For those of you who are friends, fans and followers (thank you! we love you too!!), you already know that part of our business is graphic design. When we started Pixels, we knew that photography would be the focus (har har), but the graphic design side has been an important and growing piece. Ryan has been a full time professional in marketing, promotions and graphic design for over 15 years and he’s growing Pixels’ graphic design side by working with both entrepreneurs and legendary brands.
Here are a few of Pixels’ favorite projects.
If you are a start-up, a brand in need of a new look, a business in search of a way to display your latest promotional campaign, are ready to reboot your business/event/cause or other promotional image, get in touch. We’d be honored to help you by creating or facilitating a creative pivot.
A sampling of graphic design work and more info is here and you can also check out the full monty for Colt’s Hearts, Fionix, Bridal Traditions, Byrd’s and Bees, New Appalachia and Historic Lance Brand for CPCC.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brides, and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
We focus a great deal of our excitement on the photography side of our business, but we are also a graphic design business and Ryan has close to 2 decades of experience with graphic design and branding. Some of Pixels favorite graphic design projects have been creating the branding, logo and design elements for Bridal Traditions, Fionix Consulting, and Byrds & Bees Farm – all various and interesting projects and great collaborations.
In 2013, we designed a logo for the Philip L. Van Every Foundation along with business cards, letterhead and all accompanying stationary. Yep, Philip was one of the founders of THE Lance company, known for snack crackers. [I don’t want to jump in the middle of people’s lives and long held opinions, but you’ve got to go with a Captain’s Wafer. It’s unexpectedly zesty and I’ll just leave it at that.]
We continue to handle any branding updates for the van Every Foundation, like new cards for board members and so on.
Recently, the Foundation approached us to create a sign that would contribute to the historic and family-owned Lance memorabilia wall in the corporate office conference room. We were happy to oblige.
We worked closely with the Foundation to design the sign using some historic photos of Philip on the factory floor with employees, mixed in with photos of the some of the products they manufactured. They were so happy with the results, and so were we. We talk about creating memories and heirlooms with photography, and this gave us a chance to do that creatively for our clients.
The Lance company began as a small and family-owned local business. It has grown into a nationwide brand and company that people know by name. In 2010, they merged with Snyders of Hanover and then in 2017, the company was purchased by Campbell Soup. The goal of this project was to give visitors to the Charlotte factory a glimpse of the company history and we loved being able to provide that.
If you are an entrepreneur or a medium to large company in need of branding expertise, a new logo or visual system for marketing, we would be interested in hearing your story and learning more about your business, vision and goals.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brides, and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
In the news, especially the science and environmental columns and journals for the past decade, we’ve all been learning about how our bee populations nationally are in danger and decline. If you didn’t care – or know before – you probably do now. The health of bee colonies is a significant sign of how our environment overall is doing and bees are part of a process that ultimately touches how we humans live and survive.
It’s big. That’s the macro. The micro? Most of us grew up eating honey and don’t you love eating local honey on a biscuit? …. Or take a spoonful of local honey to help with allergies? I digress.
These clients – Sherry and her husband Allen of Byrd’s and Bees Farm – reached out to us last fall to have a logo created for their business: a family-run local bee farm that sells both honey and “nucs.” These guys had a fairly specific idea for the logo mark. We talked on the phone about what they were thinking, and we took those ideas and developed options. They had a drawing that I mimicked closely that was very light and airy with more pastels as a color palette. The second option we presented was reminiscent of the vintage seed packets and the third option was a very modern, clean line, simplified honeycomb option.
Here are the 3 options we presented:
Sherry’s response to the initial designs: “Okay so I’ve been waiting on this all day!!! They are all so beautiful but by far mine and Allen’s favorite is Option 2! I am so in love with that style! The colors are beautiful and the style is perfect. I love that heart apostrophe…makes MY heart smile.”
After some tweaks we ended up with this design.
They were thrilled! Huzzah!! : “I’m so happy (giddy even) with this logo! Thank you so much!!! I love it!”
