Elizabeth Maybury - Graphic Design

New Work: The Bretzel Bakery Pizza Sauce

2012-01-08T21:33:00.001Z

Happy New Year! A new post for the new year. I recently designed this label for The Bretzel Bakery, who produce delicious breads daily in Portobello, Dublin 8. The Bretzel Bakery developed a new recipe for a pizza sauce to accompany their focaccia pizza bread and needed a label before the launch at their open evening in December 2011. I was given quite an open brief, but I did need to include the existing Bretzel Bakery logo. Here is the result!

The Bretzel Bakery Pizza Sauce is available in their shop at 1A Lennox Street, Portobello, Dublin 8.

www.bretzel.ie

Ed Hick's Bacon Jam

2012-01-07T21:36:00.002Z

This is a design I completed several months back, you can find a full write up in my guest post over on Bia Beag.

Book Launch: Angel Kiss

2011-04-28T20:37:00.000+01:00

Image from www.laurajanecassidy.com

Hello dear blog,
So I've been fairly neglectful lately, and apologies for that, but I've been all caught up with work, which is a good complaint, yes!?

So I've made a comeback post as this day week sees the launch of Angel Kiss, the debut novel by my super amazing writer friend Laura Jane Cassidy. The launch will take place in Barker & Jones Bookshop, 2 Poplar Square, Naas, Co. Kildare on Thursday 5th May 2011 at 6.30pm, with special guest YA author Claire Hennessy. Laura will be signing books as well. So come along, it's going to be great!

Image from www.laurajanecassidy.com

Above are the bookmark invitations I designed for the launch. They were printed by C3 Imaging in Dublin who really helped me out with a speedy turnaround time (thanks!). The invites were finished with a matt laminate and a 5mm drill hole before each ribbon was individually hand-tied by Laura.

I am so excited!

Photos: Rebecca Keogh + Band at Emergenza

2011-01-25T21:29:00.001Z

Some photos of Rebecca Keogh + Band playing in Whelan's, Dublin as part of the Emergenza competition. They were brilliant and got through to the semi-finals which are in the Village in a couple of months, where they will be competing for a place in the finals in Germany, hurray! My brother plays bass in the band, which is why I am totally and completely biased :) You can find them on MySpace and Facebook.

New Work: Publication for the Still Breath of Adventure

2011-01-18T17:45:00.001Z

Front of publication, folded, 150 x 150mm. The quote running through the centre is actually printed on the reverse of the publication but is visible due to the folding technique used.

Martina McDonald is a visual artist from Co. Kildare. She asked me to design a publication for her first solo exhibition "The Still Breath of Adventure" which is currently on display in the Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Co. Kildare. The exhibition was enabled by the 2010 Emerging Artist Solo Exhibition Bursary Award from Kildare County Council.

Reverse of publication, folded.

As you can see in the photos below, the folding structure of the publication allows the viewer to see a key quote from the essay concealed within. It opens to display the artist biography and artist statement, and when fully unfolded reveals the essay on the reverse. The images used in the publication are a selection of photographic pieces from the exhibition.

Inner Pages with Artist Statement and Bio, turn it over before...

...unfolding...

...to reveal the essay within. Tah-dah!

The publication was printed by Impress Printing on 120gsm uncoated stock. Final trim size (unfolded) is 300 x 290mm and final folded size is 150 x 150mm.

Folding Diagram

I've attached a folding diagram so you can see what I was doing, as I'm not sure if it's entirely clear from the photos. When I was designing it I printed loads of miniature size mock-ups as my biggest fear was if I got the fold wrong the quote wouldn't be centered and at worst would be partially obscured. Disaster! I was also careful to adjust the word spacing so that the centre fold of the piece ran along the space between two words of the quote, rather than dividing a word. When the publications arrived I was relieved to find the testing had paid off and the folds worked out perfectly, hurray!

Martina's exhibition will run in the Riverbank Arts Centre until the 15th February.

New Work: McNally Family Farm

2011-01-09T21:24:00.000Z

Just before Christmas I designed a new logo and a cotton shopping bag for McNally Family Farm. McNally's are based in North Co. Dublin and grow all sorts of delicious organic salad leaves and vegetables. My favourite product is their homemade bio-yoghurt, I'm addicted, they also make their own jams and chutneys.

Screen printed Cotton Shopping Bag

The bags were printed by Klee Paper in Dublin, they were the best value of all of the Irish printers I contacted (by a substantial amount), plus turnaround time was less than a working week from initial quote to final delivery. I am impressed. The typeface used is Estilo Pro Medium from MyFonts, I love it! I spend a worrying amount of time window-shopping on MyFonts.

McNally's can be found at Leopardstown Market every Friday, Temple Bar Food Market every Saturday and in Dun Laoghaire on Sundays.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-09T20:07:00.003Z

Yes I'm slow to this New Year thing. Anyway 2010, it's over. I'm not going to lie, this makes me happy. Yes to 2011. I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

In December I went to Berlin to see the Christmas Markets and existed on a pre Christmas diet consisting mainly of delicious pastries and hot chocolates with various shots added for the entire time. Here I am stuffing my face with some sort of ham and potato combination for a change (and of course a hot chocolate) it was excellent:

Nom. Check my hat - cat lady with no shame.

My first eggnog

I could have included a historic landmark, but no, Super Mario construction hoarding it is.

I'm really terrible at new years resolutions, generally I just don't make them. But this year I'm going to try, so:

1. Blog more
Self explanatory. And a fairly common one I'm sure. I love writing and blogging so this shouldn't be too difficult. I'm not sure if many people read my posts, but I enjoy writing them, so that's fine with me.

2. Photograph more
Another thing I enjoy but don't do enough of lately. I suppose I just got busy so haven't had the time. Just need to get back in the habit!

3. Keep track of my books
At the moment everything to do with my accounts is receipts in a shoebox, so I have to do up all my general books properly. I'm writing this up here because now it's on the internet so I have to do it. NOT leaving this until the night before the October 2011 deadline.

4. Take more time off
At first glance this doesn't seem like the most productive of goals. However for a lot of 2010 I didn't take full days off for weeks on end. It becomes very difficult to be creative if you can't remember your last day off away from the desk. It's important to have breathing space away from a project and I have learned that even small breaks are good, that leaving something for one day doesn't mean the world will end. When you take a break and come back a project can often look very different and you can improve on it with this new fresh eyed perspective.

