Yum

I got an email from Coach today (fancy that!), introducing their new Op Art collection:



Hello, beautiful!

I really, really love the black/grey/orange pattern the best. The monochrome patterns aren't really doing it for me as much; but something like this scarf really stands out to me as gorgeous:



Yum, yum, indeed.

Thanks again, Marcy!

Ugh, I've been so neglectful, and I'm so sorry! I've got lots of little things going on, a couple of big things, and major wireless issues (I actually had to--gasp!--connect my laptop to the printer/scanner WITH A CABLE. What on earth is up with that??!) that have been keeping me busy. Then I just happened to stop by Marcy's, and saw this--with my name on it, mind you--and thought... what better way to jump right back into blogging? As usual, Marcy to the rescue!

The Aging Meme
all you have to do is fill in the blanks...

At a certain age women should try not to remember that they are women of a certain age!

At a certain age men should stop combing their hair over--you're not fooling anyone, mister!

When I was a kid I thought I would rule the universe.

Now that I am older I wish I hadn't always wished to be older.

You know you are too old to rock out to Fall Out Boy when your teenager makes fun of you (What? Their songs are catchy!)

You know you are too young to have grey hairs when people look at you like you have five heads when you talk about it

When I was in high school I listened to the music of Alternative: the Cure, the Smiths, Depeche Mode, etc...

Nowadays I find I like the music of "Adult" Alternative. What's up with that name? Geez, nothing like making you feel old...

On my last birthday I was 9 months preggers.

On my next birthday I want to have the cocktail I didn't have last year!

The best birthday present I ever got was my husband--we got married a week after my birthday, so I think of it as a belated gift.

The first time I felt grown up was registering Ashlee for preschool.

The last time I felt like a kid was the last time I jumped on the trampoline.

When I read _________ it changed my life. I don't really have an answer to this one... there are many books I like, many more that I love, but I can't ever say that one of them changed my life. If it did, it couldn't have changed it that much, as I don't remember it!

Last year was a great year.

Next year I hope life continues to get better.

Weekly wrap up

So... This is my second post today, and the second from the rather large computer set up that has taken over our bedroom (I love it. I know, I know, all this computer talk gets old... but humor me. I went from a 15" screen to a 24 in a matter of hours!).

Not much went on this week, to tell you the truth. I have a couple of small things going on:

--The Orthopedic logo sketches I'm working on for the Hospital for Special Surgery got approved. Yay! This means I can move onto implementing them in Illustrator. Once we get close to a finalized design, my logo is going to make it's debut in Zurich (yes, Switzerland!), at some big Orthopedic meeting. Exciting!

--Met with One Kid to discuss future catalog needs. Stay tuned on that...

--worked on some web updates for Tim Coffey

--worked on some new artist updates for art + interiors

--worked on some new scans for Marcy

--oh yeah, I got a bitchin' new computer!

This weekend I am beyond excited: Saturday is field trip day! Marcy, Becky and I have been planning a trip to outlets in NY for about a month now. We have a game plan, and are going to shop until we drop. Sunday is the last game EVER at Yankee Stadium. Mattio is actually lucky enough to be going (I'm trying to convince him to bring my camera--I know it's big and bulky, but for the love! Last game ever! Walking from Monument Park out to home plate! This is huge!!); I will be watching from home.

Hope you enjoy your weekend!

Hello, handsome

This is what my desk is looking like these days... Pretty hot, no?

(I think Dwight is going to get an inferiority complex. It really does dwarf him.)

Before

So I cleaned off my desk this weekend (it was pretty scary... a little like Al Gore's, but much less organization. Or space to put things, for that matter. Or the sweet 3 monitor set up. OK, my desk was just a mess). In doing so, I came across a folder I had created for inspiration. Of course, the folder was buried under so much other stuff, that the last time I was inspired was about 6 months ago.

Getting into artist mode, I realized that I need to be inspired more, find more creativity and beauty everyday. Surely I can't find one thing every day to be inspired by?

So I did it. I challenged myself to find one thing every day that inspires me. And then yesterday I went out and bought this notebook to put together my diary of inspiration:



So I will keep you posted on how it's filling up. I'm sure the "After" picture will be quite different.

Pretty type

Yummmm... I saw this ad in yesterday's Sunday Styles. I love the swirlies in the type--so pretty.

An oldie but goodie

This might be so 5 years ago, but...

The other day I was researching something (I don't even remember what it was! It had to be type-related, though), and came across John Langdon's website. His ambigram work never ceases to amaze me; check out the gallery here. I can't imagine just how long it takes him to craft each letter. For those who aren't in the know, ambigrams are words written so they can be read forwards, and turned upside down to be read backwards the exact same way.

