Business Card Inspiration

Here are some links to wonderfully gorgeous business cards...

Portrait Business Cards?

Sorry, the page that this one was supposed to be on was not available.  If anyone knows who designed it please let me know so I can give them credit.

The Coolest Business Cards

Self-Promo Ideas

120 Self Promotion Ideas


Here are my top self promo ideas, for designers, from the list:

1. Place business cards in books relevant to your skill set
2. Ask your friends and family to spread the word about you and your business
3. Network and Social Events - also make friends with designers and freelancers
4. Holiday Promotions - Maybe I should have made Christmas cards...
    There is always next year, or I could create Valientine's day
5. Start a blog - link to others blogs/articles - SEO (use keywords in text ex. Felicia Follum Graphic Designer and Artist) - post helpful comments on other blogs
6. Forwarding Viral Emails
7. Wear your advertisement - T shirts, hats etc.
8. Just be amazing and work will come to you...

Self Promo

How do you market yourself and your work at the same time?  Coming up with a logo for a client is simple in comparison.  Brainstorm, research, brainstorm, develop a concept and design. 

Repeat a a step or two.  Edit.  Design. 

When it comes to myself it is extremely difficult to design something that says "Felicia Follum," "Felicia Follum's graphic design" and "Felicia Follum's artwork" all at the same time. 

It needs to say Felicia Follum to various people groups.  Not just art professors, not just potential clients, not just work acquaintances, not just friends and not just me.  It needs to be something that I want to represent me and my work.  Something that can be seen in place of my name, both now and in the near future.

This whole loge/identity design is a project that I have been working on for a bit.  I want and need to continue to develop my skills and portfolio as well as my personal identity (in the art world).  My hope is that these will all fall into place, or at least into a place where I can figure it all out.

Any suggestions?  Thoughts? How did you come up with your branding?

**Updated spacing July 5th 2012

My First Book - Using All Upcycled Materials

I have wanted to learn how to make art books for several years.  I finally decided that books could make excellent Christmas gifts and decided to look into creating them. 

I used these two tutorials (1 and 2) for the basic understanding but made up my own rules.

I wrapped watercolor paper with magazine pages for the cover and used engineering paper for the filler paper. I might still decoupage the cover or keep it for a reference in the future. I think that purchasing some fancy paper would be benefical especially if I want to use the books for gifts. Fancy paper would also be good for paper beads. I will show you about paper beads at some point.
Simplified Steps

1. Gather materials (all materials can be found around the house)
1. a. A thick material for a cover and something to wrap the cover with.
2. b. Glue
3. c. String, lace or hemp
4. d. Filler paper
5. e. Something to make holes
2. Create folds or cuts in the thick material where you want to binding to fold Wrap the cover like a present
3. Cover the seems with a photograph.
4. Punch holes in paper and cover
5. String together

Here are some photos of my first practice book.

Front Cover

Inside Left

Inside Right

Back Cover

My next step is to gather better materials and try one that is a bit more professional.

Some other book ideas to try
Star book
Concertina book

The top 5 Design Portfolios for Today

Here are a couple design portfolios that I stumbled upon today.

1. Antonio Johnson
2. Micael Anderson
3. Blog by Liz Chan
4. Chuck Anderson
5. Clay Doss 

Enjoy! 

Why is Papyrus bad?

I have been looking at some logos lately that all use Papyrus and have been wondering why it is used so often and why it is so bad.  I have been taught that papyrus is evil.  The best reason is because a good designer should be able to create texture and doesn't need to use a typeface that is texture.  I know this explanation doesn't make the most sense.

I personally think that Papyrus is overused and the design surrounding it often posses the same earthy feel. 

I really liked what Ryan Stemkoski had to say about the font in Please Papyrus Don't Hurt 'Em. 

It could be a fun project to redesign some logos that all use Papyrus.  I think that my first redesign project will be my church's logo.  I do think that the design works for our church but I still think that it could be improved.  I also really like the concept behind the name Emmaus Road.  I would like to try to portray more of the story than the currently logo currently does.

ANArexia

Our school is starting a body image awareness group on our campus.  I am excited for this groups and am hoping we will focus on Anorexia as a topic at some point.

I am thinking about doing a series of posters or some other form of design work relating to eating disorders, specifically anorexia.  I have two videos that I have created for this theme as well.

It is really sad that our culture is becoming more and more overweight, but at the same time anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders are becoming more and more common.  There are a ton of reasons that experts discuss.  Currently I would like to argue that ones diet is one of the easiest ways to gain control in some aspect of your life and as a culture we maybe feel like we are losing control.  I guess I don't know why we need this extra control in our lives but hey it seems to make some amount of sense to me.
The whole issue is fascinating but really sad.

Check out my Photo Blog

I have had a photography blog for a few months now.  I will be reposting some of my previously posted photos converted to grayscale.  It is interesting to see how they change.
My Photography Blog

Some of my upcoming theme ideas include Word of The Day (photograph new vocab words) and self-portraits (do x number of self-portraits).  These are both possible 100 image projects.

Social Justice Round 2

You know the "Grace is a Bit Queer" poster series?  Well, I am starting a new series and plan to put at least a couple in the Shepard Symposium show this year.

The overall topic for this series will be revolving around the Native American reservations.  They will be focusing on issues such as alcoholism, gang violence, suicide rates, and poverty.  I may focus on Pine Ridge and Rosebud in SD.

I started last week and have several in progress.  One draft is completed so far.  Woo hoo.

Grace is a bit Queer pt. 2

This semester for a class that I am in, I have been looking at the issues dealing with the relationship between Christians and the GBLTQ communities.  To see some of the ideas that I am exploring visit my sckrlgn blog. 

I am currently designing a website that displays my posters while informing people about the topic of grace.  The website is still in progress but check it out anyway.

Graceisqueer.weebly.com

Grace is a Bit Queer

Grace is a bit Queer

I am currently working on a series of posters that all revolve around the idea of grace and how it is miscommunicated by the church.  The posters address how this miscommunication is partially, if not all, to blame for the negative understanding of religion and Christianity in society.

I would like to create a show based on this work.  I have many posters started and a several finished.  I am using my own photography as well as some (well at least one) of my life drawings.  It is a fun project because I am passionate about grace.  I love working with “troubled youth” as well as homeless people.  I have several GBLTQ… friends whom (or who, I think whom, anyways) that I love dearly.  A life drawing of one of these friends will most likely be the main (or a major) piece.
I have been posting the work on my website as it gets into shows.

I think this is a body of work that will continue to grow for a long time.

Old News

This blog has moved around a couple times so I am posting some of my old work just to get you caught up.  Some of these bodies of work are important because they explain how I got to where I am now.

Enjoy