Friday, July 31, 2009
Busy getting married...
I've been MIA the past week due to wedding bells ringing. I hope you understand! Everything was wonderful and I hope to post more photos and details soon. For now, Fig Notes will be light until next week!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Consistency in Graphics: The Invitation
The invitation can take many forms, and can undoubtedly be overwhelming for those going through the process of choosing for the first time. If you're tired of seeing the same old card stock with vellum topper, you're in luck. Over the past few years, accessibility to well designed, modern invitations has exploded. Thanks to Wedding Paper Divas and Paper Source, thousands of affordable options are at your fingertips.
On the other side of the coin, you are likely to have may local options available (esspecially if you are in PDX). Consider this a gift to your community. Supporting local artisits and shops benefits everyone, so pound the pavement a bit, meet with some people, and make an informed decision.
We chose to go the custom route, designing our own and having them printed locally. Again, our friends over at B&B Print Source gave us a beautiful finished product. We knew we wanted to avoid the cost of extra postage, so taking that into account, we limited ourselves to two pieces of heavywight paper. To add extra interest to an otherwise plain envelope, we designed a wrap-around return address label with plenty of room for the invitees' calligraphy address.
The invitation contains all the usual suspects...who, what, when, and where. The second piece includes the RSVP card and our website URL reminder. A simple perforated line separates the two, allowing the guest to keep the website information and send the card back to us.
We are thrilled with the final product and glad we carried our chosen graphic language throughout the entire suite of printed materials and the website. We've had such great response from our guests and can't wait to show them a good time on the big day!
Happy Weekend!
On the other side of the coin, you are likely to have may local options available (esspecially if you are in PDX). Consider this a gift to your community. Supporting local artisits and shops benefits everyone, so pound the pavement a bit, meet with some people, and make an informed decision.
We chose to go the custom route, designing our own and having them printed locally. Again, our friends over at B&B Print Source gave us a beautiful finished product. We knew we wanted to avoid the cost of extra postage, so taking that into account, we limited ourselves to two pieces of heavywight paper. To add extra interest to an otherwise plain envelope, we designed a wrap-around return address label with plenty of room for the invitees' calligraphy address.
The invitation contains all the usual suspects...who, what, when, and where. The second piece includes the RSVP card and our website URL reminder. A simple perforated line separates the two, allowing the guest to keep the website information and send the card back to us.
We are thrilled with the final product and glad we carried our chosen graphic language throughout the entire suite of printed materials and the website. We've had such great response from our guests and can't wait to show them a good time on the big day!
Happy Weekend!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Re: Work
Though it's timing is not exactly ideal (10 days 'till I do!) , I'm attending an all day seminar today for designers. Portfolio presentation, resumes for creatives, and finding clients/jobs in today's market. Should be informative....best of all, it's free thanks to The Mohawk Group!
Back to graphics tomorrow!
Back to graphics tomorrow!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Consistency in Graphics: The Website
Our save-the-dates directed our invitees to check out our event website to get a better idea of what to expect and hopefully answer some of the questions that probably popped into their heads. Where is this, exactly? I wonder if I should think about making flight plans now?
The site's graphics carried the bird + branch theme seamlessly and helped set the tone for the rest of our printed materials.
Our homepage featured one of the shots Jeff's dad took during our impromptu engagement session in Bend, OR (actually, most visits paid to The Guggenheims also include some sort of photo session!) This was all done in-house within about 16 hours time. It helps to have a clear vision and pre-selected colors and graphics...again, consistency really saves you a lot of time in the end!
We created these great little rollover birds as a navigation tool throughout the site. Peeps! is our link to showoff our wedding party and families.
We've had great response to our custom site, but don't be discouraged if you're not web savvy. There are plenty of great wedding templates for brides and grooms! The idea is to communicate clearly, whether your site is custom tailored to you or you choose a free pre-made page. The Knot, eWedding, and Wedding Channel have great affordabe options! If you have a few extra dollars and a few extra days, shoot us an e-mail and we can talk about some of the options available to customize your site and domain name!
The site's graphics carried the bird + branch theme seamlessly and helped set the tone for the rest of our printed materials.
Our homepage featured one of the shots Jeff's dad took during our impromptu engagement session in Bend, OR (actually, most visits paid to The Guggenheims also include some sort of photo session!) This was all done in-house within about 16 hours time. It helps to have a clear vision and pre-selected colors and graphics...again, consistency really saves you a lot of time in the end!
We created these great little rollover birds as a navigation tool throughout the site. Peeps! is our link to showoff our wedding party and families.
