As usual, the past few months have been bursting with new design projects of all kinds...and I couldn't love this work more (unless I had way more time in the day, in which case I would love everything more because I could devote more energy to all of it! Ahh, a girl can dream).

Because I love shouting-out all of our wonderful clients and sharing what I've been working on, here's a glimpse into a few of the bigger branding projects that have taken up my time [and Sara's time, of course] over the past few months...

Wellbeloved Wellness Branding Overhaul + Elite Nation Cycle Logo Design: Wellbeloved Wellness is a long-time favorite client and personal favorite spot to take fitness classes. The owner, Nicole Wellbeloved, is opening an incredible indoor cycling studio here on Cape Cod next month, and as a part of this new venture she was ready to give her existing brand, Wellbeloved Wellness, a makeover too. So, together we designed her Elite Nation Cycle logo (above) and a new logo and look for her Wellbeloved Wellness Lifestyle Studio. It was SO much fun!

Check out the new Wellbeloved Wellness logo below, and scroll down for a screenshot of her new website (click on the screenshot below to visit the live site)...

And here's the new site...

Redefine by Juliette Logo ​Design: This logo is a design from late 2017 that I [somehow] never shared! Juliette is a local trainer who is ready to take her business to the next level and came to us for some help starting that process. First step? A logo, brand style guide, and business card. Check, check, check! Her logo is below: 

​And here's his website: 

Richard's Institute of Education and Research/ETM Logo: Last but not least, a watercolor logo that I created for a non-profit focused on using music, movement, and play to educate children and aid in their development. Their website is currently being redesigned and when it's complete, this logo will be a part of their new, updated look.

...And those are just the bigger projects we've been focused on! We've also tackled lots of smaller one-offs for our clients including oodles of fliers, online marketing materials, business cards, + more.

Love. This. Work. 

​Interested in learning more about Starr Struck Design Studio's design services? Hop on over to the Studio's site here. 

It's been a while since I've posted any design project updates, but that's because Sara and I have been working so hard and have had so many balls up in the air for so long that it just slipped my mind! 

So today, Part 1 of a 2-Part roundup of recent logo and website design projects. I'm just focusing on the big things here, but we've also been doing a ton of marketing material design these days: business cards, fliers, brochures, postcards, etc., which is super fun but not as fun to look at [for the average blog reader, haha].

Thus, here are some of the bigger projects we've ben working on + a few small notes about each...

Logo Design Above: Moms in Harmony
I created this logo for local Health Coach Meg Payne, whose focus is working with moms who want to live their healthiest lives. Meg is a fellow new(ish) mom and she came to me with a very clear idea of what she wanted her logo to look like; it was an honor to bring it to life for her! 

​Logo Design Below: 5951 Alton
I created this logo to represent a historic house for a real estate agent in Miami. The logo is based off of a picture of an architectural element from the house that he sent to me and I loved the challenge of coming up with a way to create a striking 2-dimensional representation of that element.  

Logo Design Below: beautiful.naturalawakening
The fabulous lady behind beautiful.naturalawakening, Erin Fitzgerald, is a new mom friend of mine, my Babywearing Hip Hop coach, and an organic cooking + non-toxic living mastermind. I was totally honored when she approached me about designing her website + logo, and you can see what we came up with below (click on the screenshot of her homepage to visit her site! Her recipes and images are to die for). 

Logo Design Project Below: Cool Creative Press
Sarah Dickey, one of my longtime clients, has just started her own Independent Publishing Company and asked me to design her logo + business cards. As usual, I loved working with her! The logo was a fun challenge because while Sarah has a very fluid, watercolory aesthetic, she needed a pretty basic logo that could easily be printed (and stand out) on the spines of books, in black and white on a title page, etc. We went back and forth quite a bit and finally came up with the following simple yet playful logo. 

{I know I said no business cards, but I had to include Sarah's below because they're just so cute...aren't they? Front + Back, of course...}

Website Design Project: OPEX South Shore
One of Ben's very best friends [who you may remember from the podcast and Yoga Strong], Bobby Scott, has just opened up his own gym and I couldn't be more excited for him. If you're located on the South Shore of Boston, you must check it out! It was so fun designing his website (and shirts, brochures, logo, + business cards) and his gym is incredible. Click on the screenshot below to visit his site and learn more. 

And there you have it! Just a few of the many projects that we've been working on as of late. More coming in Part 2 of this installment...

​Learn more about our design services here. 

Today is the first official day of summer and the longest day of the year--hooray!

To celebrate, I thought I'd share a super summery, Cape Cod-inspired branding project that Sara and I have just finished working on (as of yesterday).

