Downtown, now Uptown!

First it was a Downtown Lakewood Holiday Open House, then guess what? The folks at Uptown Lakewood wanted to do the same, with a different theme of course. So I got to work...

Uptown Lakewood invites you to visit Candy Cane Lane:

This was pretty fun, I have to admit.

The Winner

winner

This is the poster design chosen by Downtown Lakewood Business Association. Like it? I was actually surprised they chose this, but ultimately I'm just happy they liked one I presented.

The UNchosen Ones

Ok, friends. Here they are. The two designs that weren't chosen for the Come Home to Lakewood event next month:

These were very basic concepts, as information was limited.
When the chosen design is finalized, I'll post it.

New Project!

Ok, so a couple weeks ago I was asked to supply the graphics for Downtown Lakewood Business Association's event in December. It's going to be called "Come Home to Lakewood" and I will be creating the marketing materials for the event.

Pretty excited for this opportunity...which also comes with some nervousness. My work can be seen throughout downtown Lakewood during the Farmer's Market season, but this is new territory for me/my business. Hopefully this is the beginning of a working relationship with another Lakewood organization!

I submitted three very basic poster designs for their review (I have very little info at this point). I'll update with their decision and show the designs that weren't chosen as soon as I hear back. Fun, fun!

Wordless Wednesday: Side-by-Side fun

A little pre-vacation reminiscing

As I begin to pack/organize for vacation (we leave tomorrow night), I felt the urge to look at photos from the past three years we've visited. Hope you enjoy as much as I did!

2009: Seth, 2 yrs old

Such a cutie...almost thought it was Brock! ha.

Can we get much more excited?

2010: Seth, 3yrs...Brock in the oven

Soon to be a family of four

2011: Seth, 4yrs; Brock 9mos

Our Family

Mommy, look! I'm swimming!

Hey there. Come here often?

Love.

Beach time.

Can't Win 'em All

OK, so every graphic designer (and any creative professional, really) goes through this:
Client presents project, designer creates idea, client makes changes until the product no longer is good design...but hey, the client is happy.

This recently happened to me. Nothing major, just a small example. The project was a wedding invitation. I collected all the details: wedding and reception held on a farm, reception in barn, bridesmaids in stone grey color, burlap accents, mason jar centerpieces with wildflowers. Oh, and the groom's father was a well-known surgeon in the area. My mind was putting it all together and I envisioned the invite. The bride was adamant about having the mason jar as the focal point of the invite and provided a sample from Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/listing/98942691/wedding-invitation-handmade-hand-stamped) that she kinda liked, except for the floral paper. It was plain, nothing classy about it, etc. I thought I could incorporate a jar but make it look classy as well. A perfect union. I presented this:

My first attempt

Perfect, right? Mason jar, wildflowers, burlap, and grey!
The response? The mother of the bride (who was my contact for this project primarily) says: I love it, but my daughter wants something more like the sample she provided.

So, I go back to the drawing board and come up with a stripped down version, yet with the country feel I thought the bride would appreciate. Something like this:

Nope. "More like the sample." At this point, I'm thinking: why didn't the bride just order from the Etsy artist and just specify what she didn't like about it?

So what was the final invitation design? THIS.

Yep. Just screams wedding, doesn't it? Plain and simple. Apparently they are printing it on a cream paper and attaching it to paper bag-like paper then tying a ribbon of raffia around it. Wonderful. So glad I could, um, help. To each their own! Can't win 'em all.