Over recent months, we’ve been working with Country Music Life (Country Songs, News, Merchandise, Downloads, and Concerts) on their identity and first t-shirt design. You can see I am very excited to show off my new threads I can’t keep my feet on the ground! We had a great time working on this project.

Are you a country music fan? Check out the Country Music Life Blog for news on your favorite artists, top country song lists and even a list of favorite country summer songs. Visit: Porch Pickin’ Tee Shirt to purchase a shirt of your own!

Feelin’ lucky?
Country Music Life is holding a t-shirt giveaway where you can win a porch pickin’ shirt for free! All you have to do to enter is subscribe to their emails for the latest country music updates.

Summer is almost here! To put you in a warmer, more colorful mood, I thought sharing some summer color palettes, photography & illustrations would help inspire brighter days! Whether your a designer, painter, photographer or metal smith you need some sort of inspiration to help you create stunning and innovative works of art this Summer.

Summer Color Palettes

Sunny Summer Photography

Back door bokeh by Richard0

Lake Powell by Wolfgang Staudt

Moth Caterpillar by Lukjonis

Orange Splash x2 by John Steven Fernandez

Chicory Flower by aussiegall

Old Summer Fun by Supagroova

Dunes by CharlotteSpeaks

Ice Cube in Tea by kevindooley

57 flavors of summer by Robert S. Donovan

Baby g by jonny2love

Illustrative Summer Colors

Russian Summer by Maria Khokhlova

See.Saw by L Filipe dos Santos | Illustration

Turn on the Bright Senses by Archan Nair | Illustration

White Spaces by Archan Nair | Illustration

Smells of Summer by Masha Levene | Painting

Summer by Nichlas Boysen | Illustration

Summer by Luis Afonso | Painting

The Puti Trees by Nod Young | Illustration

Places for Inspiration

• Behance Network
• Dribbble
• Colour Lovers
• doodleBug

Related Tid Bits

• 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites
• The Beautiful Outdoors: 50 Amazing Photos
• 50 Yellow Web Designs to Inspire You
• Anatomy of Colors in Web Design: Blue and the Cool Look

Articles on Sarah Lynn Design for Inspiration

• Down to Earth Art & Design Series Photography Pt I.
• Top 20 Illustration & Type-Based Websites
• Top 10 Designed Travel Websites

Have some Summer inspiration to share? Feel free to drop links to anything bright, vibrant & summery that might inspire something great!

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Old Navy Gift Shop

“Tis the Season to be Jolly – or – Tis the Season to Find the Best Deals in Town”

The holiday season for retailers is the busiest time of the year and planning for it often starts in the summer time for the many companies. A common trend to assist customers in their holiday shopping is to utilize a Gift Shop or Holiday Center for help focus in their products on gifts. Every design team’s strategy is different, but as you can see below there are quite a few trends as well.

Trends

Gifts Under: $25, $50, $75 etc.
Options focused on price, often many lower priced gifts front and center

Gift Card Emphasis

Creation of Gift Sets
Eases customers worries of wrapping and presentation of the gift

Interactive Gift Catalogs
Often used by online retailers with print catalogs to utilize the creative twice

Offer Calendars
A preview calendar of all the offers coming up through the holiday season

Wish Lists
Pre-selected lists of ideas as well as user created wish lists to keep track of all the gifts you need to purchase

Holiday Logo and Overall Site Design
Backgrounds and logos are altered for the holiday season

Crate and Barrel Gift Shop Design

Gander Mountain's Holiday Gift Shop

Target Gift Shop

Aveda Gift Shop

Toys R Us Gift Finder Design

Bath and Body Works Gift Shop

Cabela's Christmas Shop

Fossil Holiday Landing Page Design

Fossil Interactive Gift Catalog

Michael's Handmade Holiday Guide

Kohl's Gift Center

Famous Footwear Holiday Gift Shop

L.L. Bean Gift Ideas

Borders Season Readings Gift Shop

Best Buy Holiday Gift Center

REI Gift Center

CafePress Gift Center

CafePress Pet Lover Gifts

Victoria's Secret Gift Section

Victoria's Secret adds a splash of red for the holiday season

Orvis' Gift Shop

Vanity Holiday Handbook

American Eagle Gift Shop

Interesting Duo

While out in Minneapolis at Cocktails with Creatives Thursday night I met the most interesting duo! The Drifting Creatives from Texas stopped by to checkout the design scene for a few days. They had been traveling a little over a month (on their second tour of the summer) to different cities offering up their design services to any business in need of a proper identity or any sort of design. Their house was either their Honda Element or those willing to let them stay at their place.

I snagged a shot with them while at Jetset

Why their idea intrigued me

+ They are actively informing small businesses about the importance of design and how it will improve their business

+ The duo is doing something unique and fun while giving folks some awesome designs!

+ People can still be trusting. When talking to a co-worker, she remembered the times when even hitchhiking was easy. Nowadays we’ve lost the sense of trust in others from having so much information at our fingertips about the “bad stuff”. I find what they are doing rebuilding a sense of trust in others. Designers are offering up their homes/apartments to these guys which is very trusting and completely awesome! Thanks for showing us this.

