Design *glee*

I created a logo for the Calgary TransHub last year and posted about it shortly after they launched their Facebook page. But there's been a little something else I've been holding back on because it was 'Top Secret'...ish.

They were working to put together a website full of fabulous resources and asked me to help out with the design. I'm not a programmer and have no interest in it so the extent of my contribution was creating the layout and the graphics for the buttons. It was super fun to do though and I'm really happy to see they've finally been able to launch it!

www.CalgaryTransHub.com

Another pair of custom shoes

This weekend I finished another pair of custom shoes for a client BUT they were once again, a Christmas gift. Which means I'm not going to be posting them. I did, however, work on a new pair for myself. I'm really pleased with the final product and I'm looking forward to breaking them in soon.

Lovely ivy design - very green! 

Little beetle spreading his wings...

Butterfly and my logo!
I'm especially pleased with how the butterfly turned out. 

A pair of shoes

Recently I have been asked to do some custom shoe designs for some clients. Due to a miscommunication I now have a pair of women's size 8 (UK) sneakers.

When someone orders a custom pair of shoes my first task is to source a pair in their size. I don't keep a supply of shoes because A) I don't have the space and B) it's easier to get the size I need when I need it.

This means I now have a pair of shoes taking up space with the potential to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. I'm not much interested in shoe storage and would much rather find a happy client to design and then send the shoes to.

So, if you or someone you know would like a pair of size 8 (UK) hand-painted 100% unique shoes, please get in touch! Because they're already paid for and I want to move them along I will only charge for the design, which will be created to your specifications.

If you're not sure - please take a look at some of the other designs I've done. I have many happy clients with happy feet in shoes made just for them.

Tropical

Rainbow with a twist

Spitfire

Round-up!

Full-time work means that my blogging has been greatly reduced - at least whilst I sort out my schedule and what I'm doing in my 'free' time. I have a lot of freelance projects on the go and they take priority after the day job.

It's funny referring to it as the day job though. Unlike all my past jobs this isn't merely something that pays the bills. This is me actually in a position that uses the skills I love and allows me to express myself creatively. I love it, truly, and look forward to Mondays!

That being said, I'm still getting loads of other stuff done on evenings and weekends.

Aside from branding work for a few clients, I've recently been approached to do some more shoe designs. I've not done custom shoes for clients for some time so it's a nice change. The bonus is that shoe design gets me away from a computer screen. My eyes appreciate the break and my hands love working with brushes and pens rather than a mouse all the time.

Both shoe designs will be given as gifts so I am unable to post progress photos as my clients want them to remain secret, of course. Once they have been delivered and gifted I promise to share both designs.

In the mean time, if you'd like to see a bit of what I'm up to you can visit my shop! I've been drawing a lot lately and turning my drawings into designs for various products. I'll continue to upload more in the coming weeks so drop by my shop regularly to see what's new.

Also - if there is a particular design you'd like to see leave a comment or post your thoughts to my Facebook page. I love new ideas and am always up for taking requests.

From start to finish - Part 2!

Another logo from concept to finished product! This is part of a bigger project I'm working on with the client. In this case the logo is just the beginning (a logo is a great place to start) on what will be a brand look and feel for a resource website.

The brief? Create a logo that encompasses a sense of community and belonging.

The initial concepts shown with slight variations. 

I am always eager to give the client a few different options to work with so when they came back and wanted to play with Concepts #1 and #4 I was happy to accommodate. 

In both cases it was the fonts they wanted to play with. I gave them a few different options based on the feedback provided. This clinched it - Concept #1 was the way to go. They requested one minor change: to see it with the 'H' capitalised and with a space. 

And voila! The final logo: 

Facebook Timelines!

I've been really busy with a multitude of clients recently. It's fun because there's a diversity to the work I'm doing. A few logos here, some print layouts there and a bit of Social Media marketing design!

Because Facebook and Twitter tend to update their interface pretty regularly, it's not always easy staying on top of it and ensuring that the look and feel of your page fits the new options available. I'm happy to say, though, Facebook seems to have ironed out the kinks of the Timeline since it was introduced last year.

I love integrated timeline images and there are still a few hic-ups in that the way my timeline looks on a phone is very different from how it looks on my computer - but for the moment I'm really pleased with my own Faunawolf Creations page.

I also have a very happy client who now has a selection of Timeline and integrated profile pictures to choose from for their own page and working with them on it was super fun for me.

If you fancy a customised Facebook Timeline toodle on over to my website to get in touch.

General update post!

Apparently I'm on a roll when it comes to shoes. I bought this lovely pair for myself whilst in Canada back in April. I put them in a drawer and promised to spend some of the time in Japan coming up with inspiration for a design. I'm quite chuffed with the outcome.

Got a little ego boost this past weekend when one of my clients sent me this shiny testimonial:

"Kaitlyn created my twitter header and background. What seemed like a small project was actually a thoughtful and an incredibly helpful process of defining me and my brand, assisted by a very original and clever questionnaire I had to fill as an initial briefing. It made me think of so many different aspects of visual imagery and subtleties of design that one small art project became a proactive exercise in empowering my brand."

