Cursive Web

MonkeeMama Website and Logo Design

Marilyn — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 02:41:00 +0000

MonkeeMama (aka Naomi Jesson) was looking to reinvigorate the look of her site. She writes about parenting and her daily life and when she contacted me, her site was sporting a look that was almost crafty (see below).

The Before

Naomi said that she was looking for something a little cleaner with a similar look and feel to the Anthropologie site. Naomi blogs about parenting and her daily life so straight up copying the Anthropologie site wouldn’t work, but I did get inspiration from the fresh and calm feeling that one gets when browsing Anthropologie’s site. To further that, I used title fonts that are very similar to that of Anthropologie, and the MonkeeMama site also sports clean lines with a lot of white space to really help Naomi’s photographs and text pop.

The New Site

Using a monkey in the logo was a no-brainer, but I decided to lose the cuddly stuffed monkeys that were in her old masthead in favour of something that matches the modern vibe that I sense from Naomi.

Site: http://www.monkeemama.com
CMS: WordPress.org
Design: Customized site and fonts using the Genesis Framework by Studiopress

Crunchy Carpets Website and Logo Design

Marilyn — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 08:07:02 +0000

Crunchy Carpets has undergone a recent restructure and revamp to turn the site from being a blog to a parenting and local events magazine with a focus on school-age children.

Kerry Sauriol, the owner of Crunchy Carpets, wanted a site that would have multiple featured article options which resulted in a featured article slider, as well as a feature article section with clickable tabs. The site was optimized for easy insertion of ads both into the sidebar as well as the header and underneath each individual post for maximum profitability.

In addition to the site design, I also designed her new masthead and logo, as well as created a matching media kit using the colour palette from her old site to maintain a familiar feel to her established reader base.

Site: http://crunchycarpets.com
CMS: WordPress.org
Design: Customized template on the Genesis Framework

Saskatchewan Archaeological Society Website

Marilyn — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 23:31:56 +0000

The Saskatchewan Archaeological Society was looking to update the look, feel and function of their existing site. The society has long-term plans to create a members-only area with access to some of their extensive library as well as an eCommerce area for some of their workshops and “archaeo-kits”. After some discussion, it was decided that we would implement a multi-stage site re-design starting with the move from a stand-alone HTML site to one based on WordPress. The original site contained a lot of reference material; however it wasn’t all easily accessed, so this for this initial phase, I focused on usability and clean lines for the site. Later stages for the site may include the previously mentioned members-only area and eCommerce sections, all which are possible on their new WordPress site.

The Saskatchewan Archaeological Society felt a strong tie to the colour and design of their existing logo – a “Grandfather Rock” image common to Saskatchewan archaeology – so the goal, design-wise, was to ensure that all of the new elements of the site worked to support the logo.

The original site:

The "Before": Original Site Design

The redesigned site:

The "After": Redesigned Site

Site: http://www.saskarchsoc.ca/
CMS: WordPress.org
Design: Customized template on the Genesis Framework

My Real Review Logo and Seal of Approval

Marilyn — Mon, 28 May 2012 16:39:10 +0000

My Real Review is a Canadian site that focuses on reviews of family-friendly products. The owner of the site, Nicole, had recently revamped the look of the site and asked me to help her by creating a fresh new logo. I created two options for Nicole – one with a shopper on the ‘L’ and one without. Both logos are clean and fresh, while still being eye-catching and match the look of the rest of the My Real Review site. Ultimately, Nicole chose the logo without the shopper as her official logo; however I’m putting both up here because I can’t decide which one is my personal favourite.

My Real Review also was interested in having me create a ‘Seal of Approval’ that they could provide to companies that have achieved extraordinary marks from the My Real Review team of reviewers.

Motherhood Cafe Website & Masthead Design

Marilyn — Sat, 05 May 2012 21:30:06 +0000

Motherhood Cafe is a magazine-style site devoted to giving mothers information and support on topics such as pregnancy, feeding, postpartum, and more.

