Lately I’ve had a fascination with sayings and phrases; I’ve been really tuning in to the kinds of things individuals say on a day to day basis… and, at the risk of sounding terribly dorky (which wouldn’t be out of place), I’ve realised their part in making up a portion of our identities. For instance, if I happened to hear someone exclaim “heaven’s above!”, I’d be safe to assume that my grandma is in the near vicinity. If I was told I was going to have to “suck the kumara”, I’d know I’m being told by a girl at work to ‘deal with it’. Some people are even famous for their common phrases (“eat my shorts!”). In any case, common sayings are part of what makes us, us. Do you have a certain way of exclaiming joy (“shibby!”) or desolation (“yikes…”)? It can be hard to detect these things on ourselves, but I’m sure you can think of the certain things your best friend says, or your dad, or your boss.
So, sayings and phrases are pretty treasurable things when you think about how much they can become part of a person, even if only for a while. To celebrate, I want to take on a little typographic project. Every now and then I’m going to pick a saying or phrase and turn it into something pretty for all of us to enjoy. I’m starting with something my husband often says – whenever he sees someone feeling very happy with themselves, he says they are as “happy as a clam“, which comes from the saying ‘as happy as a clam in high water’. I really like the phrase, I picture clams to be such happy little things when the tide is high!
I’ve made the phrase into a little wallpaper for you to enjoy. So if you’re feeling as “happy as a clam” (or if you’d like to), then chuck this cutie on your desktop pronto! Oh, and if you like, you could suggest some phrases for me to play with next time. That’d be fun! “Radical” in fact!
Click here to get your ‘Happy as a Clam’ wallpaper
Nearly a year on from our wedding, I find myself flicking back through all the photos from that special day (man, I can’t believe it was a whole year ago!). Trawling through the lovely pictures reminds me just how important it is to get a wedding captured right. I mean, you don’t want all that planning, fun and specialness to be wasted when you look back at some strictly ave’ photos. Ben and I were so stoked when we got our wedding pics back from the uber talented photography duo Coralee and Alex; they captured our day exactly how we’d like to remember it for the rest of our lives, plus they were such a pleasure to do business with!
I got to work with them again when I created this little identity for them. Check out the adorable little packs they created with it! If you want to spend a few hours daydreaming about gorgeous weddings, or if you’re in need of some photography masterminds, definitely check Coralee and Alex out. And if you want to see how they captured our wedding day, head on over here. Maybe I’ll join you – excuse me while I look through the photos for the millionth time…
It’s been quite a while since my last post, but you can see why! I’ve been all tucked up in a chrysalis, growing, designing and tweaking… and now (thanks to Ben McMahon‘s mad coding skills) I am ready to go! Finally, I’ve got my big girl shoes on. And they feel gooood.
I’m really excited this, it’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time. I just wanted something a bit more polished, substantial, designed… and I’m really happy with how its all turned out! As for my little identity mark up the top there, it ain’t just some abstract geometric-type shape for decoration. It’s actually my first name! Do you see it now?
Anyway, I’m looking forward to posting in my new look – so stay tuned! And thanks again to Ben for bringing it all to life, you’re awesome and you know it.
Finding the perfect gift isn’t always easy. But imagine being a business wanting to send something out that will appeal to hundreds of people – it gets pretty tricky. This year my workplace (Tenfold Creative) tackled the Christmas debacle with a bit of kiwi flair. It was a fun little typographic project that everyone took part in! I crafted the words ‘mint’ and ‘whanau’ (Maori for ‘family’) for it.
The gift arrived on the recipient’s desk folded as a shirt, displaying the words ‘it’s time to loosen the tie… another sweet as summer is about to unfold’. The shirt then opened out to become a tea towel – one that celebrates everything New Zealand in the summer season. Ka pai! (Awesome!)
The summer break was, quite frankly, awesome. Even though a quarter of my holiday was shaved off (I was called into work early, which is all good!) the summer break was exactly as it should be – jam-packed with adventures and happy moments. So much so that when selecting images from my Instagram account to feature as my holiday wrap-up, I had trouble selecting which ones summed up my break best… and that’s just from Instagram pics! Part of the trouble is that New Zealand is probably the most beautiful country ever, I wish I was just as photogenic. Did you have a nice time welcoming in the new year? Without further ado (and in no particular order), here is my collection of summer bliss:
I think you’d agree that one of the best things about summer is the amazing fruit that come into season. Delicious, sweet and juicy – yes please! I’ve done a fair share of packaging for delicious fresh produce were I work (Tenfold Creative). It’s funny when you go to the supermarket and see your own designs – sometimes side by side, like these!
I guess that’s one of the neat things about being a designer – you get to see your work out there, interacting with the rest of the world.