This was from the organiser of 'Ladies Who Impress'. The next event is coming up on June 17th and will feature Jenny Dawson, the founder of Rubies in the Rubble, Katherine Grainger, a British rower who won Gold at the 2012 London Olympics and Xiaolu Guo, a writer, filmmaker and storyteller. You can get tickets through the website. 

And the epub research for 'Wise at Any Age' is coming along nicely thanks to Lynda.com. I'm still flip flopping on whether to publish what I have right now or wait until I can launch both the ebook and print version at the same time.  

Generally I think the decision will boil down to just how easy/fast it is to turn what I currently have into ePub material. Regardless, watch this space for news on the release of my book! 

Pretty designs inspired by Japan!

I was on a very tight budget whilst in Japan so I wanted to make sure that when I did make a purchase of something to bring back it was something really uniquely Japanese. I discovered Tabi footwear, better known as 'ninja shoes' to those in the west, and purchased some to give to our dear friend who was house sitting in our absence. Before giving them to her I took the inspiration I gained on the trip to give them a unique design.

They were received with glee.

Impressive Ladies

A few weeks back I had the privilege of meeting Jana, a highly energetic and super enthusiastic woman  and founder of Ladies Who Impress. The idea behind LWI is that there are some pretty impressive women out there who juggle a multitude of responsibilities, have a huge range of interests and are generally pretty damn inspiring.

As a self identified polymath and someone who cringes at the gender limiting term 'Renaissance Man' - I really admire Jana for what she's done and was all too happy to offer my design services to getting her Twitter page branded to match her website. Jana is an incredible impressive lady herself, having come up with the concept and design for her own site. I wanted to keep true to what she'd made - carrying the look and feel over into her twitter page.

I'm very pleased with the end result but more importantly, so is Jana.

I've also designed my own Twitter header and background and just recently updated my Facebook page design. If you'd like a custom Social Media design you can contact me through my website.

Shoes - from concept to finished project

The creative process for my dancing shoes, from concept to finished product:

This was a sketch I did on the flight home
from seeing family over Christmas.
At this point I didn't have the shoes yet -
just a rough idea of what I wanted to do when I did. 

The shoes arrived and I now had a canvas to work with! 

I alway do an initial sketch onto the canvas.
Sometimes, once I begin to paint, the ideas will change.
In this case my initial sketch didn't include
the sweeping lines at the bottom. 

The background done I could begin to think
about what colour I wanted my faery to be. 

This design wasn't in any of my original plans.
I knew I needed something on the inside of the right shoe
but it wasn't until I was working on the background
that I decided on this Art Nouveau style flower. 

I completely finished the right shoe before moving onto the left.
Sometimes I work more closely on both at the same time
but in this case I didn't have a final concept of what I wanted
the left shoe to look like. Finishing the right one first gave
me a lot of ideas for the left one. 

You can see from my initial sketches that my ideas changed a lot.

The finished product!
All laced up and ready for dancing! 

I'm really pleased with how they turned out.
I'm super excited to break them in with some public dancing! 

If you'd like a totally custom pair of knee high shoes
for only £80 you can order them through my website.
My shoe designs are done with the wearer in mind.
Let me capture your personality with a 100% unique pair of shoes!

www.faunawolfcreations.com/custom-canvas-shoes.html

From concept to design

 I've been building the logo side of my design portfolio since the start of the year. I've had some great project to work on and wanted to share a bit of my creative process.

Personally, I don't like jumping straight onto a computer. I find it much easier when I can doodle my ideas on a piece of paper before tackling a project with mouse in hand. I'm a strong believer in figuring out your own way of working and sticking to it but I have to admit, I did a bit of a happy dance when I came across Von Glitschka, an incredible talented designer who firmly believes leaving analog (sketching) methods behind will only hinder you as a designer.

This sort of validation, like when I started the Intermediate Graphic design course at Saint Martins, helps boost my confidence and acts as a strong motivation. I have a lot to learn, we all do no matter what field we're in, but I already have a strong foundation to start with. 

Below is one of my recent projects, from concept to the finished product that the customer is now happily using to promote their business.

Concept sketches. This is for a painter/decorator

The brief included a suggested colour palette to work with. I wanted to incorporate the tools of the trade into the 'NBH' of the company name.

I came up with A few sketches and refined those into a selection of logo concepts for them to choose from. 

Mock-up #1
Simple, clean design

Mock up #4
I got the idea for this one
from looking at parquet flooring

Mock up #2
One way of working a roller
into the logo was to have
one painting the logo.
This was probably the most 'fun'
concept I came up with

Mock up #3
It was easy to imagine the
'H' as a paint brush

The client loved #1 but wanted to see it from a slightly different perspective. They really liked the look of MC Escher's signature on his lithograph drawings and requested something inspired by this. 

I modified the first design and ended up with what you see below, as the final product. 

The chosen logo

What I like about it is that the NBH can be used on its own or with the handle, depending on the context. I love the palette I was given to work with and the final product communicates the professionalism and artistic nature of the business owner.

Design, design, design!

