For someone who goes on and on about the power of recognizable branding, let me just admit that I’ve branded/rebranded my site, logo, everything-else-I’ve-got-going-on at least once a year since I first realized I had to, starting in 2006. I was (ok, am) obsessed with making everything PERFECT; perfectly representing me, my current work, my DREAM work, perfectly appealing to all ends of design agencies and individuals, you know.. totally realistic.

It always felt like an exercise in frustration and futility, and it completely was. I didn’t build any recognition for myself (how could I? I always changed it!) and while I easily could have chalked all of this changeability as a weakness, I managed to flip that into an overlooked strength.

Like most designers, I’m both curious and fickle about visual styles with equal measure. Typefaces, visual treatments, and guilty-pleasure trends come and go, and I want to get my hands dirty with all of it! Until inevitably I get bored with it. Right.

I needed to figure out a way to speak to my love of curiosity, my overall noncommittal-design-sluttiness (yeah alright, I went there), while showcasing a level of versatility that I find very appealing. (Who wants to always do the same niche look? Great for whoever does, but it’s just not for me.) My solution was to use crops of my favorite personal pieces/experiments AS my brand. Originally using a few pieces, it’s now spread into a constantly revolving selection of styles. I’m aiming to speak to as many differences in style, taste and needs as I am about who I am as a designer in general.

As long as I’m communicating how I love to speak through my work, to help others communicate through THEIR work, I’d say it’s exactly what I need.

What do you think? Are some more successful than others?

Regardless of political/social opinions, the impact of design can truly be used as a  more powerful, informative, and even an evocative tool, as opposed to just being diluted to serve as a random sampling of collected trends from the past ten decades or slapped on to a banner advertising a new laundry soap for Tide.

The skills I was expected to acquire were more akin to that of a literal visual problem solver. Assignments were conceptual based: building on connotative and denotative associations, deconstructing an image for it’s semiotic meanings, and so on. While these learning curves were exasperating in a 2 week deadline, they undoubtedly instilled in me a rigorous mental acuity for the subjective and conceptual nature that gives a brand legs to stand on, a campaign breadth in room for growth, or even just taking the time and consideration to explore for something greater than just the quick and easy solution.

My concern in all of this is that the way the current model is structured, the strength and possibilities available in a design-as-communication standpoint is now segmented, diluted and corporatized to the point of arbitrary blandness. Does every piece need to move the earth with it’s awesome magnitude of conceptual strength? No, but some substance outside of the Digital Cool Club parade would be nice. Designers can do more than just typeset pop-culture references and take photos of themselves holding posters, and I think those who can articulate and communicate visually should absolutely do so; you should just try and make sure you have something interesting to say.

image sourced from http://ffffound.com/

*thanks for the sassy image, and was that supposed to be an ironic typo? love it

Especially in regards to how to communicate through it.

Originally going to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see Duchamp’s “The Large Glass” (a personal favorite I just HAD to see in person–– and it was awesome) but the piece around the corner, you know (and if you don’t know, GO, and you will know) the one that’s just a large wood-planked gate..

This piece change my life.

Basically, it’s a permanent installation that’s an amazing cerebral distortion on the boundaries between voyeurism and art. And I’m not talking about seeing 30 naked models standing at the Guggenheim voyeurism I’m talking about stumbling on a naked, violated female form, and not being able to look away. Train wreck voyeurism; and that is the POINT.

The only way to view the installation is to peep through holes in the wood, and from the first discovery that you ARE supposed to snoop around, that this is part of the experience, and the experience roller coasters your emotions all over the place.

The range of emotions I experienced while staring at this work was incredible; seemingly all at once I felt confused, then excited, then I realized what I was looking at and then nauseated, uncomfortable, excitement for realizing that I was uncomfortable, and then the reality that this was all planned was just too much for me, and I went back to being ecstatic.

