May 06, 2011

business card design: cakes by kirsten

what i did ♥
removed the cake photograph original background, created concepts using a variety of fonts and quirky but cute touches, discussed with Kirsten how different things can work well for her business and business card depending on the way she wanted to portray Cakes by Kirsten.



what Kirsten said ♥
"When I first conceived the idea of my cake business, I knew Abby would be the first source of advertising for the company. She has such a flair for feminine designs, and that was exactly what I was looking for when it came designing my business card (and to be done later – my website!). There are so many companies out there that are happy to offer you complete designs for business cards – which is exactly what I didn’t want. I had seen the same business card used for maybe three other cake companies so I had to stand out from the crowd. Everything had to be original. Abby knows me inside out, and with only a few pointers given to her, she knew exactly how to portray the business – even with such a small space to work with. I had given her a picture to use in the design, and she emphasised the colours used in the picture by implementing them in the text and border. Abby really captured everything I wanted out of the business cards – and so much more than I had expected! Her extremely affordable prices also meant that I wasn’t left out of pocket once I printed them, too. She’s an absolute star to work with, and I wouldn’t hesitate about asking her to help me expand the company’s advertising. Thank you so so soooooo much!!"

You can visit Kirstens cake blog here

May 05, 2011

blog design: musings of a makeup maniac

what i did ♥
created numerous header concepts using a variety of backgrounds and text suiting Julie's original specifications, made sidebar column completely transparent, using original logos I created numerous youtube and twitter button concepts to work with the final header image, chose a simple but unique coral colour theme and implicated through out the links, background and page menu, centered page menu, removed 'powered by blogger'  transferred full blog design to Musings of a Makeup Maniac admin and ensured full ease of use for Julie.


 
click image to enlarge

what julie said ♥
"Over the past few months, I'd really disliked the layout of my blog; I found it boring, plain and slightly messy. When I looked at other blogs, they were wider, colourful and looked a lot more professional than mine. When I found out abbzzw, whose blog layout I adored, was offering to transform blogs, I literally jumped at the chance. Not only was she prompt at answering any emails I sent, but she explained in basic terms how it could be changed and gave lovely ideas. For someone like me who has such limited experience in html and design, she was a godsend. Her ideas were unique and she listened to everything I wanted, while still being able to creatively put together ideas for me. Not only was she extremely professional in the way she carried out m blog change, but she gave me plenty of ideas of what would work for me. I love the result, she listened to the fact that I wanted a pale/pastel background that didn't detract from the content and created a banner that I love. I would really recommend her to anyone who wants a change and who has little experience in design, Abby manages to help you find what it is you want without you even realising it!"

May 01, 2011

big cartel design, html and css: belle vintage

what i did ♥
Widened the product images area, enlarged the images, created equal gaps between products, removed all traces of a sidebar, Moved the categories to a horizontal menu beneath the header, created a colour block menu above the header, changed font throughout the site, moved and customised the view cart and checkout feature, moved and customised search box, created a footer link menu, ensured everything was working throughout Belle Vintage by thoroughly testing categories, individual pages, product pages, the cart, checkout and administration for Ella.

 
After

Before

what Ella said ♥
"Although I was content with the web design of my vintage online shop, I felt that there was certainly room for improvement and knew it would be an investment for my shop. Everyone has an image in their mind of exactly how they'd like their blog or website to be. I knew that in order for my website to be just as I wanted it to be I'd need some help. I knew Abby had completed some brilliant blog design work in the past but was unsure whether she would be able to help with my website as it required something different from blog design. When I contacted Abby she was seemed really positive and enthusiastic about helping me out. I sent her bits and pieces of other websites to show the features I wanted on my website and guided her with some lose descriptions. I was dead impressed that Abby managed to get the website looking exactly how I wanted it to be through just a few emails and pictures. I have already have lots of positive feedback about the new design and am in little doubt that Abby's wonderful design will help to improve the future of my shop."