We started off with exchanging ideas and inspiration to get a clear direction for her new look. This phase is so important! It helps the designer focus their energies and assists the client to express their expectations.

New branding for Spincushions

With a relatively long logo it was important to develop small variants for potential avatars, adverts, and so on. Shelley also has a passion for crochet, instigating her own Crochet-along which gained wide popularity through Instagram, Facebook and Ravelry, so we decided to create an icon for her crochet persona ‘In a Spin’ to complement the package.

New Spincushions wordpress blog

One of my favourite things these days is customising the buttons of Facebook business pages. It just looks finished.

Spincushions on Facebook

Shelley now also uses the same profile picture across all her online presences, including Twitter and Instagram, a key point in becoming more recognisable throughout social media! Shelley makes the cutest pincushions, if you sew, or have a lot of pins, or just like checking out cute stuff, go look at her Etsy and MadeIt shops.

The post A new look for Spincushions appeared first on Michelle Lorimer | Graphic Design.

Too easy, print it out, be organised!

Right so Christmas is over, we said good-bye to our lovely Christmas tree, almost all the leftover food is gone. Now what? Now it’s time to get organised for 2013! That’s what! It starts in just two days! Yikes! And here’s me without a calendar. Didn’t get one in your stocking either? Well lucky you came here, I have a neat little free printable calendar all set and ready to print. In fact it’s perpetual, so if it’s already March when you see this, no problem! Just start with March and date the sheets from there! Nice.

I clip my pages and hang them on push pins.

In fact I started last November. As you do. I often have to start new diaries or calendars part way through the year, as things take a turn for the busy. This time I can already sense impending busy-ness!

Write the dates in the yellow boxes…

Happy New Year!  Now go and get yourself organised!

Download the calendar here.

Please note it is for personal use, but feel free to share it with links back via your blog or Pinterest etc.

The post Printable calendar appeared first on Michelle Lorimer | Graphic Design.

The Possum Man website design, bold graphic elements give it impact.

Sometimes a job comes together so easily it’s hard to believe you are doing it right. Designing the website for  The Possum Man was one of those jobs! They had no more than a phone number on their old site, so initially this redesign job was just to get more useful content up on the website. During a meeting with Buki of The Possum Man, it soon turned out that the whole website would need to be created from scratch.

Custom drawn service area map for The Possum Man

Armed with nothing more than the company colour – yellow – a little possum pawprint and some content, I set to work on the design and development their website. The look of the website now can set the framework for any future graphic requirements. I can just see how a company t-shirt could come together. Pawprints across the back? Yellow logo on the front? Perfect.

An ideal project with great clients, I was so happy to receive this glowing recommendation at the end of the project!

“I have worked out what it was that stopped me from building or should I say correcting our website. The creativity. I just wanted someone to … create one for us without having to sit there for hours doing this part myself. You took what little information I gave you and developed a site that started working immediately. And also the fact that you have easy fast follow up to any changes required. Great after sale service.

Simple, creative, imaginative and presto it’s done.”

Aw! What can I say, love working with these people!

The post Website Design for The Possum Man appeared first on Michelle Lorimer | Graphic Design.

New HAS logo and business card

Louise is typical of so many mums, working freelance after having two children made more sense than working in a more structured nine to five office job. Fortunately she is an excellent Heritage Advisory Consultant, with years of experience and an amazingly hard and smart worker, so she has taken the transition in her stride. All she really needed was a start-up package, a brand identity, business card, and a few digital elements to get the ball rolling.

“When I set up my freelance consultancy business I knew I needed both a logo and brand identity. I had a limited budget and, to start with, only needed a business card and electronic logo that I could place on letters and invoices. Michelle was able to provide me with both of these designs. I was then able to seek a printer of my choice and was not tied in to any agreement nor was I given products that I did not need. As my business has grown I have been able to return to Michelle and sought new products as I needed them. I have really enjoyed working with and have every confidence in Michelle’s work which I find to be of the highest standard with a quick turn-around.” ~ Louise Doherty, Heritage Advisory Services

Louise came back looking for something quick and easy to help her produce more professional looking reports. Apart from advising on fonts, colour and structure, I provided three ‘useful blocks’. Simple graphic elements that can be used to frame graphics and text, smarten up the front page, and finish the reports back page. This simple suite of elements has allowed her to brand all her letters, invoices and reports, with a sweet business card into the bargain, giving her a much more considered and professional looking profile.

The post Branding elements for a Heritage Consultant appeared first on Michelle Lorimer | Graphic Design.

Photo by Rachel Baker of missIsa

Brown paper packages, really is there anything more lovely? The brief for this project was Rachel of missIsa needed a simple but effective packaging design, using her existing logo, that could be adapted to suit a variety of products and be easily produced in a home studio office. Rachel had already done a lot of research into what she wanted, establishing cello bags with toppers as the basis for the packaging design and kraft paper as her material.

“I run a small business making paper gifts and stationery from home. One of the biggest stresses I faced was branding my product and packaging plays a huge part in that. I had my logo and after months of research and worry I came up with a simple concept that Michelle made into a reality quickly and professionally. She was brilliant and continues to support me and my brand whenever new designs are needed.” ~ Rachel Baker, missIsa

Here Rachel shows the process of making the kraft paper toppers. Have I ever told you how much I love kraft paper?

Photo by Rachel Baker of missIsa

Photo by Rachel Baker of missIsa

Photo by Rachel Baker of missIsa

Photo by Rachel Baker of missIsa

Photo by Rachel Baker of missIsa

Photo by Rachel Baker of missIsa

Photo by Rachel Baker of missIsa

Rachel is so sweet to work with, just like her products, go check them out in her Etsy shop here.

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