Since sharing my updated studio space, I’ve been eager to take another look into some previous Spaces visits to see how everyones workspaces  have changed. It’s hard not to make changes as time goes on, especially as a creative. Our ideas and inspirations are always changing, and sometimes even our surroundings. So, I’m especially excited to share a new look into one of my favorite Spaces original, Cassie Pyle of The Veda House. It’s fun to look over her new *beautiful space and see how things have changed! Let’s catch up with Cassie and see what she’s been up to:

Tell us about yourself as a creative.
I’m a freelance Graphic Designer and budding photo stylist working from home and doing what I love. I’m also a contract Visual Designer for Cuyana and compulsive tinker-er.

What are three things you’ve learned over the past year?
This past year has been the start of a big adventure for me. Back in March, I left my full-time job as a Digital Art Director at an advertising agency to pursue projects that really speak to me as a creative soul. Let’s just say that was by far the scariest thing I’ve ever done professionally. You can say that I’ve learned quite a bit from that experience. I’ve learned that there is absolutely no reason why you can’t go after what you really want. I’ve learned that following your heart is usually more rewarding than following your head. I’ve learned that no matter how much you love your job, you’ll always have days that feel overwhelming and days where you’re 100% un-motivated. Most importantly, I think I’ve learned that you are in complete control over your happiness, so go get it!

How has your workspace changed since the last time you shared?
The last time I shared my space here on Eva’s blog I was living in an old shoe factory converted to residential lofts. My creative space was tucked away in a corner and used primarily as a place to surf the internet, respond to emails, and do the occasional freelance project. Since then, my Fiancé and I have moved into an historic town home that was built back in 1870 and was once a brothel! Our space has lots of character, lots of natural light and more built in bookcases that I can fill. Now that I’m working from home everyday, I wanted my space to be one of the brightest corners of the house and to be on the main floor. I was lucky enough to be able to create a work/live space that is cozy and a place I enjoy being everyday.

How do you deal with being creatively blocked?
Honestly, I’m still trying to figure this out. When you’re creatively blocked as a freelance designer, that usually means you’re being unproductive and not bringing in any kind of cash-flow. Terrifying! I’m learning that when I’m feeling creatively blocked or just completely unmotivated, I need to step away from the computer. I’ll go walk the dog, stop by the community garden to check up on my tomatoes, or watch an episode of my favorite television series. Usually just stepping away helps a lot. If that doesn’t work, scrolling through Pinterest or bouncing around on Spotify are my next go-to’s. You really never know where you’ll be inspired.

If you could add one more thing to your workspace what would it be? 
I think I’d have to choose a comfy desk chair. The chair I have now was bought strictly because I loved it’s shape and because it matched the wood tones of my desk. The seat is a thin leather seat and the back is all wood. I LOVE this armchair from West Elm, but I’ll need to find something more appropriately sized to be a desk chair. I think a huge chalkboard wall could be real fun too!

Check Her Out:
+ Orignal Spaces Interview
+ Blog
+ Twitter
+ Pinterest
+ Instagram

The post Spaces Revisit // Cassie Pyle appeared first on Eva Black Design.

Here’s a little peek into a recent branding project I completed for Lee Wolfe. Lee is a talented potter who needed a logo for her website and shop. We decided that it would be a great idea to emulate the hand made, organic style of her pottery into her logo design so we went with a raw brush stroke. I then chose a color that would speak to her beautiful glazes she uses in her work, something kind of iridescent. By playing with the color and the brush stroke, I think we found something that perfectly matched Lee’s beautiful work.

The post Recent Work : Lee Wolfe appeared first on Eva Black Design.

I’m sharing a new iPhone wallpaper download! A little something to encourage your week.
This file size is for an iPhone 5 — but it can easily fit anything lower.

iPhone Wallpaper 

(To download: Open above link on your phone, click image and hold, and choose ‘save image’)

Enjoy!

*These files are not available for resale. Please give credit when sharing.

The post Wallpaper / Soar appeared first on Eva Black Design.

This may be a term that is pretty well understood. Think back to elementary school art classes, when you would make a color wheel? Remember? You have, red, red-orange, orange, orange-yellow, yellow, yellow- green, green, green-blue, blue, blue-purple, and purple on a wheel. Red-Yellow-Blue are the primary colors. These colors mix together to create the rest of the color wheel. Pretty simple right? Red + Yellow, make orange. Yellow + Blue, make green. Blue + Red, makes purple.

