meet chloe marty

After having plans to do so for way to long, I finally consolidated some of my businesses, their branding, and got up a new website to represent me.

I have been operating my freelance business under hello there, design, LLC plus I have my Etsy shop and my REMEMBER the day website. I operate WILD HEARTS with my sister, and I write here on this blog. All that added up to a lot of websites and not a lot of consistency or cohesiveness. I made the decision to consolidate things - I am ME, just me.

I put up a new website - www.chloemarty.com - to house all my various ventures under one roof, so to speak. That will be the main place to find me - it contains my portfolio as well as links to my Etsy shop, and information about my REMEMBER the days and WILD HEARTS. It creates more consistency with my social media too, as I am @chloemarty on Twitter, Chloe Marty on Pinterest, @chloechristinemarty on Instagram, and I have never maintained a separate Facebook presence from my personal account.

One of the largest improvements here (other than simplifying things) is having my portfolio up. It is such a time consuming task to curate my portfolio from all the projects I have done, collect and edit the images of those projects, and get them up in a good place. Up until now, I have used Flickr, but it never felt that professional - and it bothered me.

I was also just over the hello there, design LLC name. I am still using it for legal purposes and to keep things simple from that standpoint. But I feel so much more comfortable representing ME, my name - or having it represent me. However you want to put it. I think when I first started freelancing, I thought I needed a cute catchy name - that it couldn't be as simple as just chloe marty. But after six years at this gig, I realize it is just me and that is the best fit to show everyone who I am.

I literally spent all of twenty minutes coming up with a new logo. I like it. I am not in love with it and I am actually currently looking for and email interviewing various designers to have some one help me with the perfect logotype for me. That is another thing I have learned after six years - I can design logos for my clients, but it is nice to get a fresh pair of eyes on my own branding. I get too entrenched in it and too caught up in what I want it to be as opposed to portraying who I actually am.

So, the logo may be temporary; I am just not sure how temporary. As is the current look of andCHLOE. Along with my chloe marty logo, I am looking for a new look for my blog. After implementing this new design, although pretty, I realized literally weeks later that it didn't feel like me.

All of this transition and rebranding and seeking help from other designers makes me realize just how much I am still learning - about myself, my style, my inspirations, my trade, and my work.

But, today, I am exited to share my newly launched chloemarty.com with you. It is a huge load off of my mind to have this website up and to be working under my own name.

logo design // jamie hanley

Before my California trip I was working on and finishing up this logo for Jamie Hanley. I find her work, which combines psychotherapy and yoga to heal, fascinating. For her logo, she was very certain about what she wanted; the logo had a "must include list." That list included a lotus flower and that lotus flower had to be watercolor in style. She had also thought about wanting to go an inkblot direction, but once we started working on the design it was clear things could get way too busy if we included a watercolor style and an inkblot aspect to the design.

All of Jamie's must-haves came together as the final logo above and the nitty gritty of the brand is detailed below in the brand guidelines.

a little note: You also get a sneak peak at my new branding on the bottom of Jamie's brand guidelines. I am working on consolidating all of my businesses - freelance design, custom paper goods design, REMEMBER the days, etc. all under one more consolidated roof. It will mean a new website (chloemarty.com) instead of my existing hellotheredesign.com and I think it will just make more sense to have everything under me, as in under my name. I am almost done with the website, but it is kind of a backseat to other projects so I am totally not sure when I will actually finish it and launch it. Anyways, I have started using with clients and you get the sneak peek here!

hey!

Hey there! We are just getting ready for our trip to California. We are heading there for my sister's wedding and we will be gone for a little over a week.

I don't necessarily plan on posting here on the blog while we are gone, but I am not completely ruling it out either. I will certainly be Instagramming (so follow me @chloechristinemarty), and will hopefully have some great photos to share when we get back.

In the meantime, I wanted to say have a great weekend and I thought I would quickly share Raffa's first birthday party thank you notes. They match the theme of his party and have the same lettering as his invitations. I loved this goofy photo of him that my sister captured, so it was a perfect fit for thank you post cards to let everyone know that we really appreciated and enjoyed having them celebrate with us.

wedding invitation design // jonna + erik

I am so excited; we are heading to California for my sister's wedding. I already call him my brother-in-law, but technically he is not yet but will be as of June 12.

