Studio Sweet Studio

Skillshare Class - FTW! Last week our Intro to UI...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:00:39 -0400

Skillshare Class - FTW!

Last week our Intro to UI design Skillshare class came to an end. It was pretty scary teaching a class for the first time, but the ease of Skillshare made everything a little less terrifying. In the end, the students were absolutely spectacular and their projects were even more amazing! As part of the curriculum we are to choose our favorite 3 projects from the class. After a ton of deliberation, we had it narrowed down to 3 (pictured above). There are so many great projects that we want to feature them all. Take a look at the winning and runner up projects. Click onto their projects and give them feedback if you’d like!

Winners:

San Franola by Jensen Luther

Mother Tongue by Ria Mcllwraith

DogDates by Nikki Lee

Runner up:

The Find by David Broderick

Swizzle by Emma Holder

J.B. Signature Soaps by David Poninski

Cupcaked by Eva Black

Gringo by Adam Lorber

Enjoy! From Tuesday and the rest of the Ghostly Ferns...

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:51:36 -0400

Enjoy! From Tuesday and the rest of the Ghostly Ferns team.

tuesdaybassen:

It’s officially Spring today! I made this lil’ desktop wallpaper for you to celebrate. Download the large file here.

(P.S. Use that only for your desktop! It’s fun to share, but don’t steal it!)

xo

Tuesday

Ghostly Ferns Team Photos

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:11:04 -0400

As many of you may, or may not, know…we’ve expanded our team at Ghostly Ferns to four! We now have an in-house developer and studio manager. These two fabulous additions will keep things running much more smoothly. We’re so excited to have Michael and Brooke on board!

See our information page for more on everyone. (plus info on our awesome collaborators)

New York Happenings: Mirror Universe Release. Hey New Yorkers!...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 14:48:00 -0400

New York Happenings: Mirror Universe Release.

Hey New Yorkers! We’re super excited about the release party for Mirror Universe’s 35th project “Whatever It Is You’re Doing Now.”

The show features one of our favorite NY bands, Holy Sweat, as well as some talent from South Carolina.

Mark it on your calendars, we’ll be there!

—

Flyer by our Tuesday Bassen

Studio Crush: Kelly English of Cheeriup Despite Kelly being my...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 13:57:00 -0400

Studio Crush: Kelly English of Cheeriup

Despite Kelly being my first (and favorite!) Graphic Design instructor, I can confidently say that I am un-biased in my glowing review of her new venture— CHEERIUP, a Minneapolis-based company that makes bespoke “Thickets”!

Kelly wove her first “thicket,” made of naturally collected Minnesota willow branches, for her daughter in their backyard. Luckily for the rest of us, she recently launched this totally sweet and inventive line of woven habitats for kids, adults, and *gasp* pets alike. I think my kitty Mischka might need a thicket of her very own…

Check out CHEERIUP here and if you’re in the Twin Cities this weekend, you should go see CHEERIUP at the Pretty Mommy pop-up shop at 316 W 48th st, MPLS, MN.

—

xo Tuesday

Happy Apocalypse from us at Ghostly Ferns/Studio Sweet Studio!

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:26:58 -0500

Happy Apocalypse from us at Ghostly Ferns/Studio Sweet Studio!

Decoratin’ with Affordable Art As you all know. We love...

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 11:29:00 -0500

Decoratin’ with Affordable Art

As you all know. We love affordable, original art. From our redesign of Buy Some Damn Art to the pieces we own in our homes from friends! Yesterday, a friend tipped me off to a (new to us) source of amazingly priced art, UGallery. I’m a huge fan of abstract art and have been wanting to splurge for quite some time on a beautiful piece full of color and texture. I’ve narrowed it down to 5 (see above). Which should I choose? I think I may go with #2. It’s a steal at only $375. The best part? UGallery allows you to test drive the art in your home. If you don’t love it, you can send it back! I love noncommittal buying scenarios.

UPDATE: UGallery just contacted me and is offering our readers a 15% discount. Yeehaw. Enter “sweet15” at checkout.

All images courtesy of UGallery

We illustrated a handy pocked sized Rum Cocktail Hour book....

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:50:45 -0500

We illustrated a handy pocked sized Rum Cocktail Hour book. Happy drinking to you!

Available at Scout Books.

Outtakes: Cotton and Cloud Here are some of the illustrations...

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 23:31:10 -0500

Outtakes: Cotton and Cloud

Here are some of the illustrations from our branding process with Cotton & Cloud. If you’d like to see the final product, take a trek over to cottonandcloud.com!

Just Launched: POSH Chicago This week we launched our ecommerce...

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 23:20:50 -0500

Just Launched: POSH Chicago

This week we launched our ecommerce design for P.O.S.H., an amazing shop in Chicago! They sell antique and vintage silver, dinnerware, glassware, flea market finds and unique gift items. Amazing one-of-a-kind stuff and awesome gifties! We designed this in partner with This Paper Ship on the illustrations. Check it out.

poshchicago.com

Our work music: Meg’s edition. We try to pick music that...

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 14:57:00 -0400

Our work music: Meg’s edition.

We try to pick music that inspires us to design. Whether we’re designing web sites, branding, or illustrating, we like to listen to fun music that gets us pumped up.
Meg picked some electronic, psych rock, post punk, and 60s pop – enjoy!

Studio Crush: Karen Mabon of Red Brick North We love Karen...