Chelsea Fullerton did an awesome explanation of this on Emmadime. Her color wheel is a great example of this!

The post Design Terms: Primary Colors appeared first on Eva Black Design.

I’ve been on the look out for a new straw hat for summer. Something with a wide brim — a mix between a floppy hat and a short brim fedora. Here are some favorites I came across! I had my eye on the top right hat ( two ) for a while, but I just found the top hat for a steal! It’s hard not to pass up on such a deal.

What’s your favorite summer hat style?

Top
From Clockwise: One / Two / Three / Four

The post The Perfect Straw Hat appeared first on Eva Black Design.

As always, I’m so excited to share another look in a beautiful workspace. This week, we get a to explore the beautiful space and creative journey of graphic designer, Maia McDonald.

Tell us about yourself as a creative.
I’m the art director at Rue Magazine and a freelance graphic designer.

Describe your creative journey.
Growing up I attended an alternative private school that focused on the arts, so I spent a lot of time playing with paint, crayons, clay and fabric. I was also heavily influenced by my mom who started her own all natural toy/craft company when I was a toddler. A lot of time was spent exploring the arts – both at home and at school so I knew early on that I wanted to be in a creative field and eventually work for myself. Up until college I thought I was going to be a painter or photographer, it wasn’t until I took my first graphic design class that I realized that it was the perfect fit for me. I love how every project is like a visual puzzle, bringing together type and image and telling the story of a brand or product in a new way.

I worked for several years for various brands including Shopbop.com and Williams-Sonoma, but last year I was finally able to realize my goal of striking it out on my own and I’ve never looked back. I love being my own boss and creating beautiful work for fun new clients on a daily basis.

Share a little bit about your space.
My space is always evolving. I spend a lot of time working at my computer so I’m always trying to make it as comfy and inspiring as possible. Also, since I work at home, it’s important for me to create a space that is separate from the rest of my apartment, so I don’t always have to be thinking about work when I’m at “home”.

What’s your favorite thing about your space?
Definitely the floor to ceiling windows. I love all the light, I always pick apartments or office space based on the amount of light there is.

What’s one thing you think every creative needs in their space?
Books, light, music and art. Oh, and a good chair!

Thanks Maia!

Find Her:
+ Website
+ Blog
+ Twitter

The post Spaces // Maia McDonald appeared first on Eva Black Design.

I’m sorry that I’ve been MIA lately, things have been a little busy around here but I really want to share this resource with you!

Method & Craft is an awesome resource for learning new techniques. They ask various designers/illustrators, to share what their processes are. They explain that we all use the same tools, but we use them in different ways. You can learn from fellow designers through various videos, interviews, articles, and notes that Method & Craft has put together.

Here are a few posts that you could check out:
• Creating and Replacing Custom Shapes in Photoshop
• Interview with Interactive Designer, Ben Cline
• Custom Vector Textures in Illustrator 

The post Resources – Method & Craft appeared first on Eva Black Design.

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone’s holiday weekend has been relaxing. I’m so excited that we get to take a peek into Graphic Designer, Allie Lehman‘s workspace today! Take a look –

Tell us about yourself as a creative. 
I’m a graphic designer and have been freelancing full-time since August 2012! I also co-founded The Wonder Jam with my husband. We focus on unique and quirky branding while working with those that are passionate about living well + making a difference in our community. I also co-founded Haute Blog. We host 6 hour workshops to help women launch their self-hosted WordPress blog (while drinking champagne, of course). When I’m not juggling those three businesses, I’m blogging over on Be Up & Doing or Considering You.

Describe your creative journey. 
I spent most of my life diving head first into the world of fine art. I took private painting lessons as a child and continued to paint even in college. It wasn’t until I graduated college that I truly fell in love with graphic design + photography. Moving to Columbus really encouraged me to learn about building a small business. The community here is so supportive and I love meeting like-minded entrepreneurs.

Share a little bit about your space. 
I work out of our two-story townhouse and have dedicated a corner of our (very large) bedroom to a space where I can work by myself. Day-to-day, I’m working down in our dining room with my husband and our intern (who is also my brother!) but I love having a place to call my own. I can wake up and concentrate on personal projects. I’ve tried to keep the clutter to a minimum but on a normal day you’ll find a stack of random papers sitting on the desk and all my wrinkled clothes draped over the back of my extremely comfortable chair. Hey, that’s life!

