Free Digital Downloads

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The truth shall set you FREE!
Download, share, and enjoy some encouragement!
Remind yourself, and others who we really are.

Brand Identity : Emporium Pies

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Who doesn't love a great brand?! Im sure each of us have at least 3-5 brands that we admire, enjoy, and don't mind spending our time or money with. We return to that brand over and over because they have somehow built a relationship with us.  It may be through their products, their customer service, or their mission and messaging.  Hopefully it's all of the above.

A brand is more than a logo or a website, it is also your mission, your intention and the value you add to your customer’s experience on a consistent bases.  Heidi Cohen of Riverside Marketing Strategies defines a brand as;

A brand creates emotional bonds with consumers. Brands are composed of intangible elements related to its specific promise, personality, and positioning and tangible components having identifiable representation including logos, graphics, colors and sounds. A brand creates perceived value for consumers through its personality in a way that makes it stand out from other similar products. Its story is intricately intertwined with the public’s perception and consistently provides consumers with a secure sense that they know what they’re paying for. In a world where every individual is also a media entity, your consumers own your brand (as it always was).  

So yes, in regards to brands I wanted to share with you one local brand that I personally think is doing an outstanding job. I recently spent the afternoon in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas with my sister in law, who thankfully took me to Emporium Pies, a local pie shop in that neighborhood. I was very impressed and inspired by their brand through and through. I walked into this little house and was immediately transported to the "good ol' days" when life was simple, but still full of rich relationships and meaningful traditions. Emporium Pies invites you into their brand with every personal touch and well thought out detail of their business from the moment you enter to the moment you depart.

One aspect of their business that stands out {and I love}, is that all of their pies are handmade and all of their menu items change seasonally. Their pies contain no artificial preservatives, hydrogenated oils, dyes, or corn syrup. Now that is attention to detail and it adds value for a lot of their customers {like me}, making the quality of their product a very important part of their brand. 

photo credit : Paul Wilkes 

Also, the handmade touches and attention to detail are carried throughout their visual branding as well.  As a graphic designer, one of the first things I noticed was their logo and the paper stock they have their marketing material printed on {Im guessing it's Neenah, pearlized 80# cover}, and they have added gold foiling. Their packaging stands alone and is also put together by hand, one at a time, right in front of you. Each piece is stamped with their logo, tied up with bakers twine, and placed into a woven pie basket. It's pretty special. Their team also has a huge roll to play. The way they greet and serve their customers, along with their cute personal style adds to the overall customer experience and personality of the Emporium Pie brand.

graphic design credit : Scott Hill and the Foundry Collective

A few other fun items to note :
— Their hand written notes sprinkled throughout the shop are clever. When you walk onto the porch you are greeted with a little sign that says, "Welcome to our Pie Shop. Please keep the door shut, so it doesn't become a fly shop." It’s whimsical, full of personalty, and captures a bit of who these ladies are.
— The Drunken Nut pie is really good!
— The vintage art prints in the shop are beautiful.
— And lastly, if you dine in, you pretty much feel like you are sitting in someone's home,
{in the best way} down to the dishes!

Now, don't you just want to take a road trip and snag some Emporium Pie right this instant!?
Do it!

What are some of your favorite brands that are capturing your attention? I would love to know!

Free Digital Download

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Over the last couple weeks I was finding myself looking towards tomorrow, and the next week, and the week after that... more than I should. Planning out work projects, scheduling new timelines, and of course looking forward to our summer travel plans. It seemed like I was drifting into the future and skipping over the present.
    My hope is that July's free screen download will encourage you to take a deep breath, and press into whatever is "your present" (instead of glazing over it)...and enjoy it. After all, you will never have that moment again.

What If...

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This phrase from Sean Wes has been on my mind all week…

“Consume - devour, ingest, gobble up, wolf down, guzzle, feast on, snack on, use up, utilize, expend, deplete, exhaust; waste, squander, drain.”