The client is an amazing Cape Cod Realtor named Cindy Blum (also a yoga student, of course!), who came to me wanting a fun, colorful, lighthearted watercolor banner + logo to use on the new website she was designing. She said that most realtor's websites are boring and stuffy, but because she is selling properties at the beach (often vacation homes), she wanted her site to stand out as different and more carefree, flowy, and lifestyle-focused. 

So, that's what we set out to do! From the beginning, Cindy had a clear vision: she knew she wanted a red VW bus with surfboards on top. Thus, we started with her banner image (shown above) and worked backward from there. After settling on a banner image that she liked, I created her basic logo (shown below) and gave her some van options to work with...

At this point, I thought we were finished working together. I delivered Cindy's basic style guide (shown below) and started working on other client projects...

...But then, just a few days later, Cindy emailed me saying she wanted some watercolor "design elements" to be used on her website, in her newsletter, + beyond. She gave me a list of Cape Cod items that she wanted painted and I went to town.

The watercolor images we came up with are below: 

And then, wouldn't you know, Cindy decided that she'd like us to go ahead and design her website for her, too! We were flattered and excited ;)

We used her "header" on the main page (as shown in the screenshot below) and her logo on all subsequent pages (also pictured below). You can view Cindy's new website here. 

We also went on to design Cindy's monthly newsletter template:

And her email signature: 

...And just like that, Cindy Blum went from a Realtor with "normal" Realtor branding to a standout, fun, Cape Cod lifestyle brand. It was a total honor to work with Cindy and we couldn't have had more fun creating all of these designs for her!

​Want to learn more about Cindy? Check out her *new* website. Want to learn more about our branding services? Check out the Starr Struck Art + Design Studio website. 

Happy first day of summer, everyone!!!!

It's been a while since I've shared any of my recent logo designs, so I thought I'd use today to pull together a little roundup of logos created in the past few months + the stories/brands behind them.

Logo design has truly become one of my favorite branches of my business (I know, I know, it sounds like they're all my favorites, but I really love what I do!); every logo is SO different and yet, I find that almost all of my clients have a similar aesthetic--which is why they're drawn to me and my work in the first place, obviously.

Anywho, here are some of these recent creations...

Logo Design Project (above): OM Fitness Logo
Kat of OM Fitness came to me looking for a logo redesign + website facelift a few months ago. We started with her logo, which she wanted re-worked to convey how her brand has changed since she began it many years ago; her main areas of focus now are Essential Oils and yoga (as opposed to CrossFit/yoga for CrossFitters, which used to be a big part of what she did), and she wanted her logo to make that clearer. After a bit of back and forth, we landed on the above design. Up next: helping her redesign her site later this summer! I'm looking forward to it. 

Logo Design Project (below): Jill LilJ Logo
Jill is a classic Jack-of-All-Trades who has her hand in everything: photography, yoga, surfing, modeling, music, writing...I could go on and on. She came to me looking for a logo for her personal brand, and knew from the beginning that she wanted red lips and a slight rock n' roll vibe. Done and done! We arrived on the following logo after just a few drafts. I'm excited to start creating her website for her next month! 

Logo Design Project: Pink Lotus Yoga + Personal Training Studio Logos
Jerri, the owner of Pink Lotus, found me through Etsy. Her studio is located in Lafayette, IN, and she was looking for a more unique, hand-painted pink lotus and a subsequent reworking of her lotus-inspired logo. She also wanted a version of her logo that emphasized the personal training side of her business (see her second logo, below). Jerri knew what she wanted when she came to me so the design process was fairly straightforward. In the end, she received both of the logo variations below!

"Logo" Design Project: Ornament Watercolor for Greeting Cards
This project was a unique one--Chelsea came to me asking me to paint a specific ornament (she had a picture) in watercolor, and then add her logo (which she already had) to the center of the ornament. We did just that, and the final creation is below. She'll be using this "logo" on greeting cards + other printed materials.

So there you go! I've also been hard at work creating a header, a logo, a bunch of watercolor design elements, and a website for a local realtor, which I'll share in one big post all about this fun branding project as soon as we get the site up :)

Interested in learning more about my logo design services? Visit my art + design site. 

Sara and I have been hard at work in 2017! With 4 websites recently finished and another 5-6 in the hopper over the next couple of months, we've been web design fools lately. Good thing we really enjoy this work and enjoy working together as a team!