What’s your favorite thing about your space? 
Definitely my chair! My husband surprised me with it on my birthday this month. I’m in love.

What’s one thing you think every creative needs in their space? 
A stack of books that will inspire + a place to take off your rings and really dig into your work. I love taking a break and reading about photography or symbols. I always need that break from a computer screen. Oh and the ring thing? I don’t know how designer ladies draw + design with all those rings on! I take mine off as soon as I settle in to create.

Thanks Allie!

Find Her:
+ Website
+ Twitter

The post Spaces // Allie Lehman appeared first on Eva Black Design.

I’m so excited to share a new blog column + contributor — Liz Grant! Liz and I have gotten to know each other over the past year or so, and I’ve had so much fun learning and connecting with her. Sometimes it’s so helpful to have a friend who’s headed down the same path as you, someone you can turn to when you’re having design blocks or client questions. Liz is a talented freelance graphic designer, so we’ve decided to create a column that allowed us to experiment and exercise our creativity. The Illustrated Guide will feature various subject matters through different illustration styles. To kick off the column, Liz illustrated a guide to popsicle making!

Liz:
It’s officially hot here in California, and it truly feels like summer has begun. I am constantly craving something cold and fresh to beat the heat. And you know, nothing screams summer more than popsicles! If you’ve got a freezer, it’s time to start creating some delicious treats. So grab some fresh fruit from your local farmers market and pull out that blender!

Get inspired by these yummy recipes >>
+ Pink Grapefruit and Rosemary Popsicles 
+ Summer Berry and Mint
+ Blackberry, Honey and Yogurt Pops
+ Mexican Chile Pops

The post The Illustrated Guide to Popsicles appeared first on Eva Black Design.

Kicking off the week with a look into the all-around creative, Kate Miss‘ work space! Get inspired by her beautiful space and all the amazing things she creates.

Tell us about yourself as a creative.
I do a lot of different creative things, but mainly I’m a graphic designer and jewelry designer that dabbles in photography as well.

Describe your creative journey.
I come from a creative family, so I’ve always been been involved in some type of art my entire life, whether it be fine art, music, photography, or designing websites as a teenager – it was tricky deciding what I wanted to go to school for. But ultimately I chose graphic design because I knew it would be the best path for me to get a job as someone supporting myself. I think it’s a really good base career for a creative person who doesn’t quite know what they want to do because it can pay the bills, and can always lead to other creative endeavors if you decide you need to either being doing something else entirely or want to dabble in other things as well. I love graphic design but I would go out of my mind if it was the only thing I did. Being able to stop and work with my hands making jewelry or leaving my studio to go take photos is pretty dang awesome. I worked as a graphic designer for a few different companies fulltime out of college for about seven years before going freelance fulltime. Best decision I ever made.

Share a little bit about your space.
I joke to my friends that I work in a dungeon, but I know that’s not entirely true. It’s a very weird space – a room in the semi-basement off of the laundry room of an apartment building. I suppose it was originally storage, but it’s perfect for a creative space. My fiance is an artist who uses it nights and weekends and we split it right down the middle – my friend Katie also rents a desk two days a week so I don’t go out of my mind being alone all day. The downside is that it doesn’t get a ton of light and I can’t really see the outside world, but the upside is that it is so, so cheap, five blocks from my apartment, and nice and cool during the summer. Occasionally I’ll look for better spaces that are less raw and have more light, but nothing is as cheap or perfectly sized. I recently repainted and tried to jazz it up a bit more to make it homier. I use a kiln and sand bronze some days, so the rawness of the space is still necessary.

What’s your favorite thing about your space?
That it’s separate from my living space. Working at home prior to this, there were so many distractions! I’d eat all the snacks in the house, randomly decide to do dishes, or lounge on the sofa. Now I can’t do any of that unless I walk home. But luckily, I can walk home fairly quickly, so most days I walk home for lunch and come back within an hour.

What’s one thing you think every creative needs in their space?
A comfortable chair! Some people are crazy about having a pretty chair in their workspaces, and there is pretty much no such thing as a pretty chair that’s doing your back any good. Invest in a good chair and stop caring about how cute it is. Your back will thank you!

Thanks Kate!

Find Her:
+ Graphic Design
+ Jewelry
+ Photography
+ Blog
+ Twitter

The post Spaces // Kate Miss appeared first on Eva Black Design.