AVAC Fall Registration Postcards

Four times a year Scarlet Dolphin Media creates the registration materials for AVAC Swim School in San Jose, CA. The Fall registration materials include a postcard that is mailed out to the returning swim school families. The Fall postcard conveys a lot of information and it is difficult to display it in a manner that isn't confusing. I think the matrix with the questions that JJ Barber came up with this year really works.

Wine and Spirits Logo

Scarlet Dolphin Designs was hired to design a logo for BevConnect.com. BevConnect is the Business and Social Network for Beer, Wine, and Spirits Professionals. The logo needed to reflect the both wine professionals as well as the beer and spirits professionals. Since the network is international, the logo is based on a globe. This entire message needed to be conveyed in a logo that could be clear at a very small scale. It was a tall order, but JJ Barber managed to pull it off on time and under budget.

Please contact JJ Barber at Scarlet Dolphin if you need a logo design for your business.

Future Drummer Shirts Rock!

Another Scarlet Dolphin Designs hot seller is our color Future Drummer artwork. This design works if you have a little drummer in the making or if you are a determined adult. Everyone knows that it's the drummer that gets all the chicks!

This cool, brightly colored Future Drummer design is available on t-shirts, mugs, caps, sweatshirts and more!

"Dolphin Trainer" is a hot seller!

My Dolphin Trainer design has become a hot seller this summer. It is available on t-shirts, caps, bags, buttons and a whole lot more. Please visit my Scarlet Dolphin Designs (scarletdolphin) store on CafePress to see all of the fun stuff you can get with my Dolphin Trainer design. If you like that, you will also enjoy my Whale Trainer products.

AVAC Swim School 2008 T-Shirts

Scarlet Dolphin Media has had a great partnership with AVAC Swim School for several years. I, JJ Barber, have been creating their annual t-shirt design for the last 7 years. This year the shirt featured the cute sea creatures I created for AVAC swimming around their Little Boy logo. Each swimmer gets one of the shirts at the beginning their first session that calendar year. The kids love the shirts. I see people wearing them wherever I go—Costco, Target, Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, etc.

AVAC Swim School Advertising

For several years now I have been doing graphic design for AVAC Swim School. I do their annual t-shirts, quarterly schedule of classes, registration information, and advertising. The main place AVAC Swim School advertises is in Bay Area Parent Magazine. I do a full page, full color ad for them every month. This is the one that appeared in May's Bay Area Parent. I went with an Olympic theme because of the upcoming summer olympics. With most of my clients, I don't come up with the advertising taglines or wording. AVAC gives me a little more leeway. I came up with, "We’re ready for fun and summer games… begin your quest for the gold at AVAC.”

Spring Fling Frisbees

I had a great idea to have frisbees as the giveaway instead of t-shirts at the Don Callejon School Spring Fling. (Get it... fling... frisbee?!) I worked with Marshall at Century Graphics in Sunnyvale to create these frisbees for Don Callejon School's Spring Fling event. I got the logos of the sponsors from various sources and put them together in the circle design. I handed that over to Marshall who got it printed on these great orange (the school's color) frisbees.

Don Callejon School Staff Shirts and Hats

Don Callejon School needed a design to be embroidered on polo shirts and baseball caps. It needed to utilize the existing “tri-paw” logo but in a more sophisticated design for the staff rather than the students. The staff was very pleased with what I came up with. They all enjoy wearing their staff shirts and hats.

Sutter Elementary 5th Grade Grads

I designed t-shirts for the Sutter Elementary School students who were graduating from 5th grade to Middle School. Keeping with Sutter's frog theme, these shirts featured 3 frogs playing instruments and standing on "Schoolhouse Rock" type letters. The kids loved them!

Muscle Bee-1972 Monte Carlo-Car Art

I recently created a "muscle bee" cartoon for a friend of mine. He had it painted on his 1972 Monte Carlo which he restored. I was thrilled to see it turned out so nice! It's exciting to think that my muscle bee is flying the highways and biways of Southern California!

Sutter Elementary Frog Jump 2008

When Sutter Elementary needed a t-shirt design for their annual frog jump, they came to Scarlet Dolphin Designs. I came up with this cute design for the t-shirts. I specialize in animal cartoons so I, JJ Barber, was a great choice for the job. They liked the design so much that it appeared on advertising as well.

