Vale Design : Freelance Package Design & Branding

Two new weekly features

Happy Friday everyone! I am excited to announce that I will be introducing two weekly features. The first will be on Monday and I am aiming for the second one to be on Thursday. I am very excited about them both, but it is the Thursday one that has my desk covered in Post-It® notes.

+ second weekly feature - I have always been a little vague on this site, not going into too much detail about my freelance business, Vale Design. Yes, I have shared my finished projects, after all, this is a designer's portfolio site. However, I have never shared my personal design journey, my process and my freelance business discoveries along the way. Due to the fact that I have received an astounding number of emails regarding freelance questions, all of that is about to change.

**p.s.**Thank you to every person who visits this site. I am truly humbled by all of your comments and emails. When I started this a little over a year ago, I did not know if I would like being "on the grid." I am a very private person. Thank you for welcoming me and reaching out to me. I have "met" so many kind, talented people/designers. You have pushed me to work harder and trust just a little more. See you all here Monday! Happy weekend!

**p.p.s.** During March, I will be taking Fridays off from posting. I have some personal design projects that need some undivided attention, i.e., portfolio update, website re-design and diving into a special project.

{image credits f-l-e-x}

Vale Design Work: Bissell Pawsitively Clean

I worked on the Bissell Pawsitively Clean packaging as a freelance collaboration with the brilliant design firm, Evolve Creative in Chicago. I am so lucky that I have the opportunity to partner with talented firms who work with amazing clients. If you get a chance, definitely check out Evolve's copy. So funny! Really lends to the personality of the product. You can pick these products up now at Petco.

** I recently had the opportunity to test how well these products actually work. Thanks to my dog, I can personally attest to the strength of "dang."  

Favorite Iphone App: ShakeItPhoto

Shake it like a Polaroid picture! Works like a real instant camera. Makes all of your photos look a little vintage and in Polaroid format. You can even watch the photos develop. You can find this app in the photography category. $0.99 cents worth of fun!

{image credits Apple & ShakeItPhoto} 

Etsy Find: Blue Dove Studio

This nasty gray weather is making me crave spring. Don't these lovely gems from Blue Dove Studio just put you in the mood! {of course the bird necklace is my favorite}

1 :: golden autumn earrings  2 ::  little tree necklace  3 :: little bird necklace  4:: gold leaf necklace

{lovely image credits Blue Dove Studio}

Work in Progress

Sorry for no post today. I am finishing up a freelance project. I will see everyone here on Monday! Have a great weekend! As the sign says, thank you for your patience!

The Regional Assembly of Text

All this talk of the Olympics and Vancouver is making me wish I had time for vacation. If I find time, The Regional Assembly of Text is the first shop I am going to hit when I get into town. Their goods are available brick-n-mortar and online {which will have to suffice for now}. They offer a wide range of paper goods, cute little buttons and journals. Of course I am in love with these little graph paper bird greeting cards!

The company was started in 2005 by Rebecca Dolen and Brandy Fedoruk. They offer the Letter Writing Club, which is open to everyone and the lowercase reading room, a small reading room with zines and self published books. They even have a button making station! I need a vacation to Canada.

{image credits The Regional Assembly of Text} 

The Curiosity Shoppe

I am such a sucker for eclectic, vintage modern items. The Curiosity Shoppe, an online and brick-n-mortar retail shop, is going to be very dangerous for me. Run by Lauren Smith and Derek Fagerstrom, it features unique items for all areas of your home and office. The site also features the Craft Room, Lauren and Derek's favorite arts and craft kits. They also have Smarts & Crafts, their web journal featuring their current discoveries. Lots of goodies to check out!

{found via Design*Sponge. Image credits The Curiosity Shoppe} 

Vanity Barcodes

Discovered via The Dieline, Vanity Barcodes is founded/designed/managed by the geniuses that are Reuben Miller {Share Some Candy} and Yael Miller {The Dieline and Miller Creative LLC}. I have been a package designer for 10 years. I have seen a lot of techniques, design styles and bells and whistles. Vanity Barcodes is such a simple and effective memory device for the consumer. Just a little something extra to help them remember a specific brand. Vanity Barcodes offers both stock and custom designs. They also offer multiple barcode testing and scan compliance. Genius.

 {via The Dieline. Image credits Vanity Barcodes}

Blog Love: Giverslog

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a lovely weekend/holiday and gave and received gifts of time and talent. I stumbled onto Giverslog gift guides recently while researching crafty gifts to make for Valentine's Day. This site is run by AmberLee Fawson and is chalked full of gift giving ideas. There is a plethora of gift categories to choose from. Giverslog also has a blog and a great free printables section.