I can’t attach any image that would do this experience justice. It’s something that needs to be seen, felt, simply for the gravity to take ahold of you. It’s one of the main reasons we’re planning a long North East vacation; just like Jersey pizza and Brooklyn hipsters, this is an experience that REQUIRES sharing.

Realizing that the artist could be so masterful with the manipulation of environment was an incredible learning curve.  I was a fully aware person STANDING in a museum, and there I was, wholly and completely transported to this unsavory situation.

It’s a moment that has very much stayed with me since the 5 years I’ve been away from Philly, and I know one of the main sources that  has nurtured The Kubrick Project into being.

Without the experience of an artist being so air-tight with communicating their vision, I would have easily accepted the dichotomous experience of a Kubrick film as uncomfortable or too violent, without ever paying mind to the intention of that discomfort, and it’s something I’m eternally grateful for; not only in my own work, but how to appreciate another’s work as well.

Since 2008, I’ve been tirelessly plugging away on a research project that all came about from a naive & curious question:

“If Stanley Kubrick really created 2001: A Space Odyssey to be understood subconsciously, then do the rest of his movies act in a similar way?”

Aren’t I cute?

Almost 5 years later, I’m almost wrapped up with a movie I was considering to be “the easy one”: The Shining.

Man oh man. Kubrick must be laughing down at me for that one.

Easily one of my favorite horror films from childhood, The Shining is now a wholly different experience for me as an adult. Blame it on the art school, the exposure to abusive personalities, or my weird fascination for unearthing semiotics, I can tell you know it is absolutely 100% not about a haunted hotel.

Of course this project involved (and still involves) quite a lot of legging–through research, blogs, books, esoteric libraries in London (thank you, EVA!), and I have delved my fingers in it all- but the one thing that still challenges me is the ability to lay it all out in a way that explains what Kubrick does through his storytelling…in a way that doesn’t make your head explode from all of the overlaps of information.

Cue The Kubrick Project!

A year ago around this time, our apartment was covered in what looked like a crime lab from an FBI movie. Cork boards abound, and there was plenty of string overlapping notes and clippings to make it look like I was either chasing the serial killer,  or at the VERY least, trying to prove that the Easter Bunny resides in the sewers, solely to tell us all about the weather in Sri Lanka.

Now for the sake of everyone’s (mostly mine, my boyfriend’s and those who still call me a friend) sanity, these notes + clippings have been translated to a number of charts, mind maps, and (HOORAY!) actual site maps in order to become a fully fledged interactive experience! 5 years may be too long to spend on just one movie, but when you’re developing a process to recognize, uncover and eventually decipher mixed moving messages, it’s a lovely challenge; and this project is easily what I would consider my intellectual playground.

I hope to document from this stage in the process, and throughout the remaining films I have yet to breakdown, but I am so grateful for my curious mind to at least question just WHY Kubrick’s films are always considered ‘seminal’ and ‘visceral’. Imagery sure, primary color palette? Absolutely. But its content, conceptual development and semiotics are how Kubrick constructs and presents his vision; and it is my goal for this project to teach others to question, be aware of, and ultimately never give up on their search for their own answers. Whatever they happen to be.

I’m sure most of the people I work with directly already know, but for those who don’t, I’m pretty dedicated to the quality of work I produce. But no matter who you are, and how amazingly stealthy your work ethic, sometimes forces beyond our control step directly into our path of greatness, and happily sling disasters, tragedies, and whatever else it can pile on your plate- not like you had anything else going on, of course.

I’ve written posts on the importance of balancing life and work (here) but I think it deserves revisiting-especially after the week I’ve had. Personally speaking, the last week for me has been hectic to say the absolute least (think: rain water leading to flooding, leading to ceiling collapsing, hotels-complete with our two cats, moving across town in 3 days, etc. etc); but no matter what happened, I made sure to keep my coworkers & clients directly in the loop. Not to say we didn’t realize some cracks in our system, but that’s important to note too.

During the whole ordeal, it really helped me realize what the disconnects are when something tragic happens in our life, and how we handle that professionally can absolutely make all of the difference once we pick up the pieces.

