June is such a sweet month, stretching out as an unassuming footpath, lined with electric blooms and wandering from one halcyon evening to the next straight into the heart of summer. Some days are hot, and some are still refreshingly cool (maybe too cool this year). You can feel the collective relief and energy of all those shifting moods within your town or city—kids (and teachers) bursting with excitement as the school year winds down, workers preparing for vacation weeks, and local businesses opening their doors and patios. At Upper Notch, we’ve been putting that energy toward some really fun projects—helping clients refresh their branding and leverage their passionate customer bases on social media. We also (finally) got our “Girl on the Run” running tank up in the Upper Notch Press Etsy shop. Here’s a little more of what’s been inspiring us this month.

TYPOGRAPHY that exudes personality. As part of a recent logo development project for one of our lovely clients, we were digging the charming, rustic-chic vibes of this font below. Check out the finished logo here.

TUNING out the noise and tuning into nature. This doesn’t happen easily these days, but we’re making a deliberate effort to spend more time outdoors, just observing, listening, and appreciating the beauty of our world. A recent hike on the Skytop trail at Mohonk Mountain in New York—in fact, several hikes around the pristine Mohonk Lake—was just awe-inspiring.

LISTENING (and occasionally running) to Lord Huron’s album Lonesome Dreams, especially “Time to Run.” Sure, running to a song called “Time to Run” might be a little on the nose, but the beat is so peppy and catchy, with just the right amount of tempo changes to keep things interesting, especially if you like to layer some interval sprints into your runs—if you have any downhills in your route, we dare you to try to stop yourself from flinging your arms out, “Free Fallin'”-style, as you coast to the chorus: “Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, I wanted everybody else in the world to know // Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, I wanted everyone to know you’re the girl for me…”