MONKEY SQUEAKER - VALENTINE'S DAY
The Job: Design a monkey themed card for baby/toddler (gender neutral) with a squeaker feature. Work with engineering and procurement to execute details.
My Role: Graphic Design, Illustration
Solution: I added burgundy flock to the monkey's fur and metallic red foil accents for maximum impact on the cover. I worked with cost and procurement to obtain a cost feasible and age appropriate squeaker mechanism.
ANIMAL TRAIN WITH MAGNET ACCESSORY - BIRTHDAY
The Job: Design a gender neutral birthday card (age 5-7) with secondary play use appropriate for the $4.99 price point and recipients age.
My Role: Concept, Graphic Design, Illustration
Solution: I chose to illustrate a fun birthday party themed train and magnets as an accessory because of their high perceived value and extended playability. I added metallic copper foil accents, emboss + clear screen print varnish to make the design really pop.
PAPA POP-UP - FATHER'S DAY
The Job: Design a Father's Day card with a pop-up interior function.
My Role: Graphic Design, Illustration
Solution: Art Director wanted to show relationships using cute food characters. Gold foil process added a little sparkle throughout the design.
OFFICIALLY LICENSED - WONDER WOMAN
The job: Design and illustrate a birthday song card (for girl age 7-10).
My Role: Concept, Illustration, Graphic Design
Solution: I had the unique opportunity to use my original illustration for the Wonder Woman character on the cover. I added a texture embossed foil to the red burst to add maximum rack appeal. The card played a song for 30 seconds when opened.
K-POP KITTENS - BIRTHDAY
The Job: Design a gender neutral birthday sound card (age 6) utilizing photo animals. Work with engineering and procurement to execute details.
My Role: Concept, Graphic Design, Illustration
Solution: I thought it would be super cute and marketable to lean into trending themes: Kittens, K-Pop, and all things 90's. I used lots of metallic blue, red and disco foil to make the design extra over-the-top and appealing for a kid.
CONFETTI BUTTERFLY - VALENTINE'S DAY
The Job: Design a Valentine's Day card for granddaughter (age 7-10) utilizing a vac-form accessory and confetti. Work with cost, engineering and procurement to execute details.
My Role: Concept, Graphic Design, Illustration
Solution: This job was quite tricky to get within cost. The heart shape was a clear custom vac-form that housed loose metallic confetti bits. The word "LOVED" was also red metallic flat foil. I remember there was quite a bit of back-and-forth to arrive at the amount of confetti, the kind, and the size of the vac-form heart shape. The concept behind the design was an homage to Lisa Frank. I wanted to do something early 90's style (lots of hearts, rainbows, butterflies) which I thought would tie into the Valentine's Day holiday nicely.
LIGHT & SOUND PHOTO ANIMAL KIDS - MOTHER'S DAY
The Job: Design a mother's day card utilizing lights, sound, and photo animals. Support a written script in which multiple kids are talking over one another (loudly) expressing how much they love mom and who does it better. Work with engineering and procurement to execute details.
My Role: Graphic Design, Illustration
Solution: I chose photos of puppies and kittens to represent the children, manipulated them so they were cuter and combined them with illustrations of flowers. Yellow LED lights illuminated the "kids" heads each time they spoke. I added emboss and metallic rose foil accents on the cover, a double die-cut for rack appeal, and an apron fold format for the recipient to easily display their card.
ARCTIC PALS + PUFFY STICKERS - CHRISTMAS
The Job: Design a Christmas card for granddaughter with secondary play use.
My Role: Concept, Graphic Design, Illustration
Solution: I chose to illustrate a fun arctic scene with cute polar animals. A die-cut peak on on the cover revealed the sticker sheet accessory which was tipped onto the reverse of panel 2. At this price point, I could afford to do large puffy stickers which were higher in production cost and perceived value than standard paper stickers. I used white glitter accents on all white areas of the cover to reinforce the winter theme.
DOUBLE DIECUT GLITTER + FOIL - CHRISTMAS
The Job: Design an eye catching Christmas card for Daughter. Use process to add value.
My Role: Concept, Graphic Design, Illustration
Solution: I executed this design entirely in process (exception being the small litho areas of black and yellow on the birds). I used a combination of red foil, turquoise foil, glitter and emboss to add lots of glitz and value.
RETRO FLOWERS - EASTER
The Job: Design a feminine Easter card, adult recipient from a child. Stay within cost.
My Role: Concept, Graphic Design, Illustration
Solution: The copy sheet contained a dialog, a sort of question & answer theme, which I thought would be best served if the card was an unfolder format with Springtime characters asking/answering the questions. Stylistically, I went with a retro look, reminiscent of the Hallmark designs of the 60's. Process options were limited since this was a lower price point card. I applied gold bronze to the flower line work and details.
OFFICIALLY LICENSED - PEANUTS
The Job: Design and illustrate a Valentine's Day card for anyone.
My Role: Illustration, Graphic Design
Solution: I had the FUN opportunity to illustrate the Peanuts Characters. The Art Director and Editor wanted a scene that portrayed the classic Lucy "advice booth". They waned a cute style but one that could appeal to kids OR adults.
CHICK & FLOWERS - EASTER
The Job: Design an Easter card for Grandma from grandchild with an emphasis on a type driven solution. Minimal budget for process.
My Role: Concept, Graphic Design, Illustration
Solution: I decided to go with a loose illustration style (as if from a child) and a retro theme. I wanted the style and colors to be nostalgic of cards from the 80's (appeal to grandma the recipient and to mom who was likely the purchaser). Line work was black virko process.
BUILD AN ORNAMENT - CHRISTMAS
The Job: Design a gender neutral Christmas card with a secondary play use.
My Role: Concept, Graphic Design, Illustration
Solution: I had a higher price point to work with, so I decided to incorporate a large paper-craft attachment that would be both a fun activity and an ornament keepsake for the recipient. The Santa pieces were printed on heavy paperboard and embellished with glitter and red foil accents. The card was sleeved and included instructions on how to assemble the Santa.