PMS 3255: Nautical

Color The property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way it reflects or emits light. 

My eye is trained to see color differently than the normal person. When I was a prepress operator at OEC Graphics I would painstakingly color correct client's projects to print in the perfect mix of either spot or process colors. To accomplish this I had to "see" a small percentage difference from one hue of, say blue, to the next.

I later took my prepress knowledge into a graphic design position. I used my color trained eyes to find perfect combination of colors for product lines at Horizon Hobby. I'd use tools like Color Hunter & books on color in hope of finding a magic combination. But I found that my uber sensitive eye still needed to tweak the hues to perfection.

As you may have seen I used my uber sensitive eyes to create a perfect combination of color for our next baby. I'm not going to lie. The teal in the mix isn't in my normal list of favorites. Part of my issue is I don't like how the word teal sounds when you say it out loud.

Just say it, "TEAL"

And come on. Is it blue? Or is it green?

But I've now moved past all that.

I hesitantly added teal to the baby's brand. And therefore, into my life. Once I did I saw it magically used as an accent color on the house where we pick up our CSA food.

That door convinced me to repaint our changing table Nautical. (Way more fun to say than teal.)

 

And just yesterday, I designed our baby's thank you cards. Using PMS 3255 as the accent color.

Teal, welcome to my life.

Branding My 2nd Baby

Like any good mother I want to be fair to my kids. This is why I have decided to once again go through the exercise of Branding My Baby.

First, a look at what was Cadence's brand. Two typefaces (LD Bohemian Filigree & Machiarge) & four neutral colors - slate blue, light brown, red & dark brown.

The type & the colors were used for Cadence's thank you cards & birth announcements. We also used the color scheme with a western rodeo theme for the nursery.

Well, Cadence turned out a bit - okay a lot - more girly than this look. Below is what Cadence overhauled her own brand into.

And now onto Branding My 2nd Baby.

Since this baby is getting 90% of Cadence's baby things handed down to him/her I decided to keep the Machiarge typeface. Sharing such a great typeface may be hard to do, but my kids will need to learn sharing is what siblings do.

Next, I bought My 2nd Baby it's very own display face: Skitch. I do realize normal moms buy their babies cute clothes. I buy cute typefaces. And this one is the epitome of cuteness. The typeface comes with multiple fun variations AND borders and ornaments. Perfect for designing this child's thank you cards & birth announcements.

As for the color palette, I'm giving My 2nd Baby's brand flexibility. I've kept the same dark brown that was used for Cadence (another lesson in sharing) & added a light gray, sea foam green, and then chose a gender specific color - blue for a boy or pink for a girl.

The inspiration for both the type & color scheme came from the photo below, little birds, by Leslie Ostrander that we purchased for the new nursery. The photo was part of our prize for supporting her new book the pauses between due out in August.