xpafiolis.com

Jennstone Salon Identity

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:42:14 +0000

Jennstone Salon is another business card / identity project that turned out quite well. The client simply said I need business cards - this is my name and what I want on the back of the card- the rest is up to you! Having the flexibility is quite nice, but after a few salons the creativity starts to drop and its kind of nice to have some guide lines to follow.

As the process unfolded, as usual the design became troubling and combersome. I became stuck with several ideas and had a hard time tossing them aside. Finally i started fresh and abandoned all previous concepts, created a clean and simple pair of scissors and used a simple and clean typeface.

The results are quite pleasing to the eye, extremely simple and light – not to mention clean and crisp. The information on the back is layed out in such a way that makes it easy to read, and all the important information is near the top and is large and gets smaller as you read down the card. The symbol in the logo was focussed on quite a bit, as I wanted everyone who glanced at the card to know what industry the client is in and I think it worked out quite well.

All in all the client is extremely happy, and for that i am also.
Have a great day!

Chris.

yellow. Corporate Identity

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:16:53 +0000

To capture the energy and atmosphere of a local professional, and transmit that into a corporate image was a tricky job. Especially because it had to invite young hipsters and portray a clean image of the salon industry. We had to brainstorm like crazy, and everyone knows about the fly by night salons, and tirelessly generic “Vo’s nails” so naming was a big part of this identity. To add to the already complex problem, the name had to be able to be scalable. At the moment the salon will be running within another salon, but hopes are to expand further and an image that is strong will be able to bring loyal supporters along for the ride wherever the location may be.

The name yellow. refers to the owners always bright and cheery attitude which in this industry goes a long way with clients. It’s also a simple and clean word that can be associated with many radiant and positive thoughts, well suited for a salon. The logo itself although extremely simple was very difficult to design as its simplicity often conflicted with any design attempts. Through the many variations and additions of scissors, colors, shapes and tag lines – distillation was the only answer, break it down to the simplest parts and let it do what it does best. In this case it was to be yellow. The font, one which hints at a bit of retro “norman” if I remember correctly, but a clean and simple arrangement cleans it up with a bit of a modern twist. To add a bit of flair & make her name stand out above the logo on top of hers I added a gloss effect to her logo which shimmers in the light.

At the moment the business cards had to have the locations logo above her own, but eventually simplicity of yellow will be echoed throughout her cards as well.

Thanks for looking,
Chris.

Good Design Pad

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:11:22 +0000

The Good Design Pad was to be a collaborative effort between ConnectArchitecture and VDAY. Everyone at Connect pitched in and helped develop the concept and prototypes for the Good Design Pad. The Good Design Pad is a sticky note pad adorned with the words “good design” hand-written by various renowned designers and artists. The pad is an accessible and affordable symbol of good design; simple, useful, and most of all, meaningful; the intent of which is to raise awareness and funds for VDAY. The Good Design Pad would be available at gift shops, on the Internet, and at events where the cause is heard. The renders for this project turned out great, but as usual the simplest things are usually trickier to render.

For more information on the project or to contact ConnectArchitecture please check out their website www.weareallconnect.com All images & ideas are owned and protected by ConnectArchitecture and any reproduction must be discussed with them.

SPRUCEITUP

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:53:27 +0000

SPRUCEITUP was another fun conceptual project which allowed us to get creative. The product itself is nothing more than a fancy bottle, but the idea behind it is much more. Check out the images for more of an explanation!

Hunting Seasoning

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:32:07 +0000

Hunting Seasoning was a fun conceptual project for a kitschy item that could be given as a gift. The idea is simple, season your kill without any extra work! The renders went through a few different versions, starting out with different box shapes and sizes then different shell markings designating each shells flavor.

400?’ Compact Home

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:21:30 +0000

While working at ConnectArchitecture we always found time to explore new ideas and develop new concepts. This 400?’ home concept came from a competition in which you were to design a home for compact living, 400?’ and under. The initial concept was created in sketchup, then rendered in Maxwell render.

For more information on the project or to contact ConnectArchitecture please check out their website www.weareallconnect.com All images are owned and protected by ConnectArchitecture and any reproduction must be discussed with them.

Shem Residence

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:10:40 +0000

Another rendering project for ConnectArchitecture produced this great render of a modern home in a lush environment. Although not a difficult render, there were some issues trying to get the metal siding to our liking.

Affordable Housing Project

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:01:00 +0000

The affordable housing project was a rendering done for ConnectArchitecture. The model was created by them via google sketchup then handed off to me for rendering. Since i used Rhino 3d, there were many issues with working back and forth, but the final render turned out great.

Again, for more information on the project or to contact ConnectArchitecture please check out their website www.weareallconnect.com All images are owned and protected by ConnectArchitecture and any reproduction must be discussed with them.

Sawatsky Lake House: pt 4

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 07:48:57 +0000

In an effort to get a closer view of the lake house from the other side and highlight some of the features such as exterior lighting this was the final render completed for this project. The result was a great view that was not surreal, but conveys a deep emotion throughout the scene.

As i mentioned in part 1, in my last year of university i had the chance to work with a very talented group of people over at ConnectArchitecture. The Sawatsky Lake House was one of of their recent projects and one that they wanted to showcase in their portfolio. With this in mind i created a set of renders to showcase the house, this being the first.

For more information on the project or to contact ConnectArchitecture please check out their website www.weareallconnect.com All images are owned and protected by Connect architecture and any reproduction must be discussed with them.

Sawatsky Lake House: pt 3

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 07:41:42 +0000

Having a lot of fun with this project and learning a great deal i completed this render of the lake house. This particular render although looks neat, was not quite what we were looking for. As i mentioned in part 1, in my last year of university i had the chance to work with a very talented group of people over at ConnectArchitecture. The Sawatsky Lake House was one of of their recent projects and one that they wanted to showcase in their portfolio. With this in mind i created a set of renders to showcase the house, this being the first.