Who Are They?

> An infographic is intended to present complex or detailed information in a simplified, visually interesting way. Graphic designers have been utilizing this as a method for sharing information for many years, usually in corporate literature such as annual reports. The term "infographic" is relatively new, but with the rise in social media outlets, they have become more popular, more commonly used for marketing purposes, and for communicating a lot of other types of information than they used to.

> I've designed a lot of annual reports, brochures, and other literature using what we now term "infographics". In the past few years, I've done more graphic-infused work, and have designed a few projects that are strictly visual—very little text. You can see one of those projects here. I wish I could show you another one that I really love, but I did it as a work-for-hire project, and we (an agency I work with and I) agreed that I wouldn't publish it. So, you'll just have to trust me that it's awesome!

> I have enjoyed designing them so much, that I decided to design my own infographics as marketing tools for my own business. Here's the first of a series: "Who"—visually showing the percentage breakdown of the clients, (and the focus of their projects), that I've been fortunate to work with over the past 10 years (Click on the image to see it larger).

> Still to come: "Where" and "What". Stay tuned! 

> Do you need an infographic for an upcoming project, or for your own marketing efforts? Get in touch—I'd love to talk about what I can do for you!

Looks Better, Feels Better

> Within a year of our moving, we had made significant progress toward getting rid of the honey-stained oak that was everywhere in our last house. It took a while, but neither of us like its yellowish color, so it was worth it. When we were walking through our new house with the realtor, my second thought was, "oh great—more yellow oak I'll have to stain!" (my first thought was "wow, I love this house!")

> We learned right away that the fireplace didn't burn off all the gas, so the only way to safely use it was to open the windows at the same time (kinda defeats the purpose of having a cozy fire!) So, we shopped around and budgeted replacing the insert with a new vented one.

> We had a few extra tiles that match the floor and tile facade, but not enough to replace what they'd have to remove to make the insert change, so we initially intended to buy a few more matching tiles, but I convinced Gene that it would look even better to do something contrasting in size and/or texture. He was persuaded, so we spent way too much time deliberating over several alternatives at Lowe's, and finally decided on a weave pattern.

> As I've said before, I'm a huge fan of before-and-afters, so of course I took photos to document the process and confirm that we made a whole bunch of "right" decisions (unfortunately with large windows above, to the sides, and across from the fireplace, it was tough to get good lighting, but I think the effect in pictures is still good enough to get a sense of how much better it is). We love it!

> Next on my DIY list: the seemingly endless yellow oak handrails...after my knees recover from being on them too long during this last project!