Graham is Curio’s resident Person Who Knows Things. Besides being a dynamite creative in his own right, he’s exceptionally curious, and it is a genuine pleasure to hear him go off about the things he finds interesting. In this edition of GraNerdCorn (trademark pending), Graham discusses the importance of clean design apropos the following question… Take a look
Graphic design is at its best when it resonates beyond whatever our rods and cones can process. There is no shortage of great designs out there… but great designs and successful designs are not necessarily the same thing. What makes a design successful is, very simply, whether the design accomplishes the goals of the client. To that end, a good designer and a good client should kick off a design project by producing a good Creative Brief.
design illustration
“Illustrator-led Design” is not a real thing. It’s not in the dictionary and it’s not in the “inside-baseball” design lexicon. It’s something we made up. Admittedly, it’s not a super-intuitive term. But it’s the best way we can think to explain what makes Curio designers unique! So let’s talk about what we’re talking about when… Take a look
Guest Post
A briefing on Curio’s newest superstar (by the artist herself): Howdy y’all, I’m Jayden and I’m the newest Curio recruit! I’ll be commandeering this blog for a hot minute in order to introduce myself. So, Who is This Nerd? I’m a peanut butter loving goofball with a serious scarf addiction and an affinity for making… Take a look
Guest Post
Hey there! I’m Eva, fourth-year graphic design student at the University of Alberta. This year I have been extremely lucky to be able to intern at Curio Studio! I’ve been given a wonderful opportunity to contribute to the blog, so I thought it would be good to talk about why I fell so deeply in… Take a look
community design illustration
People, Dogs, and Dog-People of Edmonton: Visit the SouthBARK dog park at 8122 106 Street NW (featuring public furniture illustrated by Curio)!
design Nerd Corner
“Pixel Perfect” is one of those terms that hangs around in web design circles and rarely leaves. It’s a really interesting concept, especially when explained by Curio’s self-professed design nerd, Graham Johnson.
branding design logo
Since June of last year, Curio has been working with the fantastic team at the former Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) in creating a complete visual brand to match the institution’s exciting new identity as Northwestern Polytechnic.
client feature logo
Do you ever get asked to show your work? We were recently asked to describe one of our logo designs for the visually-impaired, and JEEZ LOUISE, it was tougher than you’d imagine!
design identity logo
The life of a Curio logo concept can be nasty, brutish, and short. This is probably because the members of our design team are more like mama frogs than, say, mama orangutans. Stay with me. From the first moment we’re tasked designing with a logo, we start sketching out rough concepts. Ever wonder what happened… Take a look
design identity
Just about every logo you’ve ever seen has a few “undead” counterparts—logo concepts that were not chosen by the client and relegated to the Logo Graveyard [SFX: shrieking heard in the distance]. At Curio, we TRY not to spend a lot of time moping about our own Graveyard. But sometimes we can’t help ourselves. Please… Take a look
design general
QR (Quick Response) codes were a touchy subject in design circles when they first started popping up all over North America in the early 2010s. If the term doesn’t ring a bell, you’d know them to see them—those little squares full of black dots and lines that look like 8-bit TV static: Remember when? In… Take a look