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- Designed by Sarah: November 2025 Studio Recap
Designed by Sarah: November 2025 Studio Recap
This email has 3 studio updates, 1 neat aminal fact, 8 cool websites I think you should see, 1 workshop and 1 upcoming event
If you follow me on Instagram you have seen me lamenting nonstop about a tragedy taking place in our home studio: the risograph printer is broken – cue sad violins. Right before Thanksgiving, a clamp inside the machine broke and made the most horrific sound before I shrieked and pulled the power plug. I got a riso technician out the following week (shouts out to Charles), who figured out what the issue was but also was honest with me that my machine was old as *** and even if we could fix it, I should really consider getting a newer one.
I have loved, loved, loved having my riso printer this year. Few things have made me happier and brought more of a sense of peace and clarity like working with this recalcitrant, ancient (note: 2005) machine. I have wanted one of these printers for years and when I finally got this one I wondered why I’d waited so long. I got a good deal on this one because it was so old, but it still wasn’t cheap.
I’ve been doing a lot of #girlmath this week, trying to figure out the next steps: pay to fix the machine and then cross my fingers until the next thing goes wrong? Go ahead and get a more modern one? (probably yes and yes) But then what happens to this old girl? What happens to the 5 briefcase-sized ink drums that go with it?
While I wait for this to get fixed, I have some things up my sleeve to share with my folks who want things in the mail:
Happy birthday in December to Anna, Taryn, Brett, Beca, Kelly, Teri, Jillian, Michael, Sally, Iz, Caroline, Lisa, Matthew, Elaine, and Madelyn 🎂
Warmly,
Sarah
👉 CVC Rebrand
In 2023, I worked with the Corporate Volunteer Council on a light website refresh, condensing extraneous pages, improving mobile views, and making a general brand pass throughout. But by 2025, they realized they were outgrowing their branding. Formed in 1992 as the Metro Atlanta Corporate Volunteer Council, CVC’s work has become so much more than those three words: the board voted to condense the name to CVC (which is how everyone refers to the org anyway) and they brought me in along with Purpose Possible to complete a rebrand. I really love how this one turned out, and love that we got to reveal it live at their annual awards luncheon this week.
Learn more about CVC ➔
👉 The Oyster South Symposium
This year, Oyster South’s annual symposium which brings “producers, gear suppliers, distributors, chefs, food writers, vendors, researchers, students and managers from the southeast and Gulf coast regions together to discuss pressing issues and relevant, practical research on oyster aquaculture” is happening in Houston, Texas, and boy, do I love a theme. The favorite thing I came up with after brainstorming was this silly oyster cowgirl (oystergirl?) that we want to put on everything.
👉 BUY ATL MERCH
Holiday shoppers, bookmark this link!!!!! Back in late 2020 when restaurants were either still closed or struggling, I made a website on a nudge from my friend Gray that catalogs all of the available merch you can buy from an Atlanta restaurant. It got picked up in Eater, which is cool. Since then, I’ve made a pass to update it once a year before the holidays so you can see what’s available. This takes hours to update and is a labor of love. Not only do I think you should browse and buy stuff, also please share the link with your friends!
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This month, my mother would like us to know about Pigeons: “The lowly pigeon, often considered a nuisance to big cities, is an amazing bird. Pigeons are among the few birds that feed milk to their young. They do so through a gland in their mouth. Fathers feed the chicks milk also! They avoid being hit by cars downtown because they are the only birds who can do a vertical liftoff--0 to 60 in 2 seconds. They are the only bird who will fly down into the subway tunnels and onto a subway train in search of food. They can recall humans who feed them, recognizing them by their faces, even when they change clothes. They can navigate their way back home across hundreds of miles--by the magnetic poles, by recognizing landmarks, and finally by the smell of their neighborhood. They can recall thousands of images and situations. Their brains are so complex, people who develop AI are studying their brain structures.
SALUTE THE LOWLY PIGEON!”
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 Hot Chocolate History Tour The Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association (ADNA) is leading this lovely tour through Underground Atlanta, totally transformed into a winter wonderland complete with local jazz performances. |  Bingo at Boggs Want to raise money for a good cause and win prizes! This month all proceeds are going to support Living Walls. |
👉 Fockups: F*cked up mockups
The thing about fancy mockups you see in designer portfolios is that they are so unlike how they exist in the real world: i’ve always shied away from using plain product mockups because I think a good design should work if part the coffee mug is chipped, the hat has sweat stains, and the koozie is sitting in the bottom of a cooler. It’s why sometimes in my portfolio I use some pretty unorthodox photography, like when I did the Atlanta BeltLine Interpretive Signage back in 2020. Ryan and I ran around and I excitedly took photos posing with all the signs we could find out in the world. They are real! That’s cool!!!!!!
A few months ago I told you about designing a giant banner that goes around the plaza area of Little 5 Points while they’re remodeling it. It’s simple, but was super fun to do and I drive by it all the time. At this point, it’s been tagged, hit by a car, and some of the corners are sagging. This is real life, and things that live outside in busy places look like that after a while. Seeing the banner made me remember Fockups, this mockup website that is honestly so relatable it hurts.
Honorable mentions:
I have been trying really hard to practice food photography (in restaurants, aka with bad lightning and trying not to annoy other people) and my friend Sarra sent me this presentation by Helen Rosner that a. is fascinating and helpful and b. so absolutely funny that I want to do all my presentations like this in the future
Helen’s presentation proudly states “All the photos on the next slide were taken with an iPhone — many with an iPhone 4. A FOUR! Not an 8 or an X. A 4!” so while yes this is 100% a skill issue, I still found some interesting tips on making your phone camera work a little better for ya.
Do you like walking labyrinths? This website catalogs every single one in the entire world.
Trying to sound busy in these last few weeks of the year? Why not try the Busy Simulator?
Last month I wrote a long-winded ramble on using AI in the creative process and wondered if I should include some kind of AI policy in my contract documents. I found some examples – here is one and here is another.
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Here is stuff I’ve sent out in the mail recently:
 Ridiculous interactive board game postcards that use AR |  Silly bumper stickers (and other stickers from other artists) |  Issues of Unfolded, my quarterly-ish newspaper about creativity |
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