Yes, in context this phrase is more in vein of work - creating work, taking advantage of other's work, not creating because we are too busy consuming... and so on. As a graphic designer, that is enough to chew on for a while. However, this morning I was spending time in the Word, reading some in Romans and thinking about this phrase at the same time. The gist of the passage was, you are saved because you have heard about Jesus through someone sharing with you, and you have believed. But there are people who don't believe because no one has shared with them, so they haven't heard.  It made me think about how when we are good and comfortable (we have what we want and need, whatever that looks like), we can easily take advantage of that. In this case, I have believed, and I know Jesus as my savior. I "consume" His word. I "consume" His presence. I "consume" the gifts He provides through blessings and the body of Christ. But do I share that? Do I create a place for others to have that? 

When I got up to head into work, the thought ran across my mind, "You just "consumed" this passage, but will it stick? Will it change you? Will you remember what you "consumed" in this moment tomorrow? Will you utilize this for the better, or will it be wasted? 

Think about it. Every day, all day, we consume whatever we want - good or bad. Will the objects, experiences, and resources that are in front of us and at our finger tips each day be simply depleted, or ingested? Will we remember tomorrow what we created, read, made, felt, or gave today? 

Thinking about the time I spend consuming rather than "creating", or "sharing",  or "giving", or "reading"  or "dreaming" ...what will that look like one day? Will what I have to contribute be full, or empty? Maybe today I will challenge my self to sketch for a hour instead of viewing all the beautiful work someone else has created.

Who inspiring and challenging you these days? 

If you are a creative entrepreneur, and you’re not listening to Sean Wes on his weekly podcast, you should check it out! Not only does his creative and business experience cause me to think about work differently, but it also bleeds over into other areas. 

— Surround yourself with people that make you want to be better —
 

Here & There: A Trip to Nashville

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My husband and I took a short trip to Nashville recently and I came back refreshed and inspired. It was a great mix of work, rest, and play. 

It was my first time experiencing Nashville and I fell in love with the city. It was full of art, culinary innovation, culture and charm—oh and, of course, music!

If you ever find yourself in the lovely city of Nashville, here are a few spots we really dug:

1 // Driving through the West End, Hillsboro and Bellmead to take it all in. 

2 // German Town which houses the incredible City House restaurant.

3 // If you love letterpress, walk through the Onmi downtown and visit Hatch Show Print. 

4 // Downtown’s Southern Restaurant and Mike’s Ice Cream are perfect walking distance. To me, this feels like quintessential Nashville!

5 // We also hiked for three hours through Edwin Warner Park. The trails were breathtaking!

As a graphic designer, I find it really inspiring to observe design in other places, spaces and cities. Some of the things I like to look for (and you can, too!) are classic design that has been there forever, what is hip and trendy right now, and how different businesses are really capitalizing on the value of a good design to market and carry their brand. Because of my love and intrigue for typography, I had a field day with some of the branding I saw in Nashville at The Pharmacy Burger Parlor & Beer Garden, The Gaylord Opryland Hotel, and over at Hattie B. 

Are there any other Nashville treasures I should add to the list for next time? I would love to hear about them!

Here & There : Creating

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... As this busy week comes to an end, I am grateful for so many wonderful clients I get to partner with daily.  Thank you for your business.

ooey-gooey grilled cheese - yes Please

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Who doesn't love grilled cheese – and gourmet at that?! Well I definitely do. So besides hoping to score some free grilled cheese with this logo, I wanted the Cheddar Box logo to be fun and simple, yet still sophisticated. Cheddar Box features a healthier menu, with local, artisan ingredients. They also cater to special dietary needs leaving you with a lighter "full tummy." The owners of Cheddar Box wanted "A logo that makes you feel like a big ball of sunshine just walked up to you and handed you an ooey-gooey grilled cheese."
   Some of my first sketches and iterations were more playful with a bit of whimsy added in. I wanted to find a way to illustrate the fun, youthful side of grilled cheese into the logo, without it being too much – finding that balance can be tricky. Although my client and I did gravitate towards some of those initial concepts in the beginning, when it was all said and done, one more round of revisions was needed to meet my client's vision. We didn't want to loose the fun, youthful, comfort food feel, so we decided to use some of those initial concepts and carry them throughout the rest of the brand and marketing pieces in addition to the logo. 
   Now doesn't all this brainstorming and talk about grilled cheese make you want some!? How about you head over to Waco, Texas, for some delicious, ooey-gooey grilled cheese and indulge in some comfort food without feeling too guilty.