Leo Loves Design

HOODIE JACKET ILLUSTRATION

2011-08-12T04:13:00.000-07:00

The Stellenbosch BEd 4th students contacted me to create an illustration for their hoodie tops. After enquiring what the most memorable part of their time at Stellies had been, they all mentioned studying under the trees in the heat of summer. So we incorporated a book, trees and a little deconstructed Ivy League inspired imagery.

A few of the options we considered...

And the final choice....

I can’t wait to pass a student wearing one of these tops soon.

www.leolovesdesign.co.za

Animated Web Banner

2011-08-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

My very first design job at IOL required that we create animated banners for their website. I’d almost forgotten how much I enjoyed these. I had the opportunity to move away from print design and work on an animated banner for Accountant Finder, a handy directory listing allowing you to find accountants in your area.

View the ad here

Thanks to Accountant Finder!

www.accountantfinder.co.za

www.leolovesdesign.co.za

VIDEO AGENT LOGO DEVELOPMENT

2011-08-08T02:58:00.000-07:00

Video Agent approached me to develop their company logo. They sum up their business better than I ever could so here’s what they have to say:

Video Agent makes attention-grabbing, short web videos of your product or service.
Our Videos help you quickly connect with and explain your value proposition to potential clients; reach more people via the video networks; increase your website conversion rates and generate more leads for your business.
Using the power and emotion of cinema we show off your amazingness – using the reach and persistence of the Internet we distribute this video to bring you more qualified buyers.

After exploring as many options as possible, we all agreed on the spiraled V and A – creating an icon synonymous with the uploading sign displayed whilst waiting for a file to upload.

Thank you to Video Agent!
www.videoagent.net

leolovesdesign.co.za

MAGAZINE ADVERT DESIGN

2011-08-07T05:58:00.001-07:00

I think it’s high time I added some of my more recent work, so without further delay:
The wonderfully inspiring and motivating Lluwellyn from SA Business Hub required a magazine advert designed. With a tight deadline and a busy schedule I found myself suddenly hit by inspiration in the early hours of the morning...with moments to spare before the actual print deadline.

The magazine advert

Screen capture of the advert as displayed on Innov8t’s online magazine

Thanks Lluwellyn!
www.sabusinesshub.co.za

leolovesdesign.co.za

File for Safe Keeping

2010-09-26T05:11:00.000-07:00

What's the most important piece of advice I'd give to my clients? There are so many great ones

- Never settle for less than what you want. Your designer can't tell if you're not happy with the design unless you tell us. Even if it takes a week longer to achieve the perfect result. Rather delay a launch than have a less than perfect image.

- Take the time to understand the processes. Know what it is that you require from your designer and printer before you attempt to brief them. More often than not mistakes are caused by incomplete briefs. If you don't know, ask until you do understand and can visualise the completed project.

- Always protect your company's identity. Take every opportunity to further your brand's excellence. Always make sure that you follow your corporate identity. The correct font in the correct colour at the correct resolution. If your colour is royal blue, make sure that the printed colour is royal blue...not sky blue, darkish blueish blue, in between blue colour. Granted, with the various printing processes it's hard to get the colours spot on every single time. Spot on is always first prize. But 'as close as possible' is sometimes necessary.

Which brings me to the most important piece of advice - keep your files safe. Know the difference between your files. What am I on about? Well. You've commissioned a corporate identity. The full tooty. Logo, business card, letterhead, folder as well as a brochure! You've splashed out! The designs have been approved and your designer has emailed you the final versions of your artwork. They've probably sent you PDF's and JPEGS and GIFS and PNG's....probably more file types than you expected! And then there's the original artwork that you can't open because you don't have the design software installed on your computer. How do you know which file is for what purpose?

PDF'S: I call these the holy files. Hold onto them for dear life. If you own a safe - these are the files you want to burn and store in that safe! PDF is an acronym for Portable Document Format. Let's skip the technical stuff (maybe because I'm not sure I could explain it all!) and move onto the why and what for. PDF's are created from the original vector design files. They are
• the most convenient type of file for exchanging artwork because they are vector based files that retain a high quality for printing,
• able to be opened by a number of different design software programs, but are
• compressed to a convenient file size.

Ergo, PDF's are for printing. If your printer or new designer ever ask you for a logo, you should send these PDF's as they can then work with the highest quality from the get go. Whenever you're requested to send a logo for something to be printed, send the PDF.
As always, life is not always that straight forward. PDF's are not limited to only vector files. So some of your files might be JPEG's that have been saved as PDF's to save space...What I can tell you, is that PDF's are still the better option to send to anyone.

