Need something to brighten up your day? We've found some playful profiles to add a pop of color to your newsfeed. From balloons to furniture and paper to paint, these creatives definitely put a bit of fun in every day. Which is your favorite? Comment below! 

This past weekend, we attended the Game of Thrones-inspired 2017 American Advertising Awards, sponsored by AAF-KC and Barkley at the Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland.

​Here, the prestigious awards are granted to only the best of the best in each category, ranging from commercial ads to event collateral, social media marketing, and beyond. It was absolutely incredible to be among the brightest minds of Barkley, Whiskey Design, VML, Design Ranch, SHS, Sandbox, Blacktop, and more within the KC advertising, design, and creative community. Big shoutout to Quartermaster Marketing for this opportunity. Looking forward to next year's awards season! 

This year's winning work included TAKE5, KC Design Week, Gatorade, Big Slick, Donutology, Boulevardia, Paz Diamonte, Hershey's Uber Remix, and more. 
​​See the full list of 2017 ADDY-winners here. ​

Mark your calendars for May 6th & 7th! We've been invited to join the list of talented makers of the Strawberry Swing Indie Craft Fair's 3rd Annual Spring Swing! We'll be showcasing our design and photography, with prints available for purchase. More information to come. 

Your wedding is one of the biggest events of your life, a momentous occasion of two hearts vowing to come together as one for eternity. So, it's important to get the right pieces for your special day. Your wedding invitations should reflect your love, your relationship, and most importantly, your personalities. Here are just a few of our favorite picks for wedding invitations that have us saying 'I Do!' ​Let us know your favorite wedding invitation designs! ​Share in the comments below. 

Are you getting married and looking for invitations, Thank You's, RSVP cards, and more?
We want to partner with you to make sure your special day is just right.
​Send us a shoutout and we'll take care of the rest! 

We are so excited to celebrate Mr. & Mrs. Snow as they embark on a new adventure as husband and wife! So happy to have been part of their day, not only as a guest but in creating their invitations. Wishing Kathryn and Andrew a beautiful marriage and a lifetime of happiness. Congratulations! 

Design by Sevenelle Creative
Printing by AlphaGraphics - Kansas City
Venue by Brass on Baltimore

Are you getting married and looking for invitations, Thank You's, RSVP cards, and more?
We want to partner with you to make sure your special day is just right.
​Send us a shoutout and we'll take care of the rest! 

Minimalize your space
Your desk is to be your own space, a sanctuary to hatch your most precious and brilliant ideas. Or, it could simply be just a place you spend a majority of your time inhabiting. Whatever the case, clearing your desk and surrounding working area can play greatly into the simplicity and clarity of your own working mind. Less distractions and overwhelming clutter can lead for a brighter, more effective work day. 

Maximize your space
Use the space you have to your advantage. Arrange bookshelves, filing cabinets, and desk space to best fit your daily tasks. Hang organizers on the wall (if you have one) or use your imagination and find what works for you. Shop the dollar store for pencil holders or find a complete organizer to house your Post-Its, paperclips, and other supplies together all in one convenient workstation. 

Add your personality, with touches of home
Even with keeping in line with your company's personality and styling, it's still important to make your workspace your own. Touch on the things that matter most to you. Bring in picture frames of your favorite people and places, hang up some lights or decorative garland to add some color, or offer a dash of home at work with your own personal desktop lamp. It's quite possible you may spend more time at work than at home, so it's important to make it as comfortable as necessary. 

Add some greenery
​Having plants at your desk can have a greater impact on your overall health and attitude. If you're lacking a green thumb, artificial plants can have similar benefits to real plants and require less maintenance to upkeep. Find plants that require little water or sunlight if your office space is a bit tucked away, or use a window ledge to maximize the benefits of nature. 

Have fun 
Just because you're located in an office setting, doesn't mean you need to follow a boring, corporate regimen. Add pops of color, file with patterned file folders instead of standard manila, use colored highlighters to organize your workflow, or colored Post-Its and notepads. Your company and its atmosphere should reflect the light and energy of its people, and a little fun never hurt anyone. 

Photography is a prominent staple in a designer's toolkit and while most designers will use their own imagery to avoid copyright restrictions, some projects don't allow for the time or resources for original artwork. Enter the world of stock photography, a vast community of searchable images to best fit any project, even the most obscure. Websites like Shutterstock, Adobe Images, and Deposit Photos may offer more refined search results, but come with various licensing options and payment plans. We've found a few sites you'll want to bookmark for stock photos that are unique, professional, and completely free. 

Pexels
With more than 30,000 images and at least 3,000 newly uploaded per month, Pexels offers a variety of photo subjects and integrated search capabilities, such as searching by keyword, popular images, and even photos by color. 

