We upgraded to the new operating system...Charlotte OSX.

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/Tb3RkuuCYW/

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/TEtj0duCfo/

New ornament in honor of Farris

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/Sy_bTcOCYK/

Cut paper, crayons, and granola bar...Mixed Media Monday!

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/R8wk0EOCVi/

Around here we don't believe in the evolutionary increase in order over billions of years, having proof that a human girl can do this kind of damage in under 20 minutes.

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/R8CclGOCZh/

After you buckle your seatbelt and turn your radio dial to the less distracting classical station, always ask yourself...

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/RVs9T8uCRY/

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/QucraMuCcj/

Happiest birthday to my highschool sweetheart! It looks like you've for another great year in store!

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/QiT5KauCex/

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/PzRADbuCYP/

We found three princesses in Don and Mindi's living room tonight.

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/PVnRyoOCR4/

Charlotte's first day of school.

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/PJ9M9quCeu/

Fairy/elf hat fitting

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/O9ixllOCQP/

Fun with Goop

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/OKXRMUOCbU/

New Work: Veranda on Highland

It was such a privilege to get to redesign the logo for one of Birmingham's best and most popular restaurants, Veranda on Highland. Veranda welcomed Chef Jeffrey Hansell in the spring and has been focusing on what it does best--"southern + seasonal" cuisine--while its image and interior have been updated to be fresher and less formal. The intent for the logo was to represent these changes, creating a fresher impression while maintaining a strong sense of history, elegance, and southern culture.

It was important to the client to include an image of the building because of the history that it has. So we decided on a pared-down drawing of the restaurant within a hand-drawn circle that referenced the shape of a plate or platter. I chose the "Veranda" typeface because of its elegance and organic quality--love those swashes on the "V" and "A"--and because it's not as stoic as other didot typefaces. We looked at several colors for the logo, including a yellow-gold and a darker slate blue, but in the end the client chose this grey because of its warmth and vintage sensibility.

Now all I have to do is make a reservation at the restaurant!

See more of my design work at sarahrobinsdesign.com

Pale grey letterpressed calligraphy invitation suite for Hallie's shabby chic wedding

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/N6fwIxOCZ8/

Pizza and Olympics with friends (and brother!) make for a great Wednesday!

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/Nzn7d5OCUr/

Charlotte and Luke share some chocolate milk

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/Nett0POCU1/

Cute wallpaper behind old backsplash prepares to meet her new mate: white subway tile!

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/NKKsBROCUq/

Time to party! Shower invitation inspired by vintage travel posters

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/MYjOE_OCdM/

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/MYjCEXOCdE/

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/MHfjz-OCVN/

Char got a boyfriend at the summit

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/LJgaknOCb_/

Summer! Char likes to water the flowers.

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/LJS6OSuCS4/

Calligraphy wedding present sneak peek

via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/KswhzYuCeo/

Around the house shower invitation

Calligraphy garden gate tags

...for the lovebirds, Ginny and James

It's a(nother) girl!

I haven't written in so long, I'm not even sure if any of you pasties know we are expecting another baby! We're so excited. We all thought this one was surely a boy, but nope--baby girl proved us all wrong. So thrilled for Charlotte to have a sister!

Thanks to Laura Rowe for the beautiful photography, and Laura Burton for the beautiful cake!

Now post your baby name ideas!

New Work: aTeam Ministries' Heart2HeART Gala

The past five or six months I've had the privilege to work with aTeam Ministries, a local organization committed to supporting pediatric cancer patients and their families. aTeam offers seven programs that serve the emotional, financial, and spiritual needs of these families, and they've grown exponentially since 2009 when the organization was founded, in part to their primary annual fundraiser, the Heart2HeART Gala. It's been such a pleasure to work with the people there, not to mention the fact that they all went to Auburn, so I feel like I've known them for years!

The concept of Heart2HeART was actually developed by Jonna Chizik, wife of Coach Gene Chizik. Each year aTeam pairs eight to ten pediatric cancer patients with eight to ten professional artists. Each pair has an art workshop and produces two pieces of art: the child's piece is done in the style of the artist, and the artist's piece is inspired by the child. All the art, along with other donated items and packages, etc, are auctioned off at the Heart2HeART Gala. 

Save the Date postcards

This year I was able to work with aTeam to design the look of the event campaign. My client wanted to do something vibrant and lively that felt current and could be versatile for application in the coming years, as well. I knew I wanted to hinge the look on the idea of collaboration found in concept of Heart2HeART, so I used interlocking shapes and two typefaces with a lot of personality to represent the idea of each voice in the artist/child pairing. I also liked the reference to boxes/squares of art hanging on a wall. The shapes lent themselves well to featuring snippets of the artwork and were very adaptable to different layout ideas.

Invitation (front and back), A7 Envelope, reply card and envelope

All total for the campaign we produced a save the date, an invitation set, a reminder postcard, a 36-page program with donation card, art posters, art display signage, nametags, and various other signage for the venue. It was quite an undertaking, and I had the pleasure to work with very talented people to pull everything together. Thanks to Jenny Riddle for the copywriting, Jason Wallis for the headshots and art photos, Heather Durham for the family photo, and Communication Arts for the printing!

The program was the most fun. I love the rhythm of multi-page design and this project was so gratifying anyway because of the fun creative direction and the purpose of aTeam and the event. We had the program wear many hats, including that of bidder (the bid numbers were printed on the back), informant (lots of info on aTeam programs and backstory) and philanthropist (donation cards were tipped into the inside back cover). All the artists and art were featured and described here as well, with bios of the artists and kids.

As I mentioned earlier, there was various signage for the venue. Here are a few shots from the event. 

Congratulations to aTeam for such a great turnout at Heart2HeART!

If you'd like to see more of my design work, fly on over to sarahrobinsdesign.com!