JPEG's: These are the files you'd most commonly use in-house. JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group....(which I just Googled because I didn't know) What I do know is that JPEG's or JPG's are flattened files. A JPEG is a standardised image compression mechanism. JPEG is designed for compressing either full-colour or grey-scale digital images of "natural" (real-world) scenes.
It works well on photographs, naturalistic artwork, and similar material; not so well on lettering, simple cartoons, or black-and-white line drawings (files come out very large). The awesome thing about JPEG's is that the degree of compression can be adjusted. The greater the compression the lower the quality of the file and the smaller the file. Therefore it's easy to judge the quality of the image by checking the file size....mostly. When you need to send a photographic image, you'll be sending a JPEG more often than not.
Imagine for a second that your logo was 3 overlapping red, pink and blue circles on a white background. When your logo is flattened/compressed as a JPEG there would no longer be 3 overlapping circles. It would be one flat file showing one image of these overlapping circles. Because the file no longer consists of separate components, the file is smaller due to compressing/flattening. This compressing reduces not only the size of the file, but the quality of the file too. Not great for logos.
When your designer asks for your logo, try not to send the jpeg. They'll be limited by the flatness and wouldn't have as much room to work within. Imagine that your flattened tri circle logo appears with a white background. If you only ever wanted the background to be white - no real problem as long as the file is as large as the medium you need it for. However, if you wanted to overlay your tri circles onto a yellow background, you'd be stuck with a logo in a white block on a yellow background. Sure, your designer is smart enough to know how to solve this problem but it'll take them time to fix the problem. Time equals money which you'll receive a bill for.
So what do you use the JPEG logo for? Online files - logos for your web designer, uploading your logo online, electronic letterheads that will only be emailed, electronic files that will only ever be viewed on a screen. Internal files that don't need to be the best quality....though that statement in itself should dissuade you from even considering it. Remember, your brand should always be the very best quality!

GIF's: GIF's are most commonly used online. GIF stands for Graphic Interchange File (I actually do remember this one!). Images can also be saved as GIF's though they are lower resolution. Because they're lower resolution, they are smaller in size which is perfect for websites which need to display quickly. Generally speaking, the fewer colours used in the image, the better the GIF would work. You could then capitalise on the small file size. I find that I usually create email signatures as GIF's.

PNG's: PNG stands for Portable Network Graphic. PNG is superior to GIF in that it has better compression and supports millions of colours. Whenever I want to create a small, flat file with a transparent background I save them as PNG's. Remember that hypothetical tri circle logo....this would be a solution should you want to overlay it onto that yellow background. However, I would only ever use them for electronic and online files.

Quite a mouthful? Yes, indeed....(another excuse to find a knowledgeable designer to help guide you through the uses) so in parting, I can tell you that a JPEG, GIF and PNG can easily be created from a PDF. A PDF and vector file can be created from the others but not quite as easily. Try to always use and send the PDF unless you are sending a photographic image or have specifically been requested to send that file type.

Don't try this at home...

2010-06-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

Let's clear this up once and for all. There are many many things that I believe should be tried at home as personal DIY projects. And there are many many reasons why Logo Design and Graphic Design is not one of them...

I can't count the number of times I've been asked to use a poorly designed logo that was created in Word or PowerPoint and create a business card, brochure, website from it...Or have a DIY business card printed....Granted I could make a living out of the number of PowerPoint 'logos' and 'business cards' I've had to fix in a last resort to supply a print ready file to the printers.

But to save you time and the inevitable, here are a list of reasons why not to attempt your own logo or business card using PowerPoint, Word or less than basic Photoshop skills:

72 dpi

1. The image will need to be 300dpi - dots per inch. PowerPoint is primarily a presentation program which is viewed on screen at 72dpi. Word is a (oddly enough) word processing program that focusing on formatting words and letters. So think about it, why would you use a word processing program and a presentation program to create a visual identity? Don't do it.

2. Your image needs to be in CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) to be printed at a Litho (Lithographic) printers. Should you need 500 cards or more, Litho is more cost effective and is always the more accurate printing process when compared to instant Digital Printing. When printing on paper, you should stick to CMYK or Spot Colours. Screens are viewed as RGB (Red, Green, Blue). Ergo - a presentation is viewed on a screen and therefore your presentation program (PowerPoint) will use RGB. Word focuses on documents containing many many words...which are usually in black and white...no real concern for images or their colours...RGB. Word and PowerPoint work in RGB. Don't do it.

