Posts Tagged ‘holiday’

December 14th, 2012

2012 Miles Design Holiday Cards

It’s the season for making wishes. What’s ours? We wish the very best this holiday season, and we hope you’ll spread a little Christmas cheer of your own by sharing our original W-I-S-H post cards with family and friends.

This Christmas, on behalf of our clients, we’re making a few extra-special wishes come true. Miles Design has adopted 2 small families through the Dayspring Center. As a team, we went shopping for the toys and other various items these families needed this holiday season in an effort to do our part on behalf of our clients and friends.

Happy Holidays from Miles Design

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December 21st, 2011

Miles Design Adopt-A-Family Holiday Tradition

The holiday spirit is in full swing here at Miles Design with Christmas less than a week away now. While each of us enjoys challenging branding and design projects all year, every December we look forward to dedicating our time to some extra-special holiday “projects.” You may be familiar with our custom-designed holiday cards, but one of the holiday traditions we’ve come to enjoy most is adopting a family in need for Christmas.

Gift Cookie Tin

This year we adopted a family through Dayspring Center—a center providing shelter, clothing and meals for homeless families with children in central Indiana. (more…)

November 30th, 2011

2011 Holiday Card Designs

Even more love to share.

Our team is very pleased to continue our holiday tradition of designing holiday cards for our friends, family, and clients. Each card is blank inside, so they’re perfect for spreading holiday cheer.

We wanted to share our inspirations and thoughts behind each design. We hope you’ll enjoy sending them as much as we have enjoyed making them. Happy Holidays!

Card 1 of 7 // Imagined by Amanda Blackburn

Miles Design Holiday Card - Joy Mittens

2011 has been an exciting year for my family. We welcomed our first son, Graham, into the world in July, and it’s been pure joy (and sleepless nights) ever since! I’m constantly amazed at how quickly he’s growing and changing, and my wish this holiday season is simply to enjoy him. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season will come and go, and I’m sure we won’t get to everything. That’s ok though. At the end of the day, my joy is sitting right in front of me, playing with my fingers and grinning back at me with his big, bright eyes. And, that’s all I really need for Christmas this year!

Merry Christmas, and may you surround yourself with joy and love this holiday season!

Card 2 of 7 // Imagined by April Miles

Miles Design Holiday Card - Wonderland Wreath

I’ve realized recently that with every passing year, holiday traditions become more meaningful to me. I love the nostalgia of childhood memories and the anticipation of creating more memories with our ever-growing extended family and friends.

Each year I look forward to pulling the Christmas decorations out of storage, including my favorite wreath with red berries. We moved into a new home this past summer and have enjoyed finding the perfect spot for each holiday decoration in our new space.

I’ve found myself looking out the window on several occasions, trying to imagine our first Christmas in this new home and the new-to-us landscape covered in snow.

And, I’ve found myself hoping more than anything, regardless of where the days are spent—in very familiar places or places that are just starting to feel like home—that the days are merry, bright, extremely peaceful, and maybe even white.

Card 3 of 7 // Imagined by Ben Seal

Miles Design Holiday Card - Your Own Way

Everyone celebrates the holidays differently. I love hearing about unique traditions and one-of-a-kind recipes. To me, they’re a part of the charm of the season. To that end, I hope this card compels its recipients to think about—and appreciate—their own customs. No matter how zany.

Card 4 of 7 // Imagined by Brian K Gray

Miles Design Holiday Card - Elegant Lines

I wanted something simple and elegant, much like the way Christmas is supposed to be. Too often we get caught up in the retail craziness of today’s Christmas and lose the true reason for the holiday. Soft, whimsical lines create a wintery pattern of silver, while a simple, blue “Merry Christmas” is nested in the middle. Enjoy Christmas with friends and family, but in the midst of all the chaos, remember to take a moment and celebrate the birth of Christ.

Card 5 of 7 // Imagined by Joshua Cook

Miles Design Holiday Card - Modern Manger

Before we become immersed in the complexity of the holiday season, I wanted to design a card that focused on a simple, yet profound, aspect to Christmas. Not Black Friday, not snowflakes nor candy canes, but rather a gift offered to all of us. A gift of Love, Grace and Redemption.

Card 6 of 7 // Imagined by Jon McClure

Miles Design Holiday Card - Ornament

I wanted to create something simple and elegant; something you’d feel good about sending. Because, if you like this card well enough to send it to someone on your list, it just might save you yet another a trip to the store. And, in the time you save, maybe you’ll get a few extra minutes to share with family and friends.

Card 7 of 7 // Imagined by Josh Miles

Miles Design Holiday Card - modern cardinals

Growing up outside of South Bend, a regular recipient of “lake effect snow,” there was often a blanket of white drifting between the trees in my parents’ back yard. It would begin falling in late November and finally recede sometime in April. But every so often, through all of the sleet and snow, one of Mom’s backyard bird feeders would be graced by a pair of cardinals. It’s amazing what a little splash of color will do for your soul during a long, cold winter. It always brought me hope that perhaps spring was near.

This year my wife, daughter, baby to be, and I moved into an older home with lots of trees. Looking out at our back yard I’m greeted by squirrels, chipmunks, and of course, a multitude of birds.

While thinking about my Christmas card design for this year, our new setting brought back memories of my parents’ back yard, and those colorful splashes of inspiration.

It’s with these warm feelings that I’m passing along to you: Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and be sure to keep those bird feeders full this season. Matthew 6:26

Note: We do have a few extra sets this year, so please contact us if you’d like a set yourself.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

November 10th, 2011

2011 Miles Design Holiday Cards

Are you on our mailing list? If you’ve never received our Holiday Cards, you’re in for a treat! Please add your information below and we will send you our seven-card set of the 2011 Miles Design Holiday Cards.

