The pinterest problem and how it can effect your wedding photos

This a simple mistake that might stop your wedding photos being picked up by wedding blogs and magazines. It’s about that awful word.... plagiarism.... ever since the humble pinterest board has weaved it’s addictive self into the hearts of many brides there has been a massive rise in direct copying of wedding stationery.

You know how it is, you stumble upon the most amazing stationery that mankind has ever seen and you just know it would go so well with your taffeta llama farm theme. So you download the picture, gaze longingly at it for 72 hours imagining how your cousin will be so jealous when she opens the envelope before eventually picking a designer who can replicate this beautiful piece of work just for you. There is just one small problem... you aren’t actually allowed to do that.

As a designer it’s a big no-no to copy other peoples work, it’s a rotten thing to do (kind of like stealing a big boned kids cake) and it’s actually somewhat illegal and you don’t want to be involved in something like that do you? No... thats what I thought. It also means that it takes the styling of your wedding from being original to copied and if you saw it on the internet it means that the bridal blog you were going to submit your super amazing photos too has as well.

So if you find something you love, show your designer but make sure you know what the elements about the design you like are and then you can come up with a brand new design together that isn't ripping off someone elses work. So go forth and find a theme that is all you.

The winter wedding

I know a lot of my readers are brides from Perth and the majority of those brides will probably be waiting for the sunshine and heat to return before they say I do. But for those of you who are so desperately in love that you can't wait that long and are planning on getting married during the cooler months here are a few images for your inspiration via Pinterest.

Remember that winter is the perfect time to bring out the big guns when it comes to stationery. Think thick lush paper, deep warm colors mixed with crisp whites and ice like intricate details.

Contact me by clicking HERE to set up an appointment for your very own wedding stationery.

Images are not my own but you can find them all here:

one

two 

three  - SIBO designs Etsy

four 

five 

six

INTO THE WOODS - WEDDING THEME INSPIRATION

A few ideas via Pinterest for ways to tie a camping / forest theme together with your stationery designs.
All you need to pull of the forest theme is plenty of textured fabrics and papers in neutral colours. Add in wild flowers and berries, a few feathers and an abundance of green with natural lighting and you've just become you're photographers dream.
With this theme, rough is better so it's a great chance to have a relaxed style with high impact.

Images links via pinterest:
One
Two
Three - my own work
Four
Five - my own photography
Six

5 tips to make your wedding banner uniquely you

One of my favorite items of wedding stationery to work on is custom banners. I LOVE when a bride (or groom) comes to me with an idea for some lettering work to add to their wedding styling. It has such a personal touch and usually accompanies a couple with bold ideas and big stories.

If you've been pouring over the 3.75million inspirational wedding images out there and are thinking about adding in a banner to your styling but just don't know how or where to begin, here are a few ideas on what direction to take.

1. The ceremony paper roll backdrop. Perfect for a poem, story, bible verse, your vows or family & friends names that couldn't be there. It sits as a backdrop and gives you a great central point for photos.

2. The black board. This is often used for seating charts and menus but it's also a great way to have a 'statement' piece with quotes and your wedding dates when used as photo backdrop.

3. The bunting strings. It's been done a lot but who can turn their nose up at some fun colored bunting with names and dates mixed in with the patterns & colours.

4. 3D Names. So much fun to make and play with, this is a really great prop for styling having string letters, giant weaved letters in between trees, wood and of course good ol'fashioned card board. It's best to keep the words simple but it has high impact.

5. The traditional banner. This works great for either ceremony or reception, it gives you a center piece and you can use it for anything from your names and dates to love quotes.

There is no limit to what you can do, it's your day so you're the boss!

If you want to find out more about the lettering & banner options I offer, get in touch or leave a comment below.

Pics : 1   /   2  /   3

April - What I've been working on

I think April may have been the fastest month in history. I thought I would give a quick recap of what I've been working on recently.

•  Greeting cards, I've been sending out so many of these that  I jammed up the post box one day.
• Wedding invites, I've had some great clients that really wanted to go above and beyond in April. I've been playing with foiling, white inks on black paper, die cuts... you name it. It's been a great month for weddings. 
• Branding, in the next month or so when this is all complete I'll have an awesome display of a rebrand for a jewelry company. It's so much fun working on this project! 
• Bkind lip balm, new packaging for a new product. This stuff is amazing and all natural. Click HERE and buy some!
• Type illustrations, I've had my share of signage, tshirts and displays for both hand and regular ol' type concoctions in April.
• Life drawing - so much life drawing. I've been so out of practice but hopefully my images won't look like the elephant man soon.

So it was a really busy month but so much fun. So to all my fabulous clients, keep all the great ideas rolling in, it's been a great month! 

Behind the scenes: Tools of my trade

I took this snapshot of my desk for an honest look at what I use in my day to day design process. 

From my mac and wacom to my cow bone folder and ink pens, nothing would get done without this stuff... my desk would also be a whole lot clearer too...

My whole process is based around sketching everything. First in thumbnails then more detailed drawings, this is all before I ever even touch the computer. Computers can be a massive idea suck-hole, where too many fandangled filters and other peoples work examples are available to stop creative juices from developing. In the words of one of my uni instructors "you can't polish a poo". So make sure the idea is worth spending the time on before you commit.

How to talk the talk when working with printers

Last week I gave you the reasons why it’s worth the extra moolah to go to the high grade printers. Now I’ll give you some easy tips for making sure you get what you want when work with your printer. By explaining some of the techy terms that can send people cross eyed, you'll know the terms to use to get what you want so you don't end up with something unexpected.

Offset: Perfect for high volume printing and large sizes. It involves ‘plates’ of your image being made and inked before the image is transferred ( "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then on to the paper. This is when you need to know your pantone colours.

Digital: CMYK printing through a machine, great for shorter runs and photo heavy designs. Digital printing has come a long way and you can now print with white and clear varnish inks at some printers.

Letterpress: A type of relief printing where type or image is arranged and then inked before being pressed onto the paper. This can be a lot more crisp than offset as it presses into the paper. This uses spot colour not CMYK.

Screen printing / silk screen: Mesh screens go through chemical and light treatment to create a single colour ‘stencil’. This is then used to press ink through onto the print surface, you can only print on colour at a time with this but has great effects for posters and fabric.

Foiling: Where a foil colour of your choice is stamped onto your image from a heated plate and leaves a slight embossed texture.

Embossing: A raised or relief texture to your design created by using a ‘female’ & ‘male’ roller with your design on them. As the paper rolls through it pushes the paper into the shape of the pattern on the rollers.

Stock: A fancy name for paper or card.

GSM: The weight of paper. For example 80gsm is very thin 320gsm is thicker.

Pixels Per Inch: When you print you need a minimum of 300 pixels per inch. This means if you print an image that is grabbed from a website it is usually about 72 pixels per inch and will not print well.

Diecut: When a shape is cut from the print surface. A series of sharp blades are bent to create the desired shape and is then stamped into the paper cutting away the desired pattern.

Colour trends: Orange & grey

It's always great to see what colours are making the rounds in the design world and this months colour inspirations are so bright and eye catching it's hard not to pay attention.

As orange & grey really seems to be my flavor of the month I thought I would show you my favorites.

Anyone keen on new stationery designs after seeing this?

Image sourced from interest; image links clockwise below:
Image One
Image Two
Image Three
Image Four