News Archives - Colm O'Connor Studio

18/02/2022

Website Launch – Moksa Tattoo Studio

Website design and build for Moksa Tattoo Studio.

We were approached by Nirman Kadel to design and build an e-commerce website for his tattoo studio. An existing logo was already in place so we developed a layout, colour palette, and typographic style to compliment this.

Growing up in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, Nirman was inspired by all of the mythological art around him carved in wooden Hindu temples, the stone engravings in Buddhist stupas, the thangka paintings in the streets of Thamel, and many other age-old mythical stories found in texts and scriptures.

After living in Australia for almost a decade he fell in love with tattooing and started his journey as a tattoo artist.

Nirman is now located in Wexford town and is the owner of Moksa Tattoo Studio. Nirman is a very calm, positive person, and we wanted to express this through the website. We stayed away from the typical up-close tattoo studio photography style and suggested nice calm imagery of the tattooist at work in his surroundings. The body of work automatically updates through Instagram feeds so that Nirman can focus on what he does best.

View the full project here.

18/11/2021

Self Promotion Design from Another Lifetime

This self-promotion design project recently popped up as a memory and it feels like a lifetime ago.

I completed this promo box design in 2013 as part of a college 'copy and type' module and was blown away by the response online. At the time, if you Googled 'self-promotion design' or 'self-promotion ideas' this was the first result that came up for both search and image results. It was featured on so many blogs over the next few months and held the number one spot on Behance for self-promotion for quite some time.

Looking back at the project now it's very much of its time, and totally impractical. I still remember coming up with the idea, cutting out and Pritt sticking everything by hand, taking the photos beside the kitchen window, and getting an email response from Hovercraft with some feedback once I had it up on my portfolio website.

I still can't believe how much attention this project received...

Progress Photos

The brief for this project was to produce three different items, print or virtual, that will inform and shows typography skills. The only restriction was that it couldn’t be a poster series. I chose the Portland-based Hovercraft Studio as my target audience, a small but highly driven agency with a great range of clients and work to match. I directed most of my promotional material towards designer and co. founder Ryan Haaland and at first thought of making a promotional booklet. As I worked my way through their website I realised that I didn’t see much packaging design and this is eventually what led me to the project above. Along with the promotional box, there was also a webpage and follow-up postcard, all with the common colour palette, styling, and use of language.

Finished Photos

12/10/2021

Brand Redesign – Sammin Engineering

Visual identity redesign for Sammin Engineering. A dynamic electrical, security, and specialist engineering services company.

View the full project here.

28/09/2021

Featured on Fonts In Use

I recently had 2 projects featured on Fonts In Use. Thanks to Florian and the team for including both of these projects, hopefully they are the first of many.

07/09/2021

Brand Launch – Wrapped in Kindness

Visual identity for Wrapped in Kindness, a marketplace for beautiful Irish Design gifts. Wrapped in Kindness approached us to help with their plans for growth in the Irish Design gifts sector. It was early stages, a business plan was being put together, and the name and tagline were still to be finalised. What makes Wrapped in Kindness stand out from other retailers in this area is that 10% of each sale will go to an Irish charity of the customer's choice. View the full project here.

13/08/2021

Website Launch – Peter Bielenberg

Website design and build for Peter Bielenberg, an established Irish artist who works from his studio based in Dublin, Ireland. Dedicated to creating high-quality authentic Irish pieces, Peter creates unique classic and contemporary artworks in a variety of mediums.

Peter has a background in construction and engineering and is currently the managing director of Arc-Eye Welding and Fabrication. Over the past number of years, Peter has developed a passion for working with wood and in particular the art of woodturning. He carries out every stage of the process from milling and processing the greenwood, carving, turning, drying, and finishing each product.

We were approached by Peter to design and build an e-commerce website for his exhibition-winning woodturning projects. An existing logo icon was already in place so we developed a layout, colour palette, and typographic style to compliment this. The project also included the editing of existing product photography.

View the full website here.

24/06/2021

SOMY – Case Study

Visual identity, packaging, and e-commerce website design & build for SOMY, a design driven lifestyle brand. Project also includes product photography and t-shirt graphics.

View the full project here.

15/06/2021

100 Archive 2020

A project I was involved in while working at TrueOutput was recently selected to be part of the 100 Archive 2020.

The 100 Archive charts the past, present & future of Irish design through an annual peer selection of 100 notable design projects.

06/05/2021

SOMY – A Design Driven Lifestyle Brand

During lockdown and in between design jobs I set up a little side project that has now grown into quite a big project.

It was something I’ve always dreamed of doing but never really had the time, money, or know-how.

I've always been interested in clothing and apparel, and like everyone else, my online purchases increased dramatically over the past year. I was spending more time (and money) online and so the dream of starting a clothing brand resurfaced.

I’ve sold t-shirt designs on various sites throughout the years but I’ve never really been satisfied with the whole process. I never had control over the quality of the items, how they were packaged, shipped, folded, etc.

So what does a graphic designer with time on his hands do?

Well, I started slow... and built a brand (and a website).

This range of beanies was an unexpected success. They were even featured on @dubstreetwear

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dublin Street Wear•Mens Style (@dubstreetwear)

Then I released a range of premium GOTS Organic t-shirts. Shipped out in recyclable and degradable materials.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SOMY (@wearesomy)

Expanded the range with the help of an extremely talented illustrator.

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A post shared by SOMY (@wearesomy)

Expanded some more on some downtime.

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A post shared by SOMY (@wearesomy)

Somehow ended up sponsoring a Norwegian skater.

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A post shared by SOMY (@wearesomy)

Brought out some stickers.

Expanded the range some more with the help of another extremely talented illustrator.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SOMY (@wearesomy)

Things are snowballing now in case you haven’t guessed...

Our next artist series t-shirt has been signed off and is due for release over the next few weeks.

So far the SOMY brand has been sent to London, NY, Paris, half of Ireland, and a third of Europe.

All from a tiny spare room.

Let’s see where this goes.

Follows and support are hugely appreciated. Website. Instagram. Twitter. Facebook.

28/04/2021

Website Launch – Etch Communications

Website design and build for Etch Communications, a Dublin-based creative communications company.

View the full project here.

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