A Few Photos

I visited Richmond, VA recently and I thought I would post a few photos from my trip. It was fun exploring historic sites in Richmond. I tried some cross process style editing (using this action) on these so let me know what you think.

Lippincott: General Mills

Today is the last part in my Lippincott series, and I wanted to highlight one of their older logos, but it's one that I really like. Amazingly, it's stayed pretty much the same over the years! I'm sure it's one you'll recognize...

This version has slightly different typography from the one in Lippincott's portfolio, but besides that, it seems like the essence of the logo has remained the same, which I think is so cool. It takes a lot of talent to design a logo that lasts without starting to look dated, and I think Lippincott pulled it off with the General Mills logo. This logo definitely works for today even though it was designed a long time ago.

Here are a few specific things I like about the logo:

• The bold lines. This logo is not wimpy at all - it's strong and bold, which is part of what I think makes it more distinctive. Thinner lines are just harder to see! This logo definitely doesn't have that problem.
• The simplicity. Like the Chevron logo, this identity leaves you with one thought. It doesn't try to throw a bunch of different concepts at you, but it's just one image. That is so important, and I think it's a key feature of a timeless logo.
• The skillfull execution. The "G" image is just so well refined - there doesn't seem to be anything strange about the shape. The way the curves look, the width of the lines - it's all great, and really serves to make the logo distinctive.

So what are your thoughts on this logo? Do you agree that it's made the transition from the time of its original design to now?

Photography in RAW

One of my readers asked for a blog post about editing photos in RAW, so I thought I'd throw in my two cents worth. I really don't know much about this whole RAW thing, since I don't shoot in RAW, but I thought I'd try to explain the little I've gathered from books and websites.

But in a nutshell, as I understand it, RAW is a mode you can shoot pictures in, usually in SLR cameras. Basically, the advantage of RAW is that you can open up your RAW file in a photo editing software that supports RAW files (like Adobe Camera RAW), and tweak settings that usually you can only change before taking the picture, such as white balance and exposure.

The downside to RAW: the files are huge. Unless you have one monga hard drive, RAW files seem helpful from an editing standpoint, but a little unwieldy from a storage standpoint. That's the main reason I don't shoot in RAW. And also because I'm used to editing normal JPG files.

Also, I want to point out that shooting in RAW or not seems to have a lot to do with personal preference. Some photographers seem to love RAW and use it all the time, and others find JPG to be better. I don't think there's a "right" or "wrong" answer here - you should use whichever mode you're most comfortable with.

Wanting more information? You can check out two helpful things I've found (and from where I got most of the information above!):

• "Shooting in RAW" on I Heart Faces
• Pioneer Woman's posts on RAW. I'd recommend these because they chronicle her decision to shoot in RAW, and then to switch back to JPG. The first few posts on the search page seem the most relevant.

I hope this was mildly helpful - and anyone who has experience/knowledge about RAW, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Lippincott: Chevron

Today is the second installment in my series on logos by Lippincott. Today I'd actually like to highlight a logo that is sort of two logos. The Chevron logo was designed originally by Lippincott, but they also re-designed the logo more recently. I love that they are the force behind both logos. It's great that Chevron had enough confidence in their work to hire them for the re-design. Here are both the before and after logos:

My favorite thing about this set of logos is simply that Lippincott designed them both. Chevron could've decided they didn't like Lippincott's original logo and gone to another designer or firm to get a re-design, but they chose to stick with Lippincott, which I think is really cool. There are a few specific things I like about the logo though:

• The simplicity. It's not overly complicated, and like I read somewhere, it leaves you with just one idea ("chevron") as opposed to many concepts.
• The way the type and the image work together. They don't look like two separate entities, but really work as one logo.
• The subtlety of the redesign. I guess I agree that the logo could've used some updating, but I like that they kept the general feeling of the original logo and didn't go for an entirely different concept. The new logo, despite its prevalent gradient drop shadow stuff, definitely looks more 21st century and marks Chevron as a brand that is "now."
• The change in type color. The type still worked fine in black, but I think the choice of blue type only increases how well it works with the image.

What do you all think of this logo?

Friday Finds: Wonderfully Goofy

These photobooth prop glasses are neat. They'd be so fun for a party.

