I had the honor of playing host to the talented Molly Jacques on behalf of Jackson Fish Market a couple weekends back. For those of you who don’t know, Jackson Fish Market (JFM) is the awesome software design agency /startup where I spend my 9-5 time. The ladies of JFM, being Jenny and I have been wanting to host an all ladies workshop in our studio for some time and were so excited when Molly agreed to come from Michigan to share her talents. The day was spent with a lovely group of women from various creative backgrounds. Molly taught us to find our own cursive alphabet style and how to apply that to something like a quote. We spent the better half of the day perfecting our quotes, drinking a little wine and getting to know each other. It was great to meet so many new ladies, and I was certainly impressed with everyone’s lettering skills! Again, a huge thanks to Molly for coming all the way from Michigan. She was immensely helpful and attentive to all our questions and wow she makes lettering look effortless. Also a thank you to all the wonderful ladies who joined us and to JFM for making it possible!
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve taken a hike (unless you count the urban hikes in Discovery Park). I wanted to post the hike I did back on the most beautiful sunny Seattle day in March. So my hiking friend Lacey and I hiked and hiked straight up this mountain asking every passer by about the view. They all joked like what view? We honestly thought they were joking and that the view would be amazing like all hikes that are that steep. Sadly, when we got to the top it was a picnic table in the middle of the woods – thus my simple type on wood grain photo. I guess that day we learned that A) not all hikes were designed for a pretty view at the top and B) we would do better trail research next time. Overall though, we had good time. We hiked back down the mountain feeling content that we had gotten out into nature on such a beautiful day. -Holly
Type hand-drawn by Holly. Photo taken with my iPhone5 Check out the past hikes here.
UPDATE: The Explore Column has become its own site! Please continue to follow along at it’s new location Hike the PNW
The sun made a special appearance in Seattle today for Earth day (and rumor has it it will be here all week)! Hope you enjoyed the day doing something outside! -Holly
Watercolor typography by Holly. See more typography related posts here.
Ariele Alasko. I have a total crush on her work. I recently started following her on Instagram, of course at the exact time she started making these beauties. Their forms, so pretty and seemingly delicate though I’m sure quite sturdy. I was instantly drawn to them and especially fascinated by the process (bottom two photos) of carving and sawing out the spoons.
Be sure to check out the rest of Ariele’s work at her studio brooklyn to west. Her art focuses on salvaged wood, making pieces for the home. I’d quite like to own one of her pieces … someday :) In the meantime it’s back to my father’s woodshop I go! Inspired I am.
All photos by Ariele Alasko on Instagram (@arielealasko)
Over the weekend I stayed in the Ft. Warden barracks with a group of ladies from my church. It’s a retreat of sorts filled with lots of laughing, roaming of the beaches and wine. Always a good time to be had. This year we were tasked with creative boldness and spent the weekend painting and in my case taking photographs. I’m embarrassed to say I had to wipe the dust off my DSLR. It’s so easy these days to rely on your mobile device for picture taking, have you found that true too? I was reminded over the weekend how fun it is to use my “real” camera and hopefully you’ll be seeing more of it on here!
So I’ve been trying to design the trail logos to display over pictures from the hikes but couldn’t help designing this one below as well. I haven’t made my mind up yet if I want to stick to a style with images or mix it up. Which do you like better? -Holly
Typeface used: Mensch Photos by Holly with her Nikon D3000 Check out the past hikes here.
UPDATE: The Explore Column has moved! Please continue to follow along at it’s new location Hike the PNW
We ventured to Commonwealth Basin Snowshoe about a month ago to do some snowshoeing. Hiking through the snow is really pretty (and a lot more work!). At the top we discovered an abandoned igloo made by some boys who had camped the night before. It was possibly the coolest thing I’ve stumbled into while hiking.
