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.
Originality is a term that is used often in the design world, whether in a request from a client or a promise of a designer. It is a desired quality for many obvious reasons. I mean, no one wants to be a copy cat, or at least I would hope so, right!?
One thing that can be noted about originality is how seemingly difficult it can be to find. That is because of the challenges, hard work, research, and skill it takes to develop something decently original. Some designers just don’t have the passion or motivation to go the extra mile in creating original work, OR, are simply satisfied with producing unoriginal rip off work. We see it everywhere. There are HUNDREDS of cheap logo design companies springing up online, you find more and more companies ripping off logo designs created by others. Plagiarism is a real problem. It is sad, and what is even more discerning is that clients with valuable business plans are settling for this poor attempt at design to represent their hard work and ideas. It’s a classic example of you get what you pay for.
These cheap logo design companies are treating logo design like a fast food drive through. Quick, cheap, and unoriginal. To a client that doesn’t know any better it might taste good and be at the right price now, but it’s not healthy in the long run because it is lacking those key ingredients that make up quality and originality. (careful research, consideration, and skill.)
Then there is always the debatable subject of how possible is 100% originality. Originality does bring up a lot of questions especially when you think of the thousands of years of art and design that has been created throughout the world. It makes it seem like anything you design is bound to have some kind of similarity to something else. This is another example of the importance in careful research but are some similarities all that bad? I say no of course not as long as you don’t cross a line and really I am only scratching the surface of this subject. Yes you will have occasions where work is evolved, or inspired by something else. Some of the best work I have seen has been inspired from something else but has it’s own original twist and is strong and beautiful. There is nothing wrong with this if it is approached well. Ask any great artist/designer and they will quickly tell you who they are inspired by, but when you look at their work you will see they are not ripping off anyone, they just allowed the artist that inspire them open their creative minds to create new and original work. There is a line and when it has crossed over to rip off, it is very apparent.
If you are looking for a logo for your business my advice to you is to strive for original. Don’t settle for a cookie cutter logo that is not considerate to anything about your business, and most certainly don’g allow rip offs. As I stated in a previous blog Logo design 101, your logo is your first impression, it needs to represent, and stand above. Don’t let this foundational starting point of your branding be quick, cheap and easy like fast food drive through. Originality is not just a side order so find a designer who will go the extra mile. There is so much involved that holds true value in quality logo design.
You can find inspiration in a diverse range of things from nature to objects. I keep my eyes open soaking in all the little details of things that I find inspiring. I find huge inspiration for looking at old objects and antiques. When I found out that my neighbor “Crazy Ed” was a huge collector of radios I was very intrigued. Crazy Ed’s Radio Emporium is what he calls his radio hobby/business. Ed is a retired engineer and saying he has a collection is a huge understatement. His house is filled to the brim with mostly radios but other objects like record, clocks, old light bulbs and even a turn of the century Edison Phonograph. Some of these radios are as old as late 1800s.
When I got the first tour of Ed’s collection I wished more than anything I had my camera with me and thankfully he was nice enough to let me come back another day and take a few pictures. I really got pumped looking at all the details of these radios. The knobs, carvings, embellishments, ornate graphics, the list goes on. Observing the art found in these radios can give you great inspiration for your next design piece. From the curves and flourishes of the old fashion turn of the century style radios to the art deco style radios from the 30s. There is such beautiful line work in these radios and the craftsmanship is mind blowing. What quality. I am not only inspired by these radio because of their aesthetic appearance but also by what they did and still do. Radios are, and especially back then, were a huge deal. I can look at these a radios and almost start to hear sound coming out of them as I think of the time frame they are from. My mind goes nuts thinking of all the music they have played, the history they have reported, where they have been, and who listened to them. My curiosity gets the best of me as I imagine this stuff. It is like a fairy tale but then I realize it is real. If these radios could have recorded what came through them in their life time and be played now, it would be incredible.
When I first met Ed and he shared with me about his unique interest and collection, I quickly learned he shared this interest with a decent sized group of men making it not as unique as I thought. Every Wednesday evening our street is filled with cars because Ed is having his weekly Radio meeting. He and his buddies get together every week to talk, share, swap, and work on their Radio collections. What a great hobby and great collection full of inspiration.
They are here! Check out the brand new set of sports twitter icons, actions sports style! Download any set you want, or heck download them all! EACH SET has two text versions (one that says “follow me on twitter” and “follow us on twitter”). The sets also include .jpg and .png file versions of each.
Having an appropriate icon on your site or blog to promote your twitter page is a great way to grab the attention of new followers. If you would like a custom set with your team or company colors on these little guys let me know and I can customize them for a small price.
Enjoy! Link Creative is eager to serve the extreme/action sports industry! Let me know how I can be of service to you and feel free to spread the word! Oh, and don’t forget to follow Link Creative on twitter! http://twitter.com/LindseyLinkC
