September 2nd, 2010
I recently put together graphics for two different series of teachings coming up at Grace Gathering. The first one is a two-part series called Hospitality: How to Welcome Others and will begin on Sunday, September 26th. I thought the image of a golden door worked well to represent the rich blessings of hospitality. “…remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” -Acts 20:35
A second teaching series will begin on October 1oth and is called Come and Follow Me: Engaging Jesus Through Luke’s Gospel.
Tags: Christianity, freelance, graphic design, illustration, sermon series graphics, typography, vector art
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July 29th, 2010
I just unpacked the first batch of Sixty-Six Clouds posters from the printer today and they turned out great. These ready to frame posters are 11″ wide x 17″ tall and have been digitally printed on premium 100# Matte paper. If you are interested in purchasing one, please send an email to hello@identity33.com specifically indicating which poster(s) of the Bible you would like and I will be in touch with you regarding availability. The cost is $5.00 each + $3.00 shipping. I am currently in the process of providing a PayPal method of payment on the Sixty-Six Clouds website. So stay in touch.
Tags: 66 Clouds, Bible, Christianity, graphic design, poster, Sixty-Six Clouds, typography, Word Cloud Bible
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July 19th, 2010
Back in April, 2009 I created a compilation of sixty-six word clouds representing the sixty-six books of the Bible. The project was quite a success based on the amount of traffic and positive feedback the original blog post created. Now, a little over a year later I have launched a 66 Clouds website that is better organized and more interactive than the previous blog post. I am also in the process of collecting pre-orders for a 6″ x 9″, 144 page, perfect bound book containing all sixty-six word clouds. In addition to the book, 11″ wide x 17″ tall posters of each word cloud are available. So be sure to check out the new website and get in touch if you are interested in purchasing either the book or posters.
Tags: 66 Clouds, Bible, Christianity, graphic design, Identity33, Sixty-Six Clouds, typography, Word Cloud Bible, Wordle
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July 2nd, 2010
I just found out that the Step into the Jordan logo design has been selected for inclusion in the new LogoLounge Master Library edition called Shapes and Symbols.
The Master Library series contains logo design work from creatives around the world and is based on the following categories:
• Initials & Crests
• Typography
• People
• Animals, Birds and Mythology
• Shapes and Symbols
• Nature and Food
• Arts and Culture (including transportation, sports and architecture)
The Maranatha Brand logo I created was published in the Initials & Crests edition earlier this year. The Step into the Jordan design will appear in the Shapes and Symbols book that will be published in the next year.
The Step into the Jordan logo is based on the biblical account of Joshua leading the Israelites across the Jordan river and into the promised land after God miraculously stopped the water from flowing.
Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing.
Joshua 3:15-16
The equilateral triangle symbol in the center of the water not only visually divides the water, but is also historically symbolic for God. In Christian symbolism it specifically stands for the Holy Trinity.
The goal of the Step into the Jordan program is to provide Christian based recovery resources through a wide variety of online curriculum. Above is a web design layout that was presented to the client showing the logo being used in context.
Tags: Christianity, freelance, graphic design, logo, logo lounge
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June 21st, 2010
“Most people in the world are on some type of spiritual journey.” Seeking God: An Investigative Journey is a 6 session study designed to help people evaluate and discover where they are at on their spiritual journey. This study has been a central tool used by Grace Gathering for many years and has undergone quite a few revisions. The latest revision is a 6″ x 9″, 100 page book format. I really enjoyed working on this project and creating the overall design and layout for the study.
Above are some of the series of icons and illustrations I created to help the reader navigate through the study.
If you would like more information about this study, or would like to purchase a copy, please contact the Grace Gathering church office directly.
Tags: book cover, Christianity, freelance, graphic design, sermon series graphics
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June 11th, 2010
The Fleetwood RV National Dealer Meeting will be held at the Grand Wayne Convention Center in Fort Wayne this year. Above is the logo I designed for the event.
Tags: freelance, graphic design, logo
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June 10th, 2010
My son was playing around with his Star Wars clone trooper costume and didn’t have a gun to compete the outfit. I felt bad for him and decided to make him one out of an old piece of 3/4″ plywood I had in the garage and some spare aluminum parts from an old drafting table mechanism I just happened to have laying around. The whole project took about 2 hours.
The unique looking aluminum pieces worked great because they were soft enough to drill through when I needed to add an extra screw here and there. They also added some significant weight to give it a more realistic feel.