Unsplash
A beautiful collection of free, high-resolution, "do whatever you want" photos from contributing photographers around the world. Submit your own photos or check back every 10 days to download 10 brand new images. 

Stocksnap.io
Made by the team at Snappa, Stocksnap.io is "not your typical crappy stock photo site" with high quality, high-resolution pictures added to their database daily, building "...a bad ass repository of beautiful stock photography." 

Burst 
Powered by Shopify, Burst offers a wide selection of photography aimed for entrepreneurs, bloggers, developers, and designers. Entirely under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license, all photos are open to use for any purpose. 
​
Pixabay
Reaching outside of plain old stock photography, Pixabay also offers more than 800,000 free-to-use photos, illustrations, vector graphics, videos, and even developer tools, jQuery and vanilla JavaScript plugins, as well.  

Every designer can have an affection for various aspects of art, whether it be color, letterforms, textures, or any other favorite deemed worthy. At Sevenelle, we've always carried a soft spot for typography and characters, especially ampersands. We're sharing a few of our favorites found across the web in identities to swoon over. What are your favorite parts to a design? Let us know in the comments! 

Lou & Grey
Best known for dressing the working free spirit, this clothing label doesn't stray from its true identity with a logotype that carries the same aesthetic of their creations: simple, classic, and comfortable. See more at louandgrey.com.

Olive & June
With locations in Beverly Hills, Pasadena, and Santa Monica, California, it's no wonder why this nail salon is quickly becoming a neighborhood favorite. The attention to detail and treatment of their guests is top-knotch, alongside their minimalistic logo, complete with even a touch of the signature Olive & June pink. See their locations and schedule an appointment here. 

Sagmeister & Walsh
This minimalistic identity of the badass, advertising duo, Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh is bold, simple, and right to the point. The mark perfectly captures the essence of the dynamic genius behind the industry-leading New York-based office. 

Pawn & Pint
From what began as a Kickstarter campaign, Pawn & Pint brings food, boardgames, and brews to the Crossroads district. The ampersand hugs the "N" and "P" as an visual invitation to bring friends and family to enjoy some cold ones and indulge in some classic games such as chess, Scrabble, Dungeons and Dragons, and more. Check out their Facebook page for more information. 

The Swan & Mallard
As part of the Behance portfolio for London-based designer John Randall, this identity is a playful take on the use of positive and negative space to illustrate both fowl. Shown across collateral, the logo is placed onto menus, signage, promotional business cards, and more. See the full project here. 

​Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and happiest of holidays to you and your family! 
​With love, Jess 

Every creator has a go-to playlist while working in the studio, in an office, or alone with headphones. From instrumental and subtle beats to intense, heavy rock, and anything in-between, everyone has a unique soundtrack to their art. We're sharing a few songs we've saved to our playlists to keep the creative juices flowing. What do you listen to while you work? Share in the comments below! 

Past Present Future by Oliver Tank
Beginning with long held guitar strums surrounded by a hallowing echo, and layered with vocals, Oliver Tank brings on a journey through space and time, like being inside a dream. 

In the Forest by Dustin O'Halloran
As part of the original film score for Now is Good, Dustin O'Halloran offers just enough balance of calming melodies and exciting rhythms to bring a bit of fun with a concentrated focus. 

We've Just Begun by Maximum Love
With a backbeat similar to Shiny Toy Guns' Waiting, Maximum Love brings a more upbeat instrumental to the mix, with a chorus full of playful notes and soft, echoed vocals. 

Under Construction by Jerry Martin
Recognized as part of the original soundtrack for The Sims by EA Games and Maxis, this piano tune still remains impressive and memorable from its year 2000 origin. Remnants of the initial soundings of the Build Mode, Jerry Martin and the other inaugural composers of the Sims franchise will forever have a space in our plumbob hearts. 

Verwunschen by Nils Hoffmann
​German artist Nils Hoffmann offers a signature of sharp, quick notes to a minimalistic beat (see also Balloons). With almost 7 minutes of pure listening bliss, Verwunschen is a definite add to any playlist. Listen more at soundcloud.com.

Deep In My Soul by 16 Bit Lolitas
The 16 Bit Lolitas are slowly filling more and more slots on our playlists with their club-like sounds and catchy details. With each minute of the song, new elements are added to create more dimension, making Deep In My Soul a must-add. 

Slow and Steady by Of Monsters and Men
The overall laid-back vibe of Of Monsters and Men is uniquely prevalent, with lead vocals harmonizing between reverberating bells, rolling drums, and haunting tones. Slow and Steady is a track of careful balance of relaxation and intensity, and one of our favorites from their album, My Head Is an Animal.

Dancer by Fairchild
What begins as a repetition of synthesizing sounds, Fairchild builds Dancer to a beautiful and devastating story of love lost and the healing that follows. With other songs to show their vibrant range (see Relevance), Fairchild is quickly becoming a newly found favorite.