Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The first time I saw a CD case calendar I was interning at Parcel Design. I thought they were so handy, well designed and clever. I realized later that they weren't actually reusing old CD cases and that they had bought them specifically for this purpose, but I still loved them. When I joined Reich+Petch the following year I found out that Parcel wasn't the only one and that other companies had caught on to this calendar trend.

Below is the calendar I designed for Reich+Petch as well as the accompanying e-card that they sent out prior to the holidays to all of their clients.

Take Note

My main task as junior graphic designer at Reich+Petch was to design proposals to win architectural and exhibit design jobs. I also had the chance to design a few marketing materials for the firm including the notepad below. We had a short time line so we had to get creative with the resources we had. Instead of sending them off to a big printing house we printed the pages in house then took them to FedEx Office to have them bound and backed with cardboard. I was nervous both about how they would turn out and the timing but was pleasantly surprised when I got them back from FedEx. The final product was very professional and we were excited to give them out to the attendees of the AMA Conference last fall.

Precision and Order

My largest printed project to date is the fall catalogue I designed for Novalis. In the past they had hired a freelance graphic designer for larger projects, but after a few months I convinced them that I would be a great alternative. Much of the catalogue was templated but we decided to do a new insert to highlight all of the school and parish resources. In this section I was able to come up with the look and feel, a new grid, and help direct the photography.

I was very satisfied with the final product and I think my team was too. Together we were able to come up with something very different for the special insert and help to move the catalogue forward and away from the standard template. One of the most exciting things for me was that it was error free. I can hardly take credit for it, but with the help of an amazing copywriter and editor, I think we found them all before printing, a huge achievement.

Bringing Me Back

As I mentioned in my last post, when I worked at Novalis I was able to do a bit of design work for Owl Kids. Probably the most exciting thing I did for them was a booklet for itikes which was stitched into the September 2012 issue of Chirp magazine. I would have been excited regardless of the client but doing something for itikes was especially cool because I grew up playing with Little Tikes. The product offering has drastically changed, now they offer neat hardware to turn phones and tablets into safe (both for the children and the device) toys for children.

Take a look below at the little book I designed in collaboration with the Owl kids team.

Chirp Chirp

During my time at Novalis I occassionally did work for Owl Kids, another publication group under the Bayard Presse umbrella. Owl, Chirp and Chickadee all had lean teams, only one designer for each magazine plus their production designer. When they didn't have enough time I was able to help with house ads and any promotional materials that they may need. Below is a promotion for a couple of Owl's best selling books. While it was a simple execution, I was excited to be working on something that would be in a magazine and even more excited to be working with the art director. I really enjoyed working with someone who had a ton of experience in my field and could help bring out the best in my design work.

 

Handy Dandy

There are many things I love; cheesy sayings, television shows about renos, candy...  but more than any of those things I love lists. The only thing that ruins a great list is forgetting to bring it with you somewhere. To help thwart this issue I started using Google docs to keep all of my thoughts together.

I frequently update my movie, book and restaurant lists but I also make lists for special occasions. In this case it's a holiday list! After forgetting my notebook at home this weekend when I went to visit my parents, I decided to type everything up so I could share all of the things I want to do on holidays with my Mom from anywhere at any time. I'm extra excited again after reading everything. My Mom and I will be in London for four days, Split, Croatia for seven days then a little less than three days in Zagreb, Croatia. Some of the things I want to do include seeing Buckingham Palace and Stonehenge in the UK, sailing and hiking in Split and visiting historic sites and markets in Zagreb. I'm sure we will have a great time.