happy accidents
Francis Ford Coppola said, “Art is partly being available to accidents that fall into your lap.” I agree. I have experienced some of these seemingly lucky accidents while printing, through something called make-readies. Make-ready sheets are something that are most likely as old as printing itself. When setting up a press and adjusting details like ...
color science
I recently updated our collection of Pantone Matching System (PMS) swatch books, and opening the package when it arrived was a bit like Christmas. Always elegantly packaged, it’s a delight to pull off the shrink wrap and thumb through crisp new books with their thousands of colors. This particular package was special because it also ...
a timely debate
For over a year now, our company has been working with RE Sources for Sustainable Communities and Climate Solutions to create messaging and graphics about the coal train issue. An overview of the issue can be found here. It has been a challenging project. Challenging in the sheer complexity of the issue: the impacts of ...
the devil uses Archer
I thought The Devil Wears Prada had a wonderful insight into the culture of design and the mindset of designers. You may be able tell at a glance that I am somewhat a stranger to fashion, but there was much of this movie I could relate to – none more so than the scene above. ...
this month’s contest: logo evolution
See how a century’s worth of changes have affected eight famous brands. If you can put the logos in the correct order, you have a chance to win $50 from Boundary Bay Brewing Company or Amazon.com, a letterpressed Fresh Ideas book and set of coasters printed by Shew Design. The person with the most correct ...
February contest results
Congratulations to Alec Strand for winning Shew Design’s February contest! It was tough competition, but he was the only one to correctly identify Bethlehem Steel as the answer to Q5 and that put him in the top position! Close behind were Shelley Calissendorff and Christina Wright and Tina S. Maxell Volkswagen. Original text: “Think small.” ...
white space – an exercise in brand consistency
Recently, towards the end of a branding phase for a client, we were finalizing page designs for their website. The site was essentially a reproduction of the paper materials. While they liked the design on paper, the same design on screen felt cool to the touch – overly so. We agreed with their perception. Adding ...
the problem contains the solution
While reading Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky, I ran across a quote by designer Michael Bierut. “The problem contains the solution.” Often what seems like an obstacle in a creative project ends up inspiring brilliant designs that would not have been explored were the obstacle not there. In Michael Bierut’s case, the challenge was ...
“simpler is better,” a strategy for making adaptable, scalable event graphics
Event graphics and messaging are great opportunities for organizations to capture interest by exploring different ideas and flavors in their communication. Shew Design takes a branded approach to event graphics, creating a few simple elements that can be easily repeated in any number of other materials. We think of this as our toolkit, with the ...
January contest winner!
Thanks to everyone who gave our January contest a try. We had a total of three people who completed 100% of the answers correctly, including Troy Date, Andrew Pritikin, and Craig Margaret. Additionally, there were a few ‘close calls’ including Lauralee Carbone and Katie Fleming. Randomly selected among those that got 100% right was Craig ...
Our escape from Microsoft Office
Shew Design is by no means an anti-Microsoft company. We have used (and enjoyed) Microsoft products for years. I think Windows continues to get better and better and my Windows based design computers are, despite the occasional hiccup, wonderful, remarkable contraptions. No creative person in the history in the world prior to this point has ...
an open love letter to Garamond
Garamond is one of a handful of typefaces that designers of all eras return to again and again. Apple used the condensed form in the late eighties, and it became the quintessential typographic solution for business communications in the early nineties. People who make lists of the most readable fonts tend to pick Garamond first. ...