Gemini Crickets Logo

Recently I designed the logo for the Silicon Valley Parents of Multiples Club. The club's name is Gemini Crickets. The logo was fun to design. The club wanted friendly, cartoon crickets wearing kids' clothes.

The Twins Club said, "We are very grateful to talented club member, JJ Barber of Scarlet Dolphin Designs (http://www.scarletdolphin.com/) for creating our fabulous new logo. It’s not easy to render a cricket cute, so kudos to JJ Barber for accomplishing this task.

Read more about it on the Gemini Crickets website.

Time to order your holiday cards!!

Hello Everyone,

Believe it or not, it’s that time of year again… the retail stores have declared that the holidays are upon us. Before you buy those discount Christmas cards that are already in the aisles of Costco and Target, check out my website for UNIQUE and CUSTOM photo card ideas. Your greeting will stand out above the rest with my photo cards.

My cards are the BEST:

Can’t get your whole family to look good at the same time?
Allow me to custom design a card for you with multiple photos.

Tired of the same old holiday letter?
Send a timeline of your year with pictures.

Want to actually write on your photo card?
I offer folding paper cards (just like Hallmark!) with the photo on the front.

Tired of writing long notes?
I offer postcards with your message already printed on the back.

Have a crazy idea for your cards?
I will work with you to custom design it. Please check out one of my favorites at:
http://www.scarletdolphin.com/cards/pages/2004-Fowkes.htm

Don’t have a good photo for your card?
I now offer professional photography services for those of you in the Bay Area.
Please view examples of my photography at:
http://www.scarletdolphin.com/photography

All of my cards are separately custom designed just for you based on your wants and input. I offer different options for cards: 4x6 and 5x7 folded cards, 5x7 postcards, and traditional 4x8 photo cards. Pricing varies depending on what style you choose and how many you order. Yes, you can get multi-image cards from online places like Shutterfly, but they will not be custom designed for you. I received 3-4 of one particular Shutterfly design last year. If you order cards from me, you won’t see your cards anywhere else this holiday season!

Take a look at some examples of my work at:
http://www.scarletdolphin.com/cards.html

Don’t delay! If you would like to order custom photo cards, please email me at jj@scarletdolphin.com (the best way to reach me) or call me at (408) 857-5939 right away. The card designing & printing process takes some time.

I look forward to hearing from you!

JJ

New Wonder Twin Powers Activate items!

In addition to our best selling Wonder Twin Powers Activate designs, we have created a new Wonder Twins design based on the Superfriends comic design with the cool 70s rainbow background. In this version, Jayna and Zan are standing on words that are rocketing right out of the design. It reads, "Wonder Twin Powers Activate" and behind them is a circular rainbow in all those great comic book colors. We think it's even groovier and more interesting than our originals. Visit our store to see all the great products on which this cool design is available.

A little about my photographic style. . .

Becoming a mother has given me a new perspective on the photos I take. The obvious goal of any photo shoot is to capture a genuine smile. I used to feel defeated if I couldn't get that shot. While I still want to catch the elusive authentic smile, I really enjoy capturing the all the other expressions and emotions, too. For that reason, I will show you more proofs than most photographers. Unless they are out of focus or have another problem that makes them unusable, I don't weed them out. I do this so you can choose from all the photos even if your child is making a funny face or is doing something silly. Different expressions and quirky behaviors is what make us all unique. Maybe one of those pictures will perfectly capture your child's personality shining and you'll be able to keep it shining forever through my photograph.

I prefer to take photos in outdoor settings where I can take advantage of the beautiful natural light. I like to capture my subjects in casual poses when they are enjoying being together as a family or exploring the environment. I find that a relaxed, playful atmosphere makes for the best pictures.

The pictures on this page are of my sons. I adore the photo of Kai crying because it sums up his whole first year of life! To not have a portrait of him crying would be trying to hide who he was at that moment in time. The picture of my twin boys, Dax and Kai, on the beach is funny because, Kai wouldn't put his leg down at all while I was trying to take his picture; while his odd behavior was exasperating at the time, its makes for a hilarious memory now. The look on his face is the exactly the same expression that he still makes today. Will he make that same face when he's 25? Who knows, but I'll be able to remember it like it was yesterday with this photo. After all, aren't memories what photography is all about?

