Category: Design

  • 5 years without Mia

    5 years without Mia

    I call myself decent at remembering birthdays, but I’m terrible at remembering dates of tragedies. I suppose this is mostly a good thing. However, Facebook Memories was here to remind me at 3am when I woke to let the dog out that 5 years ago today, I was lying in bed beside my grandmother, Mia,…

  • 7-Day Art Challenge Day 6: Photo shoots

    My friend Tamera tagged me in a 7-day art challenge recently. The rules are simple: post 7 pieces of art on social media and talk about them. So far with my posts, we’ve visited the darkroom, the newsroom, a magazine startup, poetry, and book cover design. Today I want to talk about the beauty that is the photo shoot.…

  • 7-Day Art Challenge Day 5: Book Design and Editing

    When you grew up as a bookworm and then you decide to be a print designer and editor — and then your best friend from childhood calls you to tell you she’s writing a book — well, it’s pretty much the best day of your life. — My friend Tamera tagged me in a 7-day art challenge recently. The rules…

  • 7 Day Art Challenge Day 2: South Carolina Press Association: Best of the Best

    My friend Tamara Lavalla tagged me in a 7-day art challenge. Day 1 was about my time spent in the darkroom at Winthrop. Not sure if this challenge is supposed to be chronological or not, but my time at The Herald feels like a logical next step to talk about here. I sent my resume…

  • 7 Day Art Challenge Day 1: Winthrop University photography class

    My friend and art idol Tamara Lavalla tagged me recently in a 7-day art challenge. I’ve been a graphic designer/layout editor for the better part of 16 years and I still sit up a little straighter and smile when someone calls me an artist. And when someone as talented as Tamara tags me in an…

  • NoDa garage mural was created by HGTV-famous NC artist

    You may or may not have seen our post yesterday on Melissa Oyler Designs’ blog about North Carolina mural artist Scott Nurkin and his recent rise to HGTV fame. You also may or may not also know a tiny fun fact: Scott Nurkin painted a mural on our garage.   I designed a brochure for…

  • Media conspiracy, biased coverage and a shrinking newsroom

    The front page of today’s Charlotte Observer featured a centerpiece that is getting a lot of backlash in the community. The story and photos are about an upcoming trial, in which police officer Wes Kerrick is being brought up on voluntary manslaughter charges for the shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell, an accident victim who was…

  • When design and words collide – magic happens.

    Amid Capeci, who was an art director for Newsweek, Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly, died a couple of weeks ago at age 50. I didn’t know Capeci, although I did admire his work, so when he passed away I took notice. I would try to describe his art, but it might be better to just…

  • News of my next adventure (‘news’, get it?)

    I didn’t even think I was looking. I normally wouldn’t have taken a second glance, but something about it just stopped me in my tracks. I knew in that first moment that this was fate. — And so, when I contacted Creative Loafing/Charlotte about their Creative Director position, I tried something a little risky: I…

  • Nothing good ever happens after midnight

    My mom used to say that all the time. I completely disagree. In fact, plenty of good happens after midnight: – The best parties don’t even start until then. – The likelihood you’ll get dinner and a show at an all-night diner certainly increases (I’m thinking of a specific instance that involved Waffle House and someone…

  • A New Look: The Hair and the Blog

      I’m not the only one who got a new look today. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably seen that my blog has a new look, too. Take a look around; make yourself at home. Kick your shoes off and grab a beer if you want. 2011 was a great year, and a bad year,…

  • Make sure you have coffee for this one.

      She bared her soul, y’all, and she’s doing it for the world to read. How did I feel when my best friend since we were 8 years old told me she’d had an emotional affair? Surprised? Of course. She’s never in our whole lives been one to break the rules. In fact, I’ll admit that when…

  • Tomorrow is big, you guys

    I’ve been too quiet here lately, but it’s for a good reason. I’ve been helping Amy publish her very first book. It’s amazing how much time and effort goes into creating a book if you want to do it right. There are multiple drafts. There is line editing. There is book cover photography and design. Font…

  • In case you missed it …

    Just in case you missed our blog post over at Melissa Oyler Designs yesterday, I wanted to tell you here that one of my closest friends has written a book. She previewed her cover art (which I had the pleasure of designing) and announced her book yesterday on her own blog, so check it out…

  • Coffee. Feet warmers. Creativity.

      What I love about working from home: – I don’t have to wear shoes at the office. Hell, I can wear my pajamas all day if I want to. –  If I feel creative at 3 a.m. on a Sunday, well, then that’s when I do my work. – Speaking of work, it’s different…

  • No spoilers here …

    You won’t get much from me the rest of this week. Why is that? I’ve been spending the past few days editing a book written by the very awesome and talented Amy, who also happens to be one of my best friends. I gotta tell you, this book is fantastic. Not giving up any spoilers…

  • Drugs, sex, politics and laughter – all in a day’s work

    Ray and Jennifer had their first date on Thursday. On Friday afternoon, they happened to both be checking their mail slots at work at the same time. The mail boxes were located behind Barbara’s desk. Jennifer grabbed her mail, walked away, and after she left, Barbara  turned to Ray and said, “So, how long have you two…

  • We loved each other. We annoyed each other. We held each other up. We made each other better.

    The day after Bin Laden was killed, I was reminiscing about life when I was a newspaper designer. Since then, I’ve been reminiscing hard core about those days. The reason it’s on my mind is because a few former colleagues are planning a reunion, and I’m designing a digital commemorative newspaper for the event. So…

  • We loved each other. We annoyed each other. We held each other up. We made each other better.

    The day after Bin Laden was killed, I was reminiscing about life when I was a newspaper designer. Since then, I’ve been reminiscing hard core about those days. The reason it’s on my mind is because a few former colleagues are planning a reunion, and I’m designing a digital commemorative newspaper for the event. So…

  • He’s funny, he’s musical, and he’s entertaining

    Haven’t showed you much graphic design lately, so today I’ll show you a logo I designed for Anil while I was visiting Phoenix. He is a DJ and a comedian, and he is certainly very entertaining! Which one do you think he chose?

  • Recording the news, becoming part of history

    I’ve struggled with what to write today. I’m on my first day back from a weekend in Key West and I’m busy, busy catching up with work and I couldn’t wait to blog about my recent trips. But we don’t always get to choose when news is going to happen. It doesn’t matter if I don’t have time…

  • Recording the news, becoming part of history

    I’ve struggled with what to write today. I’m on my first day back from a weekend in Key West and I’m busy, busy catching up with work and I couldn’t wait to blog about my recent trips. But we don’t always get to choose when news is going to happen. It doesn’t matter if I don’t have time…