It's so fun to help solopreneurs and small businesses shine online, and it always feels so good to launch a site after weeks (or months) of work. Our most recently-launched websites (+ logo designs) are below...click on the screenshot to visit the site and see it in action: 

Above: Susan Kinsella Art Website + Logo Design
I am *so* in love with Susan's paintings. She's an ER doctor turned painter whose work has been selling like hotcakes and who wanted an online presence + a place to sell her art directly to collectors. So, that's what we made for her: an online shop/gallery and a simple, sophisticated logo to go with it. I highly recommend visiting her site and perusing her gorgeous paintings--they're sure to make you feel calm and serene... 
​

​Below: God of the Sparrow Website Design {+ Logo/Color Scheme Revamp}
God of the Sparrow is home to Minister Ashley Goff's Blog, The Landscape of Liturgy, and is the place where you can learn more about Ashley, the work that she does, and enjoy her writing about "all things liturgy." Ashley had an old Wordpress site but was ready to make the switch to a more updated, easy-to-navigate Squarespace site, and with that wanted a new look so that her site would match her vibrant personality. We updated her logo (the original was designed by someone else), changed her color scheme, and filled her site with big, eye-catching images. I love it! Check her out: 

Below: Osterville Pilates Website + Logo Design
Osterville Pilates is a local Pilates Studio that had a very clunky, outdated website and was in need of a new one stat. These ladies offer amazing classes and really know their stuff, and they needed a site that looked as clean and beautiful as their space. Similarly, they didn't have a logo, but had a few signs that had somewhat similar elements that they needed woven together. So, we created a simple logo and clean site to match their existing branding and pull everything together. Voila! 

Below: Yoga with Elaine Website + Logo Design
Elaine is a local yoga teacher and physical therapist who teaches vinyasa + gentle therapeutic classes here on Cape Cod. She came to us because while she'd played a little with creating a site on her own, she realized she just couldn't find the time to figure out how to do everything that she wanted to do. So, we took what Elaine had so far, worked with her current branding, and whipped up a very simple logo and straightforward site that gets her message and her offerings out there. It was fun and I loved working with her color palette!  

...And that's what we've been up to! Thanks to all the fabulous peeps who have hired us to help with your website needs as of late; it's an honor to bring your work to life online!

​Interested in hiring us to design your logo and/or website? Learn more here + email me for rates. ​

Over the summer, when LA-based Doula Morgan Lynn approached me about doing her logo and website, I was thrilled. She is in the birth world (and I was super pregnant), she is a yogi (we met at my studio in DC, Tranquil Space), we went to the same tiny liberal arts school in KY (Centre College!), and she wanted a watercolor logo. It was the perfect fit!

The process of working with Morgan was a very creative and collaborative one. She is an intuitive, creative person herself, and is very detail-oriented, so we went back and forth a lot to come up with the final logos that you see above (and the website that you'll find at the bottom of this post). 

So today, I'm once again breaking down this fun logo design process. Every client is different, and that's one of the things that I enjoy so much about what I do; some people want to be super involved in the creative process and some want nothing to do with it. Some people have an exact idea of what they want when they approach me, and some have no clue. Then, of course, there are clients who fall somewhere in the middle. But it's great fun to work in so many different ways with so many different kinds of people.

Thus, here's how the design process went down when working on the branding for Morgan's biz, Blue Night Mother...

Step 1: Design Inspiration
After a phone call about what Morgan wanted/needed, I had her send me some inspiration images. She sent the following images along with some notes that she wanted to play with incorporating flowers (she sent specific flower names) and/or an oyster and pearl in the logo. She had beautiful reasons for wanting to include these images, which I won't go into here for the sake of keeping this post on the shorter side ;) 

Step 2: Color Palette Selection
Because Morgan had a pretty clear idea of what colors she wanted, after providing her with a few palettes and finding that each was slightly off from what she was imagining, I decided to give her a bunch of colors within her scheme and let her choose which ones she liked best. This worked really well and she was able to send back her favorites, which I compiled into a final palette for her...

Step 3: Initial Design Sketches
Next up, I sent her some composition ideas. Morgan took a look at the first round of sketches and narrowed them down to the ones that she liked best, mixing and matching certain elements/concepts...

Step 4: Second Round of Sketches
As you'll see below, she was most drawn to the oyster idea, but liked both the taller composition and the circular composition. She sent me her feedback and then I provided her with the following revised sketches, taking her requests into account.

Step 5 + 6: More Sketches!
We had a lot of back and forth with the sketches as we settled on a final logo and composition. The last set of sketches that I sent her are below, and as you can see, we'd narrowed it down to two compositions and were just playing with the Oyster's opening and positioning at this point.

​Because she still couldn't decide which version she liked best, we decided she would have two logos--a primary logo and a secondary logo--to be used in different places and ways. 

Step 7: Adding Color
Although we had decided on a color scheme, we hadn't yet decided on how Morgan wanted to see that color scheme in her logo, so I did a bunch of quick, sketchy versions  of her logo in color to show her options. From these sketches, she chose her favorite...

