A 'taste' of the Market

If you've ever been to the Pike Place Market in Seattle then you know it's a colorful, jam-packed place full of history and so many flavors to sample that it's nearly overwhelming. That's why the founders of Taste Pike Place started their business—to show visitors the nooks and crannies the Market has to offer from a local's perspective. I developed the brand and marketing materials to be fun, friendly, colorful. We decided from the start that the materials should utilize illustration rather than photography to give their brand a unique look and feel. Familiar icons from the market—fish, fruit, wine and coffee (of course)—give the viewer a taste of what's to come when they take one of the fabulous tasting tours they have to offer.

Building a brand

Creating a brand for a new business is always exciting, particularly when it's for someone putting their heart and soul into the effort. When my friend Beth Cullom asked me to partner with her to develop the identity and business papers for her new art gallery I was happy to help. As a small business owner myself, I know keeping costs low is important when you're first starting out. I set out to design the materials as economically as possible, but still make them elegant and have elements of Japanese printmaking. Everything was printed on one of my favorite environmentally friendly papers: Neenah Environment PC White in one ink only. I had a stamp made of the little bird I designed which Beth uses to add an accent of red to each piece, showing a custom touch to each piece of correspondence from Cullom Gallery.

It IS easy being green

It's my lucky day when I have a client that is not only easy to work with, understands good design AND has a commitment to environmental concerns! I recently partnered with Bertschi School to create a brochure that complimented their new recruitment brochure. This new 'sister' brochure is all about their commitment to Sustainability & Diversity. Bertschi is an amazing school—energy, enthusiasm and enlightened thinking abound. I really admire clients that understand doing their part for the environment is not only good for the planet but also for their brand. It shows that they are forward thinking and respect the triple bottom line: planet, people and profit. We printed the brochure with an FSC certified printer with soy ink on FSC certified 100% recycled post-consumer waste paper (Neenah Environment PC 100) that was manufactured with 100% certified renewable energy and without the use of chlorine.

Wishing for summer

I'm going to use my blog to show some of the projects I did in 2007. A fun one was the poster and branding for the Georgetown Art & Garden Walk which was in July—long ago from this snowy January day! With the generous contribution from Princeton Press in Georgetown, the walk had its very first color poster. Although the poster was digitally printed, it had the look of screenprinting from the handmade textures I used and the overlapping elements. How fun it was to see my colorful chicken strolling through this funky and eclectic neighborhood!

Recycling cuteness

The other day I took some of the illustrations I had created for a client last spring and decided they would be cute on some onesies for my friend's new baby. I took the illustrations and transferred onto the fabric using iron on transfer sheets I printed on my Canon Pixma Pro 2000. Easy as pie and cuter than store bought if I do say so myself!