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i love that people don't take wedding invitations too seriously nowadays. a graphic designer friend of mine was asked to design the invitation for her cousin's wedding and in turn asked me to illustrate the bride and groom. i've been out with them a few times but even so i asked her for a few photos of the couple and an idea of what she wanted to portray. they both studied physical education in college and she is into running. my friend also asked me for an "almost stick figure" illustration style and what you see above is the final artwork. i've designed a grand total two wedding invitations up to date — my brother's and my ex-boss'. both were very different from each other and quite fun to do. and now i've also illustrated two wedding invitations — my brother's and my friend's cousin's. yey. best wishes for the happy couple. anyone else?

024

it's a pitty many people tend to allow no time for the creative process of anything design related. i try to explain over and over again that even if logos appear simple they require a lot more research and experimentation than your average pamphlet. a lot more, really. here again i was given the opportunity to design a logo for a really interesting and promising project (and i hope i'll be able to take part in designing other media for it). unfortunately i didn't have nearly as much time to research and create as i hoped, but i am quite happy with the options i've presented the client. right now i'm waiting on commentaries and changes.

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sometimes there just isn't a great concept idea behind a logo. even less so for a redesign. for jr pedras para revestimentos (literally translated as "jr stones for tiling") all i could do was play with the letters jr, since even the company color was already set in stone. sometimes eluding to tiles with the letter themselves, other times just trying to create an interesting yet readable icon, i handed in five options of logo and business cards duo for the re-design of jr. above are three of the proposed logos... the final one ended up looking a lot like their previous one, except cleaner and with more of a design purpose to it.

022

lately i've had the good fortune of having people ask me for logos. i think it's really a great opportunity as building brand identity is one of the most fun and also more mind-crushing activities a graphic designer can partake. it's always a kind of dare to try and summarize an entire companies' philosophy, dreams, work ethic, and such in one simple graphic element. a graphic element that has to be able to scaled down to fit on a give-away pen or blown up to cover half a building. something that should work in one color as well as the full-color version, that can be printed, etched, silk-screened, embroidered and god knows what else.

above are the preliminary options for a business-consulting company. the final version of this and other works will be published in my personal/portfolio site.

021

i was asked by the great guys at suma project v to design a wine lable for a home made basement wine. although this project embodies the typical communication problem i sometimes have with my clients i was happy with the result. i've decided to show you what happened in six easy, simplified and stress-less, steps:

1- "we'd like a modern sort of look for our wine, using one of these great photos we took." cool. i had a look at the photos and picked what i deamed as the best one.

2- "ummm, it's a bit too sexy, isn't it? i love this picture too and i loved what you did with the type, but maybe is would be best to have something a bit less sexual? can you make the picture into a drawing or something so it looks more classy?" sure. voilá, option number two.

3- "yeah the picture is still too sexy. it's a basement wine." how about with an altogether different picture? an organic product type pallet? i present thee option 3.

4- "no, no... try this picture instead. and put the text over there, and change the typeface, it's looking way too modern." okay. sure! is this - option four- what you had in mind?

5- "ummmm" no? no matter- i've made this other one, all-type and just black and white cause i have a feeling this is what you are trying to get me to do...

6- "great! that's it! approved!"

and there you have it. the final layout is the all-type, black and white, square lable.

020

and we're back!

yup, i know it's been a long time since i've posted anything here, but i've been trying to figure out exactly what i'll be posting, since my portuguese blog is about cultural events in são paulo, but it doesn't make too much sense to write about them here. if you can read portuguese or want to have a go at it just click on the link to "the other blog" right there, on the right hand side of this page. if you are curious about what i've been doing in são paulo but hardly as brave as you would have to be to take a chance in reading that god-forsaken language that is portuguese just have a look at my flickr, it's informative enough at times.

ok, so you must be asking yourself exactly what will i be posting here, then. the answer is i'm still not sure. but i'll try starting with a behind the curtains view of a few of my design projects, intermitted with the random thought or short story, as the muse of creativity might command.