In July of 2019 I had the opportunity to design a poster for my local chapter of CreativeMornings. The poster was printed and distributed to attendees of the event. The theme of the month was ‘End’. The design of the poster was very inspired by my own transitions in life. I used a combination of calligraphy, watercolor and photography to bring this concept to life. For more behind the scenes info about this project, check out my blog post.

(portrait shot by Rebecca Slater)

Artist Statement:
“When something ends, something new begins.

Some of the most formidable times in my life have been sparked by times of big change—the end of one stage which ushers in the beginning of a new stage. It feels like new alchemy, a chemical reaction with unknown, wild results. I have recently been laid off from my job of over three years, which brings a new stage of self discovery, a removing of the blinders and taking in possibilities with new eyes. In my adulthood I have been visually attracted to work that is imperfect, awkward, and unexpected. It serves as a reminder to me that truly anything is possible and there are no wrong answers in life when it’s being led with an open mind and heart. One form of artistic expression I use to showcase this with is calligraphy. With language, letters have very specific meanings. The way they are written gives them a voice. My voice for the concept of ‘End’ is one of unstable grounds, of a dirty oil slicked rainbow because where there is dirt and hardship there is also beauty, strangeness, and revitalization. Everyone’s experience, like everyone’s handwriting, is different. There’s no right way to experience transition in life, nor is one voice more valid than another. The end of a chapter is unique, murky, and freeing.”

GrassRoots Co-op was undergoing an expansion and looking for investors to help them achieve their vision of adding a garden and cafe to their property. To show this vision off, I worked alongside Allison Burns of AllieMarie Design as an illustrator to graphically show the vision in a presentation. Direction 1 was ultimately chosen as the best fit which felt very aligning to their brand. During this process, I had a lot of fun finding the balance between showing excitement and clarity using a variety of different illustration styles.

Illustration: Abby Anderson Jones
Clients: AllieMarie Design & GrassRoots Co-op

I had the amazing opportunity to develop the brand of Blush Salon + Spa after a name change and rethinking their audience's needs. While working with the store manager, we created the ideal balance of a modern salon and spa with a young spirit that spoke true of their brand vision. I was so excited to be able to see this brand from initial concept to establishing their unique visual language and voice.

View their website.

In collaboration with Relevant Magazine, brightpeak created a survival guide landing page for couples to reference during the holiday season. This landing page was distributed through email, social engagement for both Relevant and brightpeak’s audience. I took design lead to create a look and feel that was wintery, still aligning to the brightpeak brand but not too cliche in a very red and green heavy season.

Lead design: Abby Anderson Jones
Copywriting: Sarah Henkemeyer & Steve Bowen
Strategy: Sarah Birkestrand

7-day email series produced for brightpeak that focuses on strengthening the spiritual, relational and financial connection between couples. Each email contains a video from brand partners, Sam and Toni Collier, a free phone wallpaper download of the scripture of the day, and an additional resource, either a blog post or podcast episode that ties in to the subject that’s covered in the email. In this campaign a landing page, email templates, phone wallpapers, and A/B testing social ads were designed and built.

Visual design: Abby Anderson Jones
Art direction: Ann Lindquist
Strategy: Sarah Birkestrand
Copywriting: Steve Bowen

One of the most ambitious projects I worked on was a redesign of the menu system for Old Burdick's Bar & Grill. They had several requests that I kept in mind while accomplishing the end result: have it all fit on one page, and have it be bright and make sure there's great photography.

As a result I kept the format simple so that the content was easy to read. I wanted to make sure I included visual elements that would repeat in all of their menus to create consistency. To do this, I chose a circle as a visual marker for photography or information and varied light textured backgrounds on each menu.

My biggest challenges were to create menus that didn't feel too heavy given the amount of content they were sharing and photographing the food for the menus. I did the with a fellow co-worker and we both learned the best conditions to shoot in with limited time and resources as well as some tricks to editing food photography.