LOCAL WOMAN SELECTED TO DESIGN FIRST CLOTHESLINE FESTIVAL WEBSITE

This year for the very first time, attendees of the Memorial Art Gallery Clothesline Festival can prepare for a day of amazing art and culture by visiting the festival’s equally artistic website.

The site was designed by Jenna Fava Roote, creative director and owner of Jenna Fava Design, LLC as a tool for artists and festival-goers to easily stay informed. Site visitors will find everything needed to plan a trip to the festival; from hours and directions- to artists and musicians- all the happenings are highlighted on the page. Make sure to log on, print a map and to-do list before heading out the door!

While visiting the festival make sure to stop by Mrs. Roote’s display on the front lawn of the museum. An accomplished designer, she has also been chosen to showcase her own work at the festival, and will be highlighting her wine journals. Her pet project, Uncorked & Toasted - A Wine Journal, has been featured in several East Coast Wine Boutiques. The wine journals will be available for $10 – a special for the Clothesline Festival only – and will be accompanied by a card for 10% off a future design order.

Mrs. Roote is an Addy Award winning graphic designer, with clients around the country.
A corporate branding and marketing specialist, she has designed locally for Gauss Sales Company, Emerson Street, Geva Theatre Center, ABVI-Goodwill and The Arts and Cultural Council of Greater Rochester-just to name a few. Aside from corporate clients, Jenna Fava Design also creates custom designed stationery, luggage tags, gift enclosures, note pads and event invitations. So even if you aren't a business owner - there will surely be something creative to fit your needs. Samples will be on hand at the festival.

Learn more about Jenna Fava Roote in next week's issue of Insider Magazine, where Jenna will be featured for the second time.

The Memorial Art Gallery Clothesline Festival is held at 500 University Avenue, Rochester NY 14607. Hours are September 6, 10:00am-6:00pm and September 7, 10:00am-5:00pm. To view the newly designed Clothesline Festival site log onto http://www.mag.rochester.edu/clothesline

For more information on Jenna Fava Design visit http://www.jennafavadesign.com and to get a preview of Uncorked & Toasted - A Wine Journal check it out online at http://www.uncorkedandtoasted.com

(Please pass this information along to anyone that would be interested in stopping by the festival - see you next weekend!)

what a summer

so its been a while since my last post...its been a very eventful few months. the summer slow down doesn't seem to exist this summer which is great given the fear that everyone has about the economy. but business is good and i have no complaints. 

new projects are coming in quite frequently. we have been hard at work on the sf20 modernism show and the pieces that we have put together for that are sharp. the color scheme really pops and overall the reaction to all of the marketing is very positive. the tri-fold brochure, save the date, invitation and other pieces will be posted soon on the website. 

a new project that was just completed was the m&t bank clothesline festival website. check it out in our creative gallery or go to the link provided. it turned out great and everyone has given great feedback about the usability and overall layout. we will also be setup with a booth at clothesline - uncorked & toasted - the wine journal - will be on sale there. there will be a special price for clothesline of $10. its a great gift - so stop by. we will post exact location soon.

professional courtesy?

i read a blog today from a president of an ad agency about the days of business being conducted on a hand shake and that being as good as gold -- but yet today there is no guarantee even when you have a contract...i found that beyond interesting and to that same note, what happened to communication? how is it that now in a society where there is constant "connection" - there is so much disconnect? sure blogging is fun and connecting with old friends on facebook is overall a neat concept -- but are we getting even more disconnected with all these new ways of communication? 

we all now rely on emails and text messaging to keep in touch and while i too enjoy the perks of that - i truly believe something is lost. professionally speaking - well yes, i am blessed with running a business from home - and having clients all over the country because of the internet and technology but emails again only go so far. my business is successful because i am personally involved with my clients. i am vested in their success as much as i am my own. i meet them face to face, i talk to them on the phone - its not just about sending an email. 

and ironically - even with these extra means of communication and constant contact -i think that businesses lose site of something even more important - professional courtesy. that is what the crux of the other blog was -- losing site of those foundations of business and this to me is one that is evidently losing out. 