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 18:05:18 -0400

Studio Crush: Karen Mabon of Red Brick North

We love Karen Mabon’s new shop entitled Red Brick North where she peddles her beautifully illustrated and totally bizarre silk scarves. Tuesday already owns the “Swimmers” scarf and has her eye on the brand spankin’ design called “Robbery in a Sweet Shop.” Brilliant!

Buy them here.

Our work music: Tuesday’s edition. We try to pick music...

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 23:57:00 -0400

Our work music: Tuesday’s edition.

We try to pick music that makes us dance in our seats or is otherwise moving; it keeps us energized between coffee breaks and our happiness translates to excellent client work!
Tuesday picked some rap, new wave, hip hop, shoe gaze, and rock—enjoy!
Warning, this one’s NSFW.

Studio Tour: Raw Color Dutch artist/designer duo Daniera and...

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:09:00 -0400

Studio Tour: Raw Color

Dutch artist/designer duo Daniera and Christoph work together with textiles, photography and design to create some stunning compositions under the name Raw Color. Their use of human form and color blocking was truly made for my brain.

Take a look through their studio in The Netherlands.

Be Free, Lance: Pricing Part 3 So far in our pricing discussion,...

Wed, 30 May 2012 11:17:00 -0400

Be Free, Lance: Pricing Part 3

So far in our pricing discussion, we’ve talked about estimating your income and hourly vs fixed fee pricing. Today, we’re going to put these topics to good use. You know, real-world-practical-stuff.

One of the hardest things to do is put a price on creative work. Seriously. In the beginning, it feels like more of a guessing game than most would be comfortable with … but that’s life. You need to dip your toes in the water and go for it! Over time, I promise that you’ll become 100 times more comfortable with your services and what you charge. For instance, one of the first freelancing gigs I ever had was a logo + website combo … for only $300. At the time, I was so excited to take on new work and get my name out there! I quickly realized that spending that much time on a project for a low price just wasn’t worth it! You simply wouldn’t survive on that kind of rate unless you worked at the speed of light. Fast forward a couple years and my pricing for branding and websites starts at $1,000 bare minimum. It’s taken me a bit of time - but I’m finally at a comfortable place in the whole pricing game.

So where do you start at, then? That’s the question. Tak your experience and work ethic into consideration when you’re putting together a pricing estimate for a potential client. Think about what you’d like to make and how long something will take you. Jessica Hische says it well … if you feel a little nervous about telling someone your price, you’re probably spot on. If not, you’re most likely underselling yourself! Start out with a flat fee that you’re comfortable working with and move up from there until it feels right. Go with your gut, it knows you well!

The hard part about being a creative is that not everyone understands our time and worth. In fact, some people think we can whip things together in a day, which is far from the truth! Luckily, most potential clients understand the value of good design and are willing to pay for it. Because I’ve run into both types of people, I quickly learned that it was best to be legit. Yes, legit. If you present yourself in a professional manner, you’ll be treated that way! Use well designed pricing sheets, invoices, and informational sheets. Trust me, people will appreciate and respect that you went the extra mile to present your business.

This is the last of my three part pricing series posts for Be Free, Lance - although I’m sure more will sneak in the future. Even though pricing can be overwhelming, I hope I was able to break it down just a little bit for you all.

Written by Breanna Rose.

Scotty Reifsnyder Studio tour We’re really excited to...

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:06:24 -0400

Scotty Reifsnyder Studio tour

We’re really excited to share Illustrator Scotty Reifsnyder’s studio with you!

Scotty has long been one of our favorite Illustrators; his digital, angular work looks really cared for and not sterile, like many digital illustrations. Scotty teaches at UPenn and has worked for clients such as Disney, Eminem, GQ, The New York Times, and Wired.

“Hipster Coffee Shop” Playlist by Jessica Hische We’re in serious like love with...

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:08:34 -0400

“Hipster Coffee Shop” Playlist by Jessica Hische

We’re in serious ~~like~~ love with Jessica’s “Hipster Coffee Shop” playlist that features our dreamy favs from Mazzy Star, XTC, and Roxy Music, among others.

Highly recommended to enhance your workday, whether you’re planted in your favorite café or studio. Tune in with an Rdio account here.

We Love: Laura Busony’s hand cocktail ring. This...

Sat, 12 May 2012 09:49:12 -0400

We Love: Laura Busony’s hand cocktail ring.

This delightfully creepy, yet elegant, ring is fully adjustable, hand sculpted by Laura Busony, and is made of a beautiful golden hued brass. Find it here.

Lauren Tamaki Lovin’ up on this Leica illustration by...

Fri, 11 May 2012 15:44:20 -0400

Lauren Tamaki

Lovin’ up on this Leica illustration by Lauren Tamaki! Really gorgeous combination of materials, shapes, and colors—her current portfolio has lots of lovely watercolors, but I’d enjoy seeing more multi-media pieces like this.

Studio Tour with Ksenya Samarskaya A brief, yet stunning tour of...

Fri, 11 May 2012 14:36:00 -0400

Studio Tour with Ksenya Samarskaya

A brief, yet stunning tour of Brooklyn based designer Ksenya Samarskaya’s loft.

Set in a former factory in an industrial section of town, Ksenya has beautiful floor to ceiling windows and a gorgeous collection of books, artifacts, gigantic plants, and dusty furniture that adorn her home.

Have a look at her equally thoughtful and interesting work here.