MCSimmons Design

Re-Ride

Megan — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:09:46 +0000

Here’s one of my latest designs for WestSide Baby. It’s their newest program, Re-Ride – Car Seat Reuse & Recycling. While WestSide Baby has been reusing seats that meet safety standards for years, they haven’t been able to do anything with the older seats that could not be sent back out into the community. Now they have the ability to recycle unusable seats (with a $5 donation) and keep them out of the landfills. With every child needing 2-3 different car seats in their lifetime, that makes for a lot of seats. This program will help reduce waste in landfills as well as keep local children in need safe!

Vector VS Raster Images

Megan — Mon, 23 May 2011 01:23:03 +0000

When using images in a marketing piece, make sure you’re using the right type of image for the job! Logos should be created in a vector based application, like Adobe Illustrator, but can then be turned into any type of file needed depending upon where/how it’s going to be used. M C Simmons Design creates all it’s logos in Adobe Illustrator and provides it’s clients with the necessary files for every type of application.

VECTOR:

Made up of points and paths using a mathematical relationship
Best for printing graphics and logos
Can be resized to any size without distortion
File types: AI, EPS, SVG, CDR

RASTER:

Made up of dots/squares called pixels which are part of a grid and filled in with color
Best for photography and viewing images on the web or on monitors
High resolution images (300+ dpi) have more pixels per inch resulting in a clearer image
Low resolution images (72 dpi) the less pixels per inch resulting in a chunkier image
Raster images cannot be resized without losing image quality
Raster file types: JPEG, PNG, GIF, PSD and TIF (…just to name a few)

Holiday Cards

Megan — Sun, 22 May 2011 06:16:22 +0000

One of my favorite things to design every year, is my family’s holiday card! Each fall, I think about how to sum up our year in a unique way. Along with sharing our year, I love including my children’s artwork. – I’ve been designing my Christmas cards for at least 15 years and I used to make them all by hand. Now, with the ease of computers and online printing, I no longer have to cut and paste my designs, which means I can now send out a few more than before. It used to take me m a n y late nights to create 50 or 60 cards, but now printing 1 – 200, is no big deal. The only thing that I insist on doing by hand, is signing all of our cards. There’s nothing worse than getting a holiday card from a friend you haven’t seen in years and they haven’t even taken the time to sign their name. If you are going to take the time to send a card, take a moment to add a personal greeting! (Add festive holiday stamp, too!)

2010 – This card was designed to look like an online magazine with all the latest family news, most read stories and hottest fashions. The back of the card included another page filled with travel highlights and more silly photos.

2009 – The year of the cereal box! I love this card. My girls thought I was crazy for turning us into flakes, but we got so many fun responses throughout the holidays, it was worth being a little silly. The back of the card had games, much like you’d find on a cereal box from when I was young.

2008 – While doing my holiday shopping, I had noticed lots of little tiny pins, on the counters of the funky shops. Hundreds of tiny pins in old glass jars. It made me want to have them. Even more, it made me want to design them. So I did! I created a great little Santa pin and included one with each of our holiday cards. From there, I expanded the idea onto my holiday card, as a way to showcase all of our favorite photos from the year. I only wish I could have made each one of them into real pins. That would be a jar of pins worth having!

* I design holiday cards for friends and clients, too! If you want your next holiday greeting to be truly unique, just say the word!

The Designer

Megan — Sat, 21 May 2011 13:51:52 +0000

Smart design can solve problems, improve the value of a product, and captivate you clients. As a designer, it is my job to make your good ideas look great. I have been designing for more than 20 years, both as a solopreneur and as part of a successful design team. Graphic design is my passion.

For more about MCSD, please go to the ABOUT page.

I also have oodles and oodles of passion for my incredible family!

Branding is My Specialty

Megan — Sat, 21 May 2011 12:57:04 +0000

In everything I do there is an element of branding. Creating a look that gets peoples attention and clearly sets the client apart from their competition. When designing for an event, I translate the message into a visual story that is unique and consistent throughout. From large fundraisers to small intimate gatherings, I always find a way to bring out the personality of an event.