sneak peek: new succulent wedding invitation design

Here’s a sneak peek at one of our newest designs: our SUCCULENT wedding invitation suite. It’s one of a dozen brand new designs in our new Delphine Signature Collection wedding album. We took inspiration from the aloe plants, agave plants and other succulents growing in the Delphine studio courtyard. I love how it looks in blues and greens. For some extra pop, it looks fun with a black backround.

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. 

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. 

artist: jesse lefkowitz

Illustration by Jesse Lefkowitz for Washington Post

Because I occasionally outsource illustration (for Delphine stationery and for graphic design projects for clients) I am on a bunch of illustrators’ eblast lists. I consider it one of the best perks of being a graphic designer! Lots of interesting pieces of art end up in my in box each week. It’s super inspiring, and a welcome break from pharma spam and “you’ve just won one billion euros from the Italian lotto” notices.

I just have to share these awesome illustrations Jesse Lefkowitz sent me; he illustrated the chipmunk/turtle/toad one for a story about how and why animals hibernate for the Washington Post, and the money pyramid illustration for Money Magazine.

Illustration by Jesse Lefkowitz for Money Magazine/Making Money in 2011

Sidenote: I love Jesse’s bio. You should read it. And then you should hire him. Clipart: booooooo. Real illustrations by real people: yaaaaaay! 

graphic art: eleanor

How cute are these birdie mugs by Eleanor? I had the great pleasure of meeting her last month at the National Stationery Show, and was totally blown away by her cute booth and her gorgeous illustrations. Of course I forgot my camera the day I walked the show, so I have no pictures. Bummer! But check out Eleanor's work on her Push Me Pull You site. She's going to be speaking at the HOW conference this weekend and I so wish I could be there.

haute off the press: sunflora greeting

Haute off the press: our new Sunflora "hello" card. It's flat printed. Cute, huh? Not shown here, but it opens up and the same pattern is in the corners of the card. I was trying to recall my grandmother Bea's patio furniture from the late 70s when I designed this. I think her furniture was goldenrod yellow, with a similar pattern. 

The card is not up on the site for sale just yet, but let me know if you want to order. Single card: $4; set of 8 cards: $16. Plus shipping.

spring in the air

It's a sure sign of Spring when the California Poppies are in bloom.

illustrator: marcos chin

Yesterday I was at the gym and felt very much like Marcos Chin's girl with bubble gum: in my own, fun world, with lots (surprise, Erika: it was crowded on the first Monday after the New Year) and lots of boring and serious (seriously boring, you might say) people surrounding me. I listen to my Godbrother's iPod when I work out; he had extremely quirky and silly taste in music, which reminds me of all the fun times we had growing up, which makes me giggle out loud (and, occasionally, do a little "Drew" dance while on the cardio machines), which makes me happy that I'm in my own little world and not in boring matchy matching gym lady world. You know who I'm talking about, right? The ladies who are all over the gym lobby and locker room; they wear their workout clothes all day long; they have $100 yoga pants with a pink stripe down the legs, matching extra-clingy shirts with pink stripes, and matching nikes with pink swooshes; their hair always looks perfect even after a workout; and they never seem to sweat. Promise me if you ever see me in a matchy matchy gym outfit you torture me by making me listen to a musical soundtrack.

Ummmm... what was I supposed to be discussing here ... oh, yes, Marcos Chin. His work and his philosophy about work are both amazing. He creates most of his work using Illustrator. Check out his website here, his blog here,  a nice interview with him here in Communication Arts (impressed? I am). And if that's not enough you can watch his lecture "Pretty Pictures" at FITC Toronto 2009 here.

The work shown above is titled, "Falling off the Workout Wagon."

graphic design: penguin classics

I was browsing at my local Borders the other day and came across these fabulous updated covers of three of my very favorite books. (My all-time favorite is The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton, in case you're wondering. And no, I didn't see a fabulous new cover for it). They're all Penguin Classics imprints. The illustrations in this series are by über-talents (including Ruben Toledo and Jeffrey Brown).

The cover illustrations on the cover make these classics a bit more accessible to teen readers than the dour looking oil portrait that usually stares up from the covers, don't you think? How old were you when you first read these books? I was in ninth grade.

I'll admit that the cover of a book (the packaging of anything, really) matters to me. Although I have read all three of these books, and have perfectly good copies sitting on my shelves, I was extremely tempted to purchase them. I have a coupon, after all, I tried to justify to myself. Instead I walked out with a newish novel by Leif Enger: So Brave, Young, and Handsome. The cover is not particularly interesting ... which totally blows my theory.

artist: caitlin kuhwald

No matter what you think of our President's politics, there is no doubt that he is married to a super stylish first lady! Caitlin Kuhwald's paper doll illustration of Mrs. Obama (for Psychology Today magazine) is utterly charming. When I first saw the illustration I laughed out loud, then seriously considered cutting it up and playing with the doll (something I never would have done as a child...I always played with cars and trucks). Caitlin's other work is just as darling. I'm especially smitten with her woodland and barnyard animal illustrations. You can check out her portfolio here and her Etsy shop here. 

illustrator: aleks sennwald

Don't you just love this illustration by Aleks Sennwald? One of the things I like best about Aleks' work is the sense of fun and whimsy that comes through in each illustration. This one, called "Art in Bloom," appeared in Vegetarian Times for a story about the art of Ikebana flower arrangements.

baby rhino

baby rhino letterpress card by delphine ... coming soon!

i heart paper

design by delphine; photographs by Vallentyne Photography

I'm so pleased to announce that we were chosen as this quarter's featured letterpress studio by Strathmore! I was honored to design their call for entries for the Strathmore Show graphic design contest, and was really happy to have a chance to work with their beautiful new thistle logo, which was designed by the uber talented Marian Bantjes.

nostalgic for: charley harper

charley harper books, available at SoLo

Most of my elementary school days were spent in Cincinnati, Ohio. I remember going to the zoo and asking the ticket lady for extra stickers ... they were designed by Charley Harper; my mom and I had a whole stash of them. Since then I've moved at least a dozen times, and unfortunately the stickers are lost. But I'd love one of these books (available at SoLo) to fill the void! I love how Mr. Harper was able to convey a peaceful quiet with just a few strokes. Lovely.

way cool: 3-d drawing pad

3-D drawing pad from Restoration Hardware

Know an illustrator? Want to make their head explode? Give them this 50 sheet 3-D drawing pad ($10) from Restoration Hardware and let the craziness begin.