Paper Tree

In honor of the united nations climate change conference, Arjowiggins, manufacturer of creative and eco-sustainable papers, created this paper sculpture of a tree. Not only does Arjowiggins do their part by offering a wide range of recycled stocks they have also committed to protecting one hectare of Brazilian rainforest for each of the state leaders attending the summit. Hats off to you, Arjowiggins, for helping Mother Earth stick around a little longer.

All Frenchy French

What is it about French designs that make me so happy? Coq en Pate is a French line of children accessories with just the sweetest illustrations and great color palettes. See more of their designs and other unique and sweet children's items at Orfeo

Here's to Friday! :: Yellow + Blue

This is sort of a double whammy post. Great wine label design. Great package design. Make that a triple whammy - Great logo design as well! Read about this innovative wine bottle at the Yellow + Blue website.

Push your luck

Cool postcards with great handlettering. Mr. Claus, if your reading this blog, I know someone that might like this in her stocking...Admire the postcards in more detail here.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and not only will I be giving thanks for my wonderful family and friends but also for the wonderful handmade items found on Etsy such as this piece by Creative Thursday. Have a safe and happy turkey day...I can almost smell the wonderful aroma of turkey and mashed potatoes...

To read or not to read

With the holidays on our heels, lots of traveling is soon to be had. I like to have a good book with me when I travel and as mentioned before, I-for the most part-choose my books by the design. Luckily, Penguin redesigned these classics with beautiful covers. And whether you choose to read them or not, wouldn't they look lovely on your bookshelf?

Here's to Friday! :: The Kraken

So I got to thinking, why feature only wine labels on Friday? Why not give proper respect to all forms of celebratory beverages and their delicious designs? The Kraken Black Spice Rum from Proximo Spirits is such a fun design, even the bottle is cool. I can so completely picture this in the hands of a weathered, old sailor wearing a turtleneck and prickly beard and yet it still has such a sophisticated illustration and design. I love when a design makes me imagine what scenarios it would pop up in. Bonus point: the website is pretty cool, check it out.

mmm...chocolate

Initially, this collage of pattern caught my eye but after being further enticed by the word "chocolate" I dove deeper into this post on TheDieline only to find the most delicious website out there. The Chocolate Research Facility is a chocolate shop in Singapore that not only offers 100 different flavored chocolate bars but beautifully designed chocolate bars. And the website, albeit simple, has one mouth watering feature. Hmmm, chocolate research technician has a nice ring to it. I wonder if they are hiring...

Modern Family Tree

I love these modern family trees by My Tree and Me. Not only do they look beautiful, they add a personal touch to your home decor. What a great gift idea for the fast approaching holidays...

Here's to Friday! :: Koala Ranch Wineries

As promised, I am posting another wine label design thus beginning the Friday tradition that I will now refer to as "Here's to Friday!" This one tugs at my own design heart strings because of how simple it is. I'm a white space girl, give me lots of it. My theory is: the cleaner the design, the more impactful it can be. This lovely label for Koala Ranch Wineries was designed by Colle + McVoy and was a winner in the Communication Arts 2009 Design Annual.

One Pretty Package

Great holiday packaging from Jonathan Adler, who seems to do no wrong in my eyes. Check out more at TheDieline. Love the bold colors and graphics, especially opposed to the simple white ornament that comes in the box.

Familia goes Green

For 9 years, Blue Star has donated services for Familia, a fashion fundraising event benefiting the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland. This year the Familia group tasked us with creating an invitation that both appealed to the fashionista as well as helping to promote their green initiative.

So we designed this year’s invite in the shape of a fan, an accessory every diva needs, and printed in green ink, of course. This solution definitely meets true green requirements by being printed on recycled stock AND being a re-useable item.

Best of all, this year’s Familia was a true success, raising nearly $60,000.

Creativity in the Details

Proof that design is everywhere…I love, love, love these! Anyone that has worked with any kind of packaging or retail design knows what a challenge it can be to design around the barcode, trying not to let it inhibit the design and still be functional. But the japanese company, d-barcode took a much more creative approach, they made it part of the design. See more of these inspiring barcodes at The Dieline.

A little design with your wine

Since it is Friday, I wanted to dedicate my blog post to something celebratory. I am, by no means, a wine connoisseur so I choose my wine the way I choose everything else, by the design. And there are some really, really cool wine label designs out there. Here is just a niblet to get you started, but I promise to post more as I come across them...perhaps I shall make it a Friday tradition! This label design was done for the french winemaker Mont Tauch by Swedish design studio Lula

Candy Coma

Halloween has come and gone and all you have left is a half empty bottle of face paint and oodles and oodles of candy. What to do? I just so happen to have come across a fantastic little creative project for you and your kids and all that candy. Check out the original post at Alpha Mom for all the details. It makes me so happy to see such creative solutions for the little things even if they are as simple as a dixie cup and some tissue paper.

Happy Halloween

It's the classic case of "chicken or the egg". Did my love for the color orange come before my love for Halloween? One can never be sure. What I can be sure of is how much I love seeing great design in orange and black. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!

Judging a book by its cover

I have a confession. I buy books because they have cool covers. Some people browse book stores because they are excited to find new stories to disappear into, which I do enjoy, however I browse bookstores to look at the covers. Some of the best design is on a book cover. Check out this blog with tons of cool covers.

The Art of Recycling

I love seeing the unusual use of everyday items in art. Not that a rotary phone is an everyday item in 2009, but you get the idea.
This sculpture was done by Jean Luc Cornec.

Back to the Basics

Here's an informative article for non-designers on shapes as design elements and how they can be used to enhance your message. A nice refresher for the designer as well. Always good to see work by Saul Bass to regenerate your creative juices.

Living in Color

Ever wonder who picks the color trends? Check out this article about the Pantone Color Institute and how they travel the world to forecast color trends. Then mosey on over to the Pantone website to find out the hot trends for Fall 2009.

Type - OH!

Last week, the Designer Daily blog posted another round of 15 objects with typography. Out of all 15, this object, the Upper Case Scarf, happens to be my favorite. For this product, typography is no longer a tool for design, it is the design.

Get Real

This is still one of my favorite ads of all time. A short film created for Herman Miller by Fairly Painless Advertising. They take the simple message that the company wanted to express and blend it with the look and feel of the company itself. Such a great example of really listening to what a company is all about and helping them portray that to the world.

Plum Perfect

A pretty plum palette is popping up everywhere. This trend and more can be found at the 2 Modern website

Think inside the box

Architect Adam Kalkin has turned industrial shipping containers into beautiful living spaces. Check out his slideshow for more images. Just another wonderful example of thinking outside of the box...or in this case, inside the box.

Creative Error Pages

Not many websites have a need to create an error page however if you do, why not show a little of your company's personality with a clever error page. Check out some of these error pages for inspiration. Or just check them out because they're fun.