3. Unless your document has a generous amount of white space all around the edges, your document will need BLEED. After your business card is printed it will need to be cut....by a guillotine....that often doesn't cut completely straight. Imagine trying to cut a stack of 20 sheets with a pair of scissors - your cut pages will not be the same size. Guillotines are a million times better than scissors and reduce the error to a micromillimetres. Which might not seem like much, but when you were wanting a slick, elegant black business card you do not want white outlines to your cards. Word and PowerPoint don't give you the option of bleed. You could think out of the box and fake it but even after 10 years of experience - I don't have that kind of patience.

4. Just because you own a copy of Photoshop does not mean that you have 4 years of training and 10 years of experience in the ins and outs of the programs capabilities. Did you create a document at 300 dpi? Did you include at least 3mm of bleed? Will your text print as crisply as possible when you flatten and save it as a Jpeg? Don't do it.

5. And considering all of the above and quite a few secrets that are only ever learned through trial and error, you'd still like your logo or business card to be well designed with a professional look.

You could settle for a business card that looks like this

So what do you do? Invest in professional design programs at around R10k a pop, a basic 3 month course to learn to use the programs and wait for your printer to reject the design because they didn't cover pre press tricks and tips in your course.

Or you could hire an experienced designer who will put energy, focus, creativity and experience into designing a beautiful and appropriate logo, business card, flyer or brochure using the array of professional design programs at her disposal...and that are accepted by ALL printers around the world.

Save yourself time and money and focus on what you do best - running your business and selling your product.

And be proud to own a logo like this one for Alison Channing Architect

http://www.leolovesdesign.co.za

Design advice for your start up company and new business...

2010-06-23T04:17:00.000-07:00

START UP COMPANIES AND NEW BUSINESSES.

So you have a BRILLIANT idea that just HAS to be done....I know that feeling very well. You've bounced the idea off of everyone you know and trust and they all agree that you have a winner? You've written your business plan and it still seems viable even after your marketing projections? You've secured the funding or have funded the idea yourself (it's that good an idea!)? Now what do you do?

WELL, LET'S START WITH A LOGO...

You're product needs a brand. Whether you're baking the best darned brownies Nigella will ever dream of, or built the next great social marketing site that will surpass Facebo..you know who; your product will need a brand. A visual representation of all that your company and product stand for and everything they hope to achieve. An instantly recognisable symbol emblazoned on every possible medium. Don't stop at just your business card. There's the letterhead, the company shirt, the car, the flyer, the back of the envelope, the website, brochure, billboard, aeroplane, cellular network, space travel...perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself.

Hire a professional designer who knows how to take your brief, understand your brief and interpret your brief correctly. A professional designer with tertiary education and years of experience in honing a fitting logo. A designer who has invested time and money on industry standard software that is accepted by all print houses. And lastly, a designer who is as excited about your product as you are.

AND THROW IN A BUSINESS CARD...

Using that logo as inspiration the same designer can create a unique and customised business card design for you. A business card is usually the first physical introduction to a company's corporate identity and brand. You want to be proud of that design. You also want to be able to take the artwork for the card and send it to any printer without any mishaps.

WE'RE GOING TO NEED A WEBSITE...

In this day and age can you afford not to be 'googled'? Websites are the easiest way to distribute your company's information too a large group of potential clients. Having a web presence exposes your company's services to anyone with internet access...and in this day and age that includes almost everone - mobile phones, internet cafes, work and ADSL at home. And the website is usually the first visual introduction to a company's identity. It lends credibility to your business and allows you a cost effective opportunity to update and share information about your company. If you don't already have an email address, the website will give you an opportunity to grab a few professional email addresses linked to your company (info@yourcompany.co.za)

And that's really what you need to get started. You can add on a letterhead, perhaps a flyer...

I really really want to win a pair of Converses...

2010-04-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

because my old trustworthys are ...well....old and too trustworthy. Nothing like breaking in a new pair of Converses.....and I'm itching to deconstruct a pair!!!

So, the fabulous Kim Gray and Converse are giving away a pair of Blondie or Clash Converse sneakers - both so totally cool!!! And to enter I needed to blog about it.

See the awesomeness, but don't you dare enter (coz I can't stand any more competition) here..... http://www.kimgray.co.za/2010/04/12/last-chance-to-win-converse/

Cape Town Recruitment

2010-04-14T00:24:00.001-07:00

A new logo and business card for Cape Town Recruitment. One of the members used to fly Red Arrows and the team was really inspired by the idea of aerobatics. Bearing this in mind, I created a logo that was inspired by the smoke trails of these aerobatic jets and their formations.

The logo on a white background and dark blue background:

The business card - front and back:

Something to be proud of!!!