If you’ve never hired us for graphic design work, here’s a little info to tuck away. Our process is one we use that has served us well over the years. We typically listen to the client’s ideas and show them 3 options to start. Those usually follow the “rule” of show one that’s right on par with their ideas, fleshing out the detail and covering the base. The second option deviates slightly from that original client idea to add a few extra little touches that may enhance their ideas. The third option Ryan calls “the wild card.” It’s a design that’s just out of box altogether, and its mainly there to show ideas they may not have even considered.
Once a design is approved, we can also design business cards, stationary packages, brochures, powerpoint slide decks and a whole lot more.
This couple is working on their overall brand and business and when we have more to share with you, we look forward to it!
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brides, and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
This project was a personal one and we felt so privileged to be included in the promotion of Colt’s Hearts of Comfort. Parents Shana Greene Williams is a life-long family friend of mine and when she and her husband Thomas lost their son Colt at 38 1/2 weeks, only a few days before his birth, they were naturally devastated, confused, angry and left wondering “why?” These two Christ-followers, however, did not lean on their own understanding, but built on their grief. From the loss of Colt, they created a special non-profit to help others. It honors their son, allows him to have a legacy in death that he couldn’t have in life, and it provides comfort and support to families who’ve lost a child.
Shana reached out to us as the non-profit began to grow, because she knew there were families out there, like hers, who would need comfort when the unimaginable happens. The world keeps turning, but your heart is broken. She felt that hospitals, OB/GYN offices and others doctors, churches and organizations might need a brochure to give to those families. Children who are still-born or those who are miscarried are no less precious to the families who wanted and planned for them. Even with medical advances, there is still loss during pregnancy and the Williams’ knew this.
Ryan worked closely with Shana, discussed what she would need in a marketing piece, and designed a trifold brochure for the cause (the graphics above). He also designed a folded note card to accompany each pillow sent to families (the images below). Being a part of creating any kind of promotion for this group that understands loss, prays over each pillow and is reaching parents and families in a dark hour was an honor for us. The idea seems simple, but when you hold one of these pillows – that weighs roughly what the lost child weighed – you understand how important this project is.
We all want to think that we can “dig deep” when tragedy touches our lives. I believe that in Shana and Thomas you can see true faith in action. When we are small, the Lord looms large as our father, our comfort, and our example to others. We are weak and He is strong. He teaches us to lean on Him, and as we receive His comfort, we also receive an example of how to comfort others.
To learn more or find out how you can contribute to Colt’s Hearts of Comfort visit https://www.facebook.com/coltsheartsofcomfort/.
If you or your business has graphic design needs including logo, brochure, card, or any other marketing materials designed please contact Pixels On Paper and visit our design website http://graphics.pixelsonpaper.net/ to view more examples of our work.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brides, and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2017 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
When a friend and former colleague of Ryan’s approached us about creating some branding and graphics for her new venture, of course we were in. People know Pixels primarily as photographers, but Ryan and I are trained graphic artists. Ryan’s been with Central Piedmont Community College’s marketing and media department for 14 years. He’s our creative lead when clients need graphic design.
Jessica Graham wanted to start a new consulting business and found the name Fionix (pronounced Phoenix) suited her perfectly. The word in one definition described “a girl who isn’t afraid to fight; some people even call her the alpha. She normally has blond hair and slightly different colored eyes and she is strong, fearless, and loyal. She’s a best friend who never lies to you.” Jessica read that definition and heard the audible click that said, “the search for my business name is over.” That’s when Pixels’ work began.
Working with Jessica was a lot of fun for Ryan, because she was once his boss at CPCC and they had a sort of short hand. He picked her brain, but she also came to the table with lots of thoughts and ideas that made the process more exciting than a simple font treatment. We love logo design and branding and Ryan’s career has been steeped in the principles of consistency and unifying creative. The direction initially was a play on our traditional view of phoenix (the bird rising from its ashes), so flames and regeneration were a start. What we ended up with is a mark that she absolutely loves and one that we are particularly proud show off.
Once her design was approved, we created business cards and the rest of the identity systems for Fionix. We’re excited for Jessica’s new consulting business. She saw a gap in the market and is filling it with her years of experience in communications and public relations and her endless curiosity for reaching out on behalf of communities.
We are always eager to help new entrepreneurs or existing businesses develop their branding through better, more targeted graphic design. If you know someone starting a business or looking to refresh their brand, I hope you’ll tell them that graphic design is part of what we do at Pixels.