http://www.hammock.com/people/kerridavis/ en Copyright 2009 Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:30:10 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Each day, Art Director Kerri Davis surrounds herself with great colors, fun fonts and creative colleagues. I recently squeezed myself into the mix to ask a few questions about what keeps her going during an average work day (as if "average" is a word we should even use in reference to the art department).

What is the first thing you do when you get to the office each morning? I put my Whole Foods salad (yes, I get one most every day) in the fridge and get a cup of coffee in my fabulous "Helvetica" coffee mug. Then I check email. What's your favorite non-electric tool you use for work? I think I just answered that in the first question. My husband gave me the Helvetica mug for Christmas and I love it. Do you doodle while on the phone or in meetings? What do you doodle? Sometime I doodle. I just heard on NPR that doodling helps you focus better. I plan to doodle more. I am more into shapes and patterns and building onto them. What communications medium helps you the most during the day? I love IM, both for work and for home. Sometimes my husband and I have the best conversations that way. At home we are tending to the girls and helping with homework and housework, so IM during the day lets us say things that we are thinking about at that moment and not something we have to remember to discuss at night. How do you refocus if you're having trouble concentrating or getting the creativity flowing? A new day usually. There are days that you just can't get to that creative place, but usually I just need some time away from the computer. When I am struggling, I start to pay closer attention to everything I look at: I watch commercials closer or I notice something about a sign or the shape of something. One time the bathroom drain caught my eye (the pattern of it) and it inspired something. Not sure why I remember that, but that's the kind of stuff I am talking about.]]> Each day, Art Director Kerri Davis surrounds herself with great colors, fun fonts and creative colleagues. I recently squeezed myself into the mix to ask a few questions about what keeps her going during an average work day (as if "average" is even a word we should use in reference to the art department). Summer Huggins http://www.hammock.com/people/kerridavis/2009/04/a_day_in_the_life_of_kerri_dav.php http://www.hammock.com/people/kerridavis/2009/04/a_day_in_the_life_of_kerri_dav.php Working April 13, 2009 11:30 AM 200904131130 ]]> Call me crazy, but I plan to drink more water at my desk. Kerri Davis http://www.hammock.com/people/kerridavis/2008/12/new_years_resolution.php http://www.hammock.com/people/kerridavis/2008/12/new_years_resolution.php December 24, 2008 11:27 AM 200812241127 The Hammock offices are officially closed Dec. 24 at 1:00 p.m. - Jan. 5. I will be checking email, kdavis@hammock.com or you can call my cell at 615-308-0117. Merry Christmas! The Hammock offices are officially closed Dec. 24 at 1:00 p.m. - Jan. 5. I will be checking email, kdavis@hammock.com or you can call my cell at 615-308-0117. Merry Christmas! Kerri Davis http://www.hammock.com/people/kerridavis/2008/12/holiday_schedule.php http://www.hammock.com/people/kerridavis/2008/12/holiday_schedule.php December 23, 2008 3:15 PM 200812231515 We're talking about what makes a great cover today at Hammock. We follow some guidelines when we design a cover, but there's a lot of feel to it, as well. I thought I'd share a few of my thoughts here. Fonts I like to use bold fonts to deliver a sense of confidence and authority. A narrow font could appear wimpy. I also like to play with the size of the main headline on the cover. I usually like to see it really small and then blow it up really big to see what direction to go. Juxtaposing the image and the banner If you have a person on the cover, it's important to play with the size and crop. Sometimes you have to figure out how much of the banner you can cover up and still be able to read it. With national titles, that's not so important. Time or Sports Illustrated could cover most of the banner and still have an effective, instantly recognizable cover, but with our custom magazines and our clients, seeing the banner clearly is more important. The role of the banner A lot of our banners stay the same color from issue to issue. If they do change, finding the right color for that is very important. Sometimes, I like for the banner to blend in more with the image so that the focus is on the person. I don't want the color of the banner to overpower the image in any way. Color You also need to be careful choosing colors for other text blocks on the cover. You don't want it to look like a Crayola box. I usually keep the colors choices to about two or three colors, with white or black being the main choice. Finding the right person and shot When a person is on the cover, their expression has to be engaging. You just know when you see a cover expression. Something about the eyes making a connection or the tilt of the head or the body posture.]]> We're talking about what makes a great cover today at Hammock. We follow some guidelines when we design a cover, but there's a lot of feel to it, as well. I thought I'd share a few of my thoughts here. Kerri Davis http://www.hammock.com/people/kerridavis/2008/06/thoughts_on_designing_a_great.php http://www.hammock.com/people/kerridavis/2008/06/thoughts_on_designing_a_great.php June 18, 2008 10:34 AM 200806181034 ]]> Art Director Kerri Davis is enjoying a vacation in Italy. And we have pictures to prove it. Kerri Davis http://www.hammock.com/people/kerridavis/2008/05/ciao_bella_1.php http://www.hammock.com/people/kerridavis/2008/05/ciao_bella_1.php May 5, 2008 11:49 AM 200805051149 Domino is her current favorite, because she likes interior design. (We sent her to choose paint and fabric when we renovated our office a couple of years ago.) When she’s not buried in an Adobe InDesign document, Kerri is with her family--husband Carlton, daughters Sloan and Kate, and puppy dog Mae. She spends her free time combing Nashville for a good deal on high heels, her wardrobe obsession. She’s also the coolest person we know who drives a minivan.]]> As Hammock’s art director extraordinaire, Kerri Davis has an uncanny ability to whip together a knock-your-socks-off layout before the end of the first song on one of her (many) iTunes playlists. Kerri joined Hammock 13 years (and several hairstyles) ago,... Laura Creekmore http://www.hammock.com/people/kerridavis/2007/11/about_kerri_1.php http://www.hammock.com/people/kerridavis/2007/11/about_kerri_1.php Bio November 26, 2007 6:11 PM 200711261811