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

Play Poll: Pick Your Party Kitchen

Let's talk a little about kitchen aesthetics. Some people prefer white country kitchens with painted floors, some like clean, open floorplans and vaulted ceilings, other people love natural cabinets and dark granite countertops and industrial barstools. 

Well, Charlotte told me she likes white and she likes pink. She loves a good clean, Swedish country look, but she is a little girl who likes people to know she's a girl, too! So she's pretty torn about which look to go for in her new kitchen. She'll be unveiling the new look on Christmas Day, but before then, she needs your imput! Which kitchen design should she choose?

KidKraft White Prairie Kitchen

KidKraft Home Cookin' Kitchen

While we're featuring great new kitchen looks, let's not forget about appliances. Here are a few sleek new products that would look great in any kitchen. 

Don't forget about cute linens. Don this checked apron and you'll be whipping up a batch of cookies in no time flat!

I'd like to leave you with this image of such a breathtaking wedding cake. Maybe once Charlotte gets her dream kitchen, she'll have more time to devote to creating beauties like this! Don't forget to cast your vote for Charlotte's kitchen!

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New Work: Prime book and SL sell shirt

Well, it's officially wedding season around here, and I literally can't even remember what year it is, because in addition to wrapping up some invitations for this fall, I'm also working on next year's season: invitations for 2012! But before posting images of work from upcoming nuptials, "I do" want to share some work I did in the spring. I had the opportunity to work with some friends from my old stomping grounds, Student Life. This year I designed the summer sell shirt and a 42-page section in Prime, the last Bible study book in a series of six.

The sell shirt was Andy-Warhol inspired and featured the "heart, soul, strength" concept found in Deuteronomy 6:5. I wanted to streamline those three ideas into a working icon which could be used for each--hands shown in three different positions. We used hot colors, halftones to simulate overprinting, and a grid to reference pop art screen printing. 

Art Direction: Dana Humphreville, Events Resource Manager


Student Life Bible Study books hold a unique place in the market in that they are fully graphic. I had the chance to design a 42-page section on "misfits"--people in the Bible who walked by faith and were thus treated as outcasts. The art direction for this section called for a vintage circus/freak show look. We hit the jackpot and found high-resolution royalty-free vintage circus posters, many of which I was able to edit to show our section headers rather than existing headlines. This was such a fun section because I got to use great display typefaces, rich imagery, lots of overlays, and bold color. Each page represented a day's Bible study and thus had to work as a single page as well as part of a spread.

Project Editor: Jeremy Maxfield
Creative Direction: Drew Francis


Want to see more of my design work? Check out my portfolio!

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Charlotte's Baptism

Yesterday, Luke and I had the privilege of having Charlotte baptized at Briarwood. Luke read the blessing we wrote for her, and then Pastor Harry Reeder sprinkled her little head with water as he baptized her. We recognize God's work of salvation in our lives and Charlotte's need of it, too, and we look to God to grant her grace as we enter into this covenant with him. 

Charlotte wore my little dress and a lace bonnet.

Here is the blessing Luke read to Charlotte:

Charlotte Bethea, truly the Lord blessed us with you as a “good and perfect gift, sent from above.” You have been born into a family that has a heritage of faith extending deep into past generations; this makes it all the more fitting that today we should recognize and respond to God’s covenant love for you. Our prayer is that you would quickly grow to “taste and see that the Lord is good,” knowing that in Christ you “might have life, and have it abundantly.”

Afterwards, we had a small lunch with family and friends at our house to celebrate. I had a lot of fun designing the invitations for the baptism and lunch, and I am so pleased with how they turned out! They were loosely inspired by the late Tasha Tudor, one of my favorite children's book illustrators.

We had pink punch, ham sandwiches, crudites with dill dip, spinach salad, and Laura's to-die-for tri-colore orzo. And as an extra sweet finish to a sweet day, Dreamcakes mini cupcakes sat on my grandmother's pretty silver stand for dessert! 

I used extra-large antique hydrangea blossoms, pink carnations, and lots and lots of tinted glass. I loved the sweet, airy look that it gave.

I hate that our camera died before we got photos of everyone who came, but we still managed a few more:

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Charlotte's first year

To keep record of Charlotte's first twelve months, I wanted something more than her little baby book. I really more blank space, free rein, a place to draw and write and include a few photos from each month, her birth announcement, handprints, lines from my journal, etc. Old-fashioned photo albums are beautiful, so I decided to buy a lovely handmade album from BlueRoofDesigns on Etsy.

A friend of mine wanted to see a little of what I had done with it, so here are a few photos. I apologize for the blurriness and the darkness!

This album was intended to feel sweet, romantic, and delicate. I wanted to use true materials and technique in the form of the handmade paper, photo corners, and calligraphy.

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