2010-04-12T03:30:00.001-07:00

I'm so stoked. Can't get over being in the top 5 when searching for 'freelance designer cape town' or 'freelance design cape town' or better yet 'freelance graphic design' and specify South Africa!!

Whoo hooo

This got me thinking about the way I do what I do...

2010-04-12T02:54:00.000-07:00

http://markmaunder.com/2010/does-your-startup-pass-the-sleep-test/

...and since reading it a little idea has been revolving in the back of my head. How to earn revenue whilst I sleep like a baby. The first thought was to sell themes that can be edited by the client....but that goes against every designer instinct to create unique and tailored designs for the client. So how to create that revenue without having to do very much....which is what lead to the swirling thought that's still trying to clarify itself....creating websites that a paid for on an ongoing monthly basis rather than one singular lump sum....

I'll get back to this once the mist clears...

And the official 'Duck Billed Platypus' Award goes to....

2010-03-19T01:48:00.000-07:00

"Please quote on 100 embossed business cards"!!

......I kid you not! I actually had this request yesterday! I took a deep breath, remembered that not everyone is familiar with print processes and typed a lengthy polite reply. Herewith, the not so polite reply

1. shall we start with the fact that EXCEL is NOT print ready artwork and instantly reflects the ignorance of request

2. wanting to emboss fine lettering is not impossible.....but it's pretty damned hard...and will piss your printer off so try to avoid it as much as possible

3. DO NOT have the audacity to assume that you, without training, without an ounce of design or creative flair, could be so bold as to 'design' your own business card....with embossing

4. 100 embossed business cards would probably cost the same amount of money and time as embossing 1000 business cards....either you have one big fat budget to waste....or,(refer to point 1.) perhaps you are truly ignorant to design and print processes.

A bit of a rant? Yes.

Deserved so though. The whipped cream on top of this ridiculous request is that the enquirer didn't even have the respect/know how to blind copy the 5 people he blatantly sent the request to....

The cherry on top of the whipped cream was that no acknowledgement of my insightful, helpful, six paragraph long reply was given. Perhaps one of the other 5 contenders was blessed with a 'thank you'.

And yet another day in the life of a freelancer complete....thank heavens once again for my loyal and wonderful existing clients. Everyday I appreciate you more and more. I can truly say that I enjoy working with each of you every day.

Even more recent work

2010-02-10T05:02:00.000-08:00

The ever lovely Spa Bella. Here's what I can tell you about freelance clients: as nice as it is to have a new client knock on your day everyday, as exciting as it is to have a query in your inbox from a prospective new client everyday, as validating as it is to know that your basic marketing does work hence all the enquiries.....the majority of my business comes from repeat business from existing clients. And God Bless them in quiet times.....

Quiet times for me didn't necessarily mean quiet times for my clients - Spa Bella have just secured a contract for Vodacom. So a pricelist needed to be designed with fewer options. But before this could happen, we realised that perhaps a logo should finally be developed. (We all know the conversation - 'I'm happy with my logo just being in this Times New Roman Italics') So I created a quick fix, but possibly permanent logo. The initial ideas ......

Which resulted in the last logo being chosen - simple but effective......

Which meant I could finally get around to creating a business card. I like to give my clients added value. And since Spa Bella had initially requested a website, I offered them a free set of business cards to help start their business. Costs me hardly anything and I get too ensure that her business cards are of great quality and design.....plus repeat business when additional staff need their own cards!

Back to Vodacom and their needs....turned out that the Vodacom deal meant that both our lives were now dictated to by the cell phone giant....mmmm.....a pricelist was put together which....interestingly enough, was redesigned by Vodacom to match their own needs!

And they also needed a pull up banner...not my favourite project that's for sure...but nose to the grindstone... and I was pretty happy with this result....

Recent Work

2010-02-10T04:53:00.001-08:00

Here's one that has been ongoing for a couple of months now. It's quite interesting to revisit a project after not paying it any attention for a few weeks. I'm starting to believe that, if only time and deadlines actually allowed for it, this might just be the best way to ascertain whether a design works or not. Case in point - Grand Protection Services. This project kicked off last year. I drew up a few sample logos and the ones that most appealed to both the client and myself were these below....

Granted, there was something about the idea...but after opening up again after 3 months....I realised that the answer was a definite NO! In fact, it was a 'what was I thinking'. 'Oh my hat!' followed shortly after.....

Which led to this....

Which made me MUCH MUCH happier. And the client too. So here's where we are 3 months down the line. There's still a website to follow....as well as a company profile. Mmm, perhaps in another 3 months this one will be done and dusted he he he....

