Recently we highlighted some of our Creative Director Hillary’s favorite personalized baby gifts she’s designed and offered a bit of insight into her design process (read it here), and now we’re turning to Muffin, another one of our fantastic designers. Muffin takes a few minutes out of her busy day juggling being a mommy to two wee ones with designing personalized baby gifts, including the Merry Menagerie Big Brother T shirt and Big Sister Tshirt, as well as the Joyful Elephant, Sweet Fox, and Gentle Giraffe personalized onesies, to answer a few questions.
In general, where do you find design inspiration?
Most of my inspiration comes from raising my two kids. I have a 6 year old daughter and an 8 month old son. I like making designs that are vibrant and fresh and that I think they would like. I often have my daughter come into my office and tell me she likes what I’m drawing on my computer. I also find tons of inspiration from the world around me, the fresh florals and patterns of nature, as well as online from great places like Pinterest.
(Shown: Joyful Elephant, Sweet Fox, and Gentle Giraffe personalized onesies)
What was your inspiration for these particular designs or what do you like most about them?
What I like most about all of these are the simplicity of the shapes and the vibrant colors.
What’s a typical day like, how do you juggle designing, finding inspiration, and being a parent?
I try to have set office hours when I work, and my nanny comes in. But, really I’m always designing and I’m always a parent. I make time for both because both make me so happy. The best part about my job is that I do get to be home with the kids and see them throughout the day even though I’m in my office working. I love it!
What ideas/designs/fonts are you working on developing now?
Right now I’m trying to explore new ways to draw things and develop those into patterns or prints. I’m exploring techniques with different pencils, brushes and markers, and then scanning them in to see what I get. I’m also trying to get better at hand lettering. I love taking online classes to help me learn new skills.
Thanks Muffin, we appreciate this insight and can’t wait to see how your new skills and explorations translate into designs for our personalized baby gifts!
