Back in May of 2012, Two of my nearest and dearest took the plunge into wedded adventure. I’ve posted about the Save the Dates and Initial Website. And now I’ve got the full web images as well as the letter-pressed invites to show. As wedding season ramps up again (I thought it was over!!!!) I still look back on these invites as my favorites.
The invites were printed by Norman’s Printery using their calendar concept; A flat card that “pops up” into a calendar that can sit on your desk. The couple wanted to create something memorable, that could be displayed about the home, to remind would-be-guests about the upcoming event without it being reduced to a flier sitting beneath a few coupons for bed, bath & beyond magneted on someones fridge. The illustrator I was planning to work with, MLE, had mentioned these calendars to me in an early conversation, and after the web portion of the project was complete – these cards floated back to the surface of my memory, and presented the best solution to accomplish all agendas.
I should point out that the above Salt Shaker was hand crafted by the Bride's father, and the pin to it's right was worn by the whole wedding party along with sprigs of lavender and other flora.
I’ve worked with a different letterpress establishment in the past and was horribly disappointed with the quality of the work. So I was beyond overjoyed when I received the final product from Brian. It was quite obvious to me that these guys take a lot of time and perfected care in their service.
These days, being a print designer takes a lot of knowledge of a practice that is becoming more marginalized as time goes on. Everything is either cheaper and easier for “anyone to do” or it’s more specialized and takes more industry knowledge. Sadly, my early education wasn’t the greatest and was stuck in a instruction style that had worked for the previous 20 years – but was quickly being outpaced by web. I was taught in an environment that’s core curriculum was based on print, with web existing as more of a curiosity on the side than a real design practice. And this was 2004! So needless to say, the silver lining on my somewhat dated education was that I developed a love for print. And as a result, have worked in the medium quite religiously (pun intended, see previous employer). Now, as my interest is peaked more by the intersection of user experience and web design (and how it’s principles relate to product development) I find these occasional moments where I can dive deeply into my love of paper and process a true gift. And what makes that gift less a moment, and more of a prolonged “win” is when I find a partner in the industry that is as curious and precise about the outcome as I am. I’ve drunk the kool-aid, and will be a Norman’s Printery client as often as I can. The work is beautiful.
The rest of the invite was printed elsewhere. We needed to include a map and RSVP information, which we did on a separate card. The envelopes were hand stamped and addressed. Everything was tied together with baker’s twine, as it IS the thing to do. And the bride included a sprig of lavender in each parcel.
The invite served as an alluring peek into a future day that would end, quite triumphantly – in one of the best weddings I’ve ever been to.
As an extra side project, MLE and I worked on a sub site for the couple that chronicled their engagement and then worked backwards to tell their story and ultimately ended in a “why are we getting married?” sort of manifesto. The bride asked me, somewhat at the last minute, if I could help with a program. What started as a simple layout project, quickly turned in to a extended print version (somewhat) of this sub site. MLE had crafted all of the illustrations used on the site, so it was easy to pull from those and use them again for this project. The bride proclaimed that this might be her “favorite piece we’d done yet!”
These days, being a print designer takes a lot of knowledge of a practice that is becoming more marginalized as time goes on. Everything is either cheaper and easier for “anyone to do” or it’s more specialized and takes more industry knowledge. Sadly, my early education wasn’t the greatest and was stuck in a instruction style that had worked for the previous 20 years – but was quickly being outpaced by web. I was taught in an environment that’s core curriculum was based on print, with web existing as more of a curiosity on the side than a real design practice. And this was 2004! So needless to say, the silver lining on my somewhat dated education was that I developed a love for print. And as a result, have worked in the medium quite religiously (pun intended, see previous employer). Now, as my interest is peaked more by the intersection of user experience and web design (and how it’s principles relate to product development) I find these occasional moments where I can dive deeply into my love of paper and process a true gift. And what makes that gift less a moment, and more of a prolonged “win” is when I find a partner in the industry that is as curious and precise about the outcome as I am. I’ve drunk the kool-aid, and will be a Norman’s Printery client as often as I can. The work is beautiful.
The rest of the invite was printed elsewhere. We needed to include a map and RSVP information, which we did on a separate card. The envelopes were hand stamped and addressed. Everything was tied together with baker’s twine, as it IS the thing to do. And the bride included a sprig of lavender in each parcel.
The invite served as an alluring peek into a future day that would end, quite triumphantly – in one of the best weddings I’ve ever been to.
As an extra side project, MLE and I worked on a sub site for the couple that chronicled their engagement and then worked backwards to tell their story and ultimately ended in a “why are we getting married?” sort of manifesto. The bride asked me, somewhat at the last minute, if I could help with a program. What started as a simple layout project, quickly turned in to a extended print version (somewhat) of this sub site. MLE had crafted all of the illustrations used on the site, so it was easy to pull from those and use them again for this project. The bride proclaimed that this might be her “favorite piece we’d done yet!”
I’ve included a couple images of the sub site. You can visit the site by navigating to HowenMcBride.com and scrolling over the bulls-eye style graphic on the lower half. That’s where you will find The Chase. (Or you can go straight to howenmcbride.com/thechase)
All Illustration penned by MLE
Programming and backend by Crow Norlander
Design & Art Direction Jess Kemp
Programming and backend by Crow Norlander
Design & Art Direction Jess Kemp
