Tessera Design

There are some people who just seem to be part of your professional path in life and that is definitely the case with Lora Dow. From M&I Data Services, to the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee and currently as Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Donor by Design Group (more on DBD in future blogs), I have been designing for Ms. Dow in some capacity for over 13 years.

In that time, Lora has become a great friend, so to commemorate a milestone birthday (we won’t say which one) I wanted to do something special and was able to commission another amazing person from my past to paint a portrait of Lora enjoying two of her favorite things – riding horses and reading.

The piece, titled “Backseat Reader,” was created by an artist called ninjagrl, using her sensitive ability to capture the qualities of childhood in moments that can be enjoyed by all ages. Her “ninjas” are created mostly in acrylics on canvas, but also on reclaimed materials – such as vintage music book and magazine pages, among other things. You’d really have to check it out at www.ninjagrl.com to appreciate ninjagrl’s unique world. It is a beautiful and magical place.

So, Happy Birthday, Lora and Thank You, ninjagrl! It was cool to be able to art direct such a fun gift that will be enjoyed for many more years.

Tyra Baumler
Owner, Tessera Design

From a little bit rock-n-roll last week to a little bit rock-a-bye-baby this week — Tessera Design would like to highlight the logo we created for Karin Jones, Owner of Loving Hands, in Bayside, Wisconsin.

As postpartum care providers, Loving Hands provides non-medical physical and emotional support and household assistance after your baby’s birth. Tessera Design wanted to reflect the intimate, in-home care Karin and her team provide to mothers and families with this logo of a stylized mobile.

The mobile conveys the nurturing hands of the caregiver who winds it and the contented, happy hands of the baby enjoying it. We are very proud of this logo and pleased to have it represent Loving Hands.

Tessera Design was asked to create a t-shirt design for the Alex Wilson Band (winners of the Grafton Blues Challenge) to promote their journey to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. There they will compete the first week of February, 2011, with over 100 other bands to win cash, prizes and industry recognition.

We had our own challenge in designing the artwork — being limited to two colors for screen printing on a black t-shirt. But with great direction from the client, we think we captured the spirit of Alex and his music in the red, gray and black and wish him all the best on the “Road to Memphis 2011.”

For more info on the Alex Wilson Band, or to order a t-shirt online, please go to: http://alexwilsonband.com/

And “hooray” to Howard Snyder, Tessera Design client and friend, for his indomitable part in making Villard Square a reality through the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation: www.nwscdc.org/.

According to Jan Wilberg: “Villard Library was on the City’s closing list for years. Every year a big battle to keep it open. Finally, the neighborhood said ‘screw this’ – we want a NEW LIBRARY. And guess what? New city library with 47 units of grandfamily housing – Villard Square. Deal signed yesterday – look for groundbreaking soon.”

Tessera Design crafted the tree logo used to promote the new library on buttons, billboards, posters and postcards to city officials. Kudos to Howard and the NWCDC for all the great work they do for Milwaukee. We, too, believe that “Great Cities Need Great Libraries.”

Tessera Design is honored to have had our work chosen by Make A Difference – Wisconsin for their new logo. Brenda Campbell, Executive Director, says they are “thrilled” with the design. AD2 Milwaukee, under the direction of Janine Kolbeck, centered an entire marketing and communications campaign around the logo – complete with a new, WordPress Web site.

Make a Difference – Wisconsin’s mission is “to enrich our community by empowering students to make sound financial decisions.” They accomplish this through professional volunteers who deliver financial education to high school students through a series of seminars. To see their Web site with our logo design, please go to: www.makeadifferencewisconsin.org/mad/

AD2 Milwaukee is the local chapter of a national organization whose goal is “to help young professionals build knowledge and nurture successful relationships throughout the advertising industry.” For more info on their service work, please log on to: www.ad2milwaukee.org/

It is our hope that this marketing collaboration will increase Make A Difference – Wisconsin’s visibility and help improve financial literacy for youth throughout the state.

We are big supporters of the Milwaukee Art Museum here at Tessera Design and since we have noted the free Wednesdays for County residents in the past, we’d like to update that info.

This is from the BizTimes NonProfit Weekly: The Milwaukee Art Museum has partnered with Minneapolis, Minn.-based Target Corporation to allow any visitors to receive free admission to the museum the first Thursday of every month. Beginning Thursday, Sept. 2 Target Free First Thursdays will replace the Milwaukee County Free Day program. The Museum is open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Thursdays.

This is a fantastic community collaboration between MAM and Target that will allow everyone free access to the museum’s world-class collections and the famed Calatrava Wing.

Plus, if it stays this hot all summer – it’s nice and air-conditioned!

Maybe it’s an occupational hazard, but as a designer I am always keenly aware of the colors in my surroundings and sunsets are one of my favorite inspirations. I shared this photo taken July 29 along the Milwaukee lakefront with a gifted ceramicist from Boston who immediately picked up on the stunning hues.

We decided the color combination of periwinkle and cantaloupe (Crayola should let a team of artists name a special edition of waxy tools) was a winner, to say the least.

So if you ever wonder where the color scheme for a certain design came from, all you have to do is look around you.

Have a great weekend!

Tyra Baumler
Owner, Tessera Design

Tessera Design again teamed up with Adoption Resources of Wisconsin to create the 3^rd Annual Jockey Being Family® Adoption Conference brochure. The theme this year is “W.I.S.E. Up” so we thought it was appropriate to incorporate a family of owls – which is called a “parliament” by the way – into the graphics.

We kind of like how regal that sounds and are sure that the attendees of this year’s conference will have a royal good time listening to speakers Debbie Riley and Oriana J. Carey and that entertainment by Todd Werner will be a hoot.

OK, goofy owl puns aside, Tessera Design is so glad to have been able to create the brochure again for this Jockey Being Family® event and wishes all of the sponsors and participants much success in furthering their initiative to strengthen adoptive families for successful futures.

Tessera Design is super-psyched to present our new logo and Web site. We’ve changed our colors and our look and incorporated many more samples into the site.

Please take a look at our revised Portfolio page. If you are a client, you might see your work. You can always RSS this blog or keep checking back, because there will be plenty of projects highlighted here throughout the year.

Kudos to Greg Smith of GT Design for updating the site and finding great solutions to showcase our graphics. You can visit his site at: http://gtdesign.net/

Tessera Design looks forward to providing graphic design services to the Milwaukee area and across the country and would love to know what you think about our new site or our work. Click on the logo below to leave a comment. Thanks!

Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest is held every year at Coney Island to name the Big Dog of hot dog eating. Photos of the annual event were used by Tessera Design when designing this Media Kit for Littlewood Communications.

To see a video from CNN of the reigning Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Champion, please click here.

Whether it’s hot dogs, parades, fireworks, picnics or whatever makes your day special — Tessera Design wishes you and yours a safe and fun Independence Day!