Sometimes life has such amazing timing. My husband had just decided he was going to foster a puppy (AKA say it's temporary, but fall in love with him on the drive home and decide he's staying forever). The puppy, now named Kylo, needed to be fixed shortly after his arrival with us.

Before he even went to his appointment, my good friend from High School reached out to me about her new business. She and her husband created this awesome product for animals who have had a procedure or injury that requires a cone while they heal. She had experienced issues with the traditional cones when her sweet pup had a healing eye and managed to get out of (or get stuck in) other available products.

"Kids are bad for business. No one's kids are as cute as their parents think they are." 

These are the words spoken to me on my first call with a prospective client. To give some background if this is not being read at the time I write it, we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools are closed, and childcare is not an option. Parents are all finding their new normal in the midst of the truest "work-life balance" we have ever met. Teach your children, entertain them to their fullest, excel at your jobs, and do your best not to get fat. Easy-peasy.

I remember the first internet scam I ever came across. I was in college and I was looking for an apartment...there was this beautiful place, available soon, but the owners were out of town. However, I could secure the place if I sent them the rental deposit to their current location. I told my Mom about it, and she kindly alerted me that this was not a real thing, and Nigerian princes don't rent out apartments near San Diego State University. *Sigh* that natural light though...

I'm happy to report that since then, I have become much better at spotting an internet scam. Moving from California to Texas gave me the opportunity to receive many messages from people on Craigslist who had "plenty of money" and just NEEDED my IKEA desk from 2001. Hell, they wanted everything, and they'd send someone to pick it up; I just needed to cash their check and shuffle some funds to the delivery truck guy once their check cleared.

Flash forward to this month when I encountered my favorite internet scam yet.

My family is in the process of trying to sell our current house. We plan to move out of state to live with family and save money while our new house is being built. It's very exciting, but also very stressful. 

Today something was delivered to our door. My husband brought it in with a puzzled expression on his face. I took a closer look wondering what it was, because it appeared to be a flat, empty box. Well... turns out it was a flat, empty box. ​

Edgerton.Life Pancreatic Cancer Foundation is a non-profit on a mission to spread awareness about the fight against pancreatic cancer. Andrew Edgerton was documenting his battle against pancreatic cancer and wanted to help educate others by sharing his story. Sadly, he passed away in 2017. The foundation's leadership is made up of close friends and family of Andrew.

A friend, and client, reached out to me to design the logo for their newest business. She and her husband already own a successful legging company, Legging Army, and were expanding into another retail venture. Their new business "The Beatnik Boardwalk" would be an online store with some pop-up events at local craft fairs.

The Beatnik Boardwalk will sell gold-plated jewelry, hand-crafted soaps, honey, and other holistic items. The gold-plated jewelry is very unique and incorporates items including: hemp CBD leaves, small CBD flowers, coffee beans, shells, and beach themed charms.

I've always been drawn to products because of their packaging. I am that person who buys wine for the label design, or a shampoo for the shape of the bottle. Though sometimes this has led to a less than thrilling merlot, it's how I operate and how a vast majority of today's consumers do too.

According to an Ipsos poll, ​most Americans agree that the design of a product’s packaging (72%) and the materials used to package a product (67%) often influence their purchase decisions when selecting which products to buy. Package design is seen to be even more important when buying a gift, with eight in ten agreeing that packaging design can influence their gift selection (81%).

My family created the Baby be Bright Stroller Light Kit in 2017. It was an idea my husband came up with because our neighborhood doesn't have sidewalks and limited street lights. Previous to the Stroller Kit, I was securing a flashlight to our son's stroller with a tube sock. Needless to say, there was room for improvement.

I let my husband handle the logistics of the product, and I was happy to dive into the branding and design. Once we decided on the name, "Baby be Bright", and confirmed it was available, I began my process for logo designs. This starts with an idea map, where I list out any word or phrase that comes to mind and applies to the product or service. I knew I wanted the branding to be playful, but upscale. Most importantly I wanted it to be colorful since the Stroller Kit has so many LED color options and modes, but still appeal to the purchasers—the parents.

White Feather Bakers asked me to design a logo for them as they launch their company. They specialize in custom cakes, cupcakes, cookies and granola; and wanted a clean logo that would look nice on their packaging and web presence. 

The photo above shows some of the initial sketches I started with before taking the designs to the computer. The following are the top three concepts that I presented to the client. The first column shows the black design on white, and the second column shows the white design on black.