{ps I was super excited to see that our Take-Along Treats No 2: Grandma's Caponata is currently being featured on the home page. Thanks Amber!}

{image credits Giverlog}

Design Resource: Vectips

I am constantly on the look out for great design tutorial websites. Illustrator or Photoshop. I try to incorporate a new technique into every freelance project. This helps to keep my designs fresh and current, and also helps me to continue learning.

One of my favorite sites lately has been Vectips. This site is run and maintained by Ryan Putnam. "Vectips is a site dedicated to Adobe Illustrator® tips, tricks and tutorials. Whether you are a seasoned Illustrator user or just starting out, Vectips can help." I have found some very good advanced tutorials on here. Ryan, or Rype, also owns Rype Arts, designs for iStockphoto and can be found on Twitter. {Vectips posts great links via Twitter. In my opinion, a definite must follow for a designer.}

Happy VALEntine's Day everyone! ~ erin 

Etsy Find: Geninne's Art Store

Finally, someone who loves, appreciates and sees birds the same way I do. Geninne's Art Store has some of the loveliest watercolor and acrylic ink illustrations I have seen. I wrote an earlier post about Geninne's blog that you can check out here. These images and colors have me daydreaming of spring. This one is definitely my favorite. {**hint, hint, husband!**}    

{Gorgeous image credits Geninne's Art Store}

Vale Design Work: Jennifer D. Hughes

We were very excited and honored when fine artist/photographer Jennifer D. Hughes chose Vale Design to help her with her new business card design. We pulled out all the stops! Two color, double sided printing and rounded corners help show off this dynamic spirograph design and highlight the artist's signature on the back of the cards. Thanks Jennifer and we wish you all the best!

Blog Love: fresh365

I recently stumbled onto fresh365. This site is a collection of vegetarian recipes, gorgeous food photography and general photography. This site is also run by a designer named Erin, but a Boston based one! I am always looking for more vegetarian recipes to add to my arsenal and I love shots of fresh vegetables. The colors are so beautiful. {found via Mint}

{image credit fresh365}

finch&hawk VALEntine's Day Sale

     
In honor of the holiday that bears my name {ironic because I do not celebrate it myself, nor do I like hearts!}, finch&hawk will be having a VALEntine's Day sale from February 4th through February 7th 12 pm EST on the three products shown above. Show that special someone that you love them...or you just need them to run some errands for you and cook something! 

Items for sale:

FreakinToDo list notepad - 3 pack {this item is our number one best seller and does not go on sale often!}

PainInTheGroceries list notepad - 2 pack and singles {singles while supplies last}

Bird Recipe Cards - 10 4x6" 110lb Solar White doubles sided cards. Also includes 2 coordinating 3x3" gift tags. 

Giada + Target

I love Giada and I love Target. So imagine my surprise when I walked around the corner the other night and SURPRISE! Giada De Laurentiis now has products at Target! Packaging is classic Target. I really like the brand color combination. Really fresh! Now, what product do I need to buy...? 

Nonpareil Online Magazine is LIVE

I am so excited! Nonpareil magazine, the brainchild of two of my favorite people, Maddy of Inspired Bride and Kristen of Paper Crave is live! I wish I was getting married all over again!

The first issue is Beauty on a Budget. It is chalked full of budget friendly ideas, from DIY FREE PRINTABLE wedding invitations all the way to favor ideas. {Yep, I said it, free printable wedding invitations}. I was honored to be a contributor for the very issue. My design work {printables in the downloads section} is featured with some truly creative women, Twig & Thistle, Carter and Cook, Posh Paperie, Cottage Industrialist, Bread of Many, Wiley Valentine, Jackie Wonders Photography, Roxanne Bradley, and The Floral Lab.

Congratulations ladies! It looks so lovely. I am so proud of both of you and continued success! ~ erin

ps The finch&hawk Printable DIY Gable Box - Scrolls was designed to pair with the Vale Design Swash Ornament invitation in the downloads section. I will be adding Nonpareil color choices to the Etsy listing very soon.

AIGA Aquent 2009 Survey of Design Salaries

Whether you own your own design business or work for someone else, it is always a good idea to stay in the know about design rates and salaries for your region and specific level {Solo Designer, Creative Director, Web Designer, etc.}. Every year AIGA and Aquent publish a Survey of Design Salaries. It is an intricate breakdown ranging from bullet point ideas from top design firm owners to compensation overviews and ranges broken out by design title. A definite must see if you are contemplating asking for a raise or if you are just checking that your rates are current for your area. Great design bookmark.

Click here for 2009.

{image credits AIGA and Aquent}

Design Sponge: Biz Ladies series

Happy Monday everyone. I spent some time this weekend catching up on the Design Sponge Biz Ladies series. These are great informative articles for business owners ranging from subjects such as trademark 101 for designers, copyright 101 for designers, tax info for small businesses, wholesale, and logo design. There are so many more that are also worth checking out. These will help you begin to answer some business start up questions and help you work through the right questions to start asking. 

{image credit Design Sponge}