Do It Green magazine

Do It Green magazine has hit the shelves! Check out my illustration on the cover of this green guide for the Twin Cities. Do It Green wanted to go back to their roots for their 10th anniversary issue and speak to the theme of Live Simply. Live Green. I designed a hand illustrated cover featuring a family tree type of structure to hold the text with a plethora of curly roots to give it some structure and a whimsical nature.

Pick up your copy of Do It Green magazine at your local co-op and the Twin Cities Green store.

Brody Designs New Site is Live!

Brody was looking for a gallery with no clicks and plenty of bling. Image swaps allow the viewer to simply roll over each thumbnail slice and instantly see the jewelry in all it's glory below. Check out his new site at brodydesigns.com. Watch out for shiny objects!

Pivot :: Logo + Stationary

PIVOT: Financial Planning for Life's Turning Points. I really enjoyed working on this naming and branding project with Lisa Werner. She is an amazing financial planner that has a unique approach to planning your financial future. She looks at the big picture, keeps your goals in mind and offers advice to keep you on track through life's turning points. The name and tagline allude to the trust you can put in Lisa to guide you to your goals through each phase of your financial life. The logo and branding carry out the look with a fresh green pallet, a modern and dynamic logo, and a pattern inspired by bank envelope security patterns. In a field that doesn't normally branch out into new-fangled naming and branding conventions, Lisa really took a step in the right direction with a strong name and smart look for her new business! If you'd like to take Pivot for a spin with your finances, you can email Lisa at lwerner@finsvcs.com

Red Seat :: Stationary

And here's how the Red Seat logo was applied to the stationary system, including letterhead, envelopes, label, notecard, stickers and a post-it note. We wanted to keep the look fun and bring the witty writing to life. A nice sunny yellow was added to the pallet to accomplish this and to allow the red accents to stand out.

Red Seat :: Logo Options

I've just completed some work for Talley Flora's freshly rebranded company, Red Seat, through Kazoo Branding. She is a hiring expert for companies that need assistance and expertise in hiring great employees. 

Many times I am asked how the design process works and I think this is a nice example to show you how I work. To start off, I gather as much information about you and your company and its branding as I can. Even obscure details, stories and any style cues I might notice are good clues to get me started sketching logo ideas. After I sketch for a few hours, two or three logos usually come to the surface as the smart solutions. Those are the ones that I take to the computer and start working with. Sometimes they evolve from paper to computer, and sometimes they work perfectly just as I had sketched earlier. Below are the three logo designs we showed Talley.

A concept that shows the support and teamwork that is needed to fill the seat with a great employee. This is the direction Talley chose to move forward with.

A more abstract and energetic representation of a company or hiring team.

A more personalized concept that fills the modern looking seat with a different pattern that reflects the characteristics of the client or candidate. I like how the chair looks like it is smiling.

And this is the final logo after a couple of color tweaks to make the red pop more.

Stephanie Dunn

Stephanie Dunn is an amazingly talented gal. She is a great photographer. She enjoys photographing cultural celebrations, doing portraits and weddings and travel photography. She also enjoys designing invites and materials to support her photography endeavors. AND, she even designs and builds furniture in her spare time. She does it all! So, she needed a logo that could encompass all of her talents. The simple square shape pattern works to symbolize all three of her talents and her style. You can find her at design.dunn@gmail.com if you'd like to inquire about her talents. 

Word Savvy

I've just finished some work for the lovely Kathleen West of Word Savvy! She is a very talented writer who decided to open her own Marketing Communications business. Flourish helped with the naming and design for Word Savvy. For those of us word-challenged people, I think Word Savvy says it all. Words come easy to Kathleen and she has a witty way of delivering them. So, put down that pencil and call Kathleen. She will make it look easy.

The logo was so much fun to work on. The "punctuation flower" came to life through sketches and seemed to be the smart and witty direction that Kathleen was looking for. You might not notice the punctuation at first but that is the wit of it. I enjoy the surprise in design when you look closer and realize the details. Savvy, eh? The color palette came naturally from the most basic of writing tools - the pencil. Pencil yellow and a metallic graphite grey.

We kept it modern and clean on the business cards and simply wrapped the logo around the edge of the card, creating the balance between the words and the savvy of Kathleen's writing.

Nature Palettes

I thought it would be fun to look for new color inspirations outdoors since it's spring and everything is so vibrant these days. Here's my first...

Iowa

We went to Iowa last weekend to play on the farm with Chad's family. Brutus had a blast, as you can see! He loves asparagus and riding on golf carts. He tried to make friends with the cows too. On Saturday we went morrell mushroom hunting and found a ton of them! They grow on and around dead elm trees and are sooo yummy! We also went asparagus picking on a cold windy Iowa morning. I'm going to pickle some asparagus today. I can't wait! 

Driftless Folk School

Cheese making class - this is my calling. I'm originally from Wisconsin (and my husband loves cheese) so I think we need to go back to the homeland to learn the ways of homemade cheese making. The Driftless Folk School is in beautiful Viroqua, Wisconsin. On June 27th they will teach you how to make butter, feta, mozzarella and several soft cheeses. That sounds like an amazing day to me. You'll also head home with samples of the cheeses and a culture to make some at home. I'm in!

Shade Perennials

Hakonechloa/Japanese Forest Grass

Tufted Hair Grass

Cohosh

Elderberry Sambucus 

(sun or part shade)

Black Chervil

Palm Sedge

Gray's Sedge

Angelica 

(sadly, friends school had a crop failure on this one so none at the sale this year)

Maiden Hair Fern

Hakonechloa/Japanese Forest Grass

Hakonechloa/Japanese Forest Grass

Lily of the Valley

Hosta

Japanese Painted Fern

I found some good shade/part shade perennials this year and had to share them. It's hard to find shade plants for zones 4 and 5 that have some flair. So, enjoy! And don't forget to go to the Friends School Plant Sale this weekend. I'll be volunteering in the rare plants area Friday from 3:30 til 8:00. Stop by and see me!

Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles

Just had to post about my favorite band ever! The first time I heard Lucy sing was last year at the Hootenany in Java Jack's basement. There was a big crowd so I couldn't see the stage, but heard the most beautiful voice singing the most amazing songs ever! Her voice is loungy without the chain smoker raspyness plus a hint of innocence. As if it couldn't get any better, the band is based here in mpls so live shows are a plenty! They have a Cinco de Mayo (that's May 5th) show this week at Eclipse Records in St. Paul.

Ikat

I love Ikat patterns! I'm going to try to draw up some for my graphic needs. Here are some awesome pillows from Uzbek Craft. They also sell fabric too if you're into sewing.

DIY Lamps

I've got a little affinity lately for electrical work and making lamps. I've been (trying) to fix outlets and switch light fixtures. I took a pottery class on making lamps with pottery creations awhile back and made a log lamp for my bathroom. Now I want to make some sconces by combining pottery with some of these fun lamp parts from Mohn Electric Co. I'm undecided on the design, but think I'll sketch it out. I can't wait. Soon everything in my house will be made from pottery. Hot damn.