Greetings! 

As 2012 winds down, I can't help to take pause and reflect. What an amazing year! I'm so grateful and so blessed to have wonderful family, friends, clients, mentors, vendors and to have met so many terrific people-each one an intricate part of a beautiful tapestry of growth, strength and creativity inspiring me with new ideas and giving me a renewed sense of purpose for 2013.

As this year draws to a close and the holiday festivities begin, from my heart, I wish you, your family and friends a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and a joyous season of love and a prosperous New Year!

 

Blessings,  

 

Ara

 

P.S. Mark your calendar for Thursday, January 31 for our BRAND New Year Celebration. There will be more information to follow, SO STAY TUNED!

Illustration for Business-the 4 W Questions

What the heck is illustration?  Illustration is simply drawings, icons and symbols that tell a story or delivers a message in a picture and they are all around us. It was the first real visual source of communication; way before photography came on the scene. In some ways, it can be the best universal way of communicating. Ever gone to the restroom in another country and you were glad there was a symbol in a dress on the door before you dashed in? The symbol was created by an illustrator along with countless other icons used in many places where your attention is needed, such as your vehicles, signs along the road, and as basic as the fonts we use daily. Just remember how happy we were (I guess I'm giving away my age a little here) when the "Windows Operating System" evolved and all the sudden we all became so confident to use our computers instead of remembering a string of DOS word commands. Bill Gates is still collecting on that brilliant idea!

 

Why use illustration in your business? Depending on what your business is and the message you want to convey, a great illustrated logo in today's market, can be one of the best fundamental investments you can make for building your brand. In my own experience, I have seen superior commercial products fail gaining market share to a far less quality product because it looked better on the shelf. This was no accident; the company that takes the time to build a memorable brand is king!

 

...continue reading  

The Art of Collage-Creating a Story in One Frame

As long as I can remember I have collected photos, articles, etc. and stored them in albums or boxes. It's not until someone requests something from the past that I go on a mad search to find that special item. The process always takes hours of looking through boxes and pulling down dusty albums as photos spill out onto the floor. Of course the trip down memory lane is always fun, but soon you realize that all the time has passed by and you still haven't found what you were looking for in the first place.

 

Usually when a person(s) is being celebrated for one of any numerous occasions such as a birthday, anniversary, funeral, etc. then the memory boxes and albums are opened. BUT now what? You come across several photos of Aunt Marie, but there is a big scratch down the middle of her face or your favorite red bike photo has faded to pale pink. So retouching may be important--Yikes!  

 

Selecting your items is a great start, but it is just the beginning. Next, the juxtaposition (scaling each item in its perfect place by size and transparency) is key and is one of my favorite skills when I'm creating an original collage. It requires a lot of patience, file adjustments and the ability to walk away for awhile to gain a better perspective later. Finally, the finishing touches melt each image into place with just the right color accents--ooh-la-la!