Tuesday, May 31, 2011
different by design-grand opening
Just a couple pictures we wanted to share with you from the Grand Opening. These pictures were taken by our building owner and work neighbor Erik Jens from Square One Drafting & Design. Thanks Erik! 
Saturday, May 28, 2011
we ALL did it! hooray!
Yesterday was our Grand Opening party for the studio. I can't think of just one reason why everything didn't get done in time, but it just seemed as if a ton of tiny things just overwhelmed us and there was simply not enough time in the day!
Thankfully the guests that arrived early were SO sweet and orchestrated helping out and getting the food table set up and helping with some light picking up around the studio.
Sadly, Billy was not even able to make it by 6 pm (when it started) because he was out grabbing ice and the cake! Because I absolutely needed his help for some things, we simply had to accept the fact that we weren't going to have the studio just the way we wanted it but you know what?
God is good! And everyone had a great time. It was so nice to see all the friendly faces of our clients, friends, and family!
I will do a more thorough update once we get some photos back from our lovely photographer and friends who took photos that night. I literally did not take one!
Just wanted to stop and say THANK YOU to everyone for their encouragement. On top of our lovely local guests, we had several guests from Chico, California and one guest that literally flew in from Southern California just to attend the opening. You all push us to be better in everything we do. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
walking by faith
In the past month we have had one of our all time favorite clients die, our identity stolen/business accounts hacked, Erik's wife (our building owners) grandmother pass away which brought Erik and Suzie all the way to Montana unexpectedly Saturday (they should be getting back to YC on Friday..Grand Opening..night), a baby with an on again/off again fever, a cellphone lost/stolen, and more marital fights then we've had in the last 7 years!
Needless to say that God is still good. In fact, He is amazing! He is our fortress, our refuge, and our strength! I don't always know why some things happen the way they do, but I do know this: God is working everything out for our good and His glory.
What a relief that we can hand over our cares to a loving God. Every time I have felt overwhelmed or stressed I have been able to stop in prayer and give my concerns to God. And you know what? He has never let me down. He has provided faithfully and given me peace when I should otherwise be "freaking out".
At Different By Design we hope to always reflect the glory in all we do back on God. Without Him we are nothing!
Happy Wednesday everyone! We are so excited to share the studio with you at the Grand Opening this Friday!
*cellphone pictures of the progress on the bookshelf Billy built
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
30
Just had to say Happy 30th Birthday to Billy! Not only is his birthday special because...you know...he was born that day :) But it's also special to us because the first time we ever hung out together was when he came through my teller line at Sam's Club (where we both worked at the time) to invite me to his birthday party.
How awesome is it that we have a photo to remember that night...I thought Billy was wild and crazy. Turns out behind all that bleach and tiger striped hair there lies a wonderful man...and amazing artist and designer!
Happy Birthday dear!
How awesome is it that we have a photo to remember that night...I thought Billy was wild and crazy. Turns out behind all that bleach and tiger striped hair there lies a wonderful man...and amazing artist and designer!
Happy Birthday dear!
Monday, May 16, 2011
studio-behind the scenes
I thought it would be fun to show some behind the scenes photos of a recent custom 30th birthday invitation we created.
Of course just like any other project, invitations start with a client meeting/conversation so we can get an idea on the client's preferences and the scope of the project.
For these invitations, our client was throwing a 30th birthday cocktail, masquerade party for her sister.
She gave us a color palette of purple, turquoise, and blue.
The masquerade theme reminded me of this Miss Capricho illustration I had seen on Daily Candy.
We decided to do the illustration for the invitations using water colors because we felt it offered a whimsical feel while still being sophisticated.
Next, Billy hit the drafting table with PrismaColor markers in hand. He did a detailed thumbnail illustration of martini glasses and a masquerade mask.
After that, we scanned in the marker illustration and enlarged and printed it. Then back to the drafting table! Billy used the built in light board to illuminate the illustration so he could use it as a guide for inking and watercoloring a new illustration.
After the watercolor illustration was completed and dry, we scanned that in, preserved the colors we used by tweaking the curves slightly in photoshop, and voila! We had our piece for the invitations.
*illustration before any photoshop edits
Of course, after placing the image there was still finding proper fonts for the invitation and laying out the type....getting all the information properly laid out on a grid and kerning letter spaces...
I think its helpful to get to see what goes into a process for anything. More often then not people don't realize just exactly what is involved to get a finished product on something. And that probably can go for any industry, not just design and art.
Of course we have changed information to protect our client's privacy.
We hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes glance at the making of an invitation! If you'd like to commission custom invitations or a custom water color illustration, you can contact us through wwww.differentxdesign.com
Of course just like any other project, invitations start with a client meeting/conversation so we can get an idea on the client's preferences and the scope of the project.
For these invitations, our client was throwing a 30th birthday cocktail, masquerade party for her sister.
She gave us a color palette of purple, turquoise, and blue.