With today’s trail logo I am using a couple typefaces from Lost Type. Have you used their fonts? They’re all really beautiful and unique and most impressively: free! Of course if you use the fonts and like them, it would be nice to support the artists with a donation! -Holly
I can’t say like the girl in the beginning of this video I wanted to be a mermaid growing up, but I never knew I wanted to work in software till much later. I started by working on a lot of small website projects. It wasn’t until I came to Seattle and tasked to start building prototypes when I really started to love it. Learning how to code is empowering. Having amazing mentors for me has been everything. It’s all about solving problems. Big complex puzzles that ultimately have an answer, you just need to take the time to find it.
“You don’t need to be a genius to learn how to code, just determined.”
Vanessa – created Girl Develop It
It’s not hard, just at first glance it may appear that way because it’s unfamiliar. Ever enjoy the Where’s Waldo Books? Trying to fix an error is sometimes like finding Waldo, but instead of a guy wearing a winter hat and striped shirt Waldo is a missing semicolon ; something so small, but makes a big difference. When things work just how it was planned, it’s magic. -Brittany
Above video is how Code.org is growing computer programming education.
I’ve been finding a lot of inspiration on dribbble lately. There are definitely some talented designers and illustrators uploading their work to the dribbble community. These are a few of my favorites this week (but not necessarily created this week by their respected designer). Be sure to browse dribbble if you haven’t done so already! -Holly
I’m pleased to announce a new project called Explore. I try to go hiking throughout the year as well as other miscellaneous outdoor activities and decided it would be fun to document all the trails I venture to. The creative part you ask? It’s simple, I will create a logo for every hike I take, nothing fancy just something fun. I used to do a project on my old site, called “White Type” where I would explore new typefaces on imagery and this feels like a natural progression for the project. I hope you enjoy my adventures, small or grand as they may be! -Holly
Happy Valentine’s Day my friends! I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite chocolate packaging designs in honor of today. -Holly
Moonstruck: I love the packaging illustration by Kate Forrester, but the really stellar part is the type and illustration molds she created for the chocolate itself. Almost makes you not want to eat it. (photo by Kate Forrester)
Theo: A Seattle classic, limited edition bar. Playful, hand-drawn type.
I had the honor of playing host to the talented Molly Jacques on behalf of Jackson Fish Market a couple weekends back. For those of you who don’t know, Jackson Fish Market (JFM) is the awesome software design agency /startup where I spend my 9-5 time. The ladies of JFM, being Jenny and I have been wanting to host an all ladies workshop in our studio for some time and were so excited when Molly agreed to come from Michigan to share her talents. The day was spent with a lovely group of women from various creative backgrounds. Molly taught us to find our own cursive alphabet style and how to apply that to something like a quote. We spent the better half of the day perfecting our quotes, drinking a little wine and getting to know each other. It was great to meet so many new ladies, and I was certainly impressed with everyone’s lettering skills! Again, a huge thanks to Molly for coming all the way from Michigan. She was immensely helpful and attentive to all our questions and wow she makes lettering look effortless. Also a thank you to all the wonderful ladies who joined us and to JFM for making it possible!
A handful of #letteringladies from instagram.
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve taken a hike (unless you count the urban hikes in 
The sun made a special appearance in Seattle today for Earth day (and rumor has it it will be here all week)! Hope you enjoyed the day doing something outside! -Holly
Over the weekend I stayed in the 
So I’ve been trying to design the trail logos to display over pictures from the hikes but couldn’t help designing this one below as well. I haven’t made my mind up yet if I want to stick to a style with images or mix it up. Which do you like better? -Holly
We ventured to 
I’ve been finding a lot of inspiration on 
I’m pleased to announce a new project called Explore. I try to go hiking throughout the year as well as other miscellaneous outdoor activities and decided it would be fun to document all the trails I venture to. The creative part you ask? It’s simple, I will create a logo for every hike I take, nothing fancy just something fun. I used to do a project on my old site, called “White Type” where I would explore new typefaces on imagery and this feels like a natural progression for the project. I hope you enjoy my adventures, small or grand as they may be! -Holly
Happy Valentine’s Day my friends! I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite chocolate packaging designs in honor of today. -Holly