Truly Inspired Inspiration Boards

One of my clients once sent me a picture of a dish towel, a cartoon, a chair, some fabric she found at her favorite store, and a ring she liked from Etsy. While these things may seem disconnected, she wanted to communicate her visual inspiration as I sat down to create a logo for her photography business. We had already talked about her values. We hashed out how she wanted to be perceived in her industry. She had shared her vision and growth plan. All of that helped me create a logo that was the perfect fit for her brand and her company.

I often tell my clients that I want them to send me points of inspiration. My brides send me pictures of lighting, receptions, swatches of bridesmaid dress fabric and linens. They tell me about their favorite pair of shoes and about how they met their fiance. Each of these bits of their story help inspire me when I’m designing stationery for their celebration.

Similarly, clients developing logos send me images that represent the values and personality of their brand. I get everything from cereal advertisements, pieces of clothing, and furniture, to drawings and landscape photographs. Each of these elements helps me to understand what images mean to them and how they want to express themselves and their brand.

In the world of wedding blogs, inspiration boards are all the rage. Bloggers choose a number of images that fit into a theme and present them together to inspire their readers. Some of my favorite inspiration boards include those from Green Wedding Shoes, Gloria McCune, and Inspired by This.

Here is a pink board from Green Wedding Shoes.

photo credits: top row - martha stewart, Chris Nicholls. next row: j crew dress, martha stewart, invitation by oh my deer via once wed. bottom row: duston todd, flickr, darling dexter, gourmet

Whether you are planning a wedding, starting a new business, or recreating yourself, an inspiration board can be a great place to begin. Gather images, textures, and ideas from lots of industries and mediums. While I love it when a bride comes with any visual stimuli, I think it is important to keep things personal. The more intentional you can be about your choices, the better end product will be. A pretty pink palette is wonderful but if it also tells part of your story and connects to who you are, it will be even more meaningful.

Don’t feel like you have to interpret the inspiration board. When you hire professionals, they should be able to pick out themes and patterns. Hopefully the inspiration board will be a jumping off point for your uniquely designed masterpieces.

If you’re having trouble, try scouring visually stimulating sites like flickr, Etsy, istockphoto, clipart.com, and Google image search. Be sure to look outside of your own industry or genre to expose yourself to a variety of ideas. Take your own pictures. Include sketches. Add images from art, fashion, interior design, and anything else that inspires you or tells part of your story.

Please keep in mind that I am not encouraging you to rip off the ideas of others. It is one thing to say that you like the imagery or emotion that a logo evokes. It is another to copy it.

What inspires your celebration or brand?

Inspired by Color

Every project we take on has one thing in common. While we use our layout skills and sense of proportion in everything from wedding invitations to websites, there is no doubt that our best tool is color. Color can set the tone or make a good project go bad quickly. People perceive bad use of color more readily than any other design flaw.

Color is the foundation of the design process for us. Because different colors have different meanings, we don’t usually present logo designs across the rainbow to our clients. We match their brand with an appropriate color scheme. We want the chosen colors to evoke and strengthen the ideas they want to express. We also want to be thoughtful about where the logo will appear. Especially because color is perceived differently around the world, color selection must account for a company’s long-term goals as well as their current place in the market.

Because color matters, it is also a paramount concern in our invitation work as well. While our brides and event planners generally choose their color schemes before they bring us in on the project, presenting color consistently is essential for success. Guests at an event may not hold the invitation up to the napkin to make sure it is the same shade but if we can get close, why wouldn’t we?

Successful color selection and execution depends a lot on communication. While color perception might have far-reaching consistency within a culture, describing color isn’t always that easy. For this reason, we encourage our clients to adopt one of our favorite friends throughout their branding or event planning process. Pantone has universalized color. Their system of swatch books have revolutionized consistency in ink colors, fashion, and home decor.

For companies wanting color consistency across multiple formats, choose a Pantone color and stick with it. While web colors aren’t always the same as ink colors, having a Pantone color as the target will help serve as a goal. Throughout the design process, don’t be afraid to whip out one of these handy tools. While slight variation can still occur, having a benchmark will help everyone stay on the same page. If you are planning an event, check out The Dessy Group’s Pantone swatches that you can give to vendors and designers involved in your process.

For another perspecitve on successful use of color for logo design, check out Brian Hoff’s post on flexibility.