Once it was put together, I applied a quick coat of flat black spray paint, scuffed up the surface with some steel wool, and this clone was armed and ready for his next mission.
Tags: clone trooper gun, star wars
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May 14th, 2010
I recently re-designed a logo for a local consulting firm called Systemental. They specialize in helping companies run smoother from the inside out by using Hoshin Kanri to drive business improvement. Their Hoshin Kanri strategy consists of three different phases broken up into three pieces each. The icon above represents the phases with three different colors, each in three pieces. The design will be used as a visual aide in presentations, webinars, blog posts, and print materials.
Tags: branding, freelance, graphic design, logo
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April 30th, 2010
Chess Pie Media is in the software development business. The design criteria for this project was simple, clean, stylized and fun. Now, I’m an Indiana boy and I have to admit that until this project came about, I’d never heard of this thing called chess pie. So, after some explaining from the client and a bit of online research, I learned that chess pie is similar to pecan pie, but without the pecans. Very rich, very sweet and goes great with coffee. As for how the name chess pie actually came about there are lots of opinions swirling around, but nothing definitive. Chess Pie Media has been known to develop games, so it made sense to use both pie and chess game imagery. The logo above is the fruit of that union.
Tags: freelance, graphic design, icon, logo
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April 23rd, 2010
The judging for Logolounge Volume 6, has been completed and I am excited to have one of the logo design concepts I submitted included in the book. Here is an excerpt from the email notification I received:
We are excited with the exceptional quality level of work selected for this sixth volume. This was an incredibly competitive judging session with over 34,000 logos entered for consideration. We are also very pleased to inform you that your work has been chosen for inclusion in the new book by an international panel of judges. This years panel included, Bart Crosby of Crosby Associates, Hans Hulsbosch of Hulsbosch, Jeannie Servaas of Saffron Brand Consultants Inc., Jessica Hische of Jessica Hische, Marius Ursache of Grapefruit, Sherwin Schwartzrock of Schwartzrock Graphic Arts, Silvio Giorgi of Latinbrand, and Tessa Westermeyer of Landor.
Congratulations on having your work selected for LogoLounge Book 6, the content is exceptional and the judging was extremely competitive.
Best Regards,
Bill Gardner
Tags: logo, logo lounge
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April 23rd, 2010
Very rarely will I work on a design apart from a specific project request. In other words, I typically don’t design anything unless I have a specific reason for doing so. However, this is one instance when I had an idea pop into my head that I really wanted to try developing further. In Revelation 19:16 Jesus is referred to as the “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” As I was thinking about this idea of Jesus being “King of kings”, I had a picture in my mind of a bunch of little crowns all lined up under one large crown.
What I ultimately ended up with was a face made entirely out of crown shapes. I also knew I wanted to create a ring of 12 crowns around the head (a reference to the 12 disciples that followed Jesus), so I started with a line of crowns then dragged and dropped them into my Brushes Palette in Adobe Illustrator. This launched a “New Brush” dialogue box where I selected “New Art Brush” from the available options. Once I created the 12 crown art brush, I simply applied it as a “Stroke” to a circle shape and voilà! a perfect 12 crown circle. The final touch was when I added a 6 pt. stroke with the rounded caps/joins selected to soften everything up a bit.
Here is how the final design looks with a bit of color applied. I figured some royal colors like purple, gold, and silver would be most appropriate.
Tags: Bible, Christianity, graphic design, icon, Jesus, logo
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March 30th, 2010
I recently updated my printed portfolio and created a sample logo page to include. When it comes to portfolios, I prefer a smaller 11″ x 14″ size case as opposed to the larger ones. I’ve found that the smaller size is much easier to handle when sharing my work with people. The second chapter of How to be a graphic designer, without losing your soul has some helpful tips on putting together a personal portfolio. The author says “A portfolio of eight to ten interesting pieces of work is ideal”. My logo page counts as one piece, even though it shows 20 logos. I then have about nine additional pieces to round it out. It’s important to remember that a personal portfolio is a living, breathing thing. It always changes because a designers’ work is always changing. For me, the goal is to make sure that both the content and delivery are given equal attention to detail.
Tags: graphic design, logo, portfolio
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Hello, my name is Brad Thomas and I'm a graphic designer specializing in logo and identity design. This blog is where I share the process that goes on behind some of the projects I work on, as well as other design-related insights. Comments, questions, and project inquiries are all welcome. Thanks for stopping by.