5 May 2023
Today, I would design these on a computer in InDesign, but when I started out in design things were very, very different. Let me explain the process . . .
Before I could get started on the artwork I’d create a pencil thumbnail (also known as a scamp) with the rough layout of the piece I was to be working on. In this case, a standard UK Business Card is 85mm x 55mm (although this does vary from printer to printer and country) – this gives a rough idea of what sizes the logos and text will need to be.
Type had to be sourced from a typesetting house, so I had to learn to spec type in a way that a typesetter could supply me exactly what I needed – getting this wrong could be expensive, so you had to check, and check again, that you’d supplied the correct information. It could take a couple of days before you got the typeset piece back from the setting house.
Logos and any decorative elements would need to be resized on a reprographic camera. Again this could be an expensive process, so first I would create a “dummy” using photocopies, just to be sure my sizes worked. (To work out the percentages for reducing or enlarging I use this simple equation “Divide what you want by what you’ve got”.) Then I’d head off to the dark room to do the camera work, including the processing and drying, this could take around an hour.
Photos required the area to be used to be masked. I already knew the size of the Business Cards (85mm x 55mm) and the width of the photo (184mm), so I needed to work out how deep (x) the mask needed to be. This is where a wee bit of mathematics comes in handy! Here’s the equation I used: x = (184 x 50) ÷ 85. So x = 108mm.
That complete, I would go back to my drawing board. I’d draw up the layout on an artboard using a non-reproducing pencil (blue), marking on the crop marks in black ink and, using a scalpel and metal ruler, I’d cut out my text and my logos before pasting them with SprayMount into position on the artwork. When the artwork was completed, a colleague (with a fresh pair of eyes) would double-check that everything was straight and correct before proceeding to the next stage. This process could take around an hour, to an hour and a half.
Full colour work (generally things which include photos) went to a repro house in order to produce colour separated films for the printer. An overlay (tracing paper) would be added to the artwork with everything hand coloured, and CMYK values added, along with any further instructions. The artwork would then be sent off to the repro house – the one we used was in Singapore – so it could take around three weeks to get the final films and Cromalin proof back! After those had been checked, and only then, could the artwork finally go to the printer to be printed.
After a week to ten days, you’d finally have your beautiful Business Cards in your hands.
So, do you still think they’re effortlessly simple?
Yes, the production method may have changed beyond all recognition, but the design fundamentals and principles that I learned all of those years ago still remain the exactly the same.
3 Jul 2020
Wow, how can it possibly be the beginning of July already – it really has been a year like no other, hasn’t it?
Looking back over the events of the past six months, I was reminded about a Vision Boarding Session I did at the end of 2019. Over the course of an afternoon, each of us chose images, pictures and affirmations which we were drawn to, and created a collage symbolising our hopes and dreams for the year ahead. The things which came up for me meant getting back out into nature a bit more, taking time to hone my photography skills, do more “hands on” creative work, and just to live a little slower. Little did I know back then, that when I chose the image with the word “pause” on it, that was really going to manifest itself – big time! (Note to self: Be careful what you wish for!)
I guess back then, none of us could even have dreamed about the chaos and disruption that Corona Virus would wreak on all of us – at times it really did feel like we were living on the set of a horror movie. Now though, here on Mallorca at least, things are beginning, slowly but surely, to open up again and we are taking tentative steps into the “new normality” phase. This means that although freedom of movement has been restored, certain other safety measures, such as social distancing and hygiene measures will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
Hopefully, wherever you are in the World, things are also beginning to get back to “normal”, and that you, your family and also your business can find a way to navigate through the coming months. Now is a great time to pause and reflect – by taking the time to figure out what has and hasn’t been working in your business – allowing you to do things differently in order to move forward in a more sustainable way. It’s at times like these that a small business really has the advantage in being able to shift and pivot, much quicker and smarter than their larger counterparts can.
My business model has meant that I have been lucky enough to be able to continue working with my clients throughout the whole of Lockdown, but as the mercury begins to rise here on Mallorca, the time has come for me to take my own “pause”. Let me tell you, temperatures in the high 30’s, plus high humidity do NOT make for Tranquilo working conditions! For this reason, the Studio will be closed from Friday 17 July until Monday 14 September.
So, stay safe, have a fabulous Summer, and I can’t wait to see you on the other side!
13 May 2020
VILLA FLORES, TUSCANY
For my third, and final ELEVATE with Fiona Humberstone project, I selected an Italian retreat, VILLA FLORES, (or VILLA FIGLINE VALDARNO as Fiona had named it!) Located high on a Tuscan hillside, this 18 roomed agroturismo, is 15 minutes from Florence, amidst an award-winning vineyard, olive grove and productive kitchen garden.