Check out their designs!

Here’s a few samples of the work they’ve done. They also have their own individual specialties Gavin Braman’s Work | Martin Hooper’s Work

I really enjoy their use of bright colors and simple designs.

AIGA (The American Institute of Graphic Arts) has been an important part of my design career thus far. Not only is AIGA an important organization in the design world, but they also bring businesses and designers together. They educate businesses on the importance of design. Here are a few ways in which they help businesses and designers…

3 Ways AIGA Helps Businesses

1 | Networking

When I took part in one of AIGA’s “So…”Emerging Designers Workshops, I realized that AIGA is an important part of the community, not just the design community. Our workshop took place at Open Book in Minneapolis, MN. During the workshop we learned about letterpress and book binding and utilized Open Book’s fantastic facility. Not only was this a great opportunity for those attending, but for their business as well. Open Book offers many classes, studio space rental, and a different environment to be inspired in. As far as networking, they were able to discuss one-on-one with us, potential customers, about what they have to offer simply by lending us their space and teaching small workshops.

2 | Business Promotion

Quantum Graphics | Printing Sponsor | Photo by Mike Habermann

AIGA is not only an organization solely focused on design. They also promote related businesses in their creative endeavors. AIGA is always looking for sponsors to take part in a wide array of events. Quantum Graphics sponsored the Design Show 2009 and did a fabulous printing job. But not all sponsors have connections in the design market. Pabst Blue Ribbon was another sponsor for the show and yes, they were a hit in case you were wondering!

Interested in being a sponsor for AIGA?

3 | Resources

AIGA’s website is a great place for businesses to learn about design. Especially those of you that haven’t worked with a designer before. I thought I would share a few bits of information from their business section:

What will my business gain with effective design? | What every business needs
Case Studies & Articles on Business & Design

3 Ways AIGA Helps Designers

1 | Networking

AIGA Design Show 2009 | Photo by Mike Habermann

Getting yourself out into the design and business community can be a challenge at times. With such a saturated field, we must make networking a top priority! AIGA is the organization to join if your looking to network. For starters, post your work on their website. If your a recent grad or simply new to the design world, take part in their well known Portfolio One-on-One Event. I attended this in 2008 and it made all the difference in the level of design I was putting out. Being a part of the event also gave me many great contacts through the different activities AIGA had scheduled for us. The first day opened my eyes to the type of studio I would like to work in, as they take you on a few studio tours. I toured Catalyst Studios, p and h (now Partners & Hunt), and Graphiculture in Minneapolis, MN. During the second day, I showed my book around to about 4 or 5 designers/art directors/creative directors/owners. It was very beneficial to practice my presenation skills, process and simply talking about my work and design concepts. One of the hardest aspects of the design business is explaining your design concepts to non-designers. Basically the vast majority of your clients won’t have a large knowledge base of design. Overall this event is a great place to network with other designers as well! Check out other portfolios. Who knows what will inspire your book’s apperance and layout!

The Design Show is also a great event for networking. Personally, working at the front table was a great opportunity. I met many amazing designers right as they came in the door. There is nothing better than being in a room filled with people who share the same passion as you do. It was also fun to put a face to some of the designers that entered work into the show and ask them about their processes.

2 | A Multitude of Resources

Are you starving for new experiences and resources to keep up with the fast-paced learning curve of technology? Join AIGA in your new area to learn the ins and outs of that specific design community. It’s a great way to get to know a new town if you’ve just moved, or to be in-the-know on hot design studios, freelancers, and learning opportunities in your area.

Personally, I’ve made a lot of connections and have only been a part of one AIGA committee thus far. I’ve learned how to be part of a large diverse team of designers and work together effectively with them.

Here are a few of the great resources/studios/design related locations I picked up from being a part of AIGA Minnesota
BaseCamp | Project/Group Management
Open Book | Reading, Writing & Book Arts
Penco | Art Supplies
Ratchet | Web Design/Development
Periscope | Full Service Design Agency
Imagehaus | Design Studio (uber talented copywriters found here too!)

Don’t forget the local restaurants & pubs in Minneapolis, MN

Runyon’s | Great Wings
The Loop | Wide Array of Martinis
Solera | Interesting Atmosphere
The Old Spaghetti Factory | Interesting Atmosphere
Gluek’s Restaurant and Bar | Amazing Mac & Cheese!

3 | Friendships

AIGA Design Show 2009 Committee BBQ – June 2009

“Not only is AIGA great for making business connections and learning new things, but it also gives members the opportunity to make new friendships!”

Being a part of AIGA’s Design Committee 2009 was a amazing experience. I met some amazing folks and had a ton of fun while working hard towards our group goal. Experience is priceless. No matter what form it comes in.

Interested in becoming a member? Join today!

Designers: Tell AIGA how they have benefited you. Because of AIGA… or post your experiences below! I’m always interested to hear which events have been hits in your books.

AIGA Upcoming Events
Minnesota
Luncheon Series 2009

Wisconsin
How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer

San Fransisco
Design Week

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