couldn't resist the packaging

I simply could not resist the packaging and had to buy this super cute chocolate toffee bar from Trader Joe’s. I’m glad I did, too, because it’s delicious! 

north county graphic design: meetup wed april 13, 2011

Join us Wednesday, April 13, 2011

8 am - 9 am at E Street Café in Encinitas, California

Kick off the day on a positive note with other North County graphic designers. No major agenda, just say hello and get to know each other and share some great coffee. If you’re really not a morning person or are just plain cranky until the caffeine kicks in [ahem… me], then just “nod” and take time to adjust to the morning sunshine. We look forward to seeing you! 

R.s.v.p. by leaving a comment on this blog (or on the LinkedIn thread or email Kathy or I directly). To join our LinkedIn group: do a GROUPS search for “North County Graphic Designers” on LinkedIn to join.

I hope to see you all there. All creatives welcome.

NCGD co-founded by Delphine and KMG. Artwork by Kathy McGraw.

even more notes from the AIGA Y16 conference

Last weekend I geeked out with fellow graphic designers at the 16th annual AIGA Y Conference in San Diego. Here are some more notes I took during Raphael Grignani,  Lab Partners and Frank Chimero’s speeches.

map of the usa from a californian's perspective

USA map infographic by Haley Nahman 

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Twitter? I do. The tweeps over at Knock Knock shared a link to this map & it made me giggle all afternoon. I asked the illustrator, Haley Nahman, if she could tell us a little about it. She says,

“I love to doodle and play around with words, colors, and whitespace. One day, when reading an article about some unnamed mid-west state, I grew distinctly aware of the fact that I knew very little about some of my fellow states. I decided to draw the country, mapping out each state with common stereotypes in the eyes of Californians. I’m sure the map would look different from the perspective of a Colorado or New York native — but I suppose that’s why I found it funny, if not blatantly teasing our ignorance. Either way, it’s just for fun, and I promise not everyone in the state of Kansas is a serial killer.”

Haley is a senior at Cal Poly (which is on the central coast of California in San Luis Obispo, and is, apparantly, where the party is).

Just a reminder: you can click on just about any image on my blog to see it larger. 

more notes from the AIGA Y16 Conference

Last weekend I geeked out with fellow graphic designers at the 16th annual AIGA Y Conference in San Diego. Here are some notes I jotted down during Brian Boyl and Jen Bilik’s speeches. 

notes from the AIGA Y16 conference

Last weekend I geeked out with fellow graphic designers at the 16th annual AIGA Y Conference in San Diego. This week I’ll share some notes I jotted down in my trusty notebook. These are from Aaron Draplin of Draplin Design Co.

week in review: march 1 - 25, 2011

It’s been a strange month, hasn’t it? The tragedies in Japan have weighed heavy in my heart. My entire family came down with the flu. For the first time in 11 years of living in Southern California the weather was not predictible (it actually hailed here). Deadlines have been piling up, exciting contracts have been signed, and I decided to travel to the National Stationery Show after all (and am co-hosting a NSS Meetup). Oh, and I started a new blog with fellow North County Graphic Designers (it’s not quite ready for public view yet, but I promise I’ll share soon).

I feel busier than ever (did I mention our studio is hiring design interns??). I’m slightly overwhelmed, but it’s mostly good stuff. I figured it is time for a fresh start, so I redesigned this blog’s logo and updated the layout a bit. What do you think?

Today I’m hoping my flu disappears completely so I can properly enjoy the Y Conference. This weekend I’ll be geeking out with fellow graphic designers and live tweeting from the Y Conference. 

free vector icons for designers

How cute are these vector icons? When I’m designing a site for a client the last thing I feel like spending loads of time on is designing icons. Usually I’m too busy tracking down content from the client ; ) So I was really excited to get an email from Tehkseven letting me know that they’ve released 475 free vector icons! This is going to save me so much time. 

They have several sizes available, as well as the .svg files, so you can adjust the size and edit the art if you’d like something other than their standard sizes. The best part is they’re FREE! Visit Tehkseven.net to download the files. 

north county graphic design: design decline & movie night meetup thursday march 31, 2011

I do hope you’ll join us for our next North County Graphic Designer MOVIE NIGHT, which will also be our very first DESIGN DECLINE show. We’ll meet Thursday, March 31, 2011 / 6pm at Clients & Profits in Oceanside.

Here’s the scoop: print and bring a rejected logo (or other project) that was rejected by your client, but you secretly loved, along with the design the client eventually approved. (If the logo was a rebrand, bring the original if you’d like). In addition, write a brief blurb about the brand you were designing for (i.e. industry, audience, etc.) to put the design in context. The designs will be voted on and the winner will get a prize! 

FYI: no need for fancy formatting, mounting or anything crazy. We’ll just tack up copies on the whiteboard.

Oh, and we’ll also watch a short film about graphic designers and have a good chat.

Many thanks to our friends Mark and Chris of Clients & Profits for generously hosting movie nights! We’ll have snacks and cocktails, so RSVP via email, leave a comment here on the blog, or on our LinkedIn Group, so we can be sure to have enough to go around. Looking for our LinkedIn Group? Do a LinkedIn “group” search for “North County Graphic Designers.”

Hope to see you there! All creatives welcome. This is a free event. NCGD co-founded by Delphine and KMG. Artwork by Kerry Layton. Thanks, Kerry!!

logo crush: domestica

I first spied Domestica’s fabulous logo via a Tweet. It’s difficult to make a little 50 pixel square stand out, but they’ve done it for sure! After I saw their avatar I HAD to click through to their website. It was love at first sight, and their logo has been sitting in my inspiration folder on my desktop for about a year now. I love the color palette, the use of transparency, the perfect font choice. So fresh and retro at the same time. 

