Guide to Typsetting
TYPESETTING GUIDELINES I've done a lot—and I mean A LOT—of typesetting in my career. When you were a junior designer back in the day, you learned the ropes and cut your teeth by laying out copy. Most people dread it, but I actually find it...
New Logo Unveiling! The Intelligentsia Agency Inc.
The Intelligentsia Agency Inc.’s Branding Goal The Intelligentsia Agency is a speakers bureau located in the Washington, DC area that specializes in finding talented entertainers and consultants for events and expos around the world. The founder and president,...
Gorgeous Gala Invitation — Pomp Corporate Event Design
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies commemorates innovative elected and appointed officials who have a positive impact on communities of color. At its 2014 gala, it honored Senator Cory Booker for his dynamic and engaging approach to governance....
Museum of the Bible Opening Invitations
Branding and Design I'm so thrilled to finally unveil the branding and design for the Museum of the Bible Opening Events. There were four events total—two of them black-tie galas. Carriers The carrier for the invitations mimic the bronze front doors of the...
Sneak Peek: Gala for Museum of the Bible Opening
A little sneak peek at a very cool invitation for a huge upcoming opening in DC. There are 5 separate events--two of them are black tie galas. The invitations incorporate gold foil, embossing and gold paper. ??? Can't wait to show you the finished product!...
Event Invitation as an Attachment—Don’t Do It!
Event Marketing: Digital Invitations/Eblasts I often get asked by clients to create a "digital invitation" or "eblast" graphic that they can attach to, or insert into the body of, an email for their event. I don't recommend sending digital invitations as attachments...
Tip: Event Program Ad Space
How to make the most of event program ad space A little tip for event professionals who sell advertising in their event program. If your program is saddle-stitched, there are 4 premier ad spaces: back cover inside front cover inside back cover center spread The center...
How to Get White Lettering on Your Wedding Invitations
One of the most frequently asked questions I get from brides is "I want my wedding invitations to have white text on colored paper. How do I do that?" Technically, you can't print white unless you use a printing technique like thermography, engraving, foil stamping or...
Award Ceremony Branding—FNIH Lurie Prize
Each year, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health honors an exceptional young scientist in the field of biomedical sciences with The Lurie Prize. The annual Lurie Prize award ceremony is the FNIH's premier event. It brings together some of the foremost...
From Sketches to Finished Logo Designs
How can a graphic designer not be good at drawing her ideas? Full disclosure here...I'm not the best at drawing. I can draw what I see, like a still life or a model, but I'm not great at drawing off the top of my head. BUT I'm a big proponent of sketching a design...
Typography Tips and Tricks–What’s the Difference between Kerning and Tracking?
Do you know the difference between kerning and tracking? They are two terms that are often confused. Kerning Kerning is art of adjusting the space between two letters in a word. If letters are two close together, it’s hard to distinguish the two. If letters are...
InDesign Tips and Tricks — How to Hang Quotes
I think all designers are innately perfectionists which is probably not entirely healthy. That said, there are a lot of typography missteps that make me cringe when I see them. (See my earlier post on the subject.) One type faux pas that is particularly...
Clients Are Allies Not Enemies
Back when I was a young designer straight out of school, I used to get so offended when clients would have something negative to say about my work. It was one thing to have a fellow designer or professor critique my work...but a client? What do they know about design?...
Typography Tips and Tricks–Curly Vs. Straight
Did you know there's a difference between curly and straight? I'm not talking about hair...haha! I'm talking about typography. It's somewhat simple—apostrophe's are curly, foot marks are straight. Quotes are curly, inch marks are straight. People get it wrong all the...
InDesign Tips and Tricks–Importing Text
InDesign Tips & Tricks: Importing Text 18 APRIL, 2017 graphic design Welcome to my first installment of a series I'm calling "Indesign Tips and Tricks." I've had years (and years and years) of experience importing and formatting text. When I started my career as a...
Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign—Which Adobe Creative Suite Program to Use for What?
Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign? 5 APRIL, 2017 adobe creative suite I've noticed in some of my online graphic designer groups that designers use the completely wrong Adobe Creative Suite program for the task at hand. Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign definitely...
Combining Vintage & Modern on the Chesapeake Bay—Unique Wedding Invitations
I love working with a bride who knows what she wants. My Chesapeake Bay bride, Megan, had a very clear vision of her wedding stationery but needed my help to make her vision come to life. She wanted some vintage navigation elements combined with modern calligraphy and...
Elegant and Simple Personalized Letterpress Note Cards
Love this elegant and simple personalized letterpress note card that I created for R. Hunter Biden. The paper is luxuriously thick at 186 lb. As a gorgeous added touch, I had the edges painted with metallic gold. The gold isn't bright and certainly doesn't hit you...
Pomp Giveaway!
Pomp is proud to partner with Capitol Romance for a very special giveaway! I am giving away one custom return address stamp to one lucky winner. The winner will get to chose between 5 designs and will also have the option between a wood mounted stamp or a self-inking...
Beach Blue Watercolor Wedding Styled Shoot
After a really tough week, this stunning styled shoot is just what I needed to get psyched for spring and summer. I'm envisioning myself with my toes in the sand, a cocktail in hand and in total relax mode. With beautiful blues in the color palette, I designed the...