November 28, 2011
Almost a year ago I decided that it was time to look into doing some volunteer design work. I’d done some pro-bono projects in the past and had great experiences, so, since I was well settled in San Francisco with my living situation and full time design/marketing position, the timing felt right to spread my wings a bit and donate some of my time and skills.
I stumbled upon the Taproot Foundation while sifting through the volunteer listings on idealist.org, and after perusing their site for a few minutes was pretty impressed. Taproot works with business professionals across the country (and around the world) to place them with nonprofits who have been awarded “service grants”. There are applications on both ends – you have to apply to be a Pro-Bono Consultant, and the organizations have to apply to receive a service grant.
I applied and was accepted within a few days. Once you’ve been accepted, you’re entered into Taproot’s well organized online system (which feels more like an online community), where Account Directors assigned to projects can find consultants to recruit for their teams.
I was recruited to be the graphic designer for a brochure project for the Jewish Community Center of the East Bay. I was thrilled to be a part of this team – working as a designer/marketing professional in the financial industry on a daily basis, I had my heart set on a project that focused on kids (to change things up) – and I was lucky to be chosen to work on one! read more »
September 17, 2011
As you’ve probably noticed, sniffing around my blog for even a few seconds, I’m all about making things by hand, and supporting my friends and fellow crafters/artisans/designers/artists to make beautiful things and keep pumping the DIY spirit into the marketplace. read more »
March 29, 2011
You may recall a website I made for Skata Products about a year ago. It was a lot of fun creating a website for such a cool product. This time around the client wanted to add some videos to their site to help convey how their Decorative Wall Stamps can really transform an interior space. read more »
February 24, 2011
What’s up, doc[s]? I’ve decided to start throwing the inspiring image-stuffs I find online, print collateral I scan, or photos I take of things I stumble upon into a Flickr set called Graphic Design Inspiration. Here’s my first image in the set. I found it while perusing Molly Crabapple‘s Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School site (which is amaaazing). Definitely check it out. Inspiring image lies below!
December 12, 2010
Happy Sunday, hot people. I’ve been a little MIA lately due to holidays and things that keep me busy and away from sharing my deepest, darkest, crafty secrets on the interweb.
Anyway, awkward self-reintroduction aside, I work at a financial institution, and every year we are lucky enough to have a visit from Santa Claus. Yes. That’s right. And it’s my job to spread the word to the community to bring their kiddies (and dogs/puppies) to visit him and tell him what they’d like for Christmas (or sometimes Hanukkah). Anyway, we wanted to give our poster from last year a little makeover:
We wanted to make the poster less text heavy, a little more accessible and present the information so members can digest everything within a few seconds when they’re either riding the elevator, or walking through the lobby. Also, I wanted Santa to look a little more magical, so I thought that isolating his image from a background would get the job done. The feather gradient below also assists in creating this magical and light feel.
I tend to always gravitate towards Photoshop since it’s the first program I learned and feel the most comfortable with, but over the past 3 years I’ve become a little more fond of InDesign, and used InDesign for this poster. When it comes to designing larger pieces, InDesign is a great tool. The file sizes aren’t as large. Illustrator also works well for large pieces, but it’s all about the scope of the project and what works best for you. I’m really happy with this poster makeover, and must say, Santa’s visit was a lot of fun. I was his “little helper” and ate way too many cookies. ‘Tis the season!
