WHERE

Heavy Petal is a blog written and curated by Andrea Bellamy which focuses on gardening from a west coast urban organic perspective. Established in 2005, the blog has a large and growing following and has been featured by Apartment Therapy, Design* Sponge, and Decor8. Andrea is also the author of a newly released book, “Sugar Snaps and Strawberries”, which offers guidance on growing gorgeous organic food in an urban, small space setting. Her successes have positioned her as a thought leader in the urban gardening community, and as such, her site needed a refresh to keep up with the quickly evolving tastes of this new generation of gardeners.

IDEAS

The new site needed to mature yet reflect the visually stunning and mouth watering content that it features. Using an organic, hand-designed approach to communicate the delicate yet quirky and inspiring personality of the site and its author, the design combines a modern and clean layout with classic elements. The aesthetic was influenced by vintage seed packaging and was designed to be equally appealing to both young and older gardeners.

To add the bit of whimsy that the site required, and impressed and enchanted by the work of Renee B. Gardener, we approached this illustrator about some ideas for the design. Her fresh, delicate style was aligned with our vision for Heavy Petal and she delivered an updated and embellished version of the wordmark and the nasturtium floral detailing—chosen for its femininity and edible nature.

The new elements were applied to the website, business cards, and the free downloadable material available on the site.

WORK

Just in time for the spring 2011 growing season, the new and improved Heavy Petal blog launched with the latest tips for urban gardeners. The feedback from her followers has been overwhelmingly positive, and with Andrea out on book tour, the updated site is proving to be an integral communication and publicity tool.

The visuals we created for this innovative contemporary dance company are based on the actual movement of the lead dancer, Crystal Pite. Using provided photos and our own illustrative artwork, we wanted to provide a tangible record evocative of the emotion that is so fleeting in a dance performance.

Thanks JK Chan again for sharing.

It’s common knowledge (among those who know me) that I love Cuba. My wife and I were married there. I may not entirely agree with their politics, but the Cuban people are amazing—perhaps the warmest and most enjoyable culture I’ve encountered in my travels. To visit Havana is an adventure in history, politics, architecture, music, food, drinks and language. If you haven’t been, go.

In the past few years, my role with GDC has happily collided with my love of Cuba, first with the sold out Colours of Cuba holiday fiesta party we hosted in 2005, then the Shared Dreams Cuban design exhibit we were able to bring to Vancouver in 2006. Now, I am again fortunate to be able to travel back to Cuba as part of a small delegation of GDC designers to the Icograda World Design Congress being hosted in Havana October 20–26, 2007. We’re also bringing with us two deserving young GDC student members selected from an impressive field of entries to expose these young designers not only to the diverse Cuban design scene, but to the international design landscape early in their career.

A GDC colleague of mine, Robert Peters of Winnipeg’s Circle Design, is also a fan of Cuba and has made numerous trips there, studying their culture and design community. He recently published a wonderful and well-researched article in Communication Arts called Cuba Si! about life, history and politics on the embargoed archipelago and their impact on the design community. Peters himself is an inspirational Canadian design leader—there’s a great interview with Robert Peters on NetDiver if you’d like to learn more about his personal history and perspectives.

Next time you see a dirty car and write the ever-so-clever “Wash Me” on the rear windshield, think again.
By the way, Sean Wade must know of some great dusty roads.

In the spirit of the art and illustration theme we’ve had going on lately, here’s a small but really cool portfolio via Drawn! The Illustration Blog. They’re 3D computer generated pieces based on automatic drawings. The result is really interesting, and actually looks traditionally rendered rather than the smooth CG effect that is so prevalent in 3D digital art. I just wish there were more to look at.