March contest winner!
Congratulations to Desirae Hill for winning last month’s contest. With a total of 7 out of 8 answers correct, she will receive a $50 gift certificate to Boundary Bay or Amazon plus some letterpressed goodies. Stay tuned for our next contest later this month.
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 ...
printing in the digital age
A recent New York Times article discussing print vs. e-books for children suggests that even many avid Kindle and iPad digital book readers prefer printed books over digital for their children. The experience of flipping through a printed book is inherently more personal and unique. Paper thickness and texture, colors, page sizes and bindery can ...
the virtues of experimentation
Thinking about where I invest my time and energy, I look at other artists and see what I can learn from the decisions they’ve made. Without a doubt, the best creative people I know are people who have made a life choice of doggedly exploring new ways of working and thinking about their craft – whatever ...
print ad campaign for Chocolate Necessities
We recently completed a series of ads for Chocolate Necessities. They not only make some of the finest chocolate you’ll ever taste, but they offer some very unique truffle flavor combinations you won’t find elsewhere. The ads below were designed to highlight some of these flavors. Another goal of the ad series was to focus ...
the blank page
Having just completed the installation of the new version of Office, I was struck by the new default appearance of good old Microsoft Word. Documents now appear with a very minimal, non-graphical interface at the top of the screen, and a nondescript blank page below. The message of this design choice is clear: the application ...
The Treachery of Images
I had coffee with a friend this week who asked me for my thoughts on a brochure draft. The purpose of the brochure was to encourage people to donate to an organization that protects communities from a mechanical failure that can result in enormous harm and loss of life. The writing was straightforward enough, but ...
does it swim in the water or live on the land? A simple way to think about type.
I think no other aspect of a designer’s work is more telling than their use of type. It shows their understanding of culture, the subject matter, and the audience in very subtle but important ways. For the rest of us, type doesn’t have to be complicated. A few simple “common sense” rules can help you ...