The wedding is a very intimate event. Immediate family only will be in attendance; so invitations were more of a tradition and keepsake than anything else.

My sister wanted a floral design with a watercolor style. The text was the other major element of the design, for which we combined several typefaces, a mix of a script/handwritten font and some modern block fonts.

The wedding will be part of a whole vacation that we are taking together. We will enjoy over a week in California wine country. We included a map with the invitation with the region we will enjoy; specifically San Francisco, Healdsburg, and Sonoma.

Since my sister got engaged years ago (yes, years), I had been waiting to design these wedding invitations for her. I finally got to and I am so thrilled with how pretty they turned out. And, as thrilled as I was to work on these invitations, I am even more excited to celebrate the marriage of my sister and brother-in-law all while enjoying a vacation with my favorite people.

logo design // sweepstakes sites

I do design work for a client whose company runs lead generation/sweepstakes sites. They have been launching sites in various markets around the world and these are the logos they had me make for three different international markets. 

These logos are a fun deviation from the typical industries and markets that I design for. With these logos, we use the country's flag as a starting place for the design. I bet you can {easily} guess the top and middle, but that last one is trickier!

raffa is turning one // first birthday invitations

Raffa's first birthday party is tomorrow! What an exciting milestone and such a fun party to plan. These are the invitations I designed for the event.

And now, the party is here! It is tomorrow. We are all ready for it! I did end up following this plan for his party; I even made that banner for the occasion.

I realize that Raffa may not remember his first birthday and its party, but all of us who love him are so excited to celebrate him!

The invitations were a simply black and white with lettering to match his banner - hand cut letters. I included a very appropriate enthusiastic photo of Raffa. The back of the invitation features a pattern of asymmetrical diamond shapes. I opted to have the envelopes hand lettered and then I made return address labels with the same hand cut lettering as the invitation.

So, let the celebrations begin! It all started yesterday with the start of the #raffasturningonegiveaway {don't miss it! it ends May 11th}.

new product // custom quote print or canvas

I am so excited to announce the addition of a new product to my REMEMBER the day shop ... We all have a certain quote, saying, phrase, or verse that we just love; that speaks to us, provides inspiration, offers comfort, or represents a message to a loved one. With my new custom quote product, you have the opportunity to have your favorite quote, saying, phrase, or verse made into a custom piece of art - as either an 8x10" fine art print or as a 12x12x1.5" gallery wrapped canvas. There are four styles to choose from (see above) and the text portion of the design is up to you! So, an inspiring quote. Your favorite saying. That phrase you use as a mantra. A Bible verse that speaks to you. The possibilities are endless, and you can turn it into a piece of framable art.

Now through May 1, 2014 use the coupon code EASTER2014 in my REMEMBER the day shop for 20% off a custom quote print or canvas (limit one per customer).

custom design // bicycle baby shower invitations

Raffa and I are headed to Durango tomorrow because I am co-hosting a baby shower for a dear friend of mine there. And, I thought I would share the invitations I designed for the shower today.

A navy, yellow, and gray bicycle theme is the direction we went with the invitations because that is the theme of baby Peter's nursery. The invitation was a simple design, with a hand script and modern block font, and a whimsical bicycle illustration, which will be carried over to several pieces at the shower (favors, food name plates, etc.). We went with gorgeous navy envelopes and yellow wrap around labels. Gray and white polka dot washi tape sealed the envelopes. For postage, we went with several smaller denominations for a fun look; the guy at the post office looked at me like I was crazy when I told him I wanted to do this. Ha!

I am so excited to be going to Durango; we haven't been since January and I am hoping for some lovely spring weather. We will certainly catch up with lots of friends, go to some favorite places, and hopefully get out on some hikes. My mom is coming with us, and so the three of us - Raffa, Mimi, and me - will spent Easter today; certainly a bummer not to be with the whole family for Easter, but I am sure we will have a lovely Easter in Durango.

By the way, these baby shower invitations are available for purchase and customization in my Etsy shop.

logo design // apollo digital ads

Several months ago I worked on a logo for Apollo Digital Ads. When I share logos here on the blog, I like to share some of the initial concepts that came up on the road to the final blog ... when they are worth sharing that is. So here is some of the initial designs I provided to the client.

This logo was a lot of fun to work on because of the style the client was interested in ... kind of that vintage-y, Jetsons feel.