Step 8: Final Logo Design
...Once I had Morgan's blessing, I created the final logos (below) and delivered them to her! Now we were ready to tackle her website and create her style guide ;) 

Step 9: Style Guide Delivery + Website Creation
Morgan's website design process was also a lot of fun, but I won't go into all of that here. Suffice it to say that I love her aesthetic and feel that the final site is a great reflection of who she is and what she does. Her brand style guide and a quick screenshot of the top of her website is below, but you can visit her website here. 

And there you go! Another logo and website in the bag. Want to learn more about my logo and/or web design services? Visit my Art + Design site. 

​Want to learn more about Morgan and her incredible birth + postpartum doula services? Check her out here. She's amazing + her services sound divine! 

As I've mentioned quite a few times over the past few weeks, Sara and I have been hard at work busting out design projects for my amazing clients in preparation for my upcoming maternity leave.

As this year has progressed, the design side of my business--logo design, website design, marketing collateral design, etc.--has continued to steadily grow and increase, and every day I am more and more thankful that I have help with this work [aka Sara] and that I keep getting referrals and new business from such fabulous like-minded small biz owners and solopreneurs. 

So, because I like to share what's going on in my world and because I want to shout-out some of the great entrepreneurs that I work for + wholeheartedly believe in, today I thought I'd share a few of the recent website designs + logo designs that we've created for clients...

Above: Simply Rooted Soul logo design
Kayla McAdams is a health coach (she graduates from her program and becomes official this fall), barre instructor, and Arbonne rep based here on Cape Cod. I met Kayla through taking her barre classes at Wellbeloved Wellness, and was honored when she approached me about designing her site and logo. She knew exactly what she wanted when it came to a logo, and together, we came up with the design above. Then it was on to her website...

Below: Simply Rooted Soul website design
Kayla's site was a super fun site to design because she wanted it to be, in her words, both "rooted and flowy"--two concepts that I can totally get behind. We used Kayla's site as a place to highlight all of her various areas of focus as she starts to grow her new business. Click on the image below to visit her site and see it in action for yourself!

Below: Simply Rooted Soul's Style Guide
Just because I love style guides! Aren't color schemes fun to look at? I could browse them all day long...

Below: Tracy Affonso Yoga website design
You may remember Tracy's logo from a past "Breaking Down the Logo Design Process" post, because yes, I designed her logo for her way back in the winter. However, more recently she decided to leave her full-time job as a school teacher to focus more on teaching yoga + mindfulness (yay!), so she needed help developing her website.

​You can click on the image below to hop on over to her site and learn more about her amazing offerings for kids, mindfulness in schools, and more...

Below: One on One Fitness Training by Anvar website design
Anvar is a local trainer who came to me last month in need of an online presence. Until we built his site, he didn't exist online as a trainer, and knew he needed to change that. We worked with Anvar to create a simple, straightforward site that explains who he is and what he offers.

​The good news is that his site launched just a week or so ago, and he told me that he's already gotten new clients from it! Hooray! Click on the image below to visit his website. 

Below: The Happy Lotus website design
The Happy Lotus is the creation of one of my fabulous local students and friends, Heather Hunter. Heather has recently started creating gorgeous + delicious-smelling hand-poured soy candles, and I am so excited for her when it comes to this new endeavor. I've been burning one of her candles for weeks now and I can promise you that they're divine! I highly recommend that you check out her incredible scents and hop on over to her website to learn more about her process and passion for candles.

Below: Joyful Beginnings Counseling logo design
Joyful Beginnings Counseling is a new endeavor by counselor + new mom Paula Chadwick, who, after recently having her own little one, is now shifting her focus to working with pregnant and postpartum women. Paula took the plunge and started working for herself before she had her child, but recently decided that getting a logo for her business and honing in on her area of interest was the next step in developing where she's going as a solopreneur.

When Paula came to me to design her logo, she had a very clear idea of what she wanted, so I was able to turn it around for her very quickly (our goal was to finish it before the babe came!). You can view her logo and style guide below...

...And there you go! Just a sampling of what Sara and I have been working on in between all of our other client projects a of late ;) 

Interested in hiring us to design your logo and/or website? Learn more here + email me for rates. 

Over the past few months, Sara and I have been hard at work churning out design projects. In just the past month, we've completed 3 new client logos and 4 new client websites, with a few more still in the works. Fun stuff!

So, today I thought I'd share the creation process for a logo I designed for Cape Cod-based trainer and yoga teacher, Nicole Chamberlain. We designed both her logo and website, but I'm going to focus on her logo design here, since that process is a bit more straightforward. 

Read on to view the steps that led to the creation of her final logo (which is pictured above)...

Step 1: Design Inspiration 
I spoke with Nicole about what she wanted her logo to look like and had her create two Pinterest inspiration boards for me, pinning color schemes, logos, and fonts that she liked. Once she provided me with these images and we had talked, I was ready to start pulling together some ideas for her. 