The stunning Italianate villa is currently decorated in the very dark, heavy local vernacular style. The new owners have an incredible vision for the restoration of the house, garden and estate, and by breathing new light into the building, they hope to attract a new type of guest. Their classic, calm and understated style will be reflected throughout the house, garden and pool area.
Tuscany, and Florence in particular, is renowned for great food, wine, art, music and opera – passions which the owners are keen to share with their guests. As well as offering a calm, restorative retreat, they also plan to include painting workshops, opera retreats and a spa offering specialist treatments. There will also be an on-site restaurant which will showcase the very best produce that the estate has to offer.
Wow, don’t you just want to go and book a retreat there right now? This brief spoke to me on so many levels – I mean, food, wine, art, music and opera – honestly, what’s not to like?! After some extensive research on the area, the culture, and the local flora and fauna, I created a concept which I loved. I will share more as time goes on, but for now, here is the mood board reflecting the design direction.
Can you define the essence of your brand? If you can distill the essence of your brand down to three brand characteristics, you will have the perfect starting point to create an intentional brand identity which you can be proud of.
Shown here are the brand characteristics for VILLA FLORES.
Oh my, I am so in love with this colour palette! This stunning colour palette is the one I created for VILLA FLORES. These soft, faded colours, are evocative of a summer spent under the Tuscan sun: the soft sandstone of the buildings, whispery blues of early morning skies, pale cream of the sweet scented jasmine and dusty greens found in the olive groves.
VILLA FLORES truly is the epitome of classic, calm and understated style.
I took inspiration from the classic Italianate architecture found in the area; referencing the famous Iris Fiorentina. The “giglio”, as it is known locally, is a decorative emblem which can be found on fireplaces and floor tiles throughout the Villa, as well as on the crest of the Flores family.
The serif fonts are a nod to the historical stone carved inscriptions and signs found in local towns and villages all over Tuscany.
The classic, timeless style of the brand identity which I created, echoes the vision that the owners have for VILLA FLORES. It adds to the sense of history of the Villa, but at the same time it has a light, modern influence.
Sometimes, simplicity is enough. As well as the primary brand identity, I also created a secondary brand mark for VILLA FLORES. It showcases how stunning typography and layout, along with exquisite letter spacing can be used to convey the classic, yet understated style in a pared back way, but one which still perfectly reflects the brand message.
These days your brand identity has to work across many media types and platforms – everything from printed marketing collateral to online profiles. How you make your brand identity work on your social media profile for instance, can be a little tricky. One way to overcome this is with a gorgeous monogram or brand mark, such as the one I created for VILLA FLORES.
Creating brand mockups really brings a brand to life, especially if those mockups are so “on brand” for your client. I think you’ll agree, that this one from fits the VILLA FLORES brand so perfectly, it could have been custom made, just for them.
A fabulous quote deserves a fabulous typeface! And, I hope you will agree, that the gorgeous Kepler Italic really is a fabulous typeface! It is a modern re-interpretation of a traditional 18th century typeface – and, as such, it lends just the right touch of elegance and refinement, that suits VILLA FLORES to a “T”. I loved this quote as soon as I found it – for me it really evokes the very essence of Tuscany. You can almost hear the wind rustling gently through the cypress trees, as they stand, high on the hillside protecting the precious jewels, which are slowly ripening and sweetening, in the midday sun on the pale limestone slopes below.
In order to bring your brand to life, I like to go the extra mile and create a mockup of a piece of marketing collateral especially for you. Something so simple as creating a gorgeous personalised postcard (like this one I designed for VILLA FLORES) which you can send to your guests prior to their stay, not only adds that little special touch, but it also enchants your clients and elevates your business in their eyes.
13 May 2020
SAMPHIRE, CORNWALL
For my second ELEVATE with Fiona Humberstone project, I selected SAMPHIRE, a restaurant with rooms located in the wilds of Cornwall. I totally fell in love with Cornwall after just one visit – I loved the romance of the wild, rugged scenery, the gorgeous coastal colours and also the connection between food and nature which is so prevalent there. This brief really spoke to me – for me there was absolutely no other choice! So, after completely immersing myself in all things Cornish (and foody!), I created a concept which I was proud of. Here is the mood board which reflects the design direction I was heading in.