The final logo boiled down to this:

crystal springs brewery // rebranding

My John was working on a project for his marketing and operations classes as part of his MBA last semester. His group took on the case of Boulder/Louisville based brewery; assessing its operations and marketing strategy. Among other things, they identified the necessity of rebranding.

existing logo in use by Crystal Springs Brewery

Now, most would have no reason to know this, but John has an eye for design. I ask him to pursue this all the time - take on clients do not have the time to accept. He is that good. So, with a recommendation for rebranding, he went a step further and decided to show his "client" what that rebranding could look like. He worked up some logo concepts for Crystal Springs Brewery.

logo concepts designed by John Marty

John wanted to maintain the focus on the rich history of this brand, but give the logo more appeal. He ventured after a vintage-feeling logo as opposed to an antique one.

Now is the point he brought me on board. We selected one of the logos from the concepts he had drafted, refined it slightly, and said "this is it!". Typically the client would go through this process with the designer, but in this case John wanted to present the finished suggested rebranding to the client so we kept this process in-house, so to speak.

final logo in color variations

Next up we visited the packaging which was also identified as needing to be re-thought out. The existing packaging was found to be lacking in design appeal and also did not have a consistent design aesthetic.

Using our final logo, I took the helm and created some packaging mock-ups with the branding colors we had selected.

packaging mock-ups designed by John Marty and myself

Just as John went for a vintage feel for the logo, the colors we selected had a retro/vintage feel as well. In contrast to the existing packaging that has little consistency, we went for uber consistency here having each can follow the same mountainscape silhouette theme and just changing the brew style (i.e. IPA) and Crystal Springs specific name (i.e. "Marilyn").

This project was a lot of fun to work on for many reasons ... the industry and product are much different than my usual client. And, getting a chance to work with John really gave me the bug to work with him more - husband + wife design studio, yes please.

logo // hello there, design

On a whim earlier this week, I revised my hello there, design logo. For those who do not know, hello there, design is the business under which I do graphic design.

I was looking for a logo that was easier to read, as I felt the typefaces in my previous logo were to thin. I also wasn't feeling like the "old" logo fit me anymore. So, I quickly changed it up. I kept the little comma, but made it less of a dominant design element. I also put the focus on "DESIGN". Honestly, I was so tired of the old logo, I felt like any update to the logo was an improvement. I am happy with this logo for now, but I would not be surprised if I change it up again soon. When I say that I revised the logo on a whim is accurate, along with saying that it was a very quick revision. I would like to spend more time and tweak it a little further. This new one will work for now though.

custom design :: stork approved

Last week I shared a logo revision I did for Taking Cara babies and in the meantime, John and I have been working on the sleep schedule that Cara helped us formulate. John's sleep is one of those things that I fret over ... I am always wanting to make sure he gets enough. I feel like, and science supports my feeling that good sleep is super important for a baby's growth and development.

So for me, I can overanalyze and even agonize over it, but I must also say that I am blessed with a good sleeper. John sleeps twelve hours a night and I takes one good nap a day usually. As I mentioned last week, I sought Cara's help because I felt that John needed two naps each day and although he was sleeping twelve hours, those hours were 5:30pm to 5:30am and I wanted to transition them to 7pm to 6:30/7am. In the process I feel like I know so much more about what I need to do, but as usual, have so much less control over things than I would like. Ha!

For you moms out there, what are the things you agonize about or overthink? 

I would love for andCHLOE to become a space where we can support each other, share ideas, and have a dialog .... about things like this and other non-baby/non-parenting topics as well. I have often included a question at the end of my blog posts, but now I am saying it bluntly: I really really really encourage you to chime in. Let me know you are reading and let me know your opinion. 

I have been doing a little design work for Cara of Taking Cara Babies ... in addition to her logo revision, I made that cute little seal above for her. I love how this seal turned out and I am thinking of all sorts of applications for it with a little text/content change.

recent REMEMBER the day designs

I did these matching custom canvases earlier this week - they are the wedding vow for Kristen and her husband, Elias. The canvases match but the color arrangement is slightly different. The typeface is Love Potion an the color palette is Love.

logo revision :: taking cara babies

I needed some sleep guidance. Little John sleeps well at night, but he is waking up earlier than I would like him to. He takes a morning nap, but I think he needs an afternoon one too. So, I got in touch with Cara of Taking Cara Babies; she is a former neo-natal nurse and mom of 4. She does all sorts of baby consulting, but has begun to focus on more of the sleep consulting and training part of her business.