PS - as terrible as it sounds to add this disclaimer, the delays do not lie on my side. I'm still waiting for the client to submit content for everything. I love him all the same lol

My 2010 New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-11T01:43:00.000-08:00

Well, let's not call them resolutions....we all know what happens to New Year's Resolutions though I have to say I was fairly good these past two years.
2008: quit drinking sparkling wine - check.
2009: quit eating animals - check...sorta...well I lasted until October so I think I deserve half a brownie point for that

2010? No New Year's resolutions this year. Just goals...with defined deadlines. The list goes as follows

1. Finally get around to producing some business cards for Leo Loves Design! It's a bit wrong when you design business cards for clients all day long but don't have any for yourself. And this will count as a double check because business cards have been part on the marketing plan list since day dot.....

2. Finalise website - I've changed the design thrice already and feel that it's time to choose a design and stick with that design. Added incentive? Mailing everyone to let them know that my final website is up and running....finally.

3. Make lunch and eat lunch.....this one's an easy one coz I'm off to do that right now!

December was not just spent on the beach!

2010-01-11T01:28:00.000-08:00

So contrary to my implied lazy lifestyle - I actually do work for a living. In fact, I worked throughout December to complete a few projects.

ManiMed - a truly lovely client who specialises in Medical Supplies to the South African medical industry required a website that would be up and running come 1st January 2010. Mission accomplished.

www.manimed.co.za

Integrated BioWorks - one of my favourite clients albeit I don't understand a word of the content. I was requested to design a logo, a Einstein-ish caricature, and layout of the data sheets for three products.

Ahhhh, and now for the beach!

Can you still be vegetarian if you eat Wacky Wednesday every week

2009-11-25T07:49:00.000-08:00

So, this year I gave up eating meat. I still eat fish and seafood. But no meat. And I was doing pretty well until last month when suddenly the cravings for a solid 100% beef burger started to drive me crazy. So...um...I caved and succumbed to the ultimate beef burger. KFC? I could hold off. McDonalds? No problem. Spur? Easy peasy. Steers Wacky Wednesday special - two glorious 100% beef burgers for the price of one? Mmmm

So I suppose the question 'can you still be vegetarian if you eat Wacky Wednesday every week? Answer: No, probably not! But dang, this burger, both these burgers are worth it.

Image: www.steers.co.za

If you can't stand the heat...

2009-11-24T22:22:00.000-08:00

...get out of the kitchen?

Great saying, but not really possible when the heat isn't limited to the kitchen. It turns out that I may not be fully ready for summer after all. Monday and Tuesday were both incredibly warm days, and I refused to stay down. Running around town to meetings, working up a storm from a non air conditioned home desk meant that I ended up passed out on the bed before 5pm yesterday. Exhausted and drained. Probably my own fault for not sticking to the 2 litres of water a day advice. The good news is that I awoke at 5am sharp this morning to a much more refreshing day (never thought I'd see the day when I'd describe cloud cover as refreshing!) and was rearing to go. Now, if only my clients were at their offices at 5am....

What to do when its 29º?

2009-11-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

Go to the beach of course. Woke up to the most beautiful day - warm wind wafting through the house...I knew it would get uncomfortable very quickly. So I packed a beach bag and cheapo umbrella (the only one left in the shops at the end of last summer!) and headed to the beach. Was going to make it all the way to Fishhoek but was distracted by the idea of all the sexy surfers at Muizenberg. Architecture also swayed me - I love the old retro buildings in and around Muizenberg, St James and Kalk Bay. Conjures up memories from when I was a kid...and thankfully quite a few of the old buildings are still standing. I wonder how long for though, seeing as developers are swarming in to 'save' these buildings by putting up huge sheets of glass and modern facades. It's a pity. All in all, there's no better city to play tourist in your own town in than Cape Town.

Could I have done this if I worked 9-5 at an office job? No way....at least not without a lot of lying and cheating and crying and pleading and extreme guilt on Monday morning. And that, my friends, is just another reason why being a freelance graphic designer in Cape Town is the bees knees!!!

The freelance life can get a little lonely

2009-11-19T10:53:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you find yourself wishing you had office colleagues - that annoying yet comforting ambient sound that used to disrupt any serious 'zoning' attempts. There's plenty that one can do to distract oneself - make a cuppa tea, fix lunch, put on the telly....Judges Judy & Mathis are dangerous resorts though, call a friend. All things that reinforce the procrastination on the latest project you should be working on.

