Run and Design For Boston
Posted: May 8, 2013 Filed under: Design, Philadelphia, Running | Tags: Boston Marathon, Boston Marathon Bombing, Broad Street Run, design, red socks, Run for Boston, running Leave a comment »I’ve always been proud to be a runner. And a designer. Especially recently.
Runners and designers have really stepped up in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15, 2013. For example, running clubs all across the country gathered for a jog on April 17th to show their support, calling it the Run For Boston. And this past weekend, Philadelphia held its 34th annual Broad Street 10-mile Run where participants showed their love for Boston by running in red socks. Both events were a beautiful thing to be a part of and a nice reminder that if you look around, there really is a lot of love and support in this world.
As for designers, many have created awesome logos and apparel so that we can all (quite literally) show Boston our support. I wore my “B Strong” t-shirt (below) for the first time yesterday and got dozens of nice comments. These heartwarming and reassuring designs are a nice way to remind us all to keep Boston’s victims in our thoughts.
To donate to the recovery of fellow runner/designer, Christian, who was injured in the Boston explosions, and to learn about his progress, visit his funding page. Let’s support one of our very own.
“Always Askew” Featured on People.com
Posted: April 25, 2013 Filed under: Design, Home, Minted, Quote, Typography | Tags: art print, imperfection, Leo Tolstoy, Maggie Hong, minted, PEOPLE, People.com, perfection, perfectionist, World's Most Beautiful Issue 6 Comments »PEOPLE’s “World’s Most Beautiful” issue, honoring women for their inner beauty and accomplishments, comes out tomorrow! And as I mentioned in an earlier post, Minted asked designers to create art prints in celebration of this issue.
As inspiration, Minted provided designers with ten quotations about beauty. The perfectionist in me chose the quote, “If you look for perfection, you will never be satisfied.” by Leo Tolstoy. With it, I created a simple print that will never hang perfectly straight on your wall.
I’m excited to say that the Art Director at PEOPLE.com, Maggie Hong, chose it as one of her favorites. And it is now featured on PEOPLE.com. Check it out!
Maggie is quoted saying, “It’s so smart to have the design tilted to echo the message of the quote. I love designs that make you think.” And that is always my goal. To create designs with a concept behind them. To me, designs that make you think are much more intriguing than designs that are pretty, and only pretty.
And now, you can also find Always Askew for sale at minted. If you feel inclined to buy it, don’t forget to use the promo code SHOPYR7HP4 to receive 10% off. In my opinion, the print is a great daily reminder to let go and embrace imperfection. I might just have to get one myself!
A Different Kind of Marathon
Posted: April 16, 2013 Filed under: Exercise | Tags: 2013 Midnight Marathon, Boston, Boston Marathon 2013, Instagram 1 Comment »This blog post, A Different Kind of Marathon, was supposed to be about the experience of the 2013 Boston Midnight Marathon Bike Ride, a whole new way of experiencing the Boston Marathon. Over 700 of us met at the marathon starting line in Hopkinton, the night before the race, and rode the course all the way to Copley Square. This was the fifth annual ride and an extremely fun way to feel like a part of the marathon action. The event, as silly as it sounds, really gives you a feel for how intense the course is. And on race day, you look at the runners with a whole new respect. (At least I did.) I highly recommend it.
But unfortunately, the Midnight Marathon wasn’t the end of my strange Marathon Monday experience. As you know, two bombs went off at the finish line. I was a block away when it happened. It was awful. Devastating. And infuriating. My thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected.
Below is an Instagram from what should have been a beautiful marathon weekend in Boston, taken by my old co-worker, Michael McCrary. I thought it captured the beauty and spirit of this fantastic city so sweetly. The beauty and spirit that I know will help Boston get through this tough time.
Embrace Different
Posted: April 5, 2013 Filed under: Design, Marketing, Signage | Tags: Laurel Hardware, Los Angeles, Santa Monica Boulevard, vintage, West Hollywood Leave a comment »While in Los Angeles for work last week, I checked out Laurel Hardware, a very cool restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard.
As you may have guessed, it was once a hardware store. For 62 years, in fact. And I think it’s pretty awesome that the new owners kept the hardware store name. And even more awesome that they kept the original, vintage signage. Check it out:
I appreciate how the restaurant embraced the history of their space. They built upon what they were in the past to become who they are now. And this makes them really stand out as a unique restaurant (not to mention a designer’s dream).
Moral of the story? We should embrace who we are and where we’ve been. Especially if it’s different. How else will we stand out in this world?
The Social Media Project
Posted: March 26, 2013 Filed under: Advertising, Marketing, Philadelphia, Social Media | Tags: Red Tettemer + Partners, University of Delaware, Visual Communications Leave a comment »As I mentioned in A Walk Down Art School Memory Lane, I recently assigned a project to the advertising students at the University of Delaware.
In short, I challenged them to come up with the next big thing in social media. The next Facebook, the next Twitter, or a great new app. Then, to advertise a product using only their new creation. Because as we know, we can’t rely solely on television and print ads anymore. Social media is where it’s at.
So last week, the students came up to Red Tettemer + Partners to present their ideas to me. It was so much fun to see what they all came up with. They really exceeded my expectations with their innovative ideas. In fact, I’d love to share a few of them here, but they’re so good, I’m afraid you’ll steal them and make millions! So instead, I’ll just share some of my favorite photos from the day, and hope the students continue to push their ideas into reality.
Minted and PEOPLE’s Most Beautiful Quotes Challenge
Posted: March 22, 2013 Filed under: Design, Quote, Typography | Tags: Always Askew, art print, challenge, Leo Tolstoy, minted, PEOPLE, perfection, perfectionist, poster, quote 2 Comments »In their latest challenge, Minted partnered with PEOPLE and asked designers to create prints featuring quotations about beauty. When I read the list of quotes, one in particular really stood out to me. It read, “If you look for perfection, you will never be satisfied.”
As a self-proclaimed perfectionist, I just had to create a print using this quote from Leo Tolstoy. So I designed something that will never hang perfectly straight on a wall, and totally embraced imperfection. If you’d like to see the design sold on Minted, click here to vote!
Shop by Inspiration
Posted: March 15, 2013 Filed under: Design, Wedding Invitations, Weddings | Tags: inspiration board, Journey Together, minted, wedding, wedding invitation, wedding invitation design Leave a comment »Peak wedding season is here! Exciting, right? And potentially overwhelming for some of you brides out there.
Well, to help you out, Minted has done something pretty awesome. They’ve created a new way to shop for invitations. By inspiration.
So, if you have a wedding coming up and you have no idea where to start, I suggest snuggling up on your couch this weekend and taking a look through all the gorgeous inspiration boards on Minted. Not only will you likely find an invitation you love, but you’re certain to find plenty of overall style ideas.
For example, I created the inspiration board below for a wedding invitation I designed called Journey Together. It conveys the playful, vintage-inspired wedding these invitations were meant for, as well as the fun, unique, tandem-bike-riding couple I had in mind while designing them. Enjoy!