Check me out making resolutions, who'd have thought it!

Anyway a happy new year to all and I hope 2011 brings you all sorts of everything nice. With sparkles.

Christmas Market This Weekend

2010-12-07T18:55:00.001Z

Image from Chris Judge

Just spotted this over on Chris Judge's blog. Looks great: high quality artworks, mulled wine, mince pies, what's not to like?! I am there. Opens this Friday 10th December at 38 Clarendon Street and continues until Sunday 12th December. More info here.

Photos: Snow

2010-12-02T18:51:00.001Z

Here are some photos I took today of my garden and surrounding roads near Naas, Co. Kildare:

Misty Fields at Sunset


Bumpy Snow

Cats Don't Like Snow

Bin with icicles. Bicycles if you will. (Yes, I already made this joke on Facebook, sorry if you've been subjected to its lameness twice :P)

Beside My House

Bug House

Sunset

New Work: Fred and Bob Single Launch Promo Photos

2010-11-28T22:17:00.004Z

For inner sleeve artwork

Artwork by Fred and Bob

Some promo photos I took for Dublin based band Fred and Bob ahead of their single launch upstairs in Whelan's this Sunday 5th December 2010. Admission €5 or €7 with CD. You may already have heard the nifty new tracks which have had recent airtime on Today FM, 2FM, Phantom 105.2 and the like. And you should definitely come along to the launch on Friday, just sayin'.

This was a messy shoot, with poster paints and rain galore! Fun times!

More photos after the jump.

Promo

For inner sleeve artwork

Snazzy CD artwork! by Fred and Bob

Entertaining: IOGraph

2010-11-28T11:05:00.001Z

IOGraph is "an application which turns mouse movements into a modern art". While I probably wouldn't go quite that far with my description, it does make some snazzy graphics by tracking your mouse movements for as long as you want and then creating an image. What can I say, I'm easily amused. The image above was created during 2.6 hours of logo work in Illustrator yesterday.

Thanks to Darren for introducing this to me (as if I need another procrastination tool)!

ATTENTION DESIGN NERDS: Portfolio and Presentation Cases

2010-11-18T19:01:00.000Z

Bamboo Presentation Books (top) plus hinge detail (above). Image from pinazangaro.com

I have found the most wonderful website. If you're looking for a high quality portfolio or presentation case for your work you must visit Pina Zangaro. They offer a range of finishes including aluminium, bamboo, acrylic and leather. For extra slickness you can even get a logo or image laser cut or colour printed onto the front.

Camden Presentation Boxes, various sizes. Image from pinazangaro.com

I just ordered the A3 Camden Presentation Box (above), I can't wait until it arrives! The website lists all of the worldwide stockists. I couldn't find any Irish based stockists unfortunately, so I ordered mine from Paperchase UK site for £60 sterling (product number 0040234) I think I may have bought the last one in stock on Paperchase as it's no longer listed there, but I'm sure they'll have more in. A better solution may be Cowling & Wilcox Ltd. as they stock a much larger range of Pina Zangaro products than Paperchase, but they do have a higher delivery charge.

Camden Portfolio Case. Image from pinazangaro.com

Tera Presentation Case. Image from pinazangaro.com

New Work: Mella's Fudge

2010-11-16T14:06:00.001Z

This is new packaging I recently designed for Mella's Fudge. Mella is based in West Cork and has been making fudge since she was a child. She now operates from her own kitchen at Lisavaird Co-Op in Clonakilty handmaking delicious, crumbly fudge in four different flavours - vanilla, rum and raisin, walnut and chocolate. The main aim of the brief was to create packaging that reflected that the fudge is handmade but also that it is a high quality, luxury product. This was achieved through the unusual combination of brown Kraft paper with a gold foil detail on the logo. I chose to use only one colour per flavour both to keep the design minimal and also so that each flavour was easily identifiable.

The wrappers were printed lithographically by the very wonderful Glennon Print in Ashbourne, Co. Meath. As production progressed we encountered a number of difficulties. The first problem was sourcing the Kraft paper, which had to be bought in the UK. Many paper suppliers in Ireland are unfortunately not stocking any of the more unusual stocks at the moment (I never even realised Kraft was quite so unusual!).

The Kraft paper is still visible beneath the ink.

The next issue was predicting how the colours would take to the brown paper. After running some tests with Kraft paper and my trusty office inkjet printer, I knew the colours would definitely be altered by the brown paper showing through, and I wanted this effect to happen, but it was impossible to know exactly how much they would change once on press. So we switched from the original spot Pantone to process colour. This meant that if the first few came off the press and the colours were wrong it would be easier to adjust the CMYK values on press. If the inks had been spot Pantone colours and had looked wrong the whole job would have had to stop and new Pantone inks ordered.

Barcode with white background.

Our biggest problem was the barcode on the back of each wrapper. I did some tests in local shops and found that certain types of scanners couldn't read the barcode against the Kraft as the contrast between the black barcode and the brown paper wasn't strong enough. This was resolved by overprinting a white background rectangle, which meant the job had to go on press again - so first to run the process colours, then for the spot white and barcode. I was worried about how this would look, whether the white would be glaringly obvious and overpower the muted colour scheme. However it actually turned out great, the white was quite subtle and I don't think it detracts from it at all.

Before we finally went to print, Glennon's ran lots of tests. This meant that when I arrived for the press check everything was ready to go and the first batch of wrappers were almost colour perfect. We made minor adjustments to the cyan and magenta on the rum and raisin (purple) and walnut (orange) wrappers. This was my first press check, it was really interesting to see how the all the different machines worked, from making the plates to adjusting the inks and beyond!

Final wrappers with gold foil detail.

So that was it! A fews days later the brand new wrappers arrived in Clonakilty to the waiting fudge bars. Last night they made their first public appearance (even if it was only a few seconds) on the Apprentice on TV3. I'm really happy with how they turned out. It was great to get the opportunity to work on something unusual and I'm so glad Mella was keen to go with this. Thanks to Glennon Print for all their work!

