Up, up, and away

Sad, but true fact: a lot of my design ideas will hit the cutting room floor before seeing the light of day. I suppose it's just the nature of this job, having to come up with several concepts for each client and holding my breath while they pick one and reject the others. Most of the time, I can accurately predict which design they'll pick, but I often throw in an extra design as a "curve ball" of sorts - something a little different, something that speaks more loudly to my own interpretation of their wedding style, something that they didn't ask for but might be willing to consider once they see it fleshed out on paper.

Someone contacted me a few weeks ago inquiring about custom invitations for her son's first birthday party. The theme of the party was inspired by the Disney/Pixar movie UP and she was having a difficult time finding suitable invitations. I loved the movie, loved her theme, and loved the possibility of designing something so fun and youthful. We exchanged a couple of emails, I sent her my proposal, she approved it, and we were just about to start the design process...and then...she found out that her sister-in-law had already taken care of the invitations and was planning to surprise her with it! That meant a lost order for me (which was unfortunate but totally understandable), but even worse, the UP design was stuck in my mind for days! I realized that I needed to move forward with the design to remedy the visions of balloons dancing in my head. This is what I came up with:

I envisioned putting the client's last name on the mailbox fronting the house, and adding a few wayward balloons to the rsvp card...maybe even a single balloon on the mailing envelope. If I'm lucky, this design will find its way into the hands of another client one day and be saved from obscurity!