One of my first submissions for 99Designs

An idea for a consultation company that helps the growth of small businesses and/or charities

A commissioned logo for a an IT consultant

I'm officially a designer for hire! At the moment I'm working on expanding my portfolio as a lot of my design work has been done for a single charity, but I've got loads of experience with marketing and design as well as a digital design course from Chelsea College of Art and Design under my belt. 

As an artist my favourite pieces have been those I've done as a commission or as gifts for friends or family members. I love creating my own work but I always seem to enjoy it more when I'm making it for someone else. It's a combination of my imagination and style with their personality and the results are always well received. 

This ability to communicate another person's idea or personality is probably the most important to have as a designer. My previous experience involved working without a brief more often than not, so I often had to really engage the people I was working with to ensure that I was creating something that was in line with their vision. 

I really enjoy doing layout work with InDesign and have spent the last few months dabbling in logo design, as Illustrator is pretty much my favourite program ever. 

In January I'm going to be making a special offer on my design work. I'll be announcing it in my first newsletter of 2013. 

In the mean time, if you'd like to find out more or commission something (I really like doing Social Media backgrounds/images) you can get in touch through the contact form on my website. 

Boo to Threadless!!!

So for several weeks I've been working on my designs for submitting to Threadless. I've tweaked and niggled at them, I've posted them on the critique section and spread the links far and wide. I've had tips from people on Facebook, Twitter and through the Threadless Critique itself.

The two designs I chose to submit - Mrrf? and Coo - got a lot of 'Submit This!' votes and a lot of positive feedback. I made some minor changes here and there based on the advice of designers on Twitter and through my facebook page. I also spent ages going through current Threadless designs up for the vote at the moment. I paid close attention to how they were laid out and what needed doing.

I tweaked and niggled some more. I adjusted, re-layered, changed colours and got them to a point where I felt that they were ready for submitting. Which I did this afternoon, as anyone who follows me knows.

And what happens?

I get this from a 'No Reply' Robot:

Hello Kaitlyn ,

Regarding: 'Mrrf?'

Unfortunately, your submission was declined.

The Threadless staff has provided the following reason to decline your submission:

Your submission was declined because we feel your idea could use a little more work to be up to the standard that will give it the best shot. We have a feature called "Critique" on Threadless.com that allows you to have your design critiqued before you submit it for approval. By using the "Critique" feature as a pre-submission tool, you can let the community help get your submission up to par. This will not guarantee your design will be accepted, but we hope this will help you improve your design!

I don't mind being told my stuff isn't good enough. I don't mind going back and working on it some more. what I do mind is the absolute uselessness of this email. I've used the critique. I've asked loads of people. I've made the designs very public and done a lot of work on them.

I would appreciate something a little more specific. How am I supposed to get it up to the standard if using the very system of critiquing that they offer obviously wasn't good enough? How am I supposed to know what needs fixing?

Anyhoo, I'm none to impressed and intend on seeking out an email to which I can send a reply and know that an actual human being will be on the other end. In the mean time, apologies to everyone who was excited to vote for my design. Thank you for RTing, forwarding emails and generally being so supportive.

If anyone has managed to get a bloody design onto Threadless, I'd really love to know what it is they want me to improve about these two. Any tips and advice are fully welcome.

Onsies!

Making progress! I'm still a bit baffled as to how to make the essential thumbnail for submitting a design for review. But until two days ago I didn't have much finished for submitting so I suppose this weekend will be about tackling that bit of difficulty.

I'm quite enjoying this bit of dabbling work. There is no deadline on it, just something I fancy giving a go at. I'm enjoying learning more about Illustrator, getting more comfortable with the program and with my own abilities. I have to say, it's loads of fun. Even if I don't sell any designs, I'm just happy to have this new skill.

T-shirt designing!

So it was quite a while ago that I tried my hand as some t-shirt designing. I'm a huge fan of Threadless Tees and thought I'd quite like a go at submitting something of my own. At the time I had a brief version of photoshop available to me. My aunt, who is a photoshop guru, came over and helped me out with making sure it all fit with the Threadless guidelines and I submitted my design.

It didn't even get considered. The immediate response was "Go back and try again. Re-read our guidelines."

I shrugged it off and wrote it up to not having a full version of photoshop nor a full grasp of the program and how to use it.

Well now I've taken my design course, have the swish CS5 Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and Flash and no good excuse not to work on some designs again. I've just been playing around for now, testing the waters and getting a feel for the specs of Threadless design.

Here is my first mock-up. It needs a bit more work but for two hours of mucking about I'm quite pleased with the result!
I've got a few other ideas I'm batting around in my head. I'm going to get on with them in the next few weeks, as a distraction from all my gallery plans when they start to feel a bit overwhelming.

It's nice to have little projects to dabble in.

Holidays

Oh Christmas...

So, I've been working a lot and with all the holiday gathering to attend to I haven't really had time to Blog. I've been working on a lot of art though! Had to wait until after Christmas to post again since most of the artwork i've done has been gifts. I've got a few things I will be posting pictures of but I don't have pictures right now because, like a doofus, I deleted all the photo files from my computer. It was a dumb accident and most of them can be recaptured.

In the mean time, I have some more lovely shoe designs I did.