A Little This, A Little That...

Greetings Friends!

I have been going through a bit of a business revamp stage after submitting my taxes. I had a full year that I could look at and see where I could be a more efficient machine. There are only so many things that I can do just as one person so making sure my time is being spent in the most efficient is extremely important. Knowing that one can always improve I have taken myself on a freelance designer walkabout if you will. It is easy to see where improvements can be made but knowing how to improve them when you don't know what exactly you are doing wrong can be difficult. So I used the resources that I thought would be most helpful and did a lot of reading and research from the pros on how they do it, so I could do it too! In doing that I realized that I had a lot of changes to make so I can do the work I want to do for people, who want to hire me to do it. 

One of the biggest changes will be my online presence I spend all my time on my clients and a sliver of my time promoting/marketing myself. I barely dedicated any of my time to my blog or website and that is a big part of what potential new clients see and isn't at the same level as the work that I do for my clients. So expect some changes on the amount of posts I will be making and as previously promised I am updating my website. Pinky swear! This is just the first of many changes that are in the works. I also started a Kiere Shaffer Graphic Design Facebook Page ( <---like it pretty please) and I have been trying to post burbs on projects and even new blogs but that too will also get more attention. The biggest upcoming change being a one person stop to a multi-person creative stop... obviously, more to come on that in the not so distant future!

I have also added a couple of ADDY awards to my shelf for the Mousey McGlynn demo and the Drunken Noodle Fargo origami take out menu. It is great to be recognized for doing something that I love doing while still being a new designer in the giant world of graphic designers. Trust me it is bigger then you think.

However, I haven't just been researching on how I can be a better business savvy designer and winning awards. I have been doing what I love, designing. I have been bouncing around on so many projects as of late. Drunken Noodle has opened a new location in East Grand Forks in January. I have been keeping up with their menus which since I last wrote have gone through some variations. The first round was printed and didn't hold up as well as we anticipated so a new concept was tried and I just finished up the latest one I just sent off to the printer I am pretty excited about but, will save that for a future post. These are have already been produced

DN Frosted Acrylic Drink Menu with Laser Etched logo

Martini and Cocktail Spread

Beer and Wine Spread

Double gate fold menu (1st Menu that was used)

Detail of inside spread (photos by Nathan Cote)

Back of Small Plates menu with Desserts

Small Plates table and Bar Menu with Matt lamination and rounded corners

This is the current menu being used it is a bigger variation of the DN Fargo origami take out. 

I have also been working local artist Amber Parsons on some art inclined events A Very Marie Antoinette Tea Party (already occurred) and Art De Trois. Mainly just doing some promotional cards and branding but still had fun working on them.

Promotional Flyer

Logo for the event

There are always things that I never get around to photographing and then it leads to them not being posted. Business cards just happen to be one of those things  So these are some unique business cards that I have also done recently. The photos don't really do them justice Harry's is on a textured metallic blue paper and Shannon's is a duel stock with column texture on it. Trust me they are even more swanky in person.

 


Leela Thai Cuisine's also was interested in a logo refresh since they wanted to emphasize their vegetarian and vegan options. So I worked with them on a new logo and menu. The following is the result. 

Custom Gatefold Menu with gold embossed logo and the material has a metallic sheen to it.. again hard to capture in the photos.

Inside Spread

The paper that is used has a gold iridescence  which adds a perfect amount of class and continues the Thai style. Gold is a favorite design element of the Thai culture.

This is one hefty post that was in progress for more time then I would like to admit. It is just one step closer to where I should be in cyber space then I was! Hope everyone is looking forward to more steps along the way!


Xx
Kiere