Tuesday 18 February 2014

a dab of fashion

At a very young age, i was bitten by the fashion bug. The word collection is a familiar one to me for as long as i can remember, my grandmother brought me to Ogilvy's in Montreal to choose a wardrobe for every upcoming season. She knew clothes and it was an instant nod of "Yes, looks adorable!" or "No, try the next one" that greeted me each time I timidly emerged from the changing room. She either liked to spoil me or wanted to instill her love of fashion in the next generation. Both are admirable. She had already done a good job with my mother so i was fittingly next.

Although my lifestyle is far from runway, I do enjoy following the collections. And here – for the first time – i decided to try capturing a few of my favourite looks from the recent fashion weeks in NY, London, Milan & Paris.



Whimsical Geommetries @ Christopher Kane
AW 2014
 Tony the Tiger It Bag
Anya Hindmarch AW 2014

Colour Blocking @ Burberry
AW 2014
Show-Stopping Buns @ Caroline Herrera
AW 2014

Neutral Sweetness @ Marc Jacobs
AW 2014
Swingin' 60s & Stylin' frames @ Gucci
AW2014 Milan Fashion Week
Fur Warriors @ Fendi
AW2104 Milan Fashion Week
A Red Fur Coat - Bam! @ Prada
AW2014 Milan Fashion Week


Babes Rockin' the Bias @ Versace
AW2014 Milan Fashion Week


Instagram


Postscript: I have enjoyed so much positive feedback from my Instagram postings of these fashion follies that I decided to create a new blog, devoted to future doodling: www.fashionfreude.blogspot.de. Drop in and browse around sometime. – Heather

Tuesday 4 February 2014

gather to grow


grow 2014
Virtual Identity (VI) Employee Retreat Branding


How often does your company have the chance to come together and solely focus on self- & community-development?

Tuesday 17 December 2013

reach for the stars


As most of us are either busying about with our all-consuming Christmas shopping sprees, dreaming about what goodies may lie under the tree or scrolling the endless wishlists of family-members, a recent project redirected my gaze of greed-is-good to yet another possibility.

Monday 11 November 2013

autumn moments



Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world,
I feel like I can't take it,
and my heart is just going to cave in.

– American Beauty 


…………………



Isar Bridge



I have days when without a minute's notice, a clear graphic picture strikes me – while walking the dog, having breakfast, reaching over the front fence. Thought I'd share a few of them. May your week offer a few autumn moments of your own… ;-)





Morning Grapefruit





Venturing Ivy


Tuesday 22 October 2013

silly gets serious







As a postscript to my true characters post, here's an example of a side-project turning into a real one.

Thursday 22 August 2013

summer doodles



As to the best possible shape to give to letters,
it is useless to write of it: 
it is a matter for the taste and discernment
of the cutter, and it is in this that he displays
his proficiency or his incapacity.

Pierre Simon Fournier
Manuel typographique (1764)

…………………





Every summer, I retreat to my family's cottage. There hasn't been a summer, in all my 47 years that I haven't been there.

Monday 24 June 2013

true characters




I don't remember how this trend got started.

Tuesday 11 June 2013

joyful challenge



birthdays bring out the best in me.

i seem to find as much joyful challenge in realizing personal as well as professional projects.
is it the child in me awakening? is it a warm-up exercise where anything is possible – no briefings. no rules. you are the client. limitless creativity of materials, form and media. sometimes the results prove surprising:




individual tea-light as party invitation
alternating semi-transparent lanterns were sent
to guests as colourful fairy-gathering summons.


Thursday 11 April 2013

something's brewing

naha tea goes live:
www.nahatea.de



naha tea – münchen
brand development

A Sri-Lankan import to Munich, Nadeeka Cyril-Corsten had been modestly selling her fabulous Ceylon tea to friends and a slow-growing, discerning customer base in a quiet, non-branded fashion.

Wednesday 30 January 2013

retreat to meet




vi tag 2103: meet 2013
virtual identity employee event branding

Once again, I was asked by Virtual Identity to brand their annual employee retreat.