I emailed the shop owner, Chrissy Jensen, for a little more info about the logo and was surprised to hear that she came up with the concept herself. It looks like it was commissioned by a fancypants agency, right?!? Here’s what she said: 

The logo was inspired by the 60’s artwork for a chemical. I didn’t really think about using a bird til I noticed that the symbol looked like a two sides of a heart overlapping. I loved that it was a heart if you put it back together. The colors just happened to be the colors I wanted, too. I turned it on its side  (if you look at my logo sideways, you might see where I was going) and added a bird head and beak.  You Work For Them had just posted a few new fonts, including Lodge - it was perfect, so I bought it.

That was it.  I thought it was pretty good, but wanted to run it by my friend, Joe Williams. His wife, Danelle, and I were originally going to open Domestica together and we spent SO much time coming up with the name + had spent hours looking at logos and I just trusted their judgement. Joe said it was a good start, but thought if I left him with it for a few, he’d if he couldn’t refine it a bit. He designs a ton of stuff, including a lot of the flyers for Craft Saturday, a craft show they run here in Des Moines, so I totally wanted his help.  What he sent back is the logo we have today. 

I owe him so much thanks because I really believe that our logo opened a lot of doors and gave people a lot of confidence in us when we were nothing more than an idea and a signature on a storefront lease. People comment on it all the time and I love how it looks on the store window. Some people call it the Partridge Family bird, but I like to think it would fit in your hand like a Dove. For Christmas, Joe designed a wreath sticker for us using a repeat of the bird.  It was beautiful.

Photos courtesy Domestica

ADORE what Chrissy said about the logo opening doors for her new business. I whole heartedly agree that a good logo inspires confidence and helps get a new venture off the ground. This is something I’m constantly telling my clients.

Needless to say, I have a huge crush on the Domestica logo. Isn’t it lovely? Don’t you wish you lived in Des Moines so you could go visit in person? If that’s not convenient, you can shop online for modern home décor, paper goods, art and gifts. Check out their cool blog, too, for some fun inspiration. 

sneak peek: nautical anchor logo project research

Images via Pinterest

I’m working on a new logo project for a client who is planning a private cruise around the Med this summer. Here’s a time I would seriously not mind working for trade! I was doing some cruising around Pinterest and started noticing fun nautical items, so I started an inspiration/mood board for my client. Normally this is something I do in a sketchbook — which makes it difficult to share with a client who lives thousands of miles away. How I ever lived without Pinterest is a mystery to me now! It’s so convenient for sharing images with clients.

Four logos shown above can be seen on my Project Marina inspiration board. Top left: distressed anchor logo by Jon Contino (via Grain Edit); Top right: Mustard yellow anchor logo also by Jon Contino; Bottom Left: Sea Salt Society logo by Trademark Trademark; Bottom Right: Vintage label found via LovelyPackage.

north county graphic design movie night: milton glaser

I do hope you’ll join us for our next North County Graphic Designer MOVIE NIGHT.

We’ll be watching Milton Glaser: to Inform and Delight on Thursday, February 24, 2011. Lets meet at 6pm at Clients & Profits. We’ll begin the film at 6:15. Many thanks to our friends Mark and Chris of Clients & Profits for generously hosting movie nights! We’ll have pizza, treats and drinks, so RSVP via email (or leave a comment here on in our LinkedIn Group, pretty please) so we can be sure to have enough to go around.

 Hope to see you there! All creatives welcome. This is a free event. NCGD co-founded by Delphine and KM Graphiques. Artwork by Kathy McGraw.

nice package: trader joe's chocolate

Although my shopping cart was already completely overflowing, I HAD to buy this amazing looking chocolate from Trader Joe’s. Isn’t the packaging marvelous? I love the bold graphics. Although they didn’t need to, they carried the design inside the package, to the inner wrapping. Little surprises and attention to detail like this are part of what make this store so special. (By the way, the chocolate is pretty amazing, too.)

nice package: japanese fish snacks

Sometimes when I’m seeking a quick, “sure thing” jolt of design inspiration I head to Ranch 99, our local Asian food market. It’s full of visual treats like the restrained packaging of these fish strips. (So restrained, they held off on using a “s” in the word Fishnacks).

Some of my other go-to spots for inspiration are the beach, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, my back yard, indie boutiques shops, and my local park. I just noticed that none of these spots are plugged in. Where do you go to get a quick fix of inspiration?

north county graphic design meetup: december 19, 2011

Morning Coffee Meetups return!

Join us Wednesday, January 19, 2011
8 am - 9 am at E Street Café in Encinitas, California

Kick off the day on a positive note with other North County graphic designers. No major agenda, just say hello and get to know each other and share some great coffee. If you’re really not a morning person or are just plain cranky until the caffeine kicks in [ahem… me], then just “nod” and take time to adjust to the morning sunshine. We look forward to seeing you! All creatives welcome.

R.s.v.p. to erika@delphinepress.com, or leave a comment on this blog. Join our LinkedIn group: do a GROUPS search for “North County Graphic Designers” on LinkedIn to join.

Discussion will be open, with a focus on what everyone would like to see happen within NCGD this year. What type of schedule would you all like, how many meetings/what type, should we pick back up with movie nights? Field trips? Seminars? Speakers? We’re open to all suggestions.

Danny would like to teach a WordPress seminar next month, and there will be more info about the seminar at the meeting.

I hope to see you all there! All creatives welcome.

NCGD co-founded by  Delphine and KM Graphiques. Artwork by Kathy McGraw.