filled with icebreakers that focus on musicality and movement to help groups get into the groove.
The book is still in progress so at the moment I can only show the cover design and a few illustrations from the exercises in the book. Design-wise, the client wanted a fun and informal look while still feeling professional enough for a variety of groups. An illustration style was developed to clearly show exaggerated body shapes, emphasize movement & sound, as well as maximizing the quantity of illustrations created for a start-up budget.
On a personal note, I saw Kristoffer, Tine, and their musical group Postyr Project perform a concert in Copenhagen at a local church. The exact opposite of a born again revival, it was an evening of interesting a cappella combined with digital experimentation (imagine a singer waving their hands over an iPad to control a series of sound loops while funky IKEA lights turn on and off in the background depending on what tones are sounded). AND there were snacks and alcohol served afterwards in the vestibule. That’s just how the Danes roll.
Here is one of my favorite songs from the evening called “My Future Self”. It was performed live pretty much in the same incarnation using four voices and an iPad.
Check out their website for the Icebreakers book here, where they also have an IndieGoGo campaign in progress for helping fund production, outreach, marketing, and design.
Here is a small logo project I made for an acquaintance, Michela Fabiani, who recently made a career transition into business and life coaching. Based on client provided themes, the final logo is an abstract stair stepped path symbolizing the road her clients travel to reach new heights. The color scheme was inspired by her sunny and coastal homeland, Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, Italy.
Client website: www.michelafabiani.dk
One of the more unique projects I’ve worked on recently is designing a Visa card for Umpqua Private Bank’s customers. These people have serious money and need a card to go along with it. Ka-ching^10! The Visa card was created in conjunction with launching a new site for Umpqua Private Bank in 2012.
After working on various nature-based and Pendeleton-themed designs under the art direction of Kate Zimmerman and Mark Jacobs at Umpqua, we chose a final design that combined a geometric sunrise in the UPB color palette with a wood pattern background that mirrored the website background. The silver parallelograms received a special foil treatment for that extra bling.