If you'd like to buy some fudge (you know you want to) the bars are available in Sheridan's Cheesemongers and Fallon & Byrne amongst others, the full list of stockists is available on Mella's website. The next big events Mella will be attending are the Ballymaloe Craft Fair this weekend November 20th and 21st and the RDS Craft Fair from 1st - 5th December.

Le Cafe des Irlandais

2010-11-09T21:49:00.001Z

A couple of times recently I've dined at the newly opened Le Cafe des Irlandais on George's Street in Dublin (where Cafe Bar Deli used to be). They serve delicious French dishes at very reasonable prices, I'm a big fan of the rotisserie chicken and the creme brulee! They also have the best wallpaper ever! Look closely, you will spot Irish icons and architecture, old and new. Not only that but the upholstery on the seating features euro coins as buttons. Brilliant!

Book Delivery!

2010-10-15T13:37:00.000+01:00

Image from logodesignlovebook.com

I've been let loose on Amazon.co.uk again and have invested in yet more delicious reading material. This time I chose "Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities" by David Airey. I recently started following David's blog which covers many interesting topics for graphic designers, ranging from creative to business issues. My favourite part about the blog is that David obviously takes a lot of time to reply to the multitudes of comments he receives. Plus he's from Northern Ireland, it's always good to support your neighbours! I started reading it over my breakfast this morning and so far so good. My only issue is that the paper stock could perhaps be a little heavier... but then I guess it would have cost more so I can't complain too much!

Visit davidairey.com

New Work: Crepes in the City

2010-10-05T17:14:00.002+01:00

Photo courtesy of Crepes in the City

I designed these 3 metre high flags and the banners to increase the presence of Crepes in the City at Electric Picnic and other large festivals. At these events the public are faced with huge lines of food vendors, so we needed something big, bright, tall and bold to draw attention to the crepe trailer amongst a sea of competitors.

Have you ever had a Crepes in the City crepe? They are the best! You can find them every Thursday at the Mespil Road Market, every Saturday at Temple Bar Food Market and every Sunday at the market in the People's Park, Dún Laoghaire. They're also available for private event catering and are a familiar site at numerous events throughout the year, so keep an eye out for the red trailer! Contact details at www.crepes.ie

Article: Linda Brownlee in the Irish Times

2010-10-02T19:22:00.002+01:00

'In the Frame', the Irish Times Magazine, Saturday 2nd October 2010

Just a quick follow on from my previous post about Offset. One of the featured speakers, photographer Linda Brownlee, is interviewed in an article published in the Irish Times Magazine today. The piece can be found online here. Alas the online version doesn't display any photographs, but the printed version featured several including an image from Brownlee's most recent project based on young people in the Aran Islands.

Last night I saw the best wallpaper ever. Unfortunately at the time I couldn't get photos or details, but I will and then you too can gaze at its graphic greatness.

OFFSET 2010: My Choices

2010-09-30T13:02:00.003+01:00

Last night I ventured into Dublin City to see Laundry, a one night only exhibition in South Studios as part of Offset 2010. Offset showcases "world-class creatives in design, illustration, fashion, photography, publishing, advertising, animation and more." Illustrators Ireland asked 70 of Ireland's leading creatives to throw "a spotlight on all things murky, expect guilty secrets, fetishes, embarrassments and one or two skeletons to fall out of cupboards." The pieces were hung from lines which stretched across the length of the room, which was packed with visitors admiring the work and taking advantage of the free Offset branded Heineken. Despite everyone receiving the same brief all of the pieces were completely different, some funny, some scary and some just weird, and overall a great success I would think. As a result I've decided to compile what would be my own choice of events to see this weekend when the main Offset event kicks off at Grand Canal Theatre tomorrow morning.

Friday 1st October:

Martin Haake, from martinhaake.de

Friday morning would find me strolling in to the Grand Canal Theatre at the very reasonable hour of 11.00 to catch the first speaker, Berlin based illustrator Martin Haake. I'm a big fan of illustration, in particular his style of loose sketches, collage and layering, subtle patterns, his choice of subdued yet colourful tones and the ever popular hand drawn type style, reminiscent at times of the work of Dublin illustrator BrenB. Haake has received numerous awards and his client list features the likes of Bacardi, Playboy, Elle, Penguin Books, Orange, Daimler Chrysler and Barnes & Noble.

state.ie

"After over 70 years of a happy marriage, music and graphic design as we know them may be getting divorced in the digital age. Where will the designers’ and musicians’ paths cross in the age of the MP3 and there new, emerging roles for designers in the future of music, it’s distribution and marketing?"

That afternoon I'd attend "Does Music Need Design Anymore", a panel discussion at 16.00 hosted by Simon Roche of Irish online music magazine state.ie. State have recently announced the panelists as Malcolm Garrett, Shaughn McGrath, M&E and Adrian Shaughnessy. An interesting topic given the rise of the MP3 as a substitute for purchasing a physical CD complete with booklet and artwork. I usually buy CDs in order to have the artwork in my hand, rather than downloading a digital version, but I have the feeling I'm possibly in the minority and slightly biased with my graphic designer's point of view.

Saturday 2nd October:
Saturday morning presents a slight dilemma for me, with two speakers clashing at 11am. On the main stage Linda Brownlee will begin the proceedings for the day while the second room will host Chris Judge, one of my all time favourite illustrators!

Patrick Wolf by Linda Brownlee, from lindabrownlee.com

Brownlee is a photographer based in London. Her portrait work is my favourite, the photographs have a feeling of simplicity and delicateness to them. Her body of work also includes fashion shoots and personal projects. An unusual choice of pose or backdrop, or the expressions of her subjects, set her photographs apart and makes them unique. Brownlee has worked for clients such as Dazed and Confused, Russian Vogue, The Sunday Times Style Magazine, Elle and GQ.

From a recent campaign for Denny by Chris Judge, from chrisjudge.com

At the same time in the second room, Chris Judge will discuss "Routes into Illustration", charting the "path his career has taken from graduation to his current position as one of Ireland’s leading illustrators." Offset particularly recommends this talk for students and recent graduates, or those looking to jumpstart their careers. You've probably seen Judge's work as it seems to be everywhere at the moment in ad campaigns for Denny (above), Dublin Bus, Fruit Pastilles, Absolut Vodka and Vodafone.