Communicate, nay, word barf, your situation. 

Letting people know  what’s currently going on- a death in the family, an urgent sickness- whatever it is, will help allow people to be more empathetic to your situation, allowing for more support and understanding. Essentially, giving you a security blanket feeling before you even get INVOLVED. Being as open and knowledgeable as you can will also cut down on your explanation time, especially if you’ve spurned some harsh feelings for temporarily being MIA.

Update. Update. Update.

Remember when I said word barf? Keep this in your mind. The river of info has got to keep flowing in order to maintain any sort of normalcy with business matters, while personal matters keep spazzing out your attention span. How do you do this? twitter, facebook, email, text. The world we live in is a flurry of overextended information. Take utmost advantage.

Work slowly, and Build back up

This is the step I have the hardest time with. After taking a nice calm right turn out of tragedy land, I always want to hit my to-do list with mach10 force. I have to overcompensate for all of the hours I lost, I say. You know where this gets me? Overwhelmed, frustrated, and with totally bashed in productivity. After this whole hotel/moving debacle, I knew I needed to get back into high gear- and FAST.

While my french press isn’t even set up (the HORROR!), I know I can still pick 2-3 tasks, concentrate on them at a disturbing level, and I can at least have the quality of work back to normal. Today I will bring in 4-5 tasks, and repeat until I’m back to my regularly scheduled maximalized craziness I happily call my work load.  I liken the idea to juggling- who starts juggling with 6 balls? No one! And no one would expect you to, but if you start slow and build up, you will absolutely get to your awesome sauce A-game within no time.

What about you? How do you find ways to ease back into normalcy after a tornado of crazy hit your life?

Until next time!

xo,
jne

For today’s brand board, I just could not help but collect and show off  samples of my favorite styles of illustration. Everything from vintage Mary Blair (the genius behind classic Walt Disney’s look) to edgy pen and ink- Illustration is seriously one of the most fabulous ways to execute expression. Ah, Expression. Seems to go hand in hand with communication, doesn’t it? Oh it does, folks. You know it does.

When I talk about using illustration to express something, I mean having a concept/idea/point of view in which to be expressed. Yeah, it may sound nit picky, but you’d be surprised! Illustration isn’t just about the look of the piece, the style or the medium, but also how the medium and style are used to further push the idea being expressed. It’s a one-two punch combo. Look at the sweet images of the deer, turtle + birds. While it’s very clear that these are more representational images of animals, rather than artistic expressions of them, what DOES stand out for me is how Mary Blair uses line to express the long, free-form elegance completely inherent in the deer. Or how she uses fun plays on color and pattern in the turtle shell. The illustration goes expressive on the elements in which the artist wants to “show off”, to make more sense of these artist’s methods.

Whenever a client comes to me with an idea for illustration, an icon, whatever the case may be, I always look to the idea and concept first– way before the style of the illustration is even talked about! Knowing what you want to say before you even start to make that message beautiful, is always going to give the starting point (AND the end point) so much more strength. Illustration without a message or a concept is honestly, just pure decoration; and if that’s the case, it would be so much better for the illustration to be replaced with a pattern, a texture, something more for look+ feel/mood purposes over expressive ones.

I am all about being (probably to a fault) solution oriented; I’m talking everything from how the kitchen is laid out to how I schedule my days and weeks– Problem solving, solution driven, efficiency meters go off in my brain, and then I attack. Breaking up my days into 30, 60, and 90 minute tasks, I make sure I save time for what I like to call “Jenny goes off the deep end” time (something my boyfriend coined when listening to me “ooh” and “aah” incessantly over some inspiration I found).

“Going off the deep end” is a way for me to explore my curious heart, and very much get back what used to be literally play time- designing for myself. Do not get me wrong, dear clients! Creating for others is exactly why I became a graphic designer instead of a fine artist, it’s absolutely true. But for me, I am not truly satisfied with my day until I’ve worked with something that’s just for me as well.

