in logos we trust September 24, 2009

the Whatcom Land Trust is celebrating their 25th anniversary and are collaborating with Boundary on a special brew to commemorate the event.  i’ve been asked to design the logo for the event overall…something that could work for the brew label, for event promotional materials and for advertising.  i’m about to submit my first round of

comps, but thought i’d run it by my blog world first. they specifically asked for imagery to represent tree planting and referenced beer labels when we discussed design ideas they had.  here are the two options i am sending them…one illustrated by myself and one illustration by tammy, the other designer at boundary bay.  will be curious to see which they like better.  i’d love to hear from you readers too!

pirates and parrots and patches September 23, 2009

what to do when you’re an in-house designer working for a company that is run by someone who LOVES the idea of Talk Like A Pirate Day?  well, you grin and bear it…make a poster that garners a second look…and thank any and all gods that you, yourself, are not working that saturday.

in the land of paper, scissors are king September 21, 2009

i love graphic design, don’t get me wrong.  but sometimes, i long for creativity that is not connected to a computer.  i know it’s idyllic romanticizing on my part, but there is this side of me that hears about how the business of graphic design USED to be and i wish those days were here again.  i want to hand cut type and have to place everything manually.  i want to disconnect from my mouse and keyboard.  i want to turn my mac off.  but, so often, i choose digital to satisfy time constraints and laziness.  when you have the convenience of command-z how can you resist?!  but, last week, resist i did…

fed up with my digital way of life, i sat down to make a poster of paper cutouts.  granted, in the end, i did succumb to digital type (and, truthfully, only made 3 leaves and digitally copied them) but i still got that rush of satisfaction from creating something with my own two hands.  taking scraps of paper and watching this new thing rise into being out of pretty much nothing.

my social media attention! August 18, 2009

In the most recent issue (August 2009) of Front Burner, the official publication for the Washington Restaurant Association, Heather Donahoe wrote an article about social media titled “Dive Into the Conversation: Come Up With Bigger Profits.” Here are some excerpts from the article about what I’ve done with the social media at Boundary Bay Brewery:

Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro in Bellingham understands the benefits of social media better than perhaps any other restaurant in Washington. The popular eatery got serious about its social media efforts late last year and now has nearly 5,000 Facebook fans and almost 1,000 Twitter followers. Before jumping headlong into social media, Boundary Bay had a well organized blog that had drawn a fair amount of interest. Joining networking sites was the next natural step.

When the restaurant’s general manager Janet Lightner learned about Twitter last October, she was intrigued enough to ask her public relations specialist, Amy Jones, to set up an account. The response was overwhelming.

Amy Jones, Public Relations for Boundary Bay Brewery

“It absolutely exploded,” Jones said. “We’ve gotten to where when we put our info on one site, we already have so many people excited about what we’re doing that it has spread to Twitter before we can even Tweet it ourselves.”

Boundary Bay Brewery uses Twitter and Facebook to share their menu specials, announce the release of seasonal brews and put out the invitation for special events. Social media friends and fans of the restaurant respond by passing along the information and continuing the conversation.

“Customers love feeling like they have a personal connection to us, and this has been such a simple way to provide that,” Jones said. “Answering people’s questions and becoming a personality instead of just an information source is what it’s all about. It’s become a self-sustaining thing.”

Boundary Bay is in the advantageous position of being a craft beer brewer. This niche makes their business of special interest to an already enthusiastic demographic. Building on that unique position, Boundary Bay has gained its devoted social media following.

“I’ve actually heard customers in the restaurant say things like ‘Oh, I’m one of your Twitter followers, and I’m here because I found out your Imperial IPA is on tap,’” Jones said. “It’s exciting to see that connection.”

Jones offers a bit of advice for newbies to the social media game: “It’s really important right from the beginning to create a personality that allows you to interact with your fans in a way that feels real and personal,” she said. “If you’re able to make that happen in the beginning, you’ll see sustained success in the long run.”

not a leprechaun in sight August 11, 2009

the city of bellingham is trying to get a st. paddy’s day parade happening this year – with the intention of making it an annual occurance.  which means it needed a strong, simple brand identity to make it stick in people’s minds.  i was asked to make the logo which will appear on the website as the committee continues to form…and then, who knows what other applications.  it was a fun project to work on…a good challenge to convey a parade float via vector illustration and to avoid the potential cheesiness of working with a holiday like st. patrick’s day!

dear god, make me a bird… August 11, 2009

here’s a recent poster i did for the st. joe’s hospital benefit to be held at boundary bay brewery.  the birds depicted are a spin on the logo for the hospital itself.