Ecojot Journals by Nate Williams, from N8W.com

On then to another illustrator, Nate Williams, who specialises in handdrawn images and type (noticing a pattern in my selections here). Williams' illustrations are vibrant and detailed, each one with a sense of motion that I think brings them alive on the page. His style is popular with both adults and children worldwide. His website boasts an impressive client list - Coca-Cola, Converse, Urban Outfitters, the Cartoon Network, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the list goes on. Williams' has also been the recipient of many awards, far too many for me to attempt to list here, but you can find the list on his website. If you can't make it to his talk at Offset, the website is well worth a visit for the career advice and suggestions he gives to aspiring illustrators here. And of course to gaze in awe and wonderment at all the fabulous illustrations and their various applications to products ranging from stationary to shoes to dog poop bags. Yes really. Williams will take to the main stage from 12.00 - 13.00.

'Icons of Graphic Design' by Stephen Heller, from amazon.com

Stephen Heller. Art Director for over 30 years. Involved in the publication of more than one hundred books on design or popular culture. Contributor for decades to numerous publications including Eye, I.D and Baseline. Curator of exhibitions. Design Lecturer. The list of Heller's achievements is long and wide ranging and as a result he was awarded the AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement in 1999. So of course he is a must see at Offset! I have his book 'Icons of Graphic Design' (a birthday gift from Sophie) which presents an inspiring visual timeline of significant pieces in the history of graphic design, highly recommended! Heller's talk on the main stage will begin at 13.00.

Ray Gun Magazine by David Carson, from zero1blog.com

After lunch it's time to catch David Carson on the main stage. Carson was both revered and despised in the early 1990s as a result of his controversial approach to editorial design. He broke all of the main 'rules' of design, abandoning the use of grids, creating veering columns with no gutters and erratic letterspacing which careered wildly across large spreads. At times Carson's typography hit the borderline of illegibility. His reasoning, as stated in 'Meggs' History of Graphic Design', was that while a traditional message may be highly legible, it isn't going to offer the visual appeal of his revolutionary layouts which will draw in and engage readers in the piece. It is no wonder then that his work inspired such differing reactions. Much of this work came to the fore during Carson's time as art director at Ray Gun magazine. Following this he went on to found his own studio and completed work for companies such as Coca-Cola, Ray Bans, Kodak, British Airways, Armani, the list goes on. Carson has won over 170 awards. As if that wasn't enough, he was also a former professional surfer and at one stage was ranked number 9 in the world. Go. See. Him.

Alan Clarke, from scamp.ie

My final choice for Saturday would be Irish illustrator Alan Clarke. Clarke first came to my attention with his illustrations in the Ross O'Carroll Kelly series of books. I generally used to skip ahead to the picture pages first whenever I bought a new book. The style of his work seems to differ depending on the purpose and context of the illustration, I like this approach, personally I think it shows adaptability and creativity, it increases a creative's ability to work in many different areas rather than being restricted. Clarke's work has also been featured by Hot Press, the Irish Independent and AIB (that's a short selection of many) and he has illustrated numerous childrens' books. There's an element of darkness to his illustrations, there is just something about this style which really appeals to me. Clarke also had a solo show as part of Offset on the 26th September. Did anyone catch that? Miffed that I missed it!

Sunday 3rd October:

Jape, Floating by M&E and D.A.D.D.Y

And so we reach the final day of Offset. Swedish based design studio M&E start the day at 10.00 on the main stage. M&E are Matthew Bolger (of the Redneck Manifesto) and Emelie Lidström. They frequently collaborate with musicians and offer design, illustration, photography and film. I used to go to a lot of Redneck Manifesto and Jape gigs which is where I first came across their work. Unfortunately their website is under construction but you can see some of their work here.

Tomer Hanuka, from iloveoffset.com

Following that I'd try to catch New York based illustrator and cartoonist Tomer Hanuka. I only saw Hanuka's work for the first time after reading his profile on the Offset website but I've been instantly hooked! I love the bold, comicbook style and his use of colour. As I browsed through his online gallery of work, I could see a range of differing styles and influences throughout his - at times fantastical - illustrations. Hanuka also runs a blog with his brother Asaf, where they explain the concepts behind illustrations and show the initial sketches. Hanuka will be on the main stage at 13.00.

Zach Gold, from zachgold.com

And on to my final choice for the weekend. Zach Gold has been named as "one of the ten photographers changing photography" and "is noted for his pioneering work in photorealistic digital art." (from iloveoffset.com) Gold's work is astounding. Every photograph captures moments of motion in time, every action is frozen. My favourite is the water series of photographs. Gold also creates films in the same style for clients such as Issey Miyake, Calvin Klein and K-Swiss. Visit his website and check out the films and photography.

So we have come to the end of my favourite speakers to see at Offset this weekend. Weekend and day tickets are still available from Offset along with full timetables and event listings. The Offset Flickr page is here. I probably won't be at it, but perhaps I'll stretch to a day ticket if I can. If you're going - enjoy it and tell me how it goes!

bloglovin

2010-09-26T23:23:00.001+01:00

Follow my blog with bloglovin
I've been slow on the uptake with this. Hello bloglovin.

New Work: Midleton Farmers Market

2010-09-26T23:00:00.003+01:00

I recently designed a new logo for Midleton Farmers Market, which takes place every Saturday from 10am in Midleton, Co. Cork. The market is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The new logo was launched to celebrate this and to coincide with the Midleton Food Festival which took place a few weeks ago.

So, this is the reason that on the morning of September 11th, I found myself up early, picnic packed and en route to sunny (yes, sunny!) Cork with my Mam on a day trip to visit the market, check out the festival, sample some foods, admire the scenery and of course to see the final products of my toils.

There were a few iffy moments between Cork City and Midleton as I attempted to spot, analyse and then point out every single one of the multiple large one metre signs baring the new logo directing us to the market, whilst simultaneously driving and navigating unknown territories. Hurray for multitasking.

Midleton Farmers Market is known as one of the best in the country, so I was very excited to visit for the first time and see the range of produce on offer. There was a great selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, a coffee stall, chocolates, cheeses, Frank Hederman's renowned smoked fish, delicious meats from local butchers, cakes, stuffed mushrooms, produce from Ballymaloe House and several food to go stalls, amongst others. It was great to see the new Midleton Farmers Market stickers displayed prominently on the stalls - whether stuck on the produce being sold, applied to paper bags or even worn on clothes! These photos are just a few samples of the logo in use:

Rolls of stickers, ready for sticking!