I thought I’d share a few of my tips for making any working situation a little bit more enjoyable,  be it a working-at-home mom, traveling and overbooked event planner, or even just a wedding photographer sick of taking tchotchke photos. Whatever your time frame, you can do this. Here’s how:

1) Notes are your friend!

Personal admittance time: I have a paper and notebook addiction. A notebook is left (with 2-3 pens/pencils OF COURSE!) in every room of the house- just in case I get struck with some glorious musings, and on top of this OCD-itude I got going on, I also have a series of ‘idea notebooks’. Just in case I ran out of steam, got bored and could not for the life of me fill that time with SOMETHING, I rifle through those books, and usually my problem is solved. My advice to those who are swamped with work, anytime you think of a good idea-perhaps for the current thing you’re working on, perhaps for something else, write that down. Tether a notebook to your life. Not an iphone, or an ipad. A papery book. Keeping track of even the most fleeting of ideas will definitely help you wrangle out the good ones, laugh at the bad ones, and even help you figure out the next step: making time.

2) MAKE TIME!

My iCal is filled with 19 separate calendars. I have dual alarms, I set up time limits. I even give myself a time OUT if I don’t listen. to myself. which is really my iCal. Time is your worst enemy and your best friend. So who then, is in charge? You! SO YOU!

Since I know we’re photographers here, stuck editing? take a 30 minute inspiration break. Had a really exhausting, but overall successful client meeting? Reward yourself with an enjoyable, rejuvenating break! Get the theme here? Taking time to relax in between the tasks you do is actually JUST as important as making time to complete the tasks. Trust me, I know. Sometimes I get so stuck to this screen, I just push my feet out and roll right out into the main living room. Whatever you got to do, make sure you count ‘relaxing’ and ‘refreshing’ as equally important

3) Lastly, and possibly most important! NO PRESSURE.

Remember when it was just you, your imagination, and your creative tool? Be it pencil, wacom pen, or DSLR? Thinking back, were you thinking of competitors, industry magazines, contests, twitter gossip, or insane clients that make you swear that dragons are real? NO! Do you know what you were thinking about? FUN. Playtime. Exploration. The whole world was open, waiting for you to tear it up and sail it to a viking party.  Bring this back to your forefront. This actually may be difficult because of the level of perfectionism that runs rampant in creative professions.

I also had advice for this: (of course I do!)

Make purposefully bad crap. Bad! and I mean DASTARDLY BAD. Laugh at yourself. Do it even worse! Make it EVEN UGLIER!
By the time you have the worst ugliest thing ever, you’ll be crying laughing, in a great mood, and more relaxed to let yourself actually create something, without hemming and hawing it to perfection.

I promise I do this. I also promise that I overthink, overworry, over stress,  and overthink, overthink, overthink (did I forget to tell you that I overthink?) myself to frustration. The trick is realizing what you specifically do that gets in your own way, and then be the impish little 7 year old you used to be, and get that nonsense out of here!

Fitting in some fun, exploratory ridiculousness throughout your day isn’t just for a calmed creative mind, it can also help build your skill sets as well. Discovering anything “new”, while there is no pressure to create, will always keep your abilities stockpiled, helping you keep your clients happy and you more fulfilled with the work you spend your heart and soul creating.

Until next time!

xo,
jne

Let me be the first to announce how much the addition to pinterest has EXPONENTIALLY helped our inspiration and overall branding process. Holy Banana, Folks. Pinterest, you are amazing! If you aren’t already face first in the most fabulous and random selection of images ever on the internet, let’s discuss:

Pinterest. Get on it.

Set aside some swoony time… and then rescue your productivity because it is beyond addicting. I only allow pinterest time via phone, you know, to keep me occupied while my boyfriend does the dishes.

It’s what we call a “balanced relationship”.

That being said, I’ve definitely noticed a wonderful trend when clients come to me with a pinterest account set up. Already comfortable flicking through thousands of  images to find ones that really sing to them, and all without the impossibly debilitating feeling of pressure to get it PERFECT.