Lippincott: Introduction

Go check out Lippincott's site. So much wonderful logo design. I love that they've been around since 1943 and they're still going strong. I'd love to be an intern there one day. I'm starting a 3-part series talking about Lippincott. These posts will be interspersed with some other stuff in the next several days. As the first post, I wanted to give a little introduction to Lippincott, so you know what it is. The other two posts will be more specific looks at two Lippincott logos. The Viking logo from a few days ago was designed by them, and that's how I first found my way to their site, through seeing the Viking logo on Brand New.

Lippincott is a design firm, which basically means it's a company that includes the work of many designers. It's not just one designer out on their own, but lots working together in a company.

Lippincott has done some very prestigious projects. A bunch of their logos are ones that will be instantly recognizable to you! Here are a few (not the ones I'll be featuring in the series). You might notice that some of them are ones I've already blogged about, before I knew who designed them.

Read about this logo here.

Read about this logo here.

Read about this logo here.

Read about this logo here.

Read about this logo here.

Read about this logo here.

I was really amazed to find all the neat logos - ones I've seen frequently - that have all been designed by Lippincott! I hope you liked this little intro. to this really neat design firm. I'm looking forward to taking a look at some logos in detail soon!

Christa's Graduation Annoucement

Here's the second graduation announcement I designed this spring. It was such fun to work on a project with such fun photos of Christa, and seek to incorporate the bright, cheerful feeling of the photos and her personality.

I mainly used various shades of purple in the announcement, but some orange as well. The font is Comfortaa, a casual, modern sans serif font that I like. My favorite part of the announcement personally is probably the shapes. I like the big circle photo - I think that's one of the things that makes this announcement look so happy and fun.

What do you all think of this design project?

One Dozen Pillows

Maybe I'm in a very random mood. Or maybe I just like pillows. Or both. :) But today's One Dozen post is all about pillows! I'm featuring 12 neat ones... I'd love to know what you all think or if you have a favorite!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Viking Redesign

I saw this logo on Brand New, and I really liked it. Isn't it cool?

Designed by Lippincott.

Viking is an office supply company owned by Office Depot, and they just recently re-designed their brand identity. You can see the old one here, as well as more examples of the identity system.

Here's what I like about this logo:

- The modern typeface that is not so "trendy" it won't last.
- The recognizability of the wordmark. It's not just a common font that could be the logo for any company. It really is Viking's wordmark.
- The doodles. I love this creative touch to give the logo a fun feeling!
- How the doodles seem connected to the wordmark. They work together cohesively.

I also really like how this logo has been incorporated onto products. Here are a couple examples from the Brand New post.

What do you think of this logo? Do you like it or not like it? Why? I'd love to hear your opinions too. :)

Music

I thought I'd share some songs I've been enjoying lately with their Grooveshark links. 

Blessings | Laura Story 

There is Nothing | Laura Story

Holding My World | Kristian Stanfill

My Reward | Kristian Stanfill

Alive | Sovereign Grace Music

Tell the World | Hillsong United

Reign in Us | Starfield

Excellent Doormats

I never had thought that doormats could be so creative or such great examples of creative design. I heard about the online store Uncommon Goods recently, and I thought I'd feature a few of their super neat doormats and why I like them. There are some really ingenious ideas among these. If you go on Uncommon Goods, just FYI, you should look carefully because there are some inappropriate things around as well as some really neat things.

First is this home plate mat. I love baseball, so I thought this was such a great idea!

I like the typography on this design, and the black on white is eye-catching. I'm not so crazy about that particular swirl. I think it makes it look a little too nice and pretty for a baseball home plate. But that's just my opinion. I love the concept behind this design.

Another cool doormat I found is this one, made from scraps of flip flops.

I love the various colors in this, and it looks really durable, too. I think it's fun that it's "recycled" too. Definitely a selling point in today's environmentally aware culture.

This next one is one I like merely for the design of it, because I don't think the message on it is all that kind towards guests. But it is very creative.

Isn't that typography neat? It's not only a great font, but it's also an optical illusion. I love the idea of text that reads right side up and upside down, and it must have taken a lot of work and attention to pull it off so successfully.

One more... a neat take on a computer key! I really like this design and how creative it is.

The typography is good, and I love the way this was made so accurately. It really looks like an "enter" key on a computer keyboard.

