Design Starter Packages for Entrepreneurs

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

Being an entrepreneur can be overwhelming. 

Believe me, I know.  You started out with an idea that you were over the moon excited about and jumped right into the world of business development- only to have reality hit hard.  You suddenly need to know things about marketing, graphic design, and “what the heck is a copywriter?”  And oh, where would I ever find a photographer?

This is a common story I hear from brand new business owners.  They’re not really sure what they need, and if they do know, they don’t know where to find it.  On top of that, it can seem like you’re blowing through a lot of cash at once in the beginning.  It’s a scary feeling to be parting with your dollars when your livelihood is dependent on your newly born business.

With all this being said, some of my favorite clients to work with are budding entrepreneurs.  They are passionate and inspired.  Every step is exciting.  More than anything, I want to see these people succeed.  And to make sure that they do, I am now releasing my specially designed Graphic Design Starter Packages for Small Business Owners.

These packages combine the different elements that a new business might need, such as logo design and business cards, as well as other services like photography and copywriting, and arranges them into an easy to understand pricing structure.  This takes out the questions of what you actually need, and passes on the savings that small businesses can really appreciate.

Another benefit of these packages- I’ve already gone through the process of vetting a photographer and copywriter for you.  You don’t have to search through Google results and hope for the best.  I am offering you the best professionals I know.

Click here to learn more about the Graphic Design Starter Packages for Small Business Owners- you will find available services, pricing, and special savings (that got your attention!)

If you are an entrepreneur, just starting out, I’d love to hear from you.  If you’ve been in business for a while, but feel as though you need a fresh start, I’d love to hear from you too.

Views of the Valley 2012 Calendar.

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Living in New England is wonderful.  You don’t have to walk too far to stumble upon a scene straight from a postcard.  In the area that I live in, lovingly referred to as the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts, each town has a picturesque landmark that it is known for.

Last year, I worked on a project with my friend and colleague, Suzanne Larocque of Sleaque Images Photography.  Each year, we pool our talents to create a special holiday gift for our clients– something that they will be both attractive and useful for them year round.  In 2010, this gift was the Views of the Valley Desk Calendar.  Each month features a photograph of local landmarks– one for each city and town in the Valley– from the Academy of Music in Northampton, to the clock tower in Ludlow.

Since we received overwhelmingly good feedback on this calendar last year, this year we decided to offer it to other business owners.

Our 2012 Views of the Valley Calendar is now available for purchase in quantities of 50, 100, and 200 calendars.  These calendars make the perfect holiday gift for your clients, to show them how much you appreciate their business year round.  The calendars are also customizable, your company’s logo can be placed right on the back of the calendar.  The calendars come in a CD style jewel case which also doubles as a stand.

Pricing:

50 Calendars: $350 ($7 each)
100 Calendars: $600 ($6 each)
200 Calendars: $1000 ($5 each)

Quantity

50 Calendars $350.00 100 Calendars $600.00 200 Calendars $1,000.00

 

Free Local Delivery.  Please email me if you are out of the Western Massachusetts area and would like an estimate for shipping costs.

Our A-Ha Moment.

Sunday, November 14th, 2010

A lot of design work is going on for the upcoming Inward and Upward show.  In the last post you saw the postcard (there are also coordinating posters and programs- what can I say, I get carried away!)  In addition to the branding materials, I thought it would be fun to do some headshots- especially for this show.  These are no stuffy headshots either.  As a group, we decided that it was necessary to remain authentic, and if we were going to show our faces to our audience, we should show ourselves as we really are– fun and a little bit goofy.

Sarah, artist and photographer extraordinaire, started out by photographing us in front of a white wall.  Later that night- that’s when the Photoshop fun began.  I was inspired by the front pages of one of my favorite magazines, HOW.  Each month, it features headshots of contributing writers and designers in an artistic treatment, one month may be watercolor, the next charcoal illustrations.

First reactions to the final product? “Hey, have you ever seen the video for Take On Me?”

Pinterest-ing.

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

I was just introduced to a new site that essentially allows you to make an online inspiration board.  And not only can you create your own inspiration boards, you can peek at other people’s as well!

On Pinterest, you can set up several inspiration boards, one for fashion, art, interior design, whatever it is that fluffs your peanutbutter.  After you’ve created these boards, browse the web as usual.  When you see something that strikes your fancy, you can “pin it” by simply clicking on the Pinterest button on your browser, and it adds an image of your item to the appropriate list.

This is brilliant not only for inspiration, but also for cataloging.  Planning a special project, designing a room, and need a place to keep all your sources and images in one place?  Pinterest is perfect for just that.

I like to go poking through other people’s boards.  By doing this, I find new shops I’ve never been to, blogs I’ve never read, photographers I had not yet discovered.  Take a poke through my board here.

