Just got a new postcard to print this week for “A Day of Empowerment”. It’s a day long event at the Thurston County Fairgrounds meant to educate, inspire and expand the minds and business networks of the women involved. It’s being put together by a great group of women, who are all leaders in their field.

I was brought in after the initial branding was done, so I took the existing branding (logo and colors) and expanded it into a postcard. This isn’t a direct mail postcard, but one that’s meant to be handed out to members of the community who may be interested. It’s a more personalized approach to getting the word out. Next we’ll create a poster and a program for the day of the event. You can find out further information by visiting their website at: www.dayofempowerment.com

We’ve just designed the calendar & website for easy online ordering. The web address is: www.knottyknittersforautism.com.

I had a client, Tammy Redmon, request a “rush” ad for a local business publication today, called the Puget Sound Business Examiner. I got the call last night for a head’s up…and a “please… if you could find the time…it’s a great opportunity”. Happily I was able to squeeze it in and we hit the deadline even with a mix up on the specs for sizing the ad.

The copywriting is fabulous, thanks to Judy Dunn, of Cat’s Eye Marketing.

This is a great opportunity for my client to connect with her target market, in a focused and eye catching way.

After much thought and discussion, Megan & Randy decided it just wasn’t the look they wanted. This wine is their signature label, the wine that put them on the map in wine country. It needed to be unique and representative of what they value in Mason Cellars wines. They decided upon an illustration of the growth of the sauvignon blanc variety of grape vine.

Below is the new approved line drawing, it’s quite a change from the original design.  Now that the line drawing is approved, I’ll move onto the color phase. I’ll enlarge the illustration and transfer it to a canvas. Then I’ll start painting and layer on the color with oil alkyd paints, for amazing color quality with a fast dry time. After the painting is complete we will have the painting scanned in a high quality and high resolution format. Then I’ll work with the Mason’s in deciding to keep the typography from the previous label or go in a new design direction. We’ll then merge the typography of the label design in with the hi res scan of the illustration.

This will be the third wine label I’ve done for Mason Cellars. We seem to have a winning combination of traditional art work with computer graphics for the labels. I’ll post updates as they occur…

Update August 10, 2010: I’m posting an in progress pic of the new painting/illustration.

Update August 18, 2010: Another in progress pic…

This was a great project for a very interesting business: Singing Cedars Healing Touch & Health Coaching. The client, Martha McMahon, was very clear about the “look & feel” she wanted for her branding. She wanted to focus on the natural elements of water & trees to help convey the power of water & nature on health. We also used calm & cool colors to reflect the healing energies of water and the stability of being healthy.

Since this profession is still considered an alternative, or more modern, mode of healing the materials needed to have a modern look & feel.

She needed a business card & brochure to start building her business. Then we’ll progress into a web presence by developing a header and a blog site for her to keep her market informed.

The colors & images we developed are specifically focused on helping them to portray the warm, competent side of financial investing. They’re communicative, informative, experienced and professional. We went with 3 pantone colors on a bright white stock for their Corporate ID Package. They need to portray quality and this will help. The images I developed are to support the “harbor” feel with the seagull standing on a old piece of wood, which is specific to their location. The background image is a graphical interpretation of warm sun rays. And the client really wanted to have waves integrated into the design, which has also been achieved.

So far, we’ve designed a business card, letterhead & envelope which is known as a basic Corporate ID Package. This will get them started in their new venture and give them the professional edge they need in today’s competitive market place.

Adding color is another phase of the design process. Color is a very powerful tool. It can convey love, hate, fear and peace. Most business owners know how they’d like their market to perceive them – color helps to convey the emotions they’d like to utilize in realizing their unique brand recognition.

Proportion is another important  component in logo designing. There needs to be a visual focus, or primary design element. Sometimes it’s a graphic, sometimes it’s a font. The goal is to not confuse the person viewing the logo. Our natural line of vision wants a primary focus, then we’ll travel around an object looking for more visual information.

Ideally, the best logos tie together a graphic element with the meaning of the text.

Here are some samples of logos we’ve created:

Below are some samples of our web header designs:

Here are some samples of twitter backgrounds we’ve created…

Here are some samples of business cards we’ve designed…