To challenge the industry "norm" and provide quality creative graphic design to all businesses at an affordable price – that's what Shannon Crowden hopes to achieve, and the reason why she started Mad Cow Graphics.

Mad Cow Graphics believes quality graphic design should be available to all businesses whether big or small. They are ready to help you succeed with unique designs, fast turnaround and unlimited support.

Here we chat to Shannon about a collaboration between Mad Cow Graphics and Lauren Alyce Floral Design. Get ready to admire luscious bouquet arrangements, and learn a thing or two about our featured creative.

"I am always looking for new ways to expand my services for my clients and after discovering noissue and the custom printed tissue paper they do, I thought that it would make a great addition to my client’s floral business. I used one of the mockups that noissue offers and branded it for my client and sent it to her along with a price. She absolutely loved the idea and we got started straight away. With so many options to choose from it was hard a hard decision but in the end we went with a really simple light grey logo that is subtle and elegant and wouldn’t detract from her beautiful bouquets."
Shannon - Mad Cow Graphics

Creative: Mad Cow Graphics

Tell us a bit about yourself and your design practice?

I’m Shannon Crowden and I’ve been in the business of Graphic Design for 20 years. It has always been a dream of mine to run my own design business so when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at it! I started up Mad Cow Graphics to be able to have the flexibility to work around a new baby. Two children and 14 years later it was the best decision we made.
At Mad Cow Graphics, we work with clients on a wide range of projects to help launch their business, build their business, and brand their business. From logo design and rebranding, creating websites, and managing them, to creating and managing html emails, we do it all. We are always looking for new and exciting ways to help our clients stand out from the crowd - which is why we added custom packaging to our list!

Tell us a bit about Lauren Alyce Floral Design and their products/business?

Lauren Alice Floral Design is a studio based florist on the Central Coast that specialises in weddings & events. They have placed in the Top 10 Florists for the Brides Choice Awards for 2018 & 2019. She creates the most beautiful, romantic and unique floral designs for special events, as well as custom made gifts & flowers delivered locally every week. Lauren’s floral arrangements are unlike anything I’ve seen before.

How did you and Lauren Alyce Floral Design begin to work together? / What was something that stands out about this collaboration for you?

Lauren and I started working together to create promotional cards, digital wedding price lists and social media graphics for her florist business. She’s a dream client who gives me total creative freedom! Understanding the uniqueness of her bouquets, I offered Lauren custom printed tissue paper to take her branding to the next level. She absolutely loved the idea and we got started straight away. With so many options to choose from it was a tough decision but in the end we went with a really simple light grey logo that is subtle and elegant and wouldn’t detract from her beautiful bouquets.

What inspires your designs?

Design inspiration for me, comes from everywhere. Being a creative means it’s really easy to get lost in your own head so I like to begin a brief by making notes and drawing rough ideas, keeping the purpose of the design in mind. If I feel a creative block, I take that as an opportunity to read, research and allow the ideas to flow organically until I’m happy with a direction. Sometimes it’s the little things around you that can spark big ideas or fascinating colour combinations you have never thought to put together before.

Why did you choose noissue for packaging?

noissue was a no brainer. The online ordering process is super easy and the live proof of the artwork before sending to print is a great way to ensure a happy client. Being able to customise colours, logo sizes and paper weight is really important for us to keep inline with our client’s branding. Plus the fact that the packaging is eco-friendly keeps our conscience clean!