Step 2: Font Selection
Because I knew that font would play a big part in Nicole's design (she told me she wanted it to be pretty simple and to convey a "strong but flexible" aesthetic), I decided to start by just giving her some fonts to choose from. Here are the options I provided her with, and she narrowed it down from here (mixing and matching a few of the fonts used in various designs). 

Step 3: Initial "Sketches" in Black + White
Once Nicole had chosen the fonts that she liked most, I used those fonts to create some initial logo "sketches" for her in black + white. Again, I wanted to start with black + white so she could just focus on composition when choosing the logo she liked best. She obviously chose the third one down on the left as her favorite. 

Step 4: Color Scheme Selection
Next came the hard part--color selection. Nicole was very drawn to a light yellow and grey or navy color palette, but the yellow didn't show up very well and was very subtle. For our first round of color options, I sent her a bunch of variations with the yellow included, but wasn't sold on any of them. Some are below...

Step 5: Narrowing Down the Color Scheme + Final Logo Selection
From the above options, Nicole liked the version of the logo with the dark grey barbell in between the light yellow writing, but we agreed that the yellow wasn't right--she really wanted it to be lighter/more subtle. Obviously, that was a challenge because the lighter the yellow, the less likely it was to show up on the white background.

In the next round of sketches, I gave her the following options--throwing in the last two "inverse" designs as an afterthought, just in case she liked them...and she did! She chose the design on the bottom left as her final logo. Hooray, we had a winner!

Step 7: Website Creation
I won't go into this here, but after we finalized all of her logo files, we were ready to move on to her website. A screenshot of the top of her homepage is below, but if you want to peruse her entire site you can check it out here. 

So there you have it! Another fabulous solopreneur who formerly had no brand or online presence and is now out there making it happen [Nicole said she got a bunch of new clients after launching her new brand and website]. I love it. 

Interested in my logo design and/or web design services? Learn more here. 

As I've said many times before and I'm *sure* I'll say again, one of the things that I enjoy most about my life as a solopreneur is how my work is always changing.

At certain times of the year, I'm super focused on the yoga part of what I do (when leading retreats, lots of workshops, teacher training, etc.). Then at other times, particularly around the holidays, I've got lots of painting commissions and custom artwork to complete.

And then there are times like right now, when my main focus changes yet again and I'm hard at work creating logos, websites, and providing consulting services to small businesses and fellow solopreneurs. For the past couple of months (and as it seems, for the forseeable future), I am deep in this world and I'm loving it.

All of the small business owners I work with are amazing; they're mostly passionate, excited, hard-working, creative women who have something to share with the world. Most are in the health + wellness or creative world, and all are on the path to following [or realizing!] their dreams. It's pretty amazing and inspiring to witness. 

But anywho, I'm getting off subject, because what I'm really here to share today are three recent client projects that I was lucky enough to get to create for three fabulous small biz owners...

Above: Sumptuous Events & Catering is a local catering company run by one of my students and her husband. They've been around for many years (as has their website and old logo), so they decided that this year would be the year for a facelift: we started with their logo and plan on tackling the website by the end of the summer. After quite a few iterations and concepts, we decided on the logo above for their new branding. Stay tuned for their website redesign ;) 

Below: Local Reiki practitioner and Certified Nutrution + Wellness coach Carey Anderson came to me wanting a new logo and website for her practice, Whole Evolution. We worked together to develop a new look for her brand (her old site had been lost to the internet abyss) including a logo and of course, website. 

​Her logo is below and you can click on the screenshot of her homepage to visit her website. 

Below: You may remember Jen Villa, as I've featured her here on the blog before, but just in case you need a refresher, she's a local "serial entrepreneur" who has founded/co-founded 4 local businesses (I know!). Because she has so many businesses and is also an artist in her own right, we decided that she needed a place on the internet to connect the dots and pull all of her endeavors together under one umbrella. Thus, her brand and logo was born! We decided to keep her logo and website fairly simply and clean in order to let all of her businesses, accomplishments, and gorgeous photographs do the talking.

Her logo is below and you can click on the screenshot of her homepage to visit her website. ​

Lastly, while they're not logo design projects per se, here are two more client websites that Sara and I recently finished (click on the image to visit the website + take a look around):

And with that, I've got to get back to designing! Thanks to all of my amazing clients for thinking of me for your branding projects. I love this stuff *so* much. 

You can learn more about my logo + website design services here.

​{And a HUGE thanks to my right-hand-woman, Sara, for helping me with all of this design work!}

Here's one of the many reasons that I love the internet + blogging/social media world: over two years ago at Love Yoga Fest, I had a booth where I sold my art. During the festival, a wonderfully kind and complimentary yogi (who I would later learn was Tracy Affonso) purchased some art from my booth. 