John's work also enjoyed some time in the spotlight many years ago, when the DaVinci Code was the hot book to read. He had worked on some ambigrams for one of Dan Brown's previous books, Angels and Demons. I remember finding his website back then, and being utterly amazed. As I said above, I still think his handiwork is incredible--so cool, in fact, I think it warrants a little more time in the spotlight.

In celebration of Fashion Week...

Walking along Mulberry Street on Saturday, I came across the Malia Mills store. Two things came to mind: remember how ground-breaking Malia Mills was when she first came out? For those that don't know, in the early 90's, Malia Mills pioneered selling bikini pieces separately (a small top doesn't always mean a small bottom). The second thing I thought, was Oh my gosh, I totally love her logo!



That M is so decorative, so pretty, so fun!

This, of course, led me to think of just how much I love the Tory Burch logo as well:



It is honestly, one of my favorite logos out there. It's so graphic, and so striking; and the designer brilliantly made patterns out of it to use for bags, wallpaper, etc. And, thanks to the success of the Riva ballet flat, with the double T medallion on the toes, it's instantly recognizable.

I tried to find other graphic fashion logos, but I couldn't. I resisted putting up classic fashions symbols such as Louis Vuitton, and the Chanel double C's; only because, while I think those logos are certainly iconic (and widely recognized), I feel that the above logos are very distinct in their design.

So... anyone out there want to share? What's your favorite fashion icon (in logo terms, not Marc Jacobs)?

Can I get a Woot! Woot!

Just the other day, I thought to myself, hmmmm... it's early September, the American Graphic Design Awards should be coming out soon...

Well, cut to today, and the bulky white envelope in my mailbox...

(drumroll, please!)

I am very happy to announce that I was the recipient of 4 awards! I don't believe I've shared these on the blog yet (and actually, I wanted to save the Glow logo until the packaging printed--because I'm so WAY excited about it!--but I'm even more excited about winning the awards). Ladies and gentlemen, I present:

art + interiors, monthly favorites:



This is the monthly "e-newsletter" (for lack of better term) from my pal Cyndy. Each month, she sends out an email featuring a couple of her artists, and a quote. It's so simple, yet so graphically powerful. I enjoy sitting down with Cyndy each month as we select artwork (and a quote) for Favorites (and, of course, dish the dirt!).



Glow Gluten Free, logo:



My pal Jill was so much fun to work with. She has such a passion for her product (delicious gluten-free cookies--you'd think that was an oxymoron or something, but so not the case with her cookies). I'm even more excited to feature the packaging, once it prints!


Lush Floral Designs, website:



Zoe's flower arrangements are so breathtaking, it wasn't hard to design her site at all! You can see the site in it's entirety, here.


The Portrait House, pro bono website:



K, so Justin and Mary keep giving me these awesome projects, and I keep winning awards for them. Seriously, this is the third site of theirs that's won (so what's on tap for this year, guys? :) All kidding aside, I was so happy to help out and design the site for this charity they've started, benefitting Habitat for Humanity. Check out the site here, or the blog here.

And as Mary and Justin would say, PHantastic!

Stop! And shop...

When I was a child, the Stop and Shop logo made so. much. sense to me. You stopped, and you shopped. Red light, green light. The 5 year old me thought it was brilliant--just brilliant!--to use a stop light to convey stopping and shopping (Thank God I've moved on).



Well, Stop and Shop has recently rebranded itself (with a logo designed by Interbrand), and I can't decide if I like it or not.



The designer me hates the type--the ampersand and S in shop need to stop flirting and just hook up already. The icon itself has grown on me; at first I was not a fan (looks a lot like TBS, and I'm not an incredible fan of their logo either), but seeing it animated in their new commercials, I'm starting to like it. I really like that it can be interpreted as many different things: food, fruit, a basket...

However, the logo needs to look good and be appealing as a static entity, as well as animated. Had I not seen the animation, I'm not sure I would feel the same way about it.

Brand New has a good post, as well as some interesting comments on it here. You can also see some screenshots of the animation, and see how--in my opinion anyway--it makes the icon more appealing.

Introducing...

Christy Murray's new logo!



Christy is a wedding/baby/family/life photographer (whew! She wears a lot of hats!), and found me through the Portrait House website. Just about her only request for her new logo was that she liked the thought of adding something natural to it; she included the Papyrus logo as an example.

Some butterflies, birds, flowers and dragonflies later, she decided she was leaning towards the lotus. But then she had an "AHA!" moment when she went to look for the meaning behind the lotus:

"...lotus is symbolic of the true soul of an individual."

...which, as she explained, was exactly what she was looking for when photographing her subjects.

Christy is an absolute doll to work with, and her photography is amazing (check out her blog here for some examples of her work)! She was very easygoing throughout her logo design process, and I can't wait to collaborate on more projects with her!