Superchief Trio CD and Poster

So many of my favorite things came together on this project: I got to work with musicians, shoot their photo, and design their cd. Keith (singer, keyboard player, illustrator, my newphews’ idol) and Pam (singer, trombone player, photographer — a.k.a., to me,  the coolest girl ever) were my main contacts for the project. They provided samples of Billboard promotional materials from the 1940′s as inspiration for fonts, colors, and the floating, glowing heads motif (used on the inside, left panel).

I provided a variety of designs, and Keith and Pam provided excellent input along the way.  It was very satisfying to work on a project with such talented people and have it result in a finished product we are all happy with.

CD Release Poster

Superchief Trio CD, front and inside panels

Check out The Superchief Trio.

“Leadfoot” Larry’s Marketing Collateral

There is so much more to car racing than driving around and around in circles. Its a labor of love. The cost to maintain a car and race it weekly adds up to a yearly salary for some people: tires have to be replaced every couple of weeks, and then there’s the constant engine maintenance and the body work. This explains the ads you see plastered all over the cars – drivers couldn’t afford to do it without the financial support of the sponsors who buy ad space on the cars.

Making contacts and approaching businesses for sponsorship is huge. A logo, business cards, letterhead, t-shirts, stickers, hero cards (think: baseball card, only bigger) are all essential pieces for a proper marketing package. I worked with “Leadfoot” Larry Barnett to put together his marketing materials. I like to think I played a tiny role in his recent Sportsman Division Championships at Thompson International Speedway.

Logo, business card, hero card and sticker for "Leadfoot" Larry Barnett.

 

Retro Web Redesign Project

Glee Gum is a socially-responsible, Rhode Island-based company that produces an all-natural chewing gum. Their product has garnered national recognition since they were born in the early 90′s. The have an established brand, a certain look – a cool logo, a vibrant color-pallette and a black and white “Glee Guy” who is very excited about Glee Gum.

When they asked me to provide some “retro” designs for a much-needed new look for their very busy-looking, information-packed web site, I thought it was very important to neaten up the content and simplify the look without losing their brand. Here are a few drafts I provided:

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A logo With Some Ink

This client is a minister who offers rock & roll-themed weddings. We are still in the beginning stages of marketing – first step was the logo. He requested guitars, a heart and a banner, in the style of an Ed Hardy tattoo.

Rockin' Nuptials Logo

Scrapbook Design

I used to do a lot of cut and paste scrapbooks, but the last few years I’ve been making the transition to digital scrapbooking. One of the many reasons I like it so much is because I have more control over the execution of the design than I do with traditional cutting and pasting. I can do more with type, I can create my own layout templates and backgrounds and really make it look exactly like how I envision it.

I do a lot of digital scrapbooks using the templates provided on photo sites like Shutterfly, Picaboo, Blurb, etc., but for the last few years I’ve been doing a “Year in Review” book, which I design myself, using my templates combined with digital elements (borders, doodles, backgrounds) that I download from Designer Digitals.

Here is one I designed in photoshop and uploaded the full pages as .jpgs to Shutterfly. You will need Flash Player to view it.

Create your own custom photo books at Shutterfly.com.

Scredco Productions Web Site

My husband is the guy you see tweaking those thousands of little dials on the soundboard at the bar while watching your favorite band. Maybe you haven’t noticed him, actually, because he’s really good at what he does. In the biz, they say that no one notices the sound guy until something goes horribly wrong – screechy feedback, broken microphones, that kind of thing.

Anyway, he needed a web site to promote his services and inspire geeky tech-talk among his peers. I created the graphics, one of my rare attempts at illustraion, as Flash animations, and some day I will actually load the ainmations to the site. I built the site in HTML with CSS as a project for the CSS class I was taking at RISD.  www.scredco.com.

Graphics on the left, screen grab of the site on the right.

American Diner Museum Newsletters

As I may have mentioned, I’m into diners. In the early 90′s I volunteered on the communications committee of the American Diner Museum. For 7 years I produced their quarterly newsletter. By produced I mean that I planned the stories, lined up the writers, tracked down the images, photographed the diners, designed the newsletter, prepped the files for print, negotiated with printers, and put the thing in the mail. Lots of work, but great experience. Unfortunately, the museum never materialized, but it sure looked good on paper!

Support your local diner.

American Diner Museum Newsletters

Wedding Invitation: Scrapbook Style

My friend Paula was getting married. We’d known each other for so many years I can’t count. How could I drop cash into an envelope and call that a gift for someone I’d know so long and so well? Nope. It had to be personal. So I decided to design her wedding invitations. Paula is really into scrapbooking (me too), so, with her input,  I designed an invitation, save the date card, and RSVP card to reflect her scrapbooky style. I did some of the photos for the invitation too!

Paula's Wedding Invitation

Diner Flyer

The Liberty Elm Diner had the great privelage to be featured on the popular food network TV show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Carol, the diner owner, asked me to design a flyer for the viewing party.

Flyer for Liberty Elm Diner Viewing Party

Liberty Elm Diner Web Site

I love diners. To me, the best diners look as close as possible to the way they looked when they were first manufactured, they’ve got good signage (preferably neon), friendly wait staff, and vegetarian options on the menu. That last part is hard to find, but lucky for me there’s a diner meeting that description within a few miles from my house. And I get to work on their web site!

This site was originally developed by talended designer, Serena Andrews, and she handed it over to me just before she went to NYC. I populated much of the content and created graphics to match the look and feel of the place itself. It is still a work in progress, but you’ll get the idea: www.libertyelmdiner.com.

 

Liberty Elm Diner web site

Graphic elements for the Liberty Elm Diner web site