Every business needs a graphics department.

Welcome

csrowan — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:45:49 +0000

Greetings and welcome to the weblog and online portfolio of Rowan Design, based in Ashland, Oregon. I will be posting anything and everything here, from samples of my work to marketing and design tips. A small sampling of my work is already loaded onto the site. As time goes by, I will be adding additional work, links of interest, and writing articles related to design and marketing.

Enjoy.

Portfolio: Callahan’s ad

csrowan — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:11:00 +0000

Callahan’s Mountain Lodge is a wonderful restaurant/lodge halfway up Mount Ashland in Southern Oregon. They approached me to take over their graphic design recently, and here’s one of the first ads we designed. We kept a lot of the feel of their old ads, but cleaned up the layout, used fewer fonts, and added the AAA triple diamond logo (congratulations!) according to AAA’s guidelines.

Keep an eye out for their Father’s Day Backyard BBQ Buffet ad … and think about heading up their for some of the oak grilled chicken, tri tip, and babyback ribs..

Portfolio: Hospice Unique Boutique logo design

csrowan — Thu, 20 May 2010 16:57:02 +0000

Hospice Unique Boutique needed a rack card, but before we could do that, they needed a logo. They already had a sign on their building, so the next step was to use that as a basis for the logo. The finished design had to be something that was both eye-catching and visually related to their sign. Looking at color psychology and visual appeal, we decided to shift the yellow and blue of the sign into yellow and purple, to denote quality and caring. The shape of the sign and the calligraphic letterforms were its other distinguishing characteristics, so a font was chosen that would retain the feel of the calligraphy, and the oval was kept, though slimmed down somewhat. The angled words create an active feel, and the fact that they are both at the same angle and in the same font allows them to be seen as a single visual unit, despite the difference in size.

Hospice Unique Boutique (the HUB), is a non-profit, high quality resale shop supporting end-of-life care in the Rogue Valley. If you haven’t visited it yet, please stop in and support them. You can shop, donate gently used goods, or ask about volunteering.

Hospice Unique Boutique
1618 Ashland Street (map)
Ashland, OR 97520
541-488-7805

Portfolio: SOFaT Brochure

csrowan — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:45:56 +0000

Southern Oregon Film and Television is a local non-profit trying to bring filmmakers into the area. In the past several years, over $3 million has been spent by film and media in Southern Oregon. They needed a brochure that would both explain their purpose to local businesses and attract filmmakers to the region. For more information, visit www.filmsouthernoregon.org.

Informational: Before you design that mail…

csrowan — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:54:21 +0000

Always check with the post office when designing a custom postcard, envelope, parcel box, or other mailer!

While designing a brochure for a local non-profit here in Ashland, I found myself in a swamp of postal regulations. One panel of the brochure will be perforated so that potential supporters can detatch it and mail it in. Had I not checked the postal regulations, my client would have ended up with 500 unusable brochures.

The US Postal Service has size requirements for all mail, including postcards, detailing not only the minimum width and height, but even the minimum paper thickness. Not only that, but postcard rates only apply between the minimum and maximum size, and to cards that are within specific ratios of width to height.
It can be extremely difficult to find and wade through the information, so here is the link to the USPS size regulations. Even so, if there is any question in your mind, take a sample to the post office and ask them to take a look at it. You don’t want to pay for design and printing only to find out that your cards are unusable for your purpose.

Portfolio/Marketing: Business Cards with Personality

csrowan — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:57:19 +0000

Business cards are more than just a Rolodex entry. They are a foot in the door with potential customers. They are your most affordable piece of printed marketing. They are a reflection of your business in the eyes of the customers.

Your business card should be attention grabbing, easy to read, and something that people will want to show off … something that people will pick up several of so they can give some to their friends. A good card gets calls. A great card gets passed around.
These four business card designs were each created for maximum impact within the client’s budget. Although all the cards are art related and the layouts are relatively similar, the differences are astounding. The choices of typeface, color, and graphic elements create a unique personality for each.

Your business card shouldn’t just be a piece of paper with your contact information. It should be a design that makes people stop, look, and remember.

Typography: Dashing Around

csrowan — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:51:56 +0000

The hyphen, en-dash, and em-dash are often misused. Here’s a quick tutorial to give that added bit of class to your letters, forms, and flyers.

The Hyphen: Used for compound words, and to indicate that a word continues on the next line. Here’s a real-world example.

The En-Dash: About the length of the letter “n”. Used to indicate a range (distance, duration, scores). 10–20 meters, 1:00–1:30, Sat–Sun, 7–10 in favor of Player One.

The Em-Dash: About the length of the letter “M”. Used to denote a sudden shift in thought, a parenthetical comment, or an afterthought. A parenthetical comment—like this one—should be enclosed in em-dashes. However, an afterthought just has one at the beginning—like this.

A good typeface will already have a little space built in on the sides of these punctuation marks, so there is no need to add space.

Portfolio: Red Hibiscus Kimchi Label

csrowan — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:10:21 +0000

Red Hibiscus will soon be packaging and selling their Kimchi. I’ll have to try it to find out if I like it, but I do like the label I designed for them. The idea is to have a simple label design that can be modified slightly for future products. Red Hibiscus closed for December and January, but I eagerly await their re-opening so I can get one of their fabulous sandwiches.

General: Love and Kindness

csrowan — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:04:10 +0000

This time of year, I always get depressed. The idea of having one day out of three-hundred and sixty-five to celebrate love and kindness is like using a bandage to cure a cancer patient.

I hereby propose that December 25th become Love and Kindness Day. And December 26th. And December 27th. And every day of every year.

Each day, when you greet someone, greet them with “Happy Love and Kindness Day”.

Portfolio: Agostino Bookkeeping logo

csrowan — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:33:13 +0000

A friend of mine was so inspired by my starting up a business, that she decided to go freelance with her bookkeeping. We bandied about name ideas, and while her first instinct was to avoid using her last name, she quickly turned around when I suggested “Bookkeeping is as easy as ABC…Agostino Bookkeeping Co.” Here’s the first draft of logo design and color scheme.

Logos aren’t just about looking good. They need to project an image to the public. If you are thinking about a new logo, or a revision to an existing one, you are welcome to stop in and chat with me. Often, just throwing ideas around can end up in a billowing brainstorm.