when i am asked to give put together a proposal - i do it and i get it to a client ahead of deadline. i do that so that they have the information they need to make an informed decision in a timely manner. whether that leads to new business for me or not - sometimes things just don't work out. but just like i respect their time - i would expect that out of respect of my time, a client would respond accordingly. whether you are moving forward or not moving forward, extend the professional courtesy to your vendor to give them the feedback they deserve. no matter how big or how small a client or a business - everyone's time is valuable.

so the next time any vendor or client contacts you to follow up - take a minute and make a call or if you really don't have the time - send an email - but at the very least have the respect and professional courtesy to let them know where they stand. because even if business is no longer built on the integrity of a handshake - its not too late to have communication and professional courtesy.

invitations and stationery

i have been designing stationery and invitations for a while but i seem to be doing more of it and i really love it. the wedding invitations are the most fun - because it allows me to be the most creative and create something that truly is special to the client. i just finished 2 more invitations and i will post photos of them as soon as they are put together. 

i learned this in my own search for invitations - you can find very creative ideas from many different sources but if you truly want something that fits your style and your day and your budget - going with a graphic designer who will sit down and really work with you on customizing something - is really the way to go. there are so many creative ways to brand your wedding and make it your own...it shouldn't be a "cookie cutter" experience.

the invitations i just finished exemplify that - both different style weddings and people and both invitations are beautiful expressions of just that!

the same thing goes for stationery. i know a lot of people don't send traditional notes anymore but there is still a market for it believe it or not. so i created this idea that i really believe in. companies have a logo, a brand, a mark that fits them and their demographic - it allows them to stand out from the rest -- well why not cross that over to individuals. i am my own person - you are your own person - so why not have a brand or a mark that identifies you...

identify-you.com is my way of integrating this concept into stationery, notepads and luggage tags...you pick a color, an identifier and a style and you create a brand that can you can use to identify yourself. and if you don't want to go that route - i can custom design something to fit your own personality and use it in the same way. these are some of the latest designs done for baby gifts -- yes baby gifts - mom's love having personalized items for their new bundle of joy and note cards give them the perfect medium for thank you notes or to send new photos to family...

Week in Review

Its been a busy week. 

The SF20 folder should be shipping tomorrow (logo on left) - that was this awesome piece we designed for a client...since we do all of their show branding, we did the logo, the corporate id for the show, the direct mail and then this presentation folder. The colors in the logo are black, orange and pink - so I specified the furniture weave paper from Neenah - the Eames line - in white for the ID and then in the hot pink for the folder. It turned out awesome. The folder is a 9x12 - single pocket with a gate fold that has a square di to close the gate - we ended up printing 2 color plus spot varnish...what a cool piece for this high end modernism show.

We also worked on the re-design of a client website that is turning out really cool - sent it over this morning so excited to get the feedback on that. 

We finished the Red Cross ad for Fava Design Group. That turned out really great. Katrina wrote the copy and overall its a sharp looking spread. Joe is doing a room in their show house in Fort Lauderdale so we put together the ad and the room description. It is cohesive with all of their corporate branding and makes for a really professional presentation for the company. 

I have a prospective client meeting on Tuesday - really excited about potentially working with this company...would be a great opportunity.

I also started toying around the idea of teaching again. It was something I was interested in pursuing when I lived in Fort Lauderdale but then my move kind of nipped that idea in the bud -- but I think it something I want to investigate - maybe become an adjunct somewhere in the Design department....just a thought...

Ok - gotta get back to work! Ciao!

Inspiration

I believe people take their inspiration from different things - especially us creative types...it could be something really little - or something major - well last year around this time, I was inspired by a bottle of wine and not remembering the name of it...Now before you jump to conclusions - that isn't what I mean...but seriously - don't you ever go to dinner and have a glass or someone gives you a bottle when they come over - you really enjoy it but then you recycle the bottle, or leave the restaurant, without knowing what it was called...

Ok well that happened to me and I thought - wouldn't it be perfect to have a notebook to write down wines? So whats a designer to do - I came up with a name, designed a logo, laid out a book, had it printed and bound, designed a website - and SHIZAM - I now had a wine journal...WOO WOO! Those are the glories of being a graphic designer - think of something and create it...

