Happy New Year, friends! You may have noticed that I was a bit quiet over the last few months of 2012, but I have a very good excuse: I was on maternity leave after welcoming the new love of my life, Graham, into the world on September 14! While taking a little time away from work to feed, change, and generally love every little bit of his cuteness, I managed to still flex my creative chops when it came time to announce Graham’s entrance into the world. The lovely Colleen of Cleanwash Letterpress printed these birth announcements that I designed, and we could not be more thrilled with the final result.

Check out Oh So Beautiful Paper today to see Graham’s birth announcement featured, and check out the Curious & Co. portfolio for more photos of this and several other new projects we wrapped up in 2012. We look forward to working and interacting with you in 2013!

As designers, we at Curious & Co. are, of course, dedicated to making things more visually appealing, but the largest motivation in our work is communication. How do we express ideas and convey information in the clearest and most effective way possible?

With today being Election Day, the need for well thought out, clear, effective communications is heavy on my mind. While my voting experience was (mostly) straight-forward, so many of my fellow citizens will have different and, unfortunately, negative voting experiences. Why? Poor design.

There are thousands of different ballots in the U.S. and many of them are terribly confusing. If you don’t think ballot design is important, let me remind you of the 2000 Presidential Election. In a brief video for The New York Times, Mo Rocca discussed this very issue with noted designer Todd Oldham. (click below to view the video)

Regardless of how confusing some ballots may be, voting is incredibly important. Show that ballot who’s boss and carry out your civic duty: vote!

While visiting an antique shop recently, I came upon a small bin of matchbooks. I immediately scooped them up. I don’t care so much about the matches, but as a designer, I love looking at the typefaces and artwork. It’s also a great peek into our American history. Most of the matchbooks I picked up are from California or Reno, NV and I’m guessing many of them are from the 1950s-1960s (phone numbers such as 4541 and FA 9-1483 give it away). These little cardboard pieces of advertising history are such fun to look at. Most every business used to advertise like this, until the 1980s when anti-smoking campaigns, among other things, put a strain on the industry. People still light candles and make fires, right? I say we bring back matchbook advertising! Until then, I’m left to sift through this memorabilia from motor lodges, casinos, and hotels of another time. I can almost hear the piano in the bar, ice clinking against glass, and the delighted cheers of “jackpot!”

Photos taken by budding phillumenist, Maggie Mae Moore.

Eunice and Sabrina over at Hello! Lucky are offering free printable labels and cards for all your Father’s Day gifts—a fun way to spruce up your usual (read: boring) gifts for Dad. They suggest printing them on label paper so you can easily stick them to bottles or socks. Genius, and cute to boot! Thanks, ladies!

images via Hello! Lucky

I’ve seen these floating around for a while now, but finally tracked down the whole set: as described by the designer, Christian Jackson, “hyper-minimalist poster designs of the classic children’s stories we’ve grown to know and love.” And I am growing to know and love these posters. How convenient that I have a new nursery to decorate…

images via Square Inch Design