And now I have a new one. Online dating. I got so bored today I actually signed up for not 1, not 2, but 3 online dating sites. Granted, 2 & 3 were only a result of learning that 1 was not a free service. Not a simple process either I have to add. Find cute, accessible, sexy photo of oneself....mmmm, none available so will need to whip out handy iPhone and organise a home photo shoot. And this was probably the hardest part of the entire experience. Eventually, after perching on the couch arm facing a mirror to check the preview on the iPhone I am proud to say that I managed to take a half decent, half sexy, boobs out, hair tossled, sunnies on indoors to maintain anonymity photograph. Minimal photoshoppping needed. Just a little colour added to the lips.

And then I proceeded to regurgitate the most inanely cliched attributes which I was prompted to input in an attempt to hook a man.

A complete waste of time? Definitely! But the unexpected reply to my ad within 5 minutes of posting (I'll give the credit to the major boobage photo and not my witty intelligent comments) was a HUGE boost to my bored ego....and the second reply, and the third reply....pity none of them had any reciprocating pics :(

Verdict after the first day? I still prefer meeting my guys the good old fashioned way - can I buy you a drink?

When your clients are younger than you!

2009-11-18T03:12:00.000-08:00

These were a great group of guys who needed a new brochure for their company. I had loads of fun with them. An A3 folded to A4 brochure. What was quite different for me is that they had very definite ideas about what they required and so a large part of the project was me actioning their requests. At least I know that they're happy with the end result.

My only problem is that they work so hard I couldn't find a way to make friends with them to absorb all the genius...

The company I (thought I) always wanted to design for

2009-11-18T03:06:00.000-08:00

An interesting project. My housemate works for the the client and I'd always been more than eager to show them what I can do. So I eventually got my chance. Stress, tension, apprehension, all of those endearing emotions which drive you to nicotine and the initial feedback was actually positive. Whoo hoo...but then the brief changed. And the design needed to change to fit the new brief and eventually the original designer was put back on the job. A little bit of nastiness? I cannot believe what he submitted...I wasn't going to add this work to my portfolio. But after seeing the final artwork, I couldn't resist a not so subtle pat on my back.

New Corporate Identity

2009-10-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

I've just finished a new corporate identity for a tour operator - Oemies Tours. It was a nice change learning about the Arabic alphabet and how words are constructed. Took me a while to get the hang of reading right to left. So the logo is based on the word Oemie which means Mother. I surrounded the Arabic 'mother' with concentric circles in varying colours to symbolise the diversity in Cape Town. As well chose earthy African colours. I learned that the deep green is an important colour in Islamic tradition and so this was incorporate. All in all a logo, business card, brochure and banner were produced.

Isibindi

2009-10-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

A Germany based non profit organisation focussing on kids needed a new logo and roll up banner for an upcoming event. I focussed on Africa as these are the kids they are committed to helping and on a beautiful warm sunny yellow that would represent the african sun....

2009-10-06T03:46:00.000-07:00

Logo for Megy's Beauty Clinic - a boutique beauty salon situated in the heart of upper Cape Town with exquisite views of Table Mountain.

Flyer

and website for Megy's Beauty Clinic

Ibo Silver

2009-10-06T03:43:00.001-07:00

And then just after the flyers had been printed they asked if I could create a poster which would be used as a backdrop to a silversmith who had been especially flown down from Mozambique to show the process of creating the beautifully intricate pieces of silver jewellery.

Another post...finally

2009-10-06T03:38:00.000-07:00

How is it that someone who reads blogs religiously can't seem to update their own blog religiously? Here's some of what I've been up to lately.

Ibo Island and Mozambique Travel - awesome company who organise tours and trips to Mozambique. These flyers were done fairly quickly as I didn't have much time to make their deadline. Beautiful, beautiful images which were quite distracting really!

SolarTech brochure

2009-07-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

SolarTech - solar powered geysers. By far one of my favourite projects. Not least of all because their company belief and goal is to provide an environmentally responsible product. A company with a conscience.

They already had a strong brand and the only change to this that I made was to convince them to steer away from the sickly 100% yellow and add a tinge of magenta to create a warmer richer deeper yellow. Essentially I echoed the cog and circular shapes from the logo and ran the text in around those shapes. It was good to be able to use most of my ideas as the brochure was 620 x 207 Z-folded to A4. Which gave me three independent yet symbiotic and flowing A4 panels on each side. I look forward to working with this client again. Strong brand, great environmentally aware product and an awesome client who knew what he wanted.

