just a note

I noticed the amount of my blog views now starts with a 20. How nice, so thank you!

graphics for astubutiikkiin.fi

Here we have some new images for the upcoming portal. The following illustrations and infographics are meant for marketing.

In the images on the left the principles are visualized from the company's / manufacturer's point of view, and in the images on the right side from the customer's / consumer's point of view.

Click for a closer look.

It's nice to see the positive changes now that people's attention has increased towards the concept of the portal. The astubutiikkiin.fi Facebook page is also leisurely getting more and more likes. That feels good.

For my international readers there's a lot to guess in these pictures - Finnish language is rather hard to understand. :D

I hope you like these as much as the customer does. All in all, I am really grateful to be a part of this. Thank you / kiitos, Mari.

The images have also been posted to the Astu Butiikkiin -blog:

http://astubutiikkiin.blogspot.fi/

textile printing by hand

At school we have had a course in textile printing as I told you before, with the traditional screen printing method. Very briefly summarized: you create your own design and you make a film of it, after which you make the screen for flat printing (with several steps). Then you mix the right color and then you print.

Might sound like a swing of a magic wand. It really isn't. :D

The task was to design a pattern for a raincoat. More accurately it is a poncho, that can be worn when cycling and moving around the city. There will be a small exhibition of our textile print works later this spring.

My idea in this design was to mix elements of bicycle itself with the elements of water. So I studied bicycle's anatomy and did some research of all kinds of stuff that can be found from the bottom of the ocean - such as sea anemones, corals, alga and nudibranchs.

Strange words, I'm giving you respect to the fullest, dear Google translate.

These are an example of inspiration pics when I did the design. :)

(picture source: National Geography)

goliath beetle

I dug out some pictures from my laptop... Earlier this year I remember having a mood for painting. One day I got really fascinated by this huge book for children, called Animals of the World. It is made during the 80's and it's beautifully illustrated by Check illustrators.

This kind of beetle is considered to be the world's biggest, by the way. My version of the beetle is somewhat similar to the original, but not entirely the same (e.g. proportions). Painting this goliath beetle made me think back to my childhood, when I used to learn how to draw, just by looking at pictures in books, comics, magazines, children's TV series and movies. Good old times.

Astu Butiikkiin!

Here are the first results of the corporate identity design that I have been doing for Astu Butiikkiin! -web portal.

The portal is not only a showroom for small business companies that sell unique native design products (interior / clothing / accessories), but also a place where the customer can easily browse through and compare different products - all at one place. The actual transaction is completed in the manufacturer's own online shop. The portal is meant to open at fall 2013.

At this point we have made decisions for the logo, blog header and Facebook cover picture. Here they are!

Up here: logo and blog header

The idea for my design took shape of good old foundation stones on what buildings used to be built on - a hint of traditional craftsmanship. The highlight color is chosen to be fresh green, since the business idea is new. Also the customer can make great discoveries among the multiplicity of all products. There is a feeling of pixelation and operating online, too.

Down here: Facebook cover picture in action

Ja tällä kertaa myös tiivistelmä suomeksi. :)

Olen työstänyt yritysilmettä Astu Butiikkiin! -verkkoportaalille. Portaalin on tarkoitus avata ovensa syksyllä 2013. Ideana on, että kotimaiset pienyritykset saavat tuotteitaan näkyville, ja Suomessa valmistettuja design-tuotteita etsivät asiakkaat voivat löytää ja vertailla tuotteita kootusti yhdellä sivustolla. Itse ostotapahtuma hoituu valmistajan verkkokaupassa.

Olemme nyt tehneet päätöksen logosta sekä blogin ja Facebookin kansikuvista. Ulkoasu logolle ja graafisille elementeille sai kimmokkeen perinteisestä kivijalkamyymäläideasta - traditiota ja ammattitaitoa. Portaalista löytyy myös tiedot lähimpien kivijalkamyymälöiden sijainnista.

Korostusväriksi valittiin raikas vihreä, sillä liikeidea on uusi. Lisäksi tuotteiden joukosta voi asiakas tehdä uusia ihania löytöjä. Fiiliksessä on mukana myös pikselimäistä rakeisuutta, sillä kyseessä on verkkoportaali ja koko homma tapahtuu netissä.

Tällaisissa ajatuksissa jatkamme eteenpäin. :)

creativity is required

Right now I'm being busy with an interesting project called "Astu Butiikkiin!". I'm in the middle of a logo design process and there's a Facebook cover pic + blog header yet to come - as well as business card layout and some infographics for marketing. Stay tuned. ;)

I'm actually very much loving these hectic days!

yes

© Amanda Halonen

Yes. Yesterday. Hopefully the final time I took the admission assignments to Aalto University / Taik - applying to graphic design bachelor's programme. I'm happy to be studying textile design right now, but the previous success in the entrance exam still gives me courage.

So let's try it.