Please mark your calendars for the first annual 15th Street Design District Design Walk on this upcoming Thursday, July 22nd from 4pm-7pm! Come and enjoy refreshments and meet a talented variety of design professionals.

Origin is proud to be a part of the newly designated design district in Boulder located in between Arapahoe & Canyon on 15th. The area is home to many architects, interior designers, web/graphic designers and other design professionals. My office is located in the Candy Shop Creative Offices at 1720 15th Street.

Visit 15THSREETDESIGNDISTRICT.COM for a map of participating designers/architects.

My latest work in progress: Lillian Elizabeth Hayes. Born June 23. I'm on maternity leave 'till early September. If I have any thoughts that aren't related to nursing or diapers, I may post again before then.

Check out the portfolio of talented architect Emily Stack – DAEDALUS STUDIO.

Hot off the (letter)press — logo and business card design printed by the fabulous Gail Watson of BIRDWOOD PRESS.

Came across some older work that I liked, and thought I'd post here. Both are earthy — perhaps I should go on a hike this afternoon.

Business card design for the beloved ELDORADO SPRINGS ART CENTER (former home of my studio)

Some friendly logos that never saw the light of day.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending an AIGA lecture in Denver by PAPRIKA'S Louis Gagnon. Paprika is a Montreal-based graphic design and strategic marketing firm which has won over 400 national and international design awards. They continually push the limits of graphic design, and seek local and international clients who aim to think globally.

Louis was humble and sweet in his presentation style, as English is his second language (French being first). The French influence was obvious in his studio's work, which was simple, elegant, innovative, memorable, and subtle. At the core of every project was a clever concept. The execution was never heavy-handed.

One of my favorite pieces was a holiday window installation — an ice tree for the store, Domison.

Louis' advise to young designers: 

1. Stop reading designer blogs & magazines

A designer should develop one's own style, and not be too influenced by the work of others.

2. Entertain Curiosity

Don't limit one's creative interest to graphic design. Allow the influence of other fields into one's orbit: fashion, architecture, and other cultural forces.

3. Cultivate Passion

Louis is always working. Especially on long walks in the countryside on the weekends. Seek potential solutions in the woods.

Another image from the morgue. Sometimes the most mundane objects are the most inspiring to me. Lately I've been enthralled with corrugated cardboard.

Another collection: reflections in my studio teapot. This one's titled "30 weeks tea" (pregnant).

new studio tea

tea from above

me and emily tea

It's been fun collaborating with Brandy and Joseph @ VaST ARCHITECTURE on the logo and signage design for a new restaurant in Castle Rock, Colorado. Crave will be a contemporary diner.

Two concepts for the window graphics as imagined in vinyl. Yum.

How much is good design worth?

Apple knows. So does Coke, Target, and an increasing number of everyday brands that realize the value of strong product and identity design.

With its focus on intuitive, elegant, and simple design, Apple has continuously experienced explosive growth and become arguably one of the greatest success stories in business history. Coca-Cola has demonstrated their investment by hiring a vice president of global design (David Butler). His sole job is to CREATE VALUE THROUGH DESIGN for this billion-dollar brand.

There's a difference between design and good design.

The professional designer offers a level of strategic thinking, conceptual, and rendering skills that your brother-in-law who knows the software simply can't. Good design is at the core about communication. A skilled designer knows how to ask the right questions about your product or service and customers, and can translate your business goals into clear and compelling messages. Whether via logo, website or printed brochure, the elements of design (layout, color, type choice, texture, etc) are used skillfully in service of that message. A good designer is a problem solver, not simply a style creator.

Is this value measurable?