I hope you've enjoyed this collection of neat design items found in a surprising category. :) Do you have a favorite one?

Friday Finds: Cool Mirror

I like how simple and modern this mirror from Etsy is, but also how it has a funky edge to it.

Find it HERE.

One Question

Reader participation time. :)

One of the reasons I like blogging is because it allows me to write about the things I like. But I also like blogging because it lets me share things with YOU, my blog readers. So I want to make sure the content is interesting to you.

And I need your help. If you'd be so kind, would you please answer this one question in the comments section?

Thanks so much! I'm looking forward to hearing your answers.

Summer Books

Summer is well on its way. The school year is quickly drawing to a close, the weather's getting warmer, and we've got a whole summer ahead of us that will go SO fast. It's hard to believe it's summer again. I'm excited for summer and all I'm doing. I want to get some reading done over the summer, and while I always tend to make a big book list and not get through it all, I still made a list this year. I thought I'd share some of the things I'd like to read.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Just started this. I'm not really into it so far so I can't tell what I'll think. I'm going to keep going until I figure out where the story's going.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
I've been wanting to read this for awhile! Hopefully I'll get around to it this summer.

The Chosen by Chaim Potok
Another one I've been wanting to get around to... hopefully it will happen. :)


On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Classic on writing and I want to read it. Since I happen to like writing a lot.

I also have two audiobooks that I'd like to listen to:

I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris
I almost don't believe I haven't read this yet. But I want to do it this summer, especially since I happen to have the audiobook.

Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
I got this as a free download during a special sale I heard about, and I just started it. It's quite good so far.

What things do you all want to read this summer?

Random Finds

I thought I'd just share a few things I've found around the internet lately... a little random collection.

These boots are weird, amazing, and yet overpriced. But I like them a lot so I thought I'd share them.

Buy here.

Another thing I've found lately is a song by Laura Story called Blessings. I really like the song - the words are excellent, and the simple melody is very pleasant. I found it through Ellie's Tumblr, and I've been listening to it and a few other songs by Laura Story on Grooveshark. So far I really like her music.

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

- Laura Story

I also recently found the Ruche has a bunch of new computer wallpapers with their spring collection. I put this one up on my desktop (I love it!) but there are lots of other great ones to be found here. Some are a bit strange, but others are really neat.

What do you think of these things? Or have you all found anything cool lately online?

Two More Quote Posters

Awhile ago I posted about a quote poster I made as a prize for my most recent giveaway, and today I wanted to share the other two prize posters with you, the ones I made for blog readers Mary and Stephen.

First is Mary's... she chose 1 Corinthians 10:31, which is such a wonderful verse! She gave me a bunch of colors she likes, and here's what I came up with.

I really like the way the colors turned out in this one. :) I used two different fonts and drew swirls at the top and bottom.

Stephen's poster features Isaiah 43:2-3a. He told me his favorite colors, too, and by using a border, I was able to incorporate a lot of different colors in the design.

I mixed a bold sans serif font with a typewriter font - both type styles that I like. :)

What do you all think of these quote posters? It was great to get to work on them for Mary and Stephen.

Megan's Graduation Announcement

I've had the great opportunity to work on two graduation announcements this spring, and one of them was for my friend Megan. I chose colors similar to the ones in the photos that she had taken, and it ended up having a simple, elegant feeling. Here's the finished product:

I hand-drew the swirl on the left side, and I used the font Existence (which has two versions - regular and unicase) for the text. What do you all think of this design? I'd love to know your opinions on it!

Did You Know Etsy Was This Cool?

I know I post things from Etsy with some frequency. I like Etsy a lot. But I got to thinking that not all of you might know about its neat features and how cool it is. So today I'll do a little Etsy review and tell you a bit about why I like it.

First I want to show you the logo:

Overall, I like this logo, but apart from the color, it seems pretty plain to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like the "Etsy" word is just a normal font, which is fine, but a little bit straightforward for a logo. The color makes the font look more interesting, though. I like the choice of that burnt orange color, because it really seems to fit with the vintage style of a lot of Etsy's products.

Etsy also has a very easy to use and helpful website. It looks nice, too.

Right on the front page when you go to Etsy, they show you a "treasury" or a collection of items someone else has made. Of course you have to look carefully, because not every single thing on Etsy is perfectly wholesome and clean, but frequently I've found some really neat things through the treasuries I've seen on the homepage.