Wednesday 19 December 2012

curating christmas











christmas windows
frauenhoferstrasse, münchen

the recent current events have stilled my christmas spirit.

Monday 19 November 2012

smile though your heart is breaking








visual diaries
munich, germany

sometimes in life, no matter how old we think we are, we are still children inside.

today, i decided to turn a sad, wrenching moment into a creative one. this might be a fun thing to explore as a series. for now though, being in the flow lifted my heart a little.

Sunday 18 November 2012

lessons learned






found object
munich, germany

Every Friday, my daughter lugs an incredibly heavy school bag home with her for us to review her weekly progress over the weekend.

Friday 28 September 2012

stellar achievement






best of 1942 birthday logo
Stern family, Zürich, CH

Before the summer break, I was asked by a client to create a logo for her father-in-law's upcoming 70th birthday.

Sunday 2 September 2012

schmata schrift






Unlike me, my mother is a pack-rat.

Monday 27 August 2012

summer scenes




G L O R I O U S  G U M B A L L S 

enjoying holidays in Canada and decided to try to visually capture a few summer moments.

Wednesday 4 July 2012

the company of choice




erstewahl
vi tag 2012 employee event branding


virtual identity approached me to brand their annual employee retreat in which they aimed to amplify their corporate qualities & culture, defining the German-based agency as the number one choice for both clients and employees.

Thursday 28 June 2012

good things come in drei(s)







I've been living in Germany for close to 8,5 years and thought it about time to start sharing a few of my favourite finds.

Thursday 14 June 2012

doing it for the kids






birthday invitation
personal

Every June I am faced with coming up with a birthday invitation for my youngest child (my oldest has long taken over this task herself).

Wednesday 18 April 2012

on the upswing


Agricolis
corporate identity and business cards


Friends approached me recently to create an identity for their start-up consultancy, Agricolis.

Wednesday 18 January 2012

piece of cake



cake fairy
brand identity and business cards


Some people cook. Some people bake. And some, like me, stick to… design.

Friday 13 January 2012

what's in a name?










nameplates
personal project


A while ago I started fiddling around with type compositions having fun simply exploring graphic form, limits of legibility, and color schemes.

Wednesday 11 January 2012

the spirit of giving: 2011






thank you begins with a “t“
lafleur design year-end promotion


Last year, it started with pralines…

Monday 9 January 2012

looking further





weiterschauen_2012
virtual identity christmas card


Looking towards a new year, weiterschauen_2012 was developed in collaboration with a client who was looking for a more meaningful year-end gift.

Sunday 8 January 2012

a designer lurks in each and every one of us






This past week, fontshop asked its social media followers what, if any, good design had been seen over the holidays.

Thursday 24 November 2011

giving thanks






Although my youngest daughter is clearly not American, one can always give thanks…

Sunday 13 November 2011

coming full circle






Color theory was one of my favorite classes when I was an impressionable design student at RISD. We spent endless afternoon hours laboring over recreating numerous Itten excercises, the mama of them all, the 12-hue color circle.

Saturday 29 October 2011

testing the waters




Andrea Usher Jones | Creative Pool Identity
Montreal, Canada

This recent identity project supports Montreal-based copywriter, Andrea Usher-Jones, who had it in mind to set up a professional network of communication contacts as a new trial-venture, creative pool.

Thursday 20 October 2011

the geek factor



Seriously, not to date myself, but i can remember life before email.

Sunday 9 October 2011

all good things come to an end


It was one of those "where were you when Kennedy was shot" moments.

Thursday 1 September 2011

prolific idyll


My daughter's birthday is around the corner in October, which reminds me, that I have now been self-employed for almost eight years.

Tuesday 9 August 2011

brand is where the heart is





branding talk. we read about branding's power over us. but can we buy into it? do we really believe in it?

Tuesday 2 August 2011

sleeping with the enemy





I have read with much amusement the critique of Comic Sans trending the web this past year.

Wednesday 13 July 2011

the KISS principle






paris pilates website
paris, france

when using my husband as a creative sounding board, he consistently blurts out the old adage: keep it short and simple. great in theory, hard in practice.