Banners and Signage outside the market

After spending some time in the market we continued down Midleton Main Street to see what the food festival had to offer. The whole street was lined with stalls. Entertainers on stilts weaved their way through the large crowds of festival goers. There were of course many food stalls, but also a craft market, a photography exhibition by the East Cork Camera Club and a mobile farm unit. There were several workshops taking place as well, but unfortunately we didn't make it to any of those. After a quick visit to the Mella's Fudge stall (hopefully I will have some interesting updates on Mella's Fudge for you soon!) we went for some lunch before taking a final wander and heading home again. I'm quite sure I'll be back to visit again soon.

The concept behind the logo is the aesthetic of the traditional market marquee. Originally, traders used different coloured stripes to represent their particular trade. For example red and white may have referred to a butcher. The aim was to produce a logo which is contemporary, iconic and minimal whilst also alluding to more traditional times, which I hoped to achieve through the use of typography and the historical reference to the history of the marquee stripes.

FREE typefaces from Conqueror

2010-08-28T14:12:00.000+01:00

Screenshot from www.conqueror.com

Conqueror, paper suppliers extraordinaire, are offering five typefaces free for download. The new typefaces have been designed by French type designer Jean-Francois Porchez. My favourite is AW Conqueror Sans - so elegant. You can download the fonts here. Worth a visit even just to admire the website.

BOOK DELIVERY!

2010-08-14T20:51:00.000+01:00

Clockwise from bottom: "Production for Graphic Designers, 5th Edition" by Alan Pipes, "Basics Design: Print and Finish" by Gavin Ambrose & Paul Harris, "Getting it Printed: How to Work with Printers and Graphic Imaging Services to Assure Quality, Stay on Schedule and Control Costs" (snappy title, eh?) by Mark Beach & Eric Kenly and "The Production Manual: A Graphic Design Handbook" by Gavin Ambrose & Paul Harris

I recently received all of these snazzy looking books in a giant box from Amazon. Packages in the post are always rather exciting! I felt I should further educate myself about prepress, production and all of the different printing methods, finishes etc. that are available.

This is a subject I think should be focused on a lot more in college courses, as the print process used or finishes applied can make such a difference to the final output of a design, for example when used as an element of a design, such as overprints or varnishes. So I guess I see it as both a technical and design education. Can't wait to read them! I'll post up some reviews in the next few weeks. Has anyone else got one of these books?

Design Workflow & Organisation

2010-06-25T14:53:00.001+01:00

My 'design workflow', mainly the paperwork side of things, is still something I'm trying to work out. As I've only officially been in business (as a sole trader) since 1st February 2010, I'm still attempting to perfect the ultimate system.

At the moment, this is what I do after I get a design request from a new client:

1. I arrange a meeting. It depends on the client's location, but I prefer to discuss the project with someone in person rather than over the phone. All of my previous jobs have had at least one face-to-face meeting with the rest conducted by phone and via email if distance was an issue. I like to get to know a client, it's easier to work with someone if you have a good relationship with them rather than them just being a name on the end of an email.

2. I bring a list of questions to the meeting and fill this in as I go along. These are questions which I think will help me to understand the business and client's needs. I have a basic question list that I can modify depending on the client. I also give a copy of the questions to the client so that they can read it afterwards and let me know if they think of anything they may have forgotten to mention at the meeting. After the meeting I type everything out in coherent sentences to form a brief for myself, as my note-taking tends to be illegible at times.

3. The next step is to quote. Once I know what the client is looking for I send a quote detailing what exactly I need to do and how much it is likely to cost. Some items have a fixed price, other work is completed at an hourly rate. I'm careful to outline what exactly is covered by a price, and what isn't. Other designer's rates seem to be a very elusive secret in the design world, unfortunately, as this makes it difficult to work out appropriate rates.

I recently found a blog called The Design Cubicle (lots of very helpful information there) which points out that we designers should be marginally increasing our rates annually as every year we gain more experience, knowledge and skills. So obviously someone working for ten years should be earning substantially more than someone fresh out of college, as you would expect in any career. I've learned that undervaluing yourself is a big mistake, no matter what industry you are in.

4. If the client is happy with the quote, I go ahead and start the project. At this point in the process I would also like to introduce a contract, which I'm currently drawing up for future clients. Following this, the design process begins, which I will explain in a later post.

Keeping Everything Together

This is the main part of my system that is constantly under review. I keep a new notebook for every client, which seems to be working well. It's finding the correct notebook and samples at the right time that's the problem, as they are all identical. I'm considering getting some big filing boxes (similar to the one below) so that I can keep my notebook, samples and everything else related to one project altogether and labeled so that I can find the relevant box easily. What do you do?

Kassett Folder, €3.99 from Ikea

My main reason for this post is because I'm interested in learning about how other people work - whether designers or not. How do you manage your workflow? How do you organise your filing system, both physical and on your computer? Do you have any suggestions as to how I could be more efficient with my own?

To Do

2010-06-15T22:59:00.000+01:00

I like to take photographs. I should do more of this.

Summer Sunflowers

2010-06-15T19:14:00.004+01:00

Sunflower seedlings chillin' on the kitchen windowsill.

Gratuitous cat photo because I like cats.

Recently I was at Bloom in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. The nice people at the Garden School stall showed me how to make these handy little newspaper flowerpots to start seedlings with. So here you can see my sunflowers are starting to come up, they're about 10 days old now. Next week I'm going to transfer them to larger pots. The nifty thing about this is that I can transfer the seedlings - newspaper pots and all - into their new home and eventually the newspaper will biodegrade. I'm actually a very irresponsible plant owner and tend to forget to water them regularly, it's thanks to my Mam these are doing so well.

I dare you not to like this:

2010-06-04T18:38:00.005+01:00

Yes, that is a Toy Story padded envelope before you

I just received the most fabulous of padded envelopes in the post. Even better it was filled with peanut-butter M&Ms sent all the way from America, oooh ah and also mmm. Thanks Jen! Anyway I just wanted to share this greatness with the world, although I fear I may be alone in my extreme love for it...