Further down, they also show you some recommended items for you (I think this only works if you have an Etsy account). In the corner of each item, there's a little heart button that shows up if you roll over the item. Clicking this lets you add the item straight to your favorites on Etsy with just one click!

And the favorites is probably my favorite Etsy feature. I love keeping a collection of the items I like. Here's the favorites page.

There's a separate page for your favorite items and shops, and also a section for "suggested shops," shops Etsy thinks you'd like based on the other things you like.

These features are really neat and I enjoy using them on Etsy!

Friday Finds Double Issue: Cool Tape Dispensers

I'm back with a Friday Finds post - here are some cool tape dispensers for you to enjoy. This one from ModCloth is fun and modern.

Here's another one with a more retro feel. It's from Ruche.

A Little Break

Life is crazy and blogging is a bit much these days. I won't be gone long - just a week or so, and then I'll be back!

Anthropologie Designs

I just got a catalog in the mail from Anthropologie and it was fun to look through. Their stuff is pretty neat, and their graphic design is simple and fun. I thought I'd share some things I found on their website. I love the photos in all of these, the creativity, the typography, and just the feeling of summery vintage.

This photo is so creative and fun. Anthropologie uses the neatest props! I like all the shoes too.

More shoes. :) I love the type in the corner, though. It's a simple sans serif font, but it has a kind of rustic texture to it. I like that feeling. And white text on a photo is a neat idea.

I really like the numbers in this. If you click on them, it brings up the page with the product on it. That's a great practical technique, but it also looks great. Good font choice for the numbers, and I like how little and subtle they are.

What do you all think of these designs? And do you all have any places you like to go for design and photos you just love?

College Board Logo

I have a stack of college letters a good foot and a half high in my bedroom. So I see a lot of college-related advertising and graphic design, some of which is amazing and excellent, but some of which is not. And of the letters and other things that I don't think are well-designed, there seem to be two main pitfalls: 1) The design tries to be too professional and "boring" and does not appeal at all to young people, or 2) the design is too young and foolish looking and seems to overlook the fact that college is pretty serious business.

But there is one logo that avoids both of these pitfalls, and I wanted to highlight it today because I like it a lot. It's the College Board logo.

Now, I'm sure the graphic design of the College Board logo isn't perfect. There are things that seem a bit mediocre to me. But all in all, I think College Board has succeeded in their graphic design because of the balance they strike between professionalism and youthfulness. This logo demonstrates that. It looks pretty serious and professional on one hand, don't you think? The font is a strong, serif style that looks confident and certainly not childish. I'm not really sure what the acorn symbolizes, but it does seem to have a scholarly feeling to it. But at the same time, this logo uses turquoise, which seems to be quite a youthful color. That makes the logo seem fun and inviting without appearing foolish. The style of the acorn drawing has a slight doodle feeling to it as well, which makes it seem "younger." But at the same time, it is a clearly executed shape and doesn't look at all messy.

And it's not just the logo itself that has this wonderful balance. The way the whole identity system is applied seems to carry through the balance as well. Take a look at this logo specifically for the SAT. (Sorry it's so small - couldn't find a bigger one.)

It has a similar feeling, don't you think? The clear, confident font with a little bit of fun and youthfulness to it. I like how the design of the official SAT study guide mirrors this concept as well:

It looks official, like something that would have valuable and important information, but at the same time, the graphics look happy. The style of the cover is modern and fun, and looks like something a teen would go for. As a side note, I also like all the white text on the cover. :)

What do you all think of this logo and the rest of the graphics for College Board?

Friday Finds: Book Art

This book wall sculpture is so neat! I really like it. I would make one, but I think I'd have a hard time finding books that I like and yet wouldn't mind cutting up. :) Etsy has so many neat finds.

A Quote Poster

While ago, I had a giveaway for my 300th post. One of the winners was Sarah, and she had me design a quote poster for her! She requested a quote from Corrie ten Boom (which I love), and she wanted me to use orange, white, and a little lime green in the poster.

Here's what I came up with...

I used two different fonts, and also some hand-drawn swirly things. I watermarked the poster with my business name - since it's Sarah's special poster, I wanted to make sure no one else would download it. I'd love your thoughts on this poster though! What do you all think of it?