When I contacted her, she proposed a trade: sleep consultations in return for some logo help. She had a very cute existing logo, but the text part of it was difficult to read and she had found that it was not translating well across different applications. She also happened to not have a vector of her logo. So, I redrew her logo so now she has a vector and I revised the text portion of her logo.

I sent some typeface samples over to her and from her feedback I delivered the following options:

Cara selected logo concept A, and after some cleaning up it will now replace her old logo.

introducing shootcrew // photography workshops in denver and boulder

A while back a professional photographer friend of mine approached me to work with him on some photography workshops he was putting into the works. With so many people interested in learning how to take good photos and then how to turn taking photos in to a business, he figured he would share his knowledge about both topics through some workshops. The workshops will come in a couple different formats - an intensive weekend (2-day) workshop that will cover it all and in more casual ShootCrew get togethers where one topic will be covered in a few hours. The workshops and events will be in Denver and Boulder.

Yours truly will also be teaching a small portion of the workshops; not photography, of course, but the business side - branding/identity, website, blog, etc. And, a not surprising side note, I also designed the logo. That is the logo and our brand palette above.

We will be announcing the dates for our first workshops soon, but on our website you can find little more information as well as a way to be notified of when the workshops are on the calendar. We also have a Denver meetup.com group and a Boulder meetup.com group that we use to keep in touch and disseminate information about events.

We are really excited to get started and have a ton of fun details in the works. I will share more soon (or sign up for the email list to be notified), like a little more about the workshops, the curriculum, us people behind the scenes, the awesome workshop/event locations, the swag bag contents, and of course, the dates.

I know a few of my readers might find these workshops and events right up their alley ... if so, I hope to see at one soon.

plum district :: remember the day canvases 50% off

Again, happy valentine's day! Not an obligatory happy valentine's day or a let's-remember-to-appreciate-eachother-because-it-is-a-holiday happy valentine's day. But a genuine happy day to you and thank you for reading and supporting my blog.

My REMEMBER the day canvases are up on Plum District today for 50% off; so they are only $72 instead of $145. It is a steal; and although it is tough to squeak them out for that price point from my cost-perspective - it is awesome to reach new customers and hear from my treasured existing customers.

There is a limit of 5 vouchers per person, but that is still plenty to cover your gift-giving needs for the next six months (when the vouchers expire). You cannot purchase gift certificates, but since the vouchers are good for six months you can save them and use them as your friends get married or as someone welcomes a new baby.

Head over and get in on the deal here!

happy valentine's day

Here is my 2014 Valentine that I didn't get out in the mail in time for Valentine's Day. Oops! I figured I would share it anyways in addition to wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day!

See my 2013 and 2012 Valentine cards.

logo design :: eb designs

It has been a while since I have shared any logo designs I have worked on, so today I am sharing a logo that is actually still a work in progress. These are the initial logo concepts that I provided to my client an we are now farther down the logo design process road refining a chosen concept. I wanted to share the initial concepts, one because we aren't finished so I don't want to post an unfinished logo. And, two because I just really like all of these.

Often when I work on a logo and present four to six initial concepts to a client, I have a definite favorite that I leans towards. In this case, I have that favorite as usual. And, as is sometimes the case, my favorite is not the client's favorite and it can be difficult to say "bye" to the concepts that get "thrown out." Sharing the initial concepts is an opportunity to put my favorite out there that otherwise won't be seen.

Can you guess which one is my favorite? Which one do you like the best?

custom design :: holiday cards

I am continuing to share holiday card that I designed for the past 2013 holidays. Today, I am sharing my mom's family holiday card which includes my little family and my sisters little family as well {top}; and I am sharing my sister's holiday card {bottom}.

You can check out a sampling of other holiday cards I have designed here. And, any of my designs, whether they are in my shop or not, are available for purchase and customization {although it may be a little early to think about holiday 2014 cards}.

press :: michael + blaine wedding paper goods

I was a small part of this gorgeous wedding, namely the invitations and other wedding paper goods, and it was featured in Wedding Style New England's latest issue.