Squidgy Marshmallows

2010-05-24T21:07:00.004+01:00

Homemade Marshmallows*

This weekend I made marshmallows. BEHOLD! Gaze upon their wonderous pink and squidgy forms. Almost pure sugar, in a cube. Sickeningly good. I only recently learned it's possible to make marshmallows at home, they're surprisingly simple. Thank you to Darina Allen and her wonderous book "Forgotten Skills of Cooking". The most important thing you need for this is a sugar thermometer - it's vital that you wait for the sugar and water mixture to reach hard boil temperature, otherwise it will all go terribly, awfully wrong. Following that, you add in some gelatine then mix it all up with some whisked egg whites. I threw in a bit of red food colouring at this point. Et voila! Two hours of setting time later, you have homemade marshmallows.

*May cause sugar-induced heart palpitations

Ormond Studios: 15 x 15 Fundraising Show

2010-05-24T19:33:00.008+01:00

Ormond Studios is a "visual arts initiative located on Ormond Quay, Dublin 1" currently occupied by graduates of NCAD, IADT and DIT.

This Thursday 27th May Ormond Studios are hosting a show with lots of affordable art for sale in order to raise funds for their summer exhibition. They are currently accepting donations of an arty nature in any medium you wish including design, fine art, writing and photography. The only rule is the work must measure 15 x 15 cm (or 150 x 150mm for any designer currently shuddering at the thought of centimetres :-P) The closing date for submissions is tomorrow, Tuesday 24th May.

So even if you don't donate a piece, do head along on Thursday 27th May from 6-9pm for the chance to nab some affordable art while raising funds for the studios. The exhibition continues on Friday from 11am-5pm. All artwork measures 15 x 15cm and costs €10. You may even get the chance to invest in a Liz Maybury original (by that I mean, someone please buy mine so I don't look sad).

Letterhead & Business Cards: Favourites!

2010-05-20T17:19:00.005+01:00

To follow up from the previous post, here's a small selection of my favourite business card designs from "Letterhead & Business Cards:"

Design by Michael Lewis of Studio Mik Mik
I'm a big fan of Studio Mik Mik, have been following a lot of his work on Flickr.

Design by Didac Catalan of Low Ink Studio
I thought this was a really clever concept to illustrate the name "low ink" with great relevant integration of spot varnish within the design. I'm quite the fan of spot varnish. Mmm.

Design by Nathan Gray of Flisky. Another black and white card with spot varnish - are you seeing a pattern in my design preferences developing?!

Design by Andreas Klammt at www.breitengrad535.de - do check out the website. This is possibly my favourite, I like the colour palette used within the illustration and the strong contrast of the bold handwritten text reversed out on a matt black background. Drool.

Business Card Design Published

2010-05-19T20:15:00.005+01:00

Two blog posts in three days *gasp*

My business card design was included in the book "Letterhead & Business Cards" published by Zeixs/Feierabend Unique Books in 2009. Yes I realise this was last year, but I only recently got around to acquiring the book... so... Tah-DAH!

According to the foreword the authors of the book have "collected a wealth of inspired and original designs" from all over the world.

There are loads of unique and amazing designs in the book, great for research and inspiration. I was a bit surprised to be included to be honest!

I've actually had these cards a couple of years at this stage. I probably have about 300 cards still languishing in the cupboard, but I'm currently considering getting a new design printed up. I still like these, but after seeing my cards constantly lurking in my wallet I'm starting to get a bit bored! Die cuts are sounding possible... mmm.

Apologies for the iffy photos, my SLR battery is dead and the charger is M.I.A.
Drat.

KELE

2010-05-17T21:04:00.007+01:00

Finally a new blog post! I have been inspired by my chums Laura and Sophie and their greatness at regular blog updates to try and use this a bit more.

Last night I was at Kele in the Academy, Dublin. Thanks to Spin 103.8 and their ticket competition of greatness - I was so glad to win the tickets, as I really wanted to go! Great gig, lots of dancing. Really liked Kele's new songs and he threw in a few Bloc Party tracks aswell which was good as I hadn't heard most of the solo stuff and, despite it's awesomeness, it's always nice to hear a couple of songs you know! Can't wait for the album. Few photos to follow. You can find more on my Flickr.

I promise I'll be back soon with more updates Mr. Blog :)

*NOTE: The reason I put my name on images is because things tend to get 'borrowed' when they're online, as I have unfortunately previously found out. So I'm sure I've said this before, but please note, internet strangers, all my work is copyright and so you will need to ask permission to use anything. Thanks.

Gimme

2009-11-04T20:22:00.008Z

I want this.
Mmm iMac.
Image from www.apple.com

Comic Cast Birthday Bash TONIGHT!

2009-07-17T11:18:00.003+01:00

The Comic Cast celebrate their first birthday tonight in Twisted Pepper, with live music, stand up comedy and DJ sets. I also have my fingers crossed for cake. Just sayin'.

Admission is free before 11pm and €5 after that. Hurrah!

School Yard Food Yard

2009-06-15T12:54:00.003+01:00

Hello blog. Behold! Some banners I designed for the School Yard Food Yard. This is a new food market at the Multi-Denominational School, Ranelagh. There's all sorts of foody nice things to buy including olives, cheese, breads, coffees, teas, cakes (mmm), fresh pasta, fruit, veg, paella, hot dogs and lots more. The market is on every Sunday from 10am - 3.30pm and helps to raise money for the school. Go go go!

Wheelbarrow

2009-05-01T23:54:00.006+01:00

Doing some awesome leaf collection with my Pappy.

Mmm

2009-05-01T23:29:00.004+01:00

Poster for Crepes in the City
Yummy crepes to be found on Saturdays in Temple Bar Food Market at Meeting House Square & St. Anne's Park in Raheny and every Sunday in People's Park, Dun Laoghaire.
:)

A New Blog To Follow

2009-03-02T21:28:00.002Z

First Three Chapters
Snazzy. Give it a go.
And unlike me, she updates it super regularly too. Go team Laura!

