Hoot! Hoot!

I swear my friends are still getting pregnant and having babies left and right.

Even though I continue NOT being a fan of baby showers, I am, however, always

delighted to design their invitations. As usual, they don't stifle my creativity with

a lot of restrictions or rules, just the event details, the rest is left to my imagination.

For this invitation, I did know they are having a baby girl and

her room would be decorated in an owl theme.

Before I worked at Gear, I bought a lot of vector stock files because it was faster and

easier than illustrating everything myself. But I learned some tricks on the job, including

learning how to use the pen tool better. Now I can make those illustrations myself!

This owl was based on a vintage trivet I own but modernized with stripes and a fresh

color palette. The font is Napa which I love and got free from here.

Usually, I'm not very good at creating designs that work for more than

one person or project. But I can see this one working as a template with some

color changes for semi-customization. So what do you think?

Greater Kansas City Bartending Competition

Some logo work I recently did. The Employee Lounge is a sponsor of this years's event!

You Are Exceptional

© Fresh Fish Creative

I designed this for an annual reception that gathers the best female attorneys, judges and businesswomen in Kansas City. Spear-headed each year by Denise Henning of The Henning Law Firm, it is also a fundraiser that benefits women-focused non-profits like The Women's Employment Network and The Women's Foundation of Greater Kansas City. For the invite, the background was actually a bright yellow, but seeing it again, I wanted to go with something more neutral.

This is another one of those projects where I get tons of creative freedom. Past invitation art included the entire event name: A Celebration of Exceptional Women. The invites have always been bright and used the city scape and stars to represent the power event. I have to walk a fine line when I design for attorneys: it has to be fun but still professional and businesslike. Something that appeals to women without being overtly feminine.

But with the event in its fourth year, I treated the card as an art piece. I wanted recipients to be able to hang on to these as a special reminder to themselves that yes, you are exceptional. Every single day of the year. Because sometimes we forget!

I may just print some 4x6 flat panel notecards to remind MY friends how great they are. Would you like to have some of these too? To give to the awesome people in your life? If so, leave me a comment and I'll make sure to order some extra!

Wine Wheel

This is a pictorial version of a wine aroma wheel I did a few years ago. My client didn't use it, but it's still one of my favorite pieces since illustration isn't exactly one of my stronger skills. Sketched in pencil, scanned in and colored in Photoshop.

The wine aroma wheel is a learning tool for novice wine drinkers to help them identify the different notes, flavors and aromas in wine. Think saddle leather, skunk, peaches, cloves, bacon, vanilla. Click on either image for a better look.

Manifesto

Speaking of The New York Times, my friend and client Ryan Maybee, got his bar mentioned in the June 2, 2009 article, "Bar? What Bar?", about the speakeasy trend. Yes, he is a PR machine, but a nod from the Times not even six months in? Pretty impressive. He's also been widely covered and lauded in Kansas City.

I worked on their logo, menus and calling card {"M" mark, phone number and tagline only on the calling card to continue that element of mystery} as well as developing copy/taglines...

{+} Cocktails Liberated. 

{+} Drink Early. Drink Often. Speak Easy.

Here's a peek at my work for Manifesto.