Rebrand: Hampton Beach Parasail

Hampton Beach Parasail contacted me last winter about redesigning their logo. Their main concern with the original logo is that “Parasailing” and SUP Rental are hard to read, and that potential customers may not know what “SUP” stands for. They did want to stick with very bright colors and convey a sense of summer fun and adventure.

Here is their original logo:

Due to the client’s concern of people not knowing what “SUP” stands for, I changed the wording to “Paddle Board.” The new logo maintains the summer fun theme and bright colors of the original, while using modernized fonts and graphics to attain a highly legible and aesthetically pleasing logo that will translate well to merchandise and marketing. 

Redesigned logo:

As with all my brand identity clients, I provided examples of what this logo would look like on print collateral, digital media, and merchandise.

Such a pleasure working with a small, family-owned local business! Hope they crush it this summer.

Rebrand: Buff + File Nail Bar

I love a good logo update! Buff & File Nail Bar recently moved around the corner to 218 State Street in Portsmouth, NH. The move allowed for more mani-pedi chairs and the addition of a waxing and skin care room for the quickly growing business. With the move, the salon wanted an updated look for their logo. The interior of the new space is airy and modern, with natural elements throughout, including wood pedicure platform and matching nail bar, and gray and white marble tile floors. Custom lighting brightens the space and illuminates the polish bottles, which provide a pop of color. I wanted the logo to feel equally airy and modern. The polish "drip" graphic above the text was inspired by my love of fashion magazines and the artistic way that magazine art directors and photographers swatch makeup for their articles. I love those artful blobs, drips, splotches, and smudges, and can't help but wonder how many times they had to dribble the product until they got it just right. Typography is one of my favorite elements of design, and these fonts were both new discoveries for me especially for this project. The "Buff + File" font is called Moon, which I love for its minimalism. Below, the font for "nail bar" is called Honeymoon, which I chose for its angles which are complimentary to the polish drip graphic and provide eye-pleasing contrast to the straight lines of Moon. Watch for more photos of the space and collateral using the new logo!

Aesthetics Matter: My Interview with the NH Brand Project

Thanks to the New Hampshire Brand Project for having me on their WSCA radio show yesterday, October 28, 2016. I'll post audio in the future, but in the meantime here's a blog by Rich Collins about our talk - covering some of the many reasons NH is a great place to be a creative professional and start a business, and why my career mantra has always been...aesthetics matter!

Text below, or view the article on LinkedIn: 
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/aesthetics-matter-rich-collins

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This week on the NH Brand Project live radio show, hosts Michael Cameron, and Co-Hosts Rich Collins speak with the Creative Director and Marketing Strategist of Andree Van Oss Creative.

Andree has a number of fingers in the New Hampshire entrepreneurial pie, having started the Buff & File Nail Bar (a manicure and pedicure salon) in downtown Portsmouth. She also engages in freelance graphic design and marketing and manages business identities through Van Oss Creative.

“Aesthetics help people make buying decisions,” says Andree, and companies need to focus staff and energies on an individual or a team who can be the designated “Keeper of the Vibe.” By this, she means staff who can design, develop and promote a consistent look/feel/experience that consumers recognize and relate to, that tells the brand story. While it is important to manage and curate social media for sharing “the Vibe” – the real experience a customer has is uniquely their own, interactions with the staff, the customer service, the products – even the packaging. Just think about Apple, and you suddenly understand. The big picture around a company brand is partly aesthetics – look attractive and people will, in turn, become more attracted. Attractiveness being anything from quality craftsmanship to clean record-keeping systems. This explains the draw of local towns like Portsmouth, Conway, and even her hometown of Hollis – there is pride in aesthetics, the people, and the community.

It is no surprise that someone with a graphic design background believes aesthetics matters – and in a town like Portsmouth that is chock full of creative agencies – this idea proves itself a winner time and time again. Companies are investing in their presence both when engaged with consumers face to face as well as their online or “Carryover” presence that exists in the periphery. Establishing an attractive, engaging, warm and inviting company culture seems to be working.

Andree invites you to check out her website and work at http://www.andreecreative.com/

Creating Wall Candy at Buff & File Nail Bar

Downtown Portsmouth's Buff & File Nail Bar has a sleek look - all black and white decor. While the design choice was driven partially by the historic black and white checkerboard floor, the decision was also made to showcase the extensive wall of colorful nail polish choices and their bright pops of color. As Co-Founder and Creative Director of Buff & File, I designed the branding and the interior of the salon, and decided to enhance the space with oversize, styled photos some of our staff's best nail work. We teamed up with Mallory Parkington Photography for a photo collaboration and are absolutely thrilled with the results. After enlisting a few clients and staffers as hand models, our creative team curated some of their favorite nail designs, and our talented manicurists got to work. I hit the grocery store for some colorful props including citrus, candy, and ice cream, and the whole crew spent the morning at Mallory's studio on Congress Street. It was a morning of sticky, messy fun on set while creating beautiful images of stylish manicures. Below are some select photos - now displayed throughout the salon. 

Photos: Mallory Parkington Photography
Art Direction: Andree Van Oss
Manicures: Alex Sirois, Amanda Hill, Alliyie Schults, Moira Byrnes
Models: Sara Free, Erin Gordon, Kristin Norman

A Week on La Costa Brava

This past March, I spent an amazing week on La Costa Brava, an area encompassing Barcelona and other coastal cities in eastern Spain. Barcelona and it's people truly prioritize design - from Gaudi's architecture to the boundless museums and galleries, products, and even food presentation - Barcelona is a city full of art and inspiration is everywhere. We escaped the city for two days and headed north to Cadaques, a small fishing village which was home to Salvador Dali, and where his home has been preserved as a museum. Cadaques is quintessential Costa Brava - white washed houses set on a hillside, tiny winding cobble stone streets, and stunning light shining off the ocean - this place could break Instagram. The easternmost point in Spain, Cadaques is also where the Pyrenees mountains begin. We stayed at the impeccably designed Tramuntana Hotel, a boutique hotel with wonderful amenities, comfortable rooms, a perfect location in town and friendly, accommodating owners. Between the surreal rush of visiting the home of Salvador Dali, and the incomparable setting, Cadaques was among the highlights of the whole trip. Back in Barcelona, we continued to enjoy outstanding food, and I snapped design inspiration wherever I found it. My favorite find is pictured here, some artisan chocolate packaging. This font and these colors are my current design obsession - definitely too pretty to eat!