logos, logos, logos August 9, 2009

when i finally found my way to graphic design i was thrilled.  there was a too-long path prior to that of jobs i couldn’t imagine being careers, careers that i imagined and never pursued, and degrees received and not used.  and then, i found what i’d been looking for all along…a job that allowed me to be creative and one that was constantly a challenge.  a situation that allowed me to continue learning and that would be diverse enough to keep my interest in a very long term sense.

once i got into my in-house design job, i ended up doing much more public relations and brand identity work than ACTUAL graphic design.  when that shift began, i fretted about it quite a lot.  i didn’t want to move away from graphic design because it had taken me so long to get to it in the first place.  i was thrilled to be a designer, could imagine doing that for my long term career, and truly enjoyed my work.  i had heard once that the first job you get as a designer really influences the kind of work you end up doing…and so i worried.  not that i didn’t like my job, but i had chosen graphic design and suddenly i had ended up in public relations.  but, as i stewed on it, i began to see that public relations and graphic design really walk hand in hand under the label of branding.  and that is something i can live with – something i can see myself doing as a career, regardless of how far into the future i look.

below are some examples of brand identity work i’ve been doing for my freelance clients.  and i get to meet with a new client this week who’s looking for a brand that extends it’s reach from logo to business cards to product labels/hangtags and social media.  i’m excited already!  it feels good to help a client shape their business (and, more often than not, their passion) into a cohesive package that makes sense to their consumers and communicates the business message.

proposed logo options for a new non-profit in our community - colors much less garish in non-wordpress applications!

bottom two examples are for a double sided card

analogue makes a comeback July 20, 2009

i was a photographer before i became an artist and before i became  designer.  photography was my all-consuming pursuit.  i felt naked if i went anywhere without my camera.  i enjoyed modest success here in bellingham – winning some photo contests, working in a few of the town’s photo labs and darkrooms, and even touring with a local band as their photographer.  it was a pretty sweet gig, all in all.

and then i went digital.

i didn’t know it at the time, but that one decision ended up being the death of photography in my life for a number of years.  somehow it reduced me to only taking snapshots – simple documentation of my life.  not the creation of art.  i didn’t see it coming and i wasn’t aware of it as it was happening.  i had a million reasons why i wasn’t photographing anymore:  a new marriage, a pursuit of graphic design, too many responsibilities and too little time…even the fact that i was now being creative on the clock and wanted to simply veg out when i got home at the end of the day.  i certainly wasn’t trying to fool anyone – least of all myself.  i truly believed those were the most likely reasons for my lack of photography.  i believed it right up until yesterday…when i got out my old cannon SLR with ACTUAL film still loaded in the back and partially shot.

as i started sorting through shutter cables and electrical tape and filters…and FINALLY through a huge, old bag of film that still contained some of my quickly forgotten favorites…a grin that couldn’t be contained spread across my face.  and it’s been there ever since.  i don’t know how to explain it, but just holding that camera in my hands again focused my attention and intentions on the photograph in a way that my digital camera never seemed to do for me.  i, literally, saw the world differently with my trusty old camera by my side.  is the click of the shutter?  the whirr of the film being loaded into the camera?  the heft of a “real” camera and accompanying lenses?  simple habit or comfort as this was the camera i learned to shoot on?  i can’t explain it and i don’t understand it…i just know that it is pure and simple analogue magic that is working in my veins.

i think i got great shots this weekend, but i don’t know yet.  and that delights me.  i’ve recaptured that old feeling – the anticipatory eagerness between when i drop a roll of film off and when i pick it up.  the potential for what i MIGHT have captured enchants me and very nearly makes me delirious. it was nice to trust my instincts again this weekend.  to stalk and hunt the photograph.  and, in the end, not know if i really captured it on film or not.  the moment occurred, i did what i could and now it’s gone.  it’s a good life lesson.  and lord knows, i need lots of those!

funny that i never realized in these nearly five years how much i’d lost when i put down my old cannon.  i love the convenience and immediacy of digital – especailly when it comes to specific images i need for my designs.  but maybe that’s all i need my digital camera for…

tweeting my life away July 7, 2009

i’ve been writing and thinking about social media a lot lately.  twitter in particular.  when i describe what it is that i do at my in-house job, i end up answering a lot of questions about WHY people would use a service like twitter that restricts their participants to 140 character tweets (er…posts, for those not yet initiated into twitter).

i think part of the fun is the challenge of figuring out how to use twitter to your businesses advantage and how, specifically, to use twitter creatively rather than simply typing in entries such as: “just thinkin’ about how much i love command-z & wishing i could utilize it in my personal life too!” the challenge is to understand how to grow your business via a tool like twitter and use it to your advantage rather than be constrained by its limitations.  at boundary bay brewery (my in-house job) i found a way to use our twitter community to create a stronger sense of consumer involvement with our business, introduce new products that we were offering AND get free marketing from our lovely twitter people.

