Fife Society for the Blind

It's always great to see my designs around in real life (in other words off my screen). So I was very pleased to see a photo of the tie and scarf I designed for Fife Society for the Blind using the lovely Penelopi elephant worn in a photo along side Gordon Brown.

Quest for Success

Design is a process. Once I receive a brief my creativity gets to work until I have something to show the client. Thereafter it tends to go back and forth until both of us are completely satisfied.

The work I did for Quest for Success was different. Karen & I always seemed to be on the same page. The concepts to be illustrated were challenging; resistance to change, strengthening personal impact but my brain really enjoyed being stretched. And I'm really pleased with the results. Sticking to the core colours kept them simple yet completely on brand.

Checkout the Quest for Success website to find out more about Karen's great work.

Introducing...Penelopi the Elephant

Fife Society for the Blind asked me to create an illustration for use on some  promotional materials as part of their rebrand. The inspiration for the elephant was an old collecting can they had which featured a pink elephant.

As the illustration was going to be printed on a tie and a scarf it had to be really simple but also include that all important striped t-shirt.

So here she is, the new charity mascot for Fife Society for the Blind.

 

 Look out for sightings of Penelopi if you're out and about around Fife!

Happy 100 posts

When writing my last post I noticed that I was about to reach 100 posts. In recognition of the point of this blog (yes there is a point even although it has maybe wandered off recently) - it started out as a showcase of my creative experiments - I created this illustration using some old elements along with some new. Happy 100 to me - here's to many more of my random experiments!

June Calendar

As the summer holidays approach it's time for an update to the design calendar. The month of June signals the end of free reign on design projects for students and an opportunity to impress the industry before embarking on their chosen careers.

So for design inspiration I'd recommend a visit to Edinburgh Telford's College graduate show which is taking place from 13th to 17th June at the Dovecot studios.

And then for relaxation packing a tent and some marshmallows to toast on the campfire somewhere in the Scottish countryside.

Time for tea

The Salvation Army are working hard in the Dunfermline Community. They asked for my help with designing an attractive A5 leaflet for handing out to people on the street. It had to be eye-catching so I stuck to their brand colour of red (which also happens to be my favourite colour). The simple image of the coffee cup leaves the text to do the talking.

If you'd like to find out more about the work that The Salvation Army are doing check out their website at www.salvationarmy.org.uk

September

September is upon us and as promised here's a calendar for your desktop. The lavender harvested from my garden is hanging out to dry and the blueberries are ripening on the windowsill. Enjoy the beginning of Autumn and don't forget International Talk like a Pirate Day on the 19th!

Feeling crafty?

If you live around Edinburgh and are feeling kinda crafty this weekend (or indeed anytime until 29th August) check out the craft fair that's running beside the church at the west end of Princes Street.

Especially have a look at the Owl & Lion Gallery stall with work available from the very talented illustrator, Mina Braun and the fabulous jewelery designs of Kimbarelly of Cut & Paste.

I couldn't resist these lovely window hangings by Mina. I have to say, I left the stall with a long list of things I'd like to buy but restricted by the lack of money in my purse I managed to control myself. Which leaves all the more gorgeous things for you to buy (unless I get back there first!)

Summer is here

To celebrate the fact that summer is here (and a certain little boy's third birthday today) I've created a book about the life of a bumblebee. With just a simple series of colourful illustrations there's endless opportunities to tell your own story.

The stripey black and yellow cover makes me think that the book is actually a bumblebee but maybe that's my own vivid imagination!

Exhibition update

The ECA exhibition is now sadly finished so if you missed your chance at seeing my book in situ then here's the double page spreads. The poem is by Edinburgh based poet Nancy Somerville from her first book of poems, Waiting for Zebras. Her book (whose cover I designed) can be bought at Red Squirrel Press.

Exhibition

If you've got a spare moment this week pop into Edinburgh College of Art sculpture court. There you will see all the work of people who have taken evening classes at the college. The array of work is incredible from beginners to avid enthusiasts and if you check out the cabinet at the end you'll see my little illustrated book.

I'd love to hear from you about your favourite piece/s.

Best Before

Last night was my final illustration class. I completed my illustrated book of Nancy Somerville's poem, Best Before. I've submitted it to the Art Studies Student Exhibition at ECA so all going well it should be on display at the Art College from 16th - 23rd April.

Also seen here is one of the images from the book done as a relief print from my weekend course. I hope in the next few weeks to complete the remainder of the illustrations in the same style.

And finally, I made the badges very quickly in the class yesterday. Now I want a badge maker!

Update

Sorry folks, I have been very bad at updating my blog recently. As well as photography I've been busying away with illustration and web design and not letting you see any of the results. Here's a wee sneak preview of my illustration work for a book I'm creating. All going well the real deal will be available to view at Edinburgh College of Art in April.

However it is with fighting talk that I am starting my day today, I'm determined that I'm going to finish my website really soon (this week maybe) and I think the more people that are expecting it the more likely I am to finish. Well, that's the idea anyway!

So grand unveiling of my website coming soon...

Origami cards

I started a new evening class last night which I'm very excited about. This time it's illustration so watch out for some interesting ink illustrations. I'll start putting them up as soon as I figure out how to attach my scanner to my laptop - it's all very troublesome without an IT department!

In the meantime here's some origami cards that I made to alleviate the stress of completing my tax return.

Little bird

This is a little bird illustration I did a while ago. It's drawn and then stitched onto canvas. I'd really like to make some more like this but this one took me ages!

Yummy magazine

Student project to design and layout a front cover and four double page spreads for a magazine of our choosing.

Carefree Californian Wine

College project to design a wine bottle label for Carefree Californian Wine. Design used illustrations by Alan Fletcher and a scrunched up piece of paper around the bottle.

Randon illustration

A random illustration that was the result of playing with illustrator.