A few weeks later, she reached out via Facebook (or Etsy? I can't remember...) and purchased another one of my prints as a gift for a friend. Again, she was lovely to connect with and I was so happy we were now friends online! I saw her again at Love Yoga Fest 2015, where she attended my workshop, and since then, we've connected every once in a while via social media and/or when she's popped into one of my classes while visiting the Cape.

Fast forward to earlier this year, and Tracy is now a yoga teacher making her first website and getting ready to take her teaching to the next level. I am thrilled for her, so when she reached asking if I would design the logo for her new business, I was ecstatic! There's just something about getting your own custom logo that makes things feel official, you know? 

So anyways, Tracy was (obviously) fabulous to work with and we had so much fun coming up with her final logo, which is above. 

Here's the process of creating said logo...

Step 1: Design Inspiration + Initial Sketches
To start, Tracy and I had a quick phone chat. We discussed the colors, images, shapes, and emblems she's drawn to, the vibe she wanted her logo to convey, and her favorite font styles. She sent over some inspiration images and in a final email, mentioned that after thinking more about it, she wanted to go with an elephant image in her logo. Thus, I presented her with the 6 initial sketches below--all very different kinds of elephants, as you can see!

Step 2: Narrowing it Down + Sketch Revision 
From the above sketches, Tracy liked the first and second sketches the best, but wanted to see some small changes to each as she decided which one she liked the most. I made those tweaks (to the eyes and placement of the text on the first design + the placement of the text on the second design) and after some deliberation, she chose the first sketch on the second row (below) as her final composition. 

Step 3: Final Pencil Draft Approval
Once she had selected her favorite sketch, I created a larger, more detailed pencil draft of her logo. I sent this over for her approval and gave her a chance to make any final tweaks before I added color.

Step 4: Color Scheme Selection
Before I could add color, we had to choose a color scheme. In our initial phone call she told me that she liked purples, blues, and greys, so I sent her some color palette inspiration (from Design-Seeds.com) and asked her if any jumped out at her. She chose palette #4 as her favorite, so I created a similar palette in watercolor and sent it over for her approval. 

Step 5: Final Logo Approval!
The next step was to paint her logo in watercolor. That just took time, but I had so much fun painting all of the little decorative details on the elephant. Once I was finished, I sent it over to Tracy and she had no changes--the logo was complete!

Step 6: Style Guide Creation + Logo Files Delivery
To close out the project, I sent Tracy a style guide (which you can see below) so that she could design her website more easily. I also provided her with secondary versions of her logo--which separated out the text and the elephant--in case she wanted to use them separately for social media. 

And there you have it! Another fun logo project in the bag ;)  

Thanks again for connecting, Tracy! It was an honor to create this special logo for you. 

Learn more about my logo design process here. 

Here we go again! Another "Breaking Down the ___ Design Process" post, and this week, I'm sharing a recent watercolor blog header that I created for a wonderful blogger/mom based in New Hampshire, Organic Runner Mom (aka Sandra).

Sandra emailed me saying that she wanted her digitally-produced header recreated in watercolor in order to give her site a facelift and more of a homegrown vibe (she lives on a farm), and obviously, I was in (helloooo, right up my alley!). So we got to work right away!

​Here's how the process went down...

Step 1: Design Inspiration
As I mentioned above, the inspiration for this header was easy because Sandra already had a header that she liked and wanted to use as a jumping-off point for the design. We scheduled a quick call to talk through her ideas and preferences (how she wanted to change the current composition--including making it much taller and more eye-catching) and once we got off of the phone I felt very clear on what she wanted. You can see her old header below: 

Step 2: Watercolor Sketches
After talking through the logo, I whipped up two example compositional sketches for Sandra so that we could get clearer on color and placement of big design elements like the barn, the figures, the chickens, etc. She liked the composition on the right (below), but wanted a more plain/basic font like the one on the left. She also asked for bright, "spring" greens for the grass, so that it would really jump off the screen.

Step 3: Final Composition Sketch
Using the feedback that Sandra gave me from the sketches above, I pulled together a final compositional sketch for her approval. We started with the one on the left (below), and from there she asked for the text to be bigger and somehow stand out more. I came up with the idea to put some clouds behind the text to make it pop, and pulled together a quick mock-up of how that would look for her (image on the right). She was happy with the composition, but still wasn't in love with the "font"...

Step 4: Handwritten "Font" Selection
...So, I rendered the text in a few other styles and sent them over. Sandra liked the first one pictured below, so that's what we decided to go with for the final header. I was ready to create it!