in this last year, the brewery has introduced a rotating, seasonal dessert menu featuring the best ingredients and flavors of each season.  we wanted to promote not only that we DO a seasonal dessert menu, but that our new summer menu was up and running.  so, last week, here at the brewery, we invited twelve people from our twitter community to a Sweet Tweet at boundary bay brewery.  an afternoon event that would include beer and dessert tastings/pairings. then we had our twitter tasters tweet about the event as it was happening. it honestly, couldn’t have gone better.

they loved the idea of the event, they loved the beers, they LOVED the desserts, and they loved getting to be a part of this small focus group for a local business they love. but best of all, they talked and talked and talked on twitter about all that lovin’ they were doing! one of our tasters from the Sweet Tweet even wrote a blog about the event. basically, we just used twitter as a tool to make sure that the people who like what we do are spreading the word. and believe me, they are! click here to see the twitter posts about the boundary bay sweet tweet.

yes, the face of marketing and public relations may be changed by social media, but it is still true that it’s all about who you know. networking is the only surefire way to grow a business. the difference is that social media makes it really, really easy. not only do social media users have their own personal networks that they are interacting with almost continually, but then each part of that network has it’s own network too.   ta da: viral marketing!

i know it seems strange for some to imagine why they would ever bring their business to social media…or perhaps they can’t imagine how to utilize this new medium.  i firmly believe any kind of business can benefit from utilizing sites like facebook and twitter.  as for  how to utilize it…that’s only as limited as the imaginations of the people using the sites.  here at boundary, i’ve used it to announce last minute changes in music events due to weather, to update our fans on what we’re serving on tap, had a contest for fathers day asking people to tell us which boundary beer their dad is the most like, and now the Sweet Tweet.  not to mention simply using these sites to know what people are saying about your business and responding to them.  THAT is the true value of social media…being where your fans are.  you can interact and respond with consumers in a public forum which strengthens brand identity and trust and lets fans feel like they are a real and vital part of the business.

i’m into branding June 29, 2009

I was hired at Boundary Bay Brewery as a graphic designer. As I moved from part to full time employment, my job duties grew to include public relations. And, of course, public relations in the world today includes social media. My time now at Boundary is spent less on actual design (though I do still get to design the occasional show poster now and then!) and far more on marketing, or more accurately, branding through social media. At Boundary Bay, i manage the blog, our Twitter account and our Facebook pages…our holy trinity! the combined efforts of the media pages allow us to distribute our news farther and faster (and to a more widely divergent audience) in record time.

My job, on the whole, is becoming more narrowly focused. Concisely stated, I do brand management for Boundary Bay Brewery. And lately, that position has encompassed all kinds of different hats: graphic designer, public relations, merchandiser, sustainability coordinator, copywriter and photographer. My guess is, this list is only the beginning of what my job at the Bay might come to include. But i enjoy it! especially the challenge. And the change. Exercising these different aspects of myself keeps my creativity flowing.

Even in my freelance work, I find myself really focusing on branding. From designing a logo for a new bar, to creating an identity system for an acupuncturist, to managing the brand of a custom woodworker in Kentucky. I get professional and personal satisfaction from helping a business solidify their identity and put that brand forth to the world in a way that resonates…for me, for the client and for the consumers. For Mark Whitley, the woodworker, I designed a logo based on the shape of a custom table that was a signature piece for him. The logo was then applied in multiple aspects: business cards, pamphlets, a website, signage in his trade show booth and even spray painted on the crates his furniture is shipped in. More recently, I’ve been able to advise him on leveraging social media (Facebook in particular) to solidify and grow his brand. There are already tangible results from his implementing my ideas through his social media account. Best of all, I’ve loved helping him figure it out. It’s like this giant puzzle to me that if you keep shifting the pieces around enough, you eventually find this combination that just fits and moves your forward.

After two degrees (one of which was never professionally utilized) you’d think I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the future is never what you make of it when you’re looking ahead and planning! when I was in school finishing my design degree, I imagined a long and lovely future for myself of working at some hip design firm creating a wide range of incredibly fun, interesting projects like catalogs, identity systems and the like. I didn’t really, ever, consider what it woud be like to do in-house design. And I couldn’t even imagine how design (and public relations) would change with the introduction of phenomenons like Twitter. Perhaps the best traits we can possess are flexibility and a willingness to learn. Being involved in a field that relies heavily on technology means that the face of design will continue to change and evolve as quickly as it ever has…if not even faster. As for me, I’m along for the ride. I’m enjoying riding this wave and seeing where this is going to take me.