Naturally with Christmas time come some fun holiday projects. I had the opportunity to work on some fun custom lettering for a Christmas event. I thought I would show some snippets of the lettering process. This was actually a pro bono project I did that I was happy to help out with. With that said, I was given the project to complete quickly, and while trying to squeeze in around other paid project on my plate!

I had a specific tall curly font style in mind but was not able to find what i was looking for within “budget” or time. This is a good example of where custom lettering comes to the rescue! I can usually come up with a custom lettering treatment faster than it takes me to perform that agonizing search. I have the freedom to get as specific to the creative need as possible! These are some of the great advantages not mentioning the lack of worry on right of usage.
 
 
Here are the somewhat refined rough sketches. I say that because they are kind of in the middle. Usually I like to go a few steps further with line refinement in paper but with the crunch in time I chose to refine from here in Illustrator
 
 
Tweaking the raw vector lines
 
 
In this case, (again with the quick turn around) I created a custom brush in illustrator to apply and manipulate on the vector lines of each letter. These turned out pretty well with some cleaning up on some corners and twists. Brushes are a great quick way to achieve a certain looking you are going after if you know how to work with them right. If I had all the time in the world, I would naturally prefer to control every twist turn and curve of this ribbon effect by hand.
 
 
Lastly, I Expanded my brush strokes when I cleaned them up and then exported the piece into Photoshop for the subtle shadow effect on the overlapping of the ribbon lettering. Wala!
 
 
I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!
 

So they are a bit late in the season but here are some fun seasonal twitter icons! Download the complete set. The set also include .jpg and .png file versions of each.

Having a seasonal icon on your site or blog to promote your twitter page
is a great way to grab the attention of new followers!

Enjoy! Oh, and don’t forget to follow Link Creative on twitter! http://twitter.com/LindseyLinkC
 

 
So you need to hire a designer (aka freelancer) to help you with the branding and design needs of your business. I am naturally a strong believer in this being a good choice because of my passion for what I do. I can confidently say this is a great step to take as I see the value of great design time after time.

Starting a new project can however be overwhelming, especially when it involves aspects that are outside of your abilities. That is why you are hiring a professional right!

In order to make your project a success the first and most important step is building a solid working relationship with your contractor. A good contractor should be working to do the same with you. As a Solo designer my first step of the project process kind of works hand in hand with building this relationship. I take time to learn all about your business and your needs. In that I am also learning how you function professionally so that we can work together effectively.

It is good for you to also learn a bit about your contracted designer so you know how to maintain this healthy working relationship as the project progresses. Some of the information that would be good for you to know about solo designers is either not overly obvious or is easily over looked. Here is a quick list of things to keep in mind when working with a solo contracted designer or illustrator.

1. Respect the policies that are presented and you agreed upon.
They serve to help you and the designer both.
 
2. Respect our profession and trust our expertise.
Reputable designers are worthy of respect just as any other professional. They offer a fine service at a fair price. Designers are open to your input but micro managing is restricting and usually very ineffective. You hired a professional, allow them to show you their expertise.
 
3. Communicate clearly and in a timely manner to help the project progress.
Clear and organized communication is always key!
 
4. Please pay on time.
It has to be said sometimes unfortunately. Your designer worked hard for you and deserves to be compensated in a timely manner.
 
and last but not least..
 
5. Know that reputable designers want to take care of you. A reputable designer not only has genuine talent and skills sets, but passion and pride for what they do. They work hard and are thorough in learning about you so they can meet your creative needs. In additions to everything else, this is our lively hood! We give 110% to maintain a reputation so we can continue to making a living doing what we do best.
 
I am always eager to build great working relationship with old and new clients at Link Creative!

I have learned recently that an incredible amount of inspiration, among other things, can be found in having a nice work space. A work space should work for your personally on many levels. It should be comfortable and visually pleasing. For me It also needs to be well organized. With all of this I have found I am more relaxed, focused, inspired, and ready to rock each day!
 

 
I found that my desk set up was not only incredibly uncomfortable but very ugly as well. I was trying to hold off on buying a desk as I thought it was going to cost more than I was willing to drop at the time. I was quickly reminded by a friend of the wonder that is IKEA. We are lucky that the only IKEA in Ohio is only 30 min away! Off I went to purchase my new desk (IKEA Galant system). It fulfilled my needs in a desk beyond what I could imagine. Not only did I get a desk that is comfortable to sit at but I was also able to arrange my office in a much more space efficient manner.
 

 
Here are my key ingredients to an inspiring stress free workspace. Organization system, visual stimulation (pictures, collections, a good view out a window), good lighting, proper color scheme, and of course comfort! With working at home I have also found value in arranging and decorating my office in a manner that separates it visually from the rest of the house. All in efforts of making working from home more pleasing than every before! My office is however not complete. As you can see my walls are a bit bare and need something! Oh and as a pet/dog lover I would have to ad to the list that having a wonderful friend to be with me during the day is the icing on the cake!
 

 

Recently I was approached by a wedding business in Cincinnati. I was excited to learn that they are a one of a kind business that knows of the value in having a professionally designed identity and branding system for their business. Wedd head specializes in on site wedding hair and makeup. They send our professional stylists directly to their clients so that they can avoid the hectic runaround of appointments, and focus on having a stress free wedding day from start to finish. What better way to enjoy feeling beautiful with your girls before your wedding!


I was so excited to have the opportunity to design a logo for such a great business with a neat and unique name.
 The Wedd Head team were very thorough in completing my brief so that I could learn of all the important aspects of Wedd Head in order to develop a custom logo that will help keep them ahead of the game. As usual in my process I always present multiple version initially to work towards finding the right direction that works best and also pleases them.
 

While there are no other businesses in the Cincinnati area offering this specific service they knew they needed to establish a brand that will stand out against any competition they might face. You would be surprised on how many great businesses fail to see this importance.

Below is the final version that was chosen. Wedd Head let me know they wanted something that was elegant yet slightly edgy. the “Wedd” text of the logo is custom lettered and designed to represent flowing beauty and shine. the flowing portions of the W and D resemble flowing curls with sparkles of beauty. I anchored it down with the HEAD text treatment in a styled bar for that ridged balance.