Category: Studio Projects

Mail Art

Bambino Mail Art

My Mom was a mail magician. She would make letters appear a few days into my week of summer camp. I’m not sure if she wrote them the moment after she dropped me off or if she had them written before I left. Even though I was only away from home for seven days, the letters usually hit when my homesickness kicked in. Her distinctive cursive and stories about all that was going on at home included weather reports, updates on my five siblings, Dad’s doings and tales about the family dog.

In this season of summer camp adventures and family travels, my mother’s letters are a springboard for this elevated envelope project. Hopefully, the writer will enjoy marking and coloring as much as the recipient digs the arty envelope!

One colorful cactus-themed envelope in timelapse appears below. (ta-da!)

June 8, 2019
Painted Portrait Jacket

Just delivered this freshly painted, Cowboy Kimono, to a dear friend and creative supporter. She commissioned the project as a present to herself and wanted something as vibrant as her personality. The few simple asks included maintaining the glory of her silver hair (she earned every strand and it’s a source of pride). Her response to the preliminary sketch was an enthusiastic, “Go for it.” (Love that form of creative cheerleading)

Interested in a custom Cowboy Kimono? Let’s talk!

May 14, 2019
Sneezing Geisha Overhaul

The Sneezing Geisha has been Cowboy Kimono’s icon for decades, revised and updated every few years. The last logo version was a scourge from the get-go. Reflecting back, I can see that over-thinking and settling on logic-based design is partly responsible for its glitches. My intention to make a more dynamic graphic by tilting everything created an imbalance that was a challenge to use in layouts. The logo is further skewed by the use of solid and outlined type.

Overhauling Sneezing Geisha was more of a playdate than a serious, focused design session, resulting in a better representation of Cowboy Kimono’s aesthetic. The Geisha’s shape, expression, and flower stayed the same, while the colors, patterns, linework, and fonts were updated.

KonTiki Aloha Font

The updated logo works well in a variety of layouts, is easy to center and makes me smile.

March 13, 2019
Flattering Caricatures

Caricatures to match salon’s brand

A longtime client asked me to create a series of caricatures for her salon. The salon’s logo includes a mascot that is a simple vector illustration. This versatile mascot has been disassembled, worn slippers and a towel, driven a truck, somersaulted, had a male twin, and more. The salon nicknamed her, Audrey.

Pieces of Audrey

Audrey was the inspiration for the caricature style. The hair stylist and nail technician’s each have a different color for their business cards. The colors used in the caricatures match their business cards. I took photos of each subject and developed their caricatures in Illustrator. Below are four examples.

Annette

Elaine

Amorena

Jackie

This graphic style ended up being very a flattering way to shine the light on their fabulous hairstyles.

January 25, 2019