Blog
Music Monday – 01.02.12
Happy New Year to everyone! I’ve hit the ground running in 2012 and looks like its nonstop for a bit. To keep me going I’ve got a mix of my favorite divas:
and making the list for 2 weeks in a row…
Florence & The Machine – Shake It Out
Music Monday – 12.19.11
Like most designers, I’m all about listening to music while I design. For me its an innate part of the design process. It inspires me, it fuels my creativity and is reflective of my mood. Yet often times, I get stuck listening to the same album or playlist, over and over and over again. So in order to keep myself on the lookout for new music and keep things fresh, I’ve decided to institute ‘New Music Mondays’. On Mondays I plan on posting a few of my favorite songs from the week.
Here are this week’s list toppers:
Tis the Season…
With Thanksgiving just around the corner its that time of year again when the world seems to be filled with nothing but food, drinks and holiday parties. So here’s todays tribute to the season. Cheers!
Barberiasalon.com launched!
I’m happy to announce that barberiasalon.com is officially up and running. This project is a complete overhaul of Terry DeMarco’s Barberia online presence. Terry admitted that he isn’t too computer saavy, so he wanted a website that even he could update, so our natural choice was to use WordPress. I created a custom WordPress theme, complete with a customized image carousel and multiple page templates, along with tutorials so that Terry and his team can keep their clients up-to-date with everything happening at the salon. Take a look at the live site >
Congrats Ben Keeler!
A special shout out goes to my good friend Ben Keeler, of Ben Keeler & the 500 Club, as he sets out on his Californian Coastal Conquest! One year ago I helped him design the artwork for the band’s album ‘Water Water’ and when he called me again, I was happy to do a little flyer to promote the new tour.
Take a peek:
The Water Water album cover.
The west coast tour flyer.
Happy Anniversary!
For the past year I’ve had the pleasure of working with a great team that embodies their tagline ‘nourishing the mind, body & spirit.’ This June Yen Yoga & Fitness is celebrating their 1st anniversary and I’m proud to say that I’ve been with them since the beginning. From concepting ideas for the identity to event logos and collateral to weekly email campaigns and lead generation, I’ve done a little bit of everything for the company.
Here is just a small sample of the work I’ve done over the past year:
Flyer for a special event.
Special holiday coupons.
Identity for a promotional event.
Weekly email newsletter.
Ad campaigns.
Sugar & Spice Trading Company
I’m excited to announce my latest labor of love: Sugar & Spice Trading Company. 
Sugar & Spice Trading company is a specialty gourmet foods shop in The Palmyra Resort & Spa in Montego Bay, Jamaica. I have been working to create the branding/identity, interior design, website, promotional event collateral, social marketing strategy, email campaign and print collateral. Being involved in the project every step of the way, from concept to painting to the final product has been a thrilling experience.
Let’s take a quick tour:
Specialty chocolate bars - Habanero, Tequila, Lime! Label design by yours truly.
Sugar & Spice Trading Company specialty soap product line. Packaging design reflects both the brand and the individual soaps.
Frosted glass is sweet!
SSTC in full swing at a tasting event.
Bold colors make a statement!
Email Invitation to our WHITE HOT launch party.
Business Cards
Advertisements
Beautiful Packaging? I’ll buy it!
Maybe its just the designer in me, but I’ve recently realized that I have a tendency to purchase things that I will never use or eat just because I am intrigued with the packaging. Let’s browse a list of those things that are still sitting around unused that I “just had to have!”
Really, celery hearts?!? Ok, I didn’t buy those, but that mixed bean salad – wow lookin’ pretty good!
Ok, I admit, this stuff is quite good if you are into granola, but the price point – OUCH! Let’s just say you are paying for all those lovely die-cuts — but kudos to the designer who managed to push that into the budget!
Being a cider fan, I thought I would branch out from the standard apple or pear flavors. Strawberry & Lime, sounds refreshing on a hot day, right? Well tastes more like kool-aid for adults – even for a sugar fan like myself, it was a struggle to drink the whole thing, but will that keep me from being tempted to buy it again? No, because its just so pretty!
Ok, I didn’t actually buy this – but I wanted to! Its hard to think this is actually pet food. Makes me want, no need, to have a pet so that I can purchase this food for them!
In the end, its obvious that design has an overwhelming affect on our emotions which has a direct correlation to our wallets. As designers, we aren’t just designing packaging or a logo or a website, we are responsible for developing personal experiences, taking consumers on a journey and cultivating emotions. Its much more than colors or pictures, there’s a moral code of ethics behind design that we are socially responsible for developing and nurturing.
Feelin’ trendy
While I would hate to admit that I follow trends, (no I don’t have an iPhone…yet…) I most certainly read about them. To my surprise I have found myself ahead of the curve! Let’s take a journey back a few years…(you might be asking yourself how something in the past has to do with current trends, but stick with me here!)
When I first launched www.robibare.com I pined over the best way to show/represent my portfolio. Designing for myself is something that I hate more than anything (yes, even more than doing dishes!) so I needn’t go into painful detail how I agonized and redesigned this layout numerous times. I finally decided on a horizontal scroll. Now to get to the point…Smashing Magazine has name ‘Horizontalism’ (aka – Horizontal Scrolling) a 2010 web trend. Unfortunately this layout didn’t make it to robibare.com 2.0, but that is besides the point. What matters here is that I was ahead of the trends, a full 2 years ahead, at that!
Now, I realize there are many reasons, most noteded Apple’s coverflow, that it has taken so long for the horizontal scroll to become so popular. But let it be known that I was always a fan of the h-scroll and this is a trend that I will jump on the bandwagon for!
Choosing fonts
We’ve all been there. Sitting in front of a computer staring at a seemingly endless list of fonts. Peering over the list, scrolling up and down and oh, wait! – nope that’s not the one. For many, picking a font can be the hardest part of a design and rightfully so, as a font conveys more than the words written.
But never fear! All of these woes have come to an end thanks to Julian Hansen. His humorous approach to choosing a font will take away all of the guesswork. Take a look:
Click to see full image
All I can say is are you afraid to be asked if you lived in the 90s?