The masquerade theme reminded me of this Miss Capricho illustration I had seen on Daily Candy.
We decided to do the illustration for the invitations using water colors because we felt it offered a whimsical feel while still being sophisticated.
Next, Billy hit the drafting table with PrismaColor markers in hand. He did a detailed thumbnail illustration of martini glasses and a masquerade mask.
After that, we scanned in the marker illustration and enlarged and printed it. Then back to the drafting table! Billy used the built in light board to illuminate the illustration so he could use it as a guide for inking and watercoloring a new illustration.
After the watercolor illustration was completed and dry, we scanned that in, preserved the colors we used by tweaking the curves slightly in photoshop, and voila! We had our piece for the invitations.
*illustration before any photoshop edits
I think its helpful to get to see what goes into a process for anything. More often then not people don't realize just exactly what is involved to get a finished product on something. And that probably can go for any industry, not just design and art.
We hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes glance at the making of an invitation! If you'd like to commission custom invitations or a custom water color illustration, you can contact us through wwww.differentxdesign.com
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Moments To Remember-Michelle Chandler
Usually when we post about Moments To Remember Photography Studio we are sharing design work we've done for them.
So it's a fun twist to post some work MTR founder Michelle Chandler did for us!
Yesterday when we were out for lunch we received a text saying she had stopped over at the studio with her lovely sister. They are an incredible team!
How amazing are these exterior photos Michelle got of our studio? Thank you Michelle and Amy. What a blessing you are to us!
We will have to share the rest of them with you later! They are all just perfect!
So it's a fun twist to post some work MTR founder Michelle Chandler did for us!
Yesterday when we were out for lunch we received a text saying she had stopped over at the studio with her lovely sister. They are an incredible team!
How amazing are these exterior photos Michelle got of our studio? Thank you Michelle and Amy. What a blessing you are to us!
We will have to share the rest of them with you later! They are all just perfect!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
randy meyer
"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."-Thomas Campbell
In the midst of the craziness of moving to the studio, I wanted to let you all know where are thoughts and hearts are really right now.
We recently learned of the unexpected death of who we knew around Different By Design as "our favorite client".
The first time we met Randy was late last year and I remember sitting in the waiting room being more nervous than ever before for a client meeting. Would Randy like us? Would he think we were just kids? Would he trust us to create design work that would well represent and communicate the ethics and high standard of Randy Meyer Investment Management, LLC?
Thankfully the answers to those questions were: Yes! He liked us, No! He didn't think of us as two kids and always treated us with the utmost respect and Yes! He did trust us. In fact, I remember at one point during the meeting he turned to his righthand man (and another person we love from his office) and asked him, "So what do you think?". To which Justin replied, "I think we should let them go for it. Let's not put any limitations on the project and trust what they can do." "I agree." said Randy and then he turned to us.
There it was! Full creative freedom on a huge project: rebranding the best and most trusted financial services management company in Yuba City, California.
During our meeting (we met only Justin and Randy that day, but at later times met and equally loved everyone else in the office) Randy made us feel right at home. He showed us pictures of his darling grandchildren and spoke with warmth telling us about how they came down to stay with him and his wife every summer.
He spoke highly of his son, telling us how well he was doing working in the music industry and it was just clear as day that Randy loved his family, his coworkers, his clients, and his career.
Over the next several months we were in and out of Randy's office, Billy more than myself, which I always hated when I wasn't able to go because I just loved being there so much. I remember one day after leaving from dropping off a business card order, I told Billy, "Man. I'm really going to be sad when this project is completed. We are going to have to make up reasons to pop by and visit them all." Of course Billy agreed.
In fact, Billy was just in the office on Tuesday delivering some proofs and when he walked in Randy was the first person out front to greet him, shaking his hand and making Billy feel at home as always.
I have two favorite memories about Randy and the first is when we got a call saying to come by and pick up the deposit on the design work. Billy ran in and grabbed the envelope and when we went to open it to deposit it we found that Randy had left a handwritten note with the check: "Your work was worth every penny." It's hard to articulate exactly how good that letter and his gesture made us feel. We knew Randy was extremely busy, and he didn't really need to write us anything and yet there he stopped to scribble down those words to us. One of our goals at Different By Design is to create a wow experience for our clients...I can't tell you how many times Randy and his team created those wow experiences for us. It's true. People may not remember what you say or what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel. Randy made us feel valued, appreciated, and special. We told everyone we knew about him and everyone that knew him held the same high opinion that we did of him.
The other treasured memory I have was our presentation meeting to show Randy the two concepts we had worked on. We could tell Randy (along with the whole office) immediately loved the first proof Billy was walking them through...and then the second proof came along.."Man!" Randy told Billy, "You just had to show me two that I love. Now how am I going to pick one?" Of course that is good news to any designer's ears and it wasn't just that but that sometimes in a service based business, people don't quite understand what you do or the value you can add to their business. It was always clear in our interactions with Randy that he respected and valued everything we did for him.
