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Archive for 2009
For the past few months I have had just an absolute blast working with two of the most dynamic women i’ve ever met: Amy Enderle and Kim Wade of Silverbox Photographers. We started out with a re-design of their logo… and then moved on to biz cards, and dvd packaging, and PDF brochures, and vendor postcards, and… well, i’m a little out of breath just thinking of all the great stuff we’ve produced together.
First, a word about the logo… their “old” logo had a real handwritten feel to it… probably because it was exactly that! it was a great way to represent the personal attention they bring to their client relationships. Amy + Kim felt they had outgrown this look, and so had their clients. they wanted something a little more elegant, and little more upscale, but their new logo still had to retain the feeling of joy, and love (these women are BIG on love) and fun.
Here’s what we developed.
The elegance and upscale? That comes in the typeface (glorious Gotham!) and that sweet little ornament… it could be a frame (they are photographers, after all). Or it could be a compass… their tagline is “we go where your heart takes you.” The joy and love and fun? That’s what the yellow is all about. What a wonderful colour to express all those emotions.
Today, Amy and Kim launched their new look blog, which I helped them customize. Here’s what it used to look like:
And here’s what it looks like now:
It’s just so much more joyful and energetic, wouldn’t you agree?
But of course, we didn’t stop there. We did some business cards (beautiful letterpress business cards, I might add):
And a brochure and pricing guide:
DVD packaging:
Promo and vendor cards:
Even some sweet event cards to hand out at wedding receptions:
There’s more, but I think your reward for reading a post this long is for me to end it! Thanks, Amy + Kim… it’s been a treat working with you!
I’ve been working with an absolutely delightful client, Jennifer Dunham Starr, a photographer based in California (but available for travel!) who has been re-working the visual identity of her company. She has a wonderful story to tell about her own life journey (and that of her team), and delights in helping her clients tell their own stories through photography… thus her company name: The Memory Journalists.
She has recently unveiled her new visual… so i’m going to share it with you, too. We had a lot of fun working on this one together. We needed to express her joie de vivre, her energy (this woman has a lot of energy), her sense of humour, her passion for connecting with her clients.
First, let me show you her “old” logo…
and now, here’s The Memory Journalists’ new look…
The hummingbird has a lot of symbolism for Jen, which I know she wants to share with her clients, so i’ll let her tell the story over on her blog. From a design perspective, we made the decision early on to use a typeface that featured ligatures, so that we could use typography to express connection. And that blue? Well, does the phrase “true blue” mean anything? Or the blue of forget me nots? Or the idea of something borrowed, something blue? And it was great to carry something familiar from her old look to her new look.
For a while, Jen has used round business cards. They’re very memorable, and a great conversation starter. Here’s the new look brought to life in her new cards:
Next, we tackled her website design. The Memory Journalists used to have a portfolio website and a separate blog, powered by Blogger. But with her redesign, Jen decided to merge blog and portfolio into one coherent site. I did the initial site design, and the team at Infinet Design did all the coding and added tons of little touches to really bring the design to life.
Here’s The Memory Journalists “before”:
And here’s the fresh, new look:
Finally, we decided to really run with the animal theme established with the Memory Journalists logo… we developed the Zoo Crew. Each staff member chose their favourite animal, and we created some simple illustrations in the style of the hummingbird. You can see the Zoo Crew used throughout the Memory Journalists site.
I recently completed a visual identity project for a Vancouver-based HR consultant… Light the Lamp. The company specializes in HR programs for small to medium-sized business that might not be able to afford a full time HR strategist. And the company name is a play on a sports analogy. In hockey, when you score a goal, the red light behind the net shines. My client thinks companies should never have to give up a goal. That said, we agreed that a hockey visual would be too literal (and too limiting) an interpretation for her visual identity.
She wanted something that said professional but approachable; practical but human. She wanted to display a bit of her (superb) sense of fun. And she wanted her identity to have some energy.
I took inspiration for the final logo from the idea that a company is made up of many types of people; that a corporate culture is a mix of elements. For the most part, we all put our pants on one leg at a time and yet we all feel different. I also thought about the idea of how solutions tend to come in an “aha” moment… the proverbial light bulb going off in our head.
And here’s the final logo.
Here’s the business card treatment:
I also designed a very simple website for Sarah. We tried to have a little fun with her homepage image.
If you’re a reader in the Vancouver area who owns a small to medium sized business and you need a crack HR consultant, I highly recommend Light the Lamp. They’re smart, they’re practical and they’re effective.