After nine and a half years with Envoi Design, I’m moving on to lpk – a Cincinnati-based agency with multiple offices and influence around the world – where I’ll take over at the Design Delineator Position. The hardest part of all this might be remembering to turn right down Race instead of taking Central Parkway all the way to Main on Monday morning. It’s hard to know what to say. For nearly a decade, I’ve called Envoi home. Even when I was in Columbus for more than three years, it was the mother ship. We were a small tight-knit group who continually overcame challenges to meet deadlines and wow clients.

This move will be good for the both of us. Shake things up. Stir the pot. Spur growth.

I’m looking forward to being in a big office. I’ll see unique faces everyday. And I like people. When I was in Columbus, I thought I’d make a go at working from home. I went mad… or went to the coffee shop, stayed too long, drank too much coffee and went mad. I’m not suited for a lonely existence. I also want to see what types of challenges exist in this design environment. I feel like I bring a lot to lpk’s table. I hope that’s still true in three months. And I owe some of that to Envoi. I worked through many solutions on my own, start to finish, essentially because I had to. There wasn’t much time to discuss direction or develop a plan of attack. “Get in there and get it done” was our battle cry on most days. Not necessarily the way I would’ve preferred to go about things, but it certainly helped me in the end.

When I graduated from school in 2002, I compiled a list of things I’d learned over the course of my five years at UC. So in the name of one chapter ending and another beginning, I’ll see what’s I got and depending on how many nasty iChats I get, I’ll then determine if they were even slightly effective.

Designing for designers is called a hobby.
Designing for clients is work. Do both.
Make it beautiful and functional or don’t sell it.
Do your homework so that you might be more than just opinionated.
Fight fair for good ideas.
Look embarrassments in the eye. Then move on.
Listen. Listen. Listen.
Try your best to answer your phone when someone calls you.
As great as gossip is, it always leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Copyright something.
Take on at least one humungous project.
Gain perspective for everyone’s sake.

That’s all I’ve got for now. I’m sure I’m missing some. Like… Don’t pee on the seat. Or… Turkey sandwiches Monday, Roast beef on Tuesday.

Adios Envoi. New adventures await us all.

I was about three minutes late on this shot. I was headed south on 75, just about to my exit when I saw a big fog bank envelope the city. I missed a light and got stuck behind one of those moving trucks that doesn’t know where it’s going but refuses to pull over. You still get the idea. Or not.

I’m terribly forgetful when it comes to gift purchasing. This is why I’ve opted to design and produce wedding invitations for some of those closest to me. Indeed, they are a bear when you’re in the thick of it but I’ve had the opportunity to create some nice pieces on a shoestring budget. The invite for my sister’s upcoming nuptials proved to be no different. When initially considering the project, I had a nagging feeling that the traditional A7 white envelope wasn’t the right fit… but I’d not yet determined what was. If it came down to it, I could whip together something nice, albeit removed from the characteristics that make this couple unique.

At the 11th hour, it was their love of live music that gave this invite serious wheels. It couldn’t be anything other than a show poster… screen printed with a simple and elegant image symbolizing the biggest day in their relationship up to that point. Several messages exist including the notion of an overlapping of lives. Yet they face different directions because at the end of the day, we are all unique and it’s important to be so. I’ve written about such things before. The RSVP and directions were as part of the entire poster which was printed magnificently at Southpaw Prints. It was then hand-perfed, wrapped in tissue paper to prevent off-setting, sealed with a sticker and sent out via mailing tubes. I used a custom stamp with black ink for the return address on the backside of the RSVP in lieu of paying for the hit on the backside of the poster. I wanted this piece to live on. The intent was that you could frame it and hang it long after the wedding day.

In all, it was a ton of work but well worth it. The invite tells a great story and that’s about as much as you can ask for.