Welcome

Greetings to all potential clients!

I welcome you to my blog LaCDesign and your interest in my design services. Below you will see a small sampling of my work which includes current and past projects. Should you have any questions or are interested in seeing any specific types of work please feel free to contact me.

I thank you for your time and interest and look forward to assisting you in your future creative endeavours.

All the best,

Laura Croswaite
Graphic Designer
lcroswaite@gmail.com

Wednesday, 16 February 2011

Revolution logo

This logo was created for a company called Revolution Resource Recovery in the Seattle area which had a business focus concerning recycling. The client wished to reflect recycling within the logo visuals. Embracing this design constraint, the letter "R" was altered in order to reflect the movement and iconic imagery of arrows both to reflect the circular movement implied by the word revolution itself as well as the recycling concept.

Home for the Holidays logo


Seen above is a logo designed for the Chapman University annual holiday party. The theme for this year was "Home for the Holidays" and the challenge was creating a simple, yet unique logo that could be printed clearly on the surface of a coffee mug. The combination of a san-serif and a script font ensured legibility of the words, whilst a roofline with holiday lights supplied an interesting visual which created a logo that was self-contained and cohesive.

Keystone Revenue Solutions, Inc. logo


Shown here are two of my most recent logo designs presented to a client with his own business living and working out of Costa Mesa, California. He wanted a professional looking logo for use on his business cards and corporate presentations. Embracing the use and visual of the keystone itself, these two options present two highly professional looks. The first combines a keystone, arch, and climbing arrow to reflect the name of the company itself. The second option is more simple in creating the arch and keystone out of the letter "n".

Wine bottle labels



Above are two wine bottle label designs for the Southern California Bearded Collie Club. These customized bottles were part of a holiday club fundraiser. The labels were designed around an image of a bearded collie on various green textured backgrounds. The corresponding colors used within the labels were chosen to compliment the colors of the glass and wine itself.

Karate T-shirt designs



Above are two t-shirt designs pitched for the 2011 All Butokukan Karate Tournament. Both client and designer agreed that images of people punching, jumping and kicking were both common and stereotypical of karate t-shirt designs and something more unique was desired. The first design plays off of the typography trend in the graphic tees of today. A bold yet slightly distressed font is used in a color scheme that compliments the shirt color as well as pops off as eye-catching. The second design is a hand drawn dragon holding an orb with the tournament information on it. The designer created the dragon from scratch first with paper and pencil before it was reconstructed graphically. Again, a distressed look is employed to reflect current fashion trends and appeal to the desired audience.

Tuesday, 15 February 2011

VCA tri-fold brochure option 2



Above is the second design option for the veterinary hospital. This option highlights the caring tone of the hospital and its employees through the humanistic color scheme of chocolate brown, pink and very pale yellow. The images of the dog and cat on the cover look directly out toward the viewer in order to engage them. Graphic icons are included throughout the different sections in order to add visual interest as modern watermarks.

VCA tri-fold brochure option 1



Above are the two sides of a tri-fold brochure for a local veterinary hospital. This is one of two versions designed for the client. This design highlights a professional clinical feel that highlights reliability and impeccable care and service. Since dogs and cats are the only patients cared for at this particular clinic, images of both at different stages of life are highlighted on the cover. Black and white images support the professional tone. Warmth is added through the color palette of chocolate brown, pale yellow, and light blue.

Malmgren business card




Above is a two-sided business card design for an Audio Engineer. The design embraces the iconic imagery of a microphone to add an interesting visual element. The microphone begins on the black backside of the card with a cable that snakes around to the white front side and acts as a directional force leading directly to the name and contact information.

OSU Tennis team logo


Above is a logo designed for the Oregon State University tennis team. The design is inspired by the current fierce beaver mascot logo. This version replaces the beaver's snarl with a yellow tennis ball.

Relay for Life tri-fold brochure


Above is a tri-fold brochure design for the American Cancer Society's fundraising event called Relay for Life. This brochure provides information concerning a current cancer study and encourages voluntary participation. It was distributed at a local Relay for Life event in Orange, California. The design was inspired by the purple moon shape of the Relay for Life logo and the color palette of the American Cancer Society logo. The text was organized in legible sections that embrace white space. A picture strip showcasing past research studies and event photos bisects the text as a visually stimulating focal point to the layout.

