Laura Catoe | Portfolio

CD-style party invitation

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:03:00 +0000

One of the hostesses for this party saw a cd-jacket invitation and thought that was just the right style for this couple. They found a design they liked online, so all I had to do was re-make it in the bride's color scheme according to the cd-jacket dimensions.

This is the second time this year somebody has requested a starburst-based design. 2012... starbursts are in!

The inspiration they sent me:

Abercrombie family tree

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:04:00 +0000

I notice that this was not the 100% final version, as there are still Xs for dates I didn't have. Still, I think it turned out pretty cute.

Dinosaur Train birthday invitation

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:09:00 +0000

Invitation design for Ben's 5th birthday back in March.

Spring 2012 issue of Gadsden Style

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:07:00 +0000

For the spring issue of Gadsden Style, the 5 Places were Bed and Breakfasts. When I saw Capps Cove on the budget, I volunteered for it since I shot Foster's wedding there in 2010.

The charm of Capps Cove is in its styling. Complete with contemporary amenities such as restrooms and central heat and air, the buildings are constructed to look as if one has stumbled upon a 19th-century settlement. The historical architecture and Blount County's natural wonders make a nostalgic and peaceful getaway.

Capps Cove provides chapel, honeymoon spot

Asahi was one of the 5 Foods and I would have volunteered for that one, but the executive editor already had. But he passed it to me in the end because he had to work on something else!

Asahi Sushi House is a family business — Tracy is out front, greeting customers, and her husband is in the kitchen, cooking. Her son, Mu-Tsai, also works at Asahi.

Asahi offers sushi, dishes from other Asian cuisines

We did not have anything designated for the issues "Last Look" page, so I used a photograph I'd taken of dogwood blossoms downtown.

Pinteresting

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 20:58:00 +0000

I was studiously avoiding Pinterest. Not another log-in! Not another thing to keep up with! But then Love Without Boundaries joined Pinterest and wanted some “pins” that feature photos from their programs with inspirational quotes.

In order to get the best feel for them, I felt like I needed to break down and join Pinterest. So I did. I have yet to make any boards. But here some of the LWB pins:

This one features a boy whose LWB name was Eoin. I fell in love with little Eoin and sponsored him in foster care for awhile. His mom contacted LWB to get a high res version of this pin — it makes me so happy to glimpse him again!

This pin features Maya and a girl who has just been adopted. May the bonds of friendship find a way to endure.

Facebook timeline covers and logos

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:17:00 +0000

When I saw that one of the television shows I "like" on Facebook had switched to the Timeline design, I knew I'd need to make designs for the Moxie, Love Without Boundaries, Gadsden Times and Gadsden Style. (I forgot about GT Preps and GO!)

Each page is branded differently. The LWB breaks the rules a little. Organizations are not supposed to use the timeline image as a "call to action." I made this before I read that. Oops.

For the Times, Eric took a photo of one of the old papers framed in the lobby. A little background imagery!

We'll update the Style one quarterly, as each new issue comes out.

Springtime Moxie ad

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 17:43:00 +0000

Get ready for spring at the Moxie Salon: highlights to pedicures. Ad for the spring issue of Gadsden Style.

PhotoSarah blog header

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:42:00 +0000

Sarah has started a craft blog and needed a custom header. On Twitter, she is photosarah, so the blog is Photosarah Crafts.

The font is 5am Gender. Color scheme inherited from the WordPress theme chosen.

2012 Girlfriend Gala

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 19:53:00 +0000

The theme for this year’s Girlfriend Gala is “Wild About Girlfriends.” I haven’t seen the shirts yet, but last I heard, they were going to be lime green.

The Girlfriend Gala is a fundraiser held by the United Way of Etowah County to benefit the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (administered locally by Success By 6).

Last year’s theme was “Diva Las Vegas.”

The trio of ladies is essentially the Girlfriend Gala logo. I made the vector art for it, based on a scanned drawing. But who drew the original? I have no idea.

Here’s a version from 2008. I cleaned up the scan a little by adding some color overlays, but you can still see the drawing.

Devotions of Love

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:38:00 +0000

I have been going global with Love Without Boundaries this month!

LWB Ireland came up with a campaign for Lent and we designed this image to go along with it.

Since Facebook rolled out the Timeline design, LWB’s executive director asked if I could make some LWB-themed timeline covers.

And then LWB Spain asked if I could send them the Photoshop document so they could translate them to Spanish.

We made a flyer for the Snack Project in Huainan (where my daughter is from).

For Kula, we designed a header. I'm still not sure what Kula is. But this is the LWB one:

And it was time to update the annual report, which in time will be translated into Spanish and Mandarin!

Gadsden Symphony Orchestra

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:04:00 +0000

The Gadsden Symphony Orchestra’s winter concert is this Sunday, which serves as a reminder that I never posted the promotional materials I did for the GSO last year.

I made a tri-fold brochure/mailer that detailed the season’s concerts and had a form to purchase tickets or make a donation.

I also made some ads, such as this one, which I think ran in an issue of Gadsden Style.

Gryphon Engineering logo

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:04:00 +0000

Logo design for Gryphon Engineering.

Happy Chinese New Year

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:07:00 +0000

A year of scrapbooks

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:12:00 +0000

I made it a goal to do a monthly scrapbook page for each kiddo in 2011. Mission complete!

Finishing out a year of photo galleries

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:52:00 +0000

In November, putting together the winter issue of Gadsden Style + some vacation time = no photo gallery. But this month, I have two!

Papermaking at Gaston

Visit the Gadsden Times photo gallery here.

Traveling Tales

Visit the Gadsden Times photo gallery here.

(More galleries linked in this post.)

Love Without Boundaries' gift cards

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:20:00 +0000

LWB needed a redesign for their gift cards. We made one set to use year-round and a holiday set. A few examples:

And while we were at it, we re-did the memorial gift card, as well:

My favorite part of designing these cards is scrolling through the LWB photostream and trying to find an image that captures the viewer and conveys the heart of the program. (And of course I managed to work my daughter Zoe in one – via her preschool Christmas party!)

Comics header redesign

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:39:00 +0000

Years ago, I asked my executive editor if I could redesign the header on our then comics page. He said no, because they were printed out of house and we had no control over the header.

And now, about ten years later, he came back and said "hey, I need you to redesign the header for the comics page."

Do all projects come around in time?

Here was the design mine replaced (not the same one of yore that I wanted gone, though)...

CM Saunders book covers

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:01:00 +0000

After I worked with Christina on her law firm logo, I did a couple of book covers for her. My attempt was to give them a similar feel but for each to have its own personality — the author is the same but the story is different.

As an in-joke to self, I used one of the fonts that is core to the Gadsden Times print product (Miller Display) since Christina used to work on the copy desk.

Fire Bearer, Esquire is available for Kindle on Amazon.

Women in Small Business

noreply@blogger.com (LBC) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:10:00 +0000

October is Women's Small Business Month. My coworker Sarah Dudik set a goal to photograph and interview four of the (many!) women business owners downtown.

But October is also football season, and Sarah is rather busy shooting games. (And magazine assignments for the winter issue of Gadsden Style.) So, she recruited me to write the stories.

Then our editors decided to publish them on Saturdays and this October has five of those... so we expanded our series to cover five women who own businesses downtown.

First up was Michelle Bailey, owner of the fabric store Material Girls.