Step 5: Final Header Delivery 
Obviously, steps #1-4 are just the preamble and prep for the final product, which I was able to easily create using all of Sandra's feedback. You can view the final version of the header that I sent her below...

And there you go! Another client project in the bag ;)

You check out Organic Runner Mom's blog here and can view more of my past blog headers and logos here. 

Have a great Wednesday!

As you may have heard me mention on the podcast or reference here on the blog recently, the art + design side of my business has been the fastest-growing/fastest-changing aspect of the Starr Struck world in the past year or so.

Last fall I hired my first "employee," my friend Sara Meeks, to help with this part of my workload, and as usual, when you make more space for something, it starts to flourish even more (hooray!).

For quite a while now, I've been wanting to add a design element to my art + design site--in the past it was just a site that shared my painting portfolio and hinted at my logo design--but now, thanks to Sara's help, it correctly represents all of the various design work that Sara and I offer to our clients; I think you'll be surprised to learn about all of the things that we've been doing that haven't shown up here on the blog (until now)!

So, today I wanted to share some of our recent client design work with you, in order to give you an inside look at what takes up my time when I'm not teaching, yoga-ing, blogging, painting, podcasting, or working on our house...

{You can learn lots more about each of these services and see more past client work on the new + improved Design Homepage of my art + design website.}

​HANDOUT + FLIER DESIGN {Click on an image below to enlarge and view}

WEBSITE DESIGN {We use Squarespace to create sites that our clients can manage on their own after we create the initial site; this gives small business owners and solopreneurs total control and ownership over their website, which I think is very important. Click on an image below to be taken to the client's website.}

...And that's just a sampling, but I hope it shows you that we've got lots of different things going on. It's *SO* much fun! Here's a summary of the design services that we currently provide: 

Visit the new and improved Starr Struck Art + Design Studio website to view all of my visual branding and custom art offerings and services. 

Thanks to all of our amazing clients who keep referring us and sending along new biz...you guys are the best!

It's been a while since I shared any of the logos that I've been working on, so over the next month or so, I'm going to once again share a couple of my recent logo projects and break down the design + creation process of those logos. 

First up: the What Diet Next? logo that I created for Laurie and her new blog of the same title. Laurie is on a journey to lose 100 pounds in 2016, so is trying a different diet every month for the entire year--and documenting the process, of course. It's a great blog and I'm excited to follow-along with her over the course of the next 10.5 months. 

Anyways, when Laurie came to me with her request and told me what she was looking for, I knew we were a perfect fit. Here's the process that led to the creation of her final logo (above)...

Step 1: Design Inspiration
As always, to start the process I had Laurie send me some inspirational images for her logo. She sent me the below color schemes and pictures, along with notes, links, fonts, and thoughts about what she was imagining. We had a quick phone call to discuss her ideas, and together decided that we would work with the first color scheme you see below. 

Step 2: Initial Sketches
After we chatted, I pulled together 5 quick compositional sketches for Laurie, using the different fonts she had identified that she liked--and I stuck in one hand-written font, just for fun. Of course, Laurie was drawn to the hand-written font (most people are!), so we ended up going with font #3 and a combination of the two figures from #1 and #4. 

Step 3: Composition Selection
Once I received Laurie's feedback from the above sketches, I started to pull together a final version of the composition. We tried a version with the first letter of each word capitalized, just so that Laurie could see what it looked like (she liked lowercase better), and then played with the figure until her shape and placement was just right (the last picture is what we decided to go with).

Step 4: Lets Add Color!
Once we'd decided on the final composition, it was time to add color! The first image below is the basic design, but I felt it needed another pop of color somewhere, so played with adding an arrow, a measuring tape underline, and a border. Laurie liked the measuring tape concept (as did I!), so we decided to add that element to the final design. 

Step 5: Finalizing the Figure
Before we could call the logo finished, we needed to amp up our little "Laurie" figure in the logo. Laurie gave me some great feedback about the positioning of her body, so I changed her upper body quite a bit, amped up her facial features and hair, and gave her a few accessories for good measure...finally, we had our final lady! Isn't she pretty? ;) 

Step 6: Final Logo Approval
Before I could call the logo finished, I put all of the elements together, cleaned it up, and sent Laurie a final version for approval. She was thrilled, so I was thrilled! Here's our final version: 

Step 6: Final Logo + Style Guide Delivery
To closeout the project I sent Laurie all of her logo files--including square versions for social media--and her color scheme. I also sent over some font recommendations for her site. 

Oh, and as a clever part of her blog, Laurie has a rating scale for each diet that she tries. So, she had me design fun little icons for each of her rating categories (in her color scheme, of course). Here are those final elements: 

So there you go! Another logo in the bag. Learn more about Laurie + What Diet Next? by hopping on over to her site or by following her on Facebook or Instagram. 