The Before: Original SBI! Site

The original Motherhood Cafe site was built on a “HTML block” framework called Site Build It! (or SBI!). As you can see from the screenshot below, the site needed a makeover, however the back-end of the site was also in need of an update, and in this case a move from SBI! to WordPress.

Due to the way SBI! builds sites, the entire move had to be done by hand, copying each and every page, link, and image into the site’s new home on a Genesis framework on WordPress, but the result is a site designed to be user-friendly for her and usable for all of her readers. I’m sure that Stephanie will find her new WordPress site much easier to update and maintain, and I the new look brings life back into the site.

In addition to the site design and move, I also designed her new masthead and logo. The colors are fresh and clean, and the butterflies are symbolic of the growth of a child.

Site: http://www.motherhood-cafe.com
CMS: WordPress.org
Design: Customized template on the Genesis Framework

Next Level Brand Marketing Ad

Marilyn — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 01:30:42 +0000

The Women in Biz Network is an organization that focuses on providing information, support and workshops for women in all types of business. They were looking for some online ad work for their Next Level Brand Marketing workshop so I created a standard medium sized banner (below) and a customized ad for the front of the Women in Biz Network site.

Lutheran Daycare and Preschool Website

Marilyn — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 06:27:16 +0000

Lutheran Daycare and Preschool is a Christ-focused organization based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Their original website was part of a church site, they didn`t have their own URL, and their site was a static HTML site peppered with animated GIF images.

The Lutheran Daycare and Preschool was looking to start fresh with a URL of their very own and a site that is both bright and cheerful, as well as easy to use and update.

The Lutheran Daycare and Preschool had an existing logo, however it was small and the original all black drawing seemed cluttered. Cursive Web removed some of the extraneous excess from the logo and coloured what was left in a bright palette that suits a child care facility. The site is designed in a simple way to encourage usability and also allows the existing staff the ability to easily update and change the information on their site over time.

Site: http://lutherandaycareandpreschool.ca
CMS: WordPress.org
Design: Customized template on the Genesis Framework

Simple Natural Health eBook

Marilyn — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:45:00 +0000

Nina Nelson describes herself a wellness advocate. She blogs about health and intentional living on her site, Shalom Mama. Her new eBook, Simple Natural Health is filled with interesting tips and ideas about eating and living in a healthier way. Nina’s own personal story is a fascinating one and she shares it in the book.

Nina was not looking for editing work when she contacted me, but I did design her cover as well as completed the formatting, interior layouts, final book creation, as well as a small 3D book graphic for her to display on her site. For the cover, I intentionally designed a clean and simple cover to match Nina’s minimal wellness theme.

Author: Nina Nelson, Shalom Mama
eBook Title: Simple Natural Living
Cursive Design Work: Cover Design, Formatting, Interior Layouts, PDF Creation, Mini Book Graphic

The Minimalist Mom’s Guide to Baby’s First Year eBook

Marilyn — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:15:57 +0000

Rachel Jonat is a well known blogger at The Minimalist Mom. She recently wrote her first eBook and Cursive Web was there to help. For The Minimalist Mom’s Guide to Baby’s First Year, I designed a bold but simple cover to reflect the book’s minimalist theme. I also did the formatting and interior layouts.

Author: Rachel Jonat, The Minimalist Mom
eBook Title: The Minimalist Mom’s Guide to Baby’s First Year
Cursive Design Work: Cover Design, Formatting, Layout, and PDF Creation

Crafting My Life PlayBook

Marilyn — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:14:58 +0000

Amber Strocel is the author and creator of a successful online course for living with intention called Crafting My Life. Amber knew she wanted to offer the course in an eBook format as well, and Cursive Web was thrilled to be a part of that. Amber already had a graphic designer on board so I was initially hired on to edit the Crafting My Life Playbook. Later, I was happy to expand my work to include the formatting and interior layouts.

Author: Amber Strocel, Crafting My Life
eBook Title: Crafting My Life Playbook
Cursive Design Work: Editing, Formatting, Layout, and PDF Creation