It shouldn’t take one week out of the year for you to say thank you. Creating a mindset of continuous gratitude is an active practice. It’s easy to wake up and be overwhelmed by the amount of things on your to-do list. You are barraged by e-mails and notifications from the moment you gain consciousness. Instead, think about expressing gratitude for your career. Be thankful that you have clients (no matter how annoying), inquiries, and potential leads every day.

When was the last time you said thank you to the people around you? Have you made it a practice to always express thanks to the people who help you? Upon reaching adulthood and financial independence, I made a conscious decision to express thank you in whichever way I could. A simple thank you can really change the state of your relationships and I believe I have good friendships because of how we express our gratitude. My favorite way to express my gratitude is to take a card and just hand-write a nice thank you. Despite being a stationer, I often frequent my peers for thank you cards to give to my friends and family. Here are some of my favorite cards from creative studios across the country that can help you start to create an atmosphere of gratitude.

One – Idlewild Co. | Two – littlelow | Three – 1canoe2 | Four – 9th Letterpress | Five – My Dear Fellow Co.

Shop Thank You Cards at Studio 404 Paper

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Today, I wanted to share with you an in-depth look at the brand refresh which I’ve been slowly integrating into this space over the past six months or so. After rebranding to Studio 404, I was always unhappy with how busy the logo was and how hard it was to break down the elements. The brand colors were a bit harsh and with a focus on flat UI, softer colors are easier for users to navigate. Let’s take a look at how the core identity design has changed.

As you can see, the old logo focused on Hoefler & Co’s slab-serif, Sentinel, which I still adore. It also used the outline font from the typeface Landmark. There was a focus on the dotted line element which I used frequently through the images here on the blog. the colors were just a bit harsher and bolder. The new logo features Landmark as the primary typeface paired with Freight Display, a typeface I learned about from Jessica Hische. The colors are a softer take on the original brand colors, which you may remember from this classic moodboard. I think they fit the brand perfectly and allow for a classic timeless look across both platforms.

I am extremely happy with the way everything has turned out. I adore the focus on the italicized ampersand in both brand options. You know how much I love ampersands. I’m not sure I will need to refresh this brand identity any time soon which makes me extremely happy. I’m also excited to see it grow and expand into different mediums and I hope you follow me along for this journey.

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I’m a designer I  swear! The moodboard above is for a new branding and print project that I’m working on solo (sort of)! I’ve talked about how David and I work on separate projects most of the time. This project is from a former client that primarily worked with David on her website. She is now the lead on a huge wellness project locally and requested we work on the branding and print work. I’m really excited as we finalized the logo yesterday and thought I’d share where the inspiration came from. Can’t wait to share the final project here with you!

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TGIF! To kick off this month of May, I’m excited to share my Lettering in May project. I’m going to be spending the next 31 days practicing my lettering by lettering random quotes, phrases, etc. So be sure to follow along via Tumblr or the #letteringinmay hashtag on social media.

If you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments below!

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This winter, I see myself in lots of large sweaters, blouses, long dresses  (find some great options here), leggings, scarves, and boots! It doesn’t hurt that most of the things on my wish list/style guide are black and white. I’ve tried to incorporate color in my wardrobe for the past couple of years but I always see myself coming back to all things monochrome. #sorrynotsorry

1. Letter Graffiti Dress – $21.99 | 2. Big Polka Dot Sweater – $23.22 | 3. Long-Sleeve Polka Dot Blouse – $20.17 | 4. Black and White Buffalo Pattern Top – $24.32 | 5. Geometric Pattern Cardigan – $27.37 | 6.  Anchor Sweater – $23.81

This is all pretty inexpensive right? Well the lovely people at Rosegal are offering an 8% coupon with the code joeyCgil to keep your closet full this fall.

What’s on your fall wish list?

This blog has been compensated by Rosegal, all opinions are mine alone.

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Hello friends! I’m very excited to share the moodboard for my latest branding project. I’m working with three very talented ladies to create the branding for their music group. Working with a musician has always been on my branding bucket list and I’m lucky enough to work with three. These ladies have such a positive message and I love everything they’ve done. Some of the words they’ve come up with for their branding are: connected, daring, harmonious, and empowered. This is a quick turnaround project because they’re debuting next month! Be sure to be on the lookout for the final result.

Source: Pods & Wings Print | Gold Chevron | Hanging Tea Lights | Not All Who Wonder Print | Polka Dots (Source Needed)

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The above is the finished identity for a client that we wrapped up last month. They’re still in the process of getting everything started but it was a lot of fun to help them form an identity.

This is a mock-up of a logomark for a new program I’m introducing with an old client. It’s changing a bit due to a name change but the core of it is still the same. I can’t wait to see it printed and online when it debuts in January!

Remember this moodboard? We’re picking this project back up and making adjustments to the logo. This was one of the latest iterations that we’re changing but I’m so excited about this badge logo.

I needed to get out and do something different so I illustrated this tree a couple of weeks ago. Now it’s one of the pieces that you’ll see in the upcoming holiday line for the Studio 404 shop! 🙂

I guess it’s tradition with these posts that I give you a bump update! Here’s me in natarajasana after no sleep last night at almost 26 weeks. This little girl is all about partying all night apparently but I have no complaints. Only two more weeks until I’m in the third trimester.

What have you been working on lately?

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