Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Letter Love & Fonting Around


This poster found on the How blog made me literally laugh out loud! I love it, and it is so true...

We creative-types spend so much time inspiration searching whether it is for the perfect font or just general imagery. It is important for us to stay up-to-date with the new trends and current designs, but when is it too much?

All I know is that I wish I had a little bit more time right now to do some creative inspiration searching. I would be happy to "font around" for an hour or two.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Thansgiving Typography Inspiration

It's officially my favorite time of the year. I absolutely love Thanksgiving and everything that comes with it: food, festivities, friends, family and the beginning of the holiday season.

This week, I am going to take some much needed time to relax, but I plan to post a few fantastic Thanksgiving inspired designs during my time off...

This typography project by Judith Uzcategui is absolutely stunning. As a whole it is a textural beauty, but when you look at the close-up and realize the strategic and meaningful placement of each word it becomes even more magical.





Thursday, November 17, 2011

Starting Up: Can a tidy office really exist???

UGHHH!!! My office is a disaster right now. It consists of paper samples, swatches, ribbon, printouts, boxes, and books galore. Not to mention, our new puppy has decided it is her favorite room which means puppy toys are everywhere. I am normally fully in the work zone when I am in my office that I don't think about keeping it super tidy. I know where everything is, and that's all the matters, right? Well, maybe not...

Recently, I have been doing a lot of planning, branding and growing of my small little company (Chena). If I am spending all this time, energy and stress creating my very own small business, shouldn't my office reflect the same sense of professionalism?

The answer is, without a doubt, YES! So, as of today, it has become my newest home improvement project. I am dreaming about organizing, which is very rare. I can't wait to buy boxes, paper shelves, etc. Honestly my current office space, when tidy, is a pretty good reflection of my creative style, but I want to push it more with paint, bulletin boards, shelves, etc. My office should become my design Mecca. I will try and keep you in the loop as I work to develop my new and improved work space.

As a starting point, I have gathered some inspirational creative offices. I only hope in the end mine looks this stunning. Enjoy!


I am digging the clean look and white space here. Plus, I always LOVE orange. 


This work space is pretty close to perfect. My only change would be a color instead of black. 


Pretty and a little shabby chic. I like all the cubbies and the green wall. I am starting to see a pattern in loving color on the walls. 


Again, the cubbies are wonderful. Also love the magazine bins in this office. 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Chena Design Holiday Cards are Here!!!


The holidays are right around the corner (I know it doesn't seem like it, but they are, I promise!), and I am VERY excited (practically ecstatic) to announce the release of Chena Design's 2011 Holiday Photo Card catalog. Please take a look, let me know what you think, and order away!!!

Happy Shopping...



You can also click here to view the catalog.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

New Designs: The Creative Exchange & Becky Ellsworth Photography

I am so excited to share these two new projects! Partially because they are showcasing a new web/blog design section in my portfolio. In all honesty, I know how to code a website through basic html and css, but I completely don't LOVE it (hate might be too strong of a word, but not by much). Luckily, Tony from Evenpar Solutions contacted me awhile back about collaborating with his amazing programming skills. In my opinion, it is a perfect match. I can now design fun, creative and beautiful websites and then hand it off to an incredibly talented "web guy". We both get to do what we love!

Tony has given me the opportunity to design a bunch of great blogs recently like The Creativity Exchange, seen below. Not only do I get to design the look and feel of the site, I am also learning a lot and finding TONS of new creative blogs to follow. Cyndy came to Tony with a great inspiration board of colors and textures. The design just clicked, and I am thrilled at the outcome. You should check out the entire site here.


My new collaboration with Tony is also working the other way around. Becky Ellsworth, a childhood friend, asked me to help her rebrand her photography business which included a completely new and revamped website design. (Guess who did all the programming???)

Becky Ellsworth Photography's new site is simple and elegant with a pop of bright color to keep it fresh. I must admit, I LOVE this site and everything we were able to do with it. Not to mention Becky's photographs are incredible.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Letter Love!


This A is beautiful – a great color palette and fantastic use of geometric line. 

found here