Cape Sightseeing

2009-07-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

Beautiful couple who own a sightseeing company. Again, the most frustrating part of the project was avoiding getting distracted into planning a sightseeing trip. Quite a few web images used which was disappointing but by the client's insistence. We did agree though that seeing as their job requires taking the tours everyday....and seeing as they have an awesome camera....they should start documenting their tours!

I really did enjoy working on this project. I focussed on keeping the background as simple as possible to show off the incredible views. They were very keen on incorporating the tourist theme so pictures were made to look like postcards and travel tags were added to the prices. Their brand colours were based on an African sunset (the best kind) and so using yellow, orange and red were imperative to echo their brand. Very friendly colours.

Rouge Clothing Design

2009-07-12T04:08:00.000-07:00

A pretty simple and obvious design. The client already had an idea of what she wanted. This idea was so strong and obvious that I stuck to the text style and colour and just tried to add elements that would help make the connection to clothing designer.

We've yet to print the business cards. I'd like to see either a spot UV over the word 'rouge' or embossing the word...but I've never made peace with the reverse side of embossing. Definitely printed on an off white, creamy undertoned paper.

Own Property in Mauritius

2009-07-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

Design for a flyer drop for a, for the time being, impossible dream. Stock images galore which I wasn't too happy about but a very relaxing and enjoyable process.

Youth End Poverty

2009-07-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

The name says it all. A non profit organisation run concurrently in Scotland and Cape Town which encourages young people to make a difference through education and self knowledge that will ultimately end poverty. Knowing that it was run by young people for young people I tended towards something unusual. A little graffiti, why not tilt every, and sticking to only two colours to make printing a more cost effective exercise. Again, I was happy with the idea.

However, I'm quite please to say, despite approving of the idea they decided to have the young participants create their own identity which is probably the most important teaching that they encourage - Create Your Own Identity.

The Villa

2009-07-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

A beautiful property in Constantia, again, which was temporarily on the market needed an 'above average' real estate flyer. I can honestly say that I am happier than ever that the house was not sold (not due to the design of the flyer! the owner changed his mind) and has become a wonderful home with an awe inspiring view. Perfect for early morning breakfasts as well as any time of day cocktails.

Nova Constantia Boutique Hotel

2009-07-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

A luxury boutique hotel in the heart of Constantia. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the couple who own and manage this new boutique hotel. We designed a full range of corporate stationery for Nova Constantia including business cards, letterheads, envelopes and a brochure in both English and Czech.

The brochure had a doubly luxurious finishing of matt lamination and gold foiling which definitely upped the exclusive opulence factor.

Itshoba Investment

2009-07-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

Itshoba decided to expand into an investment and financing company and required a completely different brand but still using the same name. This was the option we finally settled for. Bright colours in strong power, reminiscent of african sunset, colours. The 'i' morphed nicely into an archway was intended to depict a gateway to more financial options. And I echoed the 'gateway' by clipping a duplicate hole from the 'o's on the flip side of the card. I was very happy with the result. Fresh and accessible.

And now it's 2009

2009-07-08T10:18:00.001-07:00

After a long silence I'm back. Here's what I've decided to use as my visual identity. I think the fresh bright colours are a nice juxtaposition against the illustrated background of natural wood....why the keyhole? I sometimes think that the perfect design is very similar to finding the right key to unlocking and opening the door to the company or products visual communication. And I've just realised how apt it is that the keyhole is placed on a wooden (door?) background.

I didn't want to be stuck with one colour forever and so thought a combination of brights, which look really great together, was the answer. A nice little surprise when, as often one assumes only one colour way for a company identity, a client is presented with a choice...and can pick the one they most associate themselves with. Ahhh, mmmm, should I be reading into their colour choices.....

Dear Autumn...

2008-03-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

I thought this was such a lovely whimsical theme for the party. But again, too little time to really perfect a great design. So I decided to keep the basic layout and theme of the previous flyer/ticket but replace the party theme with an autumnal falling leaves image. As well as change the colours - which I thought could be a nice way of retaining any branding we may have achieved with the half moon/ fan pattern in the background.

SA HiGlo Promotions Bus Card

2008-03-17T03:16:00.001-07:00

And the client chose this one to be turned into a business card.

SA HiGlo Promotions

2008-03-17T03:01:00.000-07:00

SA HiGlo, and events management and promotions company, needed a corporate identity, I was feeling a little over zealous this day so many options were presented.

2008-03-17T02:50:00.000-07:00

Ah, Rozario. Free reign to design a complimentary VIP ticket for USB (a club that I wasn't familiar with and which didn't have a logo) ...in 1 hour. So version one....

And the final version which I think was a tad cluttered but Rozario seemed happy with it.

