How amazing is this 15-foot-long mural of Midtown Manhattan’s East Side? Matteo Pericoli’s work is not only lovely, but has a charm and style that turns architectural renderings from just information about a building into a whimsical point of view of modern architecture. We wanted to share this private commission of his work for a Manhattan residence; imagine incorporating this kind of visual style as a motif in your home!
Bookmark mintwichcreative.com/blog/ and visit us every couple of weeks for new observations on great design from around the world. We can’t wait to share more with you!
The team here at Mintwich Creative was talking the other day, trying to put our finger on exactly how to describe design to someone. How would we answer that, without having to run through a verbal marathon of every genre, every period, every material, every designer, and every purpose?
Tough job, we agreed, and we all had a different definition; but rather than trying to define design, we wanted to share what we love, and what inspires our work. So here we go…
After much thought, discussion, cups of coffee, and a tour of collected bits of inspiration, it became all-too-apparent: what we love about design is everything! What makes it special is how you use it, what you choose to surround yourself with, and the place it has in your life. Whether it’s a favorite writing pen or that very special 1962 Baker club chair you inherited from your grandparents, design is a lens for life, and you can use it to make a one-time statement of taste, or a life-long signature of your personal style.
Baker Far East Club Chairs / Saffron Silk Club Chairs / Milo Club Chairs
But Mintwich knows that learning about where great design comes from can be overwhelming. Design incorporates so many amazing objects and environments, from vintage, to retro, to modern. How to make sense of it all? Let us help! By pulling together favorite articles, color palettes, examples of typography, pictures of fantastically-plated dinners, lists of places to see and stay, and other gorgeous flights-of-fancy that influence our work, the Mintwich blog is a big bay window (with amazing original metal panes!) onto the glorious world of design.
Here at Mintwich, we’re using our blog to present our unique way of defining the big open book of “design”. Our projects span from special event pieces like invitations and place-setting specialties, to corporate identity work for a wide variety of clients. From interiors and landscapes to fashion and typography; from furniture to flooring to super-sleek travel bags and killer running shoes, we look at everything and constantly find new things to feed our souls with the design we love. And now we want to share it with you. Visit us here for a carefully curated swan-dive into all things design-related.
Our favorite pretties for the week:
Color Blocked Chocolate / Frederiksborg Castle, Denmark / Custom Lettering / Gucci Metallic Pumps
A couple photos of the Ariel Gordon Jewelry Blogger Brunch we designed for, hosted at Republique! Each blogger received an invitation with a style quiz to let Ariel guide them to the perfect jewel, gifted at the brunch.
Isn’t this the cutest idea for an invitation?
There are those occasional, if awkward, moments that many of us experience on the Internet, when we’re browsing for new music, inspiration, or even new clients, and we come across a page that … just … well, it looks like it hasn’t been updated since Excite was a major player in web browsing. It’s probably the case that this site has been long abandoned, but then … we’ll just hope it has been, anyway. Of course, there are those even more awkward moments, when we realize that the neglected site is our own. If this or any of these signs are familiar, it’s time to revamp your website.
If your site might be an offender, here is a guide of Seven Ways to Tell if Your Website Needs a Facelift.
1) Is your site compatible with all web browsers? The days of Internet Explorer’s market dominance are over, and if your site was launched five years ago with IE in mind, it might have some issues loading properly with other browsers, like Firefox, Opera, Safari, or the current market leader, Google Chrome. If this is the case, then it might be a good time to overhaul the site to improve functionality.
2) Is your site mobile friendly? With more and more people using smart phones to browse the web, it is important to make sure your site has a mobile version or is mobile friendly.
3) Is your site heavy with Flash and other trends? Flash graphics interfere with search engines and is also not viewable on the iPad or Android based tablets.
4) Is your site easy to navigate? If potential customers have a difficult time finding useful information on your site, they’ll get frustrated and leave for a competitor’s. A simple rule is that it should take potential clients no more than three clicks to find information they’re looking for.
5) Is your information up to date? If your business has changed its location, management, or inventory, or even updated the contact info, it’s a good idea to make sure all of this is up to date on the site. If people see your old information online, they’ll be in for a frustrating drive when they head over to your old location, and if your phone number or email address is out of date, you risk losing potential business.
6) Beware of broken links on your site. If potential customers are browsing your site, looking over your products and find one of these pop up, they’re likely not to be pleased. Error pages can reflect poorly on the business and hurt the value of the brand.
7) Does your site show up in searches? The value of SEO phrases in the text on your site cannot be overstated. You want to drive traffic to your site, and the best place to start is to make sure it shows up in engines like web behemoth Google, but also in others like Yahoo and Bing.
Mintwich can help give your site the facelift it needs. We can improve any outdated designs, give it a crisp and clean appearance, improve its navigation, and help improve its SEO.
Check out a few of our website projects, or the full portfolio in our Lookbook!
