Elaine Stam's Blog

Preview of Hey, Sweet Stuff website design

2012-02-21T11:12:00.001-05:00

Hey, Sweet Stuff is a custom cake shop. I was given some really interesting cues for design inspiration from the client so was able to create her identity in a style that I wouldn't have normally thought of doing. So far I have established the identity and created some mock-ups of the webpages.

This is going to be a really intensive site, we are going to be building out many individual cake pages and accompanying PDFs, each cake will be it's own specific product, so to speak. Clients will love this for working through the process of deciding which cake is right for them, and for the business owner it is great because it presents the cake options in a very professional and clear way.

Twitter as source for logo design inspiration and trend watching

2012-02-06T12:57:00.001-05:00

Twitter can definitely serve as an outlet for wasted time but I've just realized that I have been subconsciously staying apprised of the latest in logo design trends internationally, without even meaning to. Wether it be a DJ, illustrator or fellow graphic designer from around the world, I am constantly seeing the latest in logo design trends and absorbing new ideas for future designs. I don't follow blogs or spend time browsing the internet so Twitter has become my main source for discovering design inspirations. I've noticed a couple of trends that I really like and here are my favourite examples of them.

The first is geometric logos, this trend started a year or so ago but has really become popular. I really like geometric designs and patterns in general so I always notice these.

@Feature_Me

(International artist website)

@buildingawolf

(Montreal design blog)

@LilleLykke

(Dutch design blog)

The second trend that I really like is logo designs with a traditional/heritage style, but a modern, minimal interpretation. They are almost always in black and white and often have a crest involved in the design.

@ModernDryGoods

(New York lifestyle blog)

@TorontoStandard

(Toronto newspaper)

@YoungJerks

(Brooklyn graphic designer)

@TheHeadsofState

(Philadelphia graphic designer)

Husted Vintage Cycles re-brand > in progress

2011-12-01T11:55:00.001-05:00

Husted Vintage Cycles is getting it's annual re-brand (I know, this means I failed at a timeless identity last year but I've grown a lot this year so I knew I could do much better). It's my boyfriend's company so that's another reason it gets a full re-brand and site every year.

Here are the last few years' designs:


Zac's original inspiration was 1950s ads. He really likes red and black so I incorporated that too.

Zac also really likes 1970s psychedelic designs and he builds 70s bikes so this felt more appropriate to me.
Then the domain expired and we left the site down for 6 months. This was a low point for HVC.
I figured since we are getting it launched again we should look at the design again.
I now find this design to 'themey'.

New design #1. I like the logo a lot and we both like the design elements but wanted some colour.

New design #2, incorporating Zac's favorite colours.
We didn't like the header being light or the logo as much on this one.

Our final design, incorporating the best of both designs. It's simple, easy to update and I think this new
identity will be a lot more timeless and hopefully we can keep this one for more than a year.
Build starts next week.

Custom dolls by Charlotte & Stewart

2011-11-11T07:29:00.000-05:00

My friend Jo-hanna makes these awesome dolls. She creates them to look like their owner and they often have a friend or pet. She paints their face and sources fabric and buttons from around the world. She has even started custom designing her own fabrics for dolls.

Check out her work or place an order through her website at www.charlotteandstewart.com

She will also be featured at The Collective show this December.

Mind-blowing awesomeness by AJ Fosik

2011-11-08T08:54:00.000-05:00

I just stumbled across the work of AJ Fosik. Holy crap! I wish I could buy a piece of his work. Amazing.

http://ajfosik.com/

The Process of Logo Design

2011-10-19T10:04:00.002-04:00

I imagine that every designer has their own process but here is mine. I know clients often wonder how I come up with my designs so here is a step by step look at a logo I just finished for a cupcake company, 'Simply Sweet'. Once the website is complete it will be in my portfolio here.

For this logo design, the client requested to see something with a 'hand drawn' element as she is fond of that style and has an architecture background. While this is not my specialty I gave it a go and did some hand drawn elements. It turned out pretty good. Ultimately the client decided to go with a more clean simple logo but it was a good experiment nonetheless.

Since this logo had a very concrete subject it was an easier design and I only had to do a page of sketches before I felt confident that I had enough ideas to take my designs to the digital stage. Doing a logo for a more abstract subject, such as finances, is more challenging and I will often do two or three pages of sketches to get something that I like.

Below is the process of logo design, from initial concepts to final design:

Preliminary sketches

Digital creation of strongest designs

Logo icons as vectors (digitally drawn)

Logo with icons hand sketched and scanned

Illustrations that were made with pencil, then scanned and colourized digitally.

Three strongest logos submitted to client for consideration

Final logo design.