Peroni Armani promotion

2008-02-22T08:59:00.001-08:00

A Peroni / Armani promotion. Initially I wanted to keep the 4 bottle images of peroni to better relay the message. But the brand did not allow for the bottles to be displayed in this manner so the Armani bottle was used on it's own.

2008-02-22T08:31:00.000-08:00

Strange project as it had to be done in half an afternoon. Flyer and VIP ticket for a pool party sponsored by Miller Genuine Draft. Ended up having to thieve from the net to get it done in time. (I'm sure the client has the money to counter sue he he he) Strangest feeling typing in a search for sexy black model in bikini - clients specific request he he.

More SAB promotion branding

2008-02-22T08:19:00.000-08:00

Quite a bit of SAB work that I do. So here's the latest Brutal Fruit poster for a promotion. These go hand in hand with entry cards. Front and back show here....

UCT Rag Poster

2008-02-22T08:01:00.001-08:00

So I've just had a little fun with this poster. Brief was as the text states: UCT rag res students drink to build the tallest tower of cans. And the poster would go up around campus and in the res'. A play on the Extreme makeover home edition would turn it into Extreme makeover bar edition - tilted the image to imply cans tumbling over in an attempt to grow the tower...or being a little boozed - added some paint sploshes to symbolise the makeover diy aspect, or maybe the puke spewed in the attempt to collect more cans he he he pretty gross. Non brand specific....
.... I've just heard that I need to incorporate the Miller Genuine Draft branding so it's been a total redesign. But i had so much fun doing it that I'm showing it off anyways!

And this was the eventual poster. The background is generic Miller Genuine Draft branding. I was happy to keep some of the elements of the original poster so overall a good project.

Roxanne

2008-02-20T23:58:00.000-08:00

Roxanne has an awesome job - sound designer!! how rad. She'd recently worked on a sand stop animation film which is where the beautiful tree is from. She had an image that she liked and we designed something similar-ish for her dvd cover....

and the dvd labels...

FMC

2008-02-20T23:50:00.000-08:00

Another project that unfortunately was never resolved. Interesting company who offered a work queue streamlining service. They were quite young but wanted a corporate professional look. I chose to use legs to symbolise foot flow (I figured a queue is ot necessarily a bad thing as it means foot in door demand) and the feet looked like they were walking not standing still. Went for orange, though green was my eventual push, as it symbolised movement, energy, not red for stop nor green for go. perhaps green would have been an easier sell he he he

Alkafee

2008-02-20T23:49:00.000-08:00

A proposed logo for a travel assistance company who focussed on settling newcomers to cape town. Unfortunately we never got the chance to finalise a logo.

2008-02-20T23:46:00.000-08:00

More shopfront branding. The client was adamant that we use a yellow background with red and blue. I admit that the language barrier prevented a discussion about the business but I rather liked the simple flowing lines and primary colours....

and onto a yellow background it went!

2008-02-20T23:42:00.000-08:00

Charming gentleman who was trying to emphasise the production part of his company and not focus so much on the Dj'ing. These were the rough options I initially presented when the brief was for the DJ busines cards. I liked the colours and the retro curves of te turntable....

but he felt we should focus more on the production side and we decided on spotlights. I'm not sure that the spotlight images make it any clearer that they focus on production. But I still like the colours....

D & M

2008-02-20T23:38:00.000-08:00

Another couple (D & M stood for Dianne and Mel) wanting an identity for their new business - a biltong store! They were pretty specific about the shape of the logo as they had limitations for the signage. These are the options I gave them...

And this is the logo they are using. I quite like the colours. Nice and retro...just like biltong...

Itshoba Cleaning & Staffing Projects

2008-02-20T06:47:00.000-08:00

A lovely couple who needed an identity for their new business. The idea was for the letter 'i' to symbolise a figure helping or cleaning. They required a logo....

....business card....

...letterhead....

I'm looking forward to having fun with the next stage of their branding which includes admin material and promotional items.

Plumtree letterhead

2008-02-20T06:32:00.000-08:00

And this is the letterhead though it'a not often that it would be used in the business

Plumtree Cottage

2008-02-18T23:39:00.000-08:00

A lovely little cottage owned by Prue who needed just a simple business card that showed off her cottage to the best of it cottagey-ness. They were accompanied by christmas cards with the same image.

Rosemary's lovely dogs

2007-12-08T02:50:00.000-08:00

So after months of reading other blog, especially jezzeblog and skinnylaminx, I've finally decided to start blogging. This blog will hopefully serve as my online portfolio of all my creative works. Here's to many more posts....