So, let the detective work commence! A good client brief will provide your designer with background information about your business, the direction you would like to take it in, and what it is that sets you apart from your competitors. The trick to being an intentional designer however, is being able to detect which bits of information are essential to determining the impact that your brand needs to create. Like any good detective story, there are likely to be twists and turns in the plot line, but with time and my expertise, I can help guide your brand in the right direction.
The key to it all is being able to distill the essence of your brand down to three brand characteristics, these will then become the starting point of creating an intentional brand identity which you can be proud of.
Shown here are the brand characteristics for SAMPHIRE.
We learnt more about the magic that colour psychology can bring to our work and how it allows us to create more intentional brand colour palettes for our clients projects.
This gorgeous understated colour palette is the one I created for SAMPHIRE, a restaurant with rooms in the wilds of Cornwall. It combines soft, muted colours, inspired by the rugged Cornish landscape and the exquisite littoral light famed for centuries by artists. Call me an old romantic, but I find that naming the colours, in a way which complements my clients’ brand, helps to forge a stronger connection and brings them to life in a way that a mere Pantone reference or hex colour code just can’t rival.
It’s no secret that I love a quote! I am also very fond of a gorgeous typeface, and if it’s a handwritten one, then that’s it, I’m totally smitten!
Fragile Script, which I used for the SAMPHIRE brand evokes just the right feeling of elegance, and when paired with an understated serif typeface, Bodoni 72 Smallcaps Book, it creates a typeface marriage made in heaven.
For SAMPHIRE I wanted to create a simple typographical logo with a natural, understated and exquisite feel. It reflects the connection between food and nature, which has ensured that this stunning restaurant has become a destination restaurant in the truest sense of the word.
Here is the gorgeous menu I created for SAMPHIRE – one which is worthy of a Michelin star restaurant. I do love to go the extra mile for my clients by creating mockups – this means that I can really make their new brand identity to come to life.
Showcasing your new identity in action allows you to think big about your business, and can open up all sorts of possibilities, which you had only dreamt about . . .
The devil is in the detail . . . This may look like an ordinary bottle of olive oil, but it is in fact a bottle of Cornish rapeseed oil!
The ethos of SAMPHIRE’s Michelin starred chef is to create simple, but exquisitely presented food, such as his signature dishes including samphire and seaweed, seasonal Cornish fish and vegetables charred on the Josper grill. Where possible, everything is sourced within a 25 mile radius of the restaurant, with the emphasis on local seasonal produce.
At the moment, Cornwall isn’t renowned for producing olive oil (although attempts have been made!), however, rapeseed is grown on the rich, fertile soils of the North Cornish coast, which meets his criteria for celebrating home grown produce beautifully.
Even after all these years, I still get really nervous when I present my work to clients. Have I fully understood their hopes and dreams? Does the mood board illustrate this with clarity? Are the colours and fonts, which I have carefully hand picked, right for where their business is heading? Have I created my best work? Will they actually like it? Gosh, it’s all just soooo stressful!
Taking part in the Elevate mentoring programme with Fiona Humberstone, has given me a fantastic opportunity to grow my creative process and have faith in my ability to design beautiful, modern brand identities. It hasn’t eased all of my fears and worries, I’ll always have those, that’s just human nature, but it has given me the confidence to know that within me I have the skill and the creativity to help elevate my clients businesses in an intentional way.
13 May 2020
BREEN, NORWAY
Recently, I took part in ELEVATE (a six week mentoring programme for brand designers committed to excellence) with Fiona Humberstone, The Brand Stylist.
Every two weeks, Fiona released three very different, inspirational (but alas, sadly fictional!) client briefs from which we had to choose one to work on. We then had a very tight timeframe of one week in which we had to develop and deliver our initial design concepts. This work was reviewed by Fiona, who in her role as creative director, gave us constructive feedback. We then had another week in which to refine the work into a finished portfolio piece.
For my first project, I selected BREEN, an exciting new Norwegian boutique hotel, located at the edge of one of Norway’s most majestic fjords – the deep blue Geirangerfjord. So, after completely immersing myself in all things Norwegian, I created a concept which I was proud of. Here is the mood board which reflects the design direction I was heading in.
Sometimes, being a brand designer is a little like being a detective! You have to go through the client brief with a fine tooth comb, picking up on the vital “clues” – the essential pieces of information about your client’s business – and weeding out any red herrings which have been placed to throw you off track!
Once you’ve completed this stage you will have three to six key brand characteristics, which become the cornerstones to being able to create a brand identity with intention for your client.
Shown here are the brand characteristics for BREEN:
Each and every colour, has within it, the magical power to make us “feel” something.
