Ok. I’ve been putting this off because I’m feeling a little drained lately and didn’t want to talk about work stuff.

Isn’t that sad? I love designing…but right now it just feels like work.

Anyway. Let’s jump in/I know I can do this 🙂

When I hear from a client about an upcoming project, I try to jump on it right away. Mainly because I want to get my initial ideas down on art boards (aka digitized paper 😉 ). Also, because I try to pace myself. Rushing is not always a good thing…though I can get it done quick if I need to. I just don’t like to.

In other words – give designers time – and pay them more if you’re cutting them short.

I usually browse Font Book to see if there’s anything I feel like using/I’ve been wanting to utilize first. If not, I research.

Aka, www.losttype.com 😉

And then, I come up with something.

I do not like to replicate things. So, if you’re looking to have a reproduction done, consider contacting a project manager. Not me 😛 But I do look for inspiration when I’m starting something. Specifically trends to reinforce my ideas.

Ya know, so I know it’s hip.

On the last event I branded, I created the background first:

(^Lame screenshot skills lead to weird black residue. Apologies.)

I knew I wanted to illustrate the background because the client I was working with hadn’t used an original illustration in a while (I would know…I’ve done this event for 4 years 😉 ), create depth with gradients and do the whole snowflake thing because I could animate it in Motion, as mentioned in the previous post.

It just looks better on screen to me than your typical slide 🙂

Honestly, Idk if it got used…oh well.

And I figured I wanted the color to be red, because the client hadn’t requested a specific color.

Yes, red is terrible in RGB design. Did I think about that? No. Because I was thinking about the mugs.

Let me explain. For the past 4 years, I’ve designed art for a coffee mug that’s given to the guests as a take home. So that’s my main focus. Make the mug look good, because that is what will survive 😉

So here are the options I came up with. I personally liked 4 and  6. It isn’t super easy to tell here, but 6 and 8 are a customized type I made using Tommaso. There’s a thin section of the center of each letter missing (let’s call it “reverse stroke”), you may notice. If you have good eyesight 😉

It took forever. But, using Sullivan did not, so I guess it’s an ok trade-off.

They went between 5 and 8 and then eventually 8. I’m glad, because 5 was a little plain 🙂

Here’s the final product in web-banner form:

(I promise, the “reverse stroke” is there)

Was I bummed they didn’t go with my suggested pick? No.

Because I did multiple options for them and was happy with each.

Here’s what I’ve found: Do what you think looks good. Then, add. And subtracted. Include all of these things as options for your client. They’re bound to pick something and like what they choose 🙂

If you can, try to be happy with everything you send over to a client. That way, you’re not bothered by their selection.

This is harder to do if a client is telling you exactly what they want and don’t want input. I would suggest at least doing the project your way and then to their instructions (whether you send both over or not). That way, you can use your version for your portfolio. And feel accomplished.

That’s a little view into my brain. This branding project took me about 8 hours after you include communication time and change-ups. Not too bad. If you want to see the mugs, tickets, etc – let me know and I’ll add them in 🙂