And don't worry - I am not keeping this glorious new product to myself - you can buy it at a few stores in Rochester at Craft Company No 6, Wine Sense, Wines by Design; in Baltimore at I am Wine, and of course online at  www.uncorkedandtoasted.com

So its great to follow your inspiration - no matter what it is and where it leads you. And maybe mine will lead you to buy a wine journal!

And So it begins...

I have been writing a journal since I was probably 7 - I think Vanessa, my sister, gave me my first one- but this is the first attempt in journaling online - isn't that what this really is...on online journal. I met with a client, and friend, on Tuesday morning at a coffee shop in Rochester and he suggested that this would be a great tool for my business. So here goes.

I guess it would help to give a little background as to what got me here...the short version - since I technically should be billing the time it is taking to do this.

I started out as an Advertising and Graphic Design major at University of Miami in 1995 - and I learned a lot in the 2 years there but knew it wasn't really the place for me so I left after Sophmore year and ventured out to see where the place for me would be. I interned that summer for a woman in Tampa who had her own graphic design firm - a goal of mine even then. She was a one woman show - working out of a shared office with a PR firm. I had a blast working for her that summer and learned more than I could have imagined. It was a great experience and definitely one that would set the tone for how I would make my career path. I left Tampa in August to go back to Baltimore - "home" - to then leave for a semester abroad studying in Florence. I was surrounded by art, culture and great food and after 6 months trying to still find my way - I went back home to figure it all out. I applied to different art schools - in Boston, Chicago, Sarasota and Fort Lauderdale - I visited them all and still had no clue what I wanted. But I finally made the decision to head back down to South Florida. I became a Graphic Design major at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and there I was surrounded by professors - one in particular who now runs the Design Department - that truly inspired me. She ran her own business and taught and her experience was the greatest textbook an aspiring entrepreneur could ask for. Even still - I didn't start my own business out of School. I started to work during my second semester as a Production Artist at an advertising agency. I was a novice to say the least but I had another great teacher - Mike Wysuph. Mike was the Quark guru - he ran a tight ship - I am not even sure he had that much faith in me when I started but he pushed and pushed and within a matter of months - I was cranking out ads as fast as he was and I knew the program like that back of my hand. Mike became a great friend of mine and he and Alizah made it worth going to work those 3 days a week. So when I was offered a full time job - I took it. I knew it would be a great launch to my career. So 5 years later, now as an Associate Creative Director, I was working on high profile clients and I, like Mike, was teaching the ins and outs of ad production and Quark to the newbies...But I knew that wouldn't be the extent of my graphic design career.

In June of 2002, I went on another soul searching trip. My sister Michelle and I traveled to Turkey for 3 weeks and it was a trip of a lifetime. I realized that there was more to living than working and more to working than just going through the motions. I needed more because I would not be happy if I spent my life working for someone else. So I came back and quit my job. Ok - so kids - don't try this at home. We were just going to war, I was driving a Lexus, living in an apartment, had student loans, and a nice little credit card payment from my trip - oh yeah and no clients. Hmmm...can you say CRAZY!

But I knew what I wanted and when I know what I want - I go after it. At least that was my rationale at 26. I had a friend that was a marketing director at a medical company - before I left my job she had contacted me to do some design work. I obviously was in touch with her pretty immediately and went on retainer with them. And so it began. Jenna Fava Design Company, LLC. Looking back, I don't know what I did - honestly - I just did it. I found a way to get clients - somehow it all just started coming together. I worked from my G4 in my little studio apartment and I made it work. And it worked well. I kept my lexus :-) and bought a condo 2 years later...and then everything changed again.

In 2004 I met the love of my life and moved to Rochester NY. Some would say I was crazy - not only was it a total climate change and my weekends on the beach were over - but my business was working well, a year prior I had been inducted into the Art Institute Wall of Fame, I had made a name for myself and - OH right - I just bought a condo -- but yeah I did the CRAZY thing again. I moved to Rochester and I knew I had to start over but at least this time, I had the clients in Florida to keep me going - have laptop will travel.

And so here I am.
Happily married (we got married in October), happily self-employed - and happily calling Rochester NY my home.

Ok. So maybe that wasn't the really short version - but isn't it important to know someone's past in order to understand who they are?

That will give you something to chew on. I have to go do some design work so I can bill out today...until next time....Ciao!