Magnolia

2009-02-25T21:17:00.001Z

Creeny Label Design

2008-11-28T19:35:00.002Z

Just finished working on a label for Creeny Irish Sheep Cheese handmade at Corleggy in Cavan. Corleggy Cheese is sold at the Farmer's Market in Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, on Saturdays, Belturbet Farmer's Market on Fridays, the new market beside the Powerscourt Centre in Dublin on Thursdays, and will be at the National Crafts and Design Fair in the RDS next week from the 3rd-7th December. Yumyumyum :)

Tah-dah:

Creeny Sheepy Sheep Illustration

Label Front

Back of label with list of ingredients surrounded by detail of sheep illustration

Side detail

Grad + Website

2008-11-20T21:47:00.005Z

So I finally graduated last week, after four years in D.I.T. I now have a BA (Hons) in Design (Visual Communications) hurrah and hurray! Tis weird it's all over, and gonna miss all my fellow vis commers *sniffle*. Also thanks Mam and Dad for everything :) (I know you read this!!) Here's some photos with silly hats:

Mam and I

Dad and I (I have a BA yet I can't manage to hold it the right way around for a photo...)

Me, Rebecca and Marie

Woo hats

Marie and I

Dad, Mam and I

WEBSITE:
I've recently redone my website using Indexhibit, which is the niftiest invention EVER. While I liked the previous version of the website I'd done, I had handcoded it myself and not being the biggest coding genius ever was having some problems viewing it properly on some browsers. So I decided to go with Indexhibit for my new version. Indexhibit, if you haven't heard of it, is a web application which gives you the basic coding of a site and allows you to customise the coding whatever way you like. Anyway, for me this has resulted in a much simpler website which is easier to navigate than it's predecessor, and I know it's going to work properly so my portfolio can be viewed easily, which is the most important thing, right?! So ch-check it out and let me know whatcha think, there's still a couple things to be added but most of it's there now: www.elizabethmaybury.com

Over and out.

Landscapes & Such

2008-11-07T17:49:00.005Z

Hello blog. So last week I was briefly in Kerry, here's some of my photos from the Connor Pass:

And here's a few from Corleggy Farm in Cavan:

Lots more recent stuff on my Flickr. Laters.

SEBP Mushie Shake Video

2008-09-29T14:10:00.003+01:00

Behold! A nifty stop motion video for Mushie Shake by Super Extra Bonus Party directed/made/everything really by Liam Geraghty with gig photos by your's truely (aka me). Hurrah.

Super Extra Bonus Party - Mushie Shake from Liam Geraghty on Vimeo.

Business Card Feature Thing

2008-08-25T12:24:00.004+01:00

Forgot to tell you dear blog, that my business cards were included in a Best Business Cards of June 2008 post over on Francesco Mugnai's blog. So that was nice. Thanks :)

The Parting Glass Gig

2008-08-14T16:10:00.004+01:00

Poster for the last gig in the Riverbank Arts Centre before it closes for the coming months (sniff sniff cry sniff) for various reasons I'm not entirely sure of. Anyway music from Band on an Island with super extra special guests Schmackey and the Salads and Cutting Off Kids. It's gonna be great!

Oh yeah and if you spot yourself in the crowd on the poster you can win tickets to the gig, head over to BOAI's Bebo for more info. Photo is from the BOAI single launch in the Riverbank last October if you're wondering :)

In other news, I'm looking for a job. Hire me?

The Comic Cast Promo Photos

2008-07-03T01:04:00.009+01:00

I did some promo shots for Liam Geraghty and Craig O'Connor recently to go with their launch of the Comic Cast, which is a fortnightly podcast about comics (funnily enough). Episodes will feature interviews with Irish illustrators and comic book artists etc aswell as discussion of all sorts of comic-y things. The first interview is with illustrator Chris Judge, who is also responsible for the nifty drawings of Liam and Craig on the Comic Cast site.

The official launch is on Wednesday 9th July in Thomas Reads, Dame St., Dublin at 7.30pm with music from Schmackey and the Salads and Mary Bellos. This will also be the launch of Gazebo, a new comic book by Liam and Philip Barrett.

Anywhoooo few photos below, rest are on my Flickr page. It rained lots and was grey on the day we did them, was not impressed. Damn you weather!

Now listening to Lisa Hannigan and looking forward to whenever her album comes out. Yuzzah!

A Few Photos

2008-06-25T00:58:00.003+01:00

Hola,
so these days I'm trying to clear my photo backlog of several months and doing an awful lot of editing and Photoshopping to the max. Below are a few shots from a shoot I did with my brother Tim for a college project. I only used one in the project but here's a couple more I've only gotten around to editing now.

Tim

What else is in my backlog you may ask? Gig photos mainly and a few random things aswell. Also working on some promo shots I did last week which I shall post when it's all done.

In the meantime, here's a picture of me with my mini-me on the back of my stand at the LastandFirst exhibition:

Mini Liz!

And another Mammy approved one:

Current listening: The new Jape album, it's epic. And Dry County, they're pretty great too.

Jape at Vicar Street

2008-06-16T00:30:00.006+01:00

Got a ticket at the last minute (thank you :)) to the gig, so was rather pleased cos it was great. High Places, White Williams, Deerhunter, Dan Deacon and Jape. I only have photos of Jape though cos 1. I was only close enough for photos for Jape and 2. I am lazy. Nearly died when Dan Deacon got the entire crowd in Vicar Street running in a circle around the room and high fiving though. But in a good way, a good dying, crushing way. That can happen, right?

Richie Egan himself

Jape

Also, after tonight I now hate this song:

DIT 'LastandFirst' Graduate Exhibition

2008-06-04T22:34:00.006+01:00

I've just finished my degree in Visual Communications in DIT Mountjoy Square. Our graduate exhibition is opening next week. We've put a lot of work into our exhibition this year. It will be in the CHQ (near the IFSC), Dublin, which is a bigger venue than previous years, allowing us to make greater use of the space and use specially designed and printed 3D display units. Digital Media such as motion graphics, websites, ads etc can be viewed on several computers along with a showreel which will be projected onto the wall.

The show opens this Tuesday 10th June along with all the other DIT Graduate shows from the faculty of art, design and printing. However Thursday 12th June is our big night which we've spent the last few months planning. This night is invite only and for members of the design industry. The evening will start off with our special guest speaker Adrian Shaugnessy officially opening the exhibition before allowing time for guests to view the work on display. Following this there will be a champagne reception in the Jeanie Johnston tall ship and lots of yummy canapes (mmm).

