Layout Design Needs Breathability Text layout design is a lot like interior design. Imagine you’re walking into a room, and it’s filled with furniture. The walls are covered with pictures, tchotchkes on every surface, throws and throw pillows galore. You can’t really focus on any one thing because there’s just too much. But something is […]
Deconstructing an E-Newsletter: Looking at Design and Marketing Elements
Create an Email Newsletter People Will Read I shared this yesterday in my Idea Factory, a learning/incubator group I created on Facebook, where I had promised some e-newsletter tips but I think it’s worth posting here as well. In this example I’ve broken down the design and marketing elements of an e-newsletter I created last […]
A Business Card That Breaks the Ice
Case Study: Designing for Human Interaction THE CHALLENGE A client initially came to me with a request for a business card. Diana is a certified trainer for the B.A.N.K. Code Assessment system, which consists of four personality profiles, and provides a method for determining them in order to improve communication, insight, and ultimately, buying behavior. […]
Business Owners: Yes, You Need a Professional Graphic Designer
Why might a business owner need to hire a professional designer at a time when so many DIY tools are available online? This question was one I answered recently when I participated in a short interview at a local business networking group. I only had a short time, so I thought long and hard about […]
An Art Jewelry Design Website Goes Trans-Pacific
When this Maui-based client, a contemporary jewelry designer, relocated to Oregon, we needed to adjust the website I had designed for her previously* to reflect her new locale, while retaining the minimalist aesthetic. While Hawaii still shows in her work, the new approach needed to reflect the influences of her new woodsy home on her […]
Designing Accessible Furniture for an Aging Population
Here’s a topic that veers quite a bit from graphic design, web development, or marketing. But it’s an example about how design––any kind of design––needs to function for its user. When I was in college in Japan I became aware of the degree to which US consumer goods are largely designed for tall, American men. […]