If the form isn’t visible below, click here to submit your info.

December 10th, 2010

The 2010 holiday cards are here!

Happy holidays. Share the love.

The 2010 holiday cards are here! 7 cards. 7 designs. 7 chances to spread holiday cheer with friends, family, or clients. We’ve been busy elves here at Miles Design, and we’re each excited to share our finished designs and inspiration with you all. Enjoy!

Card 1 of 7 // Imagined by Brian Gray

My card was inspired by childhood memories of all the great patterns on wrapping paper. When you’re a kid, nothing is better than ripping into a perfectly wrapped present. I wanted to create a nice, wintery pattern and style it to an old-fashioned feel. The lyric I chose not only reminded me of the fun, commercial side of Christmas–but also the true reason for Christmas: the birth of Christ.
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December 10th, 2010

Designing Holiday Cheer

Christmas is just around the corner, and it’s been a busy holiday season here at Miles Design. The 2010 holiday cards are in the mail, and we’re excited to finally share them with you. We’ve been hard at work (while having fun), and here’s a peek into the process and progress over the last month or so.


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November 20th, 2010

2010 Miles Design Holiday Greeting Cards

Are you on our mailing list? Please add your information below and we will send you our seven-card set of the 2010 Miles Design Holiday Cards. Look for them to arrive in your mailbox in early December.

If the form isn’t visible below, click here to submit your info.

December 17th, 2009

Designing a Unique Holiday Gift – 2nd Annual Adopt-A-Family

Our second annual Miles Design adopt-a-family was a success, and we are so thankful for the opportunity to participate again this year. We learned quite a bit about the process and strategy from our experiences last year, and this year went off without a hitch–it was truly a team effort from start to finish.

This year, we adopted a family of five. Besides mom, there were two girls (one and fifteen) and two boys (nine and seventeen). After talking with them, we learned that they lost their home to a fire last year at Christmas, and they’ve been working to rebuild their lives over the last year. Their lists had everything from pots and pans, dinnerware, and clothing to a basketball, games, and movie passes.

With lists in hand, the entire team took over Walmart on Friday morning, Dec. 4–dividing and conquering. Josh, Eric, Brian, and Cookie shopped for the boys’ gifts and toys while April, Lauren, Meg, and I worked on the household items and girls’ gifts. It was a great time, and I was impressed with our efficiency–although I’m positive we could have spent all morning putting together cute outfits and shopping for toys! When it was all said and done, we managed to get everything on our list in one stop, and we came out on budget!

Here are some photos from our shopping adventure:

The afternoon of Dec. 10th was dedicated to wrapping all of the gifts (and Eric’s cell phone). The finished stack of presents was an awesome sight and took up most of the conference room table–very impressive!

Now, what to do with all that leftover paper? Any ideas? Hmm…

The entire office made the trip to deliver the gifts, and the family was very kind (and probably overwhelmed) as we all piled in their living room! It was such a rewarding experience to participate in this program during the holidays. It can be such an overwhelming season, and it feels really good knowing that we were able to ease the burden of providing for a family of five at Christmas. And, most importantly, we worked together and had fun doing it!

November 30th, 2009

Give the gift of Viral:A New Twist on the Holiday Card

The Holiday Greeting card that encourages you to pass it on…

Every year, even creative types like us enjoy a love-hate relationship with Holiday greeting card design. Although we’ve designed a few award-winners in the past, that only serves to push us to a higher standard for what to do for an encore. This year we wanted to create a greeting card that the recipient was encouraged to immediately re-gift.

So this year instead of designing just one card, we had everyone from our office design their own card. We committed to a color palette, size, paper, and production restrictions (just like a client project) and had everyone work on their own concepts. We then packaged the final set of seven designs up with instructions to “share the love this Holiday.” We even created a custom rubber stamping system to embellish the corrugated mailing envelope.


Here’s a sample press sheet. All seven designs were printed using the same set of five inks, on one sheet of paper.


Here’s what the set looked like together.


We created our own custom stamp to embellish the corrugated envelopes.


And here’s another view of the complete set.

And finally, we created a website under our infamous microsite, HolidayCow.com – wherein visitors can gain further insights behind each unique design. We also have a few other pics up on our Miles Design Facebook page.

If you’ve not received a set, we still have a few left. Just send us your mailing info. In the spirit of “viral season”, pass this along to everyone you come into contact with. Happy Holidays!

We welcome your feedback…

November 30th, 2009

Designing for Impact: Citizen Effect

Miles Design had the pleasure of working with Citizen Effect (formerly 1WELL) to redesign their website and user experience, working closely with the team at ThriveSmart.

These brilliant and dedicated folks are committed to impacting third world countries in the areas of food, water, energy, health, and education through people they call “Citizen Philanthropists.”

You won’t find any celebrity endorsements here – Citizen Philanthropists are everyday people making serious impact in third world countries.

Here’s how it works. A Citizen Philanthropist becomes the project’s fund-raising quarterback, organizing anything from Facebook fundraisers, to garage sales or even dance-a-thons, all to raise money for a project of their choosing. Visitors can search for projects by global location, project type, or population impacted.

From their website citizeneffect.org you can search from projects like this one in Zambia in need of a “Women’s Centre.” What’s really cool about Citizen Effect is how intricately it’s tied to various social networks as well. Citizen Philanthropists can blog about their project right on the website, and as a project grows, various photos, videos, and other media will be posted.

So if you’re looking for a way to design a little impact this holiday season, check out citizeneffect.org and see if you find a project that speaks to your heart.