To me, photography is like magic. It takes a pinch of knowledge, a dash of skill, a lot of luck, and the fantastic personality of the subject. If you enjoy the photos you see in my portfolio, please book an appointment and we'll make some magic together!


JJ Barber
www.scarletdolphin.com
jj@scarletdolphin.com
(408) 857-5939

Candy Conversation Hearts

I know it's hard to believe with Christmas and New Year's Eve just past, but Valentine's Day is on the way! I was thinking about Valentine's Day and those little candy conversation hearts today. Those were always so much fun to share with friends and see what everyone's said. When I was a kid they were tame and readable! The most risqué was probably "Call Me." I saw a new package at the store and some of the hearts said, "Email Me" and others I had no idea what they said. I have realized that I am officially "old." I find myself assuming that anything I can't read (like "A/S/L") must be code for something obscene.

So take a walk down memory lane with me and tell me what's the best Conversation Heart saying of all time (and if it's code please explain!)

Como se llama?

While it's too late for you to order our Holiday Llama shirts and gifts, you can still order his brother, Larry the Llama. Larry looks good on shirts, sweatshirts, buttons, magnets and many other products. Please take a look at him and all he has to offer in our store. Llama lovers of all ages will enjoy Larry the Llama!

They look great on kids!

This is a picture of my son, Dax, wearing his Jungle Holiday shirt. He really likes it.

This is my other son, Kai, wearing his Wonder Twins Holiday shirt. Santa liked it and so did everyone else at our twins club holiday party.

These designs and many more are available on shirts, onesies, sweatshirts and gift items. There is still time for Christmas delivery if you order them from my store now.

Always a Surprise

I'm always surprised at what the big sellers in my store are. Right now, the top three designs are:

Wonder Twin Powers Activate Cartoons

The Wonder Twin Powers Activate with the cartoons is much more popular than just the words alone (which is also an option in the Scarlet Dolphin Designs Store.) It features boy/girl twins that are very similar to Zan & Janya from the 70s cartoon "Superfriends." (They are the ones that actually coined the term "Wonder Twin Powers Activate!")

Future Drummer

I created this design for my son, Dax, who is 2.5 years old and drums on EVERYTHING. He's actually getting a baby-sized drumset for Christmas since he is so into it. I guess there must be a lot of other little drummers out there because this is the second most popular design.

Danielle the Hippo
I created this design for my friend, Danielle. I always thought it was unique that she loves hippos. Apparently, hippos are rather popular. I've sold large framed posters, pillows, sweatshirts and more in this design making it the third most popular.



If you have any ideas for designs, please send them to me at: jj@scarletdolphin.com. If I make your design and put it in the store, I'll let you buy it one time at my cost. Thank you!

Why I send Christmas Cards

Christmas cards are a way for me to keep in touch with people I haven't seen in a while. Maybe I haven't talked to some of these people in years, but the Christmas cards keep us connected. I love to receive Christmas cards especially the ones with pictures in/on them. It's so fun to see someone's new baby, their kids growing up, their house or their new dog. All of that makes me feel like I know that person better. I feel closer to them.

I like to send out very special, custom Christmas cards each year. My favorite from a few years ago was a timeline of all the fun stuff that happened to our family through the year. That was a year that we were lucky to have done quite a bit of traveling so we had a picture from a different location each month.

The truth about Christmas cards is that you have to give if you want to receive. If you don't send cards people may think you've moved, you don't care about them anymore, your a big Scrooge, or your dead. I send about 120 cards each year. I keep that number steady by removing the people from the list that haven't sent me a card in 2 years. If feel bad about it, but if I kept all the Scrooges on the list then I'd be sending out 500 cards per year.

So you're feeling like a Scrooge? Have your long-distance friends forgotten what you look like? Then you are in the right place. I will be happy to make you a very unique photo card based entirely on your photos and input. I offer 4x8 photo cards with envelopes. The turn around time on those is 3-4 days after the design is complete. I also offer printed folding cards that will turn out just like a Hallmark card, but with your photos printed into the design. The turn around time on that type of card is about 10 days after the design is complete.

We're near the end of the window of opportunity on the printed folding cards. If you're interested in this type of card, please contact me right away!

There is more time to think about the 4x8 photo cards, but if you want a really cool, unique, custom design that no one in the world has then we need to get started!