You need an invitation to join Pinterest.  If you are seriously interested, I have four remaining invitations.  Pop me an email.  The first four people to request an invitation will get one!

One Person’s Junk…

Monday, July 19th, 2010

I’ve been having a lot of creative adventures this summer, been working on some great projects, and developing some new ideas.  So in the next few posts, I’ll be catching you up.  Some of these things I may have done over a month ago, but I feel that they bear sharing.

Last week, I braved the rain (and unbelievable humidity), along with my friend Lisa, and trekked through the Brimfield Antique Fair, in Brimfield, MA.  This fair is apparently very well known by antiquers across the country, but for me, it’s always been this treasure that’s right in my backyard.  (Well, not literally, but close enough.)  We weren’t really in the market to buy anything per se (although I always feel sad if I don’t bring home something…)  My intention was to take some great photographs, and to be inspired by the beautiful craftsmanship of old things.

Let me share some of the images that I took.  You can see the rest on my Flickr page here.

All images are the property of Allison Biggs, and to be used only with credit and permission.

Photos for Photogs.

Friday, June 18th, 2010

My good friend, and fabulous photographer,  Suzanne Larocque, approached me with an idea for a special project last week.  She explained that she had many vintage cameras, and would love to set up some still lifes with them and some flowers, do a little work in Photoshop, and get some gorgeous antique-ish images.

So, with Suzanne behind the camera, me as the stylist, and both of us begging photoshop to work what we were trying to do, we came up with a set of four images, that in our own humble opinion, will knock your socks off.  There was one point in the photo editing session, where we simultanously jumped up and said “Oh, wow!”  It is so awesome to do work that you’re passionate about, and when you get to do that work with friends, even better.

Suzanne and I plan on offering these images as note cards and art prints in the near future, and hope to collaborate on a similar project in the near future.  The vintage cameras have an appeal for photographers, but how about us graphic designers?  Think type.

Eye Candy from Imagine Studio.

Monday, December 7th, 2009

CouCou by ImagineStudio.

Birds of a Feather by ImagineStudio.

These beautiful photo fusion images don’t need much commentary by me.  Sit back and take them in.

Prints are available on the ImagineStudio Etsy site.

All images are the property of Imagine Studio.

A Day in Paradise.

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Twice a year, Paradise City comes to Northamton, MA.  Paradise City is an arts festival held on the Three County Fairgrounds.  A giant tent, and two barns filled with artists and artisans, featuring everything from paintings and sculpture, to pottery and furniture.

I thought I’d share some of my favorites from the show.

The first is collage artist Sarah Ahearn, from Northampton, MA.  To demonstrate what a small world it is, we’re actually taking the same online photography course.  There are people in the course from all across the globe, and here we bump right into each other!  Sarah has prints available on her Etsy page.

The next is sculpture artist, Steven Fleury.  He creates these intricate mazes, from metal and wood.  This booth attracted huge crowds, and an exceptional number of children, all to watch the ball make its way through the maze over and over and over again.  This artist demonstrates how art and mathematics can work side by side, and often times there is a great deal of precision required in art.  There are freestanding sculpture, as well as ones for the wall, both found at his site, www.stevenfleury.com.

I saved my favorite booth for last, photographer Christos J. Palios.  His panoramic photographs play with your head, like a fun house mirror.  You get to look at all angles of a location at once, which makes a once closed in space seem very open.  I encourage you to check out his portfolio at www.giantcolorfulrevolution.com.

All work is copyright of its respective artist.

The Cost of Abundance.

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

We live in a time of great abundance.  As much as we may focus on the things that we don’t have, and fear and fret on losing things, or worry about not having enough, our standard of living is better than it has been in history.  We have things that just 100 years ago were never even imagined.  We use these items everyday, and most likely take their whole existence for granted.  I’m not just talking Ipods and Tivo– think refrigeration and indoor plumbing.  There is a cost for this abundance though.  We don’t often think of this fact; when we have more, we discard more.

At the Daniel Pink lecture last night, I was introduced to an artist named Chris Jordan.  With his photography, he has put this notion of waste into a form anyone can comprehend.  His photos give us an unsettling view of just how much we waste.  How many cell phones get tossed when the next best thing comes along.  How many cars make it to the junkyard when we trade them in for the newest model.  We have all heard the numbers before, and not even batted an eye.  After viewing these images, no one can argue the gravity of the situation.  This is the power of visual art.

Cell Phones- copyright Chris Jordan.

Oil Filters- copyright Chris Jordan.

Crushed Cars- copyright Chris Jordan.

The Human Clock.

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

The Human Clock shows a photograph of the current time.  These photographs range from naturally occurring representations of the number, or with posed and constructed compositions.  You can always submit your own photographs for this site as well.  Clever!