8 Million Flower Petals

By Kris Travis | Apr 7, 2014

Good advertising can be beautiful. Just take a look at Sony’s new ad by the McCann agency, photographer Nick Meek, and a British special effects team–it’s a dreamy explosion of color in a Costa Rican village, and it’s captivating. According to creative blog DeMilked, “The creative crew and the inhabitants of the entire village took […]

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Happy Spring!

By Kris Travis | Mar 21, 2014

Spring is here, and it’s a sunny Friday to boot! In honor of all the blooming things, here is some beautiful spring-themed design inspiration. Enjoy your weekend!

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I'm not bossy. I'm the boss.

By Kelda Rericha | Mar 10, 2014

Yet again, Beyonce is awesome. And so is Condoleezza Rice, Jennifer Garner and a handful of other female and male celebrities contributing to the Ban Bossy campaign, a partnership between the Lean In and Girl Scouts organizations, which launched today. As the mother of two boys (soon to be three) I’ve always felt very comfortable […]

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Happy Birthday, George Washington

By Kris Travis | Feb 17, 2014

Happy Presidents’ Day! Or rather, Happy Washington’s Birthday (since that’s really what today’s date commemorates). Because it appears on many calendars as “Presidents’ Day,” I’ll go with it. Here’s a fun peek at how the nation is celebrating. Presidential branding Take a look at this fun personal project by Meg Jannott is a collection of […]

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Spreading the Love

By Ann Smith | Feb 14, 2014

Given today is Valentine’s Day, I think it is only appropriate this post be love-filled. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I enjoy clever, witty and smart web tools. Today I bring you a Valentine’s Day Google doodle featuring candy hearts. Six candy hearts are arranged where the logo used to be. There’s “Crush,” “Mr. […]

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Seahawks Soar to Victory

By Kris Travis | Feb 3, 2014

The Seahawks swooped in for a historic win last night. I could talk about the game, or the ads, or the massive hangover all of Seattle likely has this morning, but there will be plenty of that in the coming days. So, how about a little art and design in honor of the victors… (First, […]

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Not what — WHY.

By Kris Travis | Jan 15, 2014

While it’s not especially new, I was just recently introduced to the concept of the Golden Circle,  a philosophy around marketing that recognizes a brand’s purpose, cause, belief, its WHY first, and then moves outward toward selling its WHAT. Many companies will frame their marketing around 1) what they do, 2) how they do it, […]

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Five Good Design Habits to Practice in 2014

By Kris Travis | Dec 4, 2013

Whoa, December already?! On top of all the holiday craziness, December is an important month for businesses to do a bit of planning and goal-setting for the new year. (If New Year’s resolutions are the last thing your business is thinking about right now, bookmark this post to review once you’ve recovered from the holiday […]

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Giving Tuesday 2013

By Kris Travis | Nov 5, 2013

Halloween is barely behind us, and already the Christmas ads and holiday displays are popping up everywhere. While few of us are feeling truly ready for the holidays, it’s a consideration that is already top of mind for businesses; there are client appreciation gifts to pull together, holiday cards to design and print, and employee […]

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Beyond the piechart: Infographics’ rising popularity

By Kris Travis | Oct 21, 2013

They’re everywhere lately: infographics. There are beautiful examples, and there are terrible examples. But I must say, I love a good infographic. As a designer with a passion for reading and learning, these graphics are the perfect blend of content and design, hard facts and artful interpretation. And when done well, these graphics become a […]

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The Future of Retail . . .

By Ann Smith | Oct 10, 2013

Last night I attended a Portland Design Week panel discussion on the future of retail. It wasn’t quite what I expected, as the discussion skewed more towards what retailers could do to increase value for their consumers through services and technology, rather than the more design-oriented aspect of the retail experience (space, visuals, product display, […]

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When It's Not All About Me Anymore

By Ann Smith | Aug 6, 2013

A new logo for A.wordsmith When I first started A.wordsmith in early 2009, it was more of an experiment than anything else. I had just fallen victim to the economy and was part of a large round of layoffs. I was also very pregnant and not very marketable when it came to a new job. […]

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