The exhibition is open to the public from Tues 10th to Sat 14th June 2008 so please come see mine and my fellow viscommers work!

More info and examples of work at lastandfirst.ie

View Larger Map

Digital Media

2008-06-04T00:43:00.004+01:00

Hello,
Quick post cos I'm tired and going to sleep. Bit wrecked after the bank holiday weekend in Thomastown (Photos from that en route, I have a bit of a photo backlog at the moment). This is my final digital media project for this semester. Made using After Effects, Photoshop and my camera. Concept, illustration, photography and animation by me. Voiceover by Rebecca O'Neill (Thanks!). Music is El Manana by Gorillaz. I've listened to the same 30 second loop of the intro many, many, many times while making this and I still don't hate it. Miracle.

NOTE: I just want to make it clear that although I use their contact info and logo in the final screen, this piece is in NOT affiliated with Aware. They are only used for the purposes of the college project. If you would like more information about depression or Aware you can visit their website aware.ie, but again this piece has nothing to do with them.

Brief outline of the concept that I ripped from my very long and boring project design rational cos I'm not writing a new one:

'The aim of this project was to create a depression awareness ad for television. The stigma surrounding depression and mental illness in general was identified as a major barrier to people seeking treatment for depression. The aim was to communicate to people the message that depression is an illness just like any other, that it isn’t something to be ashamed of, or negatively labelled by, and emphasise the fact that it is this stigmatisation that prevents sufferers from getting help. It should encourage people to learn about and further understand the illness and provide contact details so viewers have the opportunity to get further information or seek help.'

Finished College!

2008-05-17T12:27:00.008+01:00

Hola Mr Blog,
So yesterday I finished college FOREVVVERRRR. Had my final deadline at 3.30 to submit my portfolio and it all turned out better than expected, so that's alright I suppose! Having gone several weeks existing on minimal sleep and a diet of tea, Red Bull and excessive amounts of Vitamin C tablets, combined with the trauma of a major rice pudding explosion in the microwave sometime in the early hours of yesterday morning, I had a truely epic 15 hour sleep last night.

I'm going to put up some of my final work here soon, once I get around to photographing it, downsizing for web and all that boring crap. But I'll put up a couple of things in the mean time.

I did a hasty shoot with my brother Tim last week for photographs to use in a music magazine I was designing for college. My studio consisted of a large, creased, white sheet thrown over our garage door and me standing on a garden chair taking photos. Mmm budget photography. Anyway below is one of the images from that and also a shot of the front cover of the magazine.

Next are some of my photos from Foals' gig in the Academy last month, they too made an appearance in loki. (They also accompanied Niall's review of the gig here.) What a great gig. Yuzzah*!

*an amalgamation of 'yay' and 'huzzah'

Tim

Front cover of 'loki' magazine. Is that a die cut you see before you?! Yes, yes it is. Mmm. (I said mmm at a die cut... I am so sad. Sigh.)

Logo for 'loki'

Yannis, Foals

More Yannis action

Jimmy, Foals

Culture Factory Gig, Riverbank, Newbridge

2008-04-30T21:34:00.004+01:00

So I as predicted I forgot about this blog for a while. What has been going on in the world of Liz these times you may ask? (Or not, as the case may be, although I'm guessing you have some interest seeing as you're here and all). Well I finish college in just over two weeks, pretty scared about that. Apart from the scarily close deadlines and not having enough work done, assuming I make it through that alive, I gotta then find a real job. *sweat*

I've been thinking, what exactly will I use this blog for. Then I had a most ingenius, although probably not entirely original, idea. As some of you reading may know, I'm mad into my gig photography, and find it physically very difficult not to take photos at gigs (seriously, it's a very difficult decision for me not to bring a camera to a gig, it's kinda weird...) Anyway so I'm going to use this just for posting up the best shots from gigs I go to, maybe a blab a bit about the gig itself aswell. Not being a writer/music genius myself though the words will probably be pretty scarce.

So to start I'm gonna throw in a few photos of Super Extra Bonus Party from the gig in the Riverbank, Newbridge, last Thursday 24th April. The gig was in aid of the Culture Factory, which aims to set up facilities for young people in the town (something along those lines, correct me if I'm wrong, an excellent cause). The Temper from Hell Band and Niamh Jones also played, but haven't gotten around to editing those yet, will put up some at a later date.

Fun times and dancing were had. Apart from when security implied I was fat *sniffsniff*.

Rod, SEBP

Rod, Co & Mike SEBP

Gav, SEBP

Mmm new lens, album cover design.

2008-01-29T14:19:00.000Z

I got my new lens yesterday, a 50mm f/1.8 which I've wanted for AGES! Thank you John Gunn's :) (possibly the nicest camera shop people ever!) So hopefully this will improve my gig photos and other low light stuff.

Below is a cover I designed for my friend Ciaran's solo album, which will be around soon methinks. You can find him here. I've just been asked to design an EP cover for the Pyromaniacs so will be working on that soon :)

PS This blog is under construction, expect nifty (ahem) graphics etc sometime soon. Perhaps.

Hello

2008-01-26T17:06:00.000Z

This is my blog. It is nice. I'm not sure what its purpose in life is yet really...
I'll probably post about twice then forget about it. Oh well!
Below are some pictures I took in China of people working. I have a Canon EOS 400D, it is like my child! I'm just using the standard 18-55mm lens that came in the kit, hoping to invest in a new lens soon, the Canon 50mm one with the gigantic aperture at a not so gigantic price. Nice!

This lady was driving this tiny moped thing with what was pretty much a box on the box that you could get driven around in. So Ruth-Anne and I made an epic trip in one from the Forbidden City back to the Holiday Inn. EPIC!!

This guy had a shop with all sorts of clocks and whatnot in the antique market in Beijing. So cool! I haggled to the max for two nifty clocks, they're so weird, perhaps I'll put up a picture of them some day, if you're lucky! ;)

Mr. Mechanic in Shanghai. I asked to take a photo, then this other old mechanic kept standing right in front of my camera, like less than a foot away from it, it was so annoying, but finally got one picture.

I'm not really into manicures and whatnot, so while the girls got their nails done in a market in Beijing, I took photos and generally hung around with my camera looking weird.

Over and out.