Learning more about colour psychology in branding was a real game changer for me. It will allow me to create a more intentional colour palette for your brand, which will connect with your muses at a deeper, more subconscious level, faster than words or images ever could.
This limited colour palette is the one I created for BREEN, an exciting new Norwegian boutique hotel. It combines soft, natural colours, inspired by the lush vegetation, waterfalls, astonishing mountains and feather light mists found in the beautiful surrounds.
For BREEN, I wanted to create a simple logo with an understated sense of style and flair; reflecting a personal and deeply intimate hotel that feels like a rather spoiling home from home.
In order to help the hotel stand out from the competition, I’ve moved away from the stereotypical stripped back Scandi style. Instead I’ve taken inspiration from the traditional decorative craft of Rosemåling – and created a nature inspired design motif.
Paired with simple, stylish typography this gives the overall look an understated air of luxury about it, without being stark or ostentatious. It is also empathetic with the strong sense of responsibility for the location and the certified sustainable destination status.
Mockups are where your new brand identity really begins to come to life. They allow you to see your new identity in action and allow you to think big about your business.
When I create a mood board I love to include a quote or saying, which is relevant to the brand I am working on. I use them to evoke a feeling, but also to showcase a beautiful typeface – in this instance Bodoni 72 Oldstyle Italic – isn’t it just gorgeous? Just look at that lower case “s”
This Norwegian proverb is not only relevant to the clientele of BREEN, but I also think it perfectly sums up my journey on ELEVATE.
Keeping the look and feel of your brand consistent will stop your overall brand message from becoming weak and diluted. This is why it can make commercial sense to get your brand designer to work on any future design elements and brand collateral – after all they’ve invested almost as much time and effort as you have, getting to know the why’s and wherefore’s of your business, and creating a beautiful brand identity that you can be proud of. That “inside” knowledge could just prove to be invaluable for your business. This image illustrates this in a way that words simply can’t . . .
Wow, great praise indeed! For me, one of the most useful things throughout ELEVATE with Fiona, was the constructive feedback.
When you work for yourself it can sometimes be difficult to “see the wood for the trees”, so having the opportunity to have someone of Fiona’s calibre cast her expert eye over my work and give constructive feedback was truly invaluable. Her attention to detail is infinite, and having her push me just that little bit further to do my best work, was exactly what I needed in order to elevate my business, so that I can elevate yours.
Behind every beautiful brand identity, there is a rough pencil sketch – what can I say, I’m just an “old-fashioned” kind of girl! I always begin each branding project by sketching some rough ideas with pencil and paper – this slow, hands-on approach gives me the space and time to work in an intuitive manner. At this stage it’s not about creating anything perfect, but more of a means to explore the different ideas and get them out onto paper. Once this stage has been completed, I will get on the computer and start developing my ideas into a more polished brand identity which reflects your vision.
13 May 2020
As a creative entrepreneur, I am always working to improve my offering for my clients. So, at the end of last year, when Fiona Humberstone (aka The Brand Stylist) created Elevate – a mentoring programme for Brand Designers committed to excellence – I jumped at the chance. Fiona is such an inspiring brand consultant, best-selling author, and also a truly visionary entrepreneur, so getting the rare opportunity to work with someone of her calibre was a no brainer!
The premise of the programme was that over a six week period, Fiona acted as Creative Director and provided us with a carefully curated selection of nine visionary and inspirational design briefs from which to choose from, these would result in us creating three, perfectly honed portfolio pieces. We were given two weeks for each project, with two rounds of feedback from Fiona, in order to help us to elevate our processes, boost our creativity and enable us to produce more intentional, beautifully crafted work. Sounds simple, yes?
Well, let me tell you, it was intense and challenging, but thoroughly rewarding! Fiona truly is an exacting critique, and throughout the process we really had to dig deep, draw on our inner resources and respond with both perspective and professionalism. I learnt so much about myself, both as a person and as a designer. Already, I have seen the impact on my work – I can now more confidently take each and every one of my clients’ briefs and ensure that every element of the the brand identity has been designed with clarity, thoughtfulness and meaning, ensuring each client that they get the care and attention that they fully deserve.
Throughout the programme, I created three brand identities:
BREEN – An exciting new Norwegian boutique hotel, located at the edge of one of Norway’s most majestic fjords.
SAMPHIRE – A restaurant with rooms located in the wilds of Cornwall.
VILLA FLORES – An Italian retreat, located high on a Tuscan hillside.
I’ll share a little bit more about each individual project in due course . . .
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