Hand Made Meets Sophisticated

What excited me the most about finding yesterday's feature on Anthropologie is that their design philosophy is so clearly executed in their catalogs, store layout and clothing. The juxtaposition of something sophisticated with something hand made.

This aesthetic is something I've been trying to achieve in my own home as well as graphic design at work.

Recently I worked on a project for a cosmetic surgeon. We were a little slow around here so my creative director urged me to not just do more of the same (but better) with my extra time but to do something I haven't done before.

IMG_0783
That's when I got the xacto knife out.

Inspired by Real Simple, I decided to do a cut paper treatment and have my photographer actually photograph the layout.

Cutpaperprocess
The photographs came out like this. Fun sidenote: I raised the cut paper off the background paper with Legos.

I took the images (in Photoshop CS4) and did some magic to create these client brand boards.

Picture 5

Picture 4

Picture 6

Picture 7

So, I could've created all of this in Photoshop alone but I'm really proud that there is some real hand-cut elements in there.

I hope that gives you a little sneak peak into what I do and the process I go through.

Are you working on any DIY or hand made projects? Tell me about it!

 

Reader Comments

LOVE IT! What a great turnout. I also am in love with Anthropologie.

Love the layouts! Those cutouts would look great in a shadow box. Go you!

I am working on a diy art project but I have nothing to show b/c Im totally stuck. Im looking for some good black & cream digital pattern to use as inspiration but I cant find anything I love.

Kendra - Thank you! I'm really excited about the results.

Mrs. Limestone - That's a fantastic idea! Maybe I should create a shadow box for the client out of the actual cut outs.

Have you tried any stock photo sites like Shutterstock or iStock? You can find some really inexpensive vector patterns (that you can manipulate) there.

Nice! I like it!!
I'm actually working on a sewing up a skirt today!

i LOVE it.

Thanks for your post - I'd love for you to be a guest blogger if you don't mind :) can't find your email address but you can reach me at bklimestoner@aol.com

Ive been to those sites since they are usually great starting points but nothing seems quite right to me. I think I need to just procrastinate on it until I come up with something. Thats the beauty and curse for doing something for myself - no deadline :)

Out of curiousity - what thickness of paper did you use for your cut outs? They look nice and stiff.

Mrs. L - Yay! I'd be happy to guest blog. I emailed you some pics from my work address. Keep your eye out.

Sometimes procrastination works miracles. :)

I used various weights and thickness. Those undies and mirror are actually fairly flimsy (100# text weight) but the backgrounds and silhouettes are card stock weight (120# cover or so). I bought all the paper at my local hobby store. The mirror is actually Martha Stewart paper.

Show the difference between the handmade and photoshopped panties. That's what *I* found dramatic.




J & K started this blog project to document the remodel of their 1929 historical home in the heart of Oklahoma City. It has now turned into a documentation of life, food, fashion, freelance, inspiration, design, adventures and details around the J & K house.

Kathleen works as an award-winning brand consultant and designer specializing in small business branding at Braid Creative & Consulting. Jeremy is a software engineer and is the left-brain to Kathleen’s right.

You can contact Kathleen at
jeremyandkathleen (at) gmail (dot) com.

All photos and graphics by Kathleen unless otherwise stated. Feel free to use them with permission or credit.

Anatomy of an Outfit



Sometimes I like to get dressed and take pictures of myself. For all of my outfit posts click here.

Freelance Matters



Freelance Matters: A series about how I tackle freelance issues such as estimating, billing, to-do lists and how to fire a client.

Trekking to Everest



In October 2010 Jeremy and I trekked through the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. It completely changed my life. Read about the entire adventure, day-by-day, here.

My Business



Braid is a creative & consulting business I own with my sister. We do branding and business visioning for creative entrepreneurs. On the Braid blog I share branding adventures, how-to articles and advice on the creative process. If you need a little brand therapy of your own visit Braid or subscribe to the Braid blog RSS feed here.



What We Eat



We like to eat really good food - at least 3 times a day. Sometimes I blog about it - click here for recipes and yummy ideas.


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