Eva Black Design

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

How beautiful are these letterforms by Dan Hoopert on Behance?

So delicate, light and airy.

The lines create really amazing shapes and patterns within each letterform!

Monday, February 25, 2013

After posting about the busy article on Thursday last week (and hearing all your similar opinons!), plus some thoughts I've been having for a while now, I've been thinking about what needs changing in terms of my business - designing + blogging.

The business side of designing has really been a learning experience and one that as designers, I think we'll always be figuring out. But I've recently had to remind myself why I'm doing this - because I love it.

That's what matters, right?

With the new site + blog coming soon, I'm trying to figure out exactly what I'm most excited about when working with clients and sharing with you. As readers, what are some things you're most excited about when reading through the blog?

Photos from our weekend away.

Glorification of Busy

Thursday, February 21, 2013

I don't normally do posts like this, the ones that are vulnerable or thought provoking, because it's not really me. I'm definitely not a writer, so this space has always been more visual. But my friend Liz, shared this article with me today about the glorification of busy in our industry, written by Andrew Dumont. So I'm just going to tell you to go read it.

I'm not going to say much, other than he's so right. I continually find myself working just to work, just ask my husband who often reminds me to just take breaks. I always feel there is something that needs to get done or there is something I could be doing better because someone else is working harder, but like Andrew says "...our bodies can only handle so much heads-down production. It's the law of diminishing returns, and it's very real. It's something that downing a few more cans of RedBull can't solve. Trust me, I've tired."

"Let's stop glorifying over-work, and start congratulating smart work. The truly brilliant people in the world are those that elegantly balance a heavy-workload and the rest of their life. They're also the most satisfied." - Andrew Dumont

+ Underwater Image

Color Collection : Grey

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Behance Find : Dwell

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

I've recently joined Behance because I continually find amazing design work there. I feel like Behance was one of those things you joined back during Undergrad but I never got into it. I really feel like it's a great place to find really mature and wise design work because not only is it filled with great designers, but some of the bigger design agencies display their work on it. Go get inspired!

This project, by Yi Xiang Lim, is an identity and layout design pitch for Dwell, a travel guide to coastal cities. I seriously wish I could get my hands on it. Not only am I loving it's identity, but the layouts, colors, and textures look so great. I'm also a big fan of mixing textures, I think it really adds to the experience of flipping through the magazine. Check out more images from the project on Behance.

Spaces // Jen Serafini

Monday, February 18, 2013

Happy Monday everyone. We're kicking off the week with a peak into Graphic Designer, Jen Serafini's workspace. It's so cool to see Jen's workspace because she was recently inspired by one of the past Spaces features, and made a new desk! It looks awesome!

I'm also starting to see how differently everyone uses their drawing tablets! You'll see here, Jen uses hers directly in front of her keyboard. Mine stays put on the right side. How do you use yours? Left / Middle / Right?

Check it out!

Tell us about yourself as a creative.

Hi! My name is Jen Serafini and I'm a communications designer and art director living in the Windy City. For me, designing is more than just making things look pretty, but telling a story through every brand and business I work with.

Describe your creative journey.

My creative journey started at a very young age. I consider design my first true love - besides Bruce Springsteen, of course! (I'm a NJ girl if you couldn’t tell ) I was always intrigued by images and typography and how they worked together to tell beautiful stories. I worked up a pretty sweet collection of clothing labels, product packaging and magazine cut outs and displayed them all over my room. At the time I didn't really know what all of that was, but I really enjoyed looking at it.

I took a lot of art classes growing up, and then in high school we had a class called graphic design - from then on it all made sense and I knew that was for me! It's funny to think back on what I thought design was and what I know it to be now - at the time it was a lot of calligraphy, pen & ink drawing and the occasional Photoshop project. College really opened my eyes to all of the possibilities when pursuing design.

I spent four years at Syracuse University where I earned my BFA in communications design. It really taught me to look at design as a holistic and strategic process that goes beyond just a pretty picture. When everything comes together and tells a cohesive story - that’s the good stuff :)

Right now I work from home as a senior art director. I also love working on freelance projects and of course blog every chance I get.

Share a little bit about your space.

Because I work from home, I really wanted a space that was functional and inspiring. I used to have a small desk facing the wall, but it was so boring that I ended up working from the couch most days! Since my husband also does a lot of work at the computer, we decided to build a desk big enough for both of us to to work side by side and also face outward toward the rest of our apartment. We used our existing Ikea book shelf legs and built an 8 foot long desk to sit on top of them. It was such a fun project for both of us, props to my husband for figuring out how to put the whole thing together! I was more of the motivating support :) Now, I absolutely LOVE my work area, it's so functional and large enough that I don't feel cramped for space. Since we rent, I didn't want to put too many holes in the wall, so I made a string line to be able to hang changing inspiration. We just got that black and white print for the back wall from Pennyweight Goods which I think adds the perfect touch.

What's your favorite thing about your space?

I have to say my favorite thing is definitely the desk. When you go through the trouble of building something, you feel that much more motivated to work at it. That desk was built with a lot of love and hard work, and that makes it a really special piece for both of us.

What's one thing you think every creative needs in their space?

Okay I have two things. First is a Wacom tablet!! This has changed my life. I started using it a few years ago and I can't imagine going back to a regular mouse. It makes designing much more natural, not to mention way easier on your wrists. Second is an area to display inspiration. Whether you have a permanent framed wall or a board where you can tack things up, it's always nice to have things to look at. It doesn't even have to be design pieces; a picture or a note can really make the difference when you're feeling uninspired.