Great news… the December issue of PRINT magazine – the 2008 Regional Design Annual – includes my business cards and letterhead as one of the best-designed print pieces in the South. Big congratulations goes to my friend Amy Pastre, who was the designer for this project.  Amy is also a co-founder of Sideshow Press, and she and I often collaborate on creative projects. This is our second work to be featured in a PRINT Regional Design Annual.

This from the PRINT website:

… the volume of entries into this year’s Regional Design Annual—a tribute to traditional media if there ever was one—attests to the value of print for delivering a tactile, portable, beautiful message that can be easily read, referenced, and archived. As the floodgates opened in April and the thousands of boxes arrived in our office so that we could sift through the tens of thousands of entries, eventually winnowing them down to this year’s final selections, we witnessed print in all its glory once again. For now, we’ll pause during the cacophony going on next door to toast this year’s 863 winners—and our cheers are still louder than the din.

Above are some samples, which aren’t done justice, of course, without holding the pieces in your hand.  Amy was able to include photography, letterpress printing, color and a star… all features on my wish list for the project. (Ever since creating my first business cards as a knock-off of a 1950s Elvis concert ticket, my collateral has always included a star.) If I haven’t yet given you one of my business or notecards – and you’d like one – please let me know.  Send your post address and I’ll put one in the mail. (No matter how much digital media grows, I’ll always be partial to the look and feel of type on paper, and to the U.S. Post… another classic.)

– Sandy Lang, November 2008

Earlier this year, another website I worked on with Blue Ion went live (love the guys over there), and I’ve been clicking through it again today. I’ll attach a few screen grabs here. The site was for Seamon Whiteside + Associates, a well-respected South Carolina firm of engineers and landscape architects. From the first time we met and visited with SWA, it was clear that the pro staff has a sense of life and fun, even though the work is challenging. Throughout the site we tried to show their creative side, that human element. Here’s my opening copy

Beyond the blueprints and plans.

Beyond the regulations and codes.

Beyond the gravel and dirt.

We see people.

Other collaborators in the project were designer Courtney Gunter and photographer Peter Frank Edwards, along with David Wood, Robert Prioleau and the rest of the team at Blue Ion.

– Sandy Lang, November 2008