Needless to say that we were floored when we heard the news that Randy had passed late last week. Our eyes immediately filled with tears and our hearts with disbelief. There are some things in life that we may never understand, and during those times we are reminded more than ever of just how much we need to rely on God to walk us through the dark and confusing times. I am so thankful that He is an ever present refuge because we have needed it more than ever this week. And not only us, but obviously Randy's family, friends, and every other person whose life he touched. Please continue to pray for everyone who is mourning the loss of this great man.
In the midst of the craziness of moving to the studio, I wanted to let you all know where are thoughts and hearts are really right now.
We recently learned of the unexpected death of who we knew around Different By Design as "our favorite client".
The first time we met Randy was late last year and I remember sitting in the waiting room being more nervous than ever before for a client meeting. Would Randy like us? Would he think we were just kids? Would he trust us to create design work that would well represent and communicate the ethics and high standard of Randy Meyer Investment Management, LLC?
Thankfully the answers to those questions were: Yes! He liked us, No! He didn't think of us as two kids and always treated us with the utmost respect and Yes! He did trust us. In fact, I remember at one point during the meeting he turned to his righthand man (and another person we love from his office) and asked him, "So what do you think?". To which Justin replied, "I think we should let them go for it. Let's not put any limitations on the project and trust what they can do." "I agree." said Randy and then he turned to us.
There it was! Full creative freedom on a huge project: rebranding the best and most trusted financial services management company in Yuba City, California.
During our meeting (we met only Justin and Randy that day, but at later times met and equally loved everyone else in the office) Randy made us feel right at home. He showed us pictures of his darling grandchildren and spoke with warmth telling us about how they came down to stay with him and his wife every summer.
He spoke highly of his son, telling us how well he was doing working in the music industry and it was just clear as day that Randy loved his family, his coworkers, his clients, and his career.
Over the next several months we were in and out of Randy's office, Billy more than myself, which I always hated when I wasn't able to go because I just loved being there so much. I remember one day after leaving from dropping off a business card order, I told Billy, "Man. I'm really going to be sad when this project is completed. We are going to have to make up reasons to pop by and visit them all." Of course Billy agreed.
In fact, Billy was just in the office on Tuesday delivering some proofs and when he walked in Randy was the first person out front to greet him, shaking his hand and making Billy feel at home as always.
I have two favorite memories about Randy and the first is when we got a call saying to come by and pick up the deposit on the design work. Billy ran in and grabbed the envelope and when we went to open it to deposit it we found that Randy had left a handwritten note with the check: "Your work was worth every penny." It's hard to articulate exactly how good that letter and his gesture made us feel. We knew Randy was extremely busy, and he didn't really need to write us anything and yet there he stopped to scribble down those words to us. One of our goals at Different By Design is to create a wow experience for our clients...I can't tell you how many times Randy and his team created those wow experiences for us. It's true. People may not remember what you say or what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel. Randy made us feel valued, appreciated, and special. We told everyone we knew about him and everyone that knew him held the same high opinion that we did of him.
The other treasured memory I have was our presentation meeting to show Randy the two concepts we had worked on. We could tell Randy (along with the whole office) immediately loved the first proof Billy was walking them through...and then the second proof came along.."Man!" Randy told Billy, "You just had to show me two that I love. Now how am I going to pick one?" Of course that is good news to any designer's ears and it wasn't just that but that sometimes in a service based business, people don't quite understand what you do or the value you can add to their business. It was always clear in our interactions with Randy that he respected and valued everything we did for him.
Needless to say that we were floored when we heard the news that Randy had passed late last week. Our eyes immediately filled with tears and our hearts with disbelief. There are some things in life that we may never understand, and during those times we are reminded more than ever of just how much we need to rely on God to walk us through the dark and confusing times. I am so thankful that He is an ever present refuge because we have needed it more than ever this week. And not only us, but obviously Randy's family, friends, and every other person whose life he touched. Please continue to pray for everyone who is mourning the loss of this great man.
Monday, May 2, 2011
it's official!
Yesterday we got the keys to the studio and today was our first day working at the new location! We LOVE it! Of course most of our days right now are being spent moving things, but we were able to stop and work on some client proofs this afternoon. It was a great day! We will be holding our Grand Opening later this month, but in the mean time if you want to pop in and say hi, we'd love to see you!
Different By Design is open Monday-Friday from 9am to 5pm and outside days and times by appointment. You can find us at 546 B Yolo Street, which is off of Bridge Street, headed towards the bridge.
Of course no update would be complete without pictures...these are from the cellphone, so please excuse the quality!
Happy Monday everyone!
Different By Design is open Monday-Friday from 9am to 5pm and outside days and times by appointment. You can find us at 546 B Yolo Street, which is off of Bridge Street, headed towards the bridge.
Of course no update would be complete without pictures...these are from the cellphone, so please excuse the quality!
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