Ali LaBelle is a graphic designer, illustrator, and general connoisseur of pretty things. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California and recently received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Chapman University.

I have been so crazy busy that I totally have neglected the fact that there are like, 4 people who read this and want to know what’s going on! So sorry, you four. I’m back.

This last month has been insane. I got my wisdom teeth out, went to Seattle, took on about seven trillion new projects, and really got started on this whole business venture thing. I’m talking lawyers and accountants, people. It’s weird. I like it, though. I’m hoping there will be a free moment in my life to redo this lil’ website and my own personal branding soon, but alas, the clients come first.

Anyway, I don’t have anything too terribly exciting to say, except that I am still alive and working a lot and trying to find creative ways to pay my rent (that are legal and hopefully design-related, but who knows). This blog might get put on the back-burner for a while while I try to focus on some other things, but keep checking back, because as these projects end I’ll be posting them on here and I know you wanna see that! RIGHT?

Woah, what a summer. Today was my last day at The Branding Farm and tomorrow is my first day as a full-time freelancer! Scary. I’m not sure if it’s stupid or smart of me to freelance full-time at 22, but if I don’t try then I’ll never know. So here I go, just a girl with a laptop and a craving to make something pretty.

A lot of people tell me to wait when it comes to being self-employed. To wait until I have more of a savings, to wait until I am ready to pay rent for an office space or until I have a massive list of clients. I understand all of the concerns that come with not knowing exactly how much work I’ll have month-to-month (trust me, they are my concerns more than anyone’s!), but I’m also really confident in myself and feel like the universe has been pointing me in this direction for a while now. I am still designing for Ban.do and am loving being under the creative direction of Jen Gotch, I’m consistently doing projects for Rue, and most recently I’ve decided to start designing under the art direction of Emmadime! All of these great things make me excited to work and allow me to make the pretty things that I want to make, and that alone makes me feel like I’m doing something right.

So on the eve of my first steps into freelance land, here’s to hoping that I can find my footing quickly, that I am consistently learning and growing, and that even if I fall, I do it with some sparkles in my wake.

I’ve been designing some posts for the new Ban.do blog lately (which you should immediately go check out…Bri at Designlovefest did an amazing job!). Here’s a peek at the “we pinned” posts. go to the blog to see more!

see more here

i think there’s good overwhelmed and bad overwhelmed. i sometimes have a hard time knowing the difference, and it’s often a fine line between the two. i’ve been walking the line lately.

graduating from college and moving just comes with a lot of newness. new jobs, new friends, new places. i love the clients i have, my roommate, my family, my apartment, but all of the change definitely brings on some anxiety, and adjusting has proven that i’m not the all-time superstar at everything that i try to be.

i’m learning to say yes to certain things and no to certain things. just this week i’ve done both. i’m really really really excited to share some of the things i’ve said “yes!” to with everyone as things get solidified. they are all good things that make me way way excited, the good kind of overwhelmed.

!!

 this

One of the hats I’ve started wearing this summer is the junior designer at Rue Magazine hat (it’s a pretty hat). I’ve been doing a lot of various design projects for Crystal and the team at Rue and it’s been a great experience so far!

The August/September issue of Rue launched today, the first ever Texas issue! I feel very lucky to have been a part of it…it turned out beautifully and the new art director did a great job!

Flip through it here!

“Oops.” – The Museum of Modern Art

here

Another e-blast for Ban.do. Click here to shop.

i LOVE the olympics. love them. the world-wide unity, the opening ceremonies, the sportsmanship…i really like all of it. but there is one huge reason why i am so into the olympics.

olympic uniforms.

they are, for the most part, severely blah.

i am ooookaaaay with stella’s designs this year, and the ralph lauren opening ceremony getups were like, ok, i’m pretty sure the berets are for the french but i’ll deal with it.
the olympic athletes are a bunch of really attractive, really muscly people who deserve to look good on international television. foregoing practicality, here’s what i think the olympic uniforms should look like, except in red white and blue, you know, for america.

1. how great would the gymnasts look in a solid-colored leotard, and when they are not performing wearing one blue shoe and one read shoe? so sick.

2. again. solid colors. none of this boring crap. throw on a red swim cap, replace “dope” with “usa” (in that font) and you’re good to go.

3. i mean, yeah, you’ll get kinda hot running the track in this. but put on a red glitter sweatband and you’ll be fine.

i cannot find the sources for images one and two, so if you know them, let me know!

image 3 via here

emilie and i were driving down the street the other day and passed a cardboard cutout of justin bieber in a candy shop.

not only did i gasp because i desperately need a justin bieber cutout, but this particular justin bieber cutout was wearing a ban.do pom pom flower.

FATE.

man repeller, i love you. p’trique, i love you. rebecca black, you’re aight.



(just putting this out into the universe – i love man repeller (the blog and the brain behind it) so much. she is brilliant and cool and i almost met her once but got too nervous to go up to her.)