Showing a designer even a huge collection of seemingly random images and talking through them will undoubtedly reveal the necessary juicy tidbits that we need– in a way, pinterest is a glorious short cut to the right answers.  Covering everything from typography, to sayings and meanings, color palettes, textures, pattern, tone, everything. Can I encapsulate that enough? EVERYTHING!

It seems that since people aren’t forced to look through specific designed pieces, for instance 30 pages of logos, they’re free to explore all possibilities of everything and anything a logo COULD be– bringing more room for exploration and creativity, instead of just rehashing trend after trend.

If you’re thinking about signing up with us for a rebrand, a blog design, or even just taking stock of your current brand, I say start working on a new board (because I know you have Pinterest. You have internet don’t you??) even just to begin to loosely touch on ideas that you like. Keeping a running tab of inspiration will help show your growth, continually documenting your process (and progress!) while you carve out your vision. And before you know it, you’ll have pinned your way to an amazing, inspiring, and totally unique place- which is the perfect starting point in creating a brand.

Until next time!

xo,
jne

Lately I’ve been noticing a trend in the clients we’ve been branding. More and more clients are wanting to see how pattern could work within their brand. It seems like I create more and more patterns by the day, so I figured today a brand board was in order, and how even the tiniest bit of pattern can spiffy up even the most tired of brands.

Patterns range in style from the gorgeous Arabesque tiled patterns to the tiny repeating subtlety of Japanese prints, and some of my favorite patterns were created in the Arts+ Crafts period (No, not the period in time where everyone made bird houses out of popsicle sticks).  I’m talking about the beautiful visual art movement from the early 1900′s that brought back artistry and craft to the focal point of the conversation (Do me a favor and just google William Morris, will you?)

And if you thought the types of patterns came in a ton of categories, the uses for pattern are pretty much just as varied. Of course the obvious choice for a pattern would be as a full on background to any sort of blog, page, what have you- but I’m a huge fan of the unexpected surprise of pattern. The hey- what’s -inside -this -envelope-and -AHA! -pattern, the oh-wow -look- at -how-well-those-two-patterns-work-together-pattern, and I love love love the use of pattern as the main visual  element, like in the Mast Bros Chocolate. It’s not for everyone, no. But it’s striking, strong, elegant, all of the keywords so many people love so much.

When it comes to finding patterns that will “work” within an established brand, or even finding out which ones could work within a look that you’re trying to create, I say (of course I say this) stick to what you love. I’ve been trying to think on some absolute no-no’s when it comes to pattern + style combination, and I think any pattern can really work in any situation- what plays into it however is more along the lines of scale and color, vs. imagery within the pattern.

Let me explain: 

A client wanting a clean, and modern brand with a touch of feminine pop (sound like anyone out there?) can absolutely benefit from a pattern, and nobody’s hemmed in to just stripes and dots either.

A clean lined, geometric pattern (like a quatrefoil, or a simple trellis type pattern), can deliver the dual natured feeling of structured/ clean + feminine, while keeping the entire thing feeling super high end. It’s truly all in how it’s used in placement, the color palette, and the scale of the overall pattern that’s going to fine tune each of these connotative emotions. A larger set pattern will probably feel more funky/eclectic, while a small repeat pattern could feel very subtle + light. Some patterns are so small that when looked at 100% it creates an overall tone, as opposed to a repeating print.

So where does that leave us now?

Much like everything else that branding seems to be, the best thing to do is start with what you already like. Look to your clothes, accessories, home furnishings. What do you already surround yourself with? If there is no pattern at all (which I doubt, honestly) then pattern is 100% not for you, and I apologize for making you read all about the versatility and wonderment that is pattern.

BUT!

if you find any recurring visual themes, take note. Even if Flosites doesn’t provide you with a lovely custom made pattern, you can still be open to the possibility of incorporating something new to freshen up what you’ve already got going on, which pattern does beautifully!

Until next time!

xo,
jne