Solid Stuff

Ecommerce website

Imar — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:50:37 +0000

Template design for an ecommerce site.

Tamara & Imar

Imar — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:44:02 +0000

Being a graphic designer by trade, of course I saw my wedding as a magnificent design project. One of the first things I told Tamara is that I would love the whole effort to be very DIY driven. I think she was horrified at the thought at first, but she soon came aboard. We saw it as an opportunity to bond with each other and with loved ones who worked with us.

Many people have asked for me to explain a little about the design of the invitations. I read recently that a powerful aspect of design is projectability. This refers to leaving space for the viewer to invent their own story, so in order to leave you that space I won’t say anything about the symbolism or meaning behind any of the elements.

What I do want to point out is the fact that we wanted every element of our wedding to be one-of-a-kind. We stamped and wrote details on each invitation and thank you tag by hand, cut and tied the ribbon, hand made windmills and made the pocket squares from scratch, starting with rolls of colourful material to name a few things. During this process, it dawned on me that true uniqueness is only achievable through imperfection.

I had suspected this before, but it has proven to be true: there is beauty in imperfection.

Class of 2000 Reunion

Imar — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:36:52 +0000

A t-shirt design for my high school reunion. Hermanus is a dual-medium school teaching in English and Afrikaans, so the t-shirt had to be bilingual. The seagull is a reference to the school emblem.

Common Grounds Adventures

Imar — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:30:17 +0000

A single web page for Common Grounds Adventures’ June holiday programme. I kept the palette simple and paid particular attention to the typographic hierarchy and a clean grid-based layout.

Betty’s Bay t-shirts

Imar — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:33:22 +0000

I designed these t-shirts to celebrate my favourite place. We printed a very limited run and gave most of them away to friends and family, but there are a few left.

Lea’s 21st

Imar — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:36:02 +0000

An invitation I designed for Lea’s 21st birthday party.

Tweetsnack

Imar — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:05:53 +0000

Logo for a Twitter app that is still under development at this stage…

Treska Botha

Imar — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:33:14 +0000

I share a love for old-world charm with Treska, so I decided to try and capture a little something of “the good old days” in the design for her logo and business cards.

Silverstrand

Imar — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 07:39:51 +0000

Logo and business cards for an independent London firm specialising in resedential letting.

Death of a Mother

Imar — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:35:39 +0000

Book design for “Death of a Mother” written by Lisel Krige.

Description: 117x180mm softcover weighing in at just over 100 pages.

Preface:

“Losing a mother in this life is extreme. Nobody should ever try to convince you otherwise: It cannot be any other way, regardless of perceptions, circumstances, negative feelings or claims of indifference; regardless, also, of the relationship you
shared while she was alive…

To motivate this statement is not difficult. Not only is a mother irreplaceable, but it is simply impossible for any other human being to share with you, even vaguely, the intimate biological bond that she does – from the very first moment of conception.
There is something indescribably precious and almost mystical about bearing a life with a beating heart deep within oneself – beneath your own beating heart – for nine months. Who can dare to deny this?

No estrangement between mother and child after birth, however drastic, can ever undo the integrity and the wonder thereof. In fact, alongside biological fatherhood – but definitely far more intimate and prolonged, it is the closest biological bond that can exist between two beings.

However – I also know that my daughter will not be able to understand the magnitude thereof until she is herself a mother.
Ironically, the sense of loss and deprivation when a mother dies may be felt even more strongly if you are bereft of her once you are yourself a mother. As I was when that day arrived in my life…”