starting the new year with a blank palette

There's something refreshing about starting the New Year with an empty sketchbook or journal. That's why I decided to give my clients a "blank palette" or a special marigold journal as their holiday gift this year. It's a perfect size to fit in a briefcase or purse—to jot down ideas or to-do lists. I don't know about you but I can't survive my week without having a to-do list sitting beside my computer!

As you all know, I tend to obsess over my holiday gift every year. It has to be extra special because my clients are extra special! Last year's gift was a calendar based on a color wheel. It was very unique but not very practical. But it looked great hanging on a wall and it won a Silver ADDY locally and in district. I don't know if I can top that but that's OK because I think this year's gift is just as special and a bit more practical!

The journal is simple and elegant with only the embossed marigold's mark on the front—nothing else. It is enclosed within a belly wrap and mailed in an orange (marigold's signature color) square envelope and sealed with a marigold sticker.

The main message is on a separate tag and tied with an orange ribbon to the coil binding on the inside. The tag could be used as a book marker. It contains various icons on the back—simply drawn to represent inspirational things such as planning a trip, writing, drawing, etc.

I hope my clients enjoy their special journal and I'm already thinking about next year's holiday gift. But in the meantime, here's to new beginnings in 2012!

marigold's calendar won an ADDY!

I am so excited to share this wonderful news with all of you! Marigold's holiday gift, "Wishing You a Colorful New Year" calendar, won a Silver ADDY Award from the American Advertising Federation of Cleveland (AAF). The ADDY Awards honor the work produced each year by the most creative local advertising agencies, across a number of categories, including print, broadcast, self promotion and interactive advertising. More than 400 entries were submitted this year.

For the past three years, I have been creating one-of-a-kind holiday gifts for my clients. It's something I truly enjoy doing even though I obsess over it for months! And each year, I try to do something different, bringing in a little bit of myself into the design. The last two holiday gift concepts involved marigolds (the flower). "Wishing You a Marigold Christmas" note cards and "The Magic of Marigold" plantable notepad last year both won ADDYs—this explains my obsession with my holiday gift!

But this year, I decided to do something totally different and since I love color as much as design, I wanted to create something colorful. After many weeks of brainstorming, sketching, driving my intern Jessica and copywriter Lori crazy, I finally knew what I wanted to do—a calendar based on a basic color wheel (see my post from last month about the calendar). I divided the color wheel into 365 days with Sundays highlighted in orange and holidays in a bold font. The biggest challenge was dividing the circle into 365 equal parts along with making sure the dates were perfectly centered within those areas. And for those of you that know me well, you know how I am about kerning and line-ups! But it was well worth the effort because the calendar turned out beautiful!

The calendars were printed on uncoated, recycled poster stock and were rolled up, tied with an orange (marigold's signature color) ribbon and hangtag and then mailed in a simple white square box with a custom mailing label. "FILL YOUR NEW YEAR WITH COLOR, ONE DAY AT A TIME" was the message on the hangtag with the main message about "THE POWER OF COLOR" printed on the poster.

Color is a powerful thing. As a designer, I know the importance of color in design. It can either make or break the overall design of a package or marketing piece. But it's also important in everyday life—lifting our spirits on cold, gray winter days and touching something deep within our souls.

Hmm... I better start thinking about this year's gift!