{Thanks again for hiring me to do this for you, Laurie! It was a blast.}

Want to learn more about my logo design process? Reach out and I'll send over a PDF with all of the details. You can also view some of my past logo design projects here. 

Today = the third and final post in my 3-week miniseries all about my logo design process.

This logo was created for Kinari, a fabulous Phoenix-based "life + career stylist" (love this job title!) who has recently launched her coaching business after making a huge career change from lawyer in DC to personal development coach in Arizona. Hooray for her, right!?

Here's how we got to her final logo for her new business Life Studio Space...

Step 1: Design Inspiration
To begin the process, Kinari and I spoke on the phone about what she was looking for in her logo. She described her desire to convey creativity, art, and a girly-yet-sophisticated vibe, and listed the colors she wanted me to include. As always, I had her create a Pinterest board to confirm what she told me on the phone. 

Step 2: Initial Design Sketches
From our conversation and the images Kinari pinned on her board, I came up with the following 4 sketches. I tried to explore each of the various ideas she mentioned in our call so that she'd have a couple of directions to choose from. 

Step 3 and 4: Final Design Sketch + First Draft of Watercolor Logo
Obviously, Kinari chose the fourth sketch from the above, so I got to work creating a final sketch in pencil. I sent this sketch to Kinari for her stamp of approval, and once I got it, rendered it in color!

Step 5: Final Watercolor Version of Full Logo
After receiving the above watercolor draft of the logo, Kinari had two changes: she wanted me to change the flowers so that they looked more like peonies and she wanted me to add a light purple ribbon around the jar of paintbrushes. I made both of these changes and voila, we have our final below (I LOVE how the change to peonies turned out and decided to brighten them up and add an extra blossom to liven-up the color scheme. It made a big difference, didn't it?).

Step 6: Secondary Logo + Design Element Creation
Because her full logo is so detailed and intricate, Kinari wanted a few other versions of her logo to use on her website, on social media, etc. We decided to create one text-only version, one window-only version (with no text), and as a design element, a standalone version of the jar of paintbrushes. 

And there you go! Another logo project done and done. One of my *very* favorite parts of my job these days;)

You can learn more about Kinari and/or book a session with her on her website. I know her personally and I must say, she is amazing and I'm sure she's an incredible coach. 

Interested in commissioning your own logo? Contact me to discuss {you can also learn more here}. ​​

Last week, I shared the first post in a 3-week mini-series all about my logo design process. Today, I have another one for you, and although the process was similar, I think you'll find it interesting because the design came about a little more organically as my client and I worked through a bunch of options together. 

I was commissioned to create this logo by Sara, a local marketing + communications professional who recently quit her full-time job in order to create a company called Red Lion Media and work for herself.

When we first talked, Sara knew she wanted a red lion in her logo (obviously) and had some color and style preferences, but was very open to whatever I came up with.

​Here's how the collaboration process went...

Step 1: Design Inspiration
As always, I had Sara create a Pinterest board before I started working on her logo. She pinned color schemes, lion images that she liked, fonts she was drawn to, and more...

Step 2: Initial Design Sketches
Once I had her inspiration board, I used the images that Sara pinned and the information that she shared in our conversation to come up with some initial sketch ideas. Keep in mind that these sketches are very ROUGH and I wouldn't normally share them with anyone but my client, but I'm making an exception for you today in order to show you the entire process ;) 

Step 3: Composition Selection
Sara was most drawn to the 1st and 4th sketches above (the ones of the outline of the lion's profile), so I took those two designs and started adding color, tweaking the composition, and playing with font ideas. I then presented her with another round of options, so we could start to narrow down the composition before adding more color and flourishes. 

Step 4: Color Options
Sara chose the 3rd composition option from above, so I took that version and ran with it! I started adding the fiery yellows and oranges that she initially identified as colors she wanted in her color scheme, and it started coming together. I then shared the two following versions with Sara to see which she preferred...I knew I wasn't done yet, but that we were getting close!

Step 5: Final Logo Approval
Sara liked the first one above (the one with the yellow booty!), so I added some final flourishes to that version in order to bring more teal into the design and switched out the colors of the text below the lion. I then sent the logo to Sara, she was 100% happy, and we were done! Hooray!

Step 7. Style Guide + Logo Delivery
​To close out the project, I delivered all of the final logo docs to Sara (both "Primary" logo and "Secondary" logos), along with her final color scheme + color codes.

And there you have it! Another watercolor logo completed + another biz lady out there making things happen on her own (congrats, Sara!). Sara's site is currently under construction, but I'll be sure to share it on social media once it's up. 

Interested in commissioning your own logo? Contact me to discuss {you can also learn more here}. ​