Here is a custom designed holiday card for a wonderful company (Leader in Coverage Insurance Brokerage) that had me recreate their logo and stationery a few years ago. They usually like to have a new holiday card designed each year. For 2012, we came up with the blue joy greetings.
I’d also like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Enjoy your families and be safe. See you in 2013!
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This artist was preparing for her annual art show and needed a business card to hand out to the people stopping by her booth. Instead of a business card (the usual and expected item), we came up with a creative item that could be used and kept; a bookmark with her artwork, bio and contact info. If someone did not want to use this as a bookmark, they could fold it in half to a business card size and keep it with their other cards.
The artist mailed me some of her artwork that she had scanned and made into digital files. We chose the best images for a bookmark shape (tall and skinny) and carefully placed each image on each side. On one side we laid out her bio in white text over the landscape art image. We made the text a somewhat heavy font so it is legible while still showing the image behind it. After the artist okayed the design, we had the bookmark professionally printed. These bookmark giveaways ended up beautiful and she had fun passing them out at her show!
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I LOVE Dropbox! It is a free file sharing service that lets you upload files to your Dropbox account which you can easily invite someone to by giving them a specific link. There is the option to purchase more space, but so far I have not needed even though I use Dropbox quite a bit with graphic design as well as photography clients.
The site and everything about it is so user friendly! I have not seen another site as excellent and clear as this one. Dropbox also puts my mind at ease because I know whatever files I have placed on there are safe (in case my computer crashes or my office goes up in flames). If I have the need for recovering files, I can just download my saved files from Dropbox.com to another computer. (Dropbox also has an app for your phone but I personally don’t use it.)
It is free, easy to understand and they don’t send you a bunch of emails – a winner in my book! (No, they are not paying me to say this!) Take a look: Dropbox.com
__Busy executives don’t usually have the time (or the desire!) to find a studio where they can go in and get a professional headshot. AP design and photo brings all lighting and backdrop gear and comes to you where you are comfortable and able to use your time more efficiently. Here is an image that was shot a few weeks ago at this professional’s home. His wife was present and involved in helping choose his tie, and the final image she and he liked best. This couple (who happens to work together – he, the lawyer and she, the office manager) was such a delight to work with! The purpose of his headshot was for the web, more specifically, for his LinkedIn page. We shot a few images (utilizing the beautiful window light coming through their front room) and then pulled these images up on my laptop. A few adjustments were made in the composition of the image (such as the angle of the shot and his expression). Then we photographed a little more and reviewed those images just taken, in which we found their favorite shown here. Once the image was chosen, I packed up and explained they would receive an edited image later that week, which they did (delivered electronically). Here was her response:
“Thank you again for coming all the way to our house. I love the picture. You did a great job with his skin coloring.” - Shirlene in Trabuco Canyon
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Recently, I had the pleasure of writing a guest post for Jamie M. Swanson’s popular photography business blog called The Modern Tog. She was an absolute delight to work with and has a tremendous amount of very helpful information on her blog for small business owners!
The post, “What To Expect When Working With a Graphic Designer,” was full of information for anyone wanting to learn how to work successfully on a project with a graphic designer (therefore, saving time and money). Please click HERE to read the whole post (6 steps – such as setting goals for your project, how to best prepare text and art for your designer …). I hope you find it helpful and applicable for your own situation!
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