an Up birthday (part two)

Read about the Up invitations we designed for our son right here.

Part Two...We continued our love for adventure over into the postage, using these USPS "scouting" stamps designed by another former Chico State University alumni, Craig Fraizer.

We also designed these little "Thank You's" to tuck inside the party favor bags.

Overall this custom design is one of my favorites to date...and though I can't speak for everyone, I think a sugary, good time was had by all.

*Up concept art published on the Pixar Facebook page

an Up birthday (part one)

Recently our youngest son turned 2 years old and we decided to have a small celebration honoring what he loves most: balloons and Pixar. We subtly played off of some of the underlying Up movie themes, one being that Adventure Is Out There! We invited our guests to join us in celebrating the "Spirit Of Adventure" which was really just code for come have cupcakes and mingle with us!

Of course we designed the invitations for the party. Billy watercolored the different colors for the balloons to give them an arts and crafts feel, which we felt appropriate for a child's birthday celebration. We even printed the invitations on water color textured paper to keep the playful feel in the completed design.

We seem to enjoy putting our son's face in circular shapes, because last year he was inside a bubble on his invitation, and this year he is floating away in the sky just as happy as he can be inside a balloon.

I love that the invitations carry out an Up theme in a subtle way, versus being loud and in your face or with any characters from the movie on the actual invitations.

rejuvenated

Can't believe Monday has already come and (basically) gone! Did you have a peaceful weekend? We spent the weekend rejuvenating with lots of walks, loading up on art supplies, and working on personal projects.

We came back to the studio today refreshed and ready to help make our clients their absolute best!

We also had a short visit with our friends over at Tandem Web Solutions and brought a little gift over to their son for his birthday. Billy illustrated Spiderman on the wrapping paper to make the kraft paper more "boy like".

How do you spend your time when you want to refresh?

back to school

Yep! We said it! Can you believe it's already back to school time? Our client MTR Photography Studio is offering special mini sessions to capture your little one during this priceless time.

We designed this print-web ad for them. Be sure to call and book your appointment!

family

"A man should never neglect his family for business." -walt disney

I love this quote by Walt Disney. Being a family that also works together has proven to have it's fair shares of challenges and blessings.

This weekend we had the honor of hanging out with one of our favorite photographers, Josiah Michael. Josiah has captured our family ever since Isaac was just a newborn baby! Born and raised in Yuba City, California, Josiah now resides in Washington, so it was nice to see him on his short visit home.

Thanks for coming by the studio and capturing some new family memories for us Joey!

happy friday!

May your weekend be colorful and filled with unexpected surprises!

Today we finished up some packaging designs for the innovative company Slide Fire Solutions. Below is a picture of some proofs hanging up on the clip board wall at the studio...love those bright pops of color.

And a sweet little surprise that was brought to me today by Billy on his lunch break. What's not to love about a kokeshi girl and freshly picked flower?

Happy Friday everyone!

two!

It just wouldn't be right to let the day go by without wishing our youngest son a Happy 2nd Birthday.

If you've ever come by the studio and it looked like a tornado ran through...well, you can just thank this little guy for that!

monster monday (part 2)...

Remember this post from last week?

Well, the invitations are now completed and they are almost as adorable as the sweet little birthday boy!

I love how the water colored monsters turned out...especially those party hats! Happy Monday everyone!

P I X A R...

Because dreams really do come true! :)

Last month we had the awesome and unique privilege of an inside tour of the world famous animation studios at Pixar.

We were so blessed to be invited as guests of a Pixar employee, Shaun, and his lovely wife Laura and their two sweet children.

To say our whole family loves Pixar would be a vast understatement. To be able to get a peek inside of this amazing world where creativity is king in the workplace...well, it was really a dream come true. The whole trip was so inspiring and reinforced our love for Pixar even more (if that's even possible). There were so many highlights and Shaun and Laura both were so knowledgeable, that it made for a fabulous time.

Here's a few pictures from the day.

After walking through the entrance of the main building, this seating area is to the left.

Wish I could have taken Guido home with me!

I am in love with all the huge art work that was hung all throughout the buildings. Everything was so perfectly detailed. Here is Mater from Cars 2 to the right of the main building entrance.

"The claw is our master.." Isaac making friends with the infamous Toy Story aliens.

I'll be sure to post again with more pictures from our Pixar trip. I think it was the highlight of my summer. Thank you Shaun, Laura, and family!

Heads Together Salon & Day Spa

Yesterday Linda Lomeli, owner and hair stylist of Heads Together Salon & Day Spa, emailed us saying that her sign was officially installed at the salon.

Needless to say we were giddy with excitement and we drove by the salon 3 times yesterday to admire it!

Great job, Linda! It looks amazing and I can't tell you how thrilled we are to see you reinforcing your brand image on the salon signage!

You can see that even in one color the logo still holds its impact...that's the power of good, clean design!

jessica & edward

We recently designed these custom invitations for the sweetest couple, Jessica and Edward. They were so fun to work with and it was refreshing to work with a couple that wanted a nontraditional layout for the type. While I really love everything from the skeleton key to the color choices, I think my favorite part is the doily print on the back. Congratulations on your engagement you two! We are so excited for you to say "I do!".

Instagram photo of the back of their wedding invitations.

Just a little mock up (information has been changed for privacy reasons).

Jessica happens to be a fabulous hair stylist. I thought of her when I saw this vintage hairnet packaging, so I had to pick it up for her!

monster monday...

Billy at the studio today, watercoloring little monsters in party hats for some custom invitations we are creating for a very special birthday boy....while our passion and focus is identity designing and branding, sometimes a little change can be nice.

Little monsters now waiting to get scanned in...don't worry! Their party hats will fit like a glove once everything is said and done. :)

Happy Monday everyone!