oh snap

some late-night crafting for a project happening this week and next... more info as it unfolds!

movember

It's the last few minutes of movember and so this post is particularly timely... a friend of mine found himself at odds with his 'stache ... He is usually a pretty clean-cut guy and compared his furry accessory to "a houseguest who has overstayed his welcome." I created a happy stash to help him get through the final moments.

happy engagement photos,

Alexis and Jay!

Today, my best friend Alexis and her partner Jay are getting their engagement photos taken. I wanted to do something special for them ... so I made them this tote. My process was pretty simple: I hand-drew lettering, made a stencil, and then spray painted! The whole project was inspired by a brilliant portrait by Max Wanger (http://maxwanger.com/), however, the phrase also has a special meaning to Alexis - she always says this to Jay! See more of their adorable engagement session here.
Bag Photo credit: Jason Priest, Engagement photos by Jenn Stark Photographers

Jaclyn's Bachelorette Jars
I've been so lucky to be involved in my two best friends' weddings. This past weekend, we celebrated Jaclyn's bachelorette. My friend Alexis and I were tasked with styling the hotel room for the pre-drink. We decided on a Mariah Carey "glitter" theme. Although I love the glitter tops and that each attendee had her own personal bejeweled jar, my favourite part was that we glued Jaclyn's Mariah-ified face to the bottom so that you saw it when you took the last sip of your drink. Ah, the little things.

Rejection!
Here are some recent ideas that ended up on the cutting room floor... more to come!

Designing to Decorate
An idle designer is a dangerous thing. On one hand, you have tons of time to think of amazing creative endeavours. On the other hand, your imagination can quickly get out of hand. I have had the past week off of work and in an attempt to avoid cleaning my apartment, I have decided that it is time to invent new and exciting decorating solutions. One such project are these letter prints for a friends house. The idea is to personalize a space like the bedroom, without having pictures of a couple up everywhere.

Identity
I am always super flattered when a friend asks me to design them something. So I was thrilled when one of my best friends Lauren invited me to pitch some ideas for her BFs business card. The coolest part? He's a percussionist. Braeden knew what he wanted (and what he wanted was cool!) so it was fairly simple, but allowed me to stretch my photography, illustration and design skills all at once. And I even got a private concert for inspiration! He is AWESOME so if you are interested in live performance or lessons, drop me a line and I'll put you in touch (I replaced his real info with fake info here).

Communicating Technology
A while ago I was asked to come up with a wall and scrim design that would create the ambiance for a booth at the WAEA conference (World Airline Entertainment Association). There were a few stipulations:

1) logo + their colours (purple) prominent
2) brand messaging catch phrases i.e. expect the unexpected, surprise & delight
3) message that Spafax is "ahead of their time" in the industry, or that they were using the most groundbreaking technology

After much deliberation (CLICK HERE to see a previous post with other options), I decided that the catch phrase "surprise and delight" provided a way to peak interest in a fast and simple way. Paired with the photo of a metropolis slightly askew and the sharp lens flare, the message became: "Spafax exceeds expectations, takes the clients to exciting, new heights." This allowed me to get to the idea of technology without going too "industrial" in aesthetic. If I could choose one thing about this that I think is most success, it is that I feel it communicates "technologically advanced" without relying on nuts, bolts and futuristic gimmicks. Instead, I went for frontiers, heights, wonder.

Bazaar Poster
Every year my mom organizes a church bazaar that takes place in fall. When I was first starting out a designer, she asked me to design the posters and other signage for the event, and since I do the marketing every year, she is my longest standing client! The challenge with these posters is to make a church event feel open to all in the community.

Children's design
I have recently been working for Corus Entertainment, a big media company in Canada doing motion design. With a number of channels devoted solely to children (YTV, Teletoon, Treehouse, etc.) they are arguably the best at designing for this demographic in the country. Although I have worked on a number of their non-children's brands, I have been inspired by the way Corus' designers/animators explore styles and solutions to the evermore challenging problem of communicating to young people. I did this board for self-development - I wanted to see if I could come up with an idea/design that would work for a kids platform. What do you think? I have to say, the jury is still out on whether or not I could design for the creative bastions that are the "youth."

Sky-high design
I used to think that web design was particularly impressive because of the unique hurdles the platform poses. However, after designing a few concepts for inflight entertainment interfaces, I have changed my mind.

Brochure
A friend of mine recently recommended me for a quick job for The Centre for Equity and Human Rights, a student organization for the University of Ottawa. After speaking with the amazing coordinator Caroline, I was inspired by their goal of bringing people together to ensure that diversity and equity on campus were valued and that students who experience discrimination have a place to go. I decided the best way to send this message was to use an image that immediately evoked the idea of teamwork and accomplishment. Then I incorporated the colour of the organization - shades of blue, to keep the feel similar to the other creative they have in place. I used thick bars to organize the type as their strong nature added to the idea of solidarity.

Wall and semi-transparent scrim to be part of a convention booth. These are the rejects from a recent campaign.