Images from Pantone and The Dessy Group

Thinking Ahead

Over the weekend, I came across a book at our family cabin. It was a dusty volume that I’m sure my mom picked up in an antique store on one of her treasure hunts. While it is entirely likely that she bought it for the aesthetic value it could add to the mantle (she often sees books as decorative objects rather than sources of information), I found the words inside as interesting as the charming gold-foiled spine.

The opening passage of the beautiful old volume of Audels Carpenters and Builders Guide: A Practical Illustrated Trade Assistant on Modern Construction struck a chord with me. Quoting John Ruskin, the first page proclaimed,

“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think, as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’”

In an age where craftsmanship is so often discarded with disregard, I cherish the idea of designing and creating with the future in mind.

September 2009 Art & Culture Calendar

Here are some of our art & culture picks for September. We hope they inspire creativity in you as we move into autumn.

Steeped in History: The Art of Tea
UCLA Fowler Museum
Now through November 29, 2009

Hyatt Regency Newport Beach Summer Jazz Series
$50 through $85
Fridays at 8 pm through October 2nd

Choir of Trinity College Cambridge
California State University, Fullerton, Meng Concert Hall
September 12th at 8 pm

Friday Night Centennial Dinners
Anaheim White House
Pre Fixe Menu and Centennial Celebration
every Friday through November 27, 2009

Flights and Sounds of Summer Dance and Concert Series
Orange County Great Park, Irvine
Free Admission, $8 Parking
September 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, & 26 at 8 pm

Toshiba Tall Ships Festival
Ocean Institute, Dana Point
September 11th through 13th, 10 am to 5 pm

The Moving Image: Scan to Screen, Pixel to Projection
Orange County Museum of Art
Now through September 27, 2009
September 13, 2009 is a Target Free Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm

What will you be viewing or doing in September to be inspired and spark your creativity?

New View on Calligraphy as Art

I have always enjoyed a nice hand-addressed envelope. I encourage my clients to use calligraphers to make sure their invitations get noticed the moment they arrive. I use calligraphers myself at every opportunity. I have even commissioned calligraphers to make spectacular monograms, awards, and other one-of-a-kind pieces and gifts. I must admit, however, that I have not contemplated calligraphy as art enough.

Two weeks ago I set out to expose myself to calligraphy from a new perspective. I wanted to see calligraphy in a new light. I took my own advice and attended an exhibit at Soka University. Sea of Ink: Calligraphic Expressions in America opened my eyes to the art of calligraphy.

While most of the exhibit used languages that I could not read, I was struck by how much a understood just from the shape stroke of the characters. Powerful imagery was poured into each of these pieces. I decided to share a few pictures to show what I mean.

Mary Bryan’s “Great Wisdom is Like Being Foolish” and Carm Fogt’s “Loud Yell”
Mary Bryan’s “Resist”, Carm Fogt’s “Deep Dream”

My favorite artist of the exhibit was Chau Thuy. Here are his works “No Le Slavery,” “Belief and Ideal,” and “Thuyen Nhan Boat People.”

I also enjoyed exploring Soka University a little. They have beautiful grounds (perfect for an engagement session) with an expansive fountain. I also loved this fixture in the gallery. It reminded me of Dale Chihuly.

After the exhibit, I asked a few calligraphers to tell a little more about their work. Check back tomorrow for some of their advice.

Upward Inspiration

While I don’t usually look to cartoons for design inspiration, this morning I saw Disney & Pixar’s Up. …in 3D. Wow. Movies have to follow a lot of rules in order for me to like them. Up followed them all.

One: The Story
What a beautiful story that was so well crafted. They created an engaging, dynamic portrayal of a lifelong relationship and marriage with no dialog– that’s impressive. The images were so powerful and well-chosen. The story had so much impact. And didn’t need any more words than it had.

Two: The Setting
If you are going to tell me a story, it doesn’t necessarily have to have a happily ever after but I certainly want to see beautiful scenes, characters, and moments along the way. Up certainly delivered here.

Three: Plausibility
While I can’t really imagine someone actually traveling to South America (”its like America but south“) in a balloon-propelled house, it was at least consistent. The balloons did start to sag after a few days, he had more whiskers at the end of the movie than at the beginning…. they paid attention to the details. I like that.

So, I’m inspired to love my husband, remember that I’m on an adventure everyday, and design cool things. In fact, I think I might have to start designing an invitation based on a cloud motif… the wheels are turning.

This just in…

Junebug Weddings has launched their southern California site. Now you can find the best SoCal Wedding professionals all in one place. We are honored to be among the chosen.