Cecil Awards logo


Shown here is another logo design for the Cecil Awards, an award show held annually at Chapman University recognizing students within the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. The logo design needed to accurately reflect the tone of the event which is potrayed through a combination of text and a large letter C with a laurel branch symbolizing achievement.

Alliance Logo


Shown here is a logo design for the Parent Teacher Alliance for schools in California. The logo includes two adult figures in green to represent the parents and teachers as well as a graduate figure in orange. The color green is appropriate and often associated with education whilst orange is the color of creativity. The addition of the mortar board on the student's head shows the end goal of this organization.

Thursday, 10 February 2011

Bakehouse Organic Bakery & Cafe




Here you will see a logo design and supplementary packaging for Bakehouse Organic Bakery & Cafe. Showcasing the fresh ingredients was of utmost importance and was incorporated into the logo and packaging through hand done sketches.

All About My Mother special edition DVD packaging




Shown here is the special edition DVD packaging for a Spanish film entitled All About My Mother. The themes of this film are rather dark and include prostitution, secrets, and the life of a transvestite. Fishnet stockings came to mind as an image appropriate for these themes. The use of runs in the stockings reiterates the hardships being portrayed in the film as well as allowing for the text on the different inserts to be more legible. Instead of the standard jewel case a fishnet bag was created to hold all of the pieces.

Food Bank of Alaska print campaign




Shown here is a set of three print advertisements with the purpose of recruiting volunteers for the Food Bank of Alaska. The theme of the campaign is bread baking and is inspired directly from the Food Bank of Alaska's logo. Each ad is set up to mimic the layout of a recipe book with a large eye catching image depicting the stages of break making and baking. Plays on words act as witty attention grabbing headlines.

Madonna website redesign




Madonna both as an artist and as a person has a lot of personality yet her current website fails to reflect this. In tackling a redesign the style of her music and her personality were both key considerations. Each of the subpages showcase her status as a fashion icon by including one of her well known outfits. The disco ball element from her personal logo is also brought into each page. Overall, a lot more color and energy were added in order to create a website that better depicts Madonna herself.

Bras for a Cause print collateral




Here is a very small sampling of the twenty different pieces that created the complete print collateral set for an event known as Bras for a Cause. Previously unbranded, this event posed a challenge in visually portraying a fun and funky event with a classy artistic flair. A scrapbooking inspired layout achieved these goals through highlighting the bras as the art pieces that they truly are by framing them as well as placing one of them on the iconic image of the Venus. This branding successfully stepped it up a notch and brought this fundraiser to a whole new level.

Olympic Games wayfinding materials




Shown here is a set of icons designed for a hypothetical Olympics to take place in Limerick, Ireland in 2020. The icons were inspired by the Nintendo Wii characters and posed a real challenge in depicting athletic events without the inclusion of arms and legs. The wayfinding map included here instructs viewers where the different events would be held on the University of Limerick campus as well as showcasing the supplementary signage and banners.

Wedding set




Here is a printed wedding set containing an invitation, RSVP card, save the date card, and mailing label specifically created for the bride-to-be. In collaboration with her desired colors, theme and overall look, what is displayed here was exactly what she wanted whilst being completely personalized.

United Kingdom medical pictograms




Here you will see a clean and corporate looking tri-fold brochure design showcasing a set of six pictographic sequences. Each sequence uses images that were created and tested amongst the UK audience in order to determine the best way to visually depict complex medical warnings and instructions. This tri-fold brochure explains the uses of these sequences and how they will appear on medical packaging and pamphlets much like the example included.

Chapman University freshmen recruitment




Here you will see a set of four print materials, including two posters and two postcards, that were designed in order to foster interest in Chapman University and encourage potential freshmen to visit the Orange campus. You will notice that each piece contains consistent branded elements including the graphic flower, type with inlaid imagery, and the Chapman red. The consistency of these elements establishes a sense of unity between them whilst providing age appropriate aesthetics in order to successfully engage the viewer.