We've had great response to our custom site, but don't be discouraged if you're not web savvy. There are plenty of great wedding templates for brides and grooms! The idea is to communicate clearly, whether your site is custom tailored to you or you choose a free pre-made page. The Knot, eWedding, and Wedding Channel have great affordabe options! If you have a few extra dollars and a few extra days, shoot us an e-mail and we can talk about some of the options available to customize your site and domain name!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Consistency in Graphics
Creating a unified suite of printed goods for your event truly adds rich dimension and communicates a clear theme. For a wedding, save-the-dates are often more casual or funky, but consider carrying your overall theme into these short notes. It can set the tone for the event and get your guests excited right out of the gate. Likewise, use your invitations as a tool to communicate what your wedding will be like. Is it formal and traditional or creative and cutting edge? For our wedding, we chose to carry the bird + branch theme throughout all of our printed and online goods. I know it's challenging to commit to a theme or look, but you'll love the results when you see it through to the end! Trust me, guests will be impressed with your thoughtfulness and even consistent DIY projects can pass as professional.
This week is all about graphics, using our Guggenheim/Conway wedding suite as an example. We'll start with the first element sent to our guests, the hand-carved save-the-date:
Our save-the-date postcards were printed as a gift by our friends at B&B Print Source in Tigard, OR. If you don't have a good local option, try Zazzle or Moo for a great deal on two-sided postcards with graphics and text of your choice.
This week is all about graphics, using our Guggenheim/Conway wedding suite as an example. We'll start with the first element sent to our guests, the hand-carved save-the-date:
Our save-the-date postcards were printed as a gift by our friends at B&B Print Source in Tigard, OR. If you don't have a good local option, try Zazzle or Moo for a great deal on two-sided postcards with graphics and text of your choice.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Sponsor Feature: Simply Chic
Alexis of Jasmine Photography realized she was giving out a lot of advice to her wedding couples, so she thought, why not share those tips with others!
The Simply Chic Blog was created over two years ago to provide local advice and tips for engaged couples in Oregon. What makes this wedding blog different is that the posts are being written by professionals in the wedding industry. You'll find advice and inspiration from florists, photographers, caterers and more. These pro's have seen every kind of event and bring their do's and don'ts from real wedding experience's. From down and dirty advice like why not to have uncle harry photograph your wedding to fun stuff like gift ideas for your bridesmaids; you'll find every topic covered here!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Final Countdown!
The countdown begins for Fig Studio's real wedding ( Jenny + Jeff) so content for the next two weeks or so will likely be filled with all of the great little details we've created for our celebration. Be prepared to see A LOT of yellow goodness with a splash of bird graphics and a pinch of nature.
Like what you see? This is all part of Fig Studio's professional services. From full-service design to hourly consultations, we can help guide you toward the stylish wedding or event you're craving. As a professional Interior Designer and freelance Graphic Designer, Jenny's got you covered with her unique approach to event design. Drop Fig a line with any questions you may have!
Cheers!
Fig Studio
Like what you see? This is all part of Fig Studio's professional services. From full-service design to hourly consultations, we can help guide you toward the stylish wedding or event you're craving. As a professional Interior Designer and freelance Graphic Designer, Jenny's got you covered with her unique approach to event design. Drop Fig a line with any questions you may have!
We'll leave you here with Jenny's parent's beautiful wedding portrait
Cheers!
Fig Studio
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Portland's Barre 3
I've been attending Barre 3 classes for the past month to help prepare for my own walk down the aisle and as a great way to get my day started. I'm not much for regular gyms and truthfully I could use a few lessons in graceful movement. The combination of controlled ballet movements, yoga, and pilates has been an incredible lesson for my body and awareness of movement. I highly recommend checking it out for yourself if you are in the Portland area. Barre 3 has a great 3 for $30 intro price too!
Lovely photos by Lisa Warninger
Monday, July 6, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Independence Day
A little vintage Vogue for your holiday weekend!
...wish I was with my family in NY - love you guys!
...wish I was with my family in NY - love you guys!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Eames in Steel
And now for something completely different... We've seen Eames in mud, but how about Eames in stainless steel? Created and crafted by Cheryl Ekstrom, these shining beauties closely replicate iconic furniture designs from heavy hitters like Republic of Fritz Hansen and Herman Miller. Prisoners need good design too, right?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
I heart Urban Weeds
Portland's very own Chelsea Fuss, of {Frolic}, and Lisa Warninger, photographer extraordinaire, now bring us Urban Weeds, a daily street style blog with a subjects only pdx could produce. Thanks, ladies, this is a great addition to my daily reads!
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