Kiehl's store design

2011-09-28T17:50:00.000-04:00

The Kiehl's store in Sherway Gardens was just re-designed completely. Wow. I don't use their products nor am I interested in skin care products but this store design stopped me in my tracks. Well done!

Jamie XX Essential Mix > August 27, 2011

2011-09-02T14:58:00.000-04:00

Jamie XX's first Essential Miix on BBC Radio 1.

download here via Soundcloud >

Scott Mills Daily

2011-09-01T10:45:00.001-04:00

I used to listen to radio 1 all day but the pop music in the morning was too much to deal with. But I discovered that you can get the best bits of the Scott Mills show via podcast. It's my absolute favorite.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/scottmills/dailypodcast.shtml

Hospital Records Podcast

2011-08-03T18:12:00.002-04:00

London Elektricity's bi-weekly drum & bass podcast is pretty good. Decent track selections. I am not a huge fan of his style of hosting the show but it's tolerable for the music.

Subscribe here and get new podcasts through iTunes:
http://www.hospitalrecords.com/broadcast/

Sorry RIM, I'm still not interested in Flash...

2011-07-17T14:51:00.001-04:00

These new commercials for the Blackberry PlayBook really tick me off. I was hoping we were on the brink of phasing out Flash completely but there goes RIM trying to convince people that they still need it. Well, I'm certainly not designing with Flash unless I absolutely have to. I am always stumbling across new ways people are using jQuery that are as good as Flash (sometimes even better).

Check out these websites that webdesignerdepot.com compiled for great examples of pseudo-flash websites that impress.

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2011/07/20-fantastic-pseudo-flash-websites/

Artwork by Yago Hortal

2011-07-14T06:51:00.001-04:00

Artwork by Yago Hortal. Makes me wish I had thought to create something like this before him. Beautiful and simple.

http://www.yagohortal.com/

Dieter Rams Interview on Simplicity and Sustainability in Design

2011-06-01T20:15:00.003-04:00

I had never heard of this guy before but stumbled across this interview on Twitter and was instantly intrigued by his beliefs. His thoughts on practicality in design and 'visual pollution' are right on.

Watch full interview here >

Celebrity Hardwood Monkey Place

2011-05-23T20:41:00.000-04:00

Celebrity Hardwood Sign

This is a sign I drive by almost every day, it's about 8' tall and very effective in all the wrong ways. What celebrities, monkeys and hardwood flooring have to do with one another is beyond me but I love it! I think the hand at the top the the sign used to rotate around but I've never seen it move. I'd probably get way too excited if it did get fixed and start animating again. It's the little things in life.

Slacker Radio App

2011-05-01T07:56:00.000-04:00

Slacker Radio App

Slacker Radio app for iPhone is pretty good. It's free, you can skip through songs you don't like and ban songs or artists that you hate from ever coming up again.

I only like a couple of stations personally but I think this is a great first edition and if they add more diverse music options they could crush Sirius easily.

http://www.slacker.com/

My Soundcloud Music

2011-04-25T18:59:00.001-04:00

I just discovered how to actually download my favorite songs from Soundcloud and I kind of freaked out! It's really easy to do if you are familiar with the site OffLiberty.

Check out my newest finds here: my soundcloud songs.

Animals with stuffed animals blog

2011-04-19T18:05:00.002-04:00

Animals with Stuffed Animals!

Pretty self-exlplanatory. Also pretty f*ckin cute!! :)
Good for a quick pick-me-up anytime.

http://animalswithstuffedanimals.com/

Fabio & Grooverider on Radio 1 > Weekly drum & bass show

2011-04-17T17:42:00.001-04:00

Fabio & Grooverider on Radio 1

The latest drum & bass brought to you every week from Fabio & Grooverider. It airs at like 3 am in Canada because of the time difference so I listen to it at work Monday mornings. Wicked, wicked show.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00948qq

Clam juice never looked so good. Wait!

2011-04-17T17:35:00.001-04:00

Gross clam juice label

First of all, clam juice is gross. Do you drink it? Cook with it? Who knows. Either way it grosses me out. This label on the other hand fascinates me to no end! There was no less than 8 logos on it that were scattered all over it and it caught my eye from quite a distance. Still not sure why clam juice needs 8 affiliate companies to give the SeaWatch brand legitimacy but who cares!

Hot chocolate with an identity crisis

2011-04-17T17:29:00.000-04:00

Yikes!

Talk about an identity crisis! I know I bought generic and so I shouldn't have high expectations regarding the packaging design but this is scary!

Swiss Graphic Design Blog > Buro Destruct

2011-04-17T09:18:00.004-04:00

Swiss Character Design Exhibition

My friend introduced me to the work of Buro Destruct almost 10 years ago now